Search

The contributions on technology are summarized.

The flame-retarded paper-based polyvinyl chloride (PVC) wallcoverings were successfully prepared, using plant fiber paper as base material and adding inorganic flame retardants and flame-retarded plasticizer as additives. Flame retardancy, thermostability, smoke suppression and mechanical properties were tested regarding to the prepared wallcoverings. The results showed that 2ZnO·3B2O3·3.5H2O could improve flame retardancy and thermostability of paper-based PVC wallcoverings; plasticizer tricresyl phosphate increased flame retardancy of the prepared materials auxiliarily. Also, flame-retarded paper-based PVC wallcoverings with higher flame retardancy, smoke suppression and mechanical property was prepared using plant fiber paper with fix quantity of 90 g/m3 as base material, using 2ZnO·3B2O3·3.5H2O as inorganic flame retardant, and using tricresyl phosphate as plasticizer. For the flame-retarded paper-based PVC wallcoverings in this study, the limit oxygen index (LOI) reaches 32.3, maximal smoke density is 16.91 %, and the horizontal and longitudinal wet tensile strength reaches 1.38 kN·m−1 and 1.51 kN·m−1 respectively. Meanwhile, its flame retardancy meets the requirements about flame retardancy for material Class B1 listed in Chinese National Standards GB 8624-2012, Classification for burning behavior of building materials and products. This research creates an effective path to prepare paper-based PVC wallcoverings with high flame retardancy.

Wastes from paper industry are mostly combustible. It is possible to recycle them with energy recovery. These wastes have a high moisture content (up to 60%) and thus a small calorific value. An alternative to waste incineration is the production of solid recovered fuel. The benefits are: easy adjustment of the physical and chemical properties of the fuel (via the change of proportions of ingredients), low moisture and high calorific value. The study involved the following types of cellulose wastes: - Belmer - the rejects from recovered paper, Krofta - deinking sludge, sludge - wastewater treatment sludge, bark - the rejects from virgin pulps. The results of investigations of waste produced in one of the biggest Polish paper mill - are shown. Following aspects were investigated: energy properties, content of carbon, hydrogen, sulfur, chlorine and nitrogen, chemical composition of ash. Authors proposed two formulas of the biomass fuel. The properties of the fuel such as the content of carbon, hydrogen, sulfur, chlorine or nitrogen, the chemical composition of the ash were investigated. Due to the fact that the combustion of the biomass fuel is preferred in view of law regulations (zero CO2 emission, green certificates) the content of biodegradable fraction was examined. It has been shown that the fuel is a biomass one. Fuel from waste can be a substitute for approx. 25% of primary fuel (coal) used by the paper mill.

Recently, the best method to make the concrete industry more sustainable was using the waste materials to replace the natural resources. Currently waste paper sludge is a major economic and environmental problem in this country. In this research, the alternative method is to dwindle the usage of natural resources and the usage of cement in the construction. This method is to replace the usage of cement with the waste paper sludge ash (WPSA) and to use the recycle aggregate collected from the construction is used. The WPSA has ingredient likely cement such as self-cementation but for a low strength. The research was conducted at heavy laboratory UITM Pulau Pinang. Meanwhile, the WPSA is collected at MNI Industries at Mentakab, Pahang. The recycle aggregate is a separated half, which were fine aggregate and the coarse aggregate with the specific size. In this research, the ratio is divided into two (2) which is 1:1 and 1:2 for the aggregate and difference percentage levels of WPSA. The percentage levels of WPSA that use in this research are 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, and 60%. A total of 36 cubes were prepared. Aim of this research is to develop a simple design approach for the mixture proportioning of WPSA and recycle concrete aggregate (RCA) within the concrete and to assess the effect of concrete mix with different percentage of WPSA and RCA ratio on the properties. It is found that the best design mix that achieves control low strength material (CLSM) is on 30% of WPSA with the ratio 1:2 on day 28 of compression test.

In recent years, there has been tremendous growth of interest in the utilization of non-wood based material to support the insufficient raw materials availability for the pulp and paper industry. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the characteristics of 120 gsm linerboard and corrugated medium paper made from unbeaten durian rinds chemi-mechanical (CMP) pulp. The linerboard and corrugated medium paper were prepared and tested according to Malaysian Standards / International Organization for Standardization (MS ISO) and Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) standard methods. Based on the burst index (2.03 kPa.m2/g), RCT (1.97 N.m2/g) and CMT (129N), the linerboard and corrugated medium from CMP durian rind pulp have shown a good potential as an alternative raw material for papermaking and comparable with other types of wood and non-wood based papers as well as current commercial papers.

