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WOS: 000380137500017 PubMed: 27146949 The aim of this study was the optimisation of a multi-analyte method for the analysis of primary aromatic amines ( PAAs) from napkins in order to support official controls and food safety. We developed a UHPLC- MS/ MS method for the simultaneous determination of 36 toxicologically relevant PAAs for paper and board. Good regression coefficients of the calibration curves in a range of 0.992- 0.999 and reproducibilities in a range of 2.3- 15% were obtained. Limits of detections ( LODs) were in the range of 0.03-1.4 mu g l(-1) and recoveries were in a range of 21-110% for all the amines. A total of 93 coloured paper napkin samples from different European countries were bought and extracted with water to determine the PAAs. The results showed that 42 of 93 samples contained at least one PAA. More than half of the detected PAAs are considered as toxic, carcinogenic or probably carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer ( IARC), or are classified as such in the European Union legislation on chemicals. Summed concentrations of PAAs in seven samples were higher than 10 mu g l(-1), the limit of summed PAA in the European Union plastic food contact material regulation. Also, eight PAAs, classified as Category 1A and 1B carcinogen in the European Union legislation of chemicals, were detected at concentrations higher than 2 mu g l(-1), exceeding the limit proposed by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment in Germany. Aniline ( n = 14) was most frequently present in higher concentrations followed by o-toluidine, o-anisidine, 2,4-dimethylaniline and 4-aminoazobenzene. Red, orange, yellow and multicoloured paper napkins contained the highest concentrations of total PAAs (> 10 mu g l(-1)). Although the European Union has not harmonised the legislation of paper and board materials and, thus, there is no specific migration limit for PAAs from paper napkins, the present study showed that coloured paper napkins can contain toxic and carcinogenic PAAs at concentrations that are relevant for monitoring.

Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) Vent.) was one of the most widely distributed crop species in prehistoric Oceania, occurring from continental East Asia to the Polynesian islands. Its broad distribution is largely due to human-mediated dispersal during colonization of the islands of Near and Remote Oceania. We explore the potential for analyses of genetic variation in paper mulberry and the value of such data for the development of a new commensal model species for reconstructing patterns of human mobility in Oceania. We introduce and discuss paper mulberry as another commensal species and outline key features for its contribution to the understanding of human migration and post-colonization interaction. Here, we describe some of the extant B. papyrifera populations in Remote Oceania and Taiwan that were sampled for initial studies. We argue that the unique characteristics of this species and its importance in ancient Pacific island societies may provide the opportunity to collect valuable gen...

AKTAS, Fatih/0000-0002-2031-298X; Guduk, Elif/0000-0002-9724-0566 WOS: 000469025700004 Laccases (benzenediol: oxygen oxidoreductases, [EC1.10.3.2] are mostly known as members of the blue multicopper oxidase family that are used in very different industrial applications: textile, pulp and paper, food, cosmetics industries, bioremediation process, biosensor, biofuel and organic synthesis. Stability against the extreme conditions is an important property and it makes laccase suitable for several industrial processes. Laccase should have salt resistance to be used in textile dye degradation because the textile wastewaters include dyes with high concentrations of salts, especially NaCl. Bacterial laccases are preferable to be used for bioremediation process due to their high stability to extremely salt contaminated and alkalophilic environment. Bacillus subtilis LP2 was identified as a source of alkali-tolerant, salt resistant laccase. Laccase showed activity over a wide pH (4-10) and temperature (30-80 degrees C) range. Maximum laccase activity was observed as 140.4U/mg (umol/min*mg) at pH 8 and 50 degrees C with the substrate guaiacol. Stability of laccase was determined as 60% and 20% after incubation of the enzyme for different time intervals of 20 and 40min at 50 degrees C and pH 8. SDS (10mM) and EDTA (5mM) decreased laccase activity from 100% to 0% and 56%, respectively. Despite the other inhibitors, NaCI increased the activity of laccase to 167% at 500mM concentration. Laccase from Bacillus subtilis LP2 barely showed the activity on the substrates vanillin and L-tyrosine. These results clearly show that laccase from Bacillus subtilis LP2 has high potential to be used for several applications in textile industry. KOSGEB (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization, Republic of Turkey); DAMAR Chemical Industry and Foreign Trade Inc. This work was supported financially by the KOSGEB (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization, Republic of Turkey) and DAMAR Chemical Industry and Foreign Trade Inc.

The paper focussed on a step-by-step structural modification of a cycloheptathiophene-3-carboxamide derivative recently identified by us as reverse transcriptase (RT)-associated ribonuclease H (RNase H) inhibitor. In particular, its conversion to a 2-aryl-cycloheptathienoozaxinone derivative and the successive thorough exploration of both 2-aromatic and cycloheptathieno moieties led to identify oxazinone-based compounds as new anti-RNase H chemotypes. The presence of the catechol moiety at the C-2 position of the scaffold emerged as critical to achieve potent anti-RNase H activity, which also encompassed anti-RNA dependent DNA polymerase (RDDP) activity for the tricyclic derivatives. Benzothienooxazinone derivative 22 resulted the most potent dual inhibitor exhibiting IC50s of 0.53 and 2.90 μM against the RNase H and RDDP functions. Mutagenesis and docking studies suggested that compound 22 binds two allosteric pockets within the RT, one located between the RNase H active site and the primer grip region and the other close to the DNA polymerase catalytic centre., Graphical Abstract

Dye removal from effluents is a major problem for most textile industries. At present, wastewater treatments are currently based on physico-chemical methods which are expensive, energy inefficient and of limited versatility. The aim of this work was to find a low-cost and efficient method for dye removal. To do this, we designed a combined system based on the immobilization of the ligninolytic white-rot fungus Peniophora laxitexta (BAFC 4687) on mixed supports consisting of two polyurethane foam discs and a middle layer of diverse lignocellulosic substrates: soybean hulls, wheat straw or cellulose spent casings. As a corticioid fungus, P. laxitexta was able to completely colonize the supports developing a compact and tight structure that maintained the integrity of the system after several dye removal cycles. The immobilized fungus removed between 30% and 50% of the azoic dye Xylidine and more than 50% of the anthraquinonic dye RBBR in three successive cycles, and near 90% of the triphenylmethane Malachite Green in 10 repeated cycles without any loss of efficiency. Our analysis showed that the removal of the dyes was due to the combined effect of adsorption to the supports and enzymatic decolorization by soluble laccases and enzymes associated with the mycelium. Additionally, we showed that the presence of Malachite Green induced the expression of a new laccase isoform with high decolorization capacity. Based on these results, we propose that this inoculated laminar biocarrier could be effectively used for dye removal in textile wastewater. Fil: Majul, Leonardo Matias. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular; Argentina Fil: Wirth, Sonia Alejandra. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Levin, Laura Noemí. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; Argentina

