bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quasar-mode Feedback in Nearby Type 1 Quasars: Ubiquitous Kiloparsec-scale Outflows and Correlations with Black Hole Properties
Authors: Rupke David S. N. , Gültekin Kayhan , Veilleux Sylvain
Published: November 2017

The prevalence and properties of kiloparsec-scale outflows in nearby Type 1 quasars have been the subject of little previous attention. This work presents Gemini integral field spectroscopy of 10 Type 1 radio-quiet quasars at

. The excellent image quality, coupled with a new technique to remove the point-spread function using spectral information, allows the fitting of the underlying host on a spaxel-by-spaxel basis. Fits to stars, line-emitting gas, and interstellar absorption show that 100% of the sample hosts warm ionized and/or cool neutral outflows with spatially averaged velocities (

) of 200–1300 

and peak velocities (maximum

) of 500–2600 

. These minor-axis outflows are powered primarily by the central active galactic nucleus, reach scales of 3–12 kpc, and often fill the field of view. Including molecular data and Type 2 quasar measurements, nearby quasars show a wide range in mass outflow rates (

to

) and momentum boosts

]. After extending the mass scale to Seyferts, dM/dt and dE/dt correlate with black hole mass (

and

). Thus, the most massive black holes in the local universe power the most massive and energetic quasar-mode winds.
Les soft skills au cœur du portefeuille de compétences des managers de demain
Authors: Theurelle-Stein Delphine , Barth Isabelle
Published: November 2017

Dans un monde complexe, mouvant et hyperconcurrentiel, les organisations accordent une importance accrue aux compétences relevant du savoir-être, autrement appelées soft skills . Pour autant, l’identification et l’accompagnement de ces compétences particulières ne vont pas de soi et incitent les organisations comme les établissements d’enseignement supérieur à proposer des solutions innovantes. Nous présentons dans cet article le processus de conception d’une plateforme numérique dédiée à l’évaluation et au développement des soft skills . La création de cet outil est le fruit d’une rechercheintervention menée au sein d’une école de Management française. Elle a nécessité la mobilisation d’un état de l’art centré sur les notions de compétence, de soft skills et d’apprentissage, ainsi que des études conduites respectivement auprès de vingt-trois DRH d’organisations françaises et internationales et auprès des parties prenantes de l’école. La plateforme ainsi créée repose sur trois principes : la réflexivité, l’apprentissage expérientiel et le collaboratif.
Une société qui refuse d’oublier. Les techniques d’oubli malmenées, ou la défaite de Chronos
Authors: Allinne Jean-Pierre
Published: November 2017

Le durcissement récent des politiques pénales en Occident, notamment l’allongement des délais de prescription des crimes, interpelle les juristes mais aussi les autres spécialistes de la déviance, sociologues, psychologues et historiens. Les vertus du temps pour la pacification sociale semblent aujourd’hui avoir été remisées au magasin des antiquités. Les citoyens exigeraient des appareils judiciaires inflexibles et à la mémoire infinie, nouvelles Érinyes. La présente contribution introductive entend rappeler dans un premier propos les aspects positifs de l’oubli judiciaire, tout en pointant dans un second temps la tendance lourde de nos sociétés à mettre en scène la mémoire des crimes de masse et à en faire l’un éléments de la démocratie.
Entre oubli et mémoire : le silence de négociation
Authors: Texier Pascal
Published: November 2017

L’analyse de l’oubli implique une double extension de perspectives. Au regard du temps tout d’abord, au regard des acteurs ensuite, en ne se limitant pas à la démarche oublieuse collective portée par la personne publique mais en interrogeant aussi les stratégies développées par la victime, le mis en cause, les témoins, voir par l’opinion publique. Dans le cadre d’un processus de traitement des conflits, il convient d’identifier les modes d’actions du silence et de l’oubli qui, dans beaucoup de cas, fonctionnent en synergie
Commémorations, mémoriaux et pratiques différenciées de la mémoire. Retour du Rwanda
Authors: Allinne Jean-Pierre
Published: November 2017

L’importance des commémorations et des mémoriaux dans la politique rwandaise de réconciliation après un génocide qui a fait un million de morts renvoie à la problématique bien connue en Occident des politiques de la mémoire. La présente contribution, rédigée à l’occasion d’un voyage d’étude en octobre 2016 sur les lieux de massacres au Rwanda, entend rappeler dans un premier temps que tout procès constitue un récit commun officialisé. D’où l’importance dans ce pays des jurys populaires incarnés par les gacaca . On soulignera dans un second temps l’utilisation récente au Rwanda de la mémoire comme vecteur de construction d’un récit national, tout en en soulignant ses risques de choix sélectifs et donc d’utilisation politique.
Le voyage du pardon
Authors: Salas Denis
Published: November 2017

Longtemps l’exigence de justice a dominé la société rwandaise frappée par le génocide des Tutsis. Plus de vingt ans après, la question du pardon est incontournable. Insatisfaits par un pardon de réconciliation (imposé par les autorités) et un pardon miséricordieux (suggérés par des prêtres zélés), les plus courageux entreprennent ce qu’ils appellent le « voyage du pardon ». Ils veulent parler à leur bourreau à la recherche d’une vérité qui seule pourra balayer les cendres du deuil.
Effect of Platelet-Rich Plasma in Nerve Regeneration After LASIK
Authors: Javaloy Jaime , Alió Jorge L. , Rodriguez Alejandra E. , Vega Alfredo , Muñoz Gonzalo
Published: November 2017

PURPOSE:

To investigate the effect of topical eye application of platelet-rich plasma (E-PRP) on the recovery of corneal sensitivity after LASIK and the anatomical recovery of the sub-basal corneal plexus as studied by confocal microscopy.

