Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells transplanted into damaged rabbit heart to improve heart function

INTRODUCTION Congestive heart failure is the end stage of manycardiovascular diseases. Myocardial infarction (MI)is a life-threatening event that may cause suddencardiac death and heart failure. Despite considerableadvances in diagnosis and treatment of heart disease,cardiac dysfunction after MI is still the majorworldwide cardiovascular disorder. Damaged myo-cardium after acute MI is gradually replaced by fi-brotic noncontractile cells to form scar tissue. Thedeveloping ventricul…     

Three-dimensional numerical simulation of a vertical axis tidal turbine using the two-way fluid structure interaction approach

The objective of this study was to develop, as well as validate the strongly coupled method （two-way fluid structural interaction （FSI）） used to simulate the transient FSI response of the vertical axis tidal turbine （VATT） rotor, subjected to spatially varying inflow. Moreover, this study examined strategies on improving techniques used for mesh deformation that account for large displacement or deformation calculations. The blade＇s deformation for each new time step is considered in transient two-way FSI analysis, to make the design more reliable. Usually this is not considered in routine one-way FSI simulations. A rotor with four blades and 4-m diameter was modeled and numerically analyzed. We observed that two-way FSI, utilizing the strongly coupled method, was impossible for a complex model; and thereby using ANSYS-CFX and ANSYS-MECHANICAL in work bench, as given in ANSYS-WORKBENCH, helped case examples 22 and 23, by giving an error when the solution was run. To make the method possible and reduce the computational power, a novel technique was used to transfer the file in ANSYS-APDL to obtain the solution and results. Consequently, the results indicating a two-way transient FSI analysis is a time- and resource-consuming job, but with our proposed technique we can reduce the computational time. The ANSYS STRUCTURAL results also uncover that stresses and deformations have higher values for two-way FSI as compared to one-way FSI. Similarly, fluid flow CFX results for two-way FSI are closer to experimental results as compared to one-way simulation results. Additionally, this study shows that, using the proposed method we can perform coupled simulation with simple multi-node PCs （core i5）.     

The inculcation of generic skills among juveniles through Technical and Vocational Education

Generic skills are skills which contribute towards individual＇s effective and successful participation in the workplace. For juveniles, Technical and Vocational Education （TVE） is one of the platforms that provide them generic skills which enable them to compete for job market. The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of generic skills that has been inculcated through TVE on juveniles in one of the juvenile schools in Malaysia, the time the teachers spent on inculcating the skills, and the challenges the instructors face in the process. There are four focuses of the generic skills that are of interest in this study： communication, teamwork, problem solving and technology. Eight teachers and 119 juveniles were chosen as the respondents from the Juvenile School （JS）. The data collected was through a set of questionnaires from the respondents, and these were analyzed by using frequency, percentage and mean score. The findings from this research show that the level of generic skills inculcated as perceived by the juveniles is at a moderate level. The perceived moderate level of skill acquire of the juveniles is justified by the moderate amount of time that the teachers believed they spend in instilling the generic skills. The teachers also suggested that the lack of understanding on what generic skills are is the main reason for not inculcating generic skills at its highest level. In conclusion, generic skills inculcation on juveniles through TVE in Juvenile School is at an average level. Measures have to be taken so that inculcation of generic skills can be increase to a higher level, as these generic skills will benefit juveniles in the labor force market.     

At The Tuckshop

Recess is a busy time in our school. I believe it is the same in all schools. Soon after the bell for recess rings, all the pupils come out of their classrooms. However, we do not run as our teachers have told us to be orderly at all times. Almost all the children go to the tuckshop which sells a variety of food and drinks. We line up in front of the different stalls and wait patiently for our turn. Nobody tries to jump the queue or push others. Our prefects make sure that discipline is observed by all.     

Using web blogs as a tool to encourage pre-class reading, post-class reflections and collaboration in higher education

This paper reports on the students＇ experiments of using blogs to encourage themselves to do pre-class reading assignment and reflections after class. The sample in the study included five ESL （English as a Second Language） graduate students in a course of teaching methods, and 90 software engineering students in an undergraduate information technology program. Results indicated that there was a positive attitude towards the use of blogs for pre-class preparation and post-class reflections. However, considering the successful experience, it is important to consider the class size, students＇ educational level, and the type of reading assignment.     