WOS: 000474177700001, Removal of COD, and several toxic heavy metals (Cu2+ and Ni2+) from CNC (metalworking fluid) wastewater was investigated using electrocoagulation method (EC) with Fe and Al electrodes. The interaction effects of the current density, reaction time and initial pH were analyzed and were correlated to assess the removal efficiencies for COD, copper, and nickel. Coefficient of determination (R-2) and adjusted R-2 was found to be higher than 96.81% and 92.77; 99.01% and 89.94 for all responses at Fe and Al electrodes, respectively. Removal efficiencies were determined to be 95.72%, 96.03%, 95.22% and 97.11%, 98.51%, 92.49% for COD, copper and nickel at iron and aluminum electrodes, respectively under optimum operating conditions. The operational cost of the EC process for COD, copper, and nickel removal, were found to be 2.54, 3.36, 2.50 euro/m(3) for iron electrode and 7.16, 8.95, 8.50 euro/m(3) for aluminum electrode at optimum conditions, respectively. The results provide that The EC process seems to be an effective treatment method for removing COD and several trace heavy metals from the CNC machine (metalworking fluid) wastewater.

The production of bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass comprises the enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic structures by three major cellulases. Among them, cellobiohydrolases are considered to be key enzymes playing a significant role on cellulose degradation. The ability to produce lignocellulolytic enzymes by fungi such as Trametes villosa makes them appropriate degraders for large-scale applications. In this context, the aim of this study was to obtain and characterize a cellobiohydrolase-enriched extracellular extract of T. villosa LBM 033 (Misiones, Argentina), which is suitable for the enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic residues. The effect of carbon and nitrogen sources on cellobiohydrolase activity was evaluated using experimental designs and a culture medium was optimized to obtain a cellobiohydrolase-enriched extract suitable for the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. Moreover, by secretome analysis, nine enzymes involved in lignocellulosic biomass degradation were identified under the optimized conditions; among them is a cellobiohydrolase II from the glycosil-hydrolase 6 family. Fil: Coniglio, Romina Olga. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Químicas y Naturales. Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica. Laboratorio de Biotecnología Molecular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentina Fil: Burgos Fonseca, María Isabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Químicas y Naturales. Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica. Laboratorio de Biotecnología Molecular; Argentina Fil: Díaz, Gabriela Verónica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Químicas y Naturales. Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica. Laboratorio de Biotecnología Molecular; Argentina Fil: Ontañon, Ornella Mailén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias Castelar. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Biotecnología; Argentina Fil: Ghio, Silvina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias Castelar. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Biotecnología; Argentina Fil: Campos, Eleonora. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias Castelar. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Biotecnología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Zapata, Pedro Dario. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Químicas y Naturales. Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica. Laboratorio de Biotecnología Molecular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentina

EgeUn###, Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn (kapok) fiber, a natural and renewable material, has received increasing attention in recent years for its intrinsic properties. In this study, pretreatment of kapok fiber was performed in a green way by using atmospheric plasma, together with pectinase and lipase enzymes and no hazardous chemicals was used. A response surface methodology (Box-Behnken experimental design) has been used to design and optimize an environmentally friendly and sustainable scouring process for kapok fibers. Predicted values provided from regression model and the actual experimental values exhibited close relationship. The effects of the treatments on the hydrophility, whiteness index and color yield of the kapok fibers have been discussed. The structure of the fibers was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analyses. Results showed that atmospheric plasma + pectinase and atmospheric plasma + lipase treatments are ecofriendly alternatives for kapok fiber treatments.

The present study deals with the non-catalytic and catalytic wet oxidation (CWO) for the removal of persistent organic compounds from the pulping effluent. Two activated carbon-supported heterogeneous catalysts (Cu/Ce/AC and Cu/Mn/AC) were used for CWO after characterization by the following techniques: temperature-programmed reduction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermo-gravimetric analysis. The oxidation reaction was performed in a batch high-pressure reactor (capacity = 0.7 L) at moderate oxidation conditions (temperature = 190°C and oxygen pressure = 0.9 MPa). With Cu/Ce/AC catalyst, the maximum chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC) and lignin removals of 79%, 77% and 88% were achieved compared to only 50% removal during the non-catalytic process. The 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) to COD ratio (a measure for biodegradability) of the pulping effluent was improved to 0.52 from an initial value of 0.16. The mass balance calculations for solid recovered after CWO reaction showed 8% and 10% deduction in catalyst mass primarily attributed to the loss of carbon and metal leaching. After the CWO process, carbon deposition was also observed on the recovered catalyst which was responsible for around 3–4% TOC reduction.

Insect repellent textiles are currently being investigated as a complementary tool to control disease vectors, such as mosquitoes. The application of microencapsulated biopesticides to textiles is a promising low-toxicity alternative to other control methods, as microcapsules may prolong the release of the repellent agent. In this work, microcapsules containing two biopesticides, namely citronella essential oil and citriodiol® were prepared and applied to cotton textiles using a variety of techniques. The aim of this work was to evaluate these functional textiles to select the most efficient, durable systems. Citriodiol-treated cotton presented a prolonged durability, and 100% repellency could be achieved for more than 30 days after padding onto cotton fabrics. It has to be pointed out that all these repellent textiles have been obtained by scalable, low-cost methods which would require no additional investment for textile finishing industries., Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores

WOS: 000400069000006, Silver compounds have extensive use among the antimicrobial agents in textiles. Silver particles are released into the water during washing processes in particular and they are released from the textile in time due to use. In this work, silver ion release from cotton and polyester antimicrobial fabrics which are the most widely used textiles have been studied. Two well-known silver-based commercial agents and silver-doped calcium phosphate powder-based antibacterial finishing agent which was developed in our previous work were applied to the fabric samples. The release of silver from the fabric samples during washing and incubation was determined by ICP-OES. The effects of fabric composition, time and laundering process on the silver release were studied. It was found that significant amount of silver was released from textile fabrics during washing due to the mechanical forces exerted on the fabrics. The total released silver varied from 73.43 to 92.27% for cotton fabrics and 76.49 to 89.70% for PES fabrics after 20 washing cycles. Results also showed that calcium phosphate can reduce the amount of silver release significantly. It was also found that even a smaller quantity of nanosilver particles was sufficient for strong antibacterial activity., Anadolu University Scientific Research Projects Commission [1108F128], This study was supported by Anadolu University Scientific Research Projects Commission [grant number 1108F128].