Demands for small-scale and low-cost robots have witnessed a great increase in recent years [1–5]. This paper introduces the design and fabrication of a novel, simple, low-cost and designer-friendly locomotive robot. The materials and tools to build the robot originate from everyday life. The robot is pneumatically powered and manually controlled by simply pumping and vacuuming the syringe repeatedly, which realizes reliable locomotion by folding and opening of the planes. In order to realize this complicated motion, a “3D Sticky Actuator” is developed. The motion and force analysis of actuator are then modelled by the numerical method to develop the relations between design parameters. This suggests a systematic and user interactive way of manufacturing various shapes of the actuator, depending on user-defined road condition (e.g. obstacles and slopes) and other constraints. One key advantage of the paper-based robot is suggested by its high feasibility.

Measurement of soil suction is important as soil suction is one of the two stress-state variables that control both the hydro and mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils. One of the soil suction measurement techniques is the filter paper method. Even though the filter paper technique has been standardized, the experimental procedure can still be improved in order to reduce the inconsistencies that are often reported with the filter paper technique. This paper explores usage of both initially dry and initially moist Whatman No. 42 filter paper for matric and total suction measurements. Residual soils from the Bukit Timah Granite in Singapore were compacted at various water contents from dry to wet of optimum using standard Proctor energies and their suctions were measured using both contact and non-contact filter papers. Results of the suction measurements showed hysteresis between the initially dry and the initially moist filter papers for both the contact and non-contact methods. Suction measurement by the contact filter paper method is more consistent than suction measurement by the non-contact filter paper method. Condensation causes the non-contact filter papers to have higher water contents. The results showed that the non-contact initially dry filter paper follows the total suction curve but the non-contact initially moist filter paper may follow the matric suction curve instead.

In recent year, Full-Color LED Lighting that can be changed to various color such as red, green, blue has been appeared with development of LED Lighting. By Color-Lighting control, users affected such as concentrating and relaxing. Therefore, Color-lighting control will spread to various place such as home, offices, stations. However color-lighting control affected some disturbance such as daylight, display when Full-Color LED controlled indoors. Also, information devices control get difficult with information technology develop. I propose Color-Lighting Control System using Colored Paper User Interface(CLC/CPUI). The purpose of CLC/CPUI is that anyone can intuitively control Full-Color LED Lighting. CLC/CPUI uses colored paper as user interface by sensing the paper. CLC/CPUI realizes lighting color that user demanded to do feedback control. I conduct accuracy verification experiment of CLC/CPUI.

The existence of squatters had caused many issues including poverty, increasing social problems, drug addiction, criminal and low education level. Sadly, the State of Johor is still among a few other states in Peninsular Malaysia with the highest numbers of squatter families. These squatter settlements are not only inhabited by the local people, but consist of foreigners too. The environmental condition is not fitting, with poor sewage system and unplanned housing construction. Consequently, these issues had caused bad images and perception to the general public, as well as to the tourists. In Malaysia, Resettlement Programme is one of the most significant mechanisms in tackling squatters" settlements issue. Hence, the Johor State Government had taken various approaches in trying to eradicate the squatter settlements by relocating them to new locations with planned and better housing. This conceptual paper aims to examine the current literature and assess previous similar study in order to establish an understanding of the crucial provision of resettlement area in trying to eliminate squatters. It employs a qualitative design through assessment related literature and studies. The results confirmed for a further review of resettlement program. Findings from this study further suggest a comprehensive study of the issues revealed.

This paper reports the properties of newly developed electrically conductive natural fiber paper sheet made up of kenaf fiber (KF) incorporated with polyaniline coated kenaf fiber (KF-PANI). This study proposed on dispersion of conductive filler in different amount (wt %) into kenaf pulp for developing different electrical conductivity. The conductive sheet (KF/KF-PANI) revealed a percolation concentration at 25 wt% of KF-PANI. Its scanning electron micrograph showed good paper formation with no significant damages.

Due to the ubiquitous trend of product miniaturization, energy saving and weight reduction, micro/meso-scale parts have been widely used in many industrial clusters. Micromanufacturing processes for production of such micro/meso-scale parts are thus critically needed. Microforming, as one of these micro manufacturing processes, is a promising process and thus got many explorations and researches. Compared with the research on size effect affected deformation behaviours, less attention has been paid to the process development for mass production of micro-parts. The product quality and fabrication productivity of micro-parts depend on the involved process chain. To address the difficulty in handling and transporting of the micro-sized workpiece, development of a progressive microforming process for directly fabricating bulk micro-parts using sheet metals seems quite promising as it avoids or facilitates billet handling, transportation, positioning, and ejection in the process chain. In this paper, an intensive review on the latest development of progressive microforming technologies is presented. First of all, the paper summarizes the characteristic of progressive microforming directly using sheet metal. The size effect-affected deformation behaviour and the dimensional accuracy, deformation load, ductile fracture, and the surface finish of the microformed parts by progressive microforming using sheet metals are then presented. Finally, some research issues from the implementation of mass production perspective are also discussed.

