FETR: a framework to establish trust relationships among organizations in VBEs

Organizations compete in acquiring competitive resources, knowledge, and competencies. In the past, organizations applied the acquired resources, knowledge and competencies to gain superiority and thus outperform others in getting customers and brokering opportunities. In this manner the superior organizations forced the inferior organizations outside the market. However, in the current market, when an opportunity is brokered, organizations need to collaborate, more than competing, by sharing the acquired resources, knowledge, and competencies to respond to the opportunity which none of them could handle otherwise. This means organizational strategies must now adapt to the notion of collaboration with others. One important organizational strategy necessary in virtual organizations breeding environments (VBE) is focused on the organizational preparedness that is required to enhance chances of participating in virtual organizations (VOs). A crucial aspect of preparedness is the establishment of trust relationships with other member organizations to smoothen the sharing of resources, knowledge, and competence, and in turn facilitate the organizations’ collaboration. In this paper we present the FETR: A Framework to Establish Trust Relationships among organizations in VBEs. We also present and analyze risks that can emerge and thus hamper the established relationships among organizations. We also present the promotion of trust relationships among organizations.     

Natural frequency and critical speed determination of an axially moving viscoelastic beam

In this paper, the natural frequency and critical speed of an axially moving viscoelastic beam with clamped and simple supports are calculated analytically based on the Euler–Bernoulli and Timoshenko theories. The beam is incompressible in bulk and viscoelastic in shear, which obeys the linear standard solid model with material time derivative. The axial speed is characterized by a simple harmonic variation about a constant mean speed. By defining some dimensionless parameters, the governing equations are derived from the Newton’s second law. They contain two coupled partial differential equations with time depended coefficients. The straightforward method in perturbation theory is used to solve these equations. By considering the homogeneous equation, the natural frequencies are calculated. The critical speed is determined by a constant speed assumption. By a parametric study, the effects of mechanical and geometrical parameters on the natural frequency and critical speed are investigated.     

Synthesis of nanozeolite A from natural clinoptilolite and aluminum sulfate; Optimization of the method

The zeolite NaA was synthesized from natural clinoptilolite as Si source and aluminum sulfate or sodium aluminate as Al source. The use of aluminum sulfate for the synthesis of zeolite A has not been reported in the literature. This study presents as the first time a synthesis approach in which the low cost and available source is used to prepare zeolite NaA. These nano particles of zeolite were prepared at different conditions in autoclave and a mixer was designed specifically for this purpose. The synthesized zeolites were characterized by instrumental analysis methods, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and wet chemical analysis by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Cation exchange capacity (CEC) and loss on ignition (LOI) have been also measured on the prepared samples. The influences of different parameters such as reaction time, temperature, initial gel concentration, mechanical stirring and drying conditions on the improvement of the final products were experienced and the procedure for the efficient synthesis of zeolite NaA was optimized with available quality control tests. Solubility of clinoptilolite as the Si source in alkaline solutions was also investigated.     

The PRODNET cooperative information management for industrial virtual enterprises

When designing an IT platform aimed at supporting industrial virtual enterprises (VEs), certain issues related to information management requirements become especially challenging, such as the physical distribution of data, the enterprise autonomy and privacy enforcement, access rights to shared information, and data visibility levels, among others. In the ESPRIT project PRODNET II, a federated database architecture was designed and implemented as the base support framework to effectively manage these issues associated with the sharing and exchange of information in the VE environment. In this paper, first the general information management requirements identified for the VE network in the PRODNET II project are described, and then the challenging design issues behind the development of the components of the federated information management system are presented.     

The impact of mobility models on the performance of P2P content discovery protocols over mobile ad hoc networks

One of the challenges over mobile ad-hoc networks is content discovery. P2P content discovery techniques including structured and unstructured can be employed in MANETs by considering its special characteristics and limitations. The most important characteristic of MANETs is the mobility of the nodes which creates a dynamic topology. A novel framework is presented to evaluate the effect of mobility and its models on the resource discovery. By using several metrics, this framework is capable of evaluating the effect of mobility on the underlay structure and subsequent changes on the overlay structure. The results obtained from extensive simulation, presented here, clarify the significant role of the mobility models on the performance of P2P content discovery protocols. These results are supported by mathematical analysis of content discovery protocols.     