Agave sisalana components have great potential in different pharmaceutical applications, but the quality of herbal raw materials is essential to reach the desired product specifications. In this work, we investigated the physico-chemical quality parameters of bole and wastes from decortication of A. sisalana leaves. The statistically significant variations among products suggest different pharmaceutical applications for each of them.

Liquid polymer precursors were synthesized from vegetable oils to be utilized in the preparation of oil based-resins to be later reinforced with a filler also obtained from natural sources. In this work, an unsaturated oil, tung oil, produced in the region was selected as raw material. The vegetable oil was chemically functionalized to obtain a polyol to be further used in polyurethane formulations. Different analysis techniques were used to investigate the hydroxyl content in the modified oil. Oil based composites containing pine wood flour as filler were prepared and mechanically tested. Fil: Mosiewicki, Mirna Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentina Fil: Casado, Ulises Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentina Fil: Marcovich, Norma Esther. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentina Fil: Aranguren, Mirta Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentina

In this article, the phenolic composition of wastewaters prepared from different cultivars of Olea europaea have been described. The main aim is the recovery of these compounds for technological utilization.

Sustainability-focused research networks and communities of practice have emerged as a key response and strategy to build capacity and knowledge to support transformation towards more sustainable, just and equitable futures. This paper synthesises insights from the development of a community of practice on social-ecological systems (SES) research in southern Africa over the past decade, linked to the international Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS). This community consists of a network of researchers who carry out place-based SES research in the southern African region. They interact through various cross-cutting working groups and also host a variety of public colloquia and student and practitioner training events. Known as the Southern African Program on Ecosystem Change and Society (SAPECS), its core objectives are to: (1) derive new approaches and empirical insights on SES dynamics in the southern African context; (2) have a tangible impact by mainstreaming knowledge into policy and practice; and (3) grow the community of practice engaged in SES research and governance, including researchers, students and practitioners. This paper reflects on experiences in building the SAPECS community, with the aim of supporting the development of similar networks elsewhere in the world, particularly in the Global South.

This article evaluates the presence of framing mechanisms in Dutch media reporting on the Second Karabakh war. The paper is led by the following questions: To what extent, and why, does the reporting of the Dutch press favour/undermine certain actors in the conflict? What kind of framing patterns are involved in generating such partiality? And did the frames change over the course of the war? In order to evaluate the presence of framing mechanisms in Dutch media reporting on the second Karabakh war, this research conducted a qualitative data analysis of 188 articles on the topic in nine major national Dutch news media. The paper finds that Dutch newspapers created a rather stereotypical, simplified picture of the Second Karabakh war. There are instances where the reporting gave the impression of a possible bias or overemphasis on certain dimensions.

The work of artists, creatives and the cultural community that provides arts, culture and artistic education to society deserves due credit. It is not always easy to find the appropriate mechanisms to appraise and communicate in what ways this work impacts and benefits different target groups, different communities and society as whole. There is an urgent need for reliable evaluation of qualitative achievements of cultural and creative endeavours. We argue that, after years of focusing on the quantities of (economic) life, the time has arrived for considering the qualities of life. The new creative economy, based on sustainable development, calls for a different way of thinking: the Value-Based Approach (VBA). This paper will address the theoretical and methodological aspects of the VBA and suggests why it is a useful method for evaluating (social and cultural) impact of cultural production. This paper will draw on some empirical examples of the application of the VBA to the cultural sector.

The level of defence industrial innovation success has been modest in Malaysia, despite continuous investment into research and development (R&D). The authors use the Defence Research and Development Stakeholder Engagement Framework (DRDSEF) to argue that strategic collaborative engagement between stakeholders is critical for successful industrial and technological innovation. This paper has two aims: to describe the role of the stakeholders in managing defence R&D funding and to evaluate the challenges faced by these stakeholders in managing government defence R&D allocation for industrial and technological innovation. This is an exploratory case study using a combination of interpretivist and pragmatist philosophical approaches. Analysed data consists of secondary resources and primary resources included surveys in the form of open-ended semi-structured interviews and participatory observation. This paper concludes that successful defence R&D stakeholder engagement requires an open and independent platform, enhanced industry-academia cross-sector fertilisation and collaborative data analytics management tools to share information.\ud \ud

This paper is intended to provide a scoping review on interfaces in service modularity. There is little detailed understanding of this concept despite its attributed importance. We identified 12 papers, showing that interfaces in service modularity are an area still open to research, especially with regard to interfaces that cross organisational boundaries. We found common themes in the available literature: the nature of interfaces, service fragmentation and predefined interfaces. Further research is needed on interfaces in service modularity, especially for complex services with components that stem from multiple, autonomous organisations. More specifically, there is a need for more studies that explore in detail how interfaces manifest themselves, and how they can be addressed to improve complex service provision. In addition, we argue why healthcare could be an interesting domain in which to conduct those studies. Our paper’s contribution comprises a detailed description of interfaces in service modularity, the dissemination of summarised research findings and suggestions for potential future research.

© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This paper investigates the weighted coordinated motion of coupled harmonic oscillators over weighted cooperative–competitive interactions. First, the traditional synchronisation and containment control concepts are extended to the weighted synchronisation and weighted containment control for the new cooperative–competitive networks. Then, weighted synchronisation problem and weighted containment tracking motion are respectively solved for the coupled harmonic oscillators. Compared with some existing results, the frequency parameters of coupled harmonic oscillators are unknown in this paper and some novel networked structures are introduced in order to make the harmonic oscillator followers converge to the convex hull spanned by leaders' weighted states. Particularly, if the topologies formed by every leader group and follower group are interactively balanced and every follower is weight-product balanced, or if some leader groups are not interactively balanced but satisfy some conditions, the coupled harmonic oscillators can all realise the weighted containment tracking motion. Simulation results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control schemes.

