588 research outputs found
The anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects of clove oil in healthy dogs after surgery
No full textThe current study was designed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties of clove oil in dogs. So thirty adult male dogs were used. After a surgical incision on the abdominal area, animals were divided into four group. The first group received 25 mg/kg of clove oil while the second group was considered as a control. The third and fourth groups received betamethasone (20 mg/kg) and phenylbutazone (15 mg/kg) as anti-inflammatory and anti-pyretic agents, respectively. All injections were performed for five consecutive days. All tests (measurement of edema, complete blood count, histopathology, and rectal temperature) were performed on all groups. Our results showed that in the clove oil-treated animals, the amount of edema was significantly decreased as compared to control (P ≤ 0.05). The number of white blood cells, neutrophils and band neutrophils was decreased in clove-oil treated dogs as compared to control (P ≤ 0.05). There was no significant difference in the number of red blood cells and hematocrit between clove-oil treated and vehicle-treated groups (P > 0.05). Rectal temperature significantly decreased in the clove oil-treated group as compared to control (P ≤ 0.05). Histopathology revealed that the clove oil-treatment significantly reduced the inflammation. We showed that clove oil administration has anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties in dogs
*Corresponding author
No full textAbstract: Accurate reconstruction of phylogenetic trees often involves solving hard optimisation problems, particularly the Maximum Parsimony (MP) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) problems. Various heuristics yield good results for these problems within reasonable time only on small datasets. This is a major impediment for large-scale phylogeny reconstruction. Roshan et al. introduced Rec-I-DCM3, an efficient and accurate meta-method for solving the MP problem on large datasets of up to 14,000 taxa. We improve the performance of Rec-I-DCM3 via parallelisation. The experiments demonstrate that our parallel method, PRec-I-DCM3, achieves significant improvements, both in speed and accuracy, over its sequential counterpart
How Do Experts Think? An Investigation of the Barriers to Internationalisation of SMEs in Iran
No full textNowadays, “internationalisation” is a topic of concern for many types of research on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs pursue internationalization policy as a leading process to keep and improve their position in the competitive business markets. However, SMEs face many challenges that hinder the successful implementation of the internationalization process. This chapter aims to recognise the important barriers to internationalisation for Iranian SMEs. We conduct two studies using a combined exploratory and confirmatory approach. We apply the Delphi method for exploring and forecasting the key barriers in the first study. In the second study, we validate the key indicator employing a Structural Equation Modelling technique for the Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the survey data. In the Delphi method, a group of 24 managers and academic professors in Iran, identified the main barriers. A sample of 210 survey observations was collected from the owner and top managers, senior managers, and employees. The results suggest 8 key factors and 31 indicators of barriers to internationalisation associated with Iranian SMEs: informational, financial, marketing, functional, procedural, governmental, environmental and, tariff and non-tariff. This research contributes to the knowledge of critical obstacles concern for current and future business internationalisation, and the outcomes provide practical implications. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Barriers and overcoming strategies to supply chain sustainability innovation
No full textThis study identifies a list of barriers that hinders adoption, implementation and upscaling of sustainable supply chain innovation in the manufacturing industry. It further proposes overcoming strategies that seek to aid management decision to dealing with these barriers systematically. A multi-criteria decision analysis method, the Best-Worst Method (BWM), is adopted to aid in the evaluation and prioritisation of the barriers and their overcoming strategies within the Indian manufacturing industry, an emerging economy. The results depict that, “lack of technical expertise and training”, “lack of R&D and innovation capabilities”, “popularity of traditional technology”, “high initial investment in latest technology” and “fear of extra workload and loss of flexibility” are the top five barriers that confronts the Indian manufacturing companies in their quest for adopting and implementing sustainable supply chain innovation practices. In addition, the overcoming strategic pathway for dealing with these barriers are provided. The findings provide managerial and policy insights for guiding the formation of strategic operations framework and resource allocation if these Indian manufacturing firms seeks to build sustainability into their supply chain innovations
Rapid coordinate system creation and mapping using Crickets