A major problem arising from the widespread use of forestry biomass and processed timber waste as fuel is related to the production of significant quantities of ash as a by-product from the incineration of such biomasses. A major portion (approximately 70%) of the wood waste ash produced is land-filled as a common method of disposal. If the current trend continues with waste products, such as paper mill sludge landfills, a large amount of space would be required by 2020. A revenue study was conducted as a result of investigations into the use of paper mill sludge as recycled materials and additives in concrete mixes for use in construction projects. The study had to provide the assurance that the concrete produced had the correct mechanical strength. Concrete mixes containing paper mill sludge were prepared, and their basic strength characteristics such as the compressive strength, flexural strength, ultra pulse velocity and dynamic modulus elasticity were tested. Four concrete mixes, i.e. a control mix, and a 10%, 20%, and 30% mix of paper mill sludge as cement replacement for concrete were prepared with a DoE mix design by calculating the weight of cement, sand and aggregate. The performance of each concrete specimen was compared with the strength of the control mix. As a result, when the percentage of paper mill sludge in the concrete increased, the strength decreased. Overall, a high correlation was observed between density and strength of the concrete containing paper mill sludge.

Fatou is a 6 years old refugee-girl, coming from Africa, french speaking, with no official french I.D. ("papiers" in french, which means paper and I.D.) She is referred to me by the court. She is suffering behavioral troubles as anger tantrums and paper eating. During the sessions, several psychopathological points emerge. There is a contrast between her remarquable learning abilities and her emotionnal immaturity in which there is an obvious oral fixation. Her paper eating disorder occurs primarily when she is alone and feeling abandonned. This symptom can be seen also on the level of an archaic oral incorporation of a good enough object (the paper-I.D.) that would give her emotionnal and legal security, and the opportunity to stay with her uncle, who is her official caregiver. The drawings and dreams are also showing that Fatou presents an evolutive dysharmony, a border-line personnality, a false self with a more or less satisfying social adaptation and an overinvested school education. This may be split with a deeper self, with underlying depression and active oral anxieties that may be correlated with her persistant paper-eating symptom. I referred her to a psychiatric center for an individual psychoanalytic psychotherapy, and her uncle, to receive a psychological guidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turin Shroud (TS) is a linen cloth 4.4 m long and 1.1 m wide which shows two, front and back images of a man scourged, crowned with thorns and crucified, who died on a cross and was stabbed in the side with a lance after his death. The Catholic Christian tradition identifies this Man as Jesus Christ resurrected after dead, but not all are unanimous in this identification, partly because science has not been able to give definitive answers. To try to improve a bit the inconclusive answers to which the Science is arrived, a Research Project entitled: “Multidisciplinary analysis applied to the Turin Shroud: study of the body image, of possible ambient pollution and of micro-particles capable to characterize the linen fabric.” has been assigned by the University of Padua (Italy) to the Author, who performed various studies on this theme in collaboration with other experts, also of other Italian Universities. In reference to the body image, that is not explainable by Science nor reproducible up to now, experimental tests based on Corona Discharge, produced by intense electric fields, have shown that it is possible to reproduce many of these very peculiar image features. Regarding the TS dating, after the demonstration that the 1988 radiocarbon result is not statistically reliable, probably because of environmental pollution, alternative dating methods based on chemical and mechanical tests showed that its age is compatible with the period in which Jesus Christ lived in Palestine.

The transport of print fluids into paper is directly dependent on the imbibition characteristic of the paper including both the z-, x- and y-directions. As the measurement of free liquid imbibition into the paper thickness (z-direction) is difficult experimentally, due to the thin nature of paper, in this paper we resort to imbibition along the y-direction of paper to analyse and explore the possibility of understanding the mechanistic differences between wicking into uncoated unfilled paper versus that of controllable pigment-filled paper and paper coating. Considering the classical imbibition dynamic, the measured imbibition was characterised firstly with respect to [Formula: see text] and secondly with respect to linear t. It is shown that the wicking behaviour of uncoated unfilled paper follows neither the classical viscous drag balance model of Lucas-Washburn ([Formula: see text]) nor the more comprehensive inertia-included imbibition described by Bosanquet. However, by increasing the filler load into the surface layer of the paper, the imbibition dynamic is seen to revert to the Bosanquet model. Thus, when using highly filled papers, the imbibition dynamic for printing liquid shows a fast imbibition at the initial stages dominated by inertial plug flow, and then transits to the Lucas-Washburn viscosity-dominated imbibition component over longer time.

