bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Crossover Induced Electron Pairing and Superconductivity by Kinetic Renormalization in Correlated Electron Systems
Authors: Yanagisawa Takashi , Miyazaki Mitake , Yamaji Kunihiko
Published: September 2018

We investigate the ground state of strongly correlated electron systems based on an optimization variational Monte Carlo method to clarify the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity. The wave function is optimized by introducing variational parameters in an exponential-type wave function beyond the Gutzwiller function. The many-body effect plays an important role as an origin of superconductivity in a correlated electron system. There is a crossover between weakly correlated region and strongly correlated region, where two regions are characterized by the strength of the on-site Coulomb interaction U. We insist that high-temperature superconductivity occurs in the strongly correlated region.
Optimal Channel Design: A Game Theoretical Analysis
Authors: Khouzani MHR. , Malacaria Pasquale
Published: September 2018

This paper studies the problem of optimal channel design. For a given input probability distribution and for hard and soft design constraints, the aim here is to design a (probabilistic) channel whose output leaks minimally from its input. To analyse this problem, general notions of entropy and information leakage are introduced. It can be shown that, for all notions of leakage here defined, the optimal channel design problem can be solved using convex programming with zero duality gap. Subsequently, the optimal channel design problem is studied in a game-theoretical framework: games allow for analysis of optimal strategies of both the defender and the adversary. It is shown that all channel design problems can be studied in this game-theoretical framework, and that the defender’s Bayes–Nash equilibrium strategies are equivalent to the solutions of the convex programming problem. Moreover, the adversary’s equilibrium strategies correspond to a robust inference problem.
A Web Page Clustering Method Based on Formal Concept Analysis
Authors: Zhang Zuping , Zhao Jing , Yan Xiping
Published: September 2018

Web page clustering is an important technology for sorting network resources. By extraction and clustering based on the similarity of the Web page, a large amount of information on a Web page can be organized effectively. In this paper, after describing the extraction of Web feature words, calculation methods for the weighting of feature words are studied deeply. Taking Web pages as objects and Web feature words as attributes, a formal context is constructed for using formal concept analysis. An algorithm for constructing a concept lattice based on cross data links was proposed and was successfully applied. This method can be used to cluster the Web pages using the concept lattice hierarchy. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm is better than previous competitors with regard to time consumption and the clustering effect.
Exploring the Gas-Permeation Properties of Proton-Conducting Membranes Based on Protic Imidazolium Ionic Liquids: Application in Natural Gas Processing
Authors: Kallem Parashuram , Charmette Christophe , Drobek Martin , Julbe Anne , Mallada Reyes , Pina Maria Pilar
Published: September 2018

This experimental study explores the potential of supported ionic liquid membranes (SILMs) based on protic imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs) and randomly nanoporous polybenzimidazole (PBI) supports for CH4/N2 separation. In particular, three classes of SILMs have been prepared by the infiltration of porous PBI membranes with different protic moieties: 1-H-3-methylimidazolium bis (trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide; 1-H-3-vinylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide followed by in situ ultraviolet (UV) polymerization to poly[1-(3H-imidazolium)ethylene] bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide. The polymerization process has been monitored by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and the concentration of the protic entities in the SILMs has been evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Single gas permeability values of N2 and CH4 at 313 K, 333 K and 363 K were obtained from a series of experiments conducted in a batch gas permeance system. The results obtained were assessed in terms of the preferential cavity formation and favorable solvation of methane in the apolar domains of the protic ionic network. The most attractive behavior exhibited poly[1-(3H-imidazolium)ethylene]bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide polymeric ionic liquid (PIL) cross-linked with 1% divinylbenzene supported membranes, showing stable performance when increasing the upstream pressure. The CH4/N2 permselectivity value of 2.1 with CH4 permeability of 156 Barrer at 363 K suggests that the transport mechanism of the as-prepared SILMs is solubility-dominated.
Thermostable Xylanase Production by Geobacillus sp. Strain DUSELR13, and Its Application in Ethanol Production with Lignocellulosic Biomass
Authors: Bibra Mohit , Kunreddy Venkat Reddy , Sani Rajesh K.
Published: September 2018