Aging populations are a dramatically increased worldwide trend, both in developed and developing countries. This study examines the prevalence of fatal and non-fatal work-related injuries between young (= 45 years old) workers. A systematic literature review aimed at examining studies comparing safety outcomes, namely fatal and non-fatal injuries, between older and younger workers. Results show that 50% of the reviewed papers suggest that fatal injuries are suffered mainly by older workers, while the remaining 50% show no differences between older and younger workers. Regarding non-fatal injuries, 49% of the reviewed papers found no relationship between workers' age; 31% found increased age as a protective factor against non-fatal injuries; and 19% showed that older workers had a higher risk of non-fatal injuries than younger ones. This review suggests that older workers experience higher rates of fatal injuries, and younger workers experience higher rates of non-fatal injuries., This work was financed by the Mutual de Seguridad de la C. Ch.C in the framework of the fund titled "Proyectos de Investigacion e Innovacion SUSESO.

Lean Thinking has successfully challenged mass production practices, by providing 'leaner' processes and supply chains, i.e. with less waste. Industry 4.0 has become an important strategic approach in the technological change of manufacturing and others. It aims to connect the physical and virtual worlds in industrial production. With such automation associated with Industry 4.0, questions arise about the synergy between this approach and the role of Lean in this ongoing industrial revolution. Therefore, a systematic literature review was carried out in order to identify the role of Lean in this scenario. The review was conducted from 2011 to 2019 timeframe and resulted in a total of 33 papers. This review demonstrated this as an emerging research area with most of the studies published in recent years (2017-2019). A deep analysis was undertaken to understand the Lean effect as a trigger for Industry 4.0. Main findings from a 15 out of the 33 papers revealed elements and facts found in sentences of such papers that act as this trigger. Additionally, a words count indicated that management, processes and people were the most cited words by the 15 papers, reinforcing the role of these key players in the companies' transformation., This work was supported by the Fundaçãoo para a Ciênncia e a Tecnologia.

The intent of this article is to explore the scholarly influence of Philip W. Jackson through examining the spread of his scholarship and the ideas he generated. The research design of this paper is borrowed from a previous study (Ben-Peretz & Craig, 2018) about another distinguished curriculum scholar, Joseph J. Schwab. The work begins with a biography of Philip Jackson and continues with literature reviews on the history of ideas and the use of knowledge in education. This background is followed by a description of the study's research method, 'inquiry into inquiry', and its data sources (Scopus-listed articles, published books/Google citations, invited addresses, transcribed interviews, conference proceedings, invited addresses, etc.) The papers' findings focus on (1) the influence of Jackson's ideas and approaches, (2) Jackson's direct impact through involvement in projects/organizations, and (3) Jackson's impact on the scholarly literature. Discussions of generative scholarship, intergenerational legacy and scholarly influence conclude the article, along with the recommendation that the 'inquiry into inquiry' approach be re-enacted with other noteworthy curriculum figures to more fully understand the influence of ideas and research dissemination in curriculum and instruction/teaching and teacher education., Portuguese national funds through the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) within the framework of the CIEC (Research Center for Child Studies of the University of Minho) project under the reference UIDB/00317/2020

Governments around the world are adopting inclusive growth agendas. The ambition to align economic growth ambitions with broader-based social benefits is increasingly embraced by corporations to limit the ‘negative externalities’ and enhance the ‘positive externalities’ of their operations. Therefore, micro-level corporate strategies and macro-level national ambitions meet at the meso-level of networks and clusters. This requires societal spheres to collaborate and search for alternative governance constellations. In this discourse, port development is only recently receiving attention. In March 2018, ports around the world signed the World Ports Sustainability Program declaration, which aims to contribute to the sustainable development goals (SDGs), whilst a number of national port (master) plans have started to include social along with environmental standards. Extant studies on partnering and stakeholder inclusion in port development are proliferating but are primarily aimed at environmental rather than social (inclusion) issues. This paper adopts an exploratory research design to consider conditions for inclusive port development. A novel taxonomy considers port development as a driver for inclusive growth, where partnerships are the missing link between micro-level business strategies and macro-level effects in the port region and economy at large. This paper shows the first findings and delineates areas for further research.

As Chinese investment in foreign land and agriculture expands dramatically worldwide, a growing body of research has emerged on the prevalence of land deals in Latin America and Africa. Southeast Asia, however, has only recently begun to receive significant attention in these discussions. A deeper exploration of the Southeast Asian context offers crucial insights into understanding the puzzle of global land deals (why, where, how they occur) more broadly. This paper frames this exploration via an overview of regional land deal trends – focusing particularly on China’s emergence as a prolific investor in the Global South, and why Chinese investment is increasingly targeting Southeast Asia, especially vis-a-vis expanding flex and boom crop production. This paper aims to provide a broader contextualization for recent Southeast Asian case studies, and to highlight why more research in the region is key in deepening our understanding of global land deal trends.

The disassembly line balancing (DLB) problem assigns the set of tasks to each workstation for each product to be disassembled and aims at attaining several objectives, such as minimising the number of workstations, ensuring similar idle time at each workstation and removing hazardous parts/highly demanded components at the earliest moments possible. Over the past two decades, the DLB problem and its variants have grown ever more popular for researchers and practitioners of environmentally conscious manufacturing. Yet, the problem characteristics and assumptions vary widely and there is no literature review to classify the existing articles accordingly. Hence, a comprehensive literature review of recent and state-of-the-art papers is vital to draw a framework of the past, and to shed light on future directions. To do so, 116 studies published in proceedings and journals since 1999 are selected and reviewed. The papers are then analysed and categorised to construct a useful foundation of past research. Finally, trends and gaps in the literature are identified to clarify and to suggest future research opportunities. C1 [Ozceylan, Eren] Gaziantep Univ, Dept Ind Engn, Gaziantep, Turkey. [Kalayci, Can B.; Gungor, Askiner] Pamukkale Univ, Dept Ind Engn, Denizli, Turkey. [Gupta, Surendra M.] Northeastern Univ, Dept Mech & Ind Engn, Boston, MA 02115 USA.

