bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An Active Chemo-mechanical Model to Predict Adhesion and Microenvironmental Regulation of 3D Cell Shapes
Authors: Chen Xingyu , Boekhorst Veronika te , McEvoy Eoin , Friedl Peter , Shenoy Vivek B. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractCell shapes are known to regulate cytoskeletal organization, stiffness and the ability of cells to migrate and proliferate. Yet a quantitative understanding of the fundamental biochemical and biophysical mechanisms that determine the cell shapes is currently not available. In this study, we developed a chemo-mechanical feedback model to predict how adhesions and the properties of the 3D microenvironment regulate cell shapes. We find that the cells in 3D collagen matrices remain round or adopt an elongated shape depending on the density of active integrins, the level of contractility regulated by mechanosensitive signaling pathways and the density and mechanics of the matrix. While the formation of actin fibers that run along the cell body mediated by integrins and matrix stiffness drive elongation of cells, the cortical and membrane tension resist elongation. Based on the competition between these mechanisms, we derive phase diagrams for cell shape in the space spanned by the density of active adhesions and the level of biochemical signaling that controls contractility. Our predictions are validated by studying the shapes of HT1080 cells cultured in collagen gels of varying densities and using pharmacological treatments to regulate adhesions and contractility. The predictions of the model are found to be in excellent agreement with our experiments and data reported on a number of cell types in the literature.
The effects of Cl−and direct stray current on soil corrosion of three grounding grid materials
Authors: Zhu Zhiping , Shi Chun , Zhang Yu , Liu Zhifeng 
Published: January 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the effects of Cl−and direct stray current on the soil corrosion of three grounding grid materials.Design/methodology/approachThe electrochemical corrosion properties of three grounding grid materials, which include the Q235 steel, Q235 galvanized flat steel and copper, were measured by means of the weak polarization curve method and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; the corrosion rate of specimens was calculated using the weight loss method; and the specimen surfaces were characterized using the scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis.FindingsResults showed that both factors, Cl−and direct stray current, can accelerate the corrosion rate of grounding grid materials. The magnitude of DC stray current density affected the mass transfer type and response frequency of the anode and cathode reaction of grounding materials, while the Cl−contents of the soil only affect the mass transfer rate of the electrode material from the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy diagrams. The electric field generated by the DC stray current caused Cl−directed migration. The larger the DC stray current density, the greater the diffusion process and the greater the weight loss rate of the grounding grid materials that would have a logarithmic relationship with the Cl−content at the same DC stray current density. The corrosion resistance of the three materials is copper > Q235 galvanized flat steel > Q235 flat steel.Originality/valueThe paper provides information regarding the relationship among Cl−, direct stray current and corrosion of three grounding grid materials by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Meanwhile the weight loss rate is the logarithmic relationship with the Cl−content, which is useful for understanding the corrosion mechanism of Q235 steel, Q235 galvanized flat steel and copper under the condition of Cl−and direct stray current in soil.
Corrosion performance of steel reinforcement in concrete admixed with magnesium chloride and sulphate
Authors: U. Raghu Babu , B. Kondraivendhan 
Published: January 2020

PurposeBesides with a large amount of Na+and Cl−ions in seawater, the presence of Mg+2and SO4−2ions builds more complex corrosion mechanism. This paper aims to investigate the corrosion of embedded reinforcement in concrete with the environment of both Cl−and SO4−2anions associated Mg+2cation.Design/methodology/approachThe concrete specimens were prepared by using ordinary Portland cement (OPC), and OPC blended with metakaolin (MK) for water to cementitious material ratio (w/cm) 0.48 and 0.51. The concrete mixes were contaminated with the addition of MgCl2alone and combined MgCl2and MgSO4in mix water. Reinforcement corrosion was evaluated by half-cell potential and corrosion current densities (Icorr) at regular intervals. Moreover, the influence of cementitious material type, salt type and w/cm ratio on electrical resistivity of concrete was also investigated. The statistical models were developed for electrical resistivity as a function of calcium to aluminium content ratio, compressive strength, w/cm ratio and age of concrete.FindingsAlthough the corrosion initiation time increases in the concomitant presence of MgSO4and MgCl2as internal source compared to MgCl2, Icorrvalues are higher in both OPC and MK blended concrete. However, electrical resistivity decreased with addition of MgSO4. MK blended concrete performed better with increased resistivity, corrosion initiation time and decreased Icorrvalues.Originality/valueThis study reports statistical distributions for scattered Icorrof rebar in different concrete mixtures. Stepwise regression models were developed for resistivity by considering the interactions among different variables, which would help to estimate the resistivity through basic information.
Knowledge management processes, knowledge worker satisfaction, and organizational performance
Authors: Sahibzada Umar Farooq , Cai Jianfeng , Latif Khawaja Fawad , Sahibzada Hassam Farooq 
Published: January 2020

Purpose
Drawing on the knowledge-based view, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the interrelationship between Knowledge Management (KM) processes, Knowledge Worker Satisfaction (KWS) and Organizational Performance (OP). Additionally, the study further seeks to identify the combinations of KM processes and KWS dimensions that can lead to enhanced OP.

Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 248 academics and administration employees of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The relationships were tested using SmartPLS 3.2.7. The study also employed fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) for examining configurational paths.

Findings
The results of the study revealed that KM processes significantly affect KWS and KWS enhances OP in HEIs. Based on fsQCA, the results revealed multiple configurational paths to improved OP.

Originality/value
There is significant lack of research that ascertains the inter-relationship between KM processes, KWS, and OP. This is one of the initial studies that examines the relationship of KM processes, KWS, and OP in HEI’s. From a methodological perspective, the study contributes by combining symmetric and asymmetric statistical tools in KM literature. fsQCA helps to understand the interactions that might not be immediately obvious through traditional symmetric methods.
Modelling environmental and economic sustainability of logistics
Authors: Arya Pragya , Srivastava Manoj Kumar , Jaiswal Mahadeo P. 
Published: January 2020

PurposeResearch on sustainability has progressed from a singular focus on one aspect to a simultaneous focus on more than one aspect of the triple bottom line. However, there is a dearth of research that explains why sustainability-related decisions in business often do not bear the expected results. Research that provides managers with a tool to achieve environmental sustainability of logistics without compromising the economic sustainability is scarce. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to bridge the above gaps and to explore the factors that affect investment in technology to balance environmental and economic sustainability of logistics. A model based on system dynamics approach explains the simultaneous interplay of these factors. Simulating the model helps the managers of logistics function decide the size of investment in technology, to achieve environmental efficiency without negatively influencing the economic performance.Design/methodology/approachA model based on system dynamics approach explains the simultaneous interplay of these factors. Simulating the model helps the managers of logistics function decide the size of investment in technology, to achieve ecological efficiency without compromising with the economic performance.FindingsCollaboration with regulatory authorities and with players within the same industry and across industries is a must so that eco-logistics does not become an economic burden for businesses. The decision to invest in technology for eco-logistics is further accentuated if the technology promises some added economic benefits.Research limitations/implicationsFrom a theoretical perspective, the research has added to the less extensive literature on system dynamics modelling, which is a mixed methodology, combining both qualitative and quantitative techniques. The research is also one of the few attempts that have attempted to simultaneously study more than one aspects of sustainability in business, quantitatively through simulation. Simulation was demonstrated through a single case study, Future works can aim to apply the causal loop diagram to firms in varied sectors.Practical implicationsThe managers can use the causal loop diagram to assess the environmental performance of logistics and decide on appropriate level of investment to balance ecological and economic performance of logistics.Originality/valueThe causal loop diagram has been developed through primary data collection via semi-structured interviews. The results were validated by presenting them to respondents to ensure they represent their view points. The results are, therefore, practical and original. This research does not build upon an existing data set or aims to test the applicability of any existing model. The model for this research has been developed from the grass-roots level.
Factors that influenced the adoption of IFRS by Islamic banks in the UAE
Authors: Sharairi Mohammad Haroun 
Published: January 2020

Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the factors that influenced the current adoption of the international financial reporting standards (IFRS) by Islamic banks in the UAE. This paper examined the relationship between the theoretical aspects and practical components of the research investigation regarding the factors that influence the adoption of IFRS. This paper will contribute to the existing knowledge and practices in not only Islamic countries but also Western countries in terms of a deeper understanding of the adoption of IFRS by the Islamic banks and how the factors could influence the Islamic banking adoption, process, activities and financial reporting.

Design/methodology/approach
Several theories of regulation were considered in this paper to explain the existence of Islamic accounting regulations and understand why some of the Islamic accounting prescriptions became formal regulations, while others did not. Data was collected for this purpose by conducting a survey with professionals and managers of four Islamic banks in the UAE.

Findings
This paper revealed that factors, such as religion, culture and local investors, may have limited influence on the current adoption of accounting standards in the Islamic banks. Furthermore, this paper uncovered a concern among respondents of issues that developed when Islamic banks commenced the adoption of IFRS. This paper also indicated that respondents’ opinion does not reflect a perception that all IFRS are suitable for the application of Shariah transactions.