The aim of the current study was to optimize the production of xylanase, and its application for ethanol production using the lignocellulosic biomass. A highly thermostable crude xylanase was obtained from the Geobacillus sp. strain DUSELR13 isolated from the deep biosphere of Homestake gold mine, Lead, SD. Geobacillus sp. strain DUSELR13 produced 6 U/mL of the xylanase with the beechwood xylan. The xylanase production was improved following the optimization studies, with one factor at a time approach, from 6 U/mL to 19.8 U/mL with xylan. The statistical optimization with response surface methodology further increased the production to 31 U/mL. The characterization studies revealed that the crude xylanase complex had an optimum pH of 7.0, with a broad pH range of 5.0–9.0, and an optimum temperature of 75 °C. The ~45 kDa xylanase protein was highly thermostable with t1/2 of 48, 38, and 13 days at 50, 60, and 70 °C, respectively. The xylanase activity increased with the addition of Cu+2, Zn+2, K+, and Fe+2 at 1 mM concentration, and Ca+2, Zn+2, Mg+2, and Na+ at 10 mM concentration. The comparative analysis of the crude xylanase against its commercial counterpart Novozymes Cellic HTec and Dupont, Accellerase XY, showed that it performed better at higher temperature, hydrolyzing 65.4% of the beechwood at 75 °C. The DUSEL R13 showed the mettle to hydrolyze, and utilize the pretreated, and untreated lignocellulosic biomass: prairie cord grass (PCG), and corn stover (CS) as the substrate, and gave a maximum yield of 20.5 U/mL with the untreated PCG. When grown in co-culture with Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius, it produced 3.53 and 3.72 g/L ethanol, respectively with PCG, and CS. With these characteristics the xylanase under study could be an industrial success for the high temperature bioprocesses.
Halloysite Nanotubes as an Effective and Recyclable Adsorbent for Removal of Low-Concentration Antibiotics Ciprofloxacin
Authors: Cheng Rongqing , Li Haipeng , Liu Zhiliang , Du Chunfang
Published: September 2018

In this work, halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) without modification were used as an efficient adsorbent to explore its natural adsorption capability, which showed excellent adsorption ability for low-concentration ciprofloxacin (CIP). The physicochemical properties of HNTs before and after adsorption were investigated by several characterization techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), N2 adsorption–desorption analysis, X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and zeta potential analysis. The influences of temperature, initial CIP concentration, adsorbent dosage, and pH value on CIP adsorption performance were also studied. The kinetics analysis revealed that CIP adsorption on HNTs was a kind of monolayer adsorption process and followed a pseudo-second-order rate equation. The zeta potential result indicated that electrostatic interaction between HNTs and CIP molecules was possibly responsible for the adsorption performance. Moreover, HNTs showed no apparent loss in CIP adsorption capability after five cycles, exhibiting potential applications in wastewater treatment.
Induration Process of MgO Flux Pellet
Authors: Gao Qiangjian , Jiang Xin , Zheng Haiyan , Shen Fengman
Published: September 2018

The induration process of oxidized pellet, containing the oxidation of magnetite phase (Fe3O4) and the sintering of oxidized magnetite phase (hematite–Fe2O3), is significant to obtain sufficient pellet strength. The current study focuses on the induration mechanisms of MgO flux pellet in terms of the oxidation process of Fe3O4 and densification process of the pellet. It is found that MgO dosage negatively affects the oxidation of Fe3O4 into Fe2O3. The number of recrystallized grain of Fe2O3 in the MgO flux pellet is less than that in the Non-MgO flux pellet. Additionally, an unreacted core model was applied to consider and clarify the oxidation of Fe3O4. According to the verification experiments, the experimental data and calculated results fit well. Therefore, the unreacted core model can describe the oxidation of Fe3O4 in the pellet induration process. Moreover, based on the development of pore parameters during the pellet induration process, a new index, the so-called oxide densification index (ODI) was defined to profoundly specify the densification degree of the pellet. The results show that the ODI of the MgO flux pellet maintains at a lower level compared with that of the Non-MgO flux pellet. It illustrates that MgO can substantially restrain the pellet densification process.
Evaluation of Magnetic Separation Efficiency on a Cassiterite-Bearing Skarn Ore by Means of Integrative SEM-Based Image and XRF–XRD Data Analysis
Authors: Buchmann Markus , Schach Edgar , Tolosana-Delgado Raimon , Leißner Thomas , Astoveza Jennifer , Kern Marius , Möckel Robert , Ebert Doreen , Rudolph Martin , Van den Boogaart Karl Gerald , Peuker Urs A.
Published: September 2018

Image analysis data obtained from scanning electron microscopy provided data for a detailed evaluation of the separation efficiency for various processes involving the beneficiation of particulate materials. A dry magnetic separation by a drum type magnetic separator served as a case study to visualize effects of processing of a skarn ore with a high content of cassiterite as ore mineral (~4 wt%). For this material, iron oxides and silicates are the main gangue mineral groups. Based on the obtained data, partition curves were generated with the help of local regression. From the partition curves, the separation efficiency was evaluated and the relevant particle properties deduced. A detailed analysis of the bias of the quantitative mineralogical data is presented. This bias was monitored and further analyzed in detail. Thorough analysis of feed and products of magnetic separation enabled identification of the most important factors that control losses of cassiterite to the magnetic product, namely the association with iron oxides and particle sizes below ~40 µm. The introduced methodology is a general approach applicable for the optimization of different separation processes and is not limited to the presented case study.
Supported Bimetallic AuPd Nanoparticles as a Catalyst for the Selective Hydrogenation of Nitroarenes
Authors: Qu Ruiyang , Macino Margherita , Iqbal Sarwat , Gao Xiang , He Qian , Hutchings Graham John , Sankar Meenakshisundaram
Published: September 2018