No full textThesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2004.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-56).In this thesis, I describe a system that lays the foundation for context-aware applications. This system allows a user to set up a reference coordinate system in a room, using three Cricket listeners attached to a wooden frame. The system then assigns coordinates to Cricket beacons, which are placed on the ceiling. Finally, by using the frame in conjunction with a laser range finder, the user can generate a map of the room in the reference coordinate system, complete with features including doors, walls, and windows. This thesis also describes necessary changes we implemented that made the Cricket positioning system much more accurate.by Roshan Bantwal Baliga.M.Eng
Data for publication: "Dynamic behavior of shear-thickening tluids under harmonic excitation: an experimental investigation"
No full textThe dataset accompanying the publication "Dynamic Behavior of Shear-Thickening Fluids under Harmonic Excitation: An Experimental Investigation" is now provided exclusively as a single archive:STF Dynamic Behavior Analysis: MATLAB CodeThis repository contains the MATLAB code and all accompanying files inside Suplimentary material.zip and the separate ZIP file “Experimental Paper_Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing_Elsevier.zip,” associated with the paper:"Dynamic Behavior of Shear-Thickening Fluids under Harmonic Excitation: An Experimental Investigation"OverviewThese scripts process experimental data, perform parameter identification for the oscillator system, and generate figures demonstrating the dynamic behavior of shear-thickening fluids (STFs) under harmonic excitation.PrerequisitesMATLAB (R2019b or newer recommended)Inside Supplementary_material.zip, you will find:All .txt experimental data files:RecordedExperimentalDataWithoutSTFOmega0.txtRecordedExperimentalDataWithoutSTFOmegaIncreasingRate0_047.txtRecordedExperimentalDataWithSTFOmegaIncreasingRate0_0333.txtRecordedExperimentalDataWithSTFOmegaConstant8_2.txtRecordedExperimentalDataWithSTFOmegaConstant11_3.txtThe main MATLAB scripts and auxiliary functions for data processing, parameter identification, and figure generation.Any related documentation (including the paper PDF, if applicable).Execution StepsFollow these steps to process the data and generate all figures:1. Data FiltrationRun prepare_mat_data.mProcesses raw experimental data exported from LabVIEW.Applies polynomial fitting to compute rotation speed, velocity, and acceleration.Generates .mat files containing the filtered data for further analysis.2. Free Vibration Parameter IdentificationRun identOscDyn_freeMotion.mUses Nelder-Mead optimization to determine stiffness (k), damping (c), and friction (T) parameters.Minimizes the objective function (Eq. 14) to match simulation with experimental data.Generates Figure 3 comparing simulation vs. experiment.Saves identified parameters in par0.3. Forced Vibration Parameter Identification and Figure GenerationRun identOscDyn_forcedMotion.mBuilds on free-vibration parameters for forced vibration.Generates Figures 4–8, showing:Excitation frequency vs. time (Fig. 4)Resistance force vs. velocity (Fig. 5)Displacement comparison (Fig. 6)Velocity comparison (Fig. 7)Frequency response (Fig. 8)Saves refined parameters to par1.4. Additional FiguresAutomatic generation of:Figure 13: STF force relationships in the resonance region (Section 6.1.2).Figure 15: Time histories in the post-resonance region (Section 6.1.3).Figure 16: STF force relationships in the post-resonance region (Section 6.1.3).Figure 17: STF behavior at constant excitation frequency (Section 6.1.3).Figure 18: Frequency response comparison with and without STF (Section 6.2).TroubleshootingPath Issues: Keep all files in the same directory or update path references in the scripts.Optimization Variability: Multiple runs may be needed due to the stochastic nature of Nelder-Mead.Memory Constraints: For large datasets, reduce data size or increase MATLAB’s allocated memory.Additional InformationFor questions or issues regarding the code, please contact the corresponding author as indicated in the paper.© 2025 | All rights reserved by the authors of"Dynamic Behavior of Shear-Thickening Fluids under Harmonic Excitation: An Experimental Investigation."Additional Note: Paper Source FilesAlso included in this repository is a second ZIP file, “Experimental Paper_Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing_Elsevier.zip,” containing:elsarticle-template folderElsevier’s LaTeX class/template files (e.g., elsarticle.cls and elsarticle-template.tex).Figure 1.jpg through Figure 18.jpgHigh-resolution figures referenced in the manuscript (see image in the screenshot: 18 total JPG files).mybibfile.bibA BibTeX reference database, ensuring proper citation management.These items allow you to compile the full manuscript (in LaTeX) for submission to Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing (Elsevier), with all figures and references properly linked.</p
Polyphenols-Based Nanosheets of Propolis Modulate Cytotoxic Amyloid Fibril Assembly of alpha-Synuclein
