OPTIMUM WORKING CONDITIONS FOR VARIABLE WIDTH PLOUGHS

In this paper, a few assessments of the optimal parametric combinations in the operating regime of agricultural aggregates with ploughs of variable width are made. The starting point was from a classic expression of the tillage draft force required for traction. In order to find optimal points, some problems of constrained extreme have been formulated. Extremes provided by the optimal working width and speed have been found. Such optimal points have existed in the literature, for about half a century. Using these theoretical estimates of the optimal points sought, assessments of the possibilities for their experimental validation were made. Basic conditions for an experimental plan are formulated to highlight such optimal points.

THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS ON THE OPTIMIZATION OF THE WORKING PROCESS OF VARIABLE WIDTH PLOUGHS

The paper presents theoretical research conducted for the optimization of the working process of variable width ploughs. Thus, were determined multivariable regression functions for the traction force of the plough with variable working function of the control parameters: working depth, working width and working speed. The use of these theoretical considerations of the optimal points sought lead to the opportunity of making assessments on the possibilities to conduct their experimental validation. Conditions for an experimental plan were formulated to highlight such optimal points and the theoretical results were validated through experiments.

Effects of plasma treatments of polypropylene adhesive joints used in the automotive industry

Plasma treatment has been used in recent years to activate the surfaces of adhesive substrates and thus as an adhesion promoter between adhesive and substrates. The use of plasma treatments is widely adopted in the automotive industries especially for polymers that present low surface energy, such as polypropylene. In this work, polypropylene substrates used in the automotive industries have been treated with two different techniques: vacuum and atmospheric plasma. Then, polyurethane and methacrylate adhesives have been used to bond single lap joints (SLJs). Typically, these two adhesives cannot bond polypropylene substrates without surface treatments. An experimental plan has been designed to investigate the process parameters that can increase the functional polar groups (FPGs) maximizing the adhesion strength. Besides the types of plasma, two different gas carriers (air and nitrogen) and different treatment times have been investigated. The substrates, treated and not treated, have been assessed through scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to quantitatively assess the increment of FPGs after the different treatments. The experimental plan shows that the atmospheric plasma can improve the surface of the substrates by using a smaller time. Mechanical tests on SLJs show that methacrylate and polyurethane cannot bond polypropylene substrates without the plasma treatment. On the other hand, the treated substrates can form a strong bonding with the adhesive since all SLJs exhibit a substrate failure. Mechanical tests have been also carried out after three different aging cycles showing that the adopted plasma treatment is not affected by the aging cycles.

The Impact of Pharmaceutical Home Care on Medical Utilization for Frequent Users of Outpatient Services in Taiwan

Due to the high-accessibility and low-copayment of healthcare system in Taiwan, the clinical visit frequency of people is relatively high, which often leads to an excessively high healthcare expenditure. The aim of this research was to explore the effectiveness of pharmaceutical home care for frequent users of outpatient service and to analyze the impact of pharmaceutical home care on medical utilization. The study was based on the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Patients with over 100 clinical visits during 2010 to 2012 were selected as subjects. Whether these patients participate the experimental plan of pharmaceutical home care in the following year and the medical utilization of the research subjects were analyzed to compare the difference between participating group and non-participating group in this plan. The generalized estimating equation was employed to examine the difference of medical utilization. A total of 3943 subjects were included in this study, including 591 patients (14.99%) participating in the experimental plan. The average number of physician visits during the following year of the participating group was higher than that of the non-participating group by 0.12 visits, and the outpatient medical expense was lower than the non-participating group by 18,302 points (1 point = 0.03 US dollars). After participating in the plan, the average number of clinical visits of frequent users of outpatient services was significantly reduced by 6.63 visits, and the outpatient expense was significantly decreased by 9871 points. After joining the experimental plan of pharmaceutical home care, the average number of outpatient visits decreased significantly and the medical expense was lower when compared with those who did not participate in the plan.

Definition and Testing of a Skills Framework to Evaluate the Effect of a Pedagogical Program in Entrepreneurship

Our work aims at contributing to research on entrepreneurship pedagogy by designing and testing a skills framework to evaluate the outcomes of pedagogical programs in entrepreneurship. A literature review was conducted to clarify the concept of skills. The first part of this article describes the components of the 17 main entrepreneurial skills identified in the literature (both transversal and specific to entrepreneurship). A post hoc experimental plan was chosen so that the results may be replicated. Data were collected online among business students and 444 completed forms were returned. The survey instrument was tested empirically by comparing the experimental group (265 participants of an entrepreneurship seminar) with the control group (179 non-participants). Results show the value of using a complete evaluation grid when evaluating a pedagogical program in entrepreneurship. Indeed, many transversal skills may evolve positively, not just the skills that are specific to entrepreneurship.

INFLUENCE OF MEASURING DEVIATIONS OF THE COMPONENTS OF LAYERED WALLS ON THEIR DURABILITY

The subject of the article is the impact of measurement deviations of three-layer walls on the durability of these walls in buildings erected according to the OWT-67 / N system. This problem mainly concerns the external facade texture layer, which, apart from its own weight load, is exposed to the destructive influence of external factors, which include wind suction load and temperature load. The measurement deviation regarding the texture layer is the varied thickness of the board. Other diverse components that affect the fusion of the texture layer with the insulation layer and the construction layer are: diameter of rods hangers, coating thickness of rods hangers and diameter of rods anchoring hangers. Based on these measurements, a polynomial model was created based on an experimental plan that evaluated the durability of the layered wall.