The solvent-free selective hydrogenation of nitrobenzene was carried out using a supported AuPd nanoparticles catalyst, prepared by the modified impregnation method (MIm), as efficient catalyst >99% yield of aniline (AN) was obtained after 15 h at 90 °C, 3 bar H2 that can be used without any further purification or separation, therefore reducing cost and energy input. Supported AuPd nanoparticles catalyst, prepared by MIm, was found to be active and stable even after four recycle experiments, whereas the same catalyst prepared by SIm was deactivated during the recycle experiments. The most effective catalyst was tested for the chemoselective hydrogenation of 4-chloronitrobenzene (CNB) to 4-chloroaniline (CAN). The activation energy of CNB to CAN was found to be 25 kJ mol−1, while that of CNB to AN was found to be 31 kJ mol−1. Based on this, the yield of CAN was maximized (92%) by the lowering the reaction temperature to 25 °C.
Experimental Investigation on 3D Graphene-CNT Hybrid Foams with Different Interactions
Authors: Kim Hye-soo , Lee Stephanie K. , Wang Mei , Kang Junmo , Sun Yan , Jung Jae Wook , Kim Kyunghoon , Kim Sung-Min , Nam Jae-Do , Suhr Jonghwan
Published: September 2018

Due to the exceptional properties of graphene, numerous possibilities for real applications in various fields have been provided. However, it is a challenge to fabricate bulk graphene materials with properties arising from the nature of individual graphene sheets, and which assemble into monolithic three-dimensional structures. If 3D structured graphene foam were made instead of 2D structured graphene, it is expected that it would be a facile fabrication, with relatively low cost with the possibility of scale-up, and would maintain the intrinsic properties of graphene. To solve the weaknesses of 2D structured graphene, this study aimed to fabricate a 3D graphene-carbon nanotubes (CNT) hybrid foam. In this study, CNT was used to reinforce the graphene foams. In addition, two different surfactants, known as sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate (SDBS) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), were applied to help CNT dispersion. The π–π interaction was induced by SDBS/CNT, while ionic interaction was derived from CTAB/CNT. To confirm the charge effect with different surfactants, SEM, Zeta-potential, FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, and compression tests were performed. When using a cationic surfactant, CTAB, compressive modulus, and strength increased due to the formation of relatively strong ionic bonding.
New Insights on the Pathogenesis of Takayasu Arteritis: Revisiting the Microbial Theory
Authors: Espinoza J. , Ai Suzue , Matsumura Itaru
Published: September 2018

Takayasu arteritis (TAK) is a chronic vasculitis that mainly affects the aorta, its major branches, and the pulmonary arteries. Since the description of the first case by Mikito Takayasu in 1908, several aspects of this rare disease, including the epidemiology, diagnosis, and the appropriate clinical assessment, have been substantially defined. Nevertheless, while it is well-known that TAK is associated with a profound inflammatory process, possibly rooted to an autoimmune disorder, its precise etiology has remained largely unknown. Efforts to identify the antigen(s) that trigger autoimmunity in this disease have been unsuccessful, however, it is likely that viruses or bacteria, by a molecular mimicry mechanism, initiate or propagate the auto-immune process in this disease. In this article, we summarize recent advances in the understanding of TAK, with emphasis on new insights related to the pathogenesis of this entity that may contribute to the design of novel therapeutic approaches.
Thermo-Sensitive Vesicles in Controlled Drug Delivery for Chemotherapy
Authors: Mazzotta Elisabetta , Tavano Lorena , Muzzalupo Rita
Published: September 2018

Thermo-sensitive vesicles are a promising tool for triggering the release of drugs to solid tumours when used in combination with mild hyperthermia. Responsivity to temperature makes them intelligent nanodevices able to provide a site-specific chemotherapy. Following a brief introduction concerning hyperthermia and its advantageous combination with vesicular systems, recent investigations on thermo-sensitive vesicles useful for controlled drug delivery in cancer treatment are reported in this review. In particular, the influence of bilayer composition on the in vitro and in vivo behaviour of thermo-sensitive formulations currently under investigation have been extensively explored.
Youth Activism in Political Squats between Centri Sociali and Case Occupate
Authors: Genova Carlo
Published: September 2018

Nowadays a lot of research describes most young people as barely interested in politics, expressing little trust in political institutions and far from any forms of institutional political participation. Moreover, most of the engaged youth are involved in forms of participation described as more civic and social than political, weakly ideological, more and more often digital and developed in virtual space, and usually experienced as one among several components of everyday personal lives. The article explores youth activism in political squats because it is a form of participation which, in countertendency, is political and radical in its aims and strategies, explicitly ideologically inspired, strongly rooted in physical places, and often quite central in everyday personal lives. The text is based on research conducted in the city of Turin (Italy) by means of qualitative interviews, participant observation and document analysis. Four main interconnected thematic dimensions are considered: Individuals’ biographical paths and meanings of activism; distinctive lifestyles and cultural sensitivities among the activists; collective narratives about contemporary society and possibilities of social change; patterns of intervention and forms of organization. On the basis of these analyses, the article maintains that this form of activism can be usefully interpreted as a real lifestyle, which has an explicit and intense political sense, but which young activists also connect with a much wider, more differentiated set of meanings.
University Students’ Social Demand of a Blue Space and the Influence of Life Experiences
Authors: Julian Jason P. , Daly Graham S. , Weaver Russell C.
Published: September 2018

