A technique for obtaining plasma-sheath configurations and ion optics for an electron- bombardment ion thrustor

Plasma boundaries and ion trajectories for accelerator system of electron bombardment ion thrusto

Therapy sculpts the complex interplay between cancer and the immune system during tumour evolution

Cancer development is an evolutionary process. A key selection pressure is exerted by therapy, one of the few players in cancer evolution that can be controlled. As such, an understanding of how treatment acts to sculpt the tumour and its microenvironment and how this influences a tumour’s subsequent evolutionary trajectory is critical. In this review, we examine cancer evolution and intra-tumour heterogeneity in the context of therapy. We focus on how radiotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy shape both tumour development and the environment in which tumours evolve and how resistance can develop or be selected for during treatment

ОЦІНКА ФІНАНСОВОГО СТАНУ РАЙОНІВ СВЄНТОКШИСЬКОГО ВОЄВОДСТВА. (ASSESSMENT OF FINANCIAL CONDITION OF DISTRICTS IN ŚWIĘTOKRZYSKIE PROVINCE).

Одним із найбільш важливих чинників, що визначають розвиток органів місцевого самоврядування, є їхній фінансовий стан, який має беззаперечний вплив на усі види діяльності, які проводяться органами місцевого самоврядування. Це може бути проаналізоване з погляду поточних чи інвестиційних витрат і доходів, а також загальних доходів і витрат. Неспри ятливе фінансове становище може обмежити можливості розвитку органів місцевого самоврядування. Муніципателітети в доброму фінансовому стані більш конкурентоздатні та ефективні у проведенні політики розвитку. (One of the most important determinants of the development of the local government unit is its financial situation, which has an undeniable impact on the whole activities conducted in local government. This can be analyzed both in terms of current or investment expenditure and revenues, as well as incomes and expenses. Inconvenient financial situation may limit the opportunities of the local government development. Municipalities in good financial condition are more competitive and efficient in conducting development policy)

The discursive construction of the mastery curriculum in mathematics

Recent educational reform in England has been informed by evidence of successful strategies being adopted in high-performing international educational jurisdictions, in particular Shanghai and Singapore. The influential National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) and Maths Hubs have encapsulated the word mastery in relation to mathematics teaching and learning based on observations in Shanghai. Whilst the current mathematics curriculum in England can be interpreted as a mastery curriculum, there have been numerous so called mastery approaches in the last forty years and they elude a single definition. Within the shifting landscape of education, mathematics teachers are still adjusting to the demands of the mastery curriculum, and its discursive framing in a variety of policy settings. This study seeks to provide insights into ways in which the idea of a mastery curriculum shapes ideological understanding of becoming a mathematics teacher. It explores the discursive construction of the mastery curriculum through the lens of Lacan’s four discourses. In repeatedly mapping out classroom interactions to different permutations of discourse, we generate alternative possible understandings. Through depicting competing discourses and the sheer difficulty of being in the classroom, teachers respond to the various demands that they think are placed on them. It considers at a macro-level how society influences and controls notions of the mastery curriculum. It then investigates these influences in the day-to-day teaching of mathematics. In particular, it considers how student teachers make sense of their worlds as they gain qualification to teach 11-16 mathematics. I consider conventional psychological theories of learning, such as Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, but also draw on Lacanian theory of the Subject towards producing a more contemporary spin on conceptions of psychology. The study is centred on the premise that motives in both learning and teaching are channelled by identification with particular discourses; the need to comply with new directives, educate or get educated, to achieve ‘outstanding’ status, etc. With this work being carried out from a teacher educator perspective, data collection is centred on discovering how both student teachers and the researcher himself identify with the multifaceted discourses that shape their practice, with particular reference to the mastery curriculum in mathematics

Determining the distribution of stochastic impulses acting on a high frequency system through an analysis of its vibrations

The motion of an oscillator with damping excited by impulses has the form $ξ_t = \frac{1}{\sqrt{a^2 - b^2}} \sum_{0 <t_i<t}η_i exp(-b(t-t_i)) sin(\sqrt{a^2 - b^2} (t - t_i))$, where $ξ_t$ is the deviation of the oscillator from its balanced position and $t_i$ is the time of action of an impulse of the value η_i. Under appropriate assumptions regarding random variables ${t_{i+1} - t_i}_{i=1}^\infty$ and ${η_i}_{i=1}^\infty ξ_{t}$ is a process which, in the limit as t tends to infinity, is stationary and ergodic. This fact allows us to derive a linear system of equations determining the approximate distribution of variables $η_{i}$ whenever the course of the oscillator is known in a sufficiently large interval of time. These equations will be verified in the experiment executed on an electric oscillator RLC of high frequency