Cooperative learning as a correction and grammar revision technique： Communicative exchanges, self-correction rates and scores

This paper focuses on cooperative learning （CL） used as a correction and grammar revision technique and considers the data collected in six Italian parallel classes, three of which （sample classes） corrected mistakes and revised grammar through cooperative learning, while the other three （control classes） in a traditional way. All the classes involved in this study were in their first year of secondary school, and although most students had a level of English which was A2, they made a certain number of mistakes also in grammar topics like the present tense, which is the grammar topic under examination in this study. This paper analyses the sample students＇ communicative exchanges while they performed the error correction activity through CL, compares the self-correction rates reported by the two groups of students after the two types of correction and revision activities （traditional and through CL） and the students＇ scores in tests given to students one, four and eight weeks after the correction lessons. The aim of the study is establishing if the use of CL as a correction and grammar revision technique had a beneficial effect on the students who experienced it and in particular on the low achievers.     

Using Coh-Metrix to Automatically Access Discourse Coherence in EFL Learners’Writing:A Quantitative Analysis

The purpose of the present study was to use Coh-Metrix,a computational tool,to examine the relationship between discourse coherence and writing level,and analyze the coherence of high level writing and low level writing.The study uses 5 Coh-Metrix variables to analyze 40 college students’timed compositions from Chinese Learners English of Corpus(CLEC) and their corresponding readability scores.The study demonstrates that Coh-Metrix variables,number of words,words per sentences,the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level,LSA sentence all,and argument overlap can contribute to text coherence.Findings of the study indicate:there is a relationship between discourse coherence and writing level,but there is no significant difference between high level group and low level group in discourse coherence(p=.409>.05),and writing level can not distinguish discourse coherence in EFL learners’writing.     

Complete Charging for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting System

Under an in-phase assumption, the complete charging for an energy harvesting system is studied, whichconsists of a piezoelectric energy harvester （PEH）, a bridge rectifier, a filter capacitor, a switch, a controller and arechargeable battery. For the transient charging, the results indicate that the voltage across the filter capacitor increasesas the charging proceeds, which is consistent with that reported in the literature. However, a new finding shows thatthe charging rate and energy harvesting efficiency decrease over time after their respective peak values are acquired.For the steady-state charging, the results reveal that the energy harvesting efficiency can be adjusted by altering thecritical charging voltage that controls the transition of the system. The optimal energy harvesting efficiency is limitedby the optimal efficiency of the transient charging. Finally, the relationship between the critical charging voltage andthe equivalent resistance of the controller and rechargeable battery is established explicitly.     

TEACHNJ： An Evaluation of Two Years of Implementation

In July 2009, the Obama administration lauched its $4.35 billion Race to the Top （RTT） Fund, providing states with competitive grants in an effort to reform education. One of the main conditions of this program was to award educational innovation. With this in mind, states enacted new legislation in the hopes of attracting more funding for their proposed programs. Although there were many levels of reform targeted by the RTT, of significance to this research is the emphasis placed on improving teacher effectiveness and measuring teacher performance via evaluation systems. The Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of New Jersey （TEACHNJ） Act was adopted by the New Jersey legislature in August 2012 with the intent to raise student achievement by improving the quality of instruction. This research explores the impact the TEACHNJ Act has on teacher evaluations and professional development. A survey was administered to 1,235 public school teachers in New Jersey to ascertain teacher perceptions of the： （a） evaluation system in their school; （b） level of communication between teachers and administrators; and （c） availability, frequency, and effectiveness of professional development opportunities. The response rate was 21%. We found that formal evaluations are conducted infrequently with a varying degree of accuracy and impact. Nearly half of the teachers indicated that formal evaluations did not lead to improvements in their classroom. A majority of teachers questioned the administrative value of formal teacher evaluations, in particular the rewards and sanctions associated with the outcome of evaluations and a concem that poor performers were not sanctioned nor were effective teachers rewarded. We found that teachers perceive the greatest value to professional development, which is derived from peer mentoring and observations. We also found that professional development is the most effective when it is offered onsite, embedded in the classroom, continuous, and sustained over ti     

