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The precise and sensitive methods for authentication and differentiation of natural and synthetic indigo dyes are required for assurance of textile safety and public health. This study aims to develop a fast and simple method to distinguish natural indigo from synthetic one.

A static headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method was developed for identification of natural and synthetic indigo samples. Natural indigo samples prepared from three different plants and synthetic indigo samples from three famous manufacturers in China, were involved in this study, along with some nonindigo blue samples (such as direct blue, active blue and neutral blue). The yarns and fabrics dyed with natural and synthetic indigo were also analyzed by the GC-MS method.

High levels of aniline (21.87%–71.59%) or N-methylaniline (25.26%–38.73%) were detected only in synthetic indigo samples (1 g) using the static headspace GC-MS method. The yarns and fabrics dyed with the synthetic indigo were also detected with residual aniline (0.47%–14.86%) or N-methylaniline (6.59%–40.93%).

The results clearly demonstrated that aniline or N-methylaniline can be used a diagnostic marker for distinguishing natural indigo from synthetic indigo. The proposed static headspace GC-MS method is a rapid, simple and convenient approach for differentiation of natural and synthetic indigo, as well as for the yarns and fabrics dyed with synthetic indigo.

This study aims to introduce a new methodology for generating synthetic images for facility management purposes. The method starts by leveraging the existing 3D open-source BIM models and using them inside a graphic engine to produce a photorealistic representation of indoor spaces enriched with facility-related objects. The virtual environment creates several images by changing lighting conditions, camera poses or material. Moreover, the created images are labeled and ready to be trained in the model.

This paper focuses on the challenges characterizing object detection models to enrich digital twins with facility management-related information. The automatic detection of small objects, such as sockets, power plugs, etc., requires big, labeled data sets that are costly and time-consuming to create. This study proposes a solution based on existing 3D BIM models to produce quick and automatically labeled synthetic images.

The paper presents a conceptual model for creating synthetic images to increase the performance in training object detection models for facility management. The results show that virtually generated images, rather than an alternative to real images, are a powerful tool for integrating existing data sets. In other words, while a base of real images is still needed, introducing synthetic images helps augment the model’s performance and robustness in covering different types of objects.

This study introduced the first pipeline for creating synthetic images for facility management. Moreover, this paper validates this pipeline by proposing a case study where the performance of object detection models trained on real data or a combination of real and synthetic images are compared.

This study aims to explore Augmented Language Models (ALMs) for synthetic data generation in services marketing and research. It evaluates ALMs' potential in mirroring human responses and behaviors in service scenarios through comparative analysis with five empirical studies.

The study uses ALM-based agents to conduct a comparative analysis, leveraging SurveyLM (Bickley et al., 2023) to generate synthetic responses to the scenario-based experiment in Söderlund and Oikarinen (2018) and four more recent studies from the Journal of Services Marketing. The main focus was to assess the alignment of ALM responses with original study manipulations and hypotheses.

Overall, our comparative analysis reveals both strengths and limitations of using synthetic agents to mimic human-based participants in services research. Specifically, the model struggled with scenarios requiring high levels of visual context, such as those involving images or physical settings, as in the Dootson et al. (2023) and Srivastava et al. (2022) studies. Conversely, studies like Tariq et al. (2023) showed better alignment, highlighting the model's effectiveness in more textually driven scenarios.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is among the first to systematically use ALMs in services marketing, providing new methods and insights for using synthetic data in service research. It underscores the challenges and potential of interpreting ALM versus human responses, marking a significant step in exploring AI capabilities in empirical research.

Establishing toughness performance in concrete using steel fibres is well understood, and design guides are available to assist with this process. What is less readily understood is the use of Type 2 synthetic fibres to provide toughness. This problem is exacerbated by the wide range of synthetic fibres available, with each different fibre providing different structural properties. This paper seeks to address this issue.

The paper examines the relative pull‐out values of two single fibre types, i.e. steel and Type 2 synthetic fibres. The pull‐out test results have informed the doses of fibre additions to beams which have been used to equate near equal toughness performance for each fibre type.

The results show that synthetic Type 2 fibres, when used at a prescribed additional volume, can provide toughness equal to steel fibre concrete.

The scientific study of fibre pull‐out behaviour is well understood and described herein under additional reading. Practical testing to show contractors and clients how to balance the dose of fibres in concrete, so that synthetic fibres could be used as a steel fibre replacement, is not well researched. This paper bridges the information gap.

This conceptual article aims to explore the current state of knowledge management systems, to describe the potential role of synthetic worlds for knowledge integration, and to suggest a future research agenda.