[Excerpt] This issue includes seven papers from different parts of the world which address, in one way or another, key dimensions of teaching in a multicultural and complex reality. The papers focus upon issues of learning about and dealing with diversity, organisational and collegial support, conditions for teacher leadership, autonomy support and student engagement. In the first paper, ‘Determinants of classroom engagement: A prospective test based on self-determination Theory’, Juan L. Núñez and Jaime León, from Spain, report on a validation of a classroom engagement measure to the Spanish context, investigating the effect of students’ perception of support for learner autonomy provided by their teachers. Data were collected from 448 undergraduate students by using a longitudinal design. The results indicated adequate psychometric properties for the engagement scale. The authors concluded that autonomy support was a significant predictor of the autonomy, which, in turn, led to likely changes in four types of classroom engagement. Emotional engagement displayed the strongest relationship with students’ need for autonomy. In addition, the need for autonomy mediated the relationship between perceived autonomy support and each indicator of student engagement. Núñez and León’s interpret their findings as supporting self-determination theory’s motivation mediation model that perceived autonomy support longitudinally predicts student engagement because it nurtured changes in autonomy. [...], Portuguese national funds through the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) within the framework of the CIEC (Research Center for Child Studies of the University of Minho) project under the reference UID/CED/00317/2019

Sis, Seyit Ahmet (Balikesir Author), Flux pipe couplers are compact coils used in wireless power transfer (WPT) applications. The first part of this paper investigates the effect number of sub-coils on the magnetic characteristics. Flux pipe couplers with more than two sub-coils exhibit higher coupling coefficient as compared to traditional flux pipe couplers with two sub-coils. Furthermore, multi sub-coil flux pipe couplers better distribute the magnetic flux inside the core, making them attractive in high power applications. The second part presents an experimental WPT system employing multi sub-coil flux pipe couplers with three sub-coils. More than 82% power transfer efficiency is observed when couplers are separated with 100 mm vertical gap. Lateral misalignments up to 200 mm are then applied, and meantime, the separation between sub-coils is varied for achieving maximum efficiency. A near-constant efficiency is obtained up to 150 mm misalignment. Therefore, this paper announces another potential use of flux pipe couplers realizing an adaptive WPT system.

This paper focuses on the Janus face-teacher educator and researcher. Drawing on existing international literature, our aim is to position ourselves in the discussion relating to our own and other research. In this paper we limit ourselves to discuss two main components, namely teaching and research in relation to which teacher educators seem to experience a rather strong tension. We maintain that the quality of teaching does not become inferior to research and publishing in teacher education. This necessitates that sufficient resources are provided for assuring the quality of teaching and for research; subsequently the two activities are complementary and not contradictory to each other. Our claim is that teacher educators in most settings are Janus-faced due to the competing demands of excellence in both research and teaching. However, we strongly believe that the two main responsibilities of teacher educators which form the Janus face, can melt into each other in the face of a researching teacher educator., Portuguese national funds through the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) within the framework of the CIEC (Research Center for Child Studies of the University of Minho) project under the reference UID/CED/00317/2019

Decades-old steel bridges have to endure an unfavourable environment that causes the ageing and deterioration of material properties. Moreover, railway bridges in particular are exposed to a large number of stress ranges that may lead to fatigue damage. The combination of both phenomena has a significant impact on the condition of bridges and their remaining service life. In such cases, appropriate maintenance or even removal of the deteriorated structure is necessary; however, a lack of funds often makes this difficult. The subject of this paper is the development of methodology for the assessment of remaining service life of existing steel bridges considering the fatigue and corrosion effects. Using MATLAB (R) software, a program for the prediction of the remaining fatigue life has been developed. The results of earlier experiments and numerical simulations were integrated into this tool. Various scenarios regarding the future maintenance of bridges were included in the program, thus making it possible to calculate the remaining service life of bridges, including corresponding costs. The second half of the paper presents a case study demonstrating the application of the methodology and the calculation program., This work was supported by the NAKI II project of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic: "The methods for achieving the sustainability of industrial heritage steel bridges" [grant number DG18P02OVV033].

[Excerpt] Learning to be a teacher has been described as a complex, contextual and idiosyncratic process (Flores 2001, 2006; Feiman-Nemser 2012). It entails a diversity of learning contexts (Livingston and Shiach 2010) and activities (for instance university course work and field work) and it is dependent on a wide array of factors such as opportunities for developing professional knowledge, support, facilitation of different forms of reflection, classroom observation and modelling by teacher educators. The papers included in this issue address some of these key issues. They illustrate, in one way or another, aspects associated with mentoring, collaboration and professional practice in teacher education in various countries. The first paper ‘Student teachers’ self-dialogues, peer dialogues, and supervisory dialogues in placement learning’, by Dubravka Knezic, Paulien Meijer, Auli Toom,, Äli Leijen, Juanjo Mena and Jukka Husu, reports on findings from a study carried out in the Netherlands. It focuses on three types of dialogues as reflective tools in placement learning, namely supervisory dialogues (mentor to student teacher), peer dialogues (student teacher to student teacher) and self-dialogues (student teachers to themselves). Data collection was obtained through the use of guided reflection according to which student teachers talked about their teaching experience. The authors conclude that supervisory and peer dialogues seemed to point to similar reflective power in terms of student teacher’s practical knowledge and richness of argumentation for appraisals. Knezic et al. argue for the use of more frequent peer dialogues and they suggest that self-dialogues may be employed for student teachers to consolidate their own knowledge and manage their learning behaviour. The authors discuss the use of the three types of dialogues and their contribution in terms of practical knowledge and support for reflection. [...], Portuguese national funds through the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) within the framework of the CIEC (Research Center for Child Studies of the University of Minho) project under the reference UID/CED/00317/2019

Visual selective attention refers to the selection of relevant visual elements in a scene whilst ignoring irrelevant visual elements. Visual Selective Attention Dysfunctions (VSAD) are prevalent in children with Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Dyslexia. An important issue in the pediatric neuropsychological practice is how to discriminate between the task performance of these populations. We conducted a scoping review of the literature on visual search performance (VSP) in children with CVI, ADHD, and Dyslexia, aged 6-12 years. After a systematic selection process, 35 studies were included. Results suggest that all patient groups have some degree of impaired VSP compared to typically developing children. Children with CVI tend to react slower and less accurately. VSP impairments in children with ADHD are characterized by poor accuracy rather than reaction time. Children with Dyslexia tend to be slower and less accurate, depending on stimulus type. Besides VSAD, it is argued that other neurocognitive mechanisms might influence VSP, such as speed-accuracy trade-off or an executive functioning deficit in ADHD and a phonological deficit in Dyslexia. This paper further discusses the differences and similarities in visual search performance between the groups. The sparse data in children with an official diagnosis of CVI and the technical inconclusive data on children with ADHD and Dyslexia demonstrate complexity of discriminating between these populations in clinical practice based on VSP. New and more quantitative VSP parameters, such as eye tracking-based measures, may contribute to a refined classification among CVI, ADHD, and Dyslexia.