Practice on assessing grammar and vocabulary： The case of the TOEFL

The Test of English as a Foreign Language （TOEFL） brings tremendous influence to EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners worldwide. TOEFL 2000 project claims that TOEFL, as a more reflective of communicative model, could provide more information about international students＇ language ability that it is supposed to measure. However, after detailed analyzing an authentic paper-based test paper in May, 2001 in China as a sample from four aspects--test reliability, construct validity, authenticity and interactiveness respectively, it is found that the test puts too much emphasis on vocabulary and grammar knowledge within almost every session of the test paper, in which ＂structure and written expression＂ could be the most disputed part. The content could not fully demonstrate its validity and communicative purposes so that it is suspected that test takers could meet the later demands in academic study abroad. Nevertheless, this is a powerful explanation about the current revolutionized change in the framework and content of TOEFL to meet the principles of designing a test, which could provide more information and guidance for later test designs.     

Suboptimal reliable guaranteed cost control for continuous-time systems with multi-criterion constraints

The suboptimal reliable guaranteed cost control （RGCC） with multi-criterion constraints is investigated for a class of uncertain continuous-time systems with sensor faults. A fauk model in sensors, which considers outage or partial degradation of sensors, is adopted. The influence of the disturbance on the quadratic stability of the closed-loop systems is analyzed. The reliable state-feedback controller is developed by a linear matrix inequalities （LMIs） approach, to minimize the upper bound of a quadratic cost fimction under the conditions that all the closed-loop poles be placed in a specified disk, and that the prescribed level of H∞ disturbance attenuation and the upper bound constraints of control inputs＇ magnitudes be guaranteed. Thus, with the above muki-criterion constraints, the resulting closed-loop system can provide satisfactory stability, transient property, a disturbance rejection level and minimized quadratic cost performance despite possible sensor faults.     

Ex vivo expansion and pluripotential differentiation of cryopreserved human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells

This study is aimed at investigating the potentials of ex vivo expansion and pluri-differentiation of cryopreservation of adult human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells （hMSCs） into chondrocytes, adipocytes and neurocytes. Cryopreserved hMSCs were resuscitated and cultured for 15 passages, and then induced into chondrocytes, adipocytes and neurocytes with corresponding induction medium. The induced cells were observed for morphological properties and detected for expressions of type II collagen, triglyceride or neuron-specific enolase and nestin. The result showed that the resuscitated cells could differentiate into chondrocytes after exposure to transforming growth factor 61 （TGF-~0, insulin-like growth factor I （IGF-I） and vitamin C （Vc）, and uniformly changed morphologically from a spindle-like fibroblastic appearance to a polygonal shape in three weeks. The induced cells were heterochromatic to safranin O and expressed cartilage matrix-procollagenal （If） mRNA. The resuscitated cells cultured in induction medium consisting of dexamethasone, 3-isobutyl-l-methylxanthine, indomethacin and IGF-I showed adipogenesis, and lipid vacuoles accumulation was detectable after 21 d. The resuscitated hMSCs were also induced into neurocytes and expressed nestin and neuron specific endolase （NSE） that were special surface markers associated with neural cells at different stage. This study suggested that the resuscitated hMSCs should be still a population ofpluripotential cells and that it could be used for establishing an abundant bMSC reservoir for further experiment and treatment of various clinical discases.     

Synchronized strategy to minimize vehicle dispatching time： a real example of steel industry

Time compression in supply chains is a crucial aspect involved in the integration of warehousing and transport operations in the manufacturing industries. Sup- ply chain flows could be interrupted due to many sources of delays that lead to additional time in dispatching process and reduction in customer service level. The problem considered in this paper consists of long waiting times of loading vehicles inside the plant. This work presents a simulation-based study to minimize vehicle dispatching time in a steel wire plant. Value stream map is developed to present a system perspective of processes involved in the overall supply chain. Process activity mapping is com- pleted to provide a step by step analysis of activities involved in the vehicle dispatch process. A simulation model is developed for the system and a new model is proposed to improve the delivery performance by mini- mizing vehicles＇ waiting time.     