Blue spaces such as rivers provide many ecosystem services (ES), including freshwater for consumption, habitat, water quality regulation, and multiple cultural amenities. While many studies have quantified the biophysical supply of ES provided by rivers, fewer have explored the social demand for ES due to the considerable effort involved in collecting these data. The San Marcos River (SMR) and the Texas State University (TXST) students that use this blue space represent a dynamic social-ecological system (SES) where nature experiences shape student values of the system. In this study, we survey the TXST student population about their use, value, and perception of the SMR, a highly used river of which headwaters originate on and flow through campus. From our extensive survey of these students, we find that educational and life experiences matter. Overall, we find that student exposure to the SMR in space, time, and experience does have measurable effects on their use, value, and perception of ES. This SES study demonstrates the importance of life experiences, place-based knowledge, and experiential learning in influencing one’s well-being and value of natural environments.
Investigating Health Systems in the European Union: Outcomes and Fiscal Sustainability
Authors: Popescu Madalina Ecaterina , Militaru Eva , Cristescu Amalia , Vasilescu Maria Denisa , Maer Matei Monica Mihaela
Published: September 2018

Healthcare systems aim to provide access to good quality care, while ensuring equity and solidarity. The fiscal sustainability of healthcare systems has become a matter of concern in recent European Union (EU) debates, considering the ever increasing need for adequate healthcare determined by factors such as aging population, investments in technology and infrastructure, medical products and wages. Our paper seeks to measure the health system performances of the EU countries by building up a composite index, which will then be used as a tool in investigating the relationship between health performance and the fiscal sustainability of health systems. A principal components analysis (PCA) was applied to build the composite index through the use of the most relevant health indicators provided by Eurostat and the Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. The composite index offers a comprehensive performance assessment and provides a clear ranking of the EU countries based on their health system performances. Further investigation of the link between health performance and fiscal sustainability revealed that higher ranks are associated with higher shares of health expenditures in gross domestic product (GDP), a large share of employment in the health sector, and higher duration of working life. These patterns are followed by efficient health systems, encountering reduced sustainability risks.
Measuring Taxi Accessibility Using Grid-Based Method with Trajectory Data
Authors: Jiang Shixiong , Guan Wei , He Zhengbing , Yang Liu
Published: September 2018

Accessibility has drawn extensive attention from city planners and transportation researchers for decades. With the benefits of large-scale and varying time, this study aims to combine the taxi global positioning system (GPS) data with a cumulative opportunity measure to calculate taxi accessibility in Beijing, China. As traffic conditions vary significantly over time and space, we select four typical time periods and introduce a grid-based method to divide the study area into grid cells. Both the GPS signals and opportunities that include the constant points of interest, total drop-offs, and dynamic drop-offs, are aggregated in these grid cells. The cumulative opportunity measure counts all reachable grid cells within the given travel time threshold, along with the corresponding opportunities. The results demonstrate that the accessibility varies in the four time periods, with better performance seen in the late-night hours. Although the spatial distributions of the three kinds of opportunities are different, these accessibilities show great similarity. In addition, the relative accessibilities of different measures are highly correlated. In general, grid cells with higher accessibilities in one time period are likely to also have higher accessibilities in other time periods. Moreover, the results suggest that taxi accessibility can be measured from its trajectory data only.
Adaptive Analysis of Green Space Network Planning for the Cooling Effect of Residential Blocks in Summer: A Case Study in Shanghai
Authors: Jiang Yunfang , Song Danran , Shi Tiemao , Han Xuemei
Published: September 2018

The effect of Urban Heat Islands (UHIs) is becoming increasingly serious in cities. Research on the adaptive planning policies for microthermal environments at the residential block level of cities is thus becoming of greater significance. Based on the cooling effect of planning control elements in residential block areas, the element effects characteristics of water bodies and vegetation distribution on the thermal environment of residential blocks were analyzed by using ENVI-met software. The simulation data analysis showed that the combination of water bodies and vegetation had a synergistic cooling effect. Based on these results, simulations of five effective adaptive measures were carried out step by step in planning scenarios, that is, improving the water bodies with vegetation corridors, the application of high-albedo material on streets, and increasing the number of green patches, east-west green corridors, and north-south green corridors. The results were as follows. First, although each of the five optimization strategies have a certain degree of cooling effect on the entire block, the superposition of each factor had a synergistic effect. Second, different spatial optimization strategies had different cooling ranges for each subzone. The optimization of the north-south green corridor, green patches, and water features corridors were particularly significant for microclimate cooling. The east-west green corridor has a certain influence on a certain range of downwind zones and had an auxiliary cooling effect. The high-albedo material also had a weak overall decrease function for the thermal environment. Finally, the downwind area of the urban creek network had a great impact on cooling intensity, with distance attenuation characteristics; it was also proposed that the comprehensive cooling effect of the green space network with optimized layout was greater than that of any single green space element. The optimization scenario planning research provided a method for improving the scientific distribution of adaptation measures in urban residential blocks.
STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING LOGICS, ENTREPRENEURIAL CAPABILITY AND OPPORTUNITY EXPLOITATION IN HIGH-TECH NEW VENTURES
Authors: Guo Runping
Published: September 2018

