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• Intelligent E-commerce logistics platform was explained and the main problems related to dynamic scheduling and control system as defined in the detail. • A hybrid-based agent platform was proposed and implemented in the case study. • Two types of communication mechanism were proposed for improving data integration on the system. This paper proposes a hybrid agent-based approach for the scheduling and synchronization of e-commerce logistics parks (EcLP). This is accomplished by integrating intelligent distribution centers within the e-commerce environment. The proposed platform has been developed based on an agent technology, which not only serves for decentralization and synchronization purposes but also it has been optimized for the transportation and logistics of the overall system. Moreover, mobile agent-based communication mechanisms between the hardware agents and the software agents were developed, and the proposed hybrid agent-based platform was implemented and tested based on a case study. Following this, the results were compared to a conventional system based on four main indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today’s product design takes into account the affective aspects of products, such as aesthetics and comfort, as much as reliability and physical quality. Manufacturers need to understand the consumers’ affective preferences and responses to product features in order to improve their products. Conventional approaches use manual methods, such as questionnaires and surveys, to discover product features and affective preferences, and then correlate their relationships. This is one-time, labour-intensive, and time-consuming process. There is a need to develop an automated and unsupervised method to efficiently identify the affective information. In particular, text mining is an automatic approach to extract useful information from text, while Kansei engineering studies product affective attributes. In this paper, we propose a Kansei text mining approach which incorporates text mining and Kansei engineering approaches to automatically extract and summarize product features and their corresponding affective responses based on online product descriptions and consumer reviews. Users can efficiently and timely review the affective aspects of the products. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, experiments have been conducted on the basis of public data from Amazon.com. The results showed that the proposed approach can effectively identify the affective information in terms of feature–affective opinions. In addition, we have developed a prototype system that visualizes product features, affective attributes, affective keywords, and their relationships. The proposed approach not only helps consumers making purchase decisions, but also helps manufacturers understanding their products and competitors’ products, which might provide insights into their product development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper carries out an experimental and numerical study on the buckling behavior of a biologically evolving longan-shaped shell under external pressure. Such a shape, following Cassini oval formula, is determined based on the measurements of 171 actual dried longan shells. On this basis, three nominally identical longan-shaped shells with the shape index of 0.11 are fabricated using stamping and welding process, measured for geometry, slowly tested to destruction, and numerically evaluated for their buckling behaviour. A good agreement between experiments and numerical evaluations is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lessons learned knowledge is traditionally gained from trial and error or narratives describing past experiences. Learning from narratives is the preferred option to transfer lessons learned knowledge. However, learners with insufficient prior knowledge often experience difficulties in grasping the right information from narratives. This paper introduces an approach that uses narrative maps to represent lessons learned knowledge to help learners understand narratives. Since narrative mapping is a time-consuming, labor-intensive and knowledge-intensive process, the proposed approach is supported by a computational narrative mapping (CNM) method to automate the process. CNM incorporates advanced technologies, such as computational linguistics and artificial intelligence (AI), to identify and extract critical narrative elements from an unstructured, text-based narrative and organize them into a structured narrative map representation. This research uses a case study conducted in the construction industry to evaluate CNM performance in comparison with existing paragraph and concept mapping approaches. Among the results, over 90% of respondents asserted that CNM enhanced their understanding of the lessons learned. CNM’s performance in identifying and extracting narrative elements was evaluated through an experiment using real-life narratives from a reminiscence study. The experiment recorded a precision and recall rate of over 75%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extractive text summarization is an effective way to automatically reduce a text to a summary by selecting a subset of the text. The performance of a summarization system is usually evaluated by comparing with human-constructed extractive summaries that are created in annotated text datasets. However, for datasets where an abstract is written for reader purpose, the performance of a summarization system is evaluated by comparing with an abstract that is created by human who uses his own words. This makes it difficult to determine how far the state-of-the-art extractive methods are away from the upper bound that an ideal extractive method might achieve. In addition, the performance of an extractive method is always different in each domain, which make it difficult to benchmark. Previous studies construct an ideal sentence-based extract of a document that provides the best score of a given metric by exhaustive search of all possible sentence combinations of a given length. They then use the performance of the extract as the sentence-based upper-bound. However, this only applies to short texts. For long texts and multiple documents, previous studies rely on manual effort, which is expensive and time consuming. In this paper, we propose nine fast heuristic methods to generate the near ideal sentence-based extracts for long texts and multiple documents. Furthermore, we propose an n-gram construction method to construct the word-based upper-bound. A percentage ranking method is used to benchmark different extractive methods across different corpora. In the experiments, five different corpora are used. The results show that the near upper bounds constructed by the proposed methods are close to that using exhaustive search, but the proposed methods are much faster. Six general extractive summarization methods were also assessed to demonstrate the difference between the performance of the methods and the near upper bounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] A Knowledge-based Intellectual Capital Extraction (KBICE) algorithm is presented. [•] It incorporates computational linguistics and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. [•] It aims at automatic extraction of IC-related information from unstructured data. [•] The performance was evaluated by using financial reports from the banking industry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article describes the system development processes for an electronic case library, built to facilitate and support the suicide prevention service provided by a social service organization in Hong Kong. It is a knowledge management system in which both ‘rule-based reasoning’ (RBR) and ‘case-based reasoning’ (CBR) are adopted. Initial test results, potentials and limitations of this knowledge management approach are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Patent databases provide valuable information for technology management. However, the rapid growth of patent documents, the lengthy text and the rich of content in technical terminology, and the complicated relationships among the patents, make it taking a lot of human effort for conducting analyses. As a result, an automated system for assisting the inventors in patent analysis as well as providing support in technological innovation is in great demand. In this paper, a Semantic-based Intellectual Property Management System (SIPMS) has been developed for supporting the management of intellectual properties (IP). It incorporates semantic analysis and text mining techniques for processing and analyzing the patent documents. The method differentiates itself from the traditional technological management tools in its knowledge base. Instead of eliciting knowledge from domain experts, the proposed method adopts global patent databases as sources of knowledge. The system enables users to search for existing patent documents or relevant IP documents which are related to a potential new invention and to support invention by providing the relationships and patterns among a group of IP documents. The method has been evaluated by benchmarking with the performance against traditional text mining technique and has successfully been implemented at a selected reference site. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Nowadays, there is an increasing demand for incorporating unstructured narratives in decision support for knowledge-intensive industries such as healthcare and social service organizations. However, most of the current research on decision support systems (DSS) mainly focused on dealing with structured data and are inadequate to dealing with unstructured narratives such as clients’ records and stories. This paper presents a narrative-based reasoning (NBR) algorithm which incorporates the technologies of knowledge-based system (KBS), computational linguistics, and artificial intelligence (AI) for automatic processing unstructured narratives and inferring useful knowledge for decision support. A NBR enabled DSS has been built and was evaluated through a series of experiments conducted in early intervention of mental health of a social service company in Hong Kong. The performance of NBR was measured based on recall and precision and encouraging results were obtained. High recall and precision are achieved in the reasoning of unstructured data, and high recall is achieved for the association analysis. The results show that it is possible for inferring recommendations for problem solving from unstructured narratives automatically. Based on the approach, it helps to support knowledge workers with reliable suggestions on decision making so as to increase the quality of their solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The effect of different annealing atmospheres (H2, air, Ar and N2) on precipitated phases, corrosion resistance and hardness of Al86Ni9La5 amorphous alloy was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG), electrochemistry experiment and microhardness tester. During annealing at 523K, the primary crystallized fcc-Al is independent on the annealing atmospheres. During annealing at 584K, the final crystalline phases, i.e. fcc-Al+Al11La3 +Al3Ni, are also independent on the different annealing atmospheres. However, during annealing at 523K, H2 and air can promote the eutectic crystallization process, and induce the formation of metastable Al3Ni2 phase. The promoting effect of different annealing atmospheres is in the order of H2 >air>Ar>N2. The microhardness and corrosion resistance in the 3.5wt.% NaCl solution are improved by annealing in H2 and air atmospheres. The property promotion caused by annealing process can be ascribed to the formation of nanocrystalline phases, which is possibly helpful to develop the alloy''s application in the seawater environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Prescription is an important element in the medical practice. An appropriate drug therapy is complex in which the decision of prescribing is influenced by many factors. Any discrepancy in the prescription making process can lead to serious consequences. In particular, the General Practitioners (GPs), who need to diagnose and treat a wide range of health conditions and diseases, must be knowledgeable enough in deciding what type of medicines should be given to the patients. With the widespread computerization of medical records, GPs now can make use of accumulated historic clinical data in retrieving similar decisions in therapeutic treatment for treating the new situation. However, the applications of decision support tools are rarely found in the prescription domain due to the complex nature of the domain and limitations of the existing tools. It was argued that existing tools can only solve a small amount of the cases on the real world dataset. This paper proposes a new revised Case-based Reasoning (CBR) mechanism, named Rule-Associated CasE-based Reasoning (RACER), which integrates CBR and association rules mining for supporting GPs prescription. It aims at leveraging the two most common techniques in the field and dealing with the complex multiple values solution. Eight hundred real cases from a medical organization are collected and used for evaluating the performance of RACER. The proposed method was also compared with CBR and association rules mining for testing. The results demonstrate that the combination leads to increased in both recall and precision in various settings of parameters. The performance of RACER remains stable by using different sets of parameters, which shows that the most important element of the mechanism is self-determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this report we address the current situation of laser-driven hard X-ray sources for imaging applications, especially the saturation of X-ray conversion efficiency and the serious impact upon imaging quality. By employing high contrast laser pulses, the conversion efficiency to X-rays from solid foil targets is improved and the structure of the spectrum can be optimized with respect to imaging applications. In addition, bright Ar K-shell X-rays with very little continuum background have been generated by irradiating, with an ultra-high contrast laser, a target of Ar gas clusters created by a gas jet. These improvements show great potential for single-shot ultrafast X-ray imaging. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Using the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), the isochronal and isothermal crystallization kinetics of amorphous Fe61Co9−x Zr8Mo5W x B17 (x =0 and 2) ribbons was investigated by the Kissinger equation and by the Kolmogorov–Johnson–Mehl–Avrami and Ranganathan–Heimendahl equations, respectively. The results show that tungsten can improve the activation energy for the first crystallization in the isochronal annealing process and activation energy E n for the nucleation in the isothermal annealing process, which can be ascribed to the dissolution of tungsten in the amorphous phase. Meanwhile, tungsten can decrease the activation energy for the second crystallization in the isochronal annealing process and growth activation energy E g in the isothermal annealing process, which is possibly associated with the formation of W-rich compound after the early nucleation process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The (Fe0.78Si0.09B0.13)100−x Ni x glassy alloys (x =0, 2, 3 and 5) have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Vickers microhardness test, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The experimental results show that the addition of Ni has not only promoted the growth of α-Fe phase and the precipitate of Fe–B compounds but also facilitated the dissolution of silicon in the α-Fe phase. For the as-spun ribbon with x =5, the microhardness (H v) of the ribbon with super heating (SH) treatment is lower than that of the ribbon without SH; and the H v of the free side is lower than that of the wheel side of the same ribbon. The saturation magnetization (M s) of the as-spun (Fe0.78Si0.09B0.13)95Ni5 ribbon with SH is higher than that of the ribbon without SH. The variation of the H v and M s is explained by the free volume model which is related to the two structure model in Fe-based glassy alloys, as well as the change of the B content in the amorphous matrix. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The dilatometric and thermal behaviors such as the thermal expansion coefficient (α) and the liquidus temperature (T l) of Al-Ni-RE (RE=Y, Ce, Gd and Er) amorphous alloys were investigated by a conventional dilatometer and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results show that α exp/T l (defined by θ) has a good positive correlation with glass forming ability (GFA) in Al-based amorphous alloys, where α exp is the average linear thermal expansion coefficient. A similar phenomenon is also found in Gd- and Cu-based amorphous alloys. Based on the free volume model, it is found that the amorphous alloy which exhibits better GFA contains less free volume. Consequently, the parameter θ can be applied to predict the GFA in the system with same main element. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The dynamic viscosities and thermodynamic dilatometric behaviors of Al86Ni9La5 and Al86Ni9(La0.5Ce0.5)5 amorphous alloys were investigated using viscometer, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and conventional dilatometer. Comparing with Al86Ni9La5 alloy, Al86Ni9(La0.5Ce0.5)5 alloy exhibits a larger viscosity and a larger average thermal expansion coefficient in the linear expansion zone (α exp). The viscosity and thermal expansion data suggest that the partial substitution La by Ce decreases the quantity of free volume in Al–Ni–La system by improving the continuous degree of atomic size, which leads to the improvement of glass forming ability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Acquisition of knowledge must be interwoven with the process of applying it. However, traditional training methods which provide abstract knowledge have shown ineffective for gaining experience of the work. In order to solve this problem, more and more researchers have included narrative in simulation, which is known as narrative simulation. By providing the narratives, participants recognize the choices, decisions, and experience that lead to the consequences of those decisions. It has been proven that narrative simulation is very useful in facilitating in-depth learning and reflective learning. However, conventional methods of data collection and narrative construction for narrative simulation are labor intensive and time consuming. They make use of previous narratives manually and directly. They are inadequate to cope with the fast moving world where knowledge is changing rapidly. In order to provide a way for facilitating the construction of narrative simulation, a novel computational narrative construction method is proposed. By incorporating technologies of knowledge-based system (KBS), computational linguistics, and artificial intelligence (AI), the proposed method provides an efficient and effective way for collecting narratives and automating the construction of narratives. The method converts the unstructured narratives into a structural representation for abstraction and facilitating computing processing. Moreover, it constructs the narratives that combine multiple narratives into a single narrative by applying a forecasting algorithm. The proposed method was successfully implemented in early intervention in mental health care of a social service company in Hong Kong since the case records in that process have structural similarities to narrative. The accuracies of data conversion and predictive function were measured based on recall and precision and encouraging results were obtained. High recall and precision are achieved in the data conversion function, and high recall for the predictive function when new concepts are excluded. The results show that it is possible for converting multiple narratives into a single narrative automatically. Based on the approach, it helps to stimulate knowledge workers to explore new problem solving methods so as to increase the quality of their solutions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The electrical resistivity was measured at room temperature for the amorphous Fe78Si9B13 ribbons annealed at various temperatures for different holding time. Although the annealed Fe78Si9B13 ribbons are in full amorphous state, their electrical resistivity obviously varies with the annealing time. At every annealed temperature, the electrical resistivity evolution can be divided into regions I, II, and III, respectively. Using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), we investigated the ribbons overlapping regions I and II (called the focused ribbons, FRs). The results show that the change of electrical resistivity, fracture morphology, thermal effect in DSC analysis of the focused ribbons (FRs) can be ascribed to the evolution of the short range order (SRO) in the amorphous alloy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Concept maps have been widely put to educational uses. They possess a number of appealing features which make them a promising tool for teaching, learning, evaluation, and curriculum planning. This paper presents self-associated concept mapping (SACM) which extends the use of concept mapping by proposing the idea of self-construction and automatic problem solving to traditional concept maps. The SACM can be automatically constructed and dynamic updated. A Constrained Fuzzy Spreading Activation (CFSA) model is proposed to SACM for supporting rapid and automatic decisions. With the successful development of the SACM, the capability of Knowledge-based systems (KBS) can be enhanced. The concept and operational feasibility of the SACM is realized through a case study in a consultancy business. The theoretical results are found to agree well with the experimental results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