Tourists are now more open in selecting tourist destination. The number of holiday trips were growing rapidly. There were various promotions available to attract tourists to travel either within or outside the country. Travel distance is not an obstacle for tourists to travel, regardless of local and foreign destination. This study will be conducted to identify the motivation of long journey travel that involves push and pull factors. The long journey involves distance, cost and the type of transportation used to get to the destination. For this purpose a comprehensive review and discussion on previous sources which involved a variety of secondary data sources will be used to meet every need of the study objectives. The finding showed that the travel distance was dependent on the motivation for tourists to travel and the type of transport they want to use. Mode of transport used has advantages and disadvantages for long journey travel depending on traveller choice.

A total of 14 contributions were presented in the Theory and Modelling sessions at EC-17. One Theory and Modelling paper was included in the ITER ECRH and ECE sessions each. Three papers were in the area of nonlinear physics discussing parametric processes accompanying ECRH. Eight papers were based on the quasi-linear theory of wave heating and current drive. Three of these addressed the application of ECCD for NTM stabilization. Two papers considered scattering of EC waves by edge density fluctuations and related phenomena. In this summary, we briefly describe the highlights of these contributions. Finally, the three papers concerning modelling of various aspects of ECE are reported in the ECE session.

We study the evolution of mechanical properties of paper samples during cyclic experiments. The issue is to look at the sample-to-sample variation, and we try to predict the number of loading cycles to failure. We used two concurrent methods to obtain the deformation: the strain was calculated from vertical displacement measured by laser interferometer sensor, as well as, computed by digital image correlation technique from pictures taken each 2s by a camera. Acoustic emission of fracture was also recorded, and an active ultrasonic wave method using piezoelectric transducers is used to follow the viscoelastic behaviour of each sample. We found that a sharp final increase of different variables like deformation, strain rate and fluctuations, are signs of an imminent rupture of the paper. Moreover looking at the evolution of these quantities during the first cycle only is already an indicator about the lifetime of the sample.

We have studied experimentally the dynamics of the separation of a sheet of paper into two halves in a peeling configuration. The experimental setup consists of a peeling device, where a fracture front is driven along the plane of the paper, with a constant force. The theoretical picture is how an elastic line interacts with a random landscape of fracture toughness. We compare the results with theoretical simulations in several aspects. One recent finding concerns the autocorrelation function of the average front position. The data from the experiments produces so-called cusps or singularities in the correlation function, as predicted by the functional renormalization group theory for elastic lines. Comparisons with simulations with either a short range or a long range elastic kernel demonstrate that the latter agrees with the experimental observations, as expected.

The presentations on ECRH experiments presented in EC-17 are summarized.

The contributions on technology are summarized

The response of modern, commercial drawing and painting media and papers to proton irradiation has been studied in a set of 180 colour/paper combinations aimed at assessing the potential of PIXE for the characterization of modern artistic materials. In the marks that appeared on some of the materials, during and after irradiation, colour changes have been calculated and used to set the beam current and the fluence limits for safe analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Medical education is a recent addition in the field of scientific research. Indeed it has spread to many countries. The goal of this review was to quantify the involvement of French teams in medical education research. Method: A systematic review of two databases (Pubmed and the archives of the Pédagogie Médicale journal) over a 15-year period was carried out. Results: Research in medical education is growing in France (a 12- fold increase over 15 years) even though it remains lower than in other countries, such as Canada or neighboring Germany. Overall, the French contribution to research in medical education stands at 0.22% in Pubmed and 21% in Pédagogie Médicale. Surgical and general specialties, including obstetrics and gynecology, anesthesiology, public health, internal medicine and family and emergency medicine, were the research fields most targeted. Most of the work focused on teaching assessment. Though impact factors were often under 4, the level of publication according to the SIGAPS classification was relatively high with 50% of papers published in A, B or C-ranked journals. Discussion: The results reveal how knowledge in medical education research, researcher training with respect to methodological specificities and the French team's aims in developing quality scientific data in the research field are lacking. Conclusion: French research in medical education needs further development. Medicaleducation leaders and research centers appear crucial in this respect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While drying of paper and paper coatings is expensive, with significant energy requirements, the rate controlling mechanisms are not currently fully understood. Two two-dimensional models are used as a first approximation to predict the heat transfer during hot air drying and to evaluate the role of various parameters on the drying rates of porous coatings. The models help determine the structural limiting factors during the drying process, while applying for the first time the recently known values of coating thermal diffusivity. The results indicate that the thermal conductivity of the coating structure is not the controlling factor, but the drying rate is rather determined by the thermal transfer process at the structure surface. This underlines the need for ensuring an efficient thermal transfer from hot air to coating surface during drying, before considering further measures to increase the thermal conductivity of porous coatings.

