bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Photonics design tool for advanced CMOS nodes
Authors: Alloatti Luca , Wade Mark , Stojanovic Vladimir , Popovic Milos , Ram Rajeev Jagga
Published: July 2015

Recently, the authors have demonstrated large‐scale integrated systems with several million transistors and hundreds of photonic elements. Yielding such large‐scale integrated systems requires a design‐for‐manufacture rigour that is embodied in the 10 000 to 50 000 design rules that these designs must comply within advanced complementary metal‐oxide semiconductor manufacturing. Here, the authors present a photonic design automation tool which allows automatic generation of layouts without design‐rule violations. This tool is written in SKILL, the native language of the mainstream electric design automation software, Cadence®. This allows seamless integration of photonic and electronic design in a single environment. The tool leverages intuitive photonic layer definitions, allowing the designer to focus on the physical properties rather than on technology‐dependent details. For the first time the authors present an algorithm for removal of design‐rule violations from photonic layouts based on Manhattan discretisation, Boolean and sizing operations. This algorithm is not limited to the implementation in SKILL, and can in principle be implemented in any scripting language. Connectivity is achieved with software‐defined waveguide ports and low‐level procedures that enable auto‐routing of waveguide connections.
Getting the most out of advanced farm management technologies: roles of technology suppliers and dairy industry organisations in supporting precision dairy farmers
Authors: Eastwood C. R. , Jago J. G. , Edwards J. P. , Burke J. K.
Published: July 2015

The use of advanced management technologies is increasing in pasture-based dairy systems, an evolution that has been termed precision dairying. This change has been driven, at least in part, by a continual increase in the scale of dairy farming and an associated drive for efficiencies, and technological advances in the area of sensors and automated devices for animal and resource management. In this paper, a survey of New Zealand precision dairy farmers is presented, highlighting lessons from farmers for technology developers and industry. Respondents indicated that they invested in technologies such as electronic identification, milk meters, automated cup removers, and automated drafting for labour saving and to make herd management easier. Most were positive about their investments, with perceived benefits from saved time during milking, decreased farm workforce requirement, and increased farm profitability. Farmers also felt there was unused functionality in their herd management systems and that they could benefit from increased support and training to get more from their technology. Technology suppliers need to refocus on after-sales service and tailor their support programs to stages of learning development, while creating a value proposition for farmers to pay for such services. Dairy industry organisations need to take the lead in building awareness of the opportunities such technologies offer, while facilitating access to independent information about technology capability and investment.
Aiming at the good
Authors: Saemi Amir
Published: July 2015

This paper shows how we can plausibly extend the guise of the good thesis in a way that avoids intellectualist challenge, allows animals to be included, and is consistent with the possibility of performing action under the cognition of their badness. The paper also presents some independent arguments for the plausibility of this interpretation of the thesis. To this aim, a teleological conception of practical attitudes as well as a cognitivist account of arational desires is offered.
Ecopsychology of Demeter and Persephone: from ancient life of Eleusinian mystery to postmodern biopolitics of Fukushima nuclear disaster
Authors: Nakajima Tatsuhiro
Published: July 2015

When reading the mythology of Persephone, Demeter, and Artemis from the perspective of ecopsychology, the meanings of natural disasters like the 2011 Japan Earthquake, followed by the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Disaster, are revealed in depth. The mythology of Persephone and Demeter provides an idea of the object relation between an individual life (bios) and life in general (zoë). Harold F. Searles analyzed the relation between environmental crisis and technology. The problem of externalization of developmental anxiety of the paranoid-schizoid position has been pointed out by Carl Jung, Wolfgang Giegerich, and Brigitte Egger in terms of unconscious acting out of mythology. In the history of science, epistemology of the notion of nature has been centered around the aphorism of Heraclitus: ‘Nature loves to hide’. As Jung presented an idea of psychoid unconscious, we need to find the secret of nature within the mystery of being.
Proteomic identification of novel cytoskeletal proteins associated with TbPLK, an essential regulator of cell morphogenesis inTrypanosoma brucei
Authors: McAllaster Michael R. , Ikeda Kyojiro N. , Lozano-Núñez Ana , Anrather Dorothea , Unterwurzacher Verena , Gossenreiter Thomas , Perry Jenna A. , Crickley Robbie , Mercadante Courtney J. , Vaughan Sue , de Graffenried Christopher L.
Published: July 2015

