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The purpose of this paper is to visualize protein manipulation using dielectrophoresis (DEP) as a substantial perspective on being an effective protein analysis and biosensor method as DEP is able to be used as a means for manipulation, fractionation, pre-concentration and separation. This research aims to quantify DEP using an electrochemical technique known as cyclic voltammetry (CV), as albumin is non-visible without any fluorescent probe or dye.

The principles of DEP were generated by an electric field on tapered DEP microelectrodes. The principle of CV was analysed using different concentrations of albumin on a screen-printed carbon electrode. Using preliminary data from both DEP and CV methods as a future prospect for the integration of both techniques to do electrical quantification of DEP forces.

The size of the albumin is known to be 0.027 µm. Engineered polystyrene particle of size 0.05 µm was selected to mimic the DEP actuation of albumin. Positive DEP of the sample engineered polystyrene particle was able to be visualized clearly at 10 MHz supplied with 20 Vpp. However, negative DEP was not able to be visualized because of the limitation of the apparatus. However, albumin was not able to be visualized under the fluorescent microscope because of its translucent properties. Thus, a method of electrical quantification known as the CV technique is used. The detection of bovine serum albumin (BSA) using the CV method is successful. As the concentration of BSA increases, the peak current obtained from the voltammogram decreases. The peak current can be an indicator of DEP response as it correlates to the adsorption of the protein onto the electrodes. The importance of the results from both CV and DEP shows that the integration of both techniques is possible.

The integration of both methods could give rise to a new technique with precision to be implemented into the dialyzers used in renal haemodialysis treatment for manipulation and sensing of protein albumin.

The purpose of this paper is to present a study of radial aircraft tire for safety assessment during various scenarios.

A detailed finite element (FE) model of aircraft tire was established based on the actual geometry of the target tire for numerical simulations. As the major component of this tire, rubber material usually presents a complicated mechanical behavior. To obtain the reliable hyperelastic properties of rubber, a series of material tests have been processed. Moreover, in order to validate the proposed model, the simulations results of inflation and static load scenarios were compared with the experimental results. Both of the control volume and corpuscular particle method methods were used in the numerical simulations of aircraft tire.

The comparisons of the two methods exhibit close agreement with the experimental results. To assess the safety of aircraft tire during the landing scenario, the dynamic simulations were processed with different landing weights and vertical landing speeds. According to the relevant airworthiness regulations and technical documents, the tire pressure, deflection and load have been chosen as the safety criteria. Subsequently, the analysis, results and comments have been discussed in detail.

The validated FE model proposed in present study can be effectively used in tire modeling in static and dynamic problems, and also in the design process of aircraft tire.

There is a paucity of studies on the subject of environmental assets and their value. This is particularly the case with the forests. In Croatia, coastal forests are an important public asset especially given their value as an indispensable part of the Mediterranean landscape, yet often threatened by fires. Recognising this value of forests, the ongoing project concerning the coastal forest protection and reconstruction was initiated in 1995. An aspect of the project was to ascertain the aesthetic and recreational value that forests have for local residents. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to report selected survey results, but more important, to give an outline of the methodological approach developed for this complex task. Contingent valuation method, as the most frequently used method for the valuation of public non‐marketed goods and environmental assets was applied. Two surveys were conducted describing hypothetical forest preservation and forest reforestation programmes. The focus of the surveys was to test local residents' willingness to pay for the protection of forests in view and for the reforestation of burnt areas in view. Results demonstrated that majority of respondents was willing to pay for the protection of forests in view as well as for reforestation, and their main motive for paying was esthetical. Both univariate and multivariate methods were applied in order to assess the best predictors of willingness to pay for both surveys.

This study aims to evaluate the relationship between the major factors of social value and the willingness to pay amount for conserving a historic site, using Hong Kong as a case study of a dense urban city with immense tension between conservation and development. It also evaluates, in monetary terms, the social values, which are almost impossible to measure in built heritage conservation.

It adopts evaluation ratings and the contingent valuation method to estimate Hong Kong citizens’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the conservation of the Central Police Station compound.