METHODS:

This was a randomized, consecutive, controlled, prospective and masked study on 108 myopic eyes receiving LASIK. The main variables of the study were the increase in corneal sensitivity (Cochet-Bonet aesthesiometer; Luneau, Paris, France) and the aspect of the sub-basal nerve plexus (confocal microscope). Additionally, a biomicroscopic study of the epithelial status of the cornea and a subjective questionnaire were completed. Each eye of each patient was assigned to one of two groups: 54 eyes treated with balanced saline solution and 54 fellow eyes receiving PRP drops for 3 months.

RESULTS:

No significant differences were detected when the corneal sensitivity thresholds were compared at any postoperative visit in both groups (
P
> .05 for all comparisons). Almost identical sub-basal fiber densities were estimated for both groups before LASIK (
t
test,
P
= .66). However, the type and severity of staining detected during the slit-lamp examinations at the first and third month postoperatively were significantly less evident in the E-PRP treatment group (Wilcoxon test,
P
< .05).

CONCLUSIONS:

PRP drops have beneficial effects for promoting epithelial status after LASIK but have no positive effect on recovery of corneal sensitivity, probably due to the limited bioavailability of growth factors in corneal stroma when the substance is topically administered.
Archéologie d’un parasite du cheval
Authors: Dufour Benjamin , Bailly Matthieu Le
Published: November 2017

Oxyuris equi, l’oxyure du cheval, est un vers parasite spécifique des équidés régulièrement mis en évidence lors des études paléoparasitologiques. Nous proposons ici une synthèse originale entre les mentions de ce parasite connues dans la bibliographie et les textes anciens, avec des données inédites issues de nos recherches en paléoparasitologie. Cette compilation des données montre que la plus ancienne observation de l’oxyure du cheval date du milieu du Ier millénaire avant notre ère en Asie centrale, et du second âge du Fer en Europe de l’Ouest. Les mouvements de populations au moment de la conquête romaine, les échanges commerciaux et l’avancée des troupes à travers l’Empire romain ont pu contribuer à diffuser le parasite en Europe de l’Ouest. Il apparaît également que l’oxyure du cheval n’est pas détecté sur le continent américain avant l’époque contemporaine. Le rôle des migrations européennes autour du xve siècle est discuté pour expliquer l’observation tardive d’Oxyuris equi sur le continent américain. L’absence d’observation de ce parasite avant l’âge du Fer en Eurasie peut également s’expliquer par son écologie, un échantillonnage non favorable, voire la relative rareté des restes de chevaux sur les sites archéologiques.
Le cheval de monte aux vie-viie siècles en Gaule du nord
Authors: Baillif-Ducros Christèle , Yvinec Jean-Hervé
Published: November 2017

La domestication du cheval a bouleversé les modes de communication, d’échanges et de transports. Durant le haut Moyen Âge, plusieurs formes équines se côtoient : le cheval, l’âne et leurs hybrides. L’âne est peu représenté au sein des assemblages osseux pour la période mérovingienne. Le cheval, quant à lui, voit sa proportion augmenter de manière constante dès la fin de l’Antiquité. Cet accroissement traduit très probablement un besoin accru en force de travail pour les labours, le transport (marchandises et hommes) et les activités militaires. Le cheval mérovingien est un animal de grande taille pour cette époque et présente une ossature gracile. La monte excessive de ce dernier par l’homme se traduit par la présence de pathologies équines principalement liées à l’usage du mors et de la selle. L’équipement équestre influe également sur le corps du cavalier. De récentes études archéozoologiques et anthropologiques présentent ces lésions dentaires et osseuses susceptibles d’être en lien avec la pratique de la monte.
L’art d’infléchir les âmes
Authors: Taylor Anne-Christine
Published: November 2017

Parmi les nombreux moyens d’exercer de l’influence sur autrui (humain ou non-humain), les Achuar-Jivaro de la Haute Amazonie disposent d’un répertoire de chants « magiques », nommés anent, censés agir sur les dispositions affectives du destinataire de l’invocation à l’égard de son énonciateur. La particularité de ces chants est qu’en principe, ils ne sont ni émis à haute voix ni entendus. L’article a pour objectif d’éclairer les singulières conditions d’énonciation et de réception de cette tradition orale/musicale tacite, ainsi que d’analyser le rôle qu’elle joue dans les techniques de fabrication de liens de parenté chez les Jivaro.
Human Rights, Poverty Reduction, Opportunities, and the Multinational Enterprise
Authors: Hipsher Scott A.
Published: November 2017

