PT AU BA BE GP AF CA TI SO SE LA DT CT CY CL SP HO DE ID AB C1 RP EM FU FX CR NR TC Z9 PU PI PA SN BN J9 JI PD PY VL IS PN SU SI BP EP AR DI D2 PG P2 WC SC GA UT
J Hasanagas, ND Hasanagas, Nikolaos D.
Network Analysis Functionality in Environmental Policy: Combining Abstract Softw are Engineering with Field Empiricism INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMPUTERS COMMU NICATIONS & CONTROL English Article
Environmental Policy; Rural Development; Ambiguity; Network Analysis Software; N etwork Density 3-D MODELING FUNCTIONALITY; DOCUMENTATION; BUILDINGS; SYSTEMS; D ESIGN; GIS An empirical application of abstract network analysis software i s presented in this paper. Environmental policy networks are used as a case stud y. The visualization of the real network hierarchy and activity (formal and info rmal) is feasible only by using special software. A system of "actors" (e.g. pub lic institutions, interest groups, enterprises) interacting with each other and dealing with a particular environmental issue constitutes a policy network, whic h influences the environmental policy functionality. The impacts of policy conte nt ambiguity on network characteristics have been analyzed by using network anal ysis software as an example of combining algorithms with empiricism. Recommendat ions are made to software engineers about possible combination of algorithms wit h statistics and enrichment of the network analysis software with more visual an alytic functions. Stronger familiarization of software engineers with policy ana lysis discourse and of policy analysts with positivism becomes more imperative f or this purpose. On the basis of the quantitative results, environmental policy-makers are advised to invest more in trust development than in pressure and to i nstrumentalize more scientific information under conditions of ambiguity.
Univ Kavala, Inst Technol Greece, Kavala, Greece Hasanagas, ND (reprint a uthor), Univ Kavala, Inst Technol Greece, Kavala, Greece nikolaos.hasanag [email protected] Department of Landscape Architecture, Kavala Institute of Techno logy, Drama, Greece; Institute of Forest Policy and Nature Conservation of Goett ingen University (Germany) The research initiative proposed by this paper h as been supported by the Department of Landscape Architecture, Kavala Institute of Technology, Drama, Greece), and by the Institute of Forest Policy and Nature Conservation of Goettingen University (Germany). 34 0
0 CCC PUBL-AGORA UNIV BIHOR PIATA TINERETULUI 8, ORADEA, JUD, BIHOR, 410526, ROMANIA 1841-9836 INT J COMPUT COMMUN Int. J. Comput. Commun. Control DEC 2011 6 4
622 635 14 Automation & Control Sys
tems; Computer Science, Information Systems Automation & Control Systems; Co mputer Science 826ID WOS:000295346900004
J Melinte, G; Baia, L; Simon, V; Simon, S Melinte,
G.; Baia, L.; Simon, V.; Simon, S. Hydrogen peroxide versus water s ynthesis of bioglass-nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite composites JOURNAL OF MATER IALS SCIENCE English Article
TISSUE ENGINEERING SCAFFOLDS; GEL BIOACTIVE GLASSES; SYSTEM; SILICA; DEFECTS; RE LEASE; SURFACE; SODIUM This article reports a comparison of the structural and textural properties of bioglass-hydroxyapatite (HA) composites obtained in the S iO(2)-CaO-P(2)O(5) system by sol-gel method, with different amounts of hydrogen peroxide (3% H(2)O(2)) or water (H(2)O). X-ray diffraction, Raman, and FT-IR spe ctroscopy reveal the presence of nanocrystalline HA. Scanning electron microscop y images illustrate that the HA phase is mainly distributed on the glass surface . The results point out that the sintering at 550 degrees C of a sol-gel derived SiO(2)-CaO-P(2)O(5) bioglass leads to a single crystalline phase of HA, and val idate a new processing method for obtaining bioglass-HA composites. Structural a nalyses of the investigated composites indicate the existence of a silicate netw ork built up from Q(3) and Q(2) units. The replacement of water with hydrogen pe roxide has as consequence the increase of depolymerization degree of silica netw ork. Textural properties were investigated with N(2)-adsorption technique. The c
omposites prepared with hydrogen peroxide exhibit a more uniform and narrow meso porous distribution that recommends them for drug uptake and release application s. It was found that the specific surface area and pore volume are clearly influ enced by the H(2)O(2)(H(2)O):TEOS molar ratio. [Melinte, G; Baia, L; Simon, V; Simon, S] Univ Babes Bolyai, Fac Phys, Inst Interdisciplinary Res Bionanosci, Cl uj Napoca 400084, Romania Baia, L (reprint author), Univ Babes Bolyai, Fac Phys, Inst Interdisciplinary Res Bionanosci, M Kogalniceanu 1, Cluj Napoca 4000 84, Romania [email protected] Romanian National University Res earch Council-CNCSIS[PNII PCCE-101/2008] This research was accomplished i n the framework of PNII PCCE-101/2008 project granted by the Romanian National U
niversity Research Council-CNCSIS. 40 0 0 SPRINGER
NEW YORK 233 SPRING ST, NEW YORK, NY 10013 USA 0022-2461 J MATER SCI J. Mater. Sci. DEC 2011 46 23
7393 7400 10.1007/s10853-011-5700-8 8
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary Materials Science 824CS WOS:0002 95179700005
J Brooks, I; Palumbo, G; Hibbard, GD; Wang, ZR; Erb, U
Brooks, I.; Palumbo, G.; Hibbard, G. D.; Wang, Zhirui; Erb, U. On the i ntrinsic ductility of electrodeposited nanocrystalline metals JOURNAL OF MATER IALS SCIENCE English Article
MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES; TENSILE PROPERTIES; GRAIN-SIZE; BEHAVIOR; NICKEL; NI; PER MALLOY; STRENGTH; ALLOY While nanocrystalline materials hold promise for structu ral applications in which increased strength is beneficial, their adoption has b een hindered by concerns over the achievable ductility, resulting largely from c onsiderable data scatter in the literature. A statistically significant set of 1 47 electrodeposited nanocrystalline tensile specimens was used to investigate th is topic, and it was found that while necking elongation obeys similar processin g quality and geometrical dependencies as conventional engineering metals, the i ntrinsic ductility as measured by uniform plastic strain was unexpectedly indepe ndent of microstructure over the grain size range of 10-80 nm. This indicates th at the underlying physical processes of grain boundary-mediated damage formation are strain-oriented phenomena that can be defined by a critical plastic strain regardless of the strength of the material as a whole. [Brooks, I; Hibbard, GD; Wang, ZR; Erb, U] Univ Toronto, Dept Mat Sci & Engn, Toronto, ON M5S 3E4, Canad a; [Brooks, I; Palumbo, G] Integran Technol Inc, Mississauga, ON L4V 1H7, Canada Brooks, I (reprint author), Univ Toronto, Dept Mat Sci & Engn, Toronto, ON M5S 3 E4, Canada [email protected] Ontario Research Fund; U.S. Department o f Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development[PP-1152] The auth ors gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the Natural Sciences and Engi neering Research Council of Canada, Industry Canada (Technology Partnerships Can ada program), National Research Council (Industrial Research Assistance Program) , Ontario Research Fund, and the U.S. Department of Defense Strategic Environmen tal Research and Development Program project PP-1152. 48 0
0 SPRINGER NEW YORK 233 SPRING ST, NEW YORK, NY 10013 USA
0022-2461 J MATER SCI J. Mater. Sci. DEC 2011 46
24 7713 7724
10.1007/s10853-011-5751-x 12 Materials Science, Multidisciplinary Material
s Science 824CC WOS:000295177200009
J Park, JE; Todo, M Park, Joo-Eon; Todo, Mit
sugu Compressive mechanical properties and deformation behavior of po rous polymer blends of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) and poly(l-lactic acid)
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE English Article
IN-VITRO DEGRADATION; HYDROXYAPATITE SCAFFOLDS; COMPOSITE SCAFFOLDS; PORE-SIZE; TISSUE; MORPHOLOGY; FABRICATION; POROSITY; FOAMS; PLLA Porous biodegradable pol ymeric scaffolds are developed by physically blending two different kinds of bio degradable polymers, PCL, and PLLA, for application in tissue engineering. The m ain objective of the development of this material is to control the mechanical p roperties, such as, elastic modulus and strength. The results from mechanical te sting showed that the compressive mechanical properties of PCL/PLLA scaffold can be varied by changing the blend ratio. It also showed that these properties can
