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Search results for: KERATIN
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Assessment, optimisation and working fluid comparison of organic rankine cycle combined with negative CO2 gas power plant system
PublicationThis study aims to investigate the application of the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) as an alternative to low-pressure expansion in the negative CO2 power plant (nCO2PP). The reason for this study is that a detailed analysis of nCO2PP indicates a certain amount of waste heat present in the exhaust gas from the high-to-intermediate pressure gas turbine. Some of this energy can be used by the application of the expansion in a low-pressure...
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Post‐Second World War Reconstruction of Polish Cities: The Interplay Between Politics and Paradigms
PublicationBy the end of the Second World War, many of the Polish cities—and especially their historic centres—were in ruins. This was caused by both bombings and sieges conducted by the Nazis and Soviets. The particular group of cities is associated with former German lands—now called the “Recovered Territories”—which were incorporated into the borders of Poland as compensation for its Eastern Borderlands lost to the Soviet Union. These...
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Research on water lubricated main shaft bearings in conditions of improper lubrication and cooling conducted on high torque real-life scale bush test rig
PublicationWater lubricated polymer bushes find increasingly popular use in the sliding bearings of marine propellers, water turbines and pump shafts. Such popularity is partly due to their simple construction which also means relatively affordable price. In addition, properly designed and installed water lubricated bearings may well last for over a decade. However, in practical experience one may also observe cases of rapid wear...
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Embodying Intelligence in Autonomous and Robotic Systems with the Use of Cognitive Psychology and Motivation Theories
PublicationThe article discusses, on a certain level of abstraction and generalization, a coherent anthropological approach to the issue of controlling autonomous robots or agents. A contemporary idea can be based on appropriate modeling of the human mind using the available psychological knowledge. One of the main reasons for developing such projects is the lack of available and effective top-down approaches resulting from the known research...
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Individual Characteristics and Cognitions of Students with Different Levels of Entrepreneurial Intensity
PublicationRESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The objective of the current paper is to verify in what way university students who declare high individual level of entrepreneurial intensity differ from those who are characterized by its intensity level. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: A statistical analysis of obtained survey results was conducted. The group of research participants included 413 business students. Following statistical methods were used...
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Performance-Based Nested Surrogate Modeling of Antenna Input Characteristics
PublicationUtilization of electromagnetic (EM) simulation tools is mandatory in the design of contemporary antenna structures. At the same time, conducting designs procedures that require multiple evaluations of the antenna at hand, such as parametric optimization or yield-driven design, is hindered by a high cost of accurate EM analysis. To certain extent, this issue can be addressed by utilization of fast replacement models (also referred...
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Scoreboard Architectural Pattern and Integration of Emotion Recognition Results
PublicationThis paper proposes a new design pattern, named Scoreboard , dedicated for applications solving complex, multi-stage, non-deterministic problems. The pattern provides a computational framework for the design and implementation of systems that integrate a large number of diverse specialized modules that may vary in accuracy, solution level, and modality. The Scoreboard is an extension of Blackboard design pattern and comes under...
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Mixed integer nonlinear optimization of biological processes in wastewater sequencing batch reactor
PublicationWastewater treatment plays a key role for humanity. The waste entering lakes, rivers, and seas deteriorates daily quality of life. Therefore, it is very important to improve the efficiency of wastewater treatment. From a control point of view, a biological wastewater treatment plant is a complex, non-linear, multidimensional, hybrid control system. The paper presents the design of the optimizing hierarchical control system applied...
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Compensation Topologies in IPT Systems: Standards, Requirements, Classification, Analysis, Comparison and Application
PublicationWireless power transfer devices are becoming more relevant and widespread. Therefore, an article is devoted to a review, analysis and comparison of compensation topologies for an inductive power transfer. A new classification of topologies is developed. A lot of attention is paid to the problems of the physical fundamentals of compensation work, standards, safety, and five main topology requirements. It is determined, that topologies...
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Prophylaxis of Non-communicable Diseases: Why Fruits and Vegetables may be Better Chemopreventive Agents than Dietary Supplements Based on Isolated Phytochemicals?
PublicationThe World Health Organization (WHO) report from 2014 documented that non-communicable socalled civilization diseases such as cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer or type 2 diabetes are responsible for over 50% of all premature deaths in the world. Research carried out over the past 20 years has provided data suggesting that diet is an essential factor influencing the risk of development of these diseases....