There is near universal agreement the human rights of all individuals should be respected. Yet in practice, there are differences of opinions over the universality and application of human rights in specific situations. Instead of advocating excessive scrutiny and regulation of human rights based on a single set of values, thus discouraging FDI in the least developed countries of the world; it is argued multinational enterprises can have the most positive impact on human rights by actively seeking out opportunities to operate in the areas of the world most affected by poverty. By concentrating on doing what the private sector does best, creating livelihood and purchasing options which individuals have the right to choose or reject, the private section can have a significant impact on creating wealth and reducing poverty.
Ease of Doing Business and Wealth Creation
Authors: Mongay Jorge
Published: November 2017

This chapter is written as a conceptual document, trying to explain how the Ease of Doing Business (EDB) and the regulatory framework developed by governments can help to decrease poverty or to increase wealth in a given country. It explains the 10 most important variables analyzed by the World Bank in its EDB research project. This chapter also cites and provides comments on the journal papers that support the research methodology used by the World Bank. It also provides the reader with a conceptual literature review on EDB, it analyzes separated data by geographical regions and suggests conceptually country factors which could influence on the Ease of Doing Business in the future, being this factor of capital importance for governments interested in wealth creation and economic growth. The main goal of the chapter is to help the reader to identify the most crucial issues when evaluating EDB and its impact on economic performance and consequently on poverty reduction.
Changing the Boundaries of Expectations
Authors: Munro Virginia
Published: November 2017

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, incorporating the Business and Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC), has stated more rapid attention needs to be directed to implementation of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (also known as Global Goals) by 2030, and this is particularly the case in developing countries. Strategy with this type of inclusion is at the forefront of the solution to current global climatic change and escalating social problems such as poverty, hunger, and inequality. This chapter argues that multinational enterprises (MNEs) are in an excellent position to implement Social Initiatives (SIs) as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework and incorporate this into their CSR strategy. This will allow MNEs to be key instigators of SDG implementation and collaboration across sectors, governments, and public and private entities. This chapter provides an explanation of the various frameworks that support MNEs to implement SDGs, and describes the requirements for implementation, followed by a summary of 15 case studies where SDGs have been successfully implemented within a Shared Value and CSR context.
Personality, Internet Addiction, and Other Technological Addictions
Authors: Hussain Zaheer , Pontes Halley M.
Published: November 2017

Research into technological addictions, such as Internet addiction, smartphone addiction and social networking addiction has greatly increased. It is important to understand how technological addictions may be related to different personality types and key individual differences associated to personality. This chapter provides empirical and conceptual insights into how technological addictions may be related to different personality types and key individual differences associated to personality. This chapter focuses on a number of technological addictions and illustrates how research and theory in this area has developed in relation to commonly researched personality traits (e.g., extraversion, introversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and narcissism) and key individual differences related to personality (e.g., personality disorders). The complex nature of personality and technological addictions is discussed together with areas for future research.
Loneliness and Internet Addiction Among University Students
Authors: Boylu Ayfer Aydiner , Günay Gülay
Published: November 2017

The present study was designed to determine the relationship between loneliness and Internet addiction, based on a sample of young generation from Turkey. Participants in this study were students of the Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey (n = 440). Findings show that there is a statistically significant relationship (p <0.05) between students' Internet addiction and only the grade they are studying. According to the correlation analysis, it was found that there is a negative relationship between the loneliness of students and the time they spend on the internet, and a positive relationship between internet addiction and age of students. Moreover, it was found that the age, time spent on the Internet and loneliness of university students were important determinants of Internet addiction.
CyberPsycho Effect
Authors: Nene Manisha J. , Gupta Prashant
Published: November 2017

The Internet has become a platform for different campaigns like political, social, cultural and marketing. Researchers are working on the effect of these services on human behavior and how the use of Internet and social network persuade the environment. This chapter focuses on the causes and effects of persuasive messages based on current trending news and events which can influence an individual's behavior. Cyberspace plus Psychological effect equals to CyberPsycho Effect leading to CyberPsycho attacks. In CyberPsycho attacks, an attacker uses cyberspace and social network to affect attitude or behavior of an individual or a targeted society, and achieve certain goals to attain political, religious, economical, and social gains. It motivates social media users towards a certain objective by spreading the persuasive messages in the form of texts, images or videos. The study is unique, valuable and compels the experts to understand the impact of Internet addiction.
Individual Differences and the Development of Internet Addiction
Authors: Macur Mirna , Pontes Halley M.
Published: November 2017