The results of 256 surveys suggest that the extent to which the historic site can provide a “sense of place and identity”, “social inclusion” and “community participation” is positively correlated to the WTP amount. The respondents’ satisfaction with the new use of the site, their work location and education level affected the amount they were willing to contribute to the conservation project. The reasons given for not being willing to contribute were also analysed to provide insights for cultural heritage policy.

The findings provide an enhanced understanding of the relationship between the major factors of social value and the WTP amount. This study proposes a partial tool to elicit the non-market value of heritage site which should be supplemented with experts’ evaluation to assist decision-making. It enhances public participation, particularly in the public–private partnership model of heritage conservation. Thus, it provides valuable insights for policymakers and planners to understand the public’s perception on the value of heritage conservation in cities facing immense redevelopment pressures.

Lebanon has been subject to important reforestation activities which resulted in the establishment of several cedars, pine and other mixed forest stands on communal lands. These stands are not designated for timber production but rather for nonwood forest products (NWFPs), landscape restoration and for environmental services. The study aims at valuating old reforested sites from the perspective of rural communities neighboring those reforested stands.

To assess the non-timber goods and services provided by these forest ecosystems, 13 reforested sites located in different regions in Lebanon were selected. The socioeconomic assessment was done using questionnaires distributed to locals that have close interactions with the neighboring forests; it included, among others, a double-bonded dichotomous contingent valuation (CV) related to their willingness to pay (WTP) for reforestation and forest management activities.

Results of the goods and services assessment revealed that the forests have multifunctional uses with ecotourism as a major activity in all forest types. The CV showed that 75% of respondents did express a WTP. Most of the respondents did so, thus giving a great importance to intrinsic values of the forests. Lower income did not negatively affect the WTP of respondents but rather age and the educational level did. Other factors such as forest type, forest surface and the biodiversity status of the sites did not have an impact on WTP.

These results are very informative for governmental policies seeking funds to perform reforestation programs for environmental objectives, involving local communities in co-funding these programs would help insure the sustainable conservation of reforestation sites.

Despite their relative low income, poor communities are willing to pay to sustain forests and their ecosystem services.

It is the first time that a CV is used for ecosystem services regenerated from 50–60 years old reforested sites in a semiarid region, where trees are not planted for timber production. It is one of the few examples were lower income did not affect the WTP for forests providing environmental services on communal lands.

The paper reports from a valuation study of the Norwegian public libraries, aiming to provide a better understanding of their total value, both use and non‐use value, as viewed by the population. An objective was to explore whether or not the citizens found that their benefits outweighed the costs to provide them.

The study applies the contingent valuation method, developed in economics to valuate non‐market goods. Contingent valuation is based on representative questionnaire surveys and has been used to valuate several cultural goods, including a few library valuation studies.

The empirical data based on a representative population sample demonstrates that the value of the Norwegian public libraries decidedly outweigh their costs. Elicitation of the population's awareness of property rights to their local library showed that an overwhelming majority of the population (94 per cent) perceive they have such rights. The valuation result indicates that the benefits from the public libraries are four times their costs.

The method is based on hypothetical markets. More contingent valuation studies of libraries are necessary to refine the measure instruments. The study explores the benefit‐cost relation at the national level. Further research is needed for studying the benefit‐cost relation at the municipal level.

The findings can be used as one way of documenting the value of public libraries to politicians, local authorities and the general public.

This appears to be the first contingent valuation study of public libraries at a national level, in Norway and internationally.

The purpose of this paper is to compare torque calculation methods when a non‐conforming movement interface is implemented by means of Lagrange multipliers.

The following methods are here used for computing the torque in a synchronous machine and in a switched reluctance motor: Arkkio's method (AM), local Jacobian matrix derivative (LJD) method, Maxwell stress tensor method (MST) and co‐energy variation method.

This paper shows that, the numerical stability produced by Lagrange multipliers yields a stable torque result, even in thin airgap machines if AM, LJD method or MST method are used.

This work presents a comparative study to indicate the performance of the most commonly used torque calculation methods, when a non‐conforming technique is used, considering a small displacement of the rotor, which is necessary for dynamic cases or coupling with circuit.