This paper aims at exploring the influences of effectuation and causation on opportunity exploitation in high-tech new ventures and the mediating role of entrepreneurial capability by integrating effectuation theory and a perspective of entrepreneurial capability. The data was collected from entrepreneurs and top executives in high-tech new ventures through an interview survey instrument implemented in China. Factor analysis and multivariate linear regressions were run to test the hypotheses. The Baron and Kenny (1986) mediation model assessment procedure was used to analyze the data. The empirical analysis results of 176 Chinese high-tech new ventures indicate that both effectuation and causation have positive effects on opportunity exploitation and that entrepreneurial capability plays a fully mediating role in the relationship between strategic decision logic and opportunity exploitation. It is also found that in the context of China’s transition economy, the interaction effect between effectuation and causation on opportunity exploitation and entrepreneurial capability is insignificant. The research furthers the development of effectuation theory and enriches current literature on entrepreneurial capability by linking strategic decision-making logics to entrepreneurial capability and opportunity exploitation systematically. Moreover, the research has significant managerial implications for high-tech entrepreneurial practices, particularly in transition economies.
Pour une lecture dialogique du droit international des droits humains. Remarques sur les constatations du Comité des droits de l'Homme dans l’affaire Baby Loup, et quelques réactions qu’elles ont suscitées.
Authors: Hennette Vauchez Stéphanie
Published: September 2018

À la suite de la saga judiciaire à rebondissements qui a finalement vu l’Assemblée plénière de la Cour de cassation confirmer son licenciement, Mme Afif, la puéricultrice voilée de la crèche Baby Loup, avait porté son affaire devant le Comité des droits de l’Homme de l’ONU. L’état européen de la jurisprudence relative à la liberté religieuse laissait en effet penser qu’entre Genève et Strasbourg, la première voie serait plus prometteuse. Et en effet, le Comité, qui a récemment rendu ses conclusions dans cette affaire, constate à la fois une violation de la liberté religieuse (art. 18 du PIDCP) et une discrimination intersectionnelle (art. 26). De manière frappante, le débat légitime aussitôt suscité par l’intervention de ce nouvel acteur dans l’« affaire » Baby Loup semble, depuis quelques semaines, obéré par une focalisation inattendue sur une mise en cause, voire une campagne de discrédit, du Comité des droits de l’Homme : plutôt que de discuter la solution au fond, on dénigre son auteur. Les constatations du Comité méritent pourtant d’être lues avec attention : classiques dans le raisonnement qui les sous-tend, elles recèlent en effet une innovation conceptuelle de taille qu’il importe de prendre au sérieux pour bien lire la cartographie globale de plus en plus contrastée des interprétations et qualifications juridiques à l’œuvre dans le champ de la liberté religieuse et des restrictions qu’on peut y apporter.
Online Compensation Behaviors From a Cognitive Dissonance Perspective
Authors: Charron Jean-Philippe , Redondo Ignacio
Published: September 2018

Conclusions about factors affecting software piracy are rarely consensual and often rely on student samples. In addition, the actual dilemma faced by software downloaders—whether to pay or not—received little attention in the past. In this paper, the authors suggest an explanation to the compensation dilemma facing software downloaders using the theory of cognitive dissonance. From a survey with more than 10,400 participants, researchers investigate a series of individual characteristics that can potentially differentiate three groups of software downloaders—groups defined by their respective online compensation behavior. One distinctive characteristic for each group of software downloaders is hypothesized and a predictive model is developed. Results suggest that always-paying downloaders are older and that erratic downloaders prefer quality products and engage in more online activities. Authors conclude with a discussion that includes several implications for the software industry.
Unique Taxonomy for Evaluating Fog Computing Services
Authors: Bhardwaj Akashdeep , Goundar Sam
Published: September 2018

