In Search of a New Model: Library Resource Sharing in China - A Comparative Study

This paper reviews the framework of library resource sharing (LRS) in China and examines, from a comparative perspective, cases of recent development, particularly in the 1990s and early 2000s. Highlights include: (1) historical review of LRS in the U.S. and China, particularly in the areas of print union catalogs and union lists, online bibliographic utilities, and interlibrary loan; (2) literature review of Chinese publications, and LRS issues and challenges in China; (3) Analysis of three LRS models to provide a contextual grasp of a paradigm shift taking place in China; and (4) comparative analysis of LRS objectives, structure, and governance, etc., in the U.S. and China. The study also underscores the imperative for building a national digital library system in China to gain a competitive edge in resource sharing and to support the country’s rapid social and economic growth. At this stage of development, the success of China Academic Library & Information System provides a convincing argument for a national digital library system with its methods of governing, financing, and development

Development of a Fluorescent Indicator for Inorganic Monochloramine

Current methods used to determine combined residual chlorine cannot distinguish between inorganic monochloramine (NH2Cl) and organic chloramines. Studies described in this thesis were carried out to develop a novel method of determining the concentration of inorganic monochloramine in aqueous solutions. Based on the observation that the reaction of 3-formyl-1-methylpyridinium chloride (3FMPCl) with NH2Cl produces a solution which is fluorescent, experiments were conducted to characterize the reaction and optimize the experimental conditions. Using the finalized protocol, NH2Cl measurements were made in the presence and absence of organic amines and compared with a commonly used N, N-Diethyl-p-phenylenediamine (DPD) - ferrous ammonium sulfate (FAS) method. Results suggest that the method established by this study provides a relatively quick and precise approach for determining NH2Cl concentrations in aqueous solutions. As an advantage over the DPD-FAS method, this technique is not affected by the presence of comparable concentrations of organic chloramines in sample solutions. Moreover, it is about twice as sensitive. Although the detailed underlying mechanisms of the reaction need further study, this new technique is of great potential significance for monitoring drinking water disinfection and wastewater treatment

Time-and event-driven communication process for networked control systems: A survey

Copyright © 2014 Lei Zou et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.In recent years, theoretical and practical research topics on networked control systems (NCSs) have gained an increasing interest from many researchers in a variety of disciplines owing to the extensive applications of NCSs in practice. In particular, an urgent need has arisen to understand the effects of communication processes on system performances. Sampling and protocol are two fundamental aspects of a communication process which have attracted a great deal of research attention. Most research focus has been on the analysis and control of dynamical behaviors under certain sampling procedures and communication protocols. In this paper, we aim to survey some recent advances on the analysis and synthesis issues of NCSs with different sampling procedures (time-and event-driven sampling) and protocols (static and dynamic protocols). First, these sampling procedures and protocols are introduced in detail according to their engineering backgrounds as well as dynamic natures. Then, the developments of the stabilization, control, and filtering problems are systematically reviewed and discussed in great detail. Finally, we conclude the paper by outlining future research challenges for analysis and synthesis problems of NCSs with different communication processes.This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants 61329301, 61374127, and 61374010, the Royal Society of the UK, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany

Effects of Excess Dietary Tryptophan on Laying Performance, Antioxidant Capacity and Immune Function of Laying Hens

Present study was conducted to establish Tryptophan (Trp) needs of Xinyang green-shell laying hens by evaluating its effect on laying performance, egg quality, antioxidant capacity, and the immune functions. A total of 525 laying hens, 28 weeks of age, were randomly allocated to five treatment groups, each of which included 5 replicates of 21 hens. Hens were fed the basal diet based on corn and soybean meal for 12 weeks. L-Trp was added to the control diet at 0.0 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, and 0.08%, respectively, to achieve 0.15, 0.17, 0.19, 0.21 or 0.23% Trp. Laying rate, average egg weight, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were significantly increased by Trp levels from 0.19 to 0.23%. Dietary Trp from 0.17 to 0.19% increased egg internal quality (albumen height and haugh unit) rather than external quality. Supplementing with Trp increased glutathione peroxidase and total superoxide dismutase activity, total antioxidative capacity concentration and decreased malondialdehyde concentration. Serum IgA concentration increased at 0.21–0.23% dietary Trp, while serum IgM increased linearly in response to dietary Trp levels. We suggest that the optimum level of dietary Trp was ranged from 0.19 to 0.21% for Xinyang green-shell laying hens under the current study conditions