The Long-Term Effectiveness of Eco-Driving Training: A Pilot Study

Eco-driving has been proven to have a great benefit in reducing vehicle fuel consumption in many developed countries. However, the potential of ecodriving on energy-saving in China is not very clear. Taking three taxi drivers from Beijing Beiqi Taxi Group Company as examples, the petrol consumption, travel distance and many other factors influencing vehicle fuel use before and after ecodriving training were collected through survey forms. The short-term and long-term effect of eco-driving was compared. The results showed that, taking one month as the statistical cycle, the benefit of eco-driving in saving fuel consumption averaged is 19.04%; while it reduced to 14.41% after four months from taking eco-driving training. Thus, drivers would partially regressed back to less economically driving behaviors and thus resulting in lower fuel savings after sometime. This study laid a foundation to evaluate the benefit of eco-driving in saving energy use

Effect of histone deacetylase inhibitor, trichostatin A, on cartilage regeneration from free perichondrial grafts in rabbits

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, trichostatin A (TCA), on cartilage regeneration in a rabbit perichondrial graft model.Methods: Perichondrial grafts (20 × 20 mm2) were derived from the ears of New Zealand rabbits and transplanted onto the paravertebral muscle of the face of each rabbit. The rabbits were separated into three groups: non-treated control group, vehicle-treated control group that received 0.3 mL of saline, and TCA-treated group administered 0.3 mL of TCA (500 ng/mL). Rabbits in all three groups were further divided into subgroups according to the duration of treatment after transplantation: 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks (n = 12 rabbits each). The effect of TCA on cartilage regeneration was determined histologically by evaluating the thickness of the cartilage plate in the grafted rabbits.Results: TCA increased the amount of immature cartilage 4 and 6 weeks after perichondrial graft implantation. Mature cartilage was seen in the TCA-treated rabbits 8 weeks after transplantation. The thickness of the cartilage plate was significantly (p < 0.01) higher in TCA group (905 ± 36) than in either the non-treated (632 ± 22) or the vehicle-treated control (639 ± 22) group.Conclusion: Treatment with trichostatin A, an HDAC inhibitor, enhances cartilage regeneration in rabbit recipients of a perichondrial graft. Furthermore, the findings of this study should be helpful in exploring the clinical use of trichostatin A.Keywords: Histone deacetylase inhibitor, Perichondrial graft, TrichostatinA, Cartilage regeneration, Transplantatio

Multivariable Robust Fault Tolerant Control For Work-Class Remotely Operated Vehicle

To deal with complex disturbances and the presence of partial loss of propeller effectiveness in work-class remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), a method of robust fault tolerant control is proposed, which is based on adaptive sliding mode control. In this approach, adaptive technique is employed to estimate the bounds’ information of external complex disturbances and the effectiveness loss of the propeller. And a sliding mode controller is then designed to achieve fault tolerant control and external disturbance rejection. Corresponding stability of the closed-loop control system is analyzed using Lyapunov stability theory. Apply this method to trajectory tracking control of work-class ROVs, the simulation results validate that great fault tolerant capability and a good performance of external disturbance rejection can be achieved even under partial loss of propeller effectiveness

Chinese Dairy Farm Performance and Policy Implications in the New Millennium

China has significantly expanded its dairy cow numbers and increased its dairy processing capacity over the last five year in an attempt to meet increased demand for dairy products. China’s net imports of dairy products, however, has expanded at a growth rate in excess of 30% during the same period. To consider why China is still struggling to meet rising dairy product demand in China in the new millennium, this paper employs a new set of farm-level survey data and stochastic input distance functions to empirically estimate Total factor Productivity (TFP) on China’s dairy farms. The results show that the TFP growth has been positive on and this rise in productivity has been mostly driven by technological change. However, the new results show that on average, the same farms have been behind the advancing technical frontier. We also find one of the drivers of the dairy farms’ productivity advances is the relatively robust rate of technological change. The results suggest that efforts to achieve increased adoption of new technologies and better advice on how to use the technologies and manage production and marketing within the dairy farm sector, will likely further increase TFP growth in China.Distance Function; Total Factor Productivity; Technical Inefficiency; Dairy Farms

Stability studies of ZnO and AlN thin film acoustic wave devices in acid and alkali harsh environments

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices based on piezoelectric thin-films such as ZnO and AlN are widely used in sensing, microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip applications. However, for many of these applications, the SAW devices will inevitably be used in acid or alkali harsh environments, which may cause their early failures. In this work, we investigated the behavior and degradation mechanisms of thin film based SAW devices in acid and alkali harsh environments. Results show that under the acid and alkali attacks, chemical reaction and corrosion of ZnO devices are very fast (usually within 45 s). During the corrosion, the crystalline orientation of the ZnO film is not changed, but its grain defects are significantly increased and the grain sizes are decreased. The velocity of ZnO-based SAW devices is decreased due to the formation of porous structures induced by the chemical reactions. Whereas an AlN thin-film based SAW device does not perform well in acid–alkali conditions, it might be able to maintain a normal performance without obvious degradation for more than ten hours in acid or alkali solutions. This work could provide guidance for the applications of both ZnO or AlN-based SAW devices in acid/alkali harsh environments

Effect of scopoletin on fascia-wrapped diced cartilage grafts

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of scopoletin (SL) on fascia-wrapped diced cartilage grafts in rhinoplasty surgery.Methods: Cartilage grafts (2 × 2 cm) from the ears of New Zealand rabbits were diced into sections (1 mm3) and then wrapped in muscle fascia taken from the right rear leg. Each graft was placed on the back of the animal after measuring its weight, and then the rabbits were separated into two groups, viz, control and the SL-treated groups {10 mg/kg, per os (p.o.)}. The treatments were administered for 3 months, the rabbits were sacrificed, and the histopathological features and weight of the grafts were examined.Results: The weight of the grafts in the two groups did not significantly (p < 0.05) differ but the histopathological results suggested that there was a pronounced increase in the viability of the graft tissues in the SL-treated group compared to the control group. Treatment with SL decreased the resorption rate and enhanced basophilia relative to the control group. However, fibrosis, inflammation, and bone metaplasia- and calcification-like factors did not significantly differ (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Treatment with SL significantly enhances the viability of the grafts, and thus may have a beneficial effect on fascia-wrapped diced cartilage grafts.Keywords: Scopoletin, Rhinoplasty surgery, Fascia-wrapped diced cartilage graft, Histopathology, Basophilia, Inflammatio