Cloud computing has slowly but surely become the foremost service provider for information technology applications and platform delivery. However, Cloud issues continue to exist, like cyberattacks, slow last mile latency, and clouds lack client-centric and location-aware applications to process real time data for efficient and customized application delivery. As an alternative, Fog Computing has the potential to resolve these issues by extending the Cloud service provider's reach to the edge of the Cloud network model, right up to the Cloud service consumer. This enables a whole new state of applications and services which increases the security, enhances the cloud experience and keeps the data close to the user. This research article presents a review on the academic literature research work on Fog Computing, introduces a novel taxonomy to classify cloud products based on Fog computing elements and then determine the best fit Fog Computing product to choose for the Cloud service consumer.
Electronic and Traditional Word of Mouth as Trust Antecedents in Life Insurance Buying Decisions
Authors: Amron Amron
Published: September 2018

This research was conducted to examine the effects of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) and traditional word of mouth (tWOM) on the level of consumers' trust in deciding to buy life insurance products in Indonesia. It involved 430 respondents who were online community members in two of Indonesia's largest cities; Jakarta and Surabaya. Surprisingly, this study found that eWOM was a more dominant predictor than tWOM in influencing trust. The other research result is that the trust variable influences consumers' buying decisions in positive and significant ways. This research recommends that managements of life insurance companies should build promotion policies based on trust so that the consumer decision level to buy life insurance products increases. The trick is for company management to identify and develop practices that improve the roles of positive eWOM and tWOM, so as to increase the level of consumers' trust to buy.
Enabling the Interoperability of the Modelica DSL and Matlab Simulink towards the Development of Self-Adaptive Dynamic Systems
Authors: Tcholtchev Nikolay , Dudeck Grit , Wagner Michael , Hein Christian , Prakash Arun , Ritter Tom
Published: September 2018

Domain Specific Languages (DSL) are an important concept that is used in industry, in order to enable the fast and cost-efficient design of specific functions/components, and/or to target particular aspects of the systems' development and operation. In the current article, the authors describe their experiences on the integration of the Modelica DSL into a platform that enables the integration and interoperability of model-based tools across the various phases of the system development process. Furthermore, it is illustrated how Matlab Simulink can be used in parallel in the course of the same system design undertaking. Thereby, the authors present their approach and compare different tools which were used, in order to efficiently complete the integration, and finally exemplify the outcome on a case study related to a self-adaptive dynamic system from the automotive domain.
Systems Thinking and Systems Analysis in Six Sigma
Authors: Galli Brian J.
Published: September 2018

Systems thinking are a gateway to actualize all ideologies in Six Sigma within the IE/EM profession and research fields. Furthermore, systems thinking is an alternative that can generate a better research and/or project management platform. It can aid in planning, implementing, and optimizing strategies that can collaborate with project completion and accessibility. A different style of tasks accomplishment and goal attainment is made possible by generating better results. As indicated by the resources, there is a significant correlation between services that are given by managers and the performance of required results when a project is completed. Each process for systems thinking and systems analysis is a vital component to Six Sigma for the optimization of necessary methods in the best way possible.
Japanese R&D Profitability
Authors: Yamada Hirokazu , Nakayama Yuji
Published: September 2018

This article examines the contribution to profit from research and development (R&D) using industry-level accounting panel data for eight industries in Japan from 1986 to 2012. Problematically, simple least-squares regression estimation of production functions, where the authors specify sales or value-added as the explained variable and investment in R&D as the explanatory variable, involve endogeneity. Two possible ways of addressing this are the instrumental variables method and another that utilizes the orthogonality between error terms and appropriately time-lagged explanatory variables. The authors compare how both these methods eliminate endogeneity in the estimated production function and thus improve the accuracy of estimates of the rate of return on R&D. These findings thus contribute to the managerial decision-making process on R&D strategy by providing insights into the precise contribution of firm R&D to profit.
Survey of Motivation to Work Among Non-Regular Employees in the Food Services Companies
Authors: Matsuki Tomonori , Nakamura Jun
Published: September 2018

Over the last few decades, the workforce in Japan has been rapidly decreasing. At the same time, the number of non-regular employees has been increasing. Under these circumstances, employee satisfaction and commitment to their organizations are important issues. The authors focused on non-regular employees in the Japanese food services industry. In this industry, the proportion of non-regular employees is high, raising their motivation and stabilizing the workforce is a big management task. The authors studied satisfaction and commitment among employees of three major companies using a questionnaire. Factors associated with employee satisfaction were shown to vary significantly by length of employment. Additionally, three patterns of factors associated with employee satisfaction were identified.
Colored Petri Nets Based Fault Diagnosis in Service Oriented Architecture
Authors: Bhandari Guru Prasad , Gupta Ratneshwer , Upadhyay Satyanshu K.
Published: September 2018

Diagnosing faults in a service-oriented architecture (SOA) is a difficult task due to limited accessibility of software services. Probabilistic approaches of diagnostic faults may be insufficient due to the black-box nature of services. In SOA, software services may be obtained by different service providers and get composed at run-time. This is the reason why there are diagnosis faults at execution time, and is a costly affair. The authors have demonstrated a Color Petri Nets (CPN)-based approach to model different faults that may occur at execution time. Some heuristics are proposed to diagnose faults from the CPN modeling. CPN behavioral properties have also been used for fault diagnosis. The model may be helpful for dependability enhancement of an SOA-based systems.
Impact of Business Process Re-Engineering (BPR) Implementation on Customer Satisfaction in E-Commerce Companies
Authors: Getele Gutama Kusse , Jean Arrive Tsitaire
Published: September 2018

