The Outsider and Sunk Cost Effects on 'Dango' in Public Procurement Bidding: An Experimental Analysis.

This paper presents the result of experiments for finding some insight into an effect of the new bidding system in Japanese public construction works procurement on bidders' collusion, which is called 'dango'. We focused on an effect of the entry of an outsider who is not a dango member. The main conclusion of the experiments is that an outsider, a subject who is not allowed to communicate with other subjects, has a robust effect to prevent other subjects from colluding and to make the winning price decrease considerably.CONSTRUCTION ; PRICES ; BIDDING

EFFECT OF CANNA INDICA L. EXTRACT AGAINST CAFFEINE-NICOTINE CO-ADMINISTRATION-INDUCED EXAGGERATION IN TYPE 2 DIABETIC RATS

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the protective effect of Canna indica L. extract against caffeine-nicotine administration-induced type 2 diabetes exaggeration in rats.Methods: A study was conducted for three weeks in four rat groups (n=6); viz.  type 2 diabetic control group, a caffeine-nicotine diabetic control group (20mg/kg, 0.4mg/kg, ip twice daily),  and Canna indica L. extract and caffeine-nicotine treatment group and  standard drug treated caffeine-nicotine diabetic group (Glibencamide, 5mg/kg, once daily). Type 2 diabetes was induced by two weeks high fatty diet and a single dose streptozotocin (50mg/kg, ip) on 1th day of the study in all groups. Blood and urine samples were collected every week for serum biochemical analysis.Results: Results of extract treatment and standard drug treatment were compared with untreated caffeine-nicotine co-administration group. Difference in each relevant serum parameter was analyzed through ANOVA and Dunett's t test. Extract treated caffeine-nicotine-diabetic group showed about 150-200mg/dL (p<0.001) reduction in the serum glucose than untreated caffeine-nicotine-diabetic control group. Extract treatment reduces serum glucose by 10-15 mg/dL than glibenclamide treatment with higher significance (p<0.001). Extract treatment showed better results than standard drug in liver and kidney function test and exhibited its better potential in controlling diabetic complications. Extract treatment increased HDL-C and reduced triglycerides, LDL-C, VLDL-C and TC much better and with higher significance than standard drug. Extract treatment reduced TC by at least 60-80mg/dL (p<0.01) in comparison to caffeine-nicotine-diabetic control group. Extract treatment reduced 10-15mg/dL of more total cholesterol than that of standard drug.Conclusion: Caffeine-nicotine co-administration-induced exaggeration of type 2 diabetes was better treated by CI extract than that of standard drug gibenclamide. Keywords: Type 2 diabetes, Streptozotocin, Caffeine, Nicotine, Diabetic complication, Ra

Wood characterization for energy application proceeding from pruning Morus alba L., Platanus hispanica Münchh. and Sophora japonica L. in urban areas

Pruning urban forests generates significant amounts of lignocellulosic biomass every year. The energy potential of this biomass is unclear. The aim of this research was direct analysis of the gross calorific value (GO!), elemental composition and moisture content of Morus alba L., Platanus hispanica Munchh. and Sophora japonica L by means of laboratory equipment. This analysis allowed for further development of indirect GCV prediction models which are economically attractive and less time consuming to direct analysis. These models presented high coefficients of determination (R-2 0.66-0.96). It has been determined that the species with highest mean GCV is S. japonica L. (19615.68 kJ/kg-dry sample) whereas the one with the lowest is the M. alba L (18192.87 kJ/kg-dry sample). Elemental analysis showed highest carbon (48.22%), hydrogen (6.17%) and nitrogen (1.16%) content in S. japonica L in dry samples. Sulfur was constant at the level 0.05% for all analyzed species. Also percentage of bark and wood density were determined. Mean percentage of bark was highest for P. hispanica Miinchh. (13.05%) while wood density was highest for S. japonica L. (0.86 g cm(-3)). This way the research has proven that the biomass produced by pruning urban forests appears to be an interesting source of renewable energy. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Velázquez Martí, B.; Sajdak, M.; López Cortés, I.; Callejón-Ferre, AJ. (2014). Wood characterization for energy application proceeding from pruning Morus alba L., Platanus hispanica Münchh. and Sophora japonica L. in urban areas. Renewable Energy. (62):478-483. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2013.08.010S4784836

Enhanced Optical Trapping

Optical tweezers have contributed substantially to the advancement of micro-manipulation. However, they do have restrictions, mainly the limited range of materials that yield to optical trapping. Here we propose a method of employing optically trapped objects to manipulate the surrounding fluid and thus particles freely diffusing within it. We create and investigate a reconfigurable active-feedback system of optically trapped actuators, capable of manipulating translational and rotational motion of one or more nearby free objects