Based on my direct personal experience as an author, referee, editor, and PhD thesis supervisor, I present in this paper some advice and guidelines on writing scientific papers. This article copes with the preparation of manuscripts, with the handling of copyrights and permissions to reproduce, with communicating with editors and referees, and with avoiding common errors. More than two dozen FAQs are dealt with, among others: who should be coauthor, what is honorary authorship, how to settle the order of author names, may the list of authors change during the review process, who submits the manuscript to the Editor, must one wait for coauthors' consent to submit, when to submit a manuscript to astro-ph, how to communicate with the referee, with whom to share a referee report, can students be referee, how to cite and quote a straying paper, how to cope with writer's block, should others be allowed to completely rewrite a manuscript, how to review a paper, how to revise a multi-author paper, when to ask for another referee, why do Editors edit, and why do referees review? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of cadmium toxicity on the seed germination properties of sesame cultivars (Halil, Nazok Shakhei, Oltan, and Yellow White) using nonlinear growth models. Seeds were germinated in petri dishes (90mm diameter), with a double layered of filter paper soaked in distilled water as control treatment or cadmium (CdSO4) solutions in concentrations of 0, 100, 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 ppm. Each treatment was replicated four times and included 50 seeds in each petri dishes. Hyperbolastic growth models for the description of seed germination data were compared to Richards, Weibull, Logistic and Gompertz models. Our results revealed that all studied cultivars were germinated at the cadmium-polluted germination medium to a maximum of 200 ppm without reduction in germination fraction, while seed germination rate was decreased at this concentration compared to 0 and 100 ppm. Increasing cadmium concentration resulted in the germination fraction reduction from 1 to 0.4 at the 400 ppm. The recommended hyperbolastic growth model was type III or (H3) as it provided the best model with the lowest Corrected Akaike Information Criterion for cv. Halil (AICc =-14.6) and cv. Nazok Shakhei, (AICc =-14.2). Cette expérience a été menée pour évaluer les effets de la toxicité du cadmium sur la cinétique de germination de graines issues de différents cultivars de sésame (Halil, Nazok Shakhei, Oltan et Yellow White), en comparant des modèles de croissance non linéaire. Les graines ont germé dans des boîtes de Pétri (90mm de diamètre), entre deux couches de papier filtre imbibées d'eau distillée (contrôle) ou dans des solutions de cadmium (CdSO4) à des concentrations de 0, 100, 200, 400, 600, 800 et 1000 ppm. Chaque traitement a été répété quatre fois et comprenait 50 graines par boîte. Les cinétiques de croissances ont été modélisées avec modèles de croissance hyperbolastique, dont l'ajustement a été comparé aux modèles sigmoïdes classiques (Richards, Weibull, Logistic et Gompertz). Nos résultats ont révélé que tous les cultivars étudiés ont germé, sans réduction du taux de germination, jusqu'à une concentration de de 100 ppm. Au-delà, le taux de germination était réduit. À la concentration de 400 ppm, le taux de germination est passé de 1 à 0,4. Le modèle de croissance hyperbolastique recommandé était de type III ou (H3), car il présentait un critère d'information d'Akaike (AIC) corrigé le plus bas pour les cultivars Halil (AICc =-14,6) et Nazok Shakhei, (AICc =-14,2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a commodity, in addition to its quality, its external package is also very essential. This paper briefly introduced the intelligent support vector machine (SVM) algorithm for color design of paper packaging. The features were extracted from photos of packages using scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT), and the intelligent algorithm was trained and tested using photos of paper packaging for ceramic products collected at the ceramic crafts market as a sample set. Two paper package schemes designed in this study were used for further test. The SVM algorithm was compared with the back-propagation (BP) algorithm and the convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm. The results showed that the three intelligent algorithms could evaluate the color design of paper packages, but the SVM algorithm was more accurate than the BP and CNN algorithms in evaluating the imagery of color design, both for the samples collected in the craft market and for the paper packaging scheme designed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the proportion of electric furnace steelmaking has increased rapidly, and the content of electric arc furnace dust has increased. Through comprehensive recovery of electric arc furnace dust, the harm of metallurgical solid waste can be reduced and economic value can be created. In this paper, it gives a common outline about the known recycling techniques from electric arc furnace dusts and presents the carbothermal reduction under vacuum. The evolution in reduction products in the process of vacuum carbothermal reduction of zinc-containing electric arc furnace dust is studied using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) phase and micro-morphology analysis. The thermodynamic conditions for reduction are computed using Factsage 7.1 program. Through thermodynamic study, it is found that the initial temperature of reducing zinc oxide decreases as the pressure of the system drops. In the process of the vacuum carbothermal reduction experiment, the type of reducing agent, reduction temperature, carbon content, and reaction time are studied. According to the test results, the optimum process parameters are determined as follows: reduction time 30 min, reduction temperature 1273 K. The dezincification effect of electric arc furnace dust can reach over 99%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated processing of plant raw materials refers to the primary areas of use of natural resources and their rotection. During the primary processing of bast plants, a large amount of waste remains – a shives. Part of the shives is burned, the rest goes into the dump. Due to its chemical composition, high content of cellulose shives can be used in the production of eco-friendly packaging. Packaging can be obtained with the complete or partial replacement of waste paper in its composition. Thanks to this, the issue of the shortage of waste paper at the enterprises of recycling of secondary raw materials will also be resolved. The purpose of the work is the production of eco-friendly biodegradable packaging from flax shives in industrial conditions. The paper presents the results of samples of lumpy egg packaging obtained by vacuum casting with the use of flax production waste. In industrial conditions, it was possible to replace part of the waste paper on the fire. For more efficient use, the shives was pre-ground to the consistency of wood flour M-560. The following indicators were determined: humidity, strength, moisture absorption capacity, antibacterial properties. The obtained results showed the optimal ratio of the mixture components, processing modes. According to all indicators, the packaging with a bone is not inferior, and in the case of tensile strength and antibacterial properties exceeds the normalized values.

