Magnetocaloric and magneto-transport properties of Gd10Co20Si70 alloy

We report the results of magnetic, thermodynamic, transport and magnetocaloric effect (MCE) studies of newly synthesized Gd_(10)Co_(20)Si_(70) alloy. These measurements confirm an antiferromagnetic transition at T_N=9 K. Both MCE and magnetoresistance (MR) show quadratic dependence on the applied magnetic field, indicating the presence of spin fluctuations in the alloy. The maximum values of the magnetic entropy change determined from the isothermal magnetization data for magnetic field change of 7 and9 T are found to be 10.5 and 15.6 J/kg·K, respectively. As a consequence of the spin fluctuations effect, the MCE peaks are pulled towards high temperature side as asymmetrically broadened peak. The MR attains a large positive value of 73%at 2 K in 8 T. The large MR and reversible MCE make this alloy an attractive multifunctional magnetic material.     

The generation effect: Evidence for generalized inhibition.

Words that are generated as responses to incomplete stimuli are remembered better than complete words that are read. The present research shows that the generation effect occurs only if both reading and generating are done in the same list. Comparisons with unmixed reading controls reveal that the effect occurs because the read words are remembered poorly; the generated ones are no better than the controls. Therefore, the question for theories is not why generating helps memory, but why the demand to generate makes people lazy readers. Furthermore, cued recall of pairs of unrelated words is worse if they were generated than if they were read. We propose that generation is a demand to identify words as independent events. There is nothing special about generating, but the demand to generate is special; it hurts reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

阿维迪钢厂的技术产品优势

1992年,在克日莫那的阿维迪钢厂新建了一条以生产薄板为基础的板材紧凑式生产线,这是欧洲第一、世界第二条薄板生产线.该生产线主要生产高质量钢和特殊钢.数据表明平均每浇次浇11炉钢,56%以上的产品规格都小于2mm厚,经连轧轧成1250mm宽1mm厚的薄板材.可以生产大部分钢种,例如低、中、高碳钢(0.75%),1.2mm的高强度低合金钢,硼钢,耐候钢,合金钢,包晶钢和双相钢等.明年,准备采取措施在一座115t电炉和单流最大宽度为1300mm的生产线上达到100万t的产量.引进铁素体轧制,发展热轧来生产更薄规格的钢以及多相铁素体-马氏体、铁素体-贝氏体钢.和其它薄板生产技术相比,AST(Arvedi Steel Technology阿维迪厂技术)有如下7项优势薄板液芯压下技术,能使板坯中心晶粒细化、温度分布均匀;在线低速轧制(低拉速),从而使中间坯凸度＜1%;板坯厚度方向上的反向温度分布;感应加热炉精确、灵活的温度控制制度;稳定的终轧温度;根据最终薄带的厚度和温度来预设一个恒定的板坯精轧速度;经过克日莫那炉的无头轧制.优良的产品是经过先进的、控制精确的二次、三次冶金生产的.本文将着重陈述阿维迪钢厂的实践要点.并将叙述一些变换成本、高附加值产品及其经济结果.阿维迪有2条年产250万t的生产线,用来生产宽度接近于1600～1800mm的钢种.实践证明,AST的效益归功于它的极高的拉速以及直接无头轧制的思想.目前,AST将上一条高拉速(7.5m/min)的带有精轧的铸轧生产线.阿维迪的ECR的工艺(无头轧制)能够生产0.7mm厚的所有冷轧能生产的同种规格的产品,该工艺还能够生产IF钢(汽车板)、多相钢、薄带甚至有高延伸率和抗拉强度等特殊性能的钢,用来满足汽车工业的需要.克日莫那的阿维迪钢厂用高生产力、低成本生产各种质量的钢种,因此经济效益很好.阿维迪是这项技术的拥有者,准备以阿维迪的名义来购买掉这项技术,其中包括钢液准备、薄带制作以及薄带精整技术.     

Algorithm selection and instance space analysis for curriculum-based course timetabling

Journal of Scheduling - We propose an algorithm selection approach and an instance space analysis for the well-known curriculum-based course timetabling problem (CB-CTT), which is an important...     