The objective of this article is to analyse the implementation of BPR in e-commerce platforms by measuring the level of customer satisfaction. The issues tested involve: how customers perceive the BPR objectives in e-commerce platforms; time used for diverse transactions before and after BPR; awareness and usage of BPR services provided by e-commerce platforms; satisfaction about the e-commerce platform services after BPR; BPR impact on customers, employees and e-commerce platform performance; advantages of BPR in e-commerce platforms and; difficulties faced by the customers after BPR in the e-commerce platform. Primary data was used through a survey questionnaire on a random sample of 402 student customers of Taobao and JD.com. The results found that time saving is significantly positive on implementation of BPR; following customers perceived a better quality of customer service. The sample student customers perceived that the BPR has a greater impact on customers than on employees, as well as on the performance of a platform.
Neurological Complications in Patients with Plasmodium Vivax Malaria from Karachi, Pakistan
Authors: Akhlaq A , Ghanchi NK , Usmani B , Shahzad R , Rahim A , Wasay M , Beg MA
Published: September 2018

Background

Malaria remains an endemic disease in Pakistan with an estimated healthcare burden of 1.6 million cases annually, with Plasmodium vivax accounting for 67% of reported cases. P. vivax is the most common species causing malaria outside of Africa, with approximately 13.8 million reported cases worldwide.

Method

We report a series of P. vivax cases with cerebral involvement that presented at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.

Results

The majority of the patients presented with high-grade fever accompanied by projectile vomiting and abnormal behaviour, seizures, shock and unconsciousness. Seven of 801 patients with P. vivax monoinfection presented or developed cerebral complications. P. vivax infections were diagnosed based on peripheral smears and rapid diagnostic testing.

Conclusion

P. vivax infection can lead to severe complications, although not with the frequency of Plasmodium falciparum infection. Current cases highlight an increasing trend of cerebral complications caused by P. vivax.
Concentration, temporal variation, and sources of black carbon in the Mt. Everest region retrieved by real-time observation and simulation
Authors: Chen Xintong , Kang Shichang , Cong Zhiyuan , Yang Junhua , Ma Yaoming
Published: September 2018

Abstract. Based on the high-resolution measurement of black carbon (BC) at the
Qomolangma (Mt. Everest) Station (QOMS, 28.36∘ N, 86.95∘ E,
4276 m a.s.l.) from 15 May 2015 to 31 May 2017, we investigated the
seasonal and diurnal variations in BC and its potential source regions. Both
monthly and daily mean BC concentrations reached the highest values in the
pre-monsoon season and the lowest values in the monsoon season. The highest
monthly and daily mean BC concentrations were at least 1 order of magnitude
higher than the lowest concentrations. For the diurnal variation, the BC
concentrations remained significantly high from late at night to morning in
the pre-monsoon season. Meanwhile, the westerly winds prevailed during this
period, implying the potential for pollutants to be transported across the
Himalayas from long-distance sources to QOMS along the valley. In the monsoon
season, the BC concentrations remained low but peaked in the morning and at
noon, which might be caused by local emissions from cooking. By
analyzing the simulation results from the backward trajectories of air masses
and the fire spot distribution from the MODIS data, we found that the
seasonal cycle of BC was significantly influenced by the atmospheric
circulation and combustion intensity in the Mt. Everest region. The transport
mechanisms of BC were further revealed using a WRF-Chem simulation during
severe pollution episodes. For the pollution event in the monsoon season, BC
aerosols in southern Asia were uplifted and transported to the Mt. Everest
region by the southerly winds in the upper atmosphere. However, for the
events in the pre-monsoon season, BC from northern India was transported and
concentrated on the southern slope of the Himalayas by the northwesterly
winds in the lower atmosphere and then transported across the Himalayas by
the mountain-valley wind. A relatively smaller amount of BC from northwestern
India and central Asia was transported to the Mt. Everest region by the
westerly winds in the upper atmosphere.
Impact of peatlands on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the Rajang River and Estuary, Malaysia
Authors: Müller-Dum Denise , Warneke Thorsten , Rixen Tim , Müller Moritz , Baum Antje , Christodoulou Aliki , Oakes Joanne , Eyre Bradley D. , Notholt Justus
Published: September 2018