High-quality single crystal indium nitride nanorods were grown on Si substrates by catalytic chemical vapor deposition. Both Raman and high resolution transmission electron microscopic analyses suggested that even a minute amount of oxygen, from the residual oxygen in the growth environment and/or native oxide on the Si, would effectively help the growth of InN nanorods. The In2O3 formed on Au nanoparticles helped dissolve nitrogen as a catalyst with the subsequent growth of InN nanorods. Variations in the apparent color and photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the InN nanorods were observed. For the optically brown InN nanorods that exhibited diameters in the range of 30–50 nm, the PL study showed a peak at 1.9 eV, the possible origins of which are discussed. In contrast, for the optically black InN nanorods that exhibited diameters in the range of 50–100 nm, the PL peak at approximately 0.766 eV measured at 20 K was attributed to band edge emission. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The growth patterns and parameters in eutectic system are presented with various element bonding energies φBB and φAB by Monte Carlo simulation. There are three kinds of simulated structures: dendritic, lamellar and divorced types. We discuss the relationship between the simulated structures and the experimental microstructures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A Monte Carlo algorithm for dynamic hysteresis simulation in ferroelectric spin systems is developed based on a DIFFOUR model in which the local spontaneous polarization is defined by the double-well potential energy and the nearest-neighbor spin interaction as well as an external electrical field of variable amplitude and frequency. A direct measurement of the hysteresis loop for ferroelectric Pb(Zr[sub 0.52] Ti[sub 0.48] )O[sub 3] thin film capacitors using the Sawyer–Tower technique is performed. Significant dependence of the hysteresis shape and pattern on the external field is revealed. Direct imaging of the simulated domain pattern indicates serious suppression of the domain switching over the high-frequency range. The evaluated scaling relations from the simulation for remanence, coercivity, and the area of the hysteresis over the low-frequency range are supported by theoretical predictions and experiments, but the high-frequency scaling behaviors as derived are different from one and another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a review of the research and development of advanced monitoring and control systems for die-sinking electrical discharge machining (EDM) and wire EDM during the last two decades from 1977-1997. Description of the EDM process; Impact of arc damage in die-sinking EDM; How the performance of EDM is mainly determined.

The development of new functional applications of amorphous alloy is an active and challenging topic. In this work, amorphous Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 alloy, a photo-enhanced Fenton-like catalyst, exhibits excellent functional ability in degrading an azo dye. This study reports the dramatic performance gains achieved for photo-enhanced Fenton-like degradation of cibacron brilliant red 3B-A (BR3B-A) dye aqueous solutions, the reusability of amorphous Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 alloy ribbon catalysts, and the reaction kinetics ( k ) of the process. The individual and synthetical effects of the various reaction parameters are investigated by employing an orthogonal matrix ( L 16 (4 5 ) ) experimental methodology. The investigation evaluates the impact of these parameters on the degradation process, in order to demonstrate that UV–vis light could continuously induce hydroxyl radicals ( OH) to be generated in the dye aqueous solution and significantly enhance the rate of dye degradation and mineralization. The experimental results show that nearly 100% color removal is achieved within 5 min under conditions of 2.0 g/L Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 ribbons, 0.5 M H 2 O 2 and pH 2. UV–vis light intensity ranging from 0 to 7.7 μW/cm 2 enhances a dramatic improvement in color removal from 78% at 200 min to 98% at 60 min and an improvement in the reaction kinetics ( k ) from 0.0413 at 0 μW/cm 2 of light irradiation to 0.2901 at 7.7 μW/cm 2 of light irradiation under conditions of 2.0 g/L Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 ribbons, 0.5 M H 2 O 2 and natural pH 6.45. The production of OH is investigated by adding tertiary butanol, resulting in a sharp decrease of dye color removal. Structural characterizations of as-received amorphous Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 ribbons and of recycled Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 ribbons are also investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectrophotometers (UV–vis DRS), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS); the results reveal a slight decay of the reused Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 ribbons, along with a gradual precipitation of crystallized α-Fe, iron oxide and SiO 2 on the ribbon surface over the few cycles of usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hybrid oxidation–coagulation process is commonly adopted to destabilize algae and subsequently improve the removal of algae from water through sedimentation and filtration in water treatment plants (WTPs). Preoxidation is crucial to improving algae removal by a coagulation–sedimentation process. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of oxidation with NaOCl and ClO 2 on the cell integrity of algae (i.e. diatoms) and the destabilization of algae by means of Alum coagulation. The effects of oxidation-assisted coagulation on the performance of sedimentation as well as filtration were evaluated. The results show that ClO 2 reduces cell integrity more severely than NaOCl during oxidation. The degradation of chlorophyll a and humic-like substances generated by cells ruptured by ClO 2 oxidation is stronger than that by NaOCl oxidation. During oxidation both NaOCl and ClO 2 fail to cause significant cell lysis, while cell settleability can be improved markedly by using only ClO 2 . Preoxidation with ClO 2 is more effective in destabilizing the particles and algae when applying Alum coagulation at low dosages. It was found that the residual algae counts in the supernatants are inversely well-correlated to its filterability instead of its residual turbidity. The reduced cell integrity resulting from ClO 2 preoxidation effectively improves the performance of coagulation–sedimentation for algae (diatoms) removal and reduces the burden of filtration operation in the WTPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] A knowledge extraction and representation system for narrative analysis is presented. [•] The system semi-automatically processes narrative analysis and generates narrative maps from raw narrative texts. [•] A prototype was successfully implemented in a reference site in the construction industry. [•] Domain experts agree that the system can effectively represent narrative elements and flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Emergency management has drawn the attention of governments worldwide. It is an emerging realm for governments and organizations to respond to sudden catastrophic events rapidly and effectively during a crisis, e.g. social unrest, natural disaster, unforeseen event, and so on. There is a lot of information and knowledge involved in emergency management. The key question is how to search for the appropriate information and knowledge quickly and accurately from the massive information and knowledge based on the nature, characteristics, status and situations of the unexpected emergency in order to support the intelligent decision-making process in handling emergencies. In this paper, an unstructured information management system (UIMS) is presented for emergency management. A concept relationship model (CRM) and a dynamic knowledge flow model (DKFM) of the emergency incidence have been built to organize and represent emergency knowledge. The models can support decision-makers to have better understanding of the dependence and degree of correlation between different concepts about the emergency in order to make the appropriate decisions. The system is trial implemented in a city emergency management system and its performance is evaluated and discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: To observe the impact of rapamycin on peritoneal fibrosis and peritoneal transport function in a rat model of peritoneal fibrosis. Methods: A total of 40 male SD rats were randomly divided into five groups, with 8 rats in each group. Group N was the normal control. In group NS, the rats were injected daily with 20 ml of saline intraperitoneally. In groups GLU, L-RAPA and H-RAPA, rats were injected daily with 20 ml of 4.25% peritoneal dialysis solution intraperitoneally, together with 150 μg of lipopolysaccharide on days 1, 3, 5 and 7. Rapamycin was administered to groups L-RAPA (250 μg/day) and H-RAPA (500 μg/day) intragastrically. On days 21 and 35, 4 rats from each group were selected to evaluate their peritoneal transport function (ultrafiltration volume, D2/D0 ratio). The parietal peritoneal membrane from the rats was used for pathological study. Light microscopy (HE staining and VG staining) was used to assess the morphological changes. The expression levels of Col I, α-SMA, TGF-β1, Reca and Ki67 in the parietal peritoneal membrane were observed by immunohistochemistry. Results: The ultrafiltration volume and D2/D0 ratio decreased in group GLU compared with group N on day 21 (p < 0.05) and further decreased on day 35 (p < 0.01), whereas such a significant change was not observed in group L-RAPA or H-RAPA. Furthermore, severe loss of the peritoneal mesothelial cells, exposure of the collagen matrix under the mesothelial cells, and infiltration of fibroblasts and various inflammatory cells were detected in group GLU on days 21 and 35. The thickness of the submesothelial compact zone significantly increased in group GLU compared with group N (p < 0.01). However, in groups L-RAPA and H-RAPA, the morphological changes were clearly alleviated, and the submesothelial compact zone was thinner than in group GLU (p < 0.01). The expression levels of Col I, α-SMA, TGF-β1, Ki67 and Reca in the peritoneal membrane were significantly increased in group GLU compared with group N on days 21 and 35 (p < 0.01), whereas these changes were significantly attenuated in groups L-RAPA and H-RAPA compared with group GLU (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Rapamycin had an obvious effect in inhibiting peritoneal fibrosis and improving peritoneal membrane transport function. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: By employing theoretical analysis based on the rigid, perfectly plastic material idealization and finite element method based on elastic, perfectly plastic material idealization, a comprehensive analysis of dynamic behavior of a free–free tube beam under arbitrary unsymmetrical linear distributed pressure has been made in this paper. Because the distribution of the load is more general, the theoretical result can be degenerated into some special cases which had been discussed in . The comparisons between results of present theoretical analysis and those obtained from finite element calculation show that there is a dangerous region between the center of the tube beam and the pressure peak position, in which the local plastic collapse may take place. The theoretical results can provide a simple approximate estimation of local plastic failure position and deformation profile of aerospace vehicles subjected to the pressure pulse resulting from an explosion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Management of unstructured information, such as emails, is vital for supporting knowledge work in professional services. However, the conventional way for managing unstructured information is inadequate as the knowledge work and associated tasks are becoming more complex, are dynamically changing with time and involve multiple concepts. This paper attempts to address the inadequacy, deficiency and limitations of the methods presently used to elicit knowledge from masses of unstructured information. These methods rely heavily on manpower, are time consuming and costly. With the development of a multi-faceted and automatic knowledge elicitation system (MAKES) manpower, time and cost can be dramatically reduced. The MAKES integrates the processes of collecting data, classifying unstructured information, modelling knowledge flow and social network analysis, and makes all of these actions into a connected process to audit unstructured information automatically. This audit is based on specific search criteria, search keywords, and the user behaviours of the knowledge workers. The unstructured information is automatically organized, classified and presented in a multi-facet taxonomy map. New concepts and knowledge are uncovered, analyzed and updated continuously from the incoming unstructured information, using a purpose-built knowledge elicitation algorithm named self-associated concept mapping (SACM). The capability and advantages of the MAKES are demonstrated through a successful trial implementation and a verification test conducted in an electronics trading company. Encouraging results have been achieved and a number of potential advantages have been realized. The area of application in this first deployment is based on an email-intensive organization and the proposed study will contribute to the advancement of methods and tools for managing other kinds of unstructured information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: ZrC fine powder has been prepared by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) based on exothermic reduction reaction of ZrO2–C–Mg. The combustion temperature observed was 1979K. The effects of Mg content and particle size on the combustion temperature and chemical composition of the product were investigated. The reducing agent Mg plays an important role on the purity of ZrC powder obtained by SHS process. Post-heat treatment was applied to decrease the oxygen content of the final product further. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Effects of Ga incorporation on electrical, structural and optical properties of ZnO epilayers are systematically studied by employing structural and optical characterization techniques combined with electrical and secondary ion mass spectrometry measurements. A non-monotonous dependence of free electron concentrations on Ga content is observed and is attributed to defect formation and phase separation. The former process is found to dominate for Ga concentrations of around 2–3×1020 cm−3. The corresponding defects are suggested to be responsible for a broad red emission, which peaks at around 1.8 eV at 4 K. Characteristic properties of this emission are well accounted for by assuming intracenter transitions at a deep center, of which the associated Huang–Rhys factor and mean phonon energy are determined. For higher Ga doping levels, the phase separation is found to be significant. It is suggested that under these conditions only a minor fraction of incorporated Ga atoms form shallow donors, which leads to the observed dramatic decrease of carrier concentration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: It was reported in previous paper that there appears a distinct tensile flow of amorphous Fe78Si9B13 ribbon at 430°C during a continuous heating. In order to investigate the distinct tensile flow, further works were conducted in present work. The broken fracture surface and the side face of the tensile flowed ribbon were observed using SEM. The structural change of the ribbon was detected by means of in situ XRD. The effects of tensile stress, heating rate and preannealing on the distinct tensile flow were tested. The results show that the distinct tensile flow is resulted from a structural transition and annealing condition affects it markedly. It is concluded that the structural transition occurring at 430°C is the nucleation of α-Fe (Si) crystallites and the effect of heating rate on the distinct tensile flow is closely related to the structural relaxation of amorphous Fe78Si9B13 alloy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Amorphous Fe73.5Nb3Cu1Si13.5B9 alloy was studied using DIL, TEM, XRD, DSC methods, respectively. The results show that with increasing heating rate the contraction of the primary crystallization in amorphous Fe73.5Nb3Cu1Si13.5B9 alloy increases and its temperature range decreases, which differs from the amorphous Fe78Si9B13. These phenomena are related to the effect of Cu and Nb on the primary crystallization behavior of the alloy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this Letter, the effects of shear rate on structural properties of liquid Al in quenching process were investigated via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based on the EAM potential. Analyses in internal energy and pair correlation functions (PCF) reveal an increasing structural transition temperature as the shear rate is enhanced in the liquid. Results of pair analysis indicate that for liquid Al under normal condition, face center cubic (FCC) structure is clearly detected upon cooling; while in sheared liquid, structural transition from FCC to body center cubic (BCC) at temperature of 800 K is manifested, leading to the dominance of BCC structural order at low temperatures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Samples of the amorphous Fe78Si9B13 ribbon were annealed isothermally and isochronally under different tensile stresses. These samples were also investigated using thermal expansion tests, DSC and XRD methods. The results show that a structural transition similar to the glass transition was found using thermal expansion method. Comparing the XRD patterns of the tensile stress annealed samples with those of stress free annealed samples, it is suggested that tensile stress promotes the crystallization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The amorphous Fe78Si9B13 ribbons were annealed at various temperatures below the crystallization temperature (T x). The order evolution in the amorphous Fe78Si9B13 ribbon and its effect on the ductile–brittle transition during annealing process were studied using XRD and SEM methods. It is shown that the ordered structures of Fe3Si and FeSi appear at the temperature of 200–300 °C with the life from 15 min to 15 h. During low temperature relaxation (LTR), the life of the ordered ferrous compounds is longer than during high temperature relaxation (HTR). Moreover, the life of Fe3Si is longer than FeSi during LTR, while it is much shorter than FeSi during HTR. The formation time of the further ordered FeSi is very close to the critical time of the ductile–brittle transition of amorphous Fe78Si9B13 ribbon, which suggests that the formation of further ordered FeSi results in the embrittlement of the ribbon. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Samples of amorphous Fe78Si9B13 ribbon were annealed at various temperatures well below the crystallization temperature (Tx). The bend test on them was performed. The samples were studied using XRD, DSC and SEM. The results of both the bend test and fracture surfaces manifest that the ductile–brittle transition of the ribbon occurs between 250 and 275 °C. The FeSi-type structure, detected by XRD, forms in this annealing temperature range and disappears beyond that. These investigations suggest that the FeSi-type structure is the origin of the ductile–brittle transition of the ribbon. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) is a promising method for the fabrication of composites. However, the products obtained directly from the SHS process are generally porous, which limits the application of SHS. SHS plus dynamic mechanical pressing, which combines synthesis and densification in one step was proposed and was named SHS/QP. In the process, immediately after the SHS reaction, a quick pressing force acts on the “hot and soft” sample for densification. In this paper, the fabrication of cermets by SHS/QP is reported. The optimum conditions of SHS/QP for cermets were studied, and the densification mechanism for cermets was analyzed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The e-business arena is a dynamic, complex and demanding environment. It is essential to make optimal reuse of knowledge of customer services across various functional units of the enterprise. On the other hand, it is also important to ensure that the customer service staff can access and be trained up with dynamically updated knowledge that meets the changing business environment of an enterprise in customer services. However, conventional way of customer service management (CSM) is inadequate to achieve the multi-perspective of an enterprise for achieving knowledge acquisition, knowledge diffusion, business automation and business performance measurement so as to drive the continuous improvement of the customer service quality. In this paper, a multi-perspective knowledge-based system (MPKBS) is proposed for CSM. The MPKBS incorporates various artificial intelligence technologies such as case-based reasoning (CBR) and adaptive time-series model which are used for decision analysis, performance measurement and monitoring. A prototype customer service portal has been built based on the MPKBS and implemented successfully in a consultancy business. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A new method was proposed to describe cluster packing in metallic glasses. This method has no limitation of solute concentration and characterizes cluster packing by Voronoi polyhedron. The application of this method to Cu64Zr36 metallic glass indicates that most of the styles of cluster packing have the preference of fivefold local environment but not a face-centered-cubic or an icosahedral packing. The linear correlation between the coordinate number and the average number of adjust clusters might give an indication of the fractal nature of medium range order in metallic glasses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract Metallic glasses (MGs) with their intrinsic disordered atomic structure and widely controllable atomic components have recently emerged as fascinating functional materials in wastewater treatment. Compared to crystalline alloys, the less-noble atomic components in monolithic metallic glass are more efficient to be selectively dissolved during dealloying process. This work reported a facile chemical dealloying approach to fabricate a void channels-like structured MG with the elemental components of Fe 73.5 Si 13.5 B 9 Cu 1 Nb 3 for methylene blue (MB) degradation. Results indicated that the dealloyed Fe 73.5 Si 13.5 B 9 Cu 1 Nb 3 MGs with the void channels-like morphology presented a significant improvement of catalytic efficiency and reusability. The dye degradation reaction rate (k obs) of the dealloyed Fe 73.5 Si 13.5 B 9 Cu 1 Nb 3 MGs presented 3 times higher than their as-spun MGs. More importantly, the dealloyed Fe 73.5 Si 13.5 B 9 Cu 1 Nb 3 MGs can be reused up to 25 times without significantly loosing catalytic efficiency. It was also found that the dealloyed Fe 73.5 Si 13.5 B 9 Cu 1 Nb 3 MGs exhibited a greater corrosion resistance in the simulated dye solution compared to the as-spun ribbons, demonstrating a robust self-healing ability in catalytic activity. This work provides a novel view for designing MG catalysts with high efficiency and stability in worldwide energy and environmental concerns. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • A void channels-like structured melt-spun metallic glass is reported. • Dealloyed metallic glasses show 3 times higher reaction rate than counterparts. • Dealloyed Fe 73.5 Si 13.5 B 9 Cu 1 Nb 3 ribbons can be reused for 25 times. • A strong corrosion resistance in dealloyed Fe 73.5 Si 13.5 B 9 Cu 1 Nb 3 ribbons is studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Thermodynamic parameters of Fe-based glasses hop as c Nb rises from 7 to 10 at.%. • Passive ability of these glasses increases drastically as c Nb rises from 7 to 10 at.%. • Netlike structure in these glasses associated with Fe 23 B 6 cell is verified with simulations. • Netlike structure explains the structure and passivation changes in these glasses. Abstract The atomic structure and corrosion behavior of Fe 87- x B 13 Nb x (x = 0, 7, 10 and 13) metallic glasses were investigated using various experimental techniques and simulations. The netlike (Fe, Nb) 23 B 6 structure units, which took root in the Nb-contained amorphous matrix, emerged after annealing and raised markedly corrosion resistance of as-spun amorphous samples as c Nb > 7 at.%, such as the occurrence of wider passive platform in the potentiodynamic polarization plots and the transformation from the porous holes to stable passive films on corrosion surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We investigate the influence of the ratio between carbon and boron on glass-forming ability, thermal stability and mechanical properties of the Co 65 Cr 13 Mo 22 ternary eutectic alloy modified by carbon and boron addition. Besides, the correlation between the extension of the supercooled liquid region (SCLR) and three bonding parameters, i.e. electronegativity, atomic size, and valence electron is investigated. The results reveal that carbon is more effective than boron to form a glassy phase in this system, and fully glassy alloys or metallic glass composites can be obtained when the metalloid contents are in the range of 20–25 at.%. Fully glassy alloys are only obtained when the carbon-to-boron ratio is 2:1. The glassy alloys and the glass composites exhibit high strength and extraordinarily wide SCLRs of >120 K. The width of the SCLR of the Co-based BMGs can be articulated as a function of three bonding parameters, which is different to the relationship previously observed for Fe-, Mg- and Pd-based BMGs. Based on these findings we propose the optimum C/B ratio for glass phase formation and the new criterion for predicting the width of the SCLR of Co-based BMGs by the three bonding parameters. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Alloy design via adjusting ratio of carbon and boron based on the pseudo-ternary phase diagram • Unprecedentedly wide supercooled liquid regions of Co-based BMGs up to 122 K • Relationship between ΔT x and three bonding parameters • A new equation to express the ΔT x of Co-based BMGs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The effects of pulsed laser processing (PLP) with different laser power (P L = 10, 20 and 30 W) on the surface morphology, structure and properties of Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 amorphous ribbon were investigated. It was found that the circular blobs, convex in perimeter and sunk in middle, distributed regularly on the surface of ribbon after PLP with P L = 10 W. As P L increased to 20 and 30 W, obvious splashes occurred around the laser blobs. On the surface of ribbons after PLP, fresh amorphous structures were generated, which were confirmed by small angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscope data. Meanwhile, a small number of nanocrystallines formed at heat affected zone. The X-ray diffraction results indicated that the transformation from fcc to bcc SRO structure units occurred during PLP, resulting in a lower characteristic distance δ C. The pitting resistance, soft magnetic property and thermal stability of ribbons were enhanced after PLP. Especially, the properties had a significant improvement with increasing P L from 10 to 20 W, but had a slight deterioration as P L increased further from 20 to 30 W. Overall, an optimal laser power of 20 W was obtained for PLP of Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 amorphous ribbon in this work. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Hybrid microstructure with amorphous-nanocrystalline is discovered in pulsed laser processed Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 amorphous ribbon. • Pitting resistance and magnetic properties of Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 amorphous ribbon are improved after pulsed laser processing. • An optimal laser power of P L = 20 W is obtained for pulsed laser processing of Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 amorphous ribbon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure, magnetic properties and non-isothermal crystallization behavior of widthwise/lengthwise pressed and annealed (WPA and LPA), solely annealed (ANN) and as-quenched (AQ) Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 amorphous ribbons were investigated. The first crystallization process of samples fits Johnson-Mehl-Avrami (JMA) model and then follows the Normal-Grain-Growth (NGG) model. Annealing treatment decreases the crystallization activation energy E c ; while WPA and LPA samples have a lower magnetic lose, larger nucleation and growth activation energies E n and E g than ANN sample, indicating that the pressure suppresses the crystallization and reduces free volume and forms the ordered clusters with a different structure of α-Fe(Si) during annealing process. In addition, the widthwise pressed treatment reduces free volume and suppresses crystallization in a larger degree than the lengthwise pressed treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discovering functional applications of metallic glasses (MGs) as heterogeneous catalysts is a fundamental and essential topic. This work reports the rapid production of sulfate radicals (SO 4 − ) from peroxymonosulfate (PMS) using Fe 73.5 Si 13.5 B 9 Cu 1 Nb 3 glassy ribbons as catalysts for Eosin Y (EY) dye wastewater treatment. The reaction rates ( k ) from the experimental data reveal that the EY degradation is well fitted with the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The strong electron transfer ability is characterized by electrochemical methods, presenting an advanced catalytic performance for EY degradation. Various experimental parameters, including dye concentration, catalyst dosage, PMS concentration, light intensity, pH and reaction temperature as well as the saline and natural inorganic effects, are fully investigated. The results show that the color removal of EY dye could achieve nearly 100% within 20 min. The quenching experiments are performed to verify the production of reactive species, suggesting that both OH and SO 4 − are produced from PMS and play significant roles in EY degradation. This critical study reveals that using Fe 73.5 Si 13.5 B 9 Cu 1 Nb 3 MGs as catalysts exhibits a superior reactivity on PMS activation in wastewater treatment. The discoveries shed lights into the study of electron transfer ability for MGs, presenting extensive prospects in the application of dye wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallic glasses with long-range disordered atomic structure have recently been attracted a great deal of research attention in catalytic field. Compared to crystalline materials, the metallic glasses present many advanced catalytic properties, yet the catalytic mechanism is not sufficiently understood. In this work, an Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 glassy ribbon manufactured by melt-spinning method was applied for the first time to compare its activation behavior on three peroxides, including hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), persulfate (PS) and peroxymonosulfate (PMS). It was shown that Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 metallic glass had exceptionally high capability for activating these three common peroxides to produce reactive radicals ( OH and/or SO 4 • − ). The dominant species of H 2 O 2 in this work was demonstrated as hydroxyl radical ( OH) while the PS and PMS activation mainly generated sulfate radical (SO 4 • − ). The order of predominant radical generation rate by Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 activation under UV−vis irradiation was PS > H 2 O 2 > PMS. The relative contribution of sulfate radical (SO 4 • − ) in PS activation was 78% compared to 61% in PMS. All the peroxides activated by Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 metallic glass presented a radical generation rate at least ∼2 times higher than other iron-containing materials. Crystal violet (CV) dye was used to investigate the catalytic performance of Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 metallic glass for peroxides, which showed an ultrafast dye degradation rate with completely color removal within 15 min. The radical evolution mechanisms for H 2 O 2 , PS and PMS activation were also investigated. The change in surface morphology of ribbon after 5th run reused indicated that the inclusions of Si leading to formation of SiO 2 layer played an important role in the surface stability of ribbons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The light activated Methylene Blue (MB) degradation performance and magnetic properties of the Fe 80 P x C 20- x (x = 0, 4, 7 and 13) glassy ribbons are investigated in this work. The structure of the as-spun Fe 80 C 20 ribbons is crystalline state while the as-spun Fe 80 P x C 20- x (x = 4, 7 and 13) ribbons is amorphous state. Under dark condition, the degradation efficiency η Dark for MB decreases gradually with increasing P content (c P) in the ribbons, and the stability of Fe-P bonds is higher than Fe-C bonds in annealing Fe 80 P 4 C 16 ribbons, indicating that Fe-P bonds release less Fe participating in the Fenton-like reaction; under visible light (VL), the η VL of ribbons increases firstly and then decreases with increasing c P and the ribbon with x = 4 show the highest η VL , which is consistent with the changing tendency of soft magnetic property of the present ribbons. This work provides a new insight in designing and applying the FePC amorphous alloys. • The P addition can improve the glass formability of Fe-based alloys. • The degradation efficiency η Dark for MB decreases gradually with increasing P content (c P) in the ribbons. • The stability of Fe-P bonds is higher than Fe-C bonds in annealing Fe 80 P 4 C 16 ribbon. • With increasing c P , the saturation magnetization of the ribbons increases firstly and then decreases, similar to their η VL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]