AN INVESTIGATION INTO EFL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARD BENEFITS OF MOODLE QUIZ-SUPPORTED LISTENING PRACTICE

Researchers have pointed out that Moodle usage, a type of software supporting blended learning enhances learning beyond the classroom. It is proven that blended learning takes place when Moodle is employed. The aim of this study was to investigate what perceptions the EFL university students had toward the Moodle Quiz-supported listening practice. This was a descriptive research. The instrument of this study was a questionnaire developed by generating a list of factors derived from the literature to find out what perceptions EFL students at Tay Do University had toward the Moodle Quiz-supported listening practice. The questionnaire was based on close-ended five-point Likert scale statements. The findings showed that the participants held a positive perception toward the Moodle Quiz-supported listening practice as it enhanced learning outcomes, enhanced their interest/enjoyment in listening to English, promoted their independent learning, fostered a flexible learning environment, and provided authentic materials.  Article visualizations

Simulating the Torsional Vibration Signal of Two-Stroke Marine Diesel Engine with Normal Firing and Mis-Firing

The article presented the modelling of torsional vibration signal of marine diesel engine, MAN B&W 6S46MC-C7, installed in general cargo ships 34000 DWT, built at Pha Rung Shipyard (Vietnam). The authors imitated the torsional vibration signal, based on the established signal modelling when diesel engine works normal firing and mis-firing state, according to the Class Regulation Rules for new building steel hull ships when calculating and measuring the torsional vibration of marine diesel propulsion shaft-line system. The authors used Matlab software to imitate the torsional vibration signals in the real time domain and then converted them into the frequency order by Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)

Thermal Decomposition of Condensed-Phase Nitromethane from Molecular Dynamics from ReaxFF Reactive Dynamics

We studied the thermal decomposition and subsequent reaction of the energetic material nitromethane (CH_3NO_2) using molecular dynamics with ReaxFF, a first principles-based reactive force field. We characterize the chemistry of liquid and solid nitromethane at high temperatures (2000−3000 K) and density 1.97 g/cm^3 for times up to 200 ps. At T = 3000 K the first reaction in the decomposition of nitromethane is an intermolecular proton transfer leading to CH_3NOOH and CH_2NO_2. For lower temperatures (T = 2500 and 2000 K) the first reaction during decomposition is often an isomerization reaction involving the scission of the C−N bond the formation of a C−O bond to form methyl nitrate (CH_3ONO). Also at very early times we observe intramolecular proton transfer events. The main product of these reactions is H_2O which starts forming following those initiation steps. The appearance of H_2O marks the beginning of the exothermic chemistry. Recent quantum-mechanics-based molecular dynamics simulations on the chemical reactions and time scales for decomposition of a crystalline sample heated to T = 3000 K for a few picoseconds are in excellent agreement with our results, providing an important, direct validation of ReaxFF

Semileptonic B to D decays at nonzero recoil with 2+1 flavors of improved staggered quarks. An update

The Fermilab Lattice and MILC collaborations are completing a comprehensive program of heavy-light physics on MILC (2+1)-flavor asqtad ensembles with lattice spacings as small as 0.045 fm and light-to-strange-quark mass ratios as low as 1/20. We use the Fermilab interpretation of the clover action for heavy valence quarks and the asqtad action for the light valence quarks. The central goal of the program is to provide ever more exacting tests of the unitarity of the CKM matrix. We present preliminary results for one part of the program, namely the analysis of the semileptonic decay B -> D l nu at nonzero recoil.Comment: 7 pp, 7 figs, Lattice 201

Left hepatic trisegmentectomy

Left hepatic trisegmentectomy was successfully performed upon four patients in whom the true left lobe of the liver and all, or part, of the anterior segment of the right lobe of the liver were removed in continuity. Three of the patients had carcinoma of the liver, and the fourth patient had a hemangioma and arteriovenous malformation. This procedure, which has not been described before, should allow subtotal hepatic resection to be performed upon some patients who have lesions that have been classified as inoperable, in the past

Too-low magnetic inclinations in central Asia: an indication of a long-term Tertiary non-dipole field?

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72802/1/j.1365-3121.2001.00383.x.pd

Linking component importance to optimisation of preventive maintenance policy

In reliability engineering, time on performing preventive maintenance (PM) on a component in a system may affect system availability if system operation needs stopping for PM. To avoid such an availability reduction, one may adopt the following method: if a component fails, PM is carried out on a number of the other components while the failed component is being repaired. This ensures PM does not take system’s operating time. However, this raises a question: Which components should be selected for PM? This paper introduces an importance measure, called Component Maintenance Priority (CMP), which is used to select components for PM. The paper then compares the CMP with other importance measures and studies the properties of the CMP. Numerical examples are given to show the validity of the CMP

A Uniqueness Theorem for Meromorphic Mappings with Two Families of Hyperplanes

International audienceIn this paper, we extend the uniqueness theorem for meromorphic mappings to the case where the family of hyperplanes depends on the meromorphic mapping and where the meromorphic mappings may be degenerate