An ontology-based analysis and semantics for organizational structure modeling in the ARIS method

This paper focuses on the issue of ontological analysis for organizational structure modeling in the ARIS method with the following contributions: (i) an interpretation of the language in terms of real-world entities in the UFO foundational ontology; (ii) the identification of inappropriate elements of the language, using a systematic ontology-based analysis approach; and (iii) recommendations for improvements of the language to resolve the issues identified.     

On-line surveillance of a dynamic process by a moving system based on pulsed digital holographic interferometry

A method based on pulsed digital holographic interferometry for the measurement of dynamic deformations of a surface by using a moving system is presented. The measuring system may move with a speed of several meters per minute and can measure deformation of the surface with an accuracy of better than 50 nm. The deformation is obtained by comparison of the wavefronts recorded at different times with different laser pulses produced by a Nd:YAG laser. The effect due to the movement of the measuring system is compensated for by digital processing of the different holograms. The system is well suited for on-line surveillance of a dynamic process such as laser welding and friction stir welding. Experimental results are presented, and the advantages of the method are discussed.     

Complete wavefront reconstruction using sequential intensity measurements of a volume speckle field

The recording of the volume speckle field from an object at different planes combined with the wave propagation equation allows the reconstruction of the wavefront phase and amplitude without requiring a reference wave. The main advantage of this single-beam multiple-intensity reconstruction (SBMIR) technique is the simple experimental setup because no reference wave is required as in the case of holography. The phase retrieval technique is applied to the investigation of diffusely transmitting and reflecting objects. The effects of different parameters on the quality of reconstructions are investigated by simulation and experiment. Significant enhancements of the reconstructions are observed when the number of intensity measurements is 15 or more and the sequential measurement distance is 0.5 mm or larger. Performing two iterations during the reconstruction process using the calculated phase also leads to better reconstruction. The results from computer simulations confirm the experiments. Analysis of transverse and longitudinal intensity distributions of a volume speckle field for the SBMIR technique is presented. Enhancing the resolution method by shifting the camera a distance of a half-pixel in the lateral direction improves the sampling of speckle patterns and leads to better quality reconstructions. This allows the possibility of recording wave fields from larger test objects.     

Religiousness, mental health, and quality of life in Brazilian dialysis patients

Patients with chronic kidney disease often use religion as a coping strategy to relieve suffering and serve as a source of strength. The aim of this study was to identify religious aspects associated with mental health and quality of life in Brazilian dialysis patients. A cross-sectional study was performed involving two dialysis centers in Brazil. Patients were selected consecutively over three typical dialysis treatment days. The questionnaire was self-administered and covered the following aspects: socio-demographic aspects, religiousness (using the Portuguese version of the Private and Social Religious Practice Scale), quality of life (World Health Organization Quality of Life brief Scale Brief Version), depression and anxiety (Beck Inventory), and pain grade. For statistical analysis, the hypothesis that different religious variables are associated (positively or negatively) with depressive/anxiety symptoms and quality of life in these patients was tested using linear regression, controlling for confounding variables. A total of 205 patients were invited to participate and 133 (64.8%) agreed to fill out the questionnaire. On the adjusted model, reading religious literature was found to be inversely associated with depressive symptoms (P < 0.001). In addition, the psychological domain of quality of life was positively associated with an increase in patient religiosity (P = 0.030) and greater religious importance for recovery from their dialysis condition (P = 0.016), whereas the environmental domain was positively associated with greater religious importance for recovery (P = 0.032). No religious aspects were associated with anxiety symptoms. Religiousness is associated with less depressive symptoms and better quality of life in Brazilian dialysis patients. Nephrologists should evaluate the patient's spirituality and religion in order to provide more integrative care.     

Room Temperature Highly Enantioselective Nickel‐Catalyzed Hydrovinylation

At room temperature, nickel catalysts based on the new phosphoramidite (11bR)‐N‐[(S)‐1‐(naphthalen‐1‐yl)ethyl]‐N‐[(S)‐1‐(naphthalen‐2‐yl)ethyl]dinaphtho[2,1‐d:1′,2′‐f][1,3,2]dioxaphosphepin‐4‐amine provide excellent selectivities for 3‐arylbut‐1‐enes (93–99%) with high enantioselectivities (90–95% ee) and TOFs (up to 8300 h⁻¹) in the hydrovinylation of electron‐rich and electron‐poor vinylarenes. Within a few minutes, useful chiral building blocks and intermediates can be synthesized using this practical catalytic system.     

Thermal stress in the Apuan marbles: Relationship between microstructure and petrophysical characteristics

Apuan marbles originating from different zones of the Apuan Metamorphic Complex have been characterized from the chemical, petrographical, microstructural and physical points of view. All samples were subjected to accelerated ageing by thermal cycling and their petrophysical parameters evaluated. After accelerated ageing, all samples show an increase in total open porosity and/or porosity evaluated with Hg porosimeter in the range of pore sizes between 0.0037 and 150 μm. The greatest variations were recorded in the coarse and fine-grained marbles with straight grain boundaries. Two trends were observed in variation of the ratio of Hg-porosity to total open porosity after thermal cycling: either an increase in total open porosity not followed by a proportional increase in Hg-porosity or an increase in Hg-porosity proportional to an increase in total open porosity.During total immersion tests, an increase of the water absorption was observed for those samples characterised by a high ratio Hg-porosity/total open porosity with a unimodal distribution of Hg-porosity. In the case of water absorption through capillarity, the samples that suffer a higher increase are those characterised by a bimodal pore size distribution, even if they possess low Hg-porosity. This behaviour underlines that in the aged samples, subjected to the two different mechanisms of water absorption, the pore size distribution plays an important role.     

Study of green Sicilian table olive fermentations through microbiological,chemical and sensory analyses

The production of five different green table olive cultivars was studied by a combined strategy consisting of chemical, microbiological and sensory analyses. Cultivable microflora of samples collected during processing was monitored by plate counts on seven synthetic culture media. In all samples Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonaceae, staphylococci, lactic acid bacteria and spore-forming bacteria were undetectable. Yeasts and moulds were countable from the day 42 (2 log CFU/ml) till the end of fermentation (6 log CFU/ml). The use of three different approaches for microorganism detection, including a culture-independent methodology, revealed the presence of barely three yeast species during the entire fermentation period: Candida parapsilosis, Pichia guilliermondii and Pichia kluyveri. Biochemical features of technological interest were evaluated for 94 strains in order to investigate their potential role in fermentation of green Sicilian table olives.     

Preparation and Characterization of Nanostructured TiO2/Epoxy Polymeric Films

Summary: Titania‐containing coatings were prepared by cationic photopolymerization of an epoxy resin either by dispersion of preformed TiO₂ nanoparticles or by their in‐situ generation through a sol‐gel dual‐cure process. The kinetics of photopolymerization was evaluated by real‐time FT‐IR, studying the effect of the TiO₂ concentration. The properties of cured films were investigated, showing an increase of hydrophilicity on the surface of the coatings with increasing TiO₂ content. TEM analysis demonstrated that it is possible to achieve a significantly better control of the dispersion of the inorganic particles within the organic matrix by in‐situ generation of TiO₂, thus completely avoiding macroscopic phase separation and obtaining homogeneous, transparent coatings.

Bright‐field TEM micrograph for TIP20 dual‐cured film.