Ceramic tiles waste as replacement material in portland cement

Permission is granted by ICE Publishing to print one copy for personal use. Any other use of these PDF files is subject to reprint fees.The pozzolanic reactivity of real ceramic waste from different tile manufacturing companies was evaluated and its suitability as a partial Portland cement replacement was analysed. The raw material was finely ground and physicochemically characterised using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and laser analysis particle size distribution (ADL). Percentages of ceramic waste (from 15 wt% to 50 wt%) to substitute Portland cement were used to assess this material s pozzolanic behaviour, and samples were cured at 20°C for different curing times. pH tests and conductivity measurements were used to evaluate its pozzolanic character, while mortars were utilised to evaluate compressive strength behaviour. The microstructural evolution of the developed binders was assessed in pastes by XRD, thermal analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and SEM analyses. A strength gain due to pozzolanic activity was observed after 28 d and 90 d curing. The results prove that mortars with up to 35 wt% of tile ceramic waste comply with the requirements established for fly ash pozzolanic materials.The authors are grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for supporting this study through project GEOCEDEM BIA 2011-26947, and also to FEDER funding.Mas, MA.; Monzó Balbuena, JM.; Paya Bernabeu, JJ.; Reig Cerdá, L.; Borrachero Rosado, MV. (2016). Ceramic tiles waste as replacement material in portland cement. Advances in Cement Research. 28:221-232. https://doi.org/10.1680/jadcr.15.00021S2212322

Application of several pretreatment technologies to a wastewater effluent of a petrochemical industry finally treated with reverse osmosis

[EN] This work studies the adequacy of different reverse osmosis (RO) pretreatments applied to different petrochemical wastewater effluents. Three effluents from a caprolactam factory were analysed: ion-exchange resin washing effluent (RWE), batch reactor washing effluent and factory outlet effluent. Coagulation–flocculation, microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) were tested as RO pretreatments. Various inorganic coagulants (Aluminium Chloride, Iron (III) Chloride, Aluminium Sulphate and polyaluminium chloride), commercial coagulants (Nophos and ACO) and commercial flocculants (polyacrylamide, CH-30 and active polyfloc) were tested at different dosages and stirring speeds. The highest removal of suspended solids (SS) and the lowest turbidity were obtained for the ion-exchange RWE. Two combinations of coagulants and flocculants were chosen as the most suitable conditions for the coagulation–flocculation process. The ion-exchange RWE was further treated with a combination of MF followed by UF. SS were completely removed and turbidity decreased to 0.136 NTU. The silt density index at 15 min was reduced to 6.41.The authors of this work wish to gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Generalitat Valenciana through the programme “Ayudas para la realizacio´n de proyectos I+D para grupos de investigacio´n emergentes GV/2013”.Vincent Vela, MC.; Alvarez Blanco, S.; Lora García, J.; Carbonell Alcaina, C.; Sáez Muñoz, M. (2014). Application of several pretreatment technologies to a wastewater effluent of a petrochemical industry finally treated with reverse osmosis. Desalination and Water Treatment. 1-9. doi:10.1080/19443994.2014.939866S19Benito-Alcázar, C., Vincent-Vela, M. C., Gozálvez-Zafrilla, J. M., & Lora-García, J. (2010). Study of different pretreatments for reverse osmosis reclamation of a petrochemical secondary effluent. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 178(1-3), 883-889. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2010.02.020Madaeni, S. S., & Eslamifard, M. R. (2010). Recycle unit wastewater treatment in petrochemical complex using reverse osmosis process. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 174(1-3), 404-409. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.09.067Kim, H.-C., & Dempsey, B. A. (2008). Effects of wastewater effluent organic materials on fouling in ultrafiltration. Water Research, 42(13), 3379-3384. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2008.04.021Karabacakoğlu, B., Tezakıl, F., & Güvenç, A. (2014). Removal of hardness by electrodialysis using homogeneous and heterogeneous ion exchange membranes. Desalination and Water Treatment, 54(1), 8-14. doi:10.1080/19443994.2014.880159Gare, S. (2002). RO systems: the importance of pre-treatment. Filtration & Separation, 39(1), 22-27. doi:10.1016/s0015-1882(02)80047-7Garg, A., Mishra, I. M., & Chand, S. (2010). Effectiveness of coagulation and acid precipitation processes for the pre-treatment of diluted black liquor. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 180(1-3), 158-164. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2010.04.008Verma, S., Prasad, B., & Mishra, I. M. (2010). Pretreatment of petrochemical wastewater by coagulation and flocculation and the sludge characteristics. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 178(1-3), 1055-1064. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2010.02.047Garrote, J. (1995). Treatment of tannery effluents by a two step coagulation/flocculation process. Water Research, 29(11), 2605-2608. doi:10.1016/0043-1354(94)00312-uSanto, C. E., Vilar, V. J. P., Botelho, C. M. S., Bhatnagar, A., Kumar, E., & Boaventura, R. A. R. (2012). Optimization of coagulation–flocculation and flotation parameters for the treatment of a petroleum refinery effluent from a Portuguese plant. Chemical Engineering Journal, 183, 117-123. doi:10.1016/j.cej.2011.12.041Wang, J.-P., Chen, Y.-Z., Wang, Y., Yuan, S.-J., & Yu, H.-Q. (2011). Optimization of the coagulation-flocculation process for pulp mill wastewater treatment using a combination of uniform design and response surface methodology. Water Research, 45(17), 5633-5640. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2011.08.023Rossini, M., Garrido, J. G., & Galluzzo, M. (1999). Optimization of the coagulation–flocculation treatment: influence of rapid mix parameters. Water Research, 33(8), 1817-1826. doi:10.1016/s0043-1354(98)00367-4Guida, M., Mattei, M., Della Rocca, C., Melluso, G., & Meriç, S. (2007). Optimization of alum-coagulation/flocculation for COD and TSS removal from five municipal wastewater. Desalination, 211(1-3), 113-127. doi:10.1016/j.desal.2006.02.086HABERKAMP, J., RUHL, A., ERNST, M., & JEKEL, M. (2007). Impact of coagulation and adsorption on DOC fractions of secondary effluent and resulting fouling behaviour in ultrafiltration. Water Research, 41(17), 3794-3802. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2007.05.029Petrov, S., & Stoichev, P. (2002). Reagent ultrafiltration purification of water contaminated with reactive dyes. Filtration & Separation, 39(8), 35-34. doi:10.1016/s0015-1882(02)80229-4Shon, H. K., Vigneswaran, S., Ngo, H. H., & Ben Aim, R. (2005). Is semi-flocculation effective as pretreatment to ultrafiltration in wastewater treatment? Water Research, 39(1), 147-153. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2004.09.003Hatt, J. W., Germain, E., & Judd, S. J. (2011). Precoagulation-microfiltration for wastewater reuse. Water Research, 45(19), 6471-6478. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2011.09.039Dryden Aqua Ltd, Edinburgh, 2013. Available from: www.DrydenAqua.com (April 6, 2013).Sincero, A. P., & Sincero, G. A. (2002). Physical-Chemical Treatment of Water and Wastewater. doi:10.1201/978142003190

