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Alluvial rivers at lowland are very complex in nature. Severe bank erosion at high flow and undue sedimentation at low flow are very common there. Groins are not functioning successfully with their present arrangements. This study investigates various orientations of groins to identify the optimum one for the effective functioning at high flow and low flow both. A 2D numerical model, RIC-Nays is utilized upon confirmation through detailed experimental data. Two types of groins: non-permeable and permeable, and four orientations: 100°, 90°, 80° and 70° to the bank line downstream are considered. Computation reveals that smaller angled groins function better through deepening the main channel and minimizing the local scour, except deposition near bank reduces.

Large sandbars resulted from the instability of loose sedimentary materials are very common in lowland rivers. These, not only, interrupt the inland waterways at low flow, but also make the channels highly unstable forming anabranches, influencing bank erosion, and so on. Groins have key roles to play in such cases. Formation processes of sandbars and their interactions with groins become very urgent to learn for better management of river engineering. RIC-Nays, a two-dimensional model for flow and morphology, is utilized in this study. Computation results reveal that different initial conditions lead to different equilibrium states, and periodic boundary conditions with a small computation domain tend to stabilize multiple bars. Intrusion of groins accelerates the flow in the main channel, which triggers the sediment movement there. Thus the bars move downstream reducing their scale and finally they disappear from the main channel.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the service process of municipal home care catering with respect to both sub‐processes and their development needs. One case is introduced.

Existing research on Meals‐On‐Wheels is illustrated. The theoretical concepts include service design, a service process, and a foodservice production process. Empirical data were collected from the two representatives of the case organisation by using a theme interview form.

The service process of home care catering comprises an information system and four sub‐processes: customer registration and ordering; food production; meal delivery; and invoicing. The main development needs focus on the electronic information system. Other development needs concern menu design, utilizing a cook‐chill method, delivering chilled meals, offering a service voucher, and implementing invoicing with other municipalities.

Due to an aging population, demand on the municipal home care catering services is increasing. The efficiency of the sub‐processes has to be improved by an electronic information system. Alternative models in home care catering service have to be offered.

The findings offer ideas to other home care catering organisations for developing their service processes.

The present study is concerned with the application of a nonlinear frequency analysis approach to the detection and location of water tree degradation of power cable XLPE insulation without turning off electric power.

The use of power cable system responses to power line carrier signals are proposed to conduct the required signal analysis for damage location purpose. This technique is based on the fact that the water tree degradation in power cables can make the system behave nonlinearly. Consequently, the location of water tree degradation can be determined by detecting the position of nonlinear components in power cable systems.

A novel method has been proposed for locating water tree degradation in power cable systems; numerical simulation studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of the new technique.

The proposed technique has the potential to be applied in practice to more effectively resolve the power cable damage location problem.

Zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) is the most common anti-wear and anti-oxidant additive. ZDDP is the primary origin of zinc, sulfur and phosphorus, which are well-known poisonous elements for commercial after-treatment systems. The aim of this study is to investigate the optimum oil drain interval of non-phosphorus and non-ash (NPNA) engine oil that was developed as a prospective alternative to commercial phosphorus-containing (PC) engine lubricants.

The results of a fleet test wear debris analysis were used to optimize the oil drain intervals from the perspective of cost.

Drain intervals of 32,000 and 28,000 km were computed as the optimum values for NPNA and PC engine oils, respectively. Extending the oil drain intervals up to the obtained mileage may go to a total saving of €43,045,084.2 for PC engine oil and €49,253,998.6 for NPNA engine oil with respect to the total sales figures of test vehicles in Turkey.

Maximizing the lubricant life has environmental benefits and is the easiest way to reduce the maintenance cost of a vehicle. The protection of after-treatment systems against lubricant-induced poisoning is a great challenge. The most important result of this investigation is the lower operation costs of catalyst-friendly lubricants in spite of their low anti-wear additive performance.

An unconscious concern regarding one’s inevitable death, known as mortality salience, may affect consumers’ brand choices in the aftermath of disastrous events, such as earthquakes. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of self-identification with global consumer culture (IDGCC) in global brand purchase intention in response to disasters that heighten mortality salience. The roles of materialism, consumer ethnocentrism, cosmopolitanism and hope in this this process are also explored.

An online experiment was conducted with a large sample of Japanese consumers. Japan was selected because it had recently suffered from a series of devastating earthquakes. Participants’ mortality salience was primed with an earthquake scenario. All measures were adapted from prior research. The authors used structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses and validate the model.

The results reveal that IDGCC is a direct predictor of global brand purchase intention when mortality salience is high. It appears that identifying with global consumer culture and buying global brands enhances self-esteem and reduces anxiety for those with high IDGCC. As predicted, materialism and cosmopolitanism positively influence IDGCC, whereas consumer ethnocentrism does not impede IDGCC. Hope directly and positively affects global brand purchase intention.

Some consumers who experience traumatic events may resist mortality salience and experience a heightened sense of global citizenship. Meanwhile, those with lower IDGCC may revert to in-group favoritism, whereas those with higher IDGCC tend to purchase global brands. Using a scenario to simulate the mental state evoked by a disaster limits generalizability.

The findings illuminate how firms should modify their international marketing strategies in the face of traumatic global events when targeting consumers with high vs low IDGCC in terms of framing messages about global brands. Additionally, using global brands that emphasize an optimistic outlook may help global marketers capture attention from consumers high in IDGCC.

This study is one of the first to address traumatic events and hope, relating these concepts to IDGCC and global brand purchase intention in an international marketing context.