Trypanosoma brucei is the causative agent of African sleeping sickness, a devastating disease endemic to sub-Saharan Africa with few effective treatment options. The parasite is highly polarized, including a single flagellum that is nucleated at the posterior of the cell and adhered along the cell surface. These features are essential and must be transmitted to the daughter cells during division. Recently we identified the T. brucei homologue of polo-like kinase (TbPLK) as an essential morphogenic regulator. In the present work, we conduct proteomic screens to identify potential TbPLK binding partners and substrates to better understand the molecular mechanisms of kinase function. These screens identify a cohort of proteins, most of which are completely uncharacterized, which localize to key cytoskeletal organelles involved in establishing cell morphology, including the flagella connector, flagellum attachment zone, and bilobe structure. Depletion of these proteins causes substantial changes in cell division, including mispositioning of the kinetoplast, loss of flagellar connection, and prevention of cytokinesis. The proteins identified in these screens provide the foundation for establishing the molecular networks through which TbPLK directs cell morphogenesis in T. brucei.
Impact of electronic diabetes registry ‘Meaningful Use’ on quality of care and hospital utilization
Authors: Han Wencui , Sharman Raj , Heider Arvela , Maloney Nancy , Yang Min , Singh Ranjit
Published: July 2015

Objective To investigate whether the use of diabetes registries meeting Meaningful Use core objectives in primary care practices is associated with differences in quality of care and hospital utilization rates.

Materials and methods A practice assessment survey was conducted to identify whether and how practices were using diabetes registries. Insurance claims data from 2010 were used to compare the health outcomes of patients from practices that used diabetes registries meeting Meaningful Use–related objectives to the outcomes of patients from other practices. Logistic hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze the data.

Results Records from 12,514 diabetic patients (including 10 809 with type 2 diabetes) from 50 urban practices were included in the analysis. The results suggest that patients with type 2 diabetes who were treated in practices using registries for patient reminders were more likely to have completed the recommended laboratory testing (odds ratio [OR] 1.26, p < 0.01) and dilated retinal examinations (OR 1.14, p < 0.01). Patients in practices using registries for quality improvement were less likely to have ‘avoidable hospitalization’ (OR 0.83, p < 0.01) and emergency room visits (OR 0.76, p < 0.01). The use of a diabetes registry did not have a significant impact on the quality of care or hospital utilization for patients with type 1 diabetes.

Conclusion Use of diabetes registries meeting Meaningful Use core objectives is associated with higher completion or recommended lab tests and a lower hospital utilization rate for patients with type 2 diabetes.
The Acropolis of Athens
Authors: Klein Nancy
Published: July 2015

The Acropolis (Akropolis) of Athens has played an important role in the history of the city from prehistory to the present day. It is both a physical location, standing on a rocky outcrop above the city, and a locus for the expression of religious and civic identity. Excavations have uncovered evidence of a Mycenaean palace and citadel from the Bronze Age. Habitation and burials continued into the early Iron Age, while evidence for religious activities appears in the 8th century bce. The character of the Acropolis continues to change in the 6th century before becoming the preeminent sanctuary of the city. Herodotus (I, 59) suggests that it was occupied by the ruling family of Athens (Peisistratids), and the remains of a late-6th-century cistern in the northwest corner may indicate the presence of a garrison as well. Several temples were built to honor Athena, patron goddess of the city, and a range of votive offerings, including stone sculpture, bronzes, pottery, and other objects, were dedicated in the sanctuary. In 480/479 bce, the invading Persian army captured and laid waste to Athens, including the sanctuary on the Acropolis. Only decades later, following the defeat of the Persians, did the Athenians begin a systematic rebuilding of the Acropolis. These efforts, initiated by the Athenian statesman and general Pericles, led to the construction of the temple of Athena Parthenos (Parthenon), the Propylaia, the temple of Athena Polias (Erechtheion), and the temple of Athena Nike. For almost a thousand years, the Acropolis functioned as a center of civic and ritual activity dedicated to Athena and other deities. Sometime in the 6th century ce, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Classical buildings were adapted to new purposes, including residences and churches. Under the Ottoman Empire, the Acropolis was transformed into a village and garrison. In the 19th century, the Acropolis became a symbol and centerpiece of the newly independent Greek nation as excavations removed postclassical remains and restored the ancient monuments. Today, archaeological research and conservation efforts continue to make new discoveries and contribute to our understanding of the Acropolis.
Tim O'Brien
Authors: Calloway Catherine
Published: July 2015