Internet addiction (IA) has emerged as a universal issue, but its international estimates vary due to different screening instruments and different samples. The present study aims to estimate the risk of IA in a school-based nationally representative sample of Slovenian adolescents and ascertain the interplay between IA, sociodemographic factors, free-time activities, self-control, and perceived satisfaction with life. Overall, the present study found that adolescents at greater risk for developing IA tend to be more passive in their free time, since they watch TV and play video games more than their peers, as well as chat on social media. Adolescents presenting high risk of IA displayed poorer levels of self-control in most cases and reported to be generally less satisfied with their lives in comparison to adolescents presenting low risk of IA.
Evaluation of Civil Society Organizations' Programs in San Diego City for Community Integration Policies of Refugee and Immigrant Women From MENA Region
Authors: El Dessouky Naglaa Fathy , Alzendi Dalia
Published: November 2017

The objective of this chapter is to provide a detailed analysis and evaluation of the women civil society organizations in San Diego city for community integration of women from MENA region. To reach the objective of this chapter, a detailed portrait of these organizations was introduced. Then, the authors evaluated a significant program provided to refugee and immigrant women from MENA region for community integration policies. The model proposed by Marceau et al. (1992) and Marceau (2012) is considered a useful tool to accomplish the objective of this chapter. The authors investigated the rationale of the program through the analysis of reason of existence, the targets, objectives, and nature of programs. Moreover, they examined the implementation phase of the program through the analysis of inputs, interventions and activities, outputs, effects, and impacts of the program. The results of this research enabled the authors to introduce convenient proposals for the decision makers to elaborate further efficient and effective community integration policies for women from MENA region living in San Diego city.
Factors Affecting Women Leadership to Reach Top Management and Its Impact on the Economy
Authors: Al-Alawi Adel Ismail , El Naggar Nehal Fareed
Published: November 2017

In today's dynamic organizations, as women climb up the corporate ladder, they don't seem to sustain and even might become extinct on the way upwards. In developing countries, especially in the Arab world, females have been regarded as the inferior of the species in a strictly male-dominated culture where they have been denied access to roles and positions open only to men, as male supremacy is the norm. This is a descriptive study based on mixed methods aiming to understand the role of women in the banking sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain. In-depth interviews were conducted with 5 female decision makers in the Bahraini banking sector to take their perspective on the topic with a total of 450 online questionnaires that were distributed to 26 banking institutions representing both conventional and Islamic retail banks with a response rate of 200 respondents with a valid response of 147 representing 33% response rate. Data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential analyses; techniques such as tabulation, percentages, and charts have been employed.
Penguins Search Optimization Algorithm for Community Detection in Complex Networks
Authors: Guendouz Mohamed , Amine Abdelmalek , Hamou Reda Mohamed
Published: November 2017

In the last decade, the problem of community detection in complex networks has attracted the attention of many researchers in many domains, several methods and algorithms have been proposed to deal with this problem, many of them consider it as an optimization problem and various bio-inspired algorithms have been applied to solve it. In this work, the authors propose a new method for community detection in complex networks using the Penguins Search Optimization Algorithm (PeSOA), the authors use the modularity density evaluation measure as a function to maximize and they propose also to enhance the algorithm by using a new initialization strategy. The proposed algorithm has been tested on four popular real-world networks; experimental results compared with other known algorithms show the effectiveness of using this method for community detection in social networks.
The Context of IST for Solid Information Retrieval and Infrastructure Building
Authors: Paul Prantosh Kumar
Published: November 2017

Development and progress mainly depends on education and its solid dissemination. Technologies as well as engineering solutions are important for the business and corporate houses. In this context, educational initiatives and programs play a vital role. Developing countries are suffering from many problems and therefore fostering new academic innovation and researches on economic development in today's context. Information Technologies and management science are important for solid business solutions. Therefore, education and knowledge dissemination play an important and valuable role. In many developing countries, gaps between industrial needs and the availability of skilled labor are limited. Information Sciences and Computing are the most valuable areas of study in today's knowledge world. The components, subsets, and subfields of Information Sciences and Technology are rapidly emerging worldwide. Among the emerging and popular areas, a few include Cloud Computing, Green Computing, Green Systems, Big-Data Science, Internet, Business Analytics, and Business Intelligence. Developing countries (like China, Colombia, Malaysia, Mauritius, India, Brazil, South Africa) depend in many ways on knowledge dissemination and solid manpower for their development. Thus, there is an urgent need to introduce such programs and the majority of these programs have been proposed here. Information Science and Technology (IST) with programs such as Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral Degrees have been listed here with academic and industrial contexts. This article highlights these programs with proper SWOT analysis.
Proactive Mobile Fog Computing using Work Stealing
Authors: Soo Sander , Chang Chii , Loke Seng W. , Srirama Satish Narayana
Published: November 2017

A common design of the Internet of Things (IoT) system relies on distant Cloud for management and processing, which faces the challenge of latency, especially when the application requires rapid response in the edge network. Therefore, researchers have proposed the Fog computing architecture, which distributes the computational data processing tasks to the edge network nodes located in the vicinity of data sources and end-users to reduce the latency. Although the Fog computing architecture is promising, it still faces a challenge in mobility when the tasks come from ubiquitous mobile applications in which the data sources are moving objects. In order to address the challenge, this article proposes a proactive Fog service provisioning framework, which hastens the task distribution process in Mobile Fog use cases. Further, the proposed framework provides an optimization scheme in task allocation based on runtime context information. A proof-of-concept prototype has been implemented and tested on real devices.
Experiences in Digital Video Composition as Sources of Self-Efficacy Toward Technology Use
Authors: Kauppinen Merja , Kiili Carita , Coiro Julie
Published: November 2017