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The impact of bankruptcy regimes on entrepreneurship and innovation. Is there any relationship?
PublicationThe literature review indicates that bankruptcy law may play an important role in and be one of the factors infuencing the development of entrepreneurship, innovation, and thus economic growth, among other things. In previous studies, the analysis of the impact of bankruptcy law on individual variables has been conducted independently. Our aim was to conduct a holistic analysis, taking several factors into account simultaneously....
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Efficient and robust quadratures for isogeometric analysis: Reduced Gauss and Gauss–Greville rules
PublicationThis work proposes two efficient quadrature rules, reduced Gauss quadrature and Gauss–Greville quadrature, for isogeometric analysis. The rules are constructed to exactly integrate one-dimensional B-spline basis functions of degree p, and continuity class C^{p−k}, where k is the highest order of derivatives appearing in the Galerkin formulation of the problem under consideration. This is the same idea we utilized in Zou et al....
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A new factor LapD is required for the regulation of LpxC amounts and lipopolysaccharide trafficking
PublicationLipopolysaccharide (LPS) constitutes the major component of the outer membrane and is essential for bacteria, such as Escherichia coli. Recent work has revealed the essential roles of LapB and LapC proteins in regulating LPS amounts; although, if any additional partners are involved is unknown. Examination of proteins co-purifying with LapB identified LapD as a new partner. The purification of LapD reveals that it forms a complex...
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Poly-L-Lysine-functionalized fluorescent diamond particles: pH triggered fluorescence enhancement via surface charge modulation
PublicationRecently, the interest in applying fluorescent diamond particles (FDPs) containing nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers for enhancing the mechanical and chemical properties of some materials, biological imaging, and sensing has been expanding rapidly. The unique properties of NV centers such as intensive, time-stable fluorescence, and an electron spin, which exhibits long coherence time and may be manipulated using external stimuli, such...
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imPlatelet classifier: image‐converted RNA biomarker profiles enable blood‐based cancer diagnostics
PublicationLiquid biopsies offer a minimally invasive sample collection, outperforming traditional biopsies employed for cancer evaluation. The widely used material is blood, which is the source of tumor-educated platelets. Here, we developed the imPlatelet classifier, which converts RNA-sequenced platelet data into images in which each pixel corresponds to the expression level of a certain gene. Biological knowledge from the Kyoto Encyclopedia...
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Optimization of carbamazepine photodegradation on defective TiO2-based magnetic photocatalyst
PublicationIn this work, carbamazepine (CBZ) degradation over defective Fe3O4@SiO2/d-TiO2/Pt photocatalyst was studied. Within the titania structure, Ti vacancies and Pt nanoparticles were introduced to enhance the photocatalyst’s light absorption and influence charge carriers’ mobility. For the carbamazepine degradation, process parameters, e.g., temperature, flux intensity, photocatalyst loading, aeration, pH, and addition of H2O2, were optimized...
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Rapid Multi-Criterial Antenna Optimization by Means of Pareto Front Triangulation and Interpolative Design Predictors
PublicationModern antenna systems are designed to meet stringent performance requirements pertinent to both their electrical and field properties. The objectives typically stay in conflict with each other. As the simultaneous improvement of all performance parameters is rarely possible, compromise solutions have to be sought. The most comprehensive information about available design trade-offs can be obtained through multi-objective optimization...
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Relay-aided Wireless Sensor Network Discovery Algorithm for Dense Industrial IoT utilizing ESPAR Antennas
PublicationIndustrial Internet of Things (IIoT) applicationsrequire reliable and efficient wireless communication. Assumingdense Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) operating in a harshenvironment, a concept of a Time Division Multiple Access(TDMA) based WSN enriched with Electronically SteerableParasitic Array Radiator (ESPAR) antennas is proposed andexamined in this work. The utilized...
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Expedited Trust-Region-Based Design Closure of Antennas by Variable-Resolution EM Simulations
PublicationThe observed growth in the complexity of modern antenna topologies fostered a widespread employment of numerical optimization methods as the primary tools for final adjustment of the system parameters. This is mainly caused by insufficiency of traditional design closure approaches, largely based on parameter sweeping. Reliable evaluation of complex antenna structures requires full-wave electromagnetic (EM) analysis. Yet, EM-driven...