Tim O’Brien (b. 1946) is a well-known contemporary American writer of seven novels, one memoir, and numerous short stories, nonfiction essays, and reviews. He has been a regular contributor to The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Esquire, and selections from The Things They Carried and other works are frequently anthologized in textbooks and short-story collections, including The Best American Short Stories of the Century. One of three children, O’Brien lived in his birth town of Austin, Minnesota, until the age of ten when his family relocated to Worthington, Minnesota. After a public school education, he graduated from Macalaster College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, summa cum laude with a degree in political science. Shortly after graduation, his plans for graduate school were interrupted by the Vietnam War. The United States Army drafted O’Brien, and he served in Quang Ngai Province in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970. Upon his discharge from the military, O’Brien enrolled in graduate school at Harvard University, planning to study government, and worked briefly as a reporter for the Washington Post. When the short sketches that O’Brien published in magazines and newspapers while in Vietnam led to the publication of If I Die in A Combat Zone in 1973, O’Brien began a full-time writing career and left graduate school. His reputation was established in 1979 when he received the National Book Award for his second novel, Going After Cacciato (1978). In addition to that novel, his best-known work includes The Things They Carried (1990), which received the Chicago Tribune Heartland Award for fiction and France’s Prix du Meilleur Livre Estranger and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and In the Lake of the Woods (1994), which received the novel of the year award from Time magazine and the Society of American Historians’ James Fenimore Cooper Prize for outstanding historical novel. O’Brien has also received the National Magazine Award and the Katherine Anne Porter Award, as well as numerous other accolades. In 2012 he received the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation’s Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award, and in 2013 he had the distinction of becoming the first fiction writer to receive The Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing. O’Brien is well known for blurring the boundaries between fiction and fact and for debating the issue of relative truth in his work while treating such universal subjects as love, death, the imagination, memory, the art of writing, aging, and war. While the topic of Vietnam emerges in all of O’Brien’s major works, he does not consider himself a war writer per se. Since 1999, O’Brien has taught at Texas State University at San Marcos where he holds the Roy F. and Joann Cole Mitte Chair in Creative Writing. He continues to give readings and talks around the country.
Psychological Contracts
Authors: Hendricks Hilary M. , Shanklin Braydon , Bingham John , Sanders Glen R.
Published: July 2015

Psychological contracts are the perceptions about obligations, often unwritten and even unspoken, between employees and employers. Based on principles of social exchange and self-regulation, these contracts—as seen through the eyes of the employee—motivate employees’ actions, shape the employment relationship, and have important implications for employees’ behaviors and affective experiences at work. Broadly, psychological contracts comprise an employee’s perception of the contributions he or she provides and the corresponding inducements the employer provides. Researchers of psychological contracts seek to understand the employee’s evaluation of (a) the balance between his or her contributions and the employer’s inducements and (b) whether delivered levels of contributions and inducements match what the employee views as obligatory.
Epidemiologic Investigation of a Cluster of Neuroinvasive Bacillus cereus Infections in 5 Patients With Acute Myelogenous Leukemia
Authors: Rhee Chanu , Klompas Michael , Tamburini Fiona B. , Fremin Brayon J. , Chea Nora , Epstein Lauren , Halpin Alison Laufer , Guh Alice , Gallen Rachel , Coulliette Angela , Gee Jay , Hsieh Candace , Desjardins Christopher A. , Pedamullu Chandra Sekhar , DeAngelo Daniel J. , Manzo Veronica E. , Folkerth Rebecca Dunn , Milner Danny A. , Pecora Nicole , Osborne Matthew , Chalifoux-Judge Diane , Bhatt Ami S. , Yokoe Deborah S.
Published: July 2015

Background.  Five neuroinvasive Bacillus cereus infections (4 fatal) occurred in hospitalized patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) during a 9-month period, prompting an investigation by infection control and public health officials.

Methods.  Medical records of case-patients were reviewed and a matched case-control study was performed. Infection control practices were observed. Multiple environmental, food, and medication samples common to AML patients were cultured. Multilocus sequence typing was performed for case and environmental B cereus isolates.

Results.  All 5 case-patients received chemotherapy and had early-onset neutropenic fevers that resolved with empiric antibiotics. Fever recurred at a median of 17 days (range, 9–20) with headaches and abrupt neurological deterioration. Case-patients had B cereus identified in central nervous system (CNS) samples by (1) polymerase chain reaction or culture or (2) bacilli seen on CNS pathology stains with high-grade B cereus bacteremia. Two case-patients also had colonic ulcers with abundant bacilli on autopsy. No infection control breaches were observed. On case-control analysis, bananas were the only significant exposure shared by all 5 case-patients (odds ratio, 9.3; P = .04). Five environmental or food isolates tested positive for B cereus, including a homogenized banana peel isolate and the shelf of a kitchen cart where bananas were stored. Multilocus sequence typing confirmed that all case and environmental strains were genetically distinct. Multilocus sequence typing-based phylogenetic analysis revealed that the organisms clustered in 2 separate clades.