An Evolutionary Model of Endogenous Business Cycles

In this paper, we present an evolutionary model of industry dynamics yielding endogenous business cycles with ‘Keynesian’ features. The model describes an economy composed of firms and consumers/workers. Firms belong to two industries. The first one performs R&D and produces heterogeneous machine tools. Firms in the second industry invest in new machines and produce a homogenous consumption good. Consumers sell their labor and fully consume their income. In line with the empirical literature on investment patterns, we assume that the investment decisions by firms are lumpy and constrained by their financial structures. Moreover, drawing from behavioral theories of the firm, we assume boundedly rational expectation formation. Simulation results show that the model is able to deliver self-sustaining patterns of growth characterized by the presence of endogenous business cycles. The model can also replicate the most important stylized facts concerning micro- and macro-economic dynamics. Indeed, we find that investment is more volatile than GDP; consumption is less volatile than GDP; investment, consumption and change in stocks are procyclical and coincident variables; employment is procyclical; unemployment rate is anticyclical; firm size distributions are skewed but depart from log-normality; firm growth distributions are tent-shaped. JEL Classifications: C15, C22, C49, E17, E22, E32.     

Natural polysaccharides platforms for oral controlled release of ketoprofen lysine salt

Context: Ketoprofen lysinate (KL) is one of the most widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the symptomatic treatment of some chronic inflammatory diseases. Compared to ketoprofen, KL shows better pharmacokinetics and tolerability. However, due to its short half-life of 1–2?h, a multiple dose regimen is required for oral administration. Thus, the present work deals with its encapsulation in a hydrogel-based system by prilling in order to prolong its activity.

Objective: In this paper, we propose alginate and pectin as carriers and release tailoring agent for the development of hydrogel-based beads for KL retarded and sustained release.

Materials and methods: Beads were produced by a Nisco Encapsulator® using alginate or pectin. Operative variables were optimized to produce beads with desired morphology and size. Solid state properties were analyzed by SEM and DSC. Drug release performance was studied by Pharmacopeia pH-change assay to simulate gastrointestinal environment.

Results and discussion: Prilling technique was successfully used to encapsulate high soluble drugs as KL in polysaccharides-based hydrogels. Pectin proved to be a proper polymer able to encapsulate ketoprofen lysine salt. Formulation (F8) showed good morphological properties and size, high drug content (15.6%) and encapsulation efficiency (93.5%) and promising drug release profiles. Hosting F8 in an acid-resistant capsule (DR^®caps) a delivery platform has been developed to control KL release in a delayed (90?min lag time) and prolonged way (270?min complete release).

Conclusion: The platform may be proposed as potentially useful in the oral administration of NSAIDs in chronic inflammatory diseases affected by circadian rhythm.     

What Business Owners Expect From a Crisis Manager? A Competency Model: Survey Results From Czech Businesses

This competency model of a crisis manager has been developed based on cooperation with managers and experts in the field of crisis management. The brainwriting method was used to generate an overview of the competencies expected of a crisis manager. Using a mind map three basic groups of competencies were developed. The participants used Saaty's method to determine the significance of individual competencies. The different attributes of individual competencies according to the level of their development were established. Finally all individual competencies were assigned a target value which indicates the expected level of competence for the position of a crisis manager. The model of competencies is a practical tool for the establishment of crisis management system in a company.     

Shape-Resonant Superconductivity in Nanofilms: from Weak to Strong Coupling

Ultrathin superconductors of different materials are becoming a powerful platform to find mechanisms for enhancement of superconductivity, exploiting shape resonances in different superconducting properties. Here, we evaluate the superconducting gap and its spatial profile, the multiple gap components, and the chemical potential, of generic superconducting nanofilms, considering the pairing attraction and its energy scale as tunable parameters, from weak to strong coupling, at fixed electron density. Superconducting properties are evaluated at mean field level as a function of the thickness of the nanofilm, in order to characterize the shape resonances in the superconducting gap. We find that the most pronounced shape resonances are generated for weakly coupled superconductors, while approaching the strong coupling regime the shape resonances are rounded by a mixing of the subbands due to the large energy gaps extending over large energy scales. Finally, we find that the spatial profile, transverse to the nanofilm, of the superconducting gap acquires a flat behavior in the shape resonance region, indicating that a robust and uniform multigap superconducting state can arise at resonance.