The purpose of this paper is to report the preparation and characterisation of nanocomposites, which are made of biodegradable poly(vinyl‐alcohol‐co‐ethylene) and wood dust. These nanocomposites can aptly be termed as green by nature as they are totally non‐toxic and ecofriendly.

Sample films containing 5, 10 and 15 wt% fillers are prepared by conventional solvent casting technique using glass plates as casting surfaces. The dispersion of filler in the polymer matrix is investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis. Physical and chemical properties of the films are studied by various characterisation techniques (FTIR, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), TEM and TGA).

TEM analysis reveals that the average particle size of the nanodispersed filler in the nanocomposite materials is in the range of 12‐25 nm, which shows that a greater extent of matrix penetrated into fibre capillaries of wood dust. These results are supported by the XRD findings also. Wood enhances the thermal stability of the as synthesised nanocomposites.

The mechanical properties of the as synthesised nanocomposites can be improved further by modifying wood dust.

The method developed provides a simple and practical solution to improve the biodegradability, as well as the thermal stability of the composite films.

The nanocomposites so developed can be used in automotive parts like front door liners, boot liners, parcel shelves, headliners, etc. also as mulching films in agriculture.

The objective of this study is to examine the effects of pan‐frying, boiling and cooking in a microwave on the amount of L‐carnitine in meat and to look at its distribution in the surrounding fluid after food processing.

Total carnitine, free carnitine and acylcarnitines were determined in meat samples from beef, pork and poultry (including ostrich) and in a liver sample from beef. The measurements were carried out before and after the specimens were subjected to different heat treatments. A radio‐enzymatic assay was used for measurement of L‐carnitine. Results are expressed per 100 gram dry matter and per 100 gram wet weight.

Except for pan‐frying, virtually no losses of carnitine occurred during the different procedures of heat treatment. During boiling and microwaving, however, a considerable portion of the tissue carnitine escaped into the water fraction. With pan‐frying, carnitine losses from meat amounted to from 3 to 36 per cent. In all animal species, tissue losses of L‐carnitine increased with increase of boiling time. When expressed as a percentage of total carnitine, the proportion of carnitine present as esters differed somewhat between different heating procedures but showed no typical pattern.

The findings of this study show the important role that meat products play for providing an adequate amount of L‐carnitine in humans who are suffering from carnitine deficiency and an exogenous supplementation is needed.

The purpose of this study is to develop an ecosystem-based DRR concept and explore how far the concept can be applied in a disaster-management context.

The authors used the ecosystem concept established by Tsujimoto et al. (2018) as the foundation of this study. They then conducted a literature search to adapt the ecosystem concept to fit the context of disaster management. Thus, they developed an ecosystem-based DRR concept. They used a case study method to test whether the adapted ecosystem concept can be applied to examine a real-life case of disaster management. For data collection, they used qualitative methods; a semi-structured interview with practitioners and other actors involved in disaster-management practice as well as document review. For data analysis, they used thematic analysis to find themes within the data.

By using this concept, the authors found some actors fulfil their role in the ecosystem toward the DRR effort, some actors are ill-equipped, and some actors are actively working against DRR effort. There are also implementation challenges, as numerous programs are only halfway done due to a lack of resources. However, the main problems of this disaster can be summarized into three categories: technical problems, socio-economic problems and law-enforcement problems. All three problems need to be addressed altogether because even neglecting only one problem would lead to a flawed solution.

One of the limitations is the respondents' bias. This research aims to find out their part, or more accurately what they are representative of, regarding disaster management for forest and land fire case. As some of the questions may reveal unflattering action or may even hurting their credibility, respondents might not have provided an entirely honest answer. Another limitation is the differing respondents' roles within the disaster. As each of the respondents is a representative of an actor in disaster management, they all have different traits. Thus, this situation makes it challenging to produce similar quality and quantity data for each of them.

As concluded, the ecosystem-based DRR concept can be used as a framework to examine a real-life case of disaster management. It can be utilized to explain roles, relationships and the whole network of disaster-management actors. The authors hope that this concept could help decision-makers in designing their policies.

The main problems of this disaster can be summarized into three categories: technical problems, socio-economic problems and law-enforcement problems. All three problems need to be addressed altogether for even neglecting only one problem would lead to a flawed solution. However, the yearly reoccurrences of fires and the widespread of illegal and dangerous practice, slash and burn agriculture, are evidence that the government mishandles the other two problems. There is a need for reform within legal institutions and government's treatment regarding local farmers. There is a need for trust, cooperation and synergy between disaster-management actors.

The ecosystem concept has been used widely in the field of management of technology and innovation. However, while ecosystem concept is commonly used in the management of technology and innovation, it is rarely used in a disaster-management context.

Legionnaires’ disease is a major threat to public health. Solutions to deal with this problem are usually siloed and not entirely effective. This paper aims to model the information requirements of legionella-safe cooling towers in the era of Industry 4.0.

A year-long design science research was conducted in a cooling tower producer for heavy industries. The project started with a bibliometric analysis and literature review of legionella in cooling towers. Goal modeling techniques are then used to identify the requirements for digital transformation.

The improvement of legionella prevention, detection and outbreak response in digitally enabled cooling tower should involve different stakeholders. Digital twins and blockchain are disruptive technologies that can transform the cooling tower industry.

For theory, this study revises the most recent advances in legionella protection. Legionella-safe systems must be prepared to anticipate, monitor and immediate alert in case of an outbreak. For practice, this paper presents a distributed and digital architecture for cooling tower safety. However, technology is only a part of outbreak management solutions, requiring trustworthy conditions and real-time communication among stakeholders.