Experiences of instructors in online learning environments: Identifying and regulating emotions

In an effort to expand existing research on the barriers of instructors experience in online learning environments (OLEs), a qualitative study was conducted at a large mid-Atlantic university. Six instructors teaching in different OLE formats (e.g., asynchronous, hybrid, and synchronous via videoconferencing) participated in two focus groups in order to explore their emotional experiences and ways to regulate the emotions when teaching in OLEs. The overarching themes included emotions of feeling (a) restricted, (b) stressed, (c) devalued, (d) validated, and (e) rejuvenated. The article also provides practical strategies on how participating instructors attempted to manage the challenging emotions. A consensus among all participants is that continuous dialog in a community of practice about strategies to enhance OLEs is imperative.     

Effect of a semi electro-mechanical engine valve on performance and emissions in a single cylinder spark ignited engine

In this study, an electro-mechanical valve （EMV） system for the intake valve ofa fottr stroke, single cylinder, overhead valve and spark ignition （SI） engine was designed and constructed. An engine with the EMV system and a standard engine were tested to observe the effects of the EMV on engine performance and emissions at different speeds under full load. The EMV engine showed improved engine power, engine torque and break specific fuel consumption （BSFC）. A 66% decrease in CO emissions was also obtained with the EMV system, but hydrocarbons （HC） and NOx emissions increased by 12% and 13% respectively.     

Dynamics of a prestressed Timoshenko beam subject to arbitrary external load

The free vibration and transient wave in a prestressed Rayleigh-Timoshenko beam subject to arbitrary transverse forces are analyzed by the newly developed method of reverberation-ray matrix （MRRM）. The effects of shear deformation and rotational inertia are taken into consideration. With a Fourier transform technique, the general wave solutions with two sets of unknown amplitude coefficients are obtained in the transformed domain for an unbonded prestressed beam under the action of arbitrary external excitations. From the coupling at joints and the compatibility of displacements in each member, the free and forced vibration responses of a beam with various boundary conditions are finally evaluated through certain numerical algorithms, Results are presented for a simply-supported beam subject to either a point fixed load or moving load. Good agreement with the finite element method （FEM） is obtained. The present work is instructive for high-speed railway bridge design and structural health monitoring.     

Improved response surface method for anti-slide reliability analysis of gravity dam based on weighted regression

The aim of this study was to design and construct an improved response surface method （RSM） based on weighted regression for the anti-slide reliability analysis of concrete gravity dam. The limitation and lacuna of the traditional RSM were briefly analyzed. Firstly, based on small experimental points, research was devoted to an improved RSM with singular value decomposition techniques. Then, the method was used on the basis of weighted regression and deviation coefficient correction to reduce iteration times and experimental points and improve the calculation method of checking point. Finally, a test example was given to verify this method. Compared with other conventional algorithms, this method has some strong advantages： this algorithm not only saves the arithmetic operations but also greatly enhances the calculation efficiency and the storage efficiency.     

Temporal variation in modal properties of a base-isolated building during an earthquake

Temporal variation of dynamical modal properties of a base-isolated building is investigated using earthquake records in the building. A batch processing least-squares estimation method is applied to segment-wise time-series data. To construct an input-output system, an auto-regressive model with exogenous input （ARX） of second-order including a forgetting coefficient as a weighting coefficient is used for the estimation of modal parameters. The fundamental and second natural frequencies and the damping ratios of the fundamental and second natural modes of the base-isolated building are identified in the time domain. The identified results are consistent with the results obtained from the micro-tremor vibration data, forced-vibration test data and earthquake records in the present base-isolated building in the case of taking into account the amplitude-dependency of the iso- lators and viscous dampers. It is finally pointed out that several factors, e.g., amplitude dependency of the isolator and damper system and special characteristics of the series-type viscous damper system, may be related complicatedly with the temporal variation in modal properties of the above-mentioned system.     

Carbon steel slag as cementitious material for self-consolidating concrete

This study deals with the recycling of carbon steel slag （CSS） to produce self-consolidating concrete （SCC）. Since the chemical composition of CSS is similar to that of Portland cement or blast furnace slag （BFS）, it is expected to behave similarly. In the current study, the pozzolanic activity index of CSS is examined. Furthermore, the use of CSS as a pozzolanic material to partially replace Portland cement in the production of SCC is tested. We designed concrete mixtures with different water-to- cementitious material ratios （w/cm） keeping water and superplasticizer （SP） contents constant. Results showed that the design and performance of all the concrete mixtures used in this investigation were comparable to those of SCC and high performance con- crete （HPC）. However, compared to ordinary plain concrete （OPC）, the additional CSS content increases the setting time. In the CSS mixtures set for 90 d, compressive strengths of 86%, 134% and 121% were attained as compared to the control concrete; the corresponding w/cm ratios were 0.28, 0.32 and 0.40, respectively. Verifying the soundness of the SCC for meeting the criteria for HPC, the ultrasonic pulse velocity （UPV） of CSS was found to be comparable to that of ordinary concrete. In conclusion, the recycling of CSS can be advantageously employed in the production of SCC.     

Numerical computations of the flow in a finite diverging channel

The flow in a finite diverging channel opening into a large space and resembling the experimental prototype of Putkaradze and Vorobieff （2006） was numerically investigated. The effects of the Reynolds number, initial condition, intersection angle, length of the wedge edges, and the outer boundary condition were examined. The numerical results showed that the flow in the wedge undergoes a change from symmetrical flow to unsymmetrical flow with a weak backflow, then a vortical （circulation） flow and finally an unsteady jet flow as the Reynolds number is increased for an intersection angle of 32° and a wedge edge of length 30 times the width of the inlet slit. For the unsteady flow, the jet attached to one side of the wedge constantly loses stability and rolls up into a mushroom-shaped vortex-pair near the outlet of the wedge. As the intersection angle is increased to 50°, a stable jet flow is observed as a new regime between the vortex and unsteady regimes. Both the intersection angle and the wedge length have negative effects on the stability of the flow, although the effect of the wedge length on the critical Reynolds number for the symmetry-breaking instability is not pronounced. The outer boundary condition was found not to affect the flow patterns inside the wedge significantly. At a certain Re regime above the onset of symmetry-breaking instability, the flows evolve into steady state very slowly except for the initial stage in the case of decreasing flow flux. Two different solutions can be observed within the normal observation time for the experiment, providing a possible explanation for the hysteresis phenomenon in the experiment.     

Estimation of financial loss ratio for E-insurance: a quantitative model

In view of the risk of E-commerce and the response of the insurance industry to it, this paper is aimed at one important point of insurance, that is, estimation of financial loss ratio, which is one of the most difficult problems facing the E-insurance industry. This paper proposes a quantitative analyzing model for estimating E-insurance financial loss ratio. The model is based on gross income per enterprise and CSI/FBI computer crime and security survey. The analysis results presented are reasonable and valuable for both insurer and the insured and thus can be accepted by both of them. What we must point out is that according to our assumption, the financial loss ratio varied very little, 0.233% in 1999 and 0.236% in 2000 although there was much variation in the main data of the CSI/FBI survey.     

Mathematical models of canine right and left atria cardiomyocytes

The aim of this study is to build two mathematical models of canine ionic currents specific to right atria and left atria.The canine left atria mathematical model was firstly modified from the Ramirez-Nattel-Courtemanche(RNC) model using the recently available experimental data of ionic currents and was further developed based on our own experimental data.A model of right atria was then built by considering the differences between right atria and left atria.The two developed models well reproduced the exper...