The main theme of this paper is truthful communication of scientific results. Therefore, concepts of truth, error, quality and value are elaborated. The following bibliometric parameters are explained: the journal impact factor, the journal cited half-life, and the journal immediacy index, as well as paper counts, citation rates, citation index and the Hirsch index. These bibliometric indices and indicators are illustrated with examples derived from bibliometric analyses of the astronomical literature. Scientific misconduct in the broadest sense is discussed by category: researcher misconduct, author misconduct, referee and grant-reviewer misconduct. But also publisher misconduct, editorial misconduct and mismanagement, and research supervisor misbehavior are dealt with. The overall signatures of scientific misconduct are focused on, as well as the causes and the cures. This is followed by a Section devoted to whistleblowing. The biases of bibliometric indices, and the use and abuse of bibliometrics are illustrated. Moreover, suggestions for remediating the present defective system of bibliometric measurement and evaluation are worked out. Finally, the hopes and concerns of our students -- either expressed during or after the lectures, or through subsequent private contacts -- are passed on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific results strongly rely on previous studies, experiments, and observations. A huge quantity of data is produced by astronomers and needs to be available to the whole community. To support astronomers in their daily research work, the Centre de Donn´ ees astronomiques de Strasbourg (Strasbourg astronomical data center -- CDS) collects, verifies, homogenizes, and organizes information -- in particular, those published in academic journals -- in the most appropriate and comprehensible way. This CDS goal can reach the highest level of quality only through a close collaboration with journals, authors, and referees. This paper presents the succession of processes leading published data to the CDS databases, focusing on the strategy that maintains a high level of quality. Authors and referees are strongly encouraged to actively contribute to this endeavor. A few examples of how CDS databases are used through CDS services are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses facets of visual communication by way of images, graphs, diagrams and tabular material. Design types and elements of graphical images are presented, along with advice on how to create graphs, and on how to read graphical illustrations. This is done in astronomical context, using case studies and historical examples of good and bad graphics. Design types of graphs (scatter and vector plots, histograms, pie charts, ternary diagrams and three-dimensional surface graphs) are explicated, as well as the major components of graphical images (axes, legends, textual parts, etc.). The basic features of computer graphics (image resolution, vector images, bitmaps, graphical file formats and file conversions) are explained, as well as concepts of color models and of color spaces (with emphasis on aspects of readability of color graphics by viewers suffering from color-vision deficiencies). Special attention is given to the verity of graphical content, and to misrepresentations and errors in graphics and associated basic statistics. Dangers of dot joining and curve fitting are discussed, with emphasis on the perception of linearity, the issue of nonsense correlations, and the handling of outliers. Finally, the distinction between data, fits and models is illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nonsmooth semi-infinite interval-valued vector programming problem is solved in the paper by Jennane et al. (RAIRO:OR55 (2021) 1–11.). The necessary optimality condition obtained by the authors, as well as its proof, is false. Some counterexamples are given to call into question some results on which the main result (Jennane et al. [6] Thm. 4.5) is based. For the convenience of the reader, we correct the faulty in those results, propose a correct formulation of Theorem 4.5, and give also a short proof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. This work is the seventh study in a series dedicated to investigating degeneracies of simultaneous age, mass, extinction, and metallicity determinations of partially resolved or unresolved star clusters with Hubble Space Telescope broadband aperture photometry. In the sixth work (hereafter, Paper I), it was demonstrated that the adaptive aperture photometry, performed to avoid the majority of the projected foreground and background stars falling within the apertures, gives more consistent colour indices for star clusters. Aims. In this study, we aim to supplement the homogeneous multi-colour aperture photometry results published in Paper I and provide a complete M 31 Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey star cluster photometry catalogue for further analysis. Methods. Following Paper I, we used a two-aperture approach for photometry. The first aperture is the standard one used to measure total cluster fluxes. The second (smaller) aperture is introduced to avoid the bright foreground and background stars projecting onto the clusters. We selected the radii of smaller apertures to be larger than the half-light radii of the clusters. Results. We present the second part of the star cluster aperture photometry catalogues for a sample of 1477 star clusters from the M 31 PHAT survey not covered in Paper I. Compared to the M 31 PHAT star cluster aperture photometry catalogue published by Johnson et al., adjustments were made to the cluster centre coordinates, aperture sizes, and sky background levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper by Lee et al. describes the experiments on the unzipping of lambda DNA sequences as a function of force and temperature. This comment aims to stress that the unzipping takes place out of equilibrium due to high sequence-dependent free-energy barriers. The force at which a heterogeneous sequence is unzipped therefore depends on the experimental waiting time.

