Ubiquitous e-learning System for dynamic mini-courseware assembling and delivering to mobile terminals

From 2000, mobile Learning (m-Learning) and ubiquitous Learning (u-Learning) has been the hottest research topic in e-learning, and now, integrating ubiquitous learning into mainstream of education and train has been the direction in the area, which demand new generational e-learning system. The paper introduces our research efforts in this direction. Based on the key concepts, such as ubiquitous learning object, mini-courseware, a new generational ubiquitous e-learning system is designed, which can be used for new requirements in m-Learning and u-Learning environments. In the system, learning resource related to a course is encapsulated into different ubiquitous learning objects, and mini-courseware can be assembled dynamically with learning resource extracted from these ubiquitous learning objects, accordingly, a mini-courseware player is designed for the situation. Based on these work, a resource based ubiquitous e-Learning system is designed considering pedagogical requirements under m-Learning and u-Learning environment

Evaluating Management Decisions to Reduce Environmental Risk of Roadside-Applied Herbicides

Management decisions concerning the spraying of herbicides on highway roadsides are evaluated on the basis of their impact on resulting environmental risk. A mathematical transport model was previously applied to the State of California with a Monte Carlo technique, and in this study the results are manipulated to evaluate the risk reduction that results from restricting herbicide application on the basis of site characteristics or changing other application practices. Results show that eliminating herbicide applications where the slope of the grass adjacent to the highway is greater than 30° has little or no effect on risk. Eliminating application where the width of the grass adjacent to the highway is less than 2 m or where soil organic carbon content is less than 0.5% can lead to significant reductions in environmental risk for certain herbicides. Additionally, limiting the width of the spray zone and applying the minimum manufacturer-suggested application rate reduce the risk to aquatic ecosystems. Applying at the minimum rate has the greatest potential to decrease risk. Results of this study show that management decisions can have a significant effect on limiting herbicide runoff risks to aquatic ecosystems. Decision makers would have to weigh costs of alternatives to herbicide spraying for controlling roadside vegetation against the environmental risk reductions

Effect of Oral Administration of Enterococcus faecium Ef1 on Innate Immunity of Sucking Piglets

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of orally administered Enterococcus faecium EF1 on innate immune responses of jejunal mucosa in newborn piglets. Twenty-four commercial crossbred healthy newborn piglets were randomly divided into two groups, control (T0) and treatment (T1) group. Each group consists of 12 piglets. T1 was administered sterilized skim milk 2 ml piglet-1 day-1 with addition of E. faecium EF1 (5~6×108 cfu/ml) by oral gavage on alternative odd days (1st, 3rd and 5th) after birth. T0 fed with the same volume of sterilized skim milk without probiotics. The merciful killing of piglets at the 25th day after birth was performed to collect the samples of jejunal mucosa to measure the innate cytokine responses and the Toll-like receptors gene expression by quantitative real time PCR. The results showed that TGF-β1 and TNF-α concentrations increased and mRNA expression levels also improved significantly in T1 as compared to T0. While, the production of IFN-γ and IL-8 decreased significantly in T1 and gene expression modification was not observed. In addition, TLR (Toll-like receptor) 2 and TLR 9 transcription levels were up-regulated in treatment (T1) group. These findings revealed that oral administration of E. faecium EF1 was effective to activate innate immunity and could modulate the TLRs expression in jejunal mucosa of piglets

Regional innovation and spillover effects of foreign direct investment in China: a threshold approach

Using a data set on twenty-nine Chinese provinces for the period 1985–2008, this paper establishes a threshold model to analyse the relationship between spillover effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) and regional innovation in China. There is clear evidence of double-threshold effects of regional innovation on productivity spillovers from FDI. Specifically, only when the level of regional innovation reaches the minimum innovation threshold will FDI in the region begin to produce positive productivity spillovers. Furthermore, positive productivity spillovers from FDI will be substantial only when the level of regional innovation attains a higher threshold. The double threshold divides Chinese provinces into three super-regions in terms of innovation, with most provinces positioned within the middle-level innovation super-region. Policy implications are discussed

Twin-screw granulation – a systematic analysis of process parameters

Twin-screw granulation has a significant advantage over traditional granulation methods leading to the possibility of continuous manufacturing. Although this technology has drawn attention in recent years, the general understanding of the process is limited. This study gives a brief overview of the most important process parameters and their influence on product quality. Experimental results from a benchtop granulator and an in-line particle size measurement have been analysed. From this basic study conclusions can be drawn how to tailor the particle size distribution in twin-screw granulation. The most crucial parameters are the liquid-to-solid ratio and the filling level of the screws

Cost-effectiveness of Implementing Low-Tidal Volume Ventilation in Patients With Acute Lung Injury

Background: Despite widespread guidelines recommending the use of lung-protective ventilation (LPV) in patients with acute lung injury (ALI), many patients do not receive this lifesaving therapy. We sought to estimate the incremental clinical and economic outcomes associated with LPV and determined the maximum cost of a hypothetical intervention to improve adherence with LPV that remained cost-effective. Methods: Adopting a societal perspective, we developed a theoretical decision model to determine the cost-effectiveness of LPV compared to non-LPV care. Model inputs were derived from the literature and a large population-based cohort of patients with ALI. Cost-effectiveness was determined as the cost per life saved and the cost per quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) gained. Results: Application of LPV resulted in an increase in QALYs gained by 15% (4.21 years for non-LPV vs 4.83 years for LPV), and an increase in lifetime costs of $7,233 per patient with ALI ($99,588 for non-LPV vs $106,821 for LPV). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios for LPV were$22,566 per life saved at hospital discharge and $11,690 per QALY gained. The maximum, cost-effective, per patient investment in a hypothetical program to improve LPV adherence from 50 to 90$9,482. Results were robust to a wide range of economic and patient parameter assumptions. Conclusions: Even a costly intervention to improve adherence with low-tidal volume ventilation in patients with ALI reduces death and is cost-effective by current societal standards.NIH F32HL090220.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/84154/1/Cooke - CEA LPV.pd

Networking Cities after Paris: Weighing the Ambition of Urban Climate Change Experimentation

Over the past few decades, cities have repeatedly demonstrated high levels of ambition with regard to climate action. Global environmental governance has been marked by a proliferation of policy actions taken by local governments around the world to demonstrate their potential to advance climate change mitigation and adaptation. Leading ‘by example’ and demonstrating the extent of action that it is possible to deliver, cities have aspired to raise the ambition of national and international climate governance and put action into practice via a growing number of ‘climate change experiments’ delivered on the ground. Yet accounts of the potential of cities in global environmental governance have often stopped short of a systematic valuation of the nature and impact of the networked dimension of this action. This article addresses this by assessing the nature, and challenges faced by, urban climate governance in the post-Paris era, focusing on the ‘experimentation’ undertaken in cities and the city networks shaping this type of governance. First, we unpack the concept of ‘urban climate change experimentation’, the ways in which it is networked, and the forces driving it. In the second and third parts of the article, we discuss two main pitfalls of networked urban experimentation in its current form, focusing on issues of scaling experiments and the nature of experimentation. We call for increased attention to ‘scaling up’ experiments beyond urban levels of governance, and to transformative experimentation with governance and politics by and in cities. Finally, we consider how these pitfalls allow us to weigh the potential of urban climate ambition, and consider the pathways available for supporting urban climate change experimentation