F-Ant: an effective routing protocol for ant colony optimization based on fuzzy logic in vehicular ad hoc networks

Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are a subset of mobile ad hoc networks that provide communication services between nearby vehicles and also between vehicles and roadside infrastructure. These networks improve road safety and accident prevention and provide entertainment for passengers of vehicles. Due to the characteristics of VANET such as self-organization, dynamic nature and fast-moving vehicles, routing in this network is a considerable challenge. Swarm intelligence algorithms (nature-inspired) such as ant colony optimization (ACO) have been proposed for developing routing protocols in VANETs. In this paper, we propose an enhanced framework for ACO protocol based on fuzzy logic for VANETs. To indicate the effectiveness and performance of our proposed protocol, the network simulator NS-2 is used for simulation. The simulation results demonstrate that our proposed protocol achieves high data packet delivery ratio and low end-to-end delay compared to traditional routing algorithms such as ACO and ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV).

     

Low Pressure Hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO)/Nitrogen Plasma Treatment on the Wettability and Surface Free Energy of Biaxial-Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) Films

In this paper the influence of DC glow discharge HMDSO-N₂ plasma on wettability and surface properties of Biaxial-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) polymeric surfaces, has been investigated. The effects of plasma exposure time and HMDSO percent on the surface energy and wettability of the BOPP films were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact angle measurement. A clear change in the surface energy of BOPP films due to plasma treatment was observed. In this work we report changing surface properties of BOPP films instead of plasma treatment time and HMDSO ratios.     

Water Table Management to Improve Drainage Water Quality in Semiarid Climatic Conditions of Iran

A lysimeter study was conducted in the field in Karaj, Iran to investigate the effects of water table management on water quality of subsurface drainage effluents. Drain volumes, nitrate-N concentration, phosphorus concentration, and electrical conductivity of drain effluents were monitored during the growing seasons of alfalfa (Medicago scutellata). Totally 12 lysimeters consisted of four treatments were used in this study, of which nine of them were equipped with subirrigation (SI) and the other three with free drainage (FD) systems. Annual alfalfa (Medicago scutellata) was planted in all lysimeters. Water table levels were kept at 30 cm (SI30), 50 cm (SI50), and 70 cm (SI70) below the soil surface in SI-lysimeters and more than 100 cm below the soil surface in FD-lysimeters. The results of this 2-year study showed a significant reduction in nitrate-N concentrations in SI-lysimeters compared to FD-lysimeters. In 2005, the mean nitrate-N concentrations in drainage effluent were reduced by 84% in the SI30 and by 82% in the SI50, relative to FD. Similarly, in 2006, drain water depth and nitrate-N concentrations were significantly reduced relative to FD. The forage dry matter production from SI30 and SI50 were significantly higher than those from FD in both years. In 2006, the average of dry matter production was increased by 69 and 89% by the SI30 and SI50, respectively, relative to FD. The average electrical conductivity of drainage water was reduced in SI lysimeters compared to FD lysimeters that meet Iranian standard level (3 dS/m). There are no statistically significant differences in phosphorous concentration in drainage water of different treatments. Finally, the results of this 2-year study indicate that the water table management practices are economically and environmentally feasible in Iran in order to have a sustainable agriculture.     

Modification and Characterization of Hemp and Sisal Fibers

This work is to investigate the effectiveness of the surface treatment technique of fiber impregnation in polymer solution in improving compatibility of natural fibers with matrix. Hemp and sisal fibers were treated through polymer coating in comparison to acetylation, alkalization/acetylation, and silanization. Different analytical techniques were employed to examine effect of surface treatment, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in nitrogen and air. FTIR showed acetylation combined with alkalization led to the highest hemicellulose and lignin removal among all treated fibers for both fibers, while polymer coating led to an increase at peak around 1,736 cm^?1 due to the carbonyl group. SEM micrographs of treated fibers showed cleaner surfaces due to removal of waxy substances and lignin during treatments. Thermal stability of treated fibers increased based on TGA results except for the alkalized/acetylated fiber. Acetylated fibers had the lowest moisture content, thus demonstrating that acetylation is an effective technique to reduce the hydrophilic tendency of natural fibers. In comparison, polymer coating was not as effective as other treatment methods.     

A simple and fast method for the preparation of super active Pd/CNTs catalyst toward ethanol electrooxidation

For the first time, galvanic reduction by zinc sheet is used as a new strategy to prepare modified electrodes. In this work, glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was modified by decoration of Pd nanostructures on carbon nanotubes (Pd/CNTs). In this method, deposited PdCl₂ on CNTs was directly reduced to metallic Pd nanostructure using a zinc sheet in HCl (2% w/w) solution. This approach offers a number of advantages including being very fast, simple and green; and modified electrodes show high activity. The prepared catalyst is characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-Ray Diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). In addition, electrochemical measurements show that the performance as well as the stability of the as-prepared catalyst for ethanol oxidation is outstanding. The Pd/CNTs catalyst shows higher mass current density, which is 7.9 times as high as that of commercial Pd/C.