Conclusions.  The investigation of this neuroinvasive B cereus cluster did not identify a single point source but was suggestive of a possible dietary exposure. Our experience underscores the potential virulence of B cereus in immunocompromised hosts.
PV16-Positive Invasive Conjunctival Squamous Cell Carcinoma in an Anophthalmic Socket
Authors: Gaier Eric D. , Jakobiec Frederick A. , Stagner Anna M. , Emerick Kevin , Yoon Michael K.
Published: July 2015

Squamous cell carcinoma arising from conjunctiva in the anophthalmic socket decades following enucleation is rare, but has been previously described. The authors report the first case associated with human papillomavirus (serotype 16) with regional metastases. The patient ultimately underwent orbital exenteration along with parotidectomy and neck dissection which revealed positive lymph nodes. The literature is reviewed relating to this uncommon entity and its management with an analysis of potential contributing risk factors.
The anatomical distribution of genetic associations
Authors: Wells Alan , Kopp Nathan , Xu Xiaoxiao , O’Brien David R. , Yang Wei , Nehorai Arye , Adair-Kirk Tracy L. , Kopan Raphael , Dougherty J.D.
Published: July 2015

Deeper understanding of the anatomical intermediaries for disease and other complex genetic traits is essential to understanding mechanisms and developing new interventions. Existing ontology tools provide functional annotations for many genes in the genome and they are widely used to develop mechanistic hypotheses based on genetic and transcriptomic data. Yet, information about where a set of genes is expressed may be equally useful in interpreting results and forming novel mechanistic hypotheses for a trait. Therefore, we developed a framework for statistically testing the relationship between gene expression across the body and sets of candidate genes from across the genome. We validated this tool and tested its utility on three applications. First, using thousands of loci identified by GWA studies, our framework identifies the number of disease-associated genes that have enriched expression in the disease-affected tissue. Second, we experimentally confirmed an underappreciated prediction highlighted by our tool: variation in skin expressed genes are a major quantitative genetic modulator of white blood cell count - a trait considered to be a feature of the immune system. Finally, using gene lists derived from sequencing data, we show that human genes under constrained selective pressure are disproportionately expressed in nervous system tissues.
Concerted activities of Mcm4, Sld3 and Dbf4 in control of origin activation and DNA replication fork progression
Authors: Sheu Yi-Jun , Kinney Justin B. , Stillman Bruce
Published: July 2015

Eukaryotic chromosomes initiate DNA synthesis from multiple replication origins in a temporally specific manner during S phase. The replicative helicase Mcm2-7 functions in both initiation and fork progression and thus is an important target of regulation. Mcm4, a helicase subunit, possesses an unstructured regulatory domain that mediates control from multiple kinase signaling pathways, including the Dbf4-dependent Cdc7 kinase (DDK). Following replication stress in S phase, Dbf4 and Sld3, an initiation factor and essential target of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase (CDK), are targets of the checkpoint kinase Rad53 for inhibition of initiation from origins that have yet to be activated, so-called late origins. Here, whole genome DNA replication profile analysis is employed to access under various conditions the effect of mutations that alter the Mcm4 helicase regulatory domain and the Rad53 targets, Sld3 and Dbf4. Late origin firing occurs under genotoxic stress when the controls on Mcm4, Sld3 and Dbf4 are simultaneously eliminated. The regulatory domain of Mcm4 plays an important role in the timing of late origin firing, both in an unperturbed S phase and dNTP limitation. Furthermore, checkpoint control of Sld3 impacts fork progression under replication stress. This effect is parallel to the role of the Mcm4 regulatory domain in monitoring fork progression. Hypomorph mutations insld3are suppressed by amcm4regulatory domain mutation. Thus, in response cellular conditions, the functions executed by Sld3, Dbf4 and the regulatory domain of Mcm4 intersect to control origin firing and replication fork progression, thereby ensuring genome stability.
Producing the Ethylene Signal: Regulation and Diversification of Ethylene Biosynthetic Enzymes
Authors: Booker Matthew A. , DeLong Alison
Published: July 2015

Strictly controlled production of ethylene gas lies upstream of the signaling activities of this crucial regulator throughout the plant life cycle. Although the biosynthetic pathway is enzymatically simple, the regulatory circuits that modulate signal production are fine tuned to allow integration of responses to environmental and intrinsic cues. Recently identified posttranslational mechanisms that control ethylene production converge on one family of biosynthetic enzymes and overlay several independent reversible phosphorylation events and distinct mediators of ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation. Although the core pathway is conserved throughout seed plants, these posttranslational regulatory mechanisms may represent evolutionarily recent innovations. The evolutionary origins of the pathway and its regulators are not yet clear; outside the seed plants, numerous biochemical and phylogenetic questions remain to be addressed.
The Soybean-Specific Maturity Gene E1 Family of Floral Repressors Controls Night-Break Responses through Down-Regulation of FLOWERING LOCUS T Orthologs
Authors: Xu Meilan , Yamagishi Noriko , Zhao Chen , Takeshima Ryoma , Kasai Megumi , Watanabe Satoshi , Kanazawa Akira , Yoshikawa Nobuyuki , Liu Baohui , Yamada Tetsuya , Abe Jun
Published: July 2015