Transient Heat Transfer Study of Direct Contact Condensation of Steam in Spray Cooling Water

We conducted a transient experimental investigation of steam–water direct contact condensation in the absence of noncondensible gas in a laboratory-scale column with the inner diameter of 325 mm and the height of 1045 mm. We applied a new analysis method for the steam state equation to analyze the molar quantity change in steam over the course of the experiment and determined the transient steam variation. We also investigated the influence of flow rates and temperatures ofcooling water on the efficiency ofsteam condensation. Our experimental results show that appropriate increasing of the cooling water flow rate can significantly accelerate the steam condensation. We achieved a rapid increase in the total volumetric heat transfer coefficient by increasing the flow rate of cooling water, which indicated a higher thermal convection between the steam and the cooling water with higher flow rates. We found that the temperature ofcooling water did not play an important role on steam condensation. This method was confirmed to be effective for rapid recovering ofsteam.     

Rethinking of immigration policy change and its impacts on foreign Chinese students＇ adaptation in the US after September lIth

This paper, through a phenomenological study, is designed to study those overwhelming problems and concerns in intercultural adaptations commonly confronted with foreign Chinese students at an American institute since September 11th. After a qualitative study on the concerns and intercultural adaptations of fifteen Chinese graduate students majoring in different programs, it was found that in addition to language and culture deficiencies, the instability and the changes of the immigration laws and regulations regarding international students and scholars after the September 11th incident in the US is the big hurdle that encumbers them from a comparatively faster and better adaptation. The growing economic prosperity in Mainland China also affects the foreign Chinese students＇ motivation in intercultural adaptations in the US.     

The Using Condition of Interactive Reading Strategy in Reading Scientific and Technological English Literature of Postgraduates of Engineering

In the reading process and after reading of the scientific and technological English literature for postgraduates of engineering, there are several barriers like the understanding of the vocabulary, the analyzing the complex sentences and the grasping the whole texts. This paper tries to investigate the using condition of interactive reading strategy in reading scientific and technological English literature of postgraduates of engineering. The study reveals that postgraduates of engineering frequently using some of strategies of the interactive reading strategy, but the overall using condition is only in the average level, and is not so flexible.     

A genetic diversity comparison between captive individuals and wild individuals of Elliot＇s Pheasant （Syrmaticus ellioti） using mitochondrial DNA

Maintaining genetic diversity is a major issue in conservation biology. In this study, we demonstrate the differences of genetic diversity levels between wild and captive individuals of Elliot‘s Pheasant Syrmaticus ellioti. Wild individuals showed a higher genetic diversity level than that of the captive individuals. Nucleotide diversity and haplotype diversity of wild individuals were 0.00628 and 0.993, while those of captive individuals were 0.00150 and 0.584 respectively. Only 3 haplotypes of mtDNA control region sequence were identified among 36 captive individuals, while 16 unique haplotypes were identified among the 17 wild individuals in this study. One captive haplotype was shared by a wild individual from Anhui Province. It is concluded that a low number of founders was the likely reason for the lower level genetic diversity of the captive group. Careful genetic management is suggested for captive populations, particularly of such an endangered species, to maintain genetic variability levels.     

Strain Growth in Containment Vessels

Strain growth is a phenomenon observed in containment vessels subjected to internal blast loading. The elastic response of the vessel may become larger in a later stage compared to its response during the initial stage. The dynamic responses of infinitely long cylindrical containment vessels subjected to uniformly-distributed internal blast loading are studied using LS-DYNA. The development of bending modes and the interaction between the breathing mode and bending modes are observed. The methodology developed for dynamic elastic buckling analysis is employed to study the strain growth phenomenon in explosion containment vessels. It is shown that the dynamic instable vibration of a containment vessel is the basic mechanism of strain growth.     

Oral English Improvement: by Watching Original Films——A Positivism Research Based on the English Screenplay Corpus

It is a good choice to see original films when practising oral English. There are also original film course in some of the colleges and universities. We try to have an emprical study in the corpus of English films screenplays about vocabulary. ① Get the table of lemmatization by using antconc3.2.2w; ② Calculate the film-watching numbers with the golden section method. A conclusion has been drawn that if you want to reach the professional level of oral English, 88 to 98 films are demanded.