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Subcritical Thermodynamic Cycles with Organic Medium and Isothermal Expansion
PublicationThe efffciencies of the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) are not very high and only very seldom do they exceed 20%. The increase and optimization of initial parameters and certain modifications of the thermodynamic cycle make it possible to overcome these drawbacks. A new modified cycle has been described and analyzed in detail in the paper. Similarly to the Ericsson cycle for gas turbines, isothermal expansion in the turbine is suggested...
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Characterization of Defects Inside the Cable Dielectric With Partial Discharge Modeling
PublicationThe continuous monitoring of power system devices is an important step toward keeping such capital assets safe. Partial discharge (PD)-based measurement tools provide a reliable and accurate condition assessment of power system insulations. It is very common that voids or cavities exist in every solid dielectric insulation medium. In this article, different voids are modeled and analyzed using an advanced finite element (FE)-based...
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Improving the procedure of probabilistic load testing design of typical bridges based on structural response similarities
PublicationThis paper concerns load testing of typical bridge structures performed prior to operation. In-situ tests of a two-span post-tensioned bridge loaded with three vehicles of 38-ton mass each formed the input of this study. On the basis of the results of these measurements, an advanced FEM model of the structure was developed for which the sensitivity analysis was performed for chosen uncertainty sources. Three uncorrelated random...
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Electron scattering from 2-methyl–1,3-butadiene,C5H8, molecules: Role of methylation
PublicationWe report cross-section results from experimental and theoretical investigations into electron collisions with the 2-methyl–1,3-butadiene [C5H8] molecule. The current results are compared with our previous results for the 1,3-butadiene [C4H6] molecule, a structural homologue of 2-methyl–1,3-butadiene, to investigate how the methylation (the substitution of hydrogen atom by a methyl group) affects the shape and/or magnitude of the...
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Planning the City Against Barriers. Enhancing the Role of Public Spaces
PublicationContemporary cities are being fragmented by growing number of technical barriers like roads, railways, infrastructural objects, that generate variety of problems of different nature. The aim of the research is to present the issues connected with such barriers in the city and the ways of solving them. Main problems are e.g.: the destruction of the complexity of urban fabric, functional disadvantages, environmental and landscape...
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The evaluation of eGlasses eye tracking module as an extension for Scratch
PublicationIn this paper we present the possibility of using eGlasses eye tracking module as an extension for Scratch programming tool which is a visual programming language supporting computer skills learning. The main concept behind this project is to setup the interface for rapid interaction design. Eye tracking is a powerful tool for hands free communication but for that requires a dedicated software. This software is rarely tailored...
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Influence of the grains shape on the mechanical behavior of granular materials
PublicationDiscrete Element Method is a numerical method suitable for modeling geotechnical problems concerning granular media. In most cases simple forms of grains, like discs or spheres, are used. But these shapes are capable of soil behavior modeling up to a certain point only, they cannot reflect all of the features of the medium (large shear resistance and large volumetric change). In order to reflect the complex behavior of the real...
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Embodying Intelligence in Autonomous Systems with the Use of Cognitive Psychology and Motivation Theories
PublicationThe article discusses, on a certain level of abstraction and generalization, a coherent anthropological approach to the issue of controlling autonomous robots or agents. A contemporary idea can be based on appropriate modeling of the human mind using the available psychological knowledge. One of the main reasons for developing such projects is the lack of available and effective top-down approaches resulting from the known research...
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The correlation between the MRI-evaluated ectopic fat accumulation and the incidence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension depends on body mass index and waist circumference ratio.
PublicationThe widespread presence of overweight and obesity increases with every decade, and the number of people with body mass index (BMI) >30 kg/m2 has doubled in the last 30 years. The aim of the study is to assess the correlation between MRI-evaluated ectopic fat accumulation in pancreas, skeletal muscles and liver and the incidence of type 2 diabetes and hypertension, depending on BMI and waist circumference ratio. This prospective...
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Interfacially modified LDPE/GTR composites with non-polar elastomers: From microstructure to macro-behavior
PublicationThis paper provides some new insights into the mechanism of interaction and modifications in thermoplastic composites based on low density polyethylene (LDPE), ground tire rubber (GTR) and non-polar elastomer. The composites were prepared using a co-rotating twin-screw extruder at variable LDPE/GTR ratio and constant elastomer content. Two types of commercial elastomer were applied: styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) block copolymers (Kraton®)...