Rising Tide 2015

Research and scholarship highlights from University of New England community members. This issue highlights in particular: student and faculty research and projects within UNE\u27s College of Arts and Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Westbrook College of Health Professions, and projects and research from UNE\u27s Centers for Excellence.https://dune.une.edu/risingtide/1004/thumbnail.jp

Rising Tide 2017

Research and scholarship highlights from University of New England community members. This issue highlights student and faculty research and projects within UNE\u27s College of Arts and Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Westbrook College of Health Professions, College of Pharmacy, College of Dental Medicine, and projects and research from UNE\u27s Centers of Excellence.https://dune.une.edu/risingtide/1006/thumbnail.jp

Rising Tide 2016

Research and scholarship highlights from University of New England community members. This issue highlights student and faculty research and projects within UNE\u27s College of Arts and Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, College of Osteopathic Medicine, College of Pharmacy, Westbrook College of Health Professions, and projects and research from UNE\u27s Centers for Excellence.https://dune.une.edu/risingtide/1005/thumbnail.jp

University Of New England: A Story In Pictures

From the Preface: “…This book is an attempt to capture UNE’s spirit through photography and minimal textual annotations. Finding a theme that runs through, and connects, the various colleges and organizations that eventually coalesced into the University of New England was relatively easy. Westbrook College, St. Francis College, and the New England Foundation for Osteopathic Medicine (NEFOM) were all motivated by providing opportunities to minority groups and improving the quality of life in our region. The pioneers who established these organizations and saw them through their early years left an indelible mark on the genetic makeup of UNE, one that continues to thrive today. A practical vision, rooted in an unshakeable commitment to human dignity, has been our guiding star from the start. A willingness to explore new strategies and adopt change have served us well. This is the spirit that photographer Holly Haywood and writer Philip Shelley set out to convey in this book. … The book was designed by Marine Miller and Laura Duffy … and conceived and produced during the last year of Danielle Ripich’s presidency (2016–17)…”https://dune.une.edu/unebooks/1001/thumbnail.jp