be well predicted by the rule of mixture. The primary deformation mechanism of the scaffolds was found to be localized buckling of struts surrounding the pores . Localized ductile failure caused by PCL phase tends to be suppressed with incr easing PLLA content. The immiscibility of PCL and PLLA caused the phase-separati on morphology that strongly affected the macroscopic mechanical properties and t he microscopic deformation behavior. [Todo, M] Kyushu Univ, Appl Mech Res Ins t, Kasuga, Fukuoka 8168580, Japan; [Park, JE] Kyushu Univ, Interdisciplinary Gra d Sch Engn Sci, Kasuga, Fukuoka 8168580, Japan Todo, M (reprint author), Kyushu Univ, Appl Mech Res Inst, 6-1 Kasuga Koen, Kasuga, Fukuoka 8168580, Japan
[email protected] 30 0 0
SPRINGER NEW YORK 233 SPRING ST, NEW YORK, NY 10013 USA 0022-246
1 J MATER SCI J. Mater. Sci. DEC 2011 46 24
7850 7857 10.1007/s10853-011-5766-3 8
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary Materials Science 824CC WOS:0002 95177200024
J Parajuli, N; Williams, GJ Parajuli, Niranj
an; Williams, Gavin J. A high-throughput screen for directed evolution of aminocoumarin amide synthetases ANALYTICAL BIOCHEMISTRY English
Article Directed evolution; Aminocoumari
n; High-throughput screening; Natural products DNA GYRASE; PREVENTION; NOVOBIOC IN; GLYCOSYLTRANSFERASE; ANTIBIOTICS; OVEREXPRESSION; BIOSYNTHESIS; COLONIZATION ; PURIFICATION; PROMISCUITY The biosynthesis of aminocoumarin antibiotics in volves the action of amide synthetases which construct amide bonds between amino coumarins and various acyl moieties. Libraries of aminocoumarin analogues have b een generated by in vivo fermentation, via feeding known amide synthetase substr ates into producing microbial strains. Critically, such feeding studies rely on the inherent or engineered substrate promiscuity of each amide synthetase. We ha ve initiated a program of directed evolution in order to create mutant amide syn thetases for the synthesis of new nonnatural amino coumarin analogues. We used t he clorobiocin enzyme CloL as a model amide synthetase to design and validate a fluorimetric high-throughput screen, which can be used to report the activity of mutant amide synthetases toward a broad range of coumarin and acyl donor substr ates. Our assay monitors the decrease in fluorescence of aminocoumarins on acyla tion. The utility of the assay was illustrated by screening a library of amide s ynthetase mutants created by error-prone PCR. The substrate specificity of an am ide synthetase was also rapidly probed using this assay, affording several newly identified substrates. It is anticipated that this high-throughput screen will accelerate the creation of amide synthetase mutants with new specificities by di rected evolution. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. [Parajuli, N; Wi lliams, GJ] N Carolina State Univ, Dept Chem, Raleigh, NC 27695 USA Williams , GJ (reprint author), N Carolina State Univ, Dept Chem, Box 8204, Raleigh, NC 2
7695 USA [email protected] 27 0
0 ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE SAN DIEGO 525 B ST, STE 19 00, SAN DIEGO, CA 92101-4495 USA 0003-2697 ANAL BIOCHEM
Anal. Biochem. DEC 1 2011 419 1 61
66 10.1016/j.ab.2011.07.037 6 Biochemi
cal Research Methods; Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Chemistry, Analytical Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Chemistry 827KS WOS:000295428000009
J Bayram, M Bayram, Mustafa Comparis
on of unsplit inshell and shelled kernel of the pistachio nuts JOURNAL OF FOOD ENGINEERING English Article
Pistachio nut; Sphericity; Particle surface area; Particle density; MBayram-1 eq uation MOISTURE-CONTENT; PHYSICAL-PROPERTIES; AIR-FLOW; VARIETY; RESISTANCE; L. In the present study, unsplit inshell (UIPN) and shelled kernel (SKPN) pistachio nuts (Antep type) were analyzed based on their dimensional properties such as p article density, sphericity, particle volume and surface area, where are importa nt for the engineering applications, designs and calculations. The determination of some physical properties of the pistachio nuts is very difficult due to its ellipsoidal shape. In this study, sphericity (using a new model, MBayram-1 equat ion), particle density (using dimensional method), surface area (using a softwar
e method) and volume (using dimensional method) were determined. The average wei ght, particle volume, particle density, sphericity and surface area of UIPN were determined as 1.0852 +/- 0.134 g, 1278.31 +/- 156.17 mm(3), 0.00882 +/- 0.00128 g/mm(3), 0.00882 +/- 0.00128 and 645.22 +/- 47.83 mm(2), respectively. They wer e 0.427 +/- 0.059 g, 457.09 +/- 73.44 mm(3), 0.000940 +/- 0.000074 g/mm(3), 0.00 825 +/- 0.00119 and 324.13 +/- 33.38 mm(2), respectively for SKPN. (C) 2011 Else vier Ltd. All rights reserved. Gaziantep Univ, Fac Engn, Dept Food Engn, TR-273 10 Gaziantep, Turkey Bayram, M (reprint author), Gaziantep Univ, Fac Engn, De pt Food Engn, TR-27310 Gaziantep, Turkey [email protected] Gaziante p BAP Thanks to University of Gaziantep BAP for the support. Also, thanks to B LG arge Consultancy, Food and Machinery Co. (www.BLGarge.com) for their engineer
ing helps. 21 0 0 ELSEVIER SCI LTD OXFORD
THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KIDLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 1GB, OXON, ENGLAND 0260-877
4 J FOOD ENG J. Food Eng. DEC 2011 107 3-4
374 378 10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2011.07.001 5
Engineering, Chemical; Food Science & Technology Engineering; Food Scienc e & Technology 829FK WOS:000295563800013
J Sozen, S; Guler, M Sozen, S.; Guler, M.
Determination of displacement distributions in bolted steel tension elements usi ng digital image techniques OPTICS AND LASERS IN ENGINEERING
English Article Steel connections; Digit
al image correlation; Finite element analysis DEFORMATION; FIELDS Digital imaging methods have found a great interest in various engineering fields to stu dy stress-deformation characteristics of materials. Recent enhancements in visua l instrumentation with the availability of cost-effective hardware and software products make the digital imaging techniques a viable tool to replace direct str ain or displacement measurement methods in engineering applications. In this stu dy, deformation characteristics of bolted steel connections are investigated by calculating in-plane displacement distributions using digital image correlation method (DIC). Validation of the method is presented by comparing the strains mea sured in standard tension specimens using electrical resistance strain gages and the DIC method. Finite element analysis of the connection specimen is also perf ormed to compare the in-plane displacement distributions calculated from both me thods. Results from the validation process indicate that the strains obtained fr om the DIC method compare well with the results of strain gages. The findings al so indicate that the displacement distributions calculated from the finite eleme nt method may differ from those of the DIC method in terms of distribution patte rn, and the location and magnitude of the extreme values of displacements. It is suggested that the proposed method can be used to determine the in-plane displa cement distributions for the bolted connections, hence to evaluate their deforma tion characteristics under loading. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [Sozen, S] Gaziosmanpasa Univ, Vocat Higher Sch, TR-60200 Tokat, Turkey; [Guler, M] Middle E Tech Univ, Dept Civil Engn, TR-06800 Ankara, Turkey Sozen, S (reprint author), Gaziosmanpasa Univ, Vocat Higher Sch, TR-60200 Tokat, Turkey
[email protected] 24 0 0 ELSEVIER
SCI LTD OXFORD THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KIDLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 1GB , OXON, ENGLAND 0143-8166 OPT LASER ENG Opt. Lasers Eng.
DEC 2011 49 12 1428 1435
10.1016/j.optlaseng.2011.07.002 8 Optics Optics 823UA WOS:000295150800008
J Mousavi, SM; Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, R; Hashemi, H; Mojtahedi, SMH Mousavi, S. M.; Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, R.; Hashemi, H.; Mojtahedi, S. M. H.