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Obliczanie składowej OEE przy wielu operacjach technologicznych
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Aspects of intergranular corrosion of AISI 321 stainless steel in high-carbon-containing environments
PublicationPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of unexpected sensitization to intergranular corrosion of highly resistant AISI 321 steel in petrochemical conditions, where it was subjected to the simultaneous influence of elevated temperature of 250°C and vapors from the asphalt production process. Design/methodology/approach – Corrosion coupons were exposed in an installation carrying asphalt vapors. To identify...
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Novel Nystatin A1 derivatives exhibiting low host cell toxicity and antifungal activity in an in vitro model of oral candidosis
PublicationOpportunistic oral infections caused by Candida albicans are frequent problems in immunocompromised patients. Management of such infections is limited due to the low number of antifungal drugs available, their relatively high toxicity and the emergence of antifungal resistance. Given these issues, our investigations have focused on novel derivatives of the antifungal antibiotic Nystatin A1, generated by modifications at the amino...
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The semi-Markov model of the process of appearance of sea-going ship propupsion system ability and inability states in application to determining the reliablity of these systems
PublicationThe article presents possible application of the theory of semi-Markov processes in creating the eight-state model of the process of appearance of the propulsion systems ability and inability states on sea-going vessels performing transportation tasks in a relatively long operating time t (t → ∞). The model has been proved to be able to be successfully used for determining the reliability of the abovementioned systems. The probability...
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Botanical and geographical origin characterization of polish honeys by headspace SPME-GCxGC-TOFMS
PublicationVolatile organic compounds (VOCs) composition of Polish honeys obtained from various geographical regions was studied. Headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) using Divinylbenzene/Carboxen/Polydimethylsiloxane-coated fibers was used in combination with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC× GC-TOFMS) because of the complexity of the samples. Acacia, linden, rapeseed, buckwheat...
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Optical Coherence Tomography for nanoparticles quantitative characterization
PublicationThe unique features of nanocomposite materials depend on the type and size of nanoparticles, as well as their placement in the composite matrices. Therefore the nanocomposites manufacturing process requires inline control over certain parameters of nanoparticles such as dispersion and concentration. Keeping track of nanoparticles parameters inside a matrix is currently a difficult task due to lack of a fast, reliable and cost effective...
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Rheological, Mechanical, Microstructural and Radiation Shielding Properties of Cement Pastes Containing Magnetite (Fe3O4) Nanoparticles
PublicationThis work examines the influence of iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) on neutron and gamma-ray radiation shielding characteristics of Portland cement paste. Experimental evaluations were supplemented with theoretical studies using NXCom program. Portland cement pastes with 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 wt% of nanomagnetite cement replacement were produced. Moreover, rheological, early strength development, compressive strength, and...
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A Green Chemistry "environmentally friendly" approach to the synthesis of chloro-intermediates of ephedrine/pseudoephedrine
PublicationMethylamphetamine is an addictive stimulant drug that strongly activates certain systems in the brain. It is closely related chemically to amphetamine, but the central nervous system effects of methamphetamine are greater. There is much interest in methylamphetamine among scientists and therefore the synthesizes of methylamphetamine and its metabolites are carried out on a large scale in chemical laboratories. Globally, ephedrine...
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Volatile Organohalogen Compounds Determination with Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction Applying Solvent Lighter than Water
PublicationBackground: Volatile organohalogen compounds (VOX) are a group of environmental pollutants that risk the quality of drinking water. These compounds are characterized by certain acute and chronic toxicities, possessing mutagenic properties. Because of these potential risks factors that these compounds cause, the maximum allowable concentrations (MACs) have been established by respective organizations. The abundance of VOX, their...
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The effect of fishing basin construction on the behaviour of a footbrdge over the port channel
PublicationThe paper analyses possible causes of failure of the rotating footbridge over the Ustka port channel. In July, 2015, strange behaviour of this object was observed in the form of excessive vibrations of bridge platform suspension rods, with the accompanying acoustic effects. A preliminary geotechnical analysis has revealed that this destructive effect was caused by the nearby construction works, namely construction of a fishing...
