Processes and measurement of knowledge management in supply chains: an integrative systematic literature review

During the last 10 years, important contributions about knowledge management (KM) issues in supply chain management (SCM) have been published. The current paper aims to build upon previous literature reviews focused on KM in supply chains (SCs) from an integrative perspective, particularly recognising the studies conducted by Bhosale and Kant (2016. “Metadata Analysis of Knowledge Management in Supply Chain: Investigating the Past and Predicting the Future.” Business Process Management Journal 22 (1): 140–172) and Cerchione and Esposito (2016. “A Systematic Review of Supply Chain Knowledge Management Research: State of the Art and Research Opportunities.” International Journal of Production Economics 182: 276–292) as an effort to discuss the evolution of KM in the SC field. To this end, a systematic literature review including 210 papers is conducted over the period 2008–2017 from three positions previously not addressed jointly within the supply chain (SC) context: research methods employed by the authors; KM processes applied in the business processes across the SC; and intra and inter- organisational performance metrics linked with KM initiatives. Results exhibited that: (i) ‘Survey’ and ‘Case study’ are the two research methodologies mostly employed by authors (ii) the knowledge transfer is discussed in the majority of the studies reviewed, (iii) 114 intra and inter-organisational performance metrics are reported within the SC context from an empirical data approach. Findings concerning previous identified gap analysis and future lines of research are described.     

A Strategy to Produce High Efficiency,High Stability Perovskite Solar Cells Using Functionalized Ionic Liquid‐Dopants

Functionalized imidazolium iodide salts (ionic liquids) modified with ? CH₂? CH?CH₂, ? CH₂C?CH, or ? CH₂C?N groups are applied as dopants in the synthesis of CH₃NH₃PbI₃‐type perovskites together with a fumigation step. Notably, a solar cell device prepared from the perovskite film doped with the salt containing the ? CH₂? CH?CH₂ side‐chain has a power conversion efficiency of 19.21%, which is the highest efficiency reported for perovskite solar cells involving a fumigation step. However, doping with the imidazolium salts with the ? CH₂C?CH and ? CH₂C?N groups result in perovskite layers that lead to solar cell devices with similar or lower power conversion efficiencies than the dopant‐free cell.     

Glass‐transition temperature determination by microhardness in norbornene‐ethylene copolymers

Vickers microhardness as a function of temperature was determined in a series of norbornene‐ethylene copolymers synthesized with a metallocene catalyst. The norbornene content in the samples ranges from 31 to 62 mol %, and all of them were found to be amorphous. The possibility of studying the glass‐transition temperature by plotting the microhardness‐temperature dependencies is discussed in addition to the limits and the reliability of the suggested method. Moreover, a linear dependency between microhardness at different temperatures and glass‐transition temperature was established. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 3666–3671, 2003     

Internal Structure of Porous Silica: A Model System for Characterization by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation methods have been used to investigate the internal structure of porous silica gelled from colloidal silica and potassium silicate mixtures. These materials possess a narrow pore size distribution with average pore diameter ranging from 470 to 2400 Å (47 to 240 nm) as determined from mercury intrusion porosimetry. NMR relaxation measurements were performed on deionized water impregnated into the pore space. These results determine the distribution of local surface-to-volume ratios and show that all of the silica samples are very uniform on a length scale greater than 5 μ. NMR relaxation measurements performed on silica samples partially filled with water provide a precise confirmation of the theoretical model upon which the NMR pore structure analysis is based. Measurements of the relaxation strength at the water—silica interface were found to depend systematically on the initial composition of the material. The self-diffusion coefficient of water, saturated in the pore space, is reduced by 14% from its bulk value.     

Low molecular weight polypeptides in virgin and refined olive oils

Twenty-eight virgin olive oils—from different regions of Spain and prepared from olive drupes of different varieties—and six refined olive oils were analyzed to determine the presence of proteins in these oils. All oils studied showed the presence of proteins in the range of 7–51 μ/100 g of oil. There were no significant differences in protein content in oils from different varieties or between virgin or refined oils. In addition, all oils exhibited analogous amino acid patterns, suggesting a similarity among protein fractions obtained from different oils. A polypeptide with an apparent M.W. of 4600 Da was common to the isolated protein fractions. These results suggest that this polypeptide is a previously unknown minor component in olive oils. No clear influence of this component on oil stability was observed when oil stabilities were estimated as a function of phenol, tocopherol, phosphorus, and protein contents of the oils.     