The author reflects on a research paper regarding plagiarism. It is a plague that any scientific publication in any field of discipline should fight and eradicate it all over the world. It highlights the case of M. Sreenivas and T. Srinivas where they succeeded in obtaining the publication of a plagiarized paper.

The paper proposed a new type of electromagnetic control support roll to obtain a better ability of controlling the plate shape. According to the principle of induction heating, the bulge shape of the support roll and the contact pressure between the rolls are changed to control the crown of the work roll. To analyze the shape control characteristics of the electromagnetic control sleeve support roll, the roll system model of the four-high mill was established and the no-load bulging experiment was carried out. The simulation results show that under different roll sleeve thickness, current frequency and current intensity, the bulge amount of support roll, contact pressure between rolls and work roll crown increase with heating time, but the growth rate gradually decreases to zero. The bulge of the support roll, the contact pressure between the rolls, the crown of the work roll change quasi-linearly with the current frequency and parabolically with the current intensity. The bulging amount of the support roll and contact pressure decrease with the increase of the thickness of the roll sleeve, and the crown of the work roll increases first and then decreases. This paper verifies the feasibility of adjusting the shape of roll gap by electromagnetic control sleeve support roll, which provides a basis for multi-zone joint control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dephosphorization behavior of multiphase steel slag in converter steelmaking process is very important for higher steel quality with ultra-low phosphorus content. In this paper, the multiphase steel slag with different BaO content reacted with hot metal at 1873 K temperature. The influence of the reaction on dephosphorization was investigated. The mineralogical phase was observed. The phosphorus partition between phosphorus enriched phase and liquid phase was discussed. The phosphorus partition ratio between steel slag and hot metal was obtained. The main mineralogical phases of steel slag were phosphorus enriched phase mCa2SiO4-Ba1-xCax(PO4)2 and RO (FeO/MgO) phase. The barium existed in phosphorus enriched phase and liquid phase, not in RO phase. The phosphorus content in phosphorus enriched phase increased from 1.12% to 1.36% with the addition of BaO. The phosphorus partition ratio between phosphorus enriched phase and liquid phase increased from 2.60 to 3.77, increased 45.00% by the addition of BaO. The phosphorus partition ratio between steel slag and hot metal increased from 55.35 to 97.50, increased 76.15% by the addition of BaO in steel slag. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a commodity, in addition to its quality, its external package is also very essential. This paper briefly introduced the intelligent support vector machine (SVM) algorithm for color design of paper packaging. The features were extracted from photos of packages using scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT), and the intelligent algorithm was trained and tested using photos of paper packaging for ceramic products collected at the ceramic crafts market as a sample set. Two paper package schemes designed in this study were used for further test. The SVM algorithm was compared with the back-propagation (BP) algorithm and the convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm. The results showed that the three intelligent algorithms could evaluate the color design of paper packages, but the SVM algorithm was more accurate than the BP and CNN algorithms in evaluating the imagery of color design, both for the samples collected in the craft market and for the paper packaging scheme designed in this paper.