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Noise Analysis of Continuous GPS Time Series of Selected EPN Stations to Investigate Variations in Stability of Monument Types
PublicationThe type of monument that a GPS antenna is placed on plays a significant role in noise estimation for each permanent GPS station. In this research 18 Polish permanent GPS stations that belong to the EPN (EUREF Permanent Network) were analyzed using Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE). The antennae of Polish EPN stations are placed on roofs of buildings or on concrete pillars. The analyzed data covers a period of 5 years from 2008...
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Organisational methods in teaching ergonomics
PublicationCivilisation generates many problems connected with job, which cannot be resolved by one field of science that deals with matters fragmentarily, only from its own point of view. Ergonomics, i.e. synthetic knowledge about job, can solve these problems by using the resources of many fields, e.g. physiology, psychology, technical science or economy. The achievements of these fields are used in ergonomics and thus problems connected...
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Behavior of residual current devices at earth fault currents with DC component
PublicationLow-voltage electrical installations are increasingly saturated with power electronic converters. Due to very high popularity of photovoltaic (PV) installations and the spread of electric vehicles (EV) as well as their charging installations, DC–AC and AC–DC converters are often found in power systems. The transformerless coupling of AC and DC systems via power electronic converters means that an electrical installation containing...
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Expedited Metaheuristic-Based Antenna Optimization Using EM Model Resolution Management
PublicationDesign of modern antenna systems heavily relies on numerical opti-mization methods. Their primary purpose is performance improvement by tun-ing of geometry and material parameters of the antenna under study. For relia-bility, the process has to be conducted using full-wave electromagnetic (EM) simulation models, which are associated with sizable computational expendi-tures. The problem is aggravated in the case of global optimization,...
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Robot-Based Intervention for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Literature Review
PublicationChildren with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have deficits in the socio-communicative domain and frequently face severe difficulties in the recognition and expression of emotions. Existing literature suggested that children with ASD benefit from robot-based interventions. However, studies varied considerably in participant characteristics, applied robots, and trained skills. Here, we reviewed robot-based interventions targeting...
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Assessment of diversity and composition of bacterial community in Sludge Treatment Reed Bed systems
PublicationDue to their low emission of odours and lack of the need to apply additional chemical agents, sludge treatment reed beds (STRBs) constitute an economically feasible and eco-friendly approach to sewage sludge management. Correctly designed and operated STRBs ensure effective reduction of the dry matter content coupled with the mineralisation of organic compounds. Successful operation of STRBs relies on complex interactions between...
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Solubility of carbon dioxide in water: Some useful results for hydrate nucleation
PublicationIn this paper, the solubility of carbon dioxide (CO2) in water along the isobar of 400 bar is determined by computer simulations using the well-known TIP4P/Ice force field for water and the TraPPE model for CO2. In particular, the solubility of CO2 in water when in contact with the CO2 liquid phase and the solubility of CO2 in water when in contact with the hydrate have been determined. The solubility of CO2 in a liquid–liquid...
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Network effects—do they matter for digital technologies diffusion?
PublicationPurpose The main research target of this paper is to capture the network effects using the case of mobile cellular telephony, identified in European telecommunication markets, and its determinants enhancing the process of digital technologies diffusion. Design/methodology/approach This research relies on panel and dynamic panel regression analysis. The empirical sample covers 30 European countries, and the period for the analysis...
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NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CREATING A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
PublicationIt is acknowledged that achieving product-based competitive advantage is a key task for a company. However, there is still a research gap in determining those specific actions in the process of developing new products that arise from companies' efforts to achieve product-based competitive advantage. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the specific actions in the new product development (NPD) process that result from...
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Modernisation of existing hospitals
PublicationProgress in medicine and development of medical technologies directly affect the evolution of methods for treating patients in hospitals. The main task of 19th-century hospitals was patient care and nursing, while the aim of hospitals today is to diagnose and treat patients effectively in the shortest time possible. The changes which are taking place in methods of treatment affect the functional-spatial layout of hospitals. This...
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Implementation of Solute Transport in the Vadose Zone into the “HYDRUS Package for MODFLOW”
PublicationThe “HYDRUS package for MODFLOW” is an existing MODFLOW package that allows MODFLOW to simultaneously evaluate transient water flow in both unsaturated and saturated zones. The package is based on incorporating parts of the HYDRUS‐1D model (to simulate unsaturated water flow in the vadose zone) into MODFLOW (to simulate saturated groundwater flow). The coupled model is effective in addressing spatially variable saturated‐unsaturated...