A novel approach based on non-parametric resampling with interval analysis for l arge engineering project risks SAFETY SCIENCE English Article
Risk assessment; Large engineering projects; Non-parametric bootstrap; Interval analysis BOOTSTRAP METHODS; CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS; MANAGEMENT; JACKKNIFE; IDENTIFICATION; STATISTICS; FRAMEWORK; SYSTEM The issue of risk assessment has been always the matter of debate in large engineering projects (LEPs). The asse ssment is an indispensable means for the projects to accomplish their objectives . It is firmly accepted that LEPs are particularly subject to more potential ris
ks than other business activities because of their complexity, uncertainty and a mbiguity. These characteristics are often conducive to small sample sizes of the gathered risk data in practice. Consequently, traditional statistical technique s cannot contribute significantly to analyze the risk data. The non-parametric r esampling technique, namely bootstrap, has been used subsequently to solve numer ous complicated problems and evaluate the accuracy of a parameter estimator in s ituations where commonly used techniques are not valid. It is also more natural, applicable and simple to estimate the risk data in an interval form under decis ion-making process by considering the concept of safety by professional experts in LEPs. Hence, in this paper, a new approach based on bootstrap technique with the interval analysis is presented in the context of the project risk assessment . The proposed approach not only plays an important role in reducing risk data a nd saving time but also is more economical. A real case study is conducted to il lustrate the applicability of the approach. Finally, the comparison results indi cate that the proposed approach outperforms the traditional technique in terms o f the accuracy and efficiency. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
[Mousavi, SM; Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, R] Univ Tehran, Dept Ind Engn, Coll Engn, Teh ran, Iran; [Hashemi, H] Zanjan Univ, Dept Civil Engn, Fac Engn, Zanjan, Iran; [M ojtahedi, SMH] Aryana Petro Tavan Co, Planning Manager, Tehran, Iran; [Mojtahedi , SMH] Islamic Azad Univ, Sch Ind Engn, S Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran Mousavi, SM (reprint author), Univ Tehran, Dept Ind Engn, Coll Engn, POB 11155-4563, Teh ran, Iran [email protected]; [email protected]
43 0 0 ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV AMSTERDAM PO BOX 211, 1000 AE AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS 0925-7535 SAFETY SCI Saf. Sci
. DEC 2011 49 10 1340 1348
10.1016/j.ssci.2011.05.004 9 Engineering, Industrial; Operations Research & Management Science Engineering; Operations Research & Management Science 824FW WOS:000295188800006
J Chung, BN; Palukaitis, P Chung, Bong Nam;
Palukaitis, Peter Resistance to multiple viruses in transgenic tob acco expressing fused, tandem repeat, virus-derived double-stranded RNAs
VIRUS GENES English Article
Transgenic resistance; Potato virus Y; Potato leafroll virus; Potato virus A; To bacco rattle virus; Potato mop-top virus; RNA silencing COAT PROTEIN GENE; POTAT O-LEAFROLL-VIRUS; MOP-TOP-VIRUS; CUCUMBER-MOSAIC-VIRUS; CYSTEINE-RICH PROTEIN; M EDIATED RESISTANCE; NICOTIANA-BENTHAMIANA; ARTIFICIAL MICRORNAS; RUSSET-BURBANK; LONG-DISTANCE Transgenic tobacco plants expressing fused, tandem, inverted-rep eat, double-stranded RNAs derived either from the three viruses [potato virus Y (PVY), potato virus A (PVA), and potato leafroll virus (PLRV)] or the five virus es [PVY, PVA, PLRV as well as tobacco rattle virus (TRV), and potato mop-top vir us (PMTV)] were generated in this study to examine whether resistance could be a chieved against these three viruses or five viruses, respectively, in the same p lant. The transgenic lines were engineered to produce 600- or 1000-bp inverted h airpin transcripts with an intron, in two orientations each, which were processe d to silencing-inducing RNAs (siRNAs). Fewer lines were regenerated from the tra nsformants with either 1000-bp inverted hairpin transcripts, or a sense-intron-a ntisense orientation versus antisense-intron-sense orientation. Resistances to P VA and two strains of PVY (-O and -N) were achieved in plants from most of lines examined, as well as resistance to co-infection by a mixture of PVY-O and PVA, applied to the plants by either rub inoculation or using aphids. This was regard less of the orientation of the inserted sequences for the 600-bp insert lines, b ut only for one orientation of the 1000-bp insert lines. The lines containing th e 1000-bp inserts also showed resistance to infection by TRV inoculated by rub i noculation and PMTV inoculated by grafting. However, all the lines showed only l ow-to-moderate (15-43%) resistance to infection by PLRV transmitted by aphids. T he resistances to the various viruses correlated with the levels of accumulation of siRNAs, indicating that the multiple resistances were achieved by RNA silenc ing. [Palukaitis, P] Seoul Womens Univ, Dept Hort Sci, Seoul 139774, South Ko rea; [Palukaitis, P] Invergowrie, James Hutton Inst, Dundee DD2 5DA, Scotland; [ Chung, BN] Rural Dev Adm, Natl Inst Hort & Herbal Sci, Suwon 440310, South Korea
Palukaitis, P (reprint author), Seoul Womens Univ, Dept Hort Sci, 621 Hwarangno, Seoul 139774, South Korea [email protected] Korean Rural Development Agency; Seoul Women's University The authors thank Brian Fenton, Stuart M ac-Farlane, and Graham Cowan of the James Hutton Institute for providing materia ls, aphids, transmission facilities, advice and/or training. The authors also th ank Jari Valkonen of the University of Helsinki and Lilian Jarvekulg of the Tall inn University of Technology as well as the Plant Virus GenBank, Seoul Women's U niversity, for providing materials. This study was supported in part by a grant for an International Cooperative Research Project from the Korean Rural Developm ent Agency. PP was supported by a special grant from the Seoul Women's Universit
y in 2010. 53 0 0 SPRINGER DORDRECHT
VAN GODEWIJCKSTRAAT 30, 3311 GZ DORDRECHT, NETHERLANDS 0920-8569
VIRUS GENES Virus Genes DEC 2011 43 3
454 464 10.1007/s11262-011-0655-z 11
Genetics & Heredity; Virology Genetics & Heredity; Virology 822YJ WOS:0002 95086200018
J Hashmi, JA; Zafar, Y; Arshad, M; Mansoor, S; Asad, S
Hashmi, Jamil A.; Zafar, Yusuf; Arshad, Muhammad; Mansoor, Shahid; Asad, Shaheen Engineering cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) for resistance to cotton leaf curl di sease using viral truncated AC1 DNA sequences (vol 42, pg 286, 2011) VIRUS GE
NES English Correction
[Hashmi, JA; Zafar, Y; Arshad, M; Mansoor, S; Asad, S] Natl Inst Biotechnol & Ge net Engn NIBGE, Agr Biotechnol Div, Faisalabad, Pakistan Zafar, Y (reprin t author), Natl Inst Biotechnol & Genet Engn NIBGE, Agr Biotechnol Div, POB 577, Jhang Rd, Faisalabad, Pakistan [email protected]; [email protected]
1 0 0 SPRINGER DORDRECHT VAN GODEWIJCKSTRAAT 30,
3311 GZ DORDRECHT, NETHERLANDS 0920-8569 VIRUS GENES Virus Ge
nes DEC 2011 43 3 476 476
10.1007/s11262-011-0606-8 1 Genetics & Heredity; Vir ology Genetics & Heredity; Virology 822YJ WOS:000295086200021
J Novalija, I; Mladenic, D; Bradesko, L Novalija
, Inna; Mladenic, Dunja; Bradesko, Luka OntoPlus: Text-driven ontology e xtension using ontology content, structure and co-occurrence information
KNOWLEDGE-BASED SYSTEMS English Article
Knowledge engineering methodologies; Ontology extension; Large-scale ontology; T ext mining; Semantic technologies This paper addresses the process of semi-automatic text-driven ontology extension using ontology content, struct ure and co-occurrence information. A novel OntoPlus methodology is proposed for semi-automatic ontology extension based on text mining methods. It allows for th e effective extension of the large ontologies, providing a ranked list of potent ially relevant concepts and relationships given a new concept (e.g., glossary te rm) to be inserted in the ontology. A number of experiments are conducted, evalu ating measures for ranking correspondence between existing ontology concepts and new domain concepts suggested for the ontology extension. Measures for ranking are based on incorporating ontology content, structure and co-occurrence informa tion. The experiments are performed using a well known Cyc ontology and textual material from two domains - finances and, fisheries & aquaculture. Our experimen ts show that the best results are achieved by combining content, structure and c o-occurrence information. Furthermore, ontology content and structure seem to be more important than co-occurrence for our data in the financial domain. At the same time, ontology content and co-occurrence seem to have higher importance for our fisheries & aquaculture domain. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. [Novalija, I; Mladenic, D; Bradesko, L] Jozef Stefan Inst, Artificial Intelligen ce Lab, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia Novalija, I (reprint author), Jozef Stef an Inst, Artificial Intelligence Lab, Jamova 39, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia
[email protected] Slovenian Research Agency; EC[IST-NoE-216886, IST-2007-2 15040] This work was supported by the Slovenian Research Agency and the IST Pro gramme of the EC under PASCAL2 (IST-NoE-216886) and ACTIVE (IST-2007-215040). 41 0 0 ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV AMSTERDAM PO BOX 211, 1000 AE AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS 0950-7051 KNOWL-BASED SYST
Knowledge-Based Syst. DEC 2011 24 8
1261 1276 10.1016/j.knosys.2011.06.002 16
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence Computer Science 825BB WOS:000295244800015
J Brnic, J; Turkalj, G; Canadija, M; Lanc, D
Brnic, J.; Turkalj, G.; Canadija, M.; Lanc, D. AISI 316Ti (1.4571) stee l-Mechanical, creep and fracture properties versus temperature JOURNAL OF CONST RUCTIONAL STEEL RESEARCH English Article
Material properties; Short-time creep behavior; Charpy impact energy; Fracture t oughness calculation; Low and elevated temperatures; 1.4571 steel AUSTENIT IC STAINLESS-STEELS; CORROSION BEHAVIOR; ELEVATED-TEMPERATURES; TOUGHNESS