As teachers' self-efficacy has been shown to be a crucial factor in technology integration, there is a need to understand the mechanisms that may raise teachers' self-efficacy toward technology integration. This article seeks to understand what sources of self-efficacy hands-on experiences with technology may provide to pre-service teachers. The participants were 37 students who were taking a course on digital literacies, where they composed a digital video in small groups. The data consists of students' individually written post-course self-evaluation reports. In the analysis of the reports, the authors identified text fragments that indicated either 1) sources of self-efficacy related to technology use, 2) students' willingness to use technology in their teaching, or 3) perceived value of technology use. Almost half of the students indicated some source of self-efficacy in their reports mastery experiences being the most frequent source of self-efficacy. The results suggest that digital video composition may be a good way to enhance students' self-efficacy related to technology use.
Robotics-Based Learning Interventions and Experiences From our Implementations in the RobESL Framework
Authors: Karampinis Tassos
Published: November 2017

In this article, the author presents Robotics-based learning interventions and the experiences at 56th Junior High School of Athens within the RoboESL Erasmus project; as well as a teaching approach using Educational Robotics. The RoboESL project aims to exploiting the potential of robotics for developing extra-curricular constructivist learning activities in schools that will help children at risk of failure or Early School Leaving (ESL) practice and develop their creativity skills, raise self-esteem, motivate their interest in schooling, and finally encourage them towards staying at school. During the implementation, students worked in a constructionist learning environment and were engaged in team activities. The author runs the project for two consecutive school years using EV3 Lego Mindstorms and participated in dissemination events organizing workshops where the students participated in the program taught elementary school pupils.
Application of Educational Robotics on an Automated Water Management System
Authors: Karkazis Panagiotis , Balourdos Panagiotis , Pitsiakos Georgios , Asimakopoulos Konstantinos , Saranteas Ioannis , Spiliou Thomais , Roussou Dimitra
Published: November 2017

Early School Leaving (ESL) has a negative impact in the European educational systems. Despite the fact that ESL is a result of a long process of school failures, it seems that part of it has to do with specific educational practices. Furthermore, the latest studies show that the adoption of the educational Robotics (ER) could help regain the student's interest in school. In this article, the authors present a teaching approach using Educational Robotics. Within the RoboESL Erasmus project, that aims to encourage the weaker students to maintain a positive attitude towards school and at the same time promote creative thinking, teamwork and problem solving. The activity examines the optimization problem of the irrigation process by designing and implementing a fully automated system based on the Arduino Uno platform. Students are motivated to take responsibility for their own learning and understand how knowledge itself is constructed, while trying to find solutions to technical issues related to the irrigation problem. They are encouraged to try different approaches to learning and to take responsibility for their own educational progress.
How Do Learners Perceive and Evaluate Their Digital Skills?
Authors: Černochová Miroslava , Voňková Hana , Štípek Jiří , Černá Petra
Published: November 2017

Self-assessment is commonly used in educational research (PISA, ICILS, etc.) and in real-life situations (advertisement for a post on labour market, etc.). Research studies demonstrate that in mathematics some people either over- or underestimate their competence. A similar situation can be expected in self-assessment of ICT skills. The authors of this article introduce pilot research carried out among Bachelors student teachers aimed at identifying key factors (economic, cultural, social, and personal) that may influence how young people perceive their digital literacy and knowledge.
A Conceptual Model for the Implementation of Lean Product Development
Authors: Aikhuele Daniel , Turan Faiz
Published: November 2017

Companies are faced with the need to address their product development challenges innovatively in order to stay competitive in today's market. One way of doing that is the integration of lean thinking in their product development process. However, due to the lack of clear understanding of the lean thinking performance measurements, the near absent of a holistic and unifying measuring method and the near or non-existence of an evaluating conceptual model to allow for the evaluation of the performance of the lean product development processes, many companies are unable to fully implement the lean thinking principle in their Product development process. In dealing with these issues, this article has therefore proposed a conceptual model which is based on some core critical success factors for the examination of lean performance in the product development process.
Properties of HDPE/Biodegradable Polymer Blends Using Modified Rubber
Authors: Wiphanurat Chanon , Hanthanon Pran , Kaisone Thiti , Magaraphan Rathanawan , Nampitch Tarinee
Published: November 2017

