Quartz ball valve

A ball valve particularly suited for use in the handling of highly corrosive fluids is described. It is characterized by a valve housing formed of communicating segments of quartz tubing, a pair of communicating sockets disposed in coaxial alignment with selected segments of tubing for establishing a pair of inlet ports communicating with a common outlet port, a ball formed of quartz material supported for displacement between the sockets and configured to be received alternately thereby, and a valve actuator including a rod attached to the ball for selectively displacing the ball relative to each of the sockets for controlling fluid flow through the inlet ports

Cycling and Health Innovative Pilot Projects (Executive summary)

The Cycling and Health Innovative Pilot Project (CHIPPS) provided cycle training for adults in Nottingham and Northamptonshire from 2007 to 2010. The Primary Care Trusts in each area have delivered these projects in collaboration with partners. In Nottingham collaboration with Ridewise delivered the Cycling for Health Project that aimed to involve people from deprived communities and employees of the Primary Care Trust; in Northamptonshire the Easy Rider project delivered via Age UK was also aimed at those living in deprived areas and middle-aged people. Throughout the three years the initiative was evaluated by the Carnegie Research Institute of Leeds Metropolitan University. Those taking part completed questionnaires at the outset, at the end of their training, three months later and finally after a year. In addition, a mix of one-to-one interviews and focus groups were conducted with policy makers, those delivering the projects and participants (including those who dropped out)

Validity of telemetric-derived measures of heart rate variability: a systematic review

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a widely accepted indirect measure of autonomic function with widespread application across many settings. Although traditionally measured from the 'gold standard' criterion electrocardiography (ECG), the development of wireless telemetric heart rate monitors (HRMs) extends the scope of the HRV measurement. However, the validity of telemetric-derived data against the criterion ECG data is unclear. Thus, the purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to systematically review the validity of telemetric HRM devices to detect inter-beat intervals and aberrant beats; and (b) to determine the accuracy of HRV parameters computed from HRM-derived inter-beat interval time series data against criterion ECG-derived data in healthy adults aged 19 to 62 yrs. A systematic review of research evidence was conducted. Four electronic databases were accessed to obtain relevant articles (PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE and SPORTDiscus. Articles published in English between 1996 and 2016 were eligible for inclusion. Outcome measures included temporal and power spectral indices (Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology (1996). The review confirmed that modern HRMs (Polar® V800™ and Polar® RS800CX™) accurately detected inter-beat interval time-series data. The HRV parameters computed from the HRM-derived time series data were interchangeable with the ECG-derived data. The accuracy of the automatic in-built manufacturer error detection and the HRV algorithms were not established. Notwithstanding acknowledged limitations (a single reviewer, language bias, and the restricted selection of HRV parameters), we conclude that the modern Polar® HRMs offer a valid useful alternative to the ECG for the acquisition of inter-beat interval time series data, and the HRV parameters computed from Polar® HRM-derived inter-beat interval time series data accurately reflect ECG-derived HRV metrics, when inter-beat interval data are processed and analyzed using identical protocols, validated algorithms and software, particularly under controlled and stable conditions

Public policy and Batho Pele in South Africa : time to turn over a new leaf

Published ArticleThis paper is concerned to show that seminal public policy principles have sometimes failed to translate into improved customer service in South Africa and to discover why this should be so. After discussing various dimensions of public policy formulation and implementation, the article cites instances whereby service levels are seen to be compromised by poor execution of policy. It is submitted that inappropriate criteria for the recruitment of office bearers, and a worrying tendency to fail to distinguish adequately between public and private goods, have contributed to degraded levels of customer service which violate the spirit of Batho Pele. It is concluded that government needs to 'walk the talk' with respect to Batho Pele by ridding its administration of officials who have shown themselves to be either incompetent or corrupt

Viewpoint: When Nature Needs Nurture - The role of women in the environment

To the disinterested observer, the distinctive links between the environment, and women’s experience of it, are not immediately obvious. Particularly in developing countries, however, this interface is both intimate and immediate. After a brief survey of the importance of reproductive rights for containing population growth, and the international environmental policy context vis-à-vis gender, this article explores a few aspects of women’s relationship with the environment. Women are seen as critical to environmental education in that they tend to exercise a formative influence over the attitudes of the very young. Women’s relationship with the land they work is compromised by their poorly institutionalised property rights throughout much of the Third World, and where ‘environmental injustice’ is   concerned, it tends to be the poorer women who experience the fallout most tangibly. Development practitioners, bureaucrats and policy makers need to be sensitised to this state of affairs

Way forward for agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Published ArticleThis review article argues that rural sub-Saharan Africa has suffered from a wide range of disadvantages that have stunted its agricultural development. Agricultural areas have been characterised by policy voids and neglect, and have failed to achieve sustained development. A lack of incentives, rural investments, and institutional support has hobbled African farmers. Any way forward for the agricultural areas will rest on decisively tackling rural poverty. Many analysts have remarked on the debilitating effects of traditional tenure whereby most Africans do not hold secure title to the land they farm. Land tenure reform must be coupled with the pursuit of the best that modern technology and research has to offer. African farmers are also seriously disadvantaged by the subsidies that developed nations pay their farmers. A renewed commitment to a more open trading regime between Africa and its main trading partners is a sine qua non for Africa to prosper. In essence, for Africa fully to realise its agricultural potential it needs urgently to transcend the methods and cultural institutions of its past even though this may entail something of a shock to the system and alienate certain vested interests. But this cannot happen without political stability and good governance