In this paper some useful, experimentally obtained, results regarding material p roperties of austenitic stainless steel 1.4571 are presented. Tests were perform ed at low and elevated temperatures. During uniaxial tests, mechanical propertie s such as ultimate tensile strength, 0.2% offset yield strength and short-time c reep behaviour were determined. Charpy impact energy was also determined using t he Charpy impact machine. Engineering stress-strain diagrams are shown at low an d elevated temperatures, whereas creep curves for selected stress levels are pre sented at selected temperatures. Therefore, experimentally obtained data may be of importance for structure designers dealing with design of structures made of similar material and operating under similar environmental conditions. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [Brnic, J; Turkalj, G; Canadija, M; Lanc , D] Univ Rijeka, Dept Engn Mech, Rijeka, Croatia Brnic, J (reprint author ), Univ Rijeka, Dept Engn Mech, Vukovarska 58, Rijeka, Croatia [email protected] Ministry of Science, Education and Sport of the Republic of Croatia The rese arch presented in this paper was carried out within the scientific research fina ncially supported by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sport of the Republi c of Croatia. Also, the authors would like to thank the participants of the Mate rial Testing Laboratory of Department of Materials at the Faculty of Engineering Rijeka for their help in determining the testing material chemical composition. 22 0 0 ELSEVIER SCI LTD OXFORD THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KIDLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 1GB, OXON, ENGLAND 0143-974X J CONSTR STEEL RES J. Constr. Steel. Res. DEC 2011 67 12
1948 1952 10.1016/j.jcsr.2011.06.011 5
Construction & Building Technology; Engineering, Civil Construction & Building Technology; Engineering 820VJ WOS:000294933900016
J Viciana-Abad, R; Reyes-Lecuona, A; Poyade, M; Escolano, J
Viciana-Abad, Raquel; Reyes-Lecuona, Arcadio; Poyade, Matthieu; Escolano, Jose The role of mismatches in the sensory feedback provided to indicate selection wi thin a virtual environment MULTIMEDIA TOOLS AND APPLICATIONS
English Article Co-location; Delay; Feed
back; Mismatches; Performance; Presence; Selection ENGINEERING DESIGN; VISI ON; RECALIBRATION; ADAPTATION; PERCEPTION; DELAY; HAND; VENTRILOQUISM; SIMULTANE ITY; PERFORMANCE It is generally understood that virtual reality simulati ons have a high computational cost. Hence, they rarely can reduce completely all the incoherence within the cross-modal sensory outputs provided. The main resea rch approaches to date have consisted in technically reducing possible mismatche s, however minimal research has been conducted so as to analyse their influence on human capabilities. Thus, the objective of this study is to provide further i nsights to the designers of virtual reality about the negative influence of simu lation lags and interesting design implications. To clearly show this, we have i nvestigated the importance of coherent sensory feedback by incorporating time de lays and spatial misalignments in the feedback provided by the simulation as a r esponse to participantA ' s actions to mimic computationally expensive environme nts. We have also evaluated these misalignments considering two typical interact ion setups. In particular, the sensory mismatches influence has been assessed in human factors, such as the sense of presence, task performance and delay percep tion. Our experimental results indicate that the closer the interaction conditio ns are to real configurations the higher the sensory requirements are regarding accuracy. The implications of this study offer the designer guidelines to priori
tise the reduction of those mismatches in the sensory cues provided depending on the simulations goals. [Viciana-Abad, R; Escolano, J] Univ Jaen, Dept Telecommu n Engn, Jaen, Spain; [Reyes-Lecuona, A; Poyade, M] Univ Malaga, Dept Elect Techn ol, E-29071 Malaga, Spain Viciana-Abad, R (reprint author), Univ Jaen, Dep t Telecommun Engn, Jaen, Spain [email protected] DIANA group (University of Malaga); University of Jaen[UJA2009/12/12] The authors wish to thank the pa rticipants in the study for their collaboration and comments. This work has been partially supported by DIANA group (University of Malaga) and by the University of Jaen through project UJA2009/12/12. 50 0 0 SPRINGER DORDRECHT VAN GODEWIJCKSTRAAT 30, 3311 GZ DORDRECHT, NETHERLANDS 1380-750 1 MULTIMED TOOLS APPL Multimed. Tools Appl. DEC 2011
55 3 353 378 10.1007/s11042-0
10-0551-x 26 Computer Science, Information Systems; C omputer Science, Software Engineering; Computer Science, Theory & Methods; Engin eering, Electrical & Electronic Computer Science; Engineering 815CV WOS:0002 94504600001
J Fooladi, M; Golbakhshi, H; Mohammadi, M; Soleimani, A
Fooladi, M.; Golbakhshi, H.; Mohammadi, M.; Soleimani, A. An impro ved meshless method for analyzing the time dependent problems in solid mechanics ENGINEERING ANALYSIS WITH BOUNDARY ELEMENTS English Article
Meshless methods; Radial basis function; LRPIM; Time dependent problems; Dynamic al loads; Taylor Series GALERKIN MLPG METHOD; VIBRATION ANALYSES; PLATES
In this paper, the local radial point interpolation method (LRPIM) is developed for the investigation of time dependent problems in solid mechanics. By a new in tegration scheme considered for the obtained meshless weak form, integrands are approximated up to the second order of the Taylor series and the integrals are e valuated on some points, which are located inside the local quadrature domains, called integration points. In order to show the efficiency of the suggested meth od, some time dependent mechanical problems are considered for the engineering s tructures such as beams and plates, which are subjected to dynamical loads, the deflections and stresses are evaluated. Finally, it has been shown that using th e proposed method greatly reduces the number of integration points without affec ting the accuracy of the results. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [Fooladi, M] Shahid Bahonar Univ Kerman, Dept Mech Engn, Kerman, Iran; [Golbakhs hi, H; Soleimani, A] Univ Jiroft, Dept Agr Engn, Jiroft, Kerman, Iran; [Mohammad i, M] Islamic Azad Univ, Kerman Branch, Young Researchers Club, Kerman, Iran Fooladi, M (reprint author), Shahid Bahonar Univ Kerman, Dept Mech Engn, Kerman,
Iran [email protected] 23 0 0
ELSEVIER SCI LTD OXFORD THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KIDLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 1GB, OXON, ENGLAND 0955-7997 ENG ANAL BOUND ELEM Eng. Ana
l. Bound. Elem. DEC 2011 35 12 1297
1302 10.1016/j.enganabound.2011.05.012 6
Engineering, Multidisciplinary; Mathematics, Interdisciplinary Applications Engineering; Mathematics 816EW WOS:000294582500007
J Xie, Y; Sun, D; Tse, HYG; Liu, C; Cheng, SH
Xie, Yu; Sun, Dong; Tse, Ho Yan Gloria; Liu, Chong; Cheng, Shuk Han
Force Sensing and Manipulation Strategy in Robot-Assisted Microinjection on Zebr afish Embryos IEEE-ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS English Article Force sensing; manipulation strategy; robot-assisted microinjection; survival ra te; zebrafish embryo CELL INJECTION; DRUG DISCOVERY; SYSTEM; FEEDBACK
Robot-assisted microinjection has attracted considerable attention from both eng ineering and biological communities, due to its advantages of high precision and throughput. This paper addresses two issues in the development of enable techno logies for robot-assisted microinjection. One is the microforce measurement duri ng the embryo-injection process. A new injection force-sensing scheme based on a simply supported beam structure is reported. The model combining mechanoelectri cal transduction of the beam and the polyvinylidene fluoride sensing material is theoretically investigated. The other issue to be addressed is the manipulation strategy to mimic human-injection operation, which is based on force sensing an d control techniques. A set of microinjection experiments on zebrafish embryos i
s performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed robot-assisted mani pulation methodology. Experimental results show that satisfied survival rate of the injected cells can be obtained, which is comparable to manual operation by h uman expert. [Sun, D; Liu, C] City Univ Hong Kong, Dept Mfg Engn & Engn Manag ement, Kowloon, Hong Kong, Peoples R China; [Tse, HYG; Cheng, SH] City Univ Hong Kong, Dept Biol & Chem, Kowloon, Hong Kong, Peoples R China Xie, Y (reprint author), Xiamen Univ, Dept Mech & Elect Engn, Xiamen 361005, Peoples R China [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; chongliu @cityu.edu.hk; [email protected] Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China[CityU 120308]; University Grants Council[S EG CityU 01]; City University of Hong Kong[9360128] This work was supported in part by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative R egion, China, under Grant Project CityU 120308, in part by University Grants Cou ncil Special Equipment under Grant SEG CityU 01, and in part by the City Univers ity of Hong Kong under Grant 9360128. 26 0 0 IEEE-INS T ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC PISCATAWAY 445 HOES LANE, PISCATAWA Y, NJ 08855-4141 USA 1083-4435 IEEE-ASME T MECH IEEE-ASM E Trans. Mechatron. DEC 2011 16 6
1002 1010 10.1109/TMECH.2010.2068055 9
Automation & Control Systems; Engineering, Manufacturing; Engineering, Electrica l & Electronic; Engineering, Mechanical Automation & Control Systems; Engineerin g 819TX WOS:000294854700003
J Bassi, L; Secchi, C; Bonfe, M; Fantuzzi, C
Bassi, Luca; Secchi, Cristian; Bonfe, Marcello; Fantuzzi, Cesare
A SysML-Based Methodology for Manufacturing Machinery Modeling and Design IEEE-ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS English Article
Computer-aided engineering (CAE); object-oriented (OO); System Modeling Language (SysML); Unified Modeling Language (UML) MECHATRONIC SYSTEMS; INTEGRATION ; QUOTIENT; UML This paper describes a modeling methodology to support the desig n process of complex systems. The main challenge in modern industrial applicatio ns is the sheer volume of data involved in the design process. While using high-level abstraction is necessary to manage this data and analyze the system "as a whole," designers need also to retain all the low-level information of the syste m, in order to be able to perform optimizations and modifications at later times . The solution proposed here is to use a hierarchy of models, each one describin g the system at different levels of abstraction, and arrange them in such a way that it is possible to easily "map" each level onto the others. The topmost laye r of the system description is expressed in System Modeling Language, a general-purpose modeling language based on Unified Modeling Language. [Bassi, L] Univ Bologna, Dept Elect Comp Sci & Syst, I-40100 Bologna, Italy; [Secchi, C; Fantuzz i, C] Univ Modena & Reggio Emilia, Dept Sci & Methods Engn, I-42100 Reggio Emili a, Italy; [Bonfe, M] Univ Ferrara, Fac Engn, I-44100 Ferrara, Italy Bassi, L (reprint author), European Patent Off, NL-2288 EE The Hague, Netherlands
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; cesare.fant
[email protected] 33 0 0 IEEE-INST ELECTR
ICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC PISCATAWAY 445 HOES LANE, PISCATAWAY, NJ 08 855-4141 USA 1083-4435 IEEE-ASME T MECH IEEE-ASME Trans.