Owing to growing uncontrolled land-use change and urban expansion, farmers in urban fringes are struggling to sustain their livelihood. Farmers have been expressing their dissatisfaction at different times. This study analyzes the stakeholders' perspectives on the causes and outcomes of farmers' resistance to land-use change and urban expansion processes by zooming in on Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. The paper is based on focus group discussions with farmers in the neighboring villages, local agricultural extension experts, and, subsequently, key informant interviews of local government officials. Juxtaposing farmers' and local experts' positions reveals that inadequate compensations during land expropriation, lack of good governance in the urban expansion process, and inaccessibility of infrastructures are primary reasons for the farmers' struggle against urban expansion in the urban fringes. This study provides insights into the consequences of unplanned urban development challenges and may inform research and policymaking on sustainable urban development in the area and beyond.

The paper focuses on the robustness of rankings of academic journal quality and research impact in general, and in Economics, in particular, based on the widely-used Thomson Reuters ISI Web of Science citations database (ISI). The paper analyses 299 leading international journals in Economics using quantifiable Research Assessment Measures (RAMs), and highlights the similarities and differences in various RAMs, which are based on alternative transformations of citations and influence. All existing RAMs to date have been static, so two new dynamic RAMs are developed to capture changes in impact factor over time and escalating journal self citations. Alternative RAMs may be calculated annually or updated daily to determine When, Where and How (frequently) published papers are cited (see Chang et al. (2011a, b, c)). The RAMs are grouped in four distinct classes that include impact factor, mean citations and non-citations, journal policy, number of high quality papers, and journal influence and article influence. These classes include the most widely used RAMs, namely the classic 2-year impact factor including journal self citations (2YIF), 2-year impact factor excluding journal self citations (2YIF*), 5-year impact factor including journal self citations (5YIF), Eigenfactor (or Journal Influence), Article Influence, h-index, and PI-BETA (Papers Ignored - By Even The Authors). As all existing RAMs to date have been static, two new dynamic RAMs are developed to capture changes in impact factor over time (5YD2 = 5YIF/2YIF) and Escalating Self Citations. We highlight robust rankings based on the harmonic mean of the ranks of RAMs across the 4 classes. It is shown that emphasizing the 2-year impact factor of a journal, which partly answers the question as to When published papers are cited, to the exclusion of other informative RAMs, which answer Where and How (frequently) published papers are cited, can lead to a distorted evaluation of journal quality, impact and influence relative to the harmonic mean of the ranks.

KUCUKTOPCU, ERDEM/0000-0002-8708-2306 WOS: 000431521400003 In this paper, the daily reference evapotranspiration (ET0) for Bulawayo Goetz was estimated from climatic data using neuro computing techniques. The region lacks reliable weather data and experiences inconsistencies in the measuring process due to inadequate and obsolete measuring equipment. This paper aims to propose neuro computing techniques as an alternative methodology to estimating evapotranspiration. Firstly, ET0 was calculated using FAO-56 Penman-Monteith (PM) equation from available climatic data. Data was divided into training, testing and validation for neuro computing purposes. The study also investigated the effect of different normalisation techniques on neuro computing ET0 estimation accuracy. In another application, neuro-computing ET0 estimates were compared against those obtained using empirical methods and their calibrated versions. The Z-score normalisation technique for all data sets gave best results with a Multi-layer perceptron (5-5-1) model having RMSE, MAE and R-2 values in the range 0.12-0.25mm day(-1), 0.08-0.15mm day(-1) and 0.94-0.99 respectively. There were no significant differences in ET0 estimation accuracy by neuro computing techniques due to normalisation technique. The Neuro computing techniques were superior to empirical methods in ET0 estimation for Bulawayo Goetz. The Neuro computing techniques are recommended for use in cases of limited climatic data at Bulawayo Goetz.

The link between theory, practice and research in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) has been widely discussed in international literature. However, more needs to be done in regard to the examination of concrete examples to foster research and teaching practice in existing teacher education programmes. This paper focuses on a practicum model in ITE which aims at linking teaching and research, theory and practice. The reflective component of the model is oriented towards student teacher professional development under a democratic view of education. Integrating teaching and research and promoting teaching practice as a space of transformation rather than a process of adaptation or of application of theory may well represent a move towards knowledge mobilisation and research-informed practice. The paper concludes with some lessons learned and possible directions in order to overcome the shortcomings of the model and to enhance its positive and innovative features., Financial Support by CIEC (Research Centre on Child Studies, IE, UMinho; FCT R&D unit 317, Portugal) by the Strategic Project UID/CED/00317/2013, with financial support of National Funds through the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) and co-financed by European Regional Development Funds (FEDER) through the COMPETE 2020 - Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program (POCI) with the reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007562

This paper provides an overview of research on veteran teachers and teacher identity. It analyses issues at the personal, situated and professional levels that have been shown to impact on veteran teachers' identities. The search included empirical studies published in peer-reviewed journals between 2005 and 2016. In total, 19 papers were analysed. Findings revealed that many studies focused on veteran teachers' resilience. Issues concerning veteran teachers' identities are key to understanding why they remain in the profession and are able to sustain their motivation and commitment over time. Many veteran teachers portrayed in the literature built on their confidence regarding their professional competence and relied on internal and external issues to maintain their motivation and commitment to teaching. The role of emotions in the transformation of veteran teachers' identities and the permeable boundaries of the personal, situated and professional scenarios influencing veteran teachers' identities are highlighted in the paper., Financial Support by CIEC (Research Centre on Child Studies, IE, UMinho; FCT R&D unit 317, Portugal) by the Strategic Project UID/CED/00317/2013, with financial support of National Funds through the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) and co-financed by European Regional Development Funds (FEDER) through the COMPETE 2020 - Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program (POCI) with the reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007562