Biodegradable blends consisting of poly(lactic acid) (PLA), poly(butylene adipate-coterephthalate) (PBAT) and epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) were blended in two proportions at PLA/PBAT/ENR ratios of 70/10/20 and 70/20/10. Then, blends these biodegradable polymers (PLA/PBAT/ENR) with HDPE at various ratios of 20/80, 10/90 and 5/95 wt%, the mechanical and morphological properties were investigated. Tensile tests of PLA/PBAT/ENR blends revealed high tensile strength and modulus but low elongation compared with HDPE. The tensile strength, elongation at break and impact strength of HDPE/biodegradable polymer blends decreased with increasing biodegradable polymer contents. Morphological properties of HDPE/biodegradable polymer blends were investigated by scanning electron microscope, which showed smoother surface of HDPE/biodegradable (70/10/20) than those of (70/20/10) polymer blends according to ENR compatibilization effect.
Mechanical Properties of Biodegradable Mulch Films Contained Poly(Lactic Acid) and Modified Natural Rubber Prepared by Blown Film Extrusion
Authors: Nampitch Tarinee , Kaisone Thiti , Hanthanon Pran , Wiphanurat Chanon , Ouipanich Sumate , Thongjun Yupawan
Published: November 2017

The present research aimed to develop biodegradable mulch films that could resolve the environmental problem in agriculture. The research also compared the properties of transparent and black commercial mulch films. Blended films were prepared by blown-film extrusion, heating at 170 °C, and rotation at 55 rpm. The results revealed that the appearance of FTIR spectra were shown as functional groups of PBAT, described at 1710 cm-1 and 1267 cm-1, which corresponds to carbonyl groups in ester linkage and C-O in ester linkage, respectively. The presence of O-H carboxylic acids, attributed within the range 910-950 cm-1. The films containing 10% PLA loading showed peaks from 937 to 1712 cm-1, more than films containing 20% PLA loading. The carbon black contained in the biodegradable film could interrupt the mobility of the polymer chain, leading to decreased Tm, while the incorporation of carbon black in biodegradable mulch films could increase the tensile properties of blends.
Absorption Properties of Er3+/Nd3+ Co-Doped Magnesium Phosphate Glasses
Authors: Mazlan Mazlini , Zainuddin Lili Widarti , Zainuddin Nur Sha’adah , Sahar Md Rahim
Published: November 2017

Magnesium phosphate glasses co-doped with Er3+/Nd3+ concentration were prepared using melt quenching technique and thermal annealing process was proposed to control any defects found in the glass samples. The physical and optical properties of the samples were investigated. The amorphous nature of the samples were confirmed using X-ray diffraction pattern. It shows that all samples are in amorphous state. The optical band gaps and Urbach energies were obtained from the optical absorption spectra. The studyshows that the optical band gap energy,Eopt isincreasingas the Nd2O3 content increased. Meanwhile, Urbach energies, ΔE decreased due to increase of Nd2O3 content. The results obtained from this study shows that the optical band gap, Eopt and the Urbach energy, ΔE are intherange of 3.95 –3.98 eV and 0.367 –0.437 eV respectively.
Performance Index for Rehabilitating Water Distribution Networks
Authors: Salman Alaa
Published: November 2017

Municipalities in Canada have noted that 59% of their water systems need repair, and the condition of 43% of those systems is apparently intolerable. Hence, large volumes of rehabilitation projects are necessary to improve the performance of Canadian water systems. A reliability (R) and criticality index (CI) are crucial for prioritizing rehabilitation activities and distribute budgets efficiently. “R”is a function of failure rate, while“CI”is a function of economic, operational, social, and environmental factors. The research presented in this paper aimed to develop a performance index (PI) that considered the combination of “R” and “CI” for water networks. Sound techniques were utilized to generate the PImathematical model, such as reliability theory, simple multi-attribute rating technique (SMART), and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Data on water networks were collected from the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Four sub-networks were selected from the entire network to represent four types of land uses; undeveloped, residential, park, and commercial/industrial. The results showed that the PI value was 0.72, 0.93, 0.87, and 0.76 for these types of land uses, respectively. The developed models and tools are assumed to be beneficial for municipal engineers and managers as well as academics.
Geometric Configuration Analysis on the Inside Profile of the Vole’s Clawed Toes
Authors: Guo Zhi Jun , Wang Hong Hao , Jia De Shun
Published: November 2017

The inside profile curves data points of vole’s clawed toes had been analyzed. The least squares fitting method was used to analyze the inside profile curves data points for fitting mathematical model and fitted curves were expressed by polynomial equations. According to the curvature of fitted curves, the geometrical characteristics of the fitted curves were summed up. The variation curvature of inside profile curve from the second clawed toe was similar to the third and fourth. They both had two maximum vales and two minimum vales, and the larger maximum vales were at the tiptoes, the smaller maximum vales were at the end of toes’ babies. The fifth clawed toe had only one maximum vale and two minimum vales. And one of the minimum vales was at the tiptoe, another was at the end of toe’s baby. The maximum vale was in the center of the fifth clawed toe’s body. This concluded that the geometrical characteristics of inside profile curves were very important for vole’s digging ability. This provided design reference of energy-saving and high efficient for structure design of soil contact surface of tillage components.
Life Cycle Assessment on Layer-Combustion Hot-Water Boiler
Authors: Qi Guo Li , Guan Jian , Liu Xue Min , Wang Zhong Wei , Zhang Song Song , Chang Yong Qiang , Li Peng
Published: November 2017