Mechatron. DEC 2011 16 6 1049
1062 10.1109/TMECH.2010.2073480 14 Automati
on & Control Systems; Engineering, Manufacturing; Engineering, Electrical & Elec tronic; Engineering, Mechanical Automation & Control Systems; Engineering
819TX WOS:000294854700008
J Liu, PS; Du, HY Liu, P. S.; Du, H. Y.
Modeling failure modes of isotropic three-dimensional reticulated porous metal f oams under several typical loads MATERIALS & DESIGN English
Article Metal foams; Mechanical properti
es; Feature modeling MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES; TITANIUM; SIZE Three dimensiona l reticulated porous metal foams are widely used engineering materials. A failur e model with the simplified structure of these porous materials has been establi shed, and the failure modes have been analyzed for the corresponding porous comp
onents under several typical loads, which include torsion, shearing and bending. The failure modes cover the tensile fracture, the shearing and the buckling of the strut, which may lead to the final destruction of the whole porous structure . The mathematical relationships, which characterize different failure modes, ha ve been derived for the strut failure resulting from loading for these porous co mponents under the above loading conditions. The results also show that the fail ure mode is related with the material species for these materials under the abov e loads. The tensile fracture of the strut will occur for the porous body with m etallic materials in most cases, and the shearing fracture of the strut may occu r for that in a relatively little cases. Moreover, the elastic buckling, the ela stic-plastic buckling and the edge yielding may also occur on the strut of porou s bodies when certain conditions are met. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. [Liu, PS; Du, HY] Beijing Normal Univ, Coll Nucl Sci & Technol, Minist Educ, Key Lab Beam Technol & Mat Modificat, Beijing 100875, Peoples R China; [Du, HY] Jil in Elect Power Co Ltd, Res Inst, Changchun 130021, Peoples R China Liu, PS (reprint author), Beijing Normal Univ, Coll Nucl Sci & Technol, Minist Educ, Key Lab Beam Technol & Mat Modificat, Beijing 100875, Peoples R China Liu996@2 63.net Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities[2009SD-26]; Test ing Foundation of Beijing Normal University[C10] This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2009SD-26) a nd the Testing Foundation of Beijing Normal University (No. C10), and these supp
orts are both appreciated. 22 0 0 ELSEVIER SCI LTD
OXFORD THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KIDLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 1GB, OXON, ENGLAND
0261-3069 MATER DESIGN Mater. Des. DEC 2011 32
10 4786 4793 10.1016/j.matdes.2011.06
.029 8 Materials Science, Multidisciplinary Material s Science 813NF WOS:000294373500015
J Ahmadinia, E; Zargar, M; Karim, MR; Abdelaziz, M; Shafigh, P
Ahmadinia, Esmaeil; Zargar, Majid; Karim, Mohamed Rehan; Abdelaziz, Mahrez; Shaf igh, Payam Using waste plastic bottles as additive for stone mastic asphalt MATERIALS & DESIGN English Article
Polymers: thermoplastics; Mechanical; Environmental performance MODIFIED FLEXIBL E PAVEMENTS; AGGREGATE REPLACEMENT; MATRIX ASPHALT; TIRE RUBBER; MIXTURES; PERFO RMANCE; CONCRETE; DESIGN Currently, polymer modified asphalt mixture is a relatively costly mixture for paving roads. One way to reduce the cost of such constructions and rendering them more convenient is by using inexpensive polymer s, i.e. waste polymers. The main purpose of this research is to determine the ef fect of incorporating waste plastic bottles (Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)) o n the engineering properties of stone mastic asphalt (SMA) mixture. The volumetr ic and mechanical properties of asphalt mixes that include various percentages o f PET (0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%) were calculated and assessed with laboratory tests. The appropriate amount of PET was found to be 6% by weight of bitumen. Th e outcomes were statistically analysed and the determination of the significance at certain confidence limits was performed with the two factor variance analysi s (ANOVA). Moreover, some studies conducted on polyethylene modified asphalt mix ture have also been taken into consideration in this paper. The results show tha t the addition of PET has a significant positive effect on the properties of SMA and it can promote the re-use of waste material in industry in an environmental ly friendly and economical way. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [Ahmadinia, E; Zargar, M; Karim, MR; Abdelaziz, M; Shafigh, P] Univ Malaya, Fac Engn, Ctr Transportat Res, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia Ahmadinia, E (reprint au thor), Univ Malaya, Fac Engn, Ctr Transportat Res, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
[email protected] 39 0 0
ELSEVIER SCI LTD OXFORD THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KIDLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 1GB, OXON, ENGLAND 0261-3069 MATER DESIGN Mater. Des.
DEC 2011 32 10 4844 4849
10.1016/j.matdes.2011.06.016 6 Materials Science, Multi disciplinary Materials Science 813NF WOS:000294373500023
J Zander, J; Sandstrom, R Zander, Johan; Sandstrom
MATERIALS & DESIGN English Article
Material selection charts; Performance indices MATERIALS OPTIMIZATION; MECHANIC AL DESIGN Merit indices play a fundamental role in materials selection, si nce they enable ranking of materials. However, the conventional formulation of m erit indices is associated with severe limitations. They are dependent on the ex plicit solution of the variables in the equations for the constraints from the d esign criteria. Furthermore, it is not always easy to determine which the contro lling merit index is. To enable the ranking of materials in more general design cases, merit exponents are introduced as generalisations of the merit indices. P rocedures are presented for how to compute the merit exponents numerically witho ut having to solve equations algebraically. Merit exponents (and indices) are on ly valid in a certain range of property values. To simplify the identification o f the controlling merit exponent, it is suggested that so called control area di agrams are used. These diagrams consist of a number of domains, each showing the active constraints and the controlling merit exponent. It is shown that the mer it exponents play a crucial role when the control area diagram (CAD) is set up. The principles in the paper are developed for mechanically loaded components and are illustrated for engineering beams with two or three geometric variables. (C ) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [Zander, J; Sandstrom, R] KTH, S -10044 Stockholm, Sweden Sandstrom, R (reprint author), KTH, Brinellv 23, S-10044 Stockholm, Sweden [email protected] Foundation for Strategic Researc h (SSF); Jernkontoret; Outokumpu; Sandvik; SAPA; SSAB The MATOP programme is f inanced by the Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF), Jernkontoret, Outokumpu, Sandvik, SAPA and SSAB, which is gratefully acknowledged. 21
1 1 ELSEVIER SCI LTD OXFORD THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KI DLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 1GB, OXON, ENGLAND 0261-3069 MATER DESIGN
Mater. Des. DEC 2011 32 10 4850
4856 10.1016/j.matdes.2011.06.013 7 Material
s Science, Multidisciplinary Materials Science 813NF WOS:000294373500 024
J Zander, J; Sandstrom, R Zander, Johan; Sandstrom
, Rolf Materials selection for a cooling plate using control area diagr ams MATERIALS & DESIGN English Article
Aluminium alloys; Material selection charts; Performance indices MATERIAL S OPTIMIZATION; ENVIRONMENTAL-IMPACT; ENGINEERING DESIGN; INDEXES Merit in dices are used to rank materials and are of fundamental importance in materials selection. Traditionally, merit indices have only been available for elementary design cases. In the present paper merit indices are generalised to cooling syst ems where heat flow and strength are design criteria in a materials optimisation framework. A cooling tube and a cooling plate are considered. A new concept, me rit exponent is used that is related to the merit indices. A definition of the m erit exponent is given also for cases with many design variables. In each design case a number of merit exponents are involved. It is a non-trivial task to iden tify which they are and when each of them is applicable. For this purpose contro l area diagrams (CAD) are used. A CAD is a diagram with the controlling properti es on the axes, and areas where one or more constraints are active. For the cool ing systems the controlling properties are heat conductivity and strength. The a ctive constraints define the relevant merit exponent. The constraints involve th e controlling properties and geometrical variables. Principles are established f or how to set up the CAD and to derive the merit exponents. (C) 2011 Elsevier Lt d. All rights reserved. [Zander, J; Sandstrom, R] Royal Inst Technol, Mat Sci & Engn & Brinell Ctr, S-10044 Stockholm, Sweden Sandstrom, R (reprint author), R oyal Inst Technol, Mat Sci & Engn & Brinell Ctr, Brinellv 23, S-10044 Stockholm, Sweden [email protected] Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF); Jernkontoret; O utokumpu; Sandvik; SAPA; SSAB The MATOP programme is financed by the Foundatio n for Strategic Research (SSF), Jernkontoret, Outokumpu, Sandvik, SAPA and SSAB, which is gratefully acknowledged. We also want to thank Claudi. Martin-Callizo from SAPA technology for valuable discussions. 28 0 0
ELSEVIER SCI LTD OXFORD THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KIDLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 1GB, OXON, ENGLAND 0261-3069 MATER DESIGN Mater. Des.