Originality/value
This study is unique as no study has yet explored the factors that influenced the adoption of the IFRS by Islamic banks in the UAE.
China’s 40-year road to innovation
Authors: Li Zheng , Zhou Xizhen , Jung Samuel , Li Jun 
Published: January 2020

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the evolution of policies and practices of innovation in China for the past 40 years.

Design/methodology/approach
This is a review paper. It adopts a different multi-dimensional, qualitative methodology to examine China’s trajectory of innovation from the economic reform since 1978, highlighting “China” experiences in the developing innovation-driven economy, also pointing the challenges that China faces in this transition process and future prospects. The analysis of China’s innovation performance was based mostly on secondary data from sources and institutions that use statistical data to build country rankings, such as the global innovation index and global competitiveness index.

Findings
It is found that the institutional foundations of the national innovation system in China are already being laid, and so far, China has made extraordinary progress regarding innovation performance from country to region and from business to individual. However, some critical challenges in its innovation-driven development still need urgent attention and effective efforts to reinforce them.

Originality/value
This paper aims to fill the gap in the literature by providing an overview of the evolution of the policies and practices of innovation development in China since the 1978 economic reforms and explores the Chinese experiences in transforming into an innovation-driven economy.
The ontology of digital asset after death: policy complexities, suggestions and critique of digital platforms
Authors: Park Yong Jin , Sang Yoonmo , Lee Hoon , Jones-Jang S. Mo 
Published: January 2020

Purpose
The digitization of the life has brought complexities associated with addressing digital life after one’s death. This paper aims to investigate the two related issues of the privacy and property of postlife digital assets.

Design/methodology/approach
The understanding of digital assets has not been fully unpacked largely due to the current policy complexities in accessing and obtaining digital assets at death. This paper calls critical attention to the importance of respecting user rights in digital environments that currently favor service providers’ interests.

Findings
It is argued that there are ethical blind spots when protecting users’ rights, given no ontological difference between a person’s digital beings and physical existence. These derive from the restrictive corporate terms and ambiguous conditions drafted by digital service providers.

Originality/value
Fundamentally, the transition to the big data era, in which the collection, use and dissemination of digital activities became integral part of the ontology, poses new challenges to privacy and property rights after death.
A modified downhill simplex algorithm interpolation response surface method for structural reliability analysis
Authors: Su Hailiang , Lan Fengchong , He Yuyan , Chen Jiqing 
Published: January 2020

Purpose
Because of the high computational efficiency, response surface method (RSM) has been widely used in structural reliability analysis. However, for a highly nonlinear limit state function (LSF), the approximate accuracy of the failure probability mainly depends on the design point, and the result is that the response surface function composed of initial experimental points rarely fits the LSF exactly. The inaccurate design points usually cause some errors in the traditional RSM. The purpose of this paper is to present a hybrid method combining adaptive moving experimental points strategy and RSM, describing a new response surface using downhill simplex algorithm (DSA-RSM).

Design/methodology/approach
In DSA-RSM, the operation mechanism principle of the basic DSA, in which local descending vectors are automatically generated, was studied. Then, the search strategy of the basic DSA was changed and the RSM approximate model was reconstructed by combining the direct search advantage of DSA with the reliability mechanism of response surface analysis.

Findings
The computational power of the proposed method is demonstrated by solving four structural reliability problems, including the actual engineering problem of a car collision. Compared to specific structural reliability analysis methods, the approach of modified DSA interpolation response surface for structural reliability has a good convergent capability and computational accuracy.

Originality/value
This paper proposes a new RSM technology based on proxy model to complete the reliability analysis. The originality of this paper is to present an improved RSM that adjusts the position of the experimental points judiciously by using the DSA principle to make the fitted response surface closer to the actual limit state surface.
Institutional context and human resource management in Nigeria
Authors: Ikyanyon Darius , Johnson Phil , Dawson Jeremy 
Published: January 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how the institutional context influences human resource management (HRM) policies in the public and private sector in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachThe convergent parallel mixed methods approach was adopted for this study. Survey data were collected from 122 HR managers across public and private sector organizations in Nigeria as well as 13 qualitative interviews. ANCOVA was used to analyse quantitative data while thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data in order to understand the influence of institutions on HRM in the public and private sector in Nigeria.FindingsFindings indicate that while coercive, mimetic and normative institutional mechanisms influenced HRM in both the public and private sector, the influence of coercive mechanisms was significantly higher in the public sector, largely due to the poor enforcement of labour legislation and attempts by private sector organizations to adopt neo-liberal approaches to HRM.Originality/valueThe study provides an understanding of the institutional context of HRM in Nigeria by highlighting how varying degrees of pressures from the environment create internal diversity in HRM approaches in the public and private sector.
Using the future time perspective to analyse resistance to, and readiness for, change
Authors: Bagrationi Konstantin , Thurner Thomas 
Published: January 2020