Abstract. Tropical peat-draining rivers are known as potentially large sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere due to high loads of carbon they receive from surrounding soils. However, not many seasonally resolved data are available, limiting our understanding of these systems. We report the first measurements of carbon dioxide partial pressure (pCO2) in the Rajang River and Estuary, the longest river in Malaysia. The Rajang River catchment is characterized by extensive peat deposits found in the delta region, and by human impact such as logging, land use and river damming. pCO2 averaged 2919 ± 573 µatm during the wet season and 2732 ± 443 µatm during the dry season. This is at the low end of reported values for Southeast Asian peat-draining rivers, but higher than values reported for Southeast Asian rivers that do not flow through peat deposits. However, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and δ13C-DIC data did not suggest that peatlands were an important source of inorganic carbon to the river, with an average DIC concentration of 203.9 ± 59.6 µmol L−1 and an average δ13C-DIC of −8.06 ± 1.90 ‰. Also, compared to rivers with similar peat coverage, the pCO2 in the Rajang was rather low. Thus, we suggest that peat coverage is, by itself, insufficient as sole predictor of CO2 emissions from peat-draining rivers, and that other factors, like the spatial distribution of peat in the catchment and pH, need to be considered as well. In the Rajang River, peatlands probably do not contribute much to the CO2 flux due to the proximity of the peatlands to the coast. CO2 fluxes to the atmosphere were 2.28 ± 0.52 gC m−2 d−1 (wet season) and 2.45 ± 0.45 gC m−2 d−1 (dry season), making the Rajang River a moderate source of carbon to the atmosphere.
The effect of climate type on timescales of drought propagation in an ensemble of global hydrological models
Authors: Gevaert Anouk I. , Veldkamp Ted I. E. , Ward Philip J.
Published: September 2018

Abstract. Drought is a natural hazard that occurs at many temporal and spatial scales
and has severe environmental and socioeconomic impacts across the globe. The
impacts of drought change as drought evolves from precipitation deficits to
deficits in soil moisture or streamflow. Here, we quantified the time taken
for drought to propagate from meteorological drought to soil moisture
drought and from meteorological drought to hydrological drought. We did this
by cross-correlating the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) against
standardized indices (SIs) of soil moisture, runoff, and streamflow from an
ensemble of global hydrological models (GHMs) forced by a consistent meteorological
dataset. Drought propagation is strongly related to climate types, occurring
at sub-seasonal timescales in tropical climates and at up to multi-annual
timescales in continental and arid climates. Winter droughts are usually
related to longer SPI accumulation periods than summer droughts, especially
in continental and tropical savanna climates. The difference between the
seasons is likely due to winter snow cover in the former and distinct wet and
dry seasons in the latter. Model structure appears to play an important role
in model variability, as drought propagation to soil moisture drought is
slower in land surface models (LSMs) than in global hydrological models, but
propagation to hydrological drought is faster in land surface models than in
global hydrological models. The propagation time from SPI to hydrological
drought in the models was evaluated against observed data at 127 in situ
streamflow stations. On average, errors between observed and modeled drought
propagation timescales are small and the model ensemble mean is preferred
over the use of a single model. Nevertheless, there is ample opportunity for
improvement as substantial differences in drought propagation are found at
10 % of the study sites. A better understanding and representation of
drought propagation in models may help improve seasonal drought forecasting
as well as constrain drought variability under future climate scenarios.
The potential of global reanalysis datasets in identifying flood events in Southern Africa
Authors: Gründemann Gaby J. , Werner Micha , Veldkamp Ted I. E.
Published: September 2018

Abstract. Sufficient and accurate hydro-meteorological data are essential to manage water resources. Recently developed global reanalysis datasets have significant potential in providing these data, especially in regions such as Southern Africa that are both vulnerable and data poor. These global reanalysis datasets have, however, not yet been exhaustively validated and it is thus unclear to what extent these are able to adequately capture the climatic variability of water resources, in particular for extreme events such as floods. This article critically assesses the potential of a recently developed global Water Resources Reanalysis (WRR) dataset developed in the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (EU-FP7) eartH2Observe (E2O) project for identifying floods, focussing on the occurrence of floods in the Limpopo River basin in Southern Africa. The discharge outputs of seven global models and ensemble mean of those models as available in the WRR dataset are analysed and compared against two benchmarks of flood events in the Limpopo River basin. The first benchmark is based on observations from the available stations, while the second is developed based on flood events that have led to damages as reported in global databases of damaging flood events. Results show that, while the WRR dataset provides useful data for detecting the occurrence of flood events in the Limpopo River basin, variation exists amongst the global models regarding their capability to identify the magnitude of those events. The study also reveals that the models are better able to capture flood events at stations with a large upstream catchment area. Improved performance for most models is found for the 0.25° resolution global model, when compared to the lower-resolution 0.5° models, thus underlining the added value of increased-resolution global models. The skill of the global hydrological models (GHMs) in identifying the severity of flood events in poorly gauged basins such as the Limpopo can be used to estimate the impacts of those events using the benchmark of reported damaging flood events developed at the basin level, though this could be improved if further details on location and impacts are included in disaster databases. Large-scale models such as those included in the WRR dataset are used by both global and continental forecasting systems, and this study sheds light on the potential these have in providing information useful for local-scale flood risk management. In conclusion, this study offers valuable insights in the applicability of global reanalysis data for identifying impacting flood events in data-sparse regions.