Aims. As part of our observational projects at the La Silla Danish 1.54-meter telescope, we aim to measure the precise times of minimum light for eccentric eclipsing binaries in the Large Magellanic Cloud, needed for accurate determination of apsidal motion. Many new times of minima were derived from the photometric databases OGLE and MACHO. Several new minima were also observed. Five early-type and eccentric-orbit eclipsing binaries: HV 982 (P = 5.d 34, e = 0.15), HV 2274 (5.d 73, 0.17), MACHO 78.6097.13 (3.d 11, 0.05), MACHO 81.8881.47 (3.d 88, 0.22), and MACHO 79.5377.76 (2.d 64, 0.06) were studied. Methods. The O-C diagrams of the systems were analysed using all reliable timings found in the literature, and new or improved elements of apsidal motion were obtained. Light and radial velocity curves of MACHO 81.8881.47 and MACHO 79.5377.76 were analysed using the program PHOEBE. Results. We derived for the first time or significantly improved the relatively short periods of apsidal motion of 211 (12), 127 (8), 48 (13), 103 (20), and 42 (19) years, respectively. The internal structure constants, log k2, were found to be -2.37, -2.47, -2.17, -2.02, and -1.86 respectively, under the assumption that the component stars rotate pseudosynchronously. The relativistic effects are weak, up to 6% of the total apsidal motion rate. The masses for MACHO 81.8881.47 resulted in 5.51 (0.21) and 5.40 (0.19) M☉, while for MACHO 79.5377.76 the masses are 11.26 (0.35) and 11.27 (0.35) M☉, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue Française de Géotechnique is the property of EDP Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The iron ore screening process plays a pivotal role in determining the dimensions of pellets that enter the firing process of a pelletizing plant. The particle size distribution resulting from this process significantly influences the gas flow permeability within the induration furnace. This paper investigates the latest developments in screening technology, highlighting advancements that contribute to elevated levels of screening efficiency and enhanced plant productivity. The discussion turns around how these technological innovations pave the way for achieving the objective of producing high-quality iron ore pellets with minimal energy consumption, thereby improving the overall performance of the plant. The paper offers a comprehensive overview of the screening process flowsheet, encompassing these cutting-edge technologies, associated process parameters, and benefits quantified through DEM simulations. Moreover, it examines the consequential impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, providing a holistic perspective on the environmental implications of these advancements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An improved algorithm for diffractive optical element (DOE) with high imaging quality is proposed in this paper. The algorithm is designed based on amplitude division between signal and noise regions, further subdivides the noise region into two distinct parts. The image quality in the signal region will be effectively improved by employing a partition-constraint strategy, which imposes amplitude freedom on the first noise region while enforcing strict amplitude constraints on the second noise region. The principle of the algorithm, simulation analysis, and experimental results are presented. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the algorithm is feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction technology is the key technology to establish and express the objective world by using computer, and it is widely used in real 3D, automatic driving, aerospace, navigation and industrial robot applications. According to different principles, it is mainly divided into methods based on traditional multi-view geometry and methods based on deep learning. This paper introduces the above methods from the perspective of three-dimensional space representation. The feature extraction and stereo matching theory of traditional 3D reconstruction methods are the theoretical basis of 3D reconstruction methods based on deep learning, so the paper focuses on them. With the development of traditional 3D reconstruction methods and the development of deep learning related theories, the explicit deep learning 3D reconstruction method represented by MVSNet and the implicit 3D reconstruction method represented by NeRF have been gradually developed. At the same time, the dataset and evaluation indicators for 3D reconstruction were introduced. Finally, a summary of image based 3D reconstruction was provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article studies the elastic and locomotive properties of Miura-ori-type paper origami. The mechanics of a single paper crease is studied experimentally, and its non-elastic properties turn out to be crucial. The entire origami construction is then described as a collection of individual creases, its capability to launch small objects is evaluated, and the equation of motion is found. Thus, the height of the launched ball is studied theoretically and experimentally as a function of governing parameters.

The gamma-ray bursts (GRB) Swift satellite was launched at the end of 2004 and is funded until 2014. Its γ-ray, X-ray, and optical-UV instruments discover and localize about 100 GRBs per year. We report on the success of this mission by counting the number of papers with Swift data and their impact (i.e., number of citations to those papers) for the publication years 2005 to 2011. In the first year, the number of papers was 24, and it steadily increased to 287 in the year 2011, reaching Keck. If this trend continues, before the end of the mission Swift may be approaching XMM-Newton and Chandra, with ~400 publications. Science topics of Swift publications have widened over time, and in 2011 almost 3/4 of all publications were about other energetic targets, such as AGN, novae, supernovae, X-ray binaries, pulsars, massive and stellar black holes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]