Method of purifying metallurgical grade silicon employing reduced pressure atmospheric control

A method in which a quartz tube is charged with chunks of metallurgical grade silicon and/or a mixture of such chunks and high purity quartz sand, and impurities from a class including aluminum, boron, as well as certain transition metals including nickel, iron, and manganese is described. The tube is then evacuated and heated to a temperature within a range of 800 C to 1400 C. A stream of gas comprising a reactant, such as silicon tetrafluoride, is continuously delivered at low pressures through the charge for causing a metathetical reaction of impurities of the silicon and the reactant to occur for forming a volatile halide and leaving a residue of silicon of an improved purity. The reactant which included carbon monoxide gas and impurities such as iron and nickel react to form volatile carbonyls

Molecular characterisation of four double-flowered mutants of Silene dioica representing four centuries of variation

Records of double-flowered Silene dioica date from the late sixteenth century and four named varieties are grown today, as previously, for their horticultural interest. Although double-flowered mutants have been characterized in several plants, their study in dioecious species is of particular interest due to influences of the homeotic mutation on the different floral whorl configurations in males and females. We have analysed four double-flowered varieties of Silene dioica: Flore Pleno and Rosea Plena date back to the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, Thelma Kay and Firefly were recognized in the latter part of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. We have analysed the floral structure of the four varieties, which have distinct floral architectures. Based on Y chromosome-specific PCR analysis we show that Firefly is male and that the other three varieties are female: Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analyses suggested a common origin for the three female varieties. The double-flowered phenotype in all four varieties is caused by mutation of the C-function MADS-box transcription factor gene SDM1. We show that Firefly carries a unique 44bp insertion into SDM1, revealing an independent origin for this variety. Comparative analysis of SDM1 cDNA and genomic sequences in Flore Pleno, Rosea Plena and Thelma Kay shows that all three are caused by the same 7bp insertion within SDM1 and therefore share a common origin. The three alleles also differ by several single nucleotide polymorphisms, which represent somatic mutations accumulated over four centuries of asexual propagation

Relief Afforded to Debtor Clients Harmed by a Bankruptcy Petition Preparer\u27s Fraudulent, Unfair, or Deceptive Conduct

(Excerpt) A Bankruptcy Petition Preparer (the Preparer ) is a non-attorney who assists pro se debtors in the preparation of bankruptcy petitions and documents related to filing for bankruptcy. Preparers are regulated under section 110 of title 11 of the United States Code the (the Code ). This section of the Code severely limits the scope of a Preparer\u27s duties. Preparers lack the same rigorous legal and ethical training acquired by bankruptcy attorneys; therefore, some Preparers try to take advantage of debtors who are often ignorant of the bankruptcy system. Section 110 of the Code outlines sanctions to deter Preparers from behaving in an unscrupulous manner. The legislative purpose of section 110 is to protect consumers from abuses by nonlawyer petition preparers. This includes protecting debtors from misrepresentation or conduct that is fraudulent, unfair, or deceptive. To reprimand Preparers that engage in this conduct, a court can order injunctive relief, order damages to be paid to the debtor, or enjoin the person from taking on the role of a bankruptcy petition preparer. Two questions that arise are: (1) What behavior is regarded as fraudulent, unfair, or deceptive conduct, and (2) what sanctions can a court impose beyond those listed in section 110? Part I of this Memorandum discusses the types of behavior by Preparers that constitute misconduct under section 110. Part II discusses the different types of sanctions a court can order to prevent Preparers from taking advantage of their debtor clients

Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, and Turnover Intention of Online Teachers in the K-12 Setting

The purpose of this study was to measure and explore factors influencing K-12 online teacher job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions K-12 online education. Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1954), Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Satisfaction (1959, 1968), Meyer and Allen’s measure of Organizational Commitment (1997), and Fishbein and Ajzen’s Theory of Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior (1975), this mixed-methods study was conducted in public, private, charter, for-profit, and not-for-profit K-12 online schools in a single Southeastern state. The researcher used a sequential explanatory design by collecting and analyzing quantitative data and then qualitative data in two consecutive phases. Using a quantitative survey design, the study included responses from 105 participants. The results revealed that K-12 online teachers have a moderate-high level of job satisfaction, which correlates to their affective commitment to their organization and their intent to remain teaching in the online setting in the immediate, intermediate, and long-term future. Participants identified flexibility, meeting student needs, technical support and their professional community as the most satisfying aspects of their job, while compensation, workload, missing face-to-face interaction with students, and inactive students were identified as least satisfying. A logistic regression model indicated schedule flexibility, mentoring, number of students, number of years teaching experience, and affective commitment are predictors of online teacher’s likelihood of turnover. In the second phase of the study, eight qualitative focus group interviews were conducted and analyzed using a constant comparative method; these results confirmed and expounded upon the quantitative findings in phase one. These results inform K-12 online school leaders who seek to retain new hires of statistically significant variables that influence teacher retention