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Recently, rare earth magnets with high coercive force such as Nd‐Fe‐B magnets have been developed. When the magnetic characteristic (M‐H curve) of such a strong magnet is measured, the conventional closed magnetic circuit method using an electromagnet cannot be applicable due to the magnetic saturation of the yoke. Therefore, the open magnetic circuit method has been proposed in which high magnetic fields are generated by using a superconducting or a pulsed magnet. In this method, the correction for demagnetizing field is required. The correction can be done using the demagnetizing factor which is a function of the shape and M‐H curve. The conventional studies take into account only the shape.

Aluminum polyphosphate was prepared from aluminum nitrate solution and sodium polyphosphate solution with cation exchange resin in the molar ratio of Al/P = 1/3. Urea and hexamethylenetetramine were added in this preparation process. The thermal behavior of the obtained phosphates was analyzed by differential thermal analyses, X‐ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Furthermore, these materials and their thermal products were estimated by specific surface area, pore size distribution, particle size distribution, acid strength, amount of acidic sites, and adsorption of trimethylamine.

This paper aims to propose a precise turbulence model for vehicle aerodynamics, especially for vehicle window buffeting noise.

Aiming at the fact that commonly used turbulence models cannot precisely predict laminar-turbulent transition, a transition-code-based improvement is introduced. This improvement includes the introduction of total stress limitation (TSL) and separation-sensitive model. They are integrated into low Reynolds number (LRN) k-ε model to concern transport properties of total stress and precisely capture boundary layer separations. As a result, the ability of LRN k-ε model to predict the transition is improved. Combined with the constructing scheme of constrained large-eddy simulation (CLES) model, a modified LRN CLES model is achieved. Several typical flows and relevant experimental results are introduced to validate this model. Finally, the modified LRN CLES model is used to acquire detailed flow structures and noise signature of a simplified vehicle window. Then, experimental validations are conducted.

Current results indicate that the modified LRN CLES model is capable of achieving acceptable accuracy in prediction of various types of transition at various Reynolds numbers. And, the ability of this model to simulate the vehicle window buffeting noise is greater than commonly used models.

Based on the TSL idea and separation-sensitive model, a modified LRN CLES model concerning the laminar-turbulent transition for the vehicle window buffeting noise is first proposed.

In order to obtain desired film properties, alkyd resins are frequently modified by other resins and polymers either by physically blending them or chemically incorporating them. Some of the recent physical modifications of alkyd have already been described in the first part of the article. In this second part, the different types of resins and polymers used for the chemical modifications of alkyd resin are reviewed. A critical discussion on generally recognised advantages and disadvantages of the resultant coating from each modifier is described. Their use in surface coating industry are enumerated. Types of modifier to be used for improving a particular property in the coating are also suggested.

This study tries to examine how supply chain (SC) absorptive capacity (AC), SC ambidexterity, SC risk mitigation and supply chain agility (SCA) affect SC efficacy (SCE) in manufacturing firms (MFs) in the Middle East region.

Using a quantitative approach through a survey-based study, 1,004 questionnaires were distributed to the MFs that are listed in the chambers of the industries of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in the Middle East region, with 239 useable and valid responses retrieved for analysis, representing a 23.8% response rate. The main respondents were chief executive managers, operations managers, managers and logistics managers from both mid and top levels. The conceptual model was tested by using a hypothesis-testing deductive approach. The findings are based on covariance-based analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) using partial least squares-SEM (PLS-SEM) software.

This study illustrates a significant relationship between SC AC, SC ambidexterity, SC risk mitigation and SCA on SCE. Further, the findings indicate that there is a significant effect of SC risk mitigation as a mediating factor in the relationship between SC AC, and SC ambidexterity on SCE directly and indirectly, as well through a moderating effect of SCA in these relations. Finally, there is a significant direct and indirect effect of SCA in the relationship between SC AC and SC ambidexterity on SCE as a moderating factor.

This study presents theoretical and empirical insights that both SC risk mitigation and SCA are proper logistics features for mediating and moderating extends the literature by adding a positive role of SC AC and SC ambidextrousness in mitigating SC risks. However, this study adds up the SC literature by evidencing moderating role of SCA between the absorptive capacities, ambidexterity on SCE. Such findings of this study can provide insightful implications for managers and practitioners at different levels in and efficacy among MFs (MFs, stakeholders and policymakers regarding the importance of using the three mentioned enablers on SCE) in MFs, particularly in the Middle Eastern firms and in developing countries in general East region.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate an idea of producing an assistive and augmentative communication (AAC) tool that uses natural human computer interfacing to accommodate the disabilities of children with cerebral palsy (CP) and assist them in their daily communication.

The authors developed a prototype that recognizes the real time detected emotions display on the face and send alerts to the caretakers through Short Messaging System (SMS) or loud speaker.

The evaluation result shows that the proposed prototype recognizes real time facial expressions from the children with CP with an average of 79.4 per cent, and a maximum of 88.3 per cent (standard deviation of 7.4 per cent) on ten children with CP. Evaluations were also conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the prototype to deliver critical expression messages to their caretakers. The result showed that 98.5 per cent of SMS was sent successfully to the caretakers (pre‐defined mobile phone number) with an average waiting time of 8.3 seconds.

The paper demonstrates the potential of the proposed prototype to assist children with CP to communicate with their caretakers in real time.