DEC 2011 32 10 4866 4873
10.1016/j.matdes.2011.06.008 8 Materials Science, Multi disciplinary Materials Science 813NF WOS:000294373500026
J Jurczyk, MU; Jurczyk, K; Miklaszewski, A; Jurczyk, M
Jurczyk, M. U.; Jurczyk, K.; Miklaszewski, A.; Jurczyk, M. Nanostru ctured titanium-4555 Bioglass scaffold composites for medical applications
MATERIALS & DESIGN English Article
Nano-materials; Mechanical alloying; Microstructure; X-ray analysis HYDROXYA PATITE NANOCOMPOSITES; BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS; OSTEOBLAST ADHESION; SURFACE-ROU GHNESS; NANOPHASE METALS; POROUS TI; IMPLANTS; BIOMATERIALS; FABRICATION; TI6AL4 V Titanium-10 wt.% 4555 Bioglass scaffold nanocomposites were synthesized by the combination of mechanical alloying and by a "space-holder" sintering proc ess. The porous structure and corrosion properties were investigated. In vitro b iocompatibility of these materials was evaluated and compared with a conventiona l microcrystalline titanium, where normal human osteoblast (NHOst) cells from Ca mbrex (CC-2538) were cultured on the disks of the materials and cell growth was examined. The morphology of the cell cultures obtained on Ti-10 wt.% 45S5 Biogla ss nanocomposite was similar to those obtained on the microcrystalline titanium. On the other hand, on porous scaffold, the cells adhered with their whole surfa ce to the insert penetrating the porous structure, while on the polished surface , more spherical cells were observed with a smaller surface of adhesion. The pre sent study has demonstrated that titanium-10 wt.% 4555 Bioglass scaffold nanocom posite is a promising biomaterial for bone tissue engineering. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved, [Miklaszewski, A; Jurczyk, M] Poznan Tech Univ, Inst Mat Sci & Engn, PL-60695 Poznan, Poland; [Jurczyk, MU] Karol Marcinkowski U niv Med Sci, Div Mothers & Childs Hlth, PL-60535 Poznan, Poland; [Jurczyk, K] Ka rol Marcinkowski Univ Med Sci, Dept Conservat Dent & Periodontol, PL-60812 Pozna n, Poland Jurczyk, M (reprint author), Poznan Tech Univ, Inst Mat Sci & En gn, M Sklodowska Curie Sq 5, PL-60695 Poznan, Poland [email protected] oznan.pl Polish Ministry of Education and Science[N N507 295039] The part ial financial support of the Polish Ministry of Education and Science under the Contract No. N N507 295039 is gratefully acknowledged. 34 0
0 ELSEVIER SCI LTD OXFORD THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KIDLINGTON , OXFORD OX5 1GB, OXON, ENGLAND 0261-3069 MATER DESIGN Mater. D
es. DEC 2011 32 10 4882 4889
10.1016/j.matdes.2011.06.005 8 Materials Science, Multi disciplinary Materials Science 813NF WOS:000294373500028
J Jahan, A; Ismail, MY; Shuib, S; Norfazidah, D; Edwards, KL
Jahan, Ali; Ismail, Md Yusof; Shuib, S.; Norfazidah, Dayangku; Edwards, K. L. An aggregation technique for optimal decision-making in materials selection MATERIALS & DESIGN English Article
Selection of materials; Weighting and ranking factors; Performance indices
ENGINEERING DESIGN; OUTRANKING METHODS; BIPOLAR PLATES; VIKOR METHOD; CRITERIA; MODEL Materials selection is an onerous but very important activity in the des ign process. An inappropriate choice of material(s) can adversely affect the pro ductivity and profitability and hence reputation of a manufacturing organization . The complexity of materials selection makes multi-criteria analysis an invalua ble tool in the engineering design process. However, the application of various multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods can yield different results, espec ially when alternatives lead to similar performance. Therefore, an aggregation t echnique is proposed in this paper for optimal decision-making. In this approach , ranking orders obtained by various MCDM methods are used as the input of the s uggested procedure and the outputs are aggregation rankings, which help designer s and engineers to reach a consensus on materials selection for a specific appli cation. An illustrative example is given to demonstrate the application of this procedure and its effectiveness in obtaining optimal materials selection. (C) 20 11 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [Jahan, A] Islamic Azad Univ, Semnan Bra nch, Fac Engn, Semnan, Iran; [Ismail, MY; Shuib, S; Norfazidah, D] Univ Malaysia Pahang, Dept Mfg Engn, Pahang, Malaysia; [Edwards, KL] Aston Univ, Sch Engn & A ppl Sci, Birmingham B4 7ET, W Midlands, England Jahan, A (reprint author), Islam
ic Azad Univ, Semnan Branch, Fac Engn, Semnan, Iran [email protected] 42 0 0 ELSEVIER SCI LTD OXFORD THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KIDLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 1GB, OXON, ENGLAND 0261-3069 MATER DE
SIGN Mater. Des. DEC 2011 32 10
4918 4924 10.1016/j.matdes.2011.05.050 7
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary Materials Science 813NF WOS:0002 94373500032
J Dhanapal, A; Boopathy, SR; Balasubramanian, V
Dhanapal, A.; Boopathy, S. Rajendra; Balasubramanian, V. Developi ng an empirical relationship to predict the corrosion rate of friction stir weld ed AZ61A magnesium alloy under salt fog environment MATERIALS & DESIGN
English Article CHLORIDE-ION CON
CENTRATION Magnesium (Mg) alloys shows the lowest density among other engin eering metallic materials. As a consequence, this light alloy has a promising fu ture. However, these alloys have great affinity for oxygen and other chemical ox idizing agents. The limitation of low corrosion resistance restricts their pract ical applications. Extruded Mg alloy plates of 6 mm thick of AZ61A grade were bu tt welded using friction stir welding (FSW) process. Corrosion behavior of the w elds was evaluated by conducting salt fog test in NaCl solution at different chl oride ion concentrations, pH value and spraying time. Also an attempt was made t o develop an empirical relationship to predict the corrosion rate of friction st ir welded AZ61A magnesium alloy. Three factors and a central composite design we re used to minimize the number of experimental conditions. Response surface meth od was used to develop their relationship. The developed relationship can be eff ectively used to predict the corrosion rate of friction stir weld AZ61A magnesiu m alloy at 95% confidence level. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [Dhanapal, A] Sri Ramanujar Engn Coll, Dept Mech Engn, Madras 600048, Tamil Nadu , India; [Boopathy, SR] Anna Univ, Coll Engn, Dept Mech Engn, Madras 600025, Tam il Nadu, India; [Balasubramanian, V] Annamalai Univ, Dept Mfg Engn, Ctr Mat Join ing & Res CEMAJOR, Chidambaram 608002, Tamil Nadu, India Dhanapal, A (rep rint author), Sri Ramanujar Engn Coll, Dept Mech Engn, Madras 600048, Tamil Nadu , India [email protected]; [email protected]; balasubramanian.v.2784
@annamalaiuniversity.ac.in 19 0 0
ELSEVIER SCI LTD OXFORD THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KIDLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 1GB, OXON, ENGLAND 0261-3069 MATER DESIGN Mater. Des.