Using the constraints of current knowledge management systems outlined in Alavi and Tiwana as a guiding structure, this article explores knowledge integration through a synthetic world and outlines several propositions intended to frame existing knowledge and guide the development of future inquiry.

Current knowledge management systems neither exploit the capabilities of high performance computing, nor adequately address organizational challenges presented by increasingly knowledge‐laden, dispersed, global organizations. The limitations of current systems: constraints on transactive memory, insufficient mutual understanding, limited retention of contextual knowledge, and inflexibility of organizational ties; can be effectively addressed through the synthetic world environment.

Debate regarding the role of Web 2.0 in twenty‐first century knowledge management continues. In order to move this debate forward, the Web 2.0 phenomenon must be unbundled and the role a specific virtual environment may play considered. To that end, this article explores the potential role of synthetic worlds for organizational knowledge management and integration. It heightens awareness and generates dialogue that fosters an appreciation of the emerging synthetic world environment.

THE term synthetic rubber is strictly related only to a product which is physically and chemically indistinguishable from natural rubber; no material has been developed fitting such a definition and synthetic substances which possess properties approximating to those of the natural product are generally regarded as synthetic rubbers. More exact definition has been attempted by many authors in particular to so‐regard only those products which are capable of vulcanization, thus turning from plastic to clastic bodies. No new word describing the synthetic bodies has been accepted and it will now prove difficult to divorce the term “synthetic rubber” from any material showing reasonably comparable properties with natural rubber.

Problems with corks are a major issue in the wine industry. The key problem has been the lack of consumer acceptance of alternative closures. This research used an interview and survey approach with 200 wine shoppers in Australia to determine: 1) consumer perceptions of cork problems; 2) acceptance of a synthetic cork with no information provided; and 3) acceptance of a synthetic cork after providing information concerning cork problems and solutions. Consumers who purchased more than one bottle of wine per week had the most problems with corks, but 75% of all consumers interviewed had experienced some problems in the last 12 months. The provision of information was key in gaining consumer acceptance of the synthetic corks. Measures of which attributes of the synthetic corks attracted consumers is also provided along with recommendations for introducing these closures into the marketplace.

The U.S. Congress has been struggling to create a comprehensive energy program. A key component of the present attempt, recommended by President Carter, is a synthetic fuel program. In July of 1979, the President asked for an $88 billion “crash program” to encourage development of synthetic fuels. To date, a three month struggle to reach a consensus between House and Senate conferees has brought only limited results. Compromise is emerging in the form of a proposal for a “synthetic fuels corporation.” The body would have the authority to disperse $20 billion in the form of federal loan guarantees and purchase agreements with more money to become available later.

This paper aims to experimentally study the external flow characteristic of an isolated two-dimensional synthetic jet actuator undergoing diaphragm resonance.

The resonance frequency of the diaphragm (40 Hz) depends on the excitation mechanism in the actuator, whereas it is independent of cavity geometry, excitation waveform and excitation voltage. The velocity response of the synthetic jet is influenced by excitation voltage rather than excitation waveform. Thus, this investigation selected four different voltages (5, 10, 15 and 20 V) under the same sine waveform as experiment parameters.

The velocity field along the downstream direction is classified into five regions, which can be obtained by hot-wire measurement. The first region refers to an area in which flow moves from within the cavity to the exit of orifice through the oscillation of the diaphragm, but prior to the formation of the vortex of a synthetic jet. In this region, two characteristic frequencies exist at 20 and 40 Hz in the flow field. The second region refers to the area in which the vortices of a synthetic jet fully develop following their initial formation. In this region, the characteristic frequencies at 20 and 40 Hz still occur in the flow field. The third region refers to the area in which both fully developed vortices continue traveling downstream. It is difficult to obtain the characteristic frequency in this flow field, because the mean center velocities (ū) decay downstream and are proportional to (x/w)^−1/2 for the four excitation voltages. The fourth region reveals variations in both vortices as they merge into a single vortex. The mean center velocities (ū) are approximately proportional to (x/w)⁰ in this region for the four excitation voltages. A fifth region deals with variations in the vortex of a synthetic jet after both vortices merge into one, in which the mean center velocities (ū) are approximately proportional to (x/w)⁻¹ in this region for the four excitation voltages (x/w is the dimensionless streamwise distance).

Although the flow characteristics of synthetic jets had reported for flow control in some literatures, variations of flow structure for synthetic jets are still not studied under the excitation of diaphragm resonance. This paper showed some novel results that our velocity response results obtained by hot-wire measurement along the downstream direction compared with flow visualization resulted in the classification of five regions under the excitation of diaphragm resonance. In the future, it makes valuable contributions for experimental findings to provide researchers with further development of flow control.