No full textNatural compounds with anti-aggregation capacity are increasingly recognized as viable candidates against neurodegenerative diseases. Recently, the polyphenolic fraction of propolis (PFP), a complex bee product, has been shown to inhibit amyloid aggregation of a model protein especially in the nanosheet form. Here, we examine the aggregation-modulating effects of the PFP nanosheets on α-synuclein (α-syn), an intrinsically disordered protein involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease. Based on a range of biophysical data including intrinsic and extrinsic fluorescence, circular dichroism (CD) data, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we propose a model for the interaction of α-syn with PFP nanosheets, where the positively charged N-terminal and the middle non-amyloid component regions of α-syn act as the main binding sites with the negatively charged PFP nanosheets. The Thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence, Congo red absorbance, and CD data reveal a prominent dose-dependent inhibitory effect of PFP nanosheets on α-syn amyloid aggregation, and the microscopy images and MTT assay data suggest that the PFP nanosheets redirect α-syn aggregation toward nontoxic off-pathway oligomers. When preformed α-syn amyloid fibrils are present, fluorescence images show co-localization of PFP nanosheets and ThT, further confirming the binding of PFP nanosheets with α-syn amyloid fibrils. Taken together, our results demonstrate the binding and anti-aggregation activity of PFP nanosheets in a disease-related protein system and propose them as potential nature-based tools for probing and targeting pathological protein aggregates in neurodegenerative diseases
The Impact of Collaborative Scheduling and Routing for Interconnected Logistics: A European Case Study
No full textInterconnected logistics system can play an important role towards having a more sustainable green freight transport. Recently, after introducing the concept of Physical Internet (PI), researchers have started to explore the opportunities and challenges that a collaborative and interconnected network could create in different aspects of the supply chain. In this research, we study the last mile delivery as well as vehicle dispatching problems under the assumptions of collaborative supply chain networks while assuming that modularized boxes are applied inside the network from the provider to the final customer. Our research aims at proposing a more efficient resource planning with the minimal number of empty vehicle movements running on roads that ultimately leads to decrease carbon dioxide emission. The assumptions have been tested and verified using real data coming from a major retail company in Europe.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Transport and Logistic
Author spotlight
No full textAn interview published by INFORMS following the publication of the paper:
Y. Crama, M. Rezaei, M. Savelsbergh and T. Van Woensel, Stochastic inventory routing for perishable products, Transportation Science 52 (2018) 526-546.
https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2017.0799 and http://hdl.handle.net/2268/21324
The Influence of Logistics Decisions on Transport Decarbonization: Lessons from Local to Global Scale
No full textOne of the proposed approaches to decarbonize freight transport systems is to internalize the environmental costs of transport, by means of carbon emission-based taxes. The expected impact is a reduction of transport demand and an increased use of environmentally friendly transport technologies. The magnitude of the impact will depend on the levels of taxation, the activities to which they apply and the degrees of freedom allowed to companies to react to the taxes. In this chapter we explore the impact mechanisms of carbon taxes by investigating the reorganization responses of freight decision-makers. We do this through a series of empirical cases of recent modelling studies at city, corridor, country, continent and global level. The city case involves an application of an agent-based model to evaluate a carbon credit point system for city logistics. The corridor case involves carbon pricing of container transport in the hinterland of the port of Rotterdam over a multimodal network. The country and continental cases describe the effects of network-wide truck charging, with a focus on mode choice, vehicle type and routing. The global case concerns a full economic impact analysis of internalization of external costs of supply chains, also looking at the effect of changes in sourcing decisions of companies. We draw lessons concerning the impacts of logistics decisions on the impact of policies and identify needs for further research. Common findings relevant for climate change policy include the following: (1) prices needed to achieve a significant impact are a multiple of current market prices, (2) logistics decisions may act as buffer for the propagation of taxes towards consumers and, as a result, (3) the ultimate price impacts for consumers could remain small. In order to be able to predict impacts of climate policies, there is a need to continue research on the way companies take logistics decisions. This includes decisions in specific areas or logistics, but also on decision processes, to better understand the dynamics of impact pathways.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Transport and PlanningTransport and Logistic
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