Prediction of carbon nanotubes reinforced interphase properties in fuzzy fibre reinforced polymer via inverse analysis and optimisation

This paper presents the parameter identification procedure of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) reinforced interphase in fuzzy fibre reinforced polymer (FFRP). The procedure was completed with ANSYS Workbench 19.2 software by combining Mechanical ADPL and Goal-Driven Optimisation. Firstly, a three-phase representative volume element (RVE) containing carbon fibre, CNTs reinforced interphase and epoxy resin was developed as a collection of Mechanical APDL commands. This RVE model was simulated to evaluate the elastic constants of FFRP lamina. CNTs reinforced interphase was characterised by transversely isotropic model. Interphase properties were parametrised and became input parameters in the Goal-Driven Optimisation. FFRP lamina elastic constants were set as the output parameters. Multi-objective Genetic Algorithm (MOGA) was used to identify the interphase properties, so that the output FFRP lamina elastic constants match the objective and constraints. The optimisation algorithm converged after 585 evaluations. Five potential candidate point, which met required objectives and constraints, were found. The identified interphase properties agreed well with the literature (an average percentage error of around 2%). This inverse procedure shows the potential to identify the interphase properties in nano-engineered composites, which are extremely difficult to measure experimentall

The impacts of crystalline structure and different surface functional groups on drug release and the osseointegration process of nanostructured TiO2TiO_2

In implantable materials, surface topography and chemistry are the most important in the effective osseointegration and interaction with drug molecules. Therefore, structural and surface modifications of nanostructured titanium dioxide (TiO2) layers are reported in the present work. In particular, the modification of annealed TiO2 samples with —OH groups and silane derivatives, confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, is shown. Moreover, the ibuprofen release process was studied regarding the desorption-desorption-diffusion (DDD) kinetic model. The results proved that the most significant impact on the release profile is annealing, and further surface modifications did not change its kinetics. Additionally, the cell adhesion and proliferation were examined based on the MTS test and immunofluorescent staining. The obtained data showed that the proposed changes in the surface chemistry enhance the samples’ hydrophilicity. Moreover, improvements in the adhesion and proliferation of the MG-63 cells were observed

Experimental identification of yield surface for additively manufactured stainless steel 316L under tension–compression-torsion conditions considering its printing orientation

Stainless steel 316L tubes and bars were additively manufactured (AM) by using the Laser Powder Bed Fusion Melting (LPBF-M) method in three orientations. As-built specimens were then machined and the initial yield surface was determined for three printing orientations based on the yield stress definition for 0.005 % plastic offset strain. The as-received, wrought material was additionally tested using the same tension–compression-torsion conditions to compare the mechanical behaviour of AM and wrought SS316L. The sizes of yield surfaces elaborated for LPBF-M specimens increased along the tensile and compressive directions and shrunk when torsion was applied, as compared to the as-received specimen

Antifouling activity and microbial diversity of two congeneric sponges Callyspongia spp. from Hong Kong and the Bahamas

Microbial communities of the sponges Callyspongia sp. from Hong Kong and Callyspongia plicifera (Porifera: Demospongia) from the Bahamas were compared with each other and with those from reference substrata using a terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis. The least number of bacterial ribotypes and bacterial isolates were retrieved from Bahamas reference and sponge surfaces, while the bacterial communities from Hong Kong Callyspongia sp. and reference surfaces were more diverse. Microbial communities from the 2 sponges were different from each other and from reference substrata. Gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric (GC-MS) analysis of dichloromethane extracts revealed that more than 60% of the compounds were similar in the 2 species Callyspongia sp. and C. plicifera, compared to the compounds of Halichondria spp. At tissue level (TL) concentrations, both sponge extracts predominantly inhibited the growth of bacteria from reference substrata. Multifactor ANOVA revealed that the source of bacteria (sponge surface, interior, or reference substrata), the geographic location of isolates (Hong Kong or the Bahamas), thesponge extract (from Callyspongia sp. or from C. plicifera), and combinations of these factors contributed significant effects in disc diffusion assay experiments. Sponge extracts at both TL concentrations and 10× dilutions were toxic to larvae of the polychaete Hydroides elegans and the barnacle Balanus amphitrite. Our results suggest that the 2 congeneric sponges Callyspongia spp. from different biogeographic regions have different bacterial associates, while producing relatively similar secondary metabolites. It remains to be explored whether differences in sponge-associated bacterial communities will also hold for other congeneric sponge species from different regions