PurposeWhen a major Russian energy provider introduced a new technology that required organisational adjustment, the company’s management was surprised by the degree of internal resistance these changes provoked. The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachThe authors took reference to the work on readiness to change and studied how the future time perspective, which connects with early writings by Lewin (1942), would explain the attitudes and behaviour of 148 managers.FindingsThe findings indicate that only a small number of employees perceived the future as offering many opportunities and showed willingness to pursue them. The majority of employees are either fearful of future changes, or do not have a strong sense of belonging to the company and hence are disinterested in prospective opportunities within the firm.Originality/valueThe different constructs of the future introduce an emic perspective to the study of organisational change and answer calls to enrich the measurements that are currently in use.
Numerical study on the effect of oxygen concentration
on the piloted ignition of PMMA in reduced pressure atmospheres
Authors: Wang Xuehui , Zhou Tiannian , Chen Qinpei , Wang Jian 
Published: January 2020

Purpose
This study aims to investigate the controlling mechanisms of ambient oxygen
and pressure on piloted ignition of solid combustibles under external
radiant heating.

Design/methodology/approach
The numerical simulation method was used to model the influence of ambient
oxygen concentration on the piloted ignition of a thermally irradiated solid
sample in reduced pressure atmospheres. The solid phase decomposition and
gas phase kinetics were solved simultaneously.

Findings
It was determined that the elevated oxygen atmospheres resulted in a higher
flame temperature and a thicker temperature profile over the solid surface.
Also, increasing oxygen and reducing pressure had a similar effect in the
decrease of the ignition delay time. The shorter ignition time in reduced
pressure was mainly because of the decreasing of convective heat losses from
the heated solid. As oxygen was reduced, however, ignition occurred later
and with a greater mass loss rate because more volatiles of solid fuel at
transient ignition were required to sustain a complete reaction under an
oxygen-poor condition.

Research
limitations/implications
The results need to be verified with experiments.

Practical implications
The results could be applied for design and assessment of fire-fighting and
fire prevention strategies in reduced pressure atmosphere.

Originality/value
This paper shows the effect mechanism of ambient oxygen and pressure on
piloted ignition of solid combustibles.
Improving shell and tube heat exchanger thermohydraulic performance using combined baffle
Authors: Abbasian Arani Ali Akbar , Uosofvand Hamed 
Published: January 2020

Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the fluid flow and heat transfer of a laboratory shell and tube heat exchanger that are analyzed using computational fluid dynamic approach by SOLIDWORKS flow simulation (ver. 2015) software.

Design/methodology/approach
In this study, several types of baffle including segmental baffle, butterfly baffle, helical baffle, combined helical-segmental baffle, combined helical-disk baffle and combined helical-butterfly baffle are examined. Two important parameters as the heat transfer and pressure drop are evaluated and analyzed. Based on obtained results, segmental baffle has the highest amount of heat transfer and pressure drop. To assess the integrative performance, performance coefficient defines as “Q/Δp” is used.

Findings
This investigation showed that among the presented baffle types, the heat exchangers equipped with disk baffle has the highest heat transfer. In addition, in the same mass flow rate, the performance coefficient of the shell and tube heat exchanger equipped with helical-butterfly baffle is the highest among the proposed models.

Originality/value
After combined helical-butterfly baffle the butterfly baffle, disk baffle, helical-segmental baffle and helical-disk baffle show their superiority of 35.12, 25, 22 and 12 per cent rather than the common segmental baffle, respectively. Furthermore, except for the combined helical-disk baffle, the other type of combined baffle have better performance compare to the basic configuration (butterfly and segmental baffle).
Effect of blade surface roughness on condensation process in a stator cascade
Authors: Han Xu , Liu Xiangyu , Yuan Yunyun , Han Zhonghe 
Published: January 2020

Purpose
The flow state of wet steam will affect the thermodynamic and aerodynamic characteristics of steam turbine. The purpose of this study is to effectively control the wetness losses caused by wet steam condensation, and hence a cascade of 600 MW steam turbine was taken as the research object.

Design/methodology/approach
The influence of blade surface roughness on the condensation characteristics was analyzed, and the dehumidification mechanism and wetness control effect were obtained.

Findings
With the increase of blade surface roughness, the peak nucleation rate decreases gradually. According to the Mach number distribution on the blade surface, there is a sensitive region for the influence of roughness on the aerodynamic performance of cascade. The sensitive region of nucleation rate roughness should be between 50 and 150 µm.

Originality/value
The increase of blade surface roughness will increase the dynamic loss in cascade, but it can reduce the thermodynamic loss caused by condensation to a certain extent.