Photoperiodism is a rhythmic change of sensitivity to light, which helps plants to adjust flowering time according to seasonal changes in daylength and to adapt to growing conditions at various latitudes. To reveal the molecular basis of photoperiodism in soybean (Glycine max), a facultative short-day plant, we analyzed the transcriptional profiles of the maturity gene E1 family and two FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) orthologs (FT2a and FT5a). E1, a repressor for FT2a and FT5a, and its two homologs, E1-like-a (E1La) and E1Lb, exhibited two peaks of expression in long days. Using two different approaches (experiments with transition between light and dark phases and night-break experiments), we revealed that the E1 family genes were expressed only during light periods and that their induction after dawn in long days required a period of light before dusk the previous day. In the cultivar Toyomusume, which lacks the E1 gene, virus-induced silencing of E1La and E1Lb up-regulated the expression of FT2a and FT5a and led to early flowering. Therefore, E1, E1La, and E1Lb function similarly in flowering. Regulation of E1 and E1L expression by light was under the control of E3 and E4, which encode phytochrome A proteins. Our data suggest that phytochrome A-mediated transcriptional induction of E1 and its homologs by light plays a critical role in photoperiodic induction of flowering in soybean.
Crystal structure of pencycuron
Authors: Kang Gihaeng , Kim Jineun , Kwon Eunjin , Kim Tae Ho
Published: July 2015

In the title compound [systematic name: 1-(4-chlorobenzyl)-1-cyclopentyl-3-phenylurea], C19H21ClN2O, which is a urea fungicide, the cyclopentyl ring adopts an envelope conformation, with one of the methylene C atoms adjacent to the C atom bonding to the N atom as the flap. The dihedral angles between the mean planes of the central cyclopentyl ring (all atoms) and the chlorobenzyl and phenyl rings are 77.96 (6) and 57.77 (7)°, respectively. In the crystal, N—H...O hydrogen bonds link adjacent molecules, formingC(4) chains propagating along theb-axis direction. The chains are linked by weak π–π interactions between the chlorobenzene rings [centroid–centroid separation = 3.9942 (9) Å], resulting in two-dimensional networks extending parellel to the (110) plane.
Crystal structure of (1R,2S,4R,7R,8S,9R)-3,3-dichloro-8,9-epoxy-4,8,12,12-tetramethyltricyclo[5.5.0.02,4]dodecane
Authors: Benzalim Ahmed , Auhmani Aziz , Ait Itto My Youssef , Daran Jean-Claude , Auhmani Abdelwahed
Published: July 2015

The title compound, C16H24Cl2O, is built up from two fused six- and seven-membered rings which bear a dichlorocyclopropane group and an epoxy group, respectively. In the molecule, the six-membered ring adopts an envelope configuration with the C atom linking the epoxy ring at the flap, while the seven-membered ring adopts a boat–sofa conformation.
User studies and user education programmes in archival institutions
Authors: Katuu Shadrack
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine user studies as well as user education within the context of public services offered by archival institutions. It highlighted some of the key aspects that constitute both concepts drawing from history in order to provide a better understanding in the context of current professional discussions.

Design/methodology/approach

– The review analysed peer-reviewed articles ranging from the late 1970s to the present time to illuminate debates in the archival professional underpinning the current understanding of user studies and user education.

Findings

– The paper outlined the different paths used in user studies to ensure data collection is exhaustive and provides a nuanced assessment of user needs. It also outlined the two related paradigms of structuring user education programmes, highlighted the points at which they differ and the rich discussions resulting from comparative analysis.

Originality/value

– The paper demonstrated that there is a rich corpus of professional literature on both user studies and user education, expounding on different aspects that would ensure both are designed and implemented effectively.
Knowledge management reliability assessment: an empirical investigation
Authors: Hesamamiri Roozbeh , Mahdavi Mazdeh Mohammad , Jafari Mostafa , Shahanaghi Kamran
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– A perfect knowledge management (KM) initiative is one that achieves its objectives without any failure during a pre-defined period. However, KM implementation is not perfect in every organization as it requires substantial changes in organizational infrastructures, including culture, structure, and technology. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose a model for assessing the reliability of KM to help organizations evaluate their ability to implement KM successfully by identifying key reliability variables, modeling the complex interaction structure among variables, and determining the probability of failure for each KM capability.

Design/methodology/approach

– In this study, relevant variables are identified by a thorough analysis of related references in literature. In order to determine the compound structure of complicated interactions among variables, a group-based approach is utilized. Based on the combined cognitive maps, a cognitive network is constructed as a framework for graphically representing the logical relationships between variables and capturing the uncertainty in the dependency among these variables using conditional probabilities. The applicability of the proposed approach and the efficacy of the model was verified and validated with data from a banking institution.