DEC 2011 32 10 5066 5072
10.1016/j.matdes.2011.06.038 7 Materials Science, Multi disciplinary Materials Science 813NF WOS:000294373500055
J Vinodh, S; Jayakrishna, K Vinodh, S.; Jaya
krishna, K. Environmental impact minimisation in an automotive compo nent using alternative materials and manufacturing processes MATERIALS & DESI
GN English Article
MATERIALS SELECTION; LIFE-CYCLE; PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT; ENGINEERING DESIGN; MECHAN ICAL DESIGN Sustainable development is seeking to meet the needs of the pres ent without compromising those of future generations. The need to integrate the principles, values, and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of manufacturing, in order to address the social, economic, cultural and environme ntal problems is felt widely among the industrialized society. Selecting or iden tifying a suitable material or manufacturing processes is one way of achieving s ustainability of a product by reducing its end of life impacts to a possible ext ent. But technological changes are unpredictable and so predicting future possib le environmental impacts are highly difficult. This paper tries to explore the p otential of environmental impact minimisation using alternative materials and al ternative manufacturing processes. A case study has been carried out to in this regard in an Indian automotive component manufacturing organization. The results indicate that change in material has higher impact over the manufacturing proce ss in reducing the environmental impact. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reser ved. [Vinodh, S; Jayakrishna, K] Natl Inst Technol, Dept Prod Engn, Tiruchchi rappalli 620015, Tamil Nadu, India Vinodh, S (reprint author), Natl Inst Te chnol, Dept Prod Engn, Tiruchchirappalli 620015, Tamil Nadu, India vinodh@n
itt.edu Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, India[SR/S3/MERC-0102/2009] The authors are grateful to Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, India for funding towards the implementation of project title d "Development of a model for ensuring sustainable product design in automotive organizations" (Ref No. SR/S3/MERC-0102/2009). This research study forms a part of this chief research project. 33 0 0 ELSEVIER SCI LTD OXFORD THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KIDLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 1GB, OXON, ENGLAND
0261-3069 MATER DESIGN Mater. Des. DEC 2011 32
10 5082 5090 10.1016/j.matdes.2011.06
.025 9 Materials Science, Multidisciplinary Material s Science 813NF WOS:000294373500057
J Dogsa, T; Batic, D Dogsa, Tomaz; Batic, Dav
id The effectiveness of test-driven development: an industrial case study SOFTWARE QUALITY JOURNAL English Article
Test-driven development; Testing and debugging; Testing strategies; Productivity ; Maintainability; Software quality/SQA; Software engineering process SOFTWARE ; QUALITY; CODE Test-driven development (TDD) is a software development practice , where test cases are incrementally written before implementing the production code. This paper presents the results of a multi-case study investigating the ef fectiveness of TDD within an industrial environment. Three comparable medium-siz ed projects were observed during their development cycle. Two projects were driv en without TDD practice, while the third one introduced TDD into the development process. The effectiveness of TDD was expressed in terms of external code quali ty, productivity, and maintainability. Our results indicate that the TDD develop ers produced higher quality code that is easier to maintain, although we did obs erve a reduction in productivity. [Batic, D] Agileon Doo, Div 51, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia; [Dogsa, T] Univ Maribor, Fac Elect Engn & Comp Sci, Ctr Verif icat & Validat Syst, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia Batic, D (reprint author), Agile on Doo, Div 51, Cesta 14, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia [email protected]
32 0 0 SPRINGER DORDRECHT VAN GODEWIJCKSTRAAT 30,
3311 GZ DORDRECHT, NETHERLANDS 0963-9314 SOFTWARE QUAL J Softw. Q
ual. J. DEC 2011 19 4 SI 643 661
10.1007/s11219-011-9130-2 19 Computer Science, Softwa re Engineering Computer Science 814RN WOS:000294474900002
J Fucic, A; Fucic, L; Katic, J; Stojkovic, R; Gamulin, M; Seferovic, E Fucic, Aleksandra; Fucic, Lino; Katic, Jelena; Stojkovic, Ranko; Gamulin, Marija ; Seferovic, Enes Radiochemical indoor environment and possible he alth risks in current building technology BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
English Article Indoor radon; Fly ash; R
adionuclides; Nanoparticles; Human health; Concrete additive FIRED POWER-PLAN T; TITANIUM-DIOXIDE NANOPARTICLES; RADIOLOGICAL SAFETY ASPECTS; LUNG-CANCER; FLY -ASH; NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY; RADON EXHALATION; COLLABORATIVE ANALYSIS; RESIDENTI AL BUILDINGS; ULTRAFINE PARTICLES Tremendous work of civil and environment al engineering has been focused on development of sustainable buildings. From ec onomical and ecological viewpoint, this approach is a significant step forward, but the microenvironment created in such living surroundings may present a compl ex radiochemical setting, which could be a threat to the health of its occupants . This paper gives overview about levels of indoor radon, insight in risks relat ed with radioactivity of fly ash and zircon, current application of nanoparticle s and concrete additives in buildings and their possible impact on human health. As construction engineering is current producer of almost 50% of waste encourag ement of incorporation of toxic and radioactive agents in buildings could in fut ure demand redefinition of building construction waste as hazardous and special waste disposals. Collaboration between governmental and non-governmental bodies, manufacturers, scientific institutions, and chartered engineers is needed in or der to find balance between quality of indoor air, and to enable maintaining of high health standards by application of non-toxic or non-carcinogenic building m aterials that meet energy efficiency, building structure stability and security requirements. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [Fucic, A; Katic , J] Inst Med Res & Occupat Hlth, Zagreb 10000, Croatia; [Fucic, L] Minist Envir
onm Protect Phys Planning & Construct, Zagreb, Croatia; [Stojkovic, R] Rudjer Bo skovic Inst, Zagreb, Croatia; [Gamulin, M] Zagreb Univ Hosp, Zagreb, Croatia; [S eferovic, E] CSS Ltd, Zagreb, Croatia Fucic, A (reprint author), Inst Med Res & Occupat Hlth, Ksaverska C 2, Zagreb 10000, Croatia [email protected]
87 0 0 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD OXFORD THE BOULEVARD, L ANGFORD LANE, KIDLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 1GB, ENGLAND 0360-1323
BUILD ENVIRON Build. Environ. DEC 2011 46 12
2609 2614 10.1016/j.buildenv.2011.06.020 6
Construction & Building Technology; Engineering, Environmental; Engineering, Civ il Construction & Building Technology; Engineering 809CT WOS:000294030100 022
J Wang, JH; Wang, CG; Yang, JH; An, CQ Wang, Je
ssie Hui; Wang, Chungang; Yang, Jiahai; An, Changqing A study on key s trategies in P2P file sharing systems and ISPs' P2P traffic management PEER-TO-PEER NETWORKING AND APPLICATIONS English Article
P2P; ISP; Traffic engineering; Network management PERFORMANCE; NETWORK The flourish of P2P systems draws a lot of attention of networking researchers. Some research efforts focus on P2P systems, trying to understand the mechanism o f various implementations and the behavior pattern of P2P users, and then improv e the systems' performance. Others look at the issue from the angle of ISPs, try ing to help ISPs solve various issues brought by P2P applications. In this artic le, we conduct a review study on recent research efforts in these two areas. The first part of this article focuses on several key strategies that have signific ant influence on the performance of P2P systems. In the second part, we review s ome important techniques for ISPs to manage P2P traffic, i.e., blocking, caching and localization, and compare their advantages and disadvantages. [Wang, J H; Wang, CG; Yang, JH; An, CQ] Tsinghua Univ, Tsinghua Natl Lab Informat Sci & T echnol, Network Res Ctr, Beijing 100084, Peoples R China Wang, JH (reprin t author), Tsinghua Univ, Tsinghua Natl Lab Informat Sci & Technol, Network Res Ctr, Beijing 100084, Peoples R China [email protected]
45 0 0 SPRINGER NEW YORK 233 SPRING ST, NEW YORK,
NY 10013 USA 1936-6442 PEER PEER NETW APPL Peer Peer Netw.