In this paper, we study the influence of seasonal demands and forecasts on the performance of an Automatic Pipeline, Variable Inventory, Order-Based, Production Control System (APVIOBPCS) using linear control theory. In particular, we consider a system that uses a seasonal forecast based on a no-trend, additive-seasonality exponential-smoothing model, and compare its performance to an equivalent system using simple exponential smoothing. We find that the system with seasonal forecasting significantly outperforms the system with simple exponential smoothing under certain demand assumptions. With optimal parameter settings, the forecast error of the seasonal model can be up to 40% lower. However, we also find that the forecast superiority does not necessarily translate to the performance of the system measured through the bullwhip metrics. In addition, the seasonal forecasting model is very sensitive to the demand frequency and smoothing parameters, while the simple exponential smoothing model is very robust. This implies that the real life benefits of implementing a seasonal forecasting model are not obvious and depend on the particular situation; under a large number of settings (e.g. low seasonality, high-smoothing), the good performance of simple exponential smoothing certainly justifies its popularity in the industry and research worlds alike.

Organo-modified nanoclay has got considerable attention in recent years to improve the performance of asphalt binders. However, various aspects such as rutting performance using Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR) test, fatigue performance using Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS) test and ageing resistivity potential using advanced rheological parameter are still unexplored for better rheological characterisation. The present study deals with rutting, ageing resistivity potential and fatigue performance of asphalt binder (AC-10) modified with organo-modified nanoclay (CL-30B). Different percentages (0, 2, 4 and 6% by weight of binder) of CL-30B were mixed with AC-10 using a high-shear mixer. Different rheological studies, such as Brookfield viscosity, Superpave performance grading, time-temperature sweep, MSCR and LAS tests, were conducted on CL-30B-modified asphalt binders. Effects of CL-30B on performance were observed to be predominant in intermediate to high-temperature range as obtained from the master curve. The ageing resistivity of asphalt binder increased with the addition of CL-30B. The Superpave rutting parameter (G*/Sin delta) increased and non-recoverable creep compliance (J(nr)) estimated from MSCR decreased with inclusion of CL-30B, indicating a better rutting performance of asphalt binders. The number of cycles to fatigue estimated from the LAS test showed improvement in fatigue performance of asphalt binder with addition of CL-30B. The high-temperature performance grade of CL-30B-modified binder was found to be higher compared to virgin binder. The relationship between J(nr) and G*/Sin delta, and recovery (R) and storage modulus (G') parameters are presented in this paper. In addition, ranking of asphalt binder based on various parameters (i.e. G*/Sin delta, AI, J(nr), R, N-f) is discussed in this paper.

This paper considers a low-level unit-load warehouse employing single-deep storage lanes and a single-command manual storage and retrieval policy. Analytical travel distance models are developed for class-based and full turnover storage policies under across-aisle, within-aisle and a newly proposed hybrid product placement schemes. Our computational studies show that the analytical models developed in this paper are very accurate as compared to simulation results and a comparative study with a real-world warehouse case. Hybrid storage policies proposed in this paper outperform all other traditional storage policies. The paper also presents insights and simple design rules to warehouse practitioners.

A political leader's authenticity has always been a site of struggle: politicians have tried to control their own image, while mass media has promised to reveal the "real" self behind the electoral campaign. In recent years, social media such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube have gained a positive reputation as electoral tools. This paper seeks to critically engage with this reputation, by focusing on how these services become discursively articulated with the notion of political "authenticity" in the case of the 2010 municipal elections in Calgary, Canada. In these elections, the intense use of social media by the winning candidate has been seen as proof of the democratic power of these communication technologies to bring together politicians and citizens. A qualitative thematic analysis of 86 undergraduate essays reveals how participants collectively talked about political "authenticity." The paper argues that political "authenticity" becomes articulated as a result of the intrinsic features of social media, reinforcing the longstanding technological determinist view of technology as the guarantor of a better citizen/politician relation. The discursive articulation of social media and political "authenticity" portrays politics as a customer relations service, providing little insight into how we are to understand and relate to democratic politics after elections.

Introduction: There is a need for structured approaches to inform on pharmacotherapy in pretermneonates. With their proven track record up to regulatory acceptance, physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling and simulation provide a structured approach, and hold the promise tosupport drug development in preterm neonates.Areas covered: Compared to general and pediatric use of PBPK modeling, its use to inform pharmacotherapy in preterms is limited. Using a systematic search (PBPK + preterm), we retained 25 records (20research papers, 2 letters, 3 abstracts). We subsequently collated the published information on PBPKsoftware packages (PK-Sim®, Simcyp®), and their applications and optimization efforts in pretermneonates. It is encouraging that applications cover a broad range of scenarios (pharmacokineticdynamic analyses, drug-drug interactions, developmental pharmacogenetics, lactation related exposure) and compounds (small molecules, proteins). Furthermore, specific compartments (cerebrospinalfluid, tissue) or (patho)physiologic processes (cardiac output, biliary excretion, first pass metabolism) areconsidered.Expert opinion: Knowledge gaps exist, giving rise to various levels of uncertainty in PBPK applicationsin preterm neonates. To improve this, we need cross talk between clinicians and modelers to generateand integrate knowledge (PK datasets, system knowledge, maturational physiology and pathophysiology) to further refine PBPK models.

This paper sets out to deepen our understanding of the relationship between popular music and cultural heritage and to delineate the practices of popular music as cultural heritage. The paper illustrates how the term has been mobilised by a variety of actors, from the public to the private sector, to highlight the value of particular popular music manifestations and justify or encourage their preservation and diffusion for posterity. We focus on Austria, England, France and the Netherlands - countries with diverse popular music histories and with varying national and international reach. Popular music heritage is present in national and local public sector heritage institutions and practices in a number of ways. These range from the preservation and exhibition of the material culture of heritage in museums and archives, to a variety of ‘bottom-up’ initiatives, delineating a rich landscape of emblematic places, valued for their attachment to particular musicians or music scenes. The paper points to an underlying tension between the adoption and replication of conventional heritage practices to the preservation and remembrance of the popular music and its celebration as an expression of the dynamism of contemporary popular culture.