Findings

– Results show that KM reliability can be defined by the degree to which required KM capabilities, including infrastructure and process capabilities, have the ability to perform as intended in a certain organizational environment. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that reliability assessment of KM through a hybrid approach of fuzzy cognitive map and Bayesian network is possible and useful.

Practical implications

– The proposed reliability assessment model facilitates the process of understanding why and how failures occur in KM. Moreover, the proposed approach evaluates the probability of success for each variable as well as for the entire KM initiative. Therefore, it can provide insight for managers and executives into the degree of reliability for their existing KM and prevention of failures in vital factors through necessary actions.

Originality/value

– The suggested approach to KM reliability assessment is a novel method that provides powerful arguments for a more holistic view of KM reliability factors, which is crucial for the successful implementation of KM.
Book or NOOK? Information behavior of academic librarians
Authors: McDonald Elizabeth , Rosenfield Marina , Furlow Tim , Kron Tara , Lopatovska Irene
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to understand patterns in information behavior of academic librarians, individuals who influence information technology adoption in academic libraries and parent institutions. Librarians’ perception of their student patrons’ information behavior was also investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

– An exploratory study investigated professional and personal information behavior of eight librarians employed by various academic institutions in the Greater New York City area. The data were collected in face-to-face interviews and analyzed using the content analysis technique.

Findings

– The study found that librarians’ institutional affiliations had no effect on their information behavior. The patterns in librarians’ information behavior at work and leisure suggest that those behaviors are influenced by contextual variables, personal preferences and tasks, and are no different from the general population. Overall, librarians had accurate, evidence-driven understanding of their student patrons’ information behavior.

Research limitations/implications

– The study findings have limited generalizability due to the small sample size and limited geographical pool of participants.

Practical implications

– Academic library is often seen as the hub of the adoption of information technologies as librarians introduce new digital content and resources to the rest of academia. Understanding information behavior of academic librarians contributes to understanding factors that are affecting technology adoption in academia overall, and can potentially inform recommendations for optimizing academic library offerings.

Originality/value

– The study is an original investigation of the relationships between institutional characteristics and librarian demographics, librarian information behavior at work and leisure, and librarians’ perception of students’ information behavior and information preferences.
Dynamic phasor analysis and design of phase-locked loops for single phase grid connected converters
Authors: Rashed Mohamed , Klumpner Christian , Asher Greg
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of the paper is to introduce the dynamic phasor modelling (DPM) approach for stability investigation and control design of single-phase phase-locked loops (PLLs). The aim is to identify the system instabilities not predicted using the existent analysis and design methods based on the simplified average model approach.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper starts by investigating the performance of three commonly used PLL schemes: the inverse park-PLL, the second-order generalised integrators (SOGI)-frequency-locked loop and the enhanced-PLL, designed using the simplified average model and will show that following this approach, there is a mismatch between their actual and desired transient performance. A new PLL design method is then proposed based on the DPM approach that allows the development of fourth-order DPM models. The small-signal eigenvalues analysis of the fourth-order DPM models is used to determine the control gains and the stability limits.

Findings

– The DPM approach is proven to be useful for single-phase PLLs stability analysis and control parameters design. It has been successfully used to design the control parameters and to predict the PLL stability limits, which have been validated via simulation and experimental tests consisting of grid voltage sag, phase jump and frequency step change.

Originality/value

– This paper has introduced the use of DPM approach for the purpose of single-phase PLL stability analysis and control design. The approach has enabled accurate control gains design and stability limits identification of single-phase PLLs.
Efficiency optimization of a two-port microwave oven: a robust automated procedure
Authors: Bressan Fernando , Dughiero Fabrizio , Bullo Marco , Di Barba Paolo
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– In the paper, a single-objective optimization problem characterized by high-frequency field analysis is investigated: the optimal design of a two-port microwave (MW) oven, taking into account the possibility of two independently controlled sources, with the aim of improving the efficiency is considered as the case study. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– A high-frequency field analysis has been coupled to a robust evolutionary-computing algorithm in order to create an appropriate procedure for the optimal design of a MW oven based on a cascade optimization: in the first step the optimized geometry has been identified, while in the second step the optimized electrical supply values have been synthesized. In particular, the direct problem has been faced by means of a 3D-FEM approach in order to obtain realistic results; the inverse problem has been faced by means of a derivative-free robust algorithm based on evolutionary strategy in order to get a fast convergence of the solution.

Findings

– A new design procedure for high efficiency MW ovens for household application by means of the proposed numerical approach.

Practical implications

– These results allow industrial designers to improve this kind of devices.