Resource consumption, energy consumption, environmental impact and costs of layer-combustion boiler were assessed by using life cycle assessment (LCA). The costs during construction stage, resource and energy consumption during operation stage of layer-combustion hot-water boiler were focused on. Life cycle inventory was established. The results show that: throughout the boiler life cycle, the largest resource consumption indicator is that of coal with value of 93%, followed by natural gas and limestone. For the internal costs, although operation costs are obviously higher than construction costs, the construction costs still account for more than 30%, which is related to the relatively short servicetime of layer-combustion heating boilers. For the external costs, global warming accounts for the highest proportion.
Parameters Selection and Profile Calculation for Screw Rotor of Twin Screw Air Compressor
Authors: Qin Jian Hua , Li Wen , Deng Cheng Yun
Published: November 2017

Screw rotor is a vital factor affecting the working efficiency of twin screw air compressor. Therefore, a type of twin screw air compressor in coal mine production process is taken as the research object. Firstly, the working principle and process of female and male rotor was introduced and analyzed. Then, according to the principle of parameter selection of the female and male rotor, the relevant design parameters of the female and male rotor are given. Finally, the vector equation and the tooth surface equation of the segmented line are deduced and established respectively for the end face profile and end face tooth surface of the rotor, the area and volume of the tooth are also calculated. The equation of the tooth surface is set up by rotation of rotor’s tooth direction, the inter-tooth area is composed of multi-section smooth curve and the top arc connected to form a circle, which can be obtained by means of analytical method. In order to better meet the requirements of the machining process, it is necessary to coordinate the female and male rotor profile on the coordinate axis when the end face of the rotor is non-symmetrical. This paper provides an important reference for selecting parameters of the rotor of the female and male and calculation of rotor profile.
A Fourth-Order Compact Finite Difference Scheme to the Numerical Solution of FitzHugh-Nagumo Equation
Authors: Gui Dan Ping
Published: November 2017

The FitzHugh-Nagumo equation is an important nonlinear reaction-diffusion equation used in physics and chemicals. To obtain the numerical solution of partial differential equations, the compact finite difference method is widely applied. In this paper, I propose a new numerical solution to FitzHugh-Nagumo equation by using a fourth-order compact finite difference scheme in space, and a semi-implicit Crank-Nicholson method in time. I further calculate the results in terms of accuracy by leveraging the proposed method and exact solution. In particular, I compare the new method whose convergence order is close to four with the second order central difference method. The simulated results show the new solution is more accurate and effective. The proposed method is expected to be a good solution to some problems in the real world.
Process Optimization of Ethyl Ester Biodiesel Production from Used Vegetable Oil under Sodium Methoxide Catalyst and its Purification by Ion Exchange Resin
Authors: Namwong Sureerat , Punsuvon Vittaya , Arirop Wallop
Published: November 2017

Production of ethyl ester biodiesel from a tranesterification reaction of used vegetable oil and ethanol was carried out using a sodium methoxide catalyst. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to investigate the effect of experimental factors on the fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE) conversion. The design of the experiment involved a 5-level-4-factor central composite design and 30 runs were used to achieve the optimum percentage FAEE conversion that was determined by 1H-NMR. The coefficient of determination (R2) for the regression equation was 86.49% and the probability value (p<0.05) demonstrated a very good fit for the regression model. The optimum conditions obtained from RSM were 4% v/v of catalyst, 35.61% v/v of ethanol-to-oil, at 43.70°C reaction temperature, and 75.45 min of reaction time. The produced ethyl ester biodiesel was further purified by wet washing compared with dry washing using ion exchange resin. The result showed that the purified biodiesel by wet washing met the EN standard but the dry washing out put did not but only for the acid value. The blending of 10% v/v of purified biodiesel obtained from dry washing with 90% v/v of petrodiesel could decrease the acid value to meet the EN standard.
Modeling of Laser-Soft Tissue Interactions Using the Dual-Phase Lag Equation: Sensitivity Analysis with Respect to Selected Tissue Parameters
Authors: Majchrzak Ewa , Jasiński Marek , Turchan Łukasz
Published: November 2017

Thermal processes occurring in soft tissues are subjected to laser irradiation are analyzed. The transient bioheat transfer is described by the generalized dual-phase lag model. This model consists of two coupled equations concerning the tissue and blood temperatures supplemented by the appropriate boundary and initial conditions. The efficiency of the internal heat source connected to the laser irradiation results from the solution of the diffusion equation. This approach is acceptable when the scattering dominates over the absorption for wavelengths between 650 and 1300 nm, and just such a situation occurs in the case of soft tissues. Sensitivity analysis with respect to the parameters occurring in the mathematical model is done using the direct approach (differentiation of the basic equations and the boundary-initial conditions with respect to the parameter considered), especially the absorption coefficient and scattering coefficient of the soft tissue are considered. At the stage of numerical modeling the basic problem and additional problems connected with the sensitivity functions are solved using the finite difference method. In the final part the conclusions and examples of computations are presented.
Flow Characteristics around Circular Cylinders with a Normal Slit
Authors: Kuo Cheng Hsiung , Lin Hwa Wei , Chai Chih Tao , Cheng Fred
Published: November 2017