In this paper, laser-induced hyperthermia therapy of cancer is treated as a state estimation problem and solved with a particle filter method, namely the Auxiliary Sampling Importance Resampling algorithm. In state estimation problems, the available measured data are used together with prior knowledge about the physical phenomena, in order to sequentially produce estimates of the desired dynamic variables. Although the hyperthermia treatment of cancer has been addressed in the literature by different computational methods, these usually involved deterministic analyses. On the other hand, state space representation of the problem in a Bayesian framework allows for the analyses of uncertainties present in the mathematical formulation of the problem, as well as in the measured data of observable variables that might be eventually available. Two physical problems are considered in this paper, involving the irradiation with a laser in the near infrared range of a non-homogeneous cylindrical medium representing either a soft-tissue phantom or a skin model, both containing a tumour. The region representing the tumour is assumed to be loaded with nanoparticles in order to enhance the hyperthermia effects and to limit such effects to the tumour. The light propagation problem is coupled with the bioheat transfer equation in the present study. Simulated transient temperature measurements are used in the inverse analysis. Fil: Lamien, Bernard. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Brasil Fil: Orlande, Helcio Rangel Barreto. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Brasil Fil: Elicabe, Guillermo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentina

The paper deals with the singularly perturbed quasilinear initial value problem exhibiting initial layer. First the nature of solution of differential problem before presenting method for its numerical solution is discussed. The numerical solution of the problem is performed with the use of a finite-fitted difference scheme on an appropriate piecewise uniform mesh (Shishkin-type mesh). An error analysis shows that the method is first-order convergent except for a logarithmic factor, in the discrete maximum norm, independently of the perturbation parameter. Finally, numerical results supporting the theory are presented. The paper deals with the singularly perturbed quasilinear initial value problem exhibiting initial layer. First the nature of solution of differential problem before presenting method for its numerical solution is discussed. The numerical solution of the problem is performed with the use of a finite-fitted difference scheme on an appropriate piecewise uniform mesh (Shishkin-type mesh). An error analysis shows that the method is first-order convergent except for a logarithmic factor, in the discrete maximum norm, independently of the perturbation parameter. Finally, numerical results supporting the theory are presented.

The paper presents in a chronological and systematic way the development of the hybrid method for seismic vulnerability assessment of structures, which combines the use of empirical databases of earthquake damage with the results of nonlinear analysis of representative structural models. The key concepts and milestones in the development of the method are identified, and selected examples of its application are summarised. The first part of the paper focuses on the derivation of hybrid damage probability matrices and the second one with the derivation of fragility curves for reinforced concrete and masonry buildings. Finally, some general conclusions are drawn and directions of future research on the hybrid approach are suggested.

WOS: 000389443300019, PubMed ID: 27291089, Context: Human beings have long utilized plants for medicinal purposes. Investigation of these plants has led to the discovery of several modern drugs. Objective: This paper documents and evaluates traditional knowledge on medicinal plants used by the local people of Mihalgazi district of Eskisehir,Turkey. Materials and methods: Six villages of the study area were visited between February 2014 and April 2015 to collect the data. One hundred and eighty-nine informants were interviewed by the survey method and face to face semi-structured interviews. Taxonomic identification, the most commonly used plant parts, preparation and administration methods were evaluated. Ethnomedicinal data were analyzed quantitatively with relative importance (RI) and the informant consensus factor (FIC). Results: This paper reported a total of 52 medicinal plants (37 wild, 15 cultivated) belonging to 34 families. Some uses of 22 plants were not found in the literature and are reported for the first time in this study. Furthermore, one of the plants, Calamagrostis arundinacea (L.) Roth (Poaceae), was reported for the first time as being used within the scope of traditional therapies. Discussion and conclusion: This study recorded traditional knowledge on medicinal plants used in Mihalgazi, Turkey. This paper provides a basis for further investigations to discover efficient pharmaceuticals., Anadolu University [1402S037], This work was financially supported by Scientific Research Projects Unit of Anadolu University (Project no: 1402S037).

The paper presents a fast and efficient method for the detection and characterisation of delamination in photovoltaic (PV) modules by using active infrared thermography approach. A discrete part of PV module was irradiated by step heating and its thermal image sequence was used to detect and analyse delamination. Different types of heating source for thermal excitation for this application have been studied. An electro-thermal model was developed to simulate the active thermography approach for the characterisation of delamination in PV module by equivalent resistance-capacitance (RC) network using a circuit simulator. This simulation approach was used to estimate the extent of delamination in the module and to determine the optimum parameters for the characterisation of delamination. Different applications based on front and backsides of heating the module were also proposed in this paper. The proposed method has the potential to be employed for the quality check of PV modules during inline production as well as for the predictive maintenance of outdoor PV plants.

WOS: 000379136700007 The aim of this study was to evaluate the bond strength of a universal adhesive system to dentin prepared with SiC paper or an Er, Cr:YSGG laser using different bonding strategies (etch-and-rinse versus self-etch mode). Ninety-six extracted caries-free, sound human molars were used. The teeth were longitudinally sectioned in the mesiodistal direction and were wet polished with 600-grit SiC paper to obtain a standardized flat dentin surface. All prepared teeth were randomly divided into two groups, according to the surface preparation method: GroupI: an erbium, chromium: yttrium, scandium, gallium, garnet laser; Group II: silicon carbide paper[SiC] (n = 48). Each group was then assigned into three subgroups according to the universal adhesive's (Single Bond Universal) bonding strategies: (a) etch-and-rinse mode with phosphoric acid, (b) etch-and-rinse mode with a laser, (c) self-etch mode (n = 16). For surface preparation, the Er, Cr: YSGG laser was used at 3 W, 30 Hz with 140 mu s pulse duration for 25 s. For etching mode, the laser was used at 1.5 W (60% air, 70% water). Cylinders of composite were fabricated on the bonding area and shear bond strength was determined using a universal testing machine. Failure modes were evaluated using a stereomicroscope. The data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA followed by the Bonferroni test (p < 0.05). Bonding strategies showed statistically significant differences in both the SiC-and laser-prepared groups (p < 0.05). Universal adhesive used in etch-and-rinse mode with acid showed significantly higher bond strength values than in self-etch mode (p < 0.05). The bond strength values did not differ according to the surface preparation method (p > 0.05). Irrespective of preparation method, using universal adhesive in etch-and-rinse mode with acid might improve dentin bond strength. Laser preparation did not affect the bond strength of the universal adhesive tested.