Originality/value

– The original contribution of the paper is the systematic approach to the optimal design of a MW oven with multiple feeding, based on the link between an algorithm of evolutionary strategy optimization algorithm and a finite-element solver.
A hybrid controller for PWM active rectifiers based LCL filters
Authors: Marzouki Amira , Hamouda Mahmoud , Fnaiech Farhat
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose a new hybrid control method of pulse width modulation (PWM) active rectifiers tied to the grid through an LCL filter. The control method is designed with the aim to achieve a perfect regulation of the dc-bus voltage; a near unity input power factor (UIPF) operation as well as a high quality of the line currents.

Design/methodology/approach

– The proposed hybrid control method consists of a PI-based linear controller cascaded with a nonlinear one. The nonlinear controller (inner loop) is designed using the input-output feedback linearization (IOFL) theory. It should control both the dc-bus voltage and the input currents at the converter’s poles. The linear controller (outer loop) is devoted to control the reactive line current so as to achieve a near UIPF.

Findings

– A perfect regulation of the dc-bus voltage and a near UIPF operation are achieved. Moreover, a high quality of the line currents is obtained. The robustness and effectiveness of the proposed control method have been successfully tested under variation of the dc voltage reference as well as grid and load disturbances.

Practical implications

– The proposed method is useful for single-stage and two-stage grid connected photovoltaic systems, wind energy conversion, and distributed power generation systems.

Originality/value

– The main novelty of this paper is the combination of linear and nonlinear controllers with the aim to control a PWM active rectifier tied to the grid through a third-order LCL filter. In the opinion, such control method has not been applied to this converter in earlier research papers. The numerical simulations carried out under normal and abnormal conditions confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
A Chebyshev collocation method for Hallén’s equation of thin wire antennas
Authors: Wang Yinkun , Luo Jianshu , Chen Xiangling , Sun Lei
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose a Chebyshev collocation method (CCM) for Hallén’s equation of thin wire antennas.

Design/methodology/approach

– Since the current induced on the thin wire antennas behaves like the square root of the distance from the end, a smoothed current is used to annihilate this end effect. Then the CCM adopts Chebyshev polynomials to approximate the smoothed current from which the actual current can be quickly recovered. To handle the difficulty of the kernel singularity and to realize fast computation, a decomposition is adopted by separating the singularity from the exact kernel. The integrals including the singularity in the linear system can be given in an explicit formula while the others can be evaluated efficiently by the fast cosine transform or the fast Fourier transform.

Findings

– The CCM convergence rate is fast and this method is more efficient than the other existing methods. Specially, it can attain less than 1 percent relative errors by using 32 basis functions whena/his bigger than 2×10−5 wherehis the half length of wire antenna andais the radius of antenna. Besides, a new efficient scheme to evaluate the exact kernel has been proposed by comparing with most of the literature methods.

Originality/value

– Since the kernel evaluation is vital to the solution of Hallén’s and Pocklington’s equations, the proposed scheme to evaluate the exact kernel may be helpful in improving the efficiency of existing methods in the study of wire antennas. Due to the good convergence and efficiency, the CCM may be a competitive method in the analysis of radiation properties of thin wire antennas. Several numerical experiments are presented to validate the proposed method.
Improved coil design for repetitive magnetic stimulation of the spinal cord
Authors: Cretu Mihaela , Micu Dan Doru
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the response of the spinal cord, the transmembrane potential, during lumbar magnetic stimulation, using a figure of eight coil.

Design/methodology/approach

– In order to obtain a precise stimulation of the spinal cord and not the nearby nervous fibres, the coil from the electric circuit of the magnetic stimulator is optimized. The new proposed design is based on the turns’ placement inside the coil, the number of turns required to produce activation. Once the coil configuration is established, the paper addresses other issues that need to be solved: reducing power consumption (the low efficiency of power transfer from the coil to the tissue is a major drawback) and reducing coil heating.

Findings

– The traditional commercial coils, used for magnetic stimulation in some preliminary experiments, had proved their inability to specifically stimulate the target tissue, without activating the surrounding areas and the low efficiency of power transfer from the coil to the nervous tissue. A more realistic modelling of the stimulating coil, based on the distribution of turns inside the coil can lead to directly stimulation of the spinal cord, during lumbar magnetic stimulation.

Practical implications

– If the electrical circuit of the magnetic stimulator is improved, the direct stimulation of the spinal cord is obtained; so, this technique could facilitate functional motor activities, including standing and stepping in paralyzed people, without requiring implantation of electrodes like in electrical stimulation.

Originality/value

– The authors underlined that the spinal cord stimulation can be achieved by magnetic stimulation, only if the parameters of the stimulator circuit are optimized. Therefore an original and realistic modelling of the inductive coil was proposed based on number and turns’ distribution within the coil. The coil is designed so that reducing the excessive heating makes it difficult in obtaining a more frequent repetition of stimulus.
Design of a new nonlinear model predictive fault tolerant control system using multi-sensor data fusion technique based on UKF algorithm
Authors: Ghesmat Mohammad , Khalkhali Akbar
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– There are high expectations for reliability, safety and fault tolerance are high in chemical plants. Control systems are capable of potential faults in the plant processing systems. This paper proposes is a new Fault Tolerant Control (FTC) system to identify the probable fault occurrences in the plant.

