Desalination and the commons: tragedy or triumph?

A policy is more likely to be economically efficient when its costs and benefits fall on the same group, but politicians can allocate costs and benefits to different groups within their jurisdictional commons. This article examines the distribution of costs and benefits from desalination projects using examples from San Diego, Almería and Riyadh. The examples illustrate how mismatches between costs and benefits can persist or change as politicians adjust the policy portfolio to balance inefficiency and political risk.     

Etude electrochimique de differentes ilmenites

The electrochemical behaviour of several natural ilmenites has been studied by cyclic voltammetry. From the analysis of the current-voltage curves it was concluded that the valences of the metal ions in FeTiO₃ are Fe^II and Ti^IV. It was also found that little amounts of Fe^III and excess of Ti^IV (probably TiO₂) can enter into the composition of the ilmenites.     

Recommending suitable learning scenarios according to learners’ preferences: An improved swarm based approach

The paper presents a new approach for recommending suitable learning paths for different learners groups. Selection of the learning path is considered as recommendations to choosing and combining the sequences of learning objects (LOs) according to learners’ preferences. Learning path can be selected by applying artificial intelligence techniques, e.g. a swarm intelligence model. If we modify and/or change some LOs in the learning path, we should rearrange the alignment of new and old LOs and reallocate pheromones to achieve effective learning recommendations. To solve this problem, a new method based on the ant colony optimisation algorithm and adaptation of the solution to the changing optimum is proposed. A simulation process with a dynamic change of learning paths when new LOs are inserted was chosen to verify the method proposed. The paper contributes with the following new developments: (1) an approach of dynamic learning paths selection based on swarm intelligence, and (2) a modified ant colony optimisation algorithm for learning paths selection. The elaborated approach effectively assist learners by helping them to reach most suitable LOs according to their preferences, and tutors – by helping them to monitor, refine, and improve e-learning modules and courses according to the learners’ behaviour.     

Chemical modification of hemp,sisal, jute,and kapok fibers by alkalization

Plant fibers are rich in cellulose and they are a cheap, easily renewable source of fibers with the potential for polymer reinforcement. The presence of surface impurities and the large amount of hydroxyl groups make plant fibers less attractive for reinforcement of polymeric materials. Hemp, sisal, jute, and kapok fibers were subjected to alkalization by using sodium hydroxide. The thermal characteristics, crystallinity index, reactivity, and surface morphology of untreated and chemically modified fibers have been studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X‐ray diffraction (WAXRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Following alkalization the DSC showed a rapid degradation of the cellulose between 0.8 and 8% NaOH, beyond which degradation was found to be marginal. There was a marginal drop in the crystallinity index of hemp fiber while sisal, jute, and kapok fibers showed a slight increase in crystallinity at caustic soda concentration of 0.8–30%. FTIR showed that kapok fiber was found to be the most reactive followed by jute, sisal, and then hemp fiber. SEM showed a relatively smooth surface for all the untreated fibers; however, after alkalization, all the fibers showed uneven surfaces. These results show that alkalization modifies plant fibers promoting the development of fiber–resin adhesion, which then will result in increased interfacial energy and, hence, improvement in the mechanical and thermal stability of the composites. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 2222–2234, 2002     

Polyesters from renewable resources: Preparation and characterization

Polyesters were synthesized with monoglycerides prepared from rubber seed oil, a renewable resource. Monoglycerides were obtained by an alcoholysis method from the oil, which was neat or modified by treatments with different amounts of maleic anhydride at 230°C. The polyester resins were subsequently prepared by the condensation polymerization of the monoglycerides with phthalic anhydride. The monoglycerides and resins were characterized by spectroscopic analysis and measurements of the physicochemical properties. The chemical resistance of the polyesters was also studied. The results revealed that the polyesters prepared from the modified monoglycerides possessed better properties. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 3748–3755, 2006     

Composites based on eucalyptus tar pitch/castor oil polyurethane and short sisal fibers

Polymeric materials are being developed with renewable resources to promote industrial progress with environmentally friendly technologies. For this reason, polyurethane samples were prepared with 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate (NCO/OH = 1), eucalyptus tar pitch (biopitch), castor oil as a polyol, and dibutyltin dilaurate as a catalyst. These materials were reinforced with different contents of short sisal fibers (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0%) and were prepared by resin‐transfer molding. The composites were characterized by IR absorption spectroscopy, thermal analysis (thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry), impact resistance, scanning electron microscopy, and water absorption resistance. These materials showed hydrophobic characteristics, despite the addition of sisal fibers. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 3797–3802, 2003     

MoNoC: A monitored network on chip with path adaptation mechanism

Complex systems on chip containing dozens of processing resources with critical communication requirements usually rely on the use of networks on chip (NoCs) as communication infrastructure. NoCs provide significant advantages over simpler infrastructures such as shared busses or point to point communication, including higher scalability, more efficient energy management, higher bandwidth and lower average latency. Applications running on NoCs with more than 10% of bandwidth usage attest that the most significant portion of message latencies refers to buffered packets waiting to enter the NoC, whereas the latency portion that depends on the packet traversing the NoC is sometimes negligible. This work presents an adaptive routing architecture, named Monitored NoC (MoNoC), which is based on a traffic monitoring mechanism and the exchange of high priority control packets. This method enables to adapt paths by choosing less congested routes. Practical experiments show that the proposed path adaptation is a fast process, enabling to transmit packets with smaller latencies, up to 9 times smaller, by using non-congested NoC regions.     

整合资源调整职能促进发展--关于陕煤技校改革发展的思考

经过60年的发展,陕西煤炭技工院校形成了以服务煤业为特色的专业结构和办学模式,为祖国煤炭发展做出了不可替代的贡献。近年来,由于煤炭市场遇冷,行业技校吸引力持续减弱,如何走出困境,重铸辉煌,作者从整合职教资源,调整管理职能,转换办学模式的角度进行了分析思考,或许能给陕煤技校改革发展提供一些有益参考。     

一种高效的网格资源监测算法ACTC的改进算法

资源监控是网格计算的关键组成部分。资源监控算法既要保证网格系统中资源信息高保真度又要考虑资源信息在网络传输中的负担最低。ACTC算法就是为实现以上目的而被提出,但是算法中对资源信息更新量的动态门槛值(d_threshold)计算方式不合理,有可能导致算法演变成低级的单纯依靠时间敏感机制(TSM)来发送资源更新通知,并且算法中遗漏了一些极端情况的考虑。提出了新的d_threshold计算公式和限制条件,进行性能改进和完善,并对改进前后两算法进行实验对比。实验表明,改进后算法提高了资源信息准确性,并使监控系统     

以科学发展观引领地方高校人才培养的初步研究

科学发展观的第一要义是发展,核心是以人为本,根本方法是统筹兼顾。它为地方高校人才培养指明了方向。地方高校应以科学发展观为指导,以学生为本,以市场为导向,以特色求生存,促进自身全面、协调、可持续发展。