Quantitative Electron Microscopic Investigation of the Pore Structure in 10:90 Colloidal Silica/Potassium Silicate Sol-Gels

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), and nitrogen sorption technique (BET) were utilized to characterize the microstructure of a 10:90 wt% colloidal silica/potassium silicate gel as first described by Shoup. Gels in the unsintered state (15% theoretical density) were prepared for microscopy by the techniques of ultramicrotomy, Pt/C replication, and pore casting. Electron microscopic images of the ultramicrotomed thin sections (70 nm) show that the unfired gel possesses three distinct species of pores which are referred to as the micropores, mesopores, and macropores. The average micropore diameter was found to be 4 nm as determined by nitrogen desorption. Quantitative stereological analysis of the ultramicrotomed sections indicated that the average circular and lengthwise dimensions of the cylindrical mesopores were 0.15 and 0.39 μm, respectively. Similarly, this same analysis determined the average spherical macropore diameter to be 0.83 μm. In contrast, MIP results suggested that these gels possessed a unimodal pore size distribution centered around the 0.2-μm pore size. The discrepancy between MIP and microscopy can be explained by viewing the void space as a pore-throat network. Experimental evidence for this type of pore geometry was obtained from stereo pairs of Pt/C replicas and thick microtomed sections (0.5 μm) which gave information about particle connectivity and pore casts which depicted the pore connectivity in three dimensions.     

Hemocompatibility of diamondlike carbon–metal composite thin films

We have investigated the hemocompatibility of diamondlike carbon–silver composite and diamondlike carbon–titanium composite thin films prepared using a multicomponent target pulsed laser deposition process. These materials were examined using transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, nanoindentation, electrochemical charge transfer testing, and platelet adhesion testing. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy revealed that silver self-assembles into nanoparticle arrays within the diamondlike carbon matrix in the diamondlike carbon–silver composite film. On the other hand, titanium self-assembles into alternating nanometer-thick titanium carbide layers within the diamondlike carbon matrix in the diamondlike carbon–titanium composite film. The hemocompatibility of these materials was examined using electrochemical charge transfer testing and platelet adhesion testing. A few small, widely scattered crystals were observed on the surface of the unalloyed diamondlike carbon film exposed to platelet rich plasma. On the other hand, dense fibrin networks with densely aggregated platelets were observed on the surfaces of diamondlike carbon–silver and diamondlike carbon–titanium composite thin films exposed to platelet rich plasma. Electrochemical testing revealed that the time constant for the diamondlike carbon thin film (λ = 1) was significantly higher than those for the diamondlike carbon–silver and diamondlike carbon–titanium composite thin films. These results suggest possible uses for diamondlike carbon thin films and diamondlike carbon–metal composite thin films as coatings in next generation cardiovascular implants.     

A new correlation method for high sensitivity current noise measurements

The properties of a differential transconductance amplifier coupled with a four channel measurement system are exploited in order to reach a very high sensitivity in current noise measurements. In particular, it is demonstrated that, in proper conditions, the noise contributions coming from the active and passive devices that make up the transresistance amplifier can be virtually eliminated. Moreover, the proposed measurement method allows the evaluation of the impedance of the device under test from noise measurement data. Actual measurement results are also reported that demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Improvement of the short‐ and long‐term mechanical properties of injection‐molded poly(etheretherketone) and hydroxyapatite nanocomposites

Nanocomposites of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles treated with a silane coupling agent were successfully prepared by twin screw extrusion and injection molding. Some of the samples were annealed after the injection molding. The silane treatment promoted an improvement of the short‐ and long‐term mechanical properties of the nanocomposites. A higher stress and a six times higher deformation at break and a higher impact strength were observed in the silane‐treated nanocomposites when compared to the nontreated ones. The number of cycles to fail of the treated nanocomposites was almost 200% higher than the number of cycles to fail of the nontreated samples. The treatment also decreased the glass transition temperature and amount of crystallinity of the samples. This improvement in mechanical properties obtained from the silane treatment was attributed to the strengthening of the PEEK/HA interfacial bond, to the plasticization of the PEEK matrix by silane oligomers produced during the processing and to a better dispersion of the HA nanoparticles within the PEEK matrix. Samples annealing, however, diminished all these properties due to the increase in crystallinity. Studies of the short‐ and long‐term mechanical properties of these nanocomposites under physiological conditions and of the proliferation of stem cells are under way. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44476.     

A Computational Methodology for Assessing the Time‐Dependent Structural Performance of Electric Road Infrastructures

An infrastructure adapted to dynamic wireless recharging of electric vehicles is often referred to generically as Electric Road (“e‐road”). E‐roads are deemed to become essential components of future grid environments and smart city strategies. Several technologies already exist that propose different ways to integrate dynamic inductive charging systems within the infrastructure. One e‐road solution uses a very thin rail with box‐section made of fibre‐reinforced polymer, inside which an electric current flows producing a magnetic field. In spite of the great interest and research generated by recharging technologies, the structural problems of e‐roads, including vibrations and structural integrity in the short and/or long period, have received relatively little attention to date. This article presents a novel computational methodology for assessing the time‐dependent structural performance of e‐roads, including a recursive strategy for the estimation of the lifetime of surface layers. The article also reports some numerical findings about e‐roads that will drive further numerical analyses and experimental studies on this novel type of infrastructure. Finally, numerical simulations have been conducted to compare an e‐road with a traditional road (“t‐road”), in terms of static, dynamic and fatigue behavior.