Alterations of boundary layer separation along the upper-rear surface of a baseline and slit cylinder and the formation of a vortex in the near-wake are investigated by particle image velocimetry (PIV) at Reynolds number 1000. The slit ratio (S/D) is 0.3. The phase-lock flow structures are referred to the time-dependent volume flux at the slit exit and are achieved by the modified phase-averaged technique. The alterations and the evolution of boundary-layer flow along the upper-rear surface are demonstrated by the phase-lock flow structures. It is found that the alternate blowing and suction at the slit exit serves as a perturbation to the boundary layer near the shoulder of the slit cylinder leading to a significant delay of flow separation and the flow reattachment of boundary-layer flow along the upper-rear surface of the cylinder. After perturbation, the vortex street behind a slit cylinder is more organized and stronger than that behind a baseline cylinder at Reynolds number 1000.
Fabrication of Levothyroxine Particles Encapsulated with Apatite
Authors: Yabutsuka Takeshi , Takai Shigeomi , Yao Takeshi
Published: November 2017

Apatite nuclei were obtained by raising pH of an acellular simulated body fluid (SBF). The apatite nuclei and levothyroxine particles were dispersed in an ultrapure water and the apatite nuclei were attached to the surface of the levothyroxine particles. By soaking in SBF, apatite formation was induced by the apatite nuclei located on the surface of the levothyroxine particles and the levothyroxine particles were encapsulated with apatite. We evaluated release behavior of levothyroxine in phosphate buffered saline.
Regeneration of Critical-Size Canine Calvarial Defect by Silica-Calcium Phosphate-Composite (SCPC) and Human Adipose Derived Stem Cells
Authors: El-Deftar Mervat Mohamed Fouad , El Din Mohamed Alla , El-Ghannam Ahmed
Published: November 2017

Reconstruction of large maxillofacial bone defects remains challenging even with diverse current treatment modalities. Silica-calcium phosphate nano composite (SCPC) is a resorbable bioactive bone graft material with a strong stimulatory effect on osteogenic gene expression of osteoblasts and mineralized tissue formation. In a prospective experimental study we investigated the ability of SCPC scaffold seeded with human adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) to regenerate bone in a critical-size canine calvarial defect. Porous SCPC discs were prepared by powder metallurgy method. ADSCs were isolated from human breast adipose tissue, expanded in vitro and differentiated along osteogenic lineage. Bilateral critical-sized defects, 2.5 cm in diameter each, were made in the calvaria of 12 adult dogs. One calvarial defect was filled by either SCPC disc alone (Group I) or SCPC disc seeded with 2.5 x106 osteoblast-like cells (Group II) while other defect was left empty (ungrafted). Bone tissue regeneration and graft material resorption was evaluated 3 and 6 months postoperative using CT and histology. Calvarial defects grafted with SCPC alone or SCPC-Cell construct were grossly repaired while control ungrafted defect did not repair. Microscopically the newly formed bone in the grafted defects was compact and integrated with the surrounding host tissues. Near complete resorption of the graft material was observed. Histomorphometric analysis demonstrated higher bone surface area and more graft material resorption in defects grafted with SCPC-cell hybrid compared to SCPC alone.
Bioinert Ceramics: State-of-the-Art
Authors: Piconi Corrado
Published: November 2017

Bioinert ceramics in use today are the result of more than 60 years of continuous development. Early studies were concentrated on alumina that in the late 1960s was the most advanced ceramic, and on pyrolytic carbon. After tests in orthopedic bearings, pyrolytic carbon found clinical applications in artificial heart valves, where it is in clinical use so far. After 1970 zirconia-toughened ceramics (YTZP, ZTA, ATZ) were investigated in view of their use as biomaterials in orthopedics. Especially the introduction of YTZP in clinics in the 1990s gave a new momentum to the use of inert bioceramics. So far, zirconia-toughened ceramics are replacing alumina because of their outstanding mechanical properties leading to high reliability in ceramic components. The behavior of ZTAs and ATZs are exploited in several innovative devices. Especially metal-free devices are of interest, because of the increasing number of patients sensitized to metals. Using zirconia-toughened ceramics were achieved remarkable development in ceramic knee replacements, a field pioneered by Japanese researchers, because the behavior of these materials allow the production of devices similar in size to the metallic ones. In dentistry, a number of manufacturers are marketing metal-free dental implants, as well as machinable zirconia blanks for the production of crowns, bridges, copings by CAD/CAM. Besides oxides, that in todays’ orthopedics and dentistry are the state-of-the-art bioinert ceramics, silicon nitride has found application in spinal surgery, and investigations in view of its use in joint replacement bearings are in progress.