China Pushed the Pink Tide and the Pink Tide Pulled China: Intertwining Economic Interests and Ideology in Ecuador and Bolivia (2005–2014)

This article examines the rise of leftist ideology in Ecuador and Bolivia in light of their deepening economic relations with China from 2005 to 2014. First, it reveals that market trends account for trade fluctuations but fail to explain Chinese investment in, and some loan deals with, Ecuador as well as loans to Bolivia. Second, it demonstrates how these forms of funding provided alternatives to U.S.-led international institutions, enabling Rafael Correa and Evo Morales to steer away from Western influence. Third, it contends that four factors led to a cyclic reinforcement of Chinese economic interests and the rise of leftist ideology in Ecuador and Bolivia, namely: mutual complementarity between China’s demand for energy/natural resource supply diversification and Pink Tide development agendas; U.S.–China geopolitical competition for influence in Latin America; China’s experience in engaging with leftist governments from developing countries; and anti-Americanism shaping national identity in Ecuador and Bolivia

Top-down or bottom-up? Employing a middle-ground approach in designing a uk academic writing course for advanced chinese graduates

This article documents the academic writing course design process for advanced Chinese learners aiming to pursue postgraduate degrees in business-related fields at their respective target universities in the UK. Four holders of BA degrees in the social sciences from second tier universities in Beijing were tested, surveyed and observed in detail to design a non-terminal twenty-hour pre-sessional writing course (ten two-hour sessions) to assist in their preparation for postgraduate study. All students held offers from Russell Group universities in the UK and had covered the IELTS requirement (6.5-7.0) for admission there prior to signing up for the EAP course discussed in this paper. The aim of the course is to enhance the students’ academic skills and improve their performance in the following year when they attend UK universities. The course design process is informed by two sets of principles, incorporating both a top-down and a bottom-up perspective. The former is framed within an understanding of EAP as academic, rather than language training. The latter is based on needs analysis of student-specific weaknesses explored through the use of a questionnaire, a diagnostic writing test and in-class observations. Both perspectives feed into the course goals and objectives which serve as a basis for the course rationale. Aiming to bridge the gap between Chinese undergraduate and UK postgraduate study, the course combines textbooks with authentic materials and formative with summative assessment. Reflections on major constraints and limitations are provided throughout the process. This documented case of academic writing course design aims to reveal challenges faced by EAP practitioners working with UK and Chinese institutions, and to present a middle ground approach to resolving tensions between top-down and bottom-up pressures in the context of course design for advanced Chinese graduates

THE EFFECT OF SENSITIZATION ON PHAGOCYTIC ACTIVITY OF PSEUDOEOSINOPHIL (NEUTROPHIL) GRANULOCYTES IN GUINEA PIGS AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF THYMECTOMY

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A Novel Numerical Technique for Dielectric Measurement of Generally Lossy Dielectrics

A method for determining the dielectric properties of infinite half-space of generally lossy dielectric materials is described. This method utilizes the measurement of the admittance of a rectangular waveguide radiating into such dielectrics. It is shown that the real part of the admittance is relatively insensitive to the variations of the imaginary part of the dielectric constant. Subsequently, a numerical procedure is initiated which provides a simple and fast-converging approach for calculating the dielectric properties. This numerical procedure lends itself to implementation by personal computers--a major advantage over the existing computational schemes. The theoretical formulation for the expression of the admittance of an open-ended waveguide and the numerical procedure are discussed in detail. Results of several measurements of freespace and lossy dielectric samples (rubber with carbon black) to verify the theory and the numerical scheme are given. The results give good agreement with other measurement schemes. Comments on the accuracy of the results are also provided

Open-Ended Rectangular Waveguide for Nondestructive Thickness Measurement and Variation Detection of Lossy Dielectric Slabs Backed by a Conducting Plate

Solutions of fields inside a slab of a generally lossy dielectric medium backed by a conducting plate, placed outside a waveguide-fed rectangular aperture, are evoked in the application to the microwave nondestructive thickness measurement of such dielectric slabs. Upon construction of the waveguide terminating admittance expression from its variational form, an inverse problem is then solved to extract the slab thickness from the conductance and susceptance in a recursive manner. A comparison between the experimental and theoretical results showed that the significance of higher order modes is minimal; hence, the dominant mode assumption is, in general, valid to describe the aperture field distribution. The validity of this assumption has led to the construction of a simple integral solution which is fast converging for generally lossy dielectric slabs, and may easily be implemented for realtime applications. Experiments were conducted to verify the theoretical findings. Good agreement was obtained between the theoretical and experimental results. Multiple thicknesses of two different dielectric samples were estimated in this way

Analysis of Radiation from an Open-Ended Coaxial Line into Stratified Dielectrics

Radiation from an open-ended coaxial transmission line into an N-layer dielectric medium is studied in application to nondestructive evaluation of materials. Explicit formulations for two cases of layered media, one terminated into an infinite half-space and the other into a conducting sheet are addressed in general form. In the theoretical derivations it is assumed that only the fundamental TEM mode propagates inside the coaxial line. The terminating admittance of the line is then formulated using the continuity of the power flow across the aperture. The admittance expressions for specific cases of two-layer dielectric composite with generally lossy dielectric properties, and a two-layer composite backed by a conducting sheet are presented and inspected explicitly. The numerical results of the aperture admittance formulation are discussed and compared with the available infinite half-space model which had been experimentally verified

Detection Optimization of Disbond in Layered Composites with Varying Thicknesses using an Open-Ended Rectangular Waveguide

The detection of air disbond in layered dielectric composite, which is an important practical issue in many industries, is studied both theoretically and experimentally. Sensitivity of disbond detection depends on certain parameters, like the frequency of operation, the distance between the sensor and the first dielectric layer, and the layered composite geometry (conductor backed or terminated by an infinite half-space of air). The impact of all these parameters is investigated theoretically and then verified experimentally

Measurement Parameter Optimization for Surface Crack Detection in Metals using an Open-Ended Waveguide Probe

Fatigue and stress induced surface crack detection in metals is an important practical issue. A newly developed microwave inspection approach, using an open-ended rectangular waveguide, has proved to be an effective tool for detecting such cracks. This novel microwave approach overcomes some of the limitations associated with the standard detection methods for surface crack detection. In addition, this approach is applicable to exposed, filled (with a dielectric such as dirt, rust, etc.) and cracks under dielectric coatings such as paint. This paper presents the basic foundation of this surface crack detection methodology along with the ways by which measurement parameters may be optimized for increased detection sensitivity

MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE MYOCARDIUM AND SKELETAL MUSCULATURE WITH EXTREME PHYSICAL LOADINGS UNDER EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS

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