Appl. DEC 2011 4 4 410 419
10.1007/s12083-010-0098-7 10 808LL
WOS:000293979100005
J Kumar, R; Kalra, P; Prakash, NR Kumar, Rajesh; K
alra, Parveen; Prakash, Neelam R. A virtual RV-M1 robot system ROBOTICS AND COMPUTER-INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING English Article
RV-M1 robot; MATLAB; Simulation; Kinematics; Teachbox Exploring a virt ual model under simulated environments is the best way to learn about a real sys tem. This is particularly true in robotics where it is quite expensive to provid e the system to each individual. The interdisciplinary area of robotics is being studied commonly in various fields like electrical, computer, mechanical engine ering, nanotechnology, etc. A virtual robot system can help one fully understand the controls and working of a robot. The system may also be helpful to design t he path and plan the trajectory of a robot in an industrial environment or other robotics application. Virtual model of RV-M1 robot has been developed in the MA TLAB environment. The virtual system performs forward kinematics and inverse kin ematics in addition to providing a simulation of the robot teachbox. (C) 2011 El sevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [Kumar, R] Panjab Univ, Dept Mech Engn, UIET, Chandigarh 160014, India; [Kalra, P] PEC Univ Technol, Dept Prod Engn, Cha ndigarh, India; [Prakash, NR] PEC Univ Technol, Dept Elect & Elect Commun, Chand igarh, India Kumar, R (reprint author), Panjab Univ, Dept Mech Engn, UIET, Ro om 403,Acad Block 2, Chandigarh 160014, India [email protected]
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ROBOT CIM-INT MANUF Robot. Comput.-Integr. Manuf. DEC 2011 27
6 994 1000 10.1016/j.rcim.2011.05.0
03 7 Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications ; Engineering, Manufacturing; Robotics Computer Science; Engineering; Robotics
801JW WOS:000293436000004
J Patino, JMR; Pilosof, AMR Rodriguez Patino
, Juan Miguel; Pilosof, Ana M. R. Protein-polysaccharide interacti ons at fluid interfaces FOOD HYDROCOLLOIDS English Article
Protein; Polysaccharide; Protein-polysaccharide interactions; Fluid interfaces; Air-water interface; Oil-water interface; Food hydrocolloid; Food emulsion; Food foam AIR-WATER-INTERFACE; SURFACE RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES; XANTHAN GUM INTERAC TIONS; MILK WHEY-PROTEIN; SUGAR-BEET PECTIN; BETA-LACTOGLOBULIN; SOY PROTEIN; TH ERMODYNAMIC INCOMPATIBILITY; HYDROXYPROPYL METHYLCELLULOSE; EMULSION STABILITY Protein-polysaccharide interactions find many applications in food engineering a nd new food formulations. This review article describes recent research on the e ffect of protein-polysaccharide interactions on the properties of air-water and oil-water interfaces, as affected by their behaviour in the bulk phase. The inte rfacial behaviour of protein-polysaccharide mixtures exhibiting associative (i.e ., net attractive) interactions as well as their performance in food emulsions a nd foams has been the subject of several reviews in the last decade. Much less a ttention has been paid to the interfacial behaviour of protein-polysaccharide mi xtures exhibiting unfavourable interactions. Thus we are concerned here with the interfacial behaviour of both kinds of mixtures. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rig hts reserved. [Patino, JMR] Univ Seville, Fac Quim, Dept Ingn Quim, Seville 41 012, Spain; [Pilosof, AMR] Univ Buenos Aires, Fac Ciencias Exactas & Nat, Dept I nd, RA-1428 Buenos Aires, DF, Argentina; [Pilosof, AMR] Consejo Nacl Invest Cien t & Tecn, RA-1033 Buenos Aires, DF, Argentina Patino, JMR (reprint author), Un iv Seville, Fac Quim, Dept Ingn Quim, C Prof Garcia Gonzalez 1, Seville 41012, S pain [email protected]; [email protected] CICYT[AGL2007-60045]; ANPCYT[PIC T545]; Universidad de Buenos Aires[Ubacyt X 175]; CYTED[XI.17, 105PI0274]
This research was supported by CICYT through Grant AGL2007-60045 by ANPCYT(PICT5 45) and by Universidad de Buenos Aires (Ubacyt X 175). Also we acknowledge Ibero american projects CYTED XI.17 and 105PI0274. 125 0 0
ELSEVIER SCI LTD OXFORD THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KIDLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 1GB, OXON, ENGLAND 0268-005X FOOD HYDROCOLLOID Food Hyd
rocolloids DEC 2011 25 8 1925
1937 10.1016/j.foodhyd.2011.02.023 13 Chemistr
y, Applied; Food Science & Technology Chemistry; Food Science & Technology 803KN WOS:000293580300015
J Zawilska, E; Brooks, MJ Zawilska, E.; Brooks, M.
J. An assessment of the solar resource for Durban, South Africa RENEWABLE ENERGY English Article
Solar resource; Radiometry data; Meteorological data; Renewable energy; Durban; South Africa RENEWABLE ENERGY; RADIATION; IRRADIATION; DIFFUSE Renewabl e energy's role as an alternative to fossil-based power is growing in the develo ping world. The city of Durban, South Africa, is an example of a rapidly expandi ng urban center which can benefit from the implementation of solar energy techno logies. This paper presents a year-long data record of the solar flux intensity for the city of Durban (29 degrees 58'N 30 degrees 55'E). Global horizontal irra diance (G(t)), direct normal irradiance (G(DN)), diffuse horizontal irradiance ( G(d)) and daily average clearness index (K(T)) are used. The data were recorded at the Solar Thermal Applications Research Laboratory (STARlab) at Mangosuthu Un iversity of Technology. Ground-based measurements obtained from STARlab are comp ared with data from a variety of sources including NASA's SSE database and the l iterature. The aim of this study is to build a reliable record of the solar reso urce for urban planning, engineering design and effective operation of solar ene rgy systems and applications. Results show that Durban has a considerable solar energy resource, which remains to be exploited. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All right s reserved. [Brooks, MJ] Univ KwaZulu Natal, Sch Mech Engn, Durban, South Af rica; [Zawilska, E] Mangosuthu Univ Technol, Dept Mech Engn, Durban, South Afric a Brooks, MJ (reprint author), Univ KwaZulu Natal, Sch Mech Engn, Durban,
South Africa [email protected] 33 0
0 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD OXFORD THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KI DLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 1GB, ENGLAND 0960-1481 RENEW ENERG
Renew. Energy DEC 2011 36 12 3433
3438 10.1016/j.renene.2011.05.023 6 Energy &
Fuels Energy & Fuels 801FS WOS:000293424400024
J Classen, A; Boucher, Q; Heymans, P Classen,
Andreas; Boucher, Quentin; Heymans, Patrick A text-based approach to feature modelling: Syntax and semantics of TVL SCIENCE OF COMPUTER PROGRAMMING
English Article Feature models; Code; Mo
delling; Language; Syntax; Semantics; Software product lines LANGUAGES
In the scientific community, feature models are the de-facto standard for repres enting variability in software product line engineering. This is different from industrial settings where they appear to be used much less frequently. We and ot her authors found that in a number of cases, they lack concision, naturalness an d expressiveness. This is confirmed by industrial experience. When modelling var iability, an efficient tool for making models intuitive and concise are feature attributes. Yet, the semantics of feature models with attributes is not well und erstood and most existing notations do not support them at all. Furthermore, the graphical nature of feature models syntax also appears to be a barrier to indus trial adoption, both psychological and rational. Existing tool support for graph ical feature models is lacking or inadequate, and inferior in many regards to to ol support for text-based formats. To overcome these shortcomings, we designed T VL, a text-based feature modelling language. In terms of expressiveness. TVL sub sumes most existing dialects. The main goal of designing TVL was to provide engi neers with a human-readable language with a rich syntax to make modelling easy a nd models natural, but also with a formal semantics to avoid ambiguity and allow powerful automation. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. [Classen , A; Boucher, Q; Heymans, P] Univ Namur, PReCISE Res Ctr, B-5000 Namur, Belgium Classen, A (reprint author), Univ Namur, PReCISE Res Ctr, Rue Grandgagnage 21, B -5000 Namur, Belgium [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] dp.ac.be Walloon Region under the ERDF; NAPLES; IAP; Belgian State; Belgi an Science Policy; BNB; FNRS We thank our colleagues for their feedback on th e language design, particularly Ebrahim Abbasi, Arnaud Hubaux, Raphael Michel, G ermain Saval and Pierre-Yves Schobbens. We also thank Paul Faber who implemented most of the TVL Java library and Anthony Cleve for his help with the ASF+SDF im plementation. This work was partially funded by the Walloon Region under the ERD F and the NAPLES project, the IAP Programme, Belgian State, Belgian Science Poli cy under the MoVES project, the BNB and the FNRS. 38 0
0 ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV AMSTERDAM PO BOX 211, 1000 AE AMSTERDAM, N ETHERLANDS 0167-6423 SCI COMPUT PROGRAM Sci. Comput. Pro
gram. DEC 1 2011 76 12 SI 1130 1143
10.1016/j.scico.2010.10.005 14 Computer Science, Softwa re Engineering Computer Science 793FX WOS:000292806900005
J Di Cosmo, R; Di Ruscio, D; Pelliccione, P; Pierantonio, A; Zacchiroli, S Di Cosmo, Roberto; Di Ruscio, Davide; Pelliccione, Patrizio; Pierantonio, Alfons o; Zacchiroli, Stefano Supporting software evolution in component-based FOSS systems SCIENCE OF COMPUTER PROGRAMMING English Article
System's upgrade; FOSS systems; Open source project; Model-driven engineering (M DE); Configuration management FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) sys tems present interesting challenges in system evolution. On one hand, most FOSS systems are based on very fine-grained units of software deployment - called pac kages - which promote system evolution; on the other hand, FOSS systems are amon g the largest software systems known and require sophisticated static and dynami c conditions to be verified, in order to successfully deploy upgrades on users' machines. The slightest error in one of these conditions can turn a routine upgr ade into a system administrator's nightmare. In this paper we introduce a model-based approach to support the upgrade of FOSS systems. The approach promotes the simulation of upgrades to predict failures before affecting the real system. Bo th fine-grained static aspects (e.g. configuration incoherences) and dynamic asp ects (e.g. the execution of configuration scripts) are taken into account, impro ving over the state of the art of upgrade planners. The effectiveness of the app roach is validated by instantiating the approach to widely-used FOSS distributio