Design/methodology/approach

– A Fault Diagnosis and Isolation (FDI) module has been devised based on the estimated state of system. An Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) is the main innovation of the FDI module to identify the faults. A Multi-Sensor Data Fusion algorithm is utilized to integrate the UKF output data to enhance fault identification. The UKF employs an augmented state vector to estimate system states and faults simultaneously. A control mechanism is designed to compensate for the undesirable effects of the detected faults.

Findings

– The performance of the Nonlinear Model Predictive Controller (NMPC) without any fault compensation is compared with the proposed FTC scheme under different fault scenarios. Analysis of the simulation results indicates that the FDI method is able to identify the faults accurately. The proposed FTC approach facilitates recovery of the closed loop performance after the faults have been isolated.

Originality/value

– A significant contribution of the paper is the design of an FTC system by using UKF to estimate faults and enhance the accuracy of data. This is done by applying a data fusion algorithm and controlling the system by the NMPC after eliminating the effects of faults.
Simulation of nonlinear systems subject to modulated chirp signals
Authors: Condon M. , Iserles A.
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to apply a novel technique for the simulation of nonlinear systems subject to modulated chirp signals.

Design/methodology/approach

– The simulation technique is first described and its salient features are presented. Two examples are given to confirm the merits of the method.

Findings

– The results indicate that the method is appropriate for simulating nonlinear systems subject to modulated chirp signals. In particular, the efficiency and accuracy of the method is seen to improve as the chirp frequency increases. In addition, error bounds are given for the method.

Originality/value

– Chirp signals are employed in several important applications such as representing biological signals and in spread spectrum communications. Analysis of systems involving such signals requires accurate, appropriate and effective simulation techniques.
New technologies of multi-layered printed circuit boards, intended of rapid-design electronic modules
Authors: Stęplewski Wojciech , Mroczkowski Mateusz , Darakchiev Radoslav , Futera Konrad , Kozioł Grażyna
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study was the use of embedded components technology and innovative concepts of the printed circuit board (PCB) for electronic modules containing field-programmable gate array (FPGA) devices with a large number of pins (e.g. Virtex 6, FF1156/RF1156 package, 1,156 pins).

Design/methodology/approach

– In the multi-layered boards, embedded passive components that support FPGA device input/output (I/O), such as blocking capacitors and pull-up resistors, were used. These modules can be used in rapid design of electronic devices. In the study, the MC16T FaradFlex material was used for the inner capacitive layer. The Ohmega-Ply RCM 25 Ω/sq material was used to manufacture pull-up resistors for high-frequency pins. The embedded components have been connected to pins of the FPGA component by using plated-through holes for capacitors and blind vias for resistors. Also, a technique for a board-to-board joining, by using castellated terminations, is described.

Findings

– The fully functional modules for assembly of the FPGA were manufactured. Achieved resistance of embedded micro resistors, as small as the smallest currently used surface-mount device components (01005), was below required tolerance of 10 per cent. Obtained tolerance of capacitors was less than 3 per cent. Use of embedded components allowed to replace the pull-up resistors and blocking capacitors and shortens the signal path from the I/O of the FPGA. Correct connection to the castellated terminations with a very small pitch was also obtained. This allows in further planned studies to create a full signal distribution system from the FPGA without the use of unreliable plug connectors in aviation and space technology.

Originality/value

– This study developed and manufactured several innovative concepts of signal distribution from printed circuit boards. The signal distribution solutions were integrated with embedded components, which allowed for significant reduction in the signal path. This study allows us to build the target object that is the module for rapid design of the FPGA device. Usage of a pre-designed module would lessen the time needed to develop a FPGA-based device, as a significant part of the necessary work (mainly designing the signal and power fan-out) will already be done during the module development.
Emotional management in the workplace
Authors: Cole Graham
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

Design/methodology/approach

– This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the papers in context.

Findings

– Statistics show that populations are aging in many countries around the world. Growth in the number of older employees in the workplace is one major consequence of this demographic shift. As such individuals have become important assets to their firm, leaders should strive to ascertain how to maximize the value they provide. How age is conceptualized determines its impact on attitudes and behaviors regarding work. Such as, involvement and satisfaction with the job and commitment toward the firm can vary depending on the way in which the employee’s age is articulated. Past research has identified subjective age and social age among the different conceptualizations. But, chronological age and age reflected by work experience are often most relevant in workplace contexts.

Practical implications

– The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations.

Originality/value

– The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.