The Use of Prunus mume in the Development of Low Chill Apricot Varieties:the Status of Work in the United States

Several groups in the USA have been working to de-velop a low chill apricot that would ripen its fruits veryearly in the season. Unfortunately, the cultivatcd apricothas been developed mainly from the high chilling Euro-pean group within the species Prunus armeniaca. Amongthe five groups within the apricot species, this is the mostrecently evolved and least variable (Bailey and

Is It Workplace Stress a Trigger for Alcohol and Drug Abuse?

Those workers most vulnerable to pressure tend to suffer from scarce social and personal resources with which to respond adaptively to stress. In this case, the effects of psychoactive substances may exceed the stressed worker’s positive expectations. Thus, the aim is to analyze the scientific evidence on the relationship between drug abuse and workplace stress, based on an integrative review of the literature. Data were collected in February 2016 from the databases of the Virtual Health Library and PubMed. The final sample of 16 articles was divided into two categories: alcohol and drugs abuse in professions with high degree of psychosocial hazards and risks, and alcohol and drugs abuse for workplace stress in other professions. A relationship between precarious conditions, the nature of the work and its influence on drug abuse could be seen. However, other variables may strengthen psychoactive drug use as a coping strategy for stress.

SUMMARY OF CHINA-MADE X-RAY THICKNESS GAUGES FOR STEEL INDUSTRIES

There are two kinds of China- made X- ray thickness gaugemeters i.e. dual beam- dual detector system and single beam- single detector system- SM series, the latter is used dominantly in Chinese steel industries. The performance comparison between domestic and foreign instruments as well as its developments and applications is presented in this paper.

Casual Sex, Sex Work and Unprotected Sex among Men Who Have Sex with Men in the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Clinical Trial —North-West Region of Tshwane, South Africa

Background: The gap in the understanding of the context of the sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and risky behaviours among men who have sex with men (MSM) could lead to the development and implementation of inappropriate interventions, which could exacerbate the rapid spread of STIs, especially HIV, among MSM. The aim of the study was to qualitatively assess the understanding of the STIs and the risky sexual behaviours of men who have sex with men in the North-West region of Tshwane. Methods: An exploratory qualitative design was employed to assess the STIs and the risky sexual behaviour of the MSM population. The study participants were enrolled in an HPV clinical trial at MECRU, which is a clinical research unit at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University. Data collection occurred from September 2016 to May 2017. A convenience sampling method was used and n = 30 participants were selected. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted on MSM 18 years and older, using a semi-structured interview guide. Thematic content analysis was used for data analysis, using NVivo version 10 software. Results: The mean age of the sample was 26 years, and the age range was 18 to 44 years. All were unmarried, and all of them came from townships, rural villages and informal settlements in the vicinity of the clinical research unit. The high-risk behaviours noted among the majority of the MSM in this study were having multiple sexual partners and exchanging partners, alcohol abuse, inconsistent condom-use, having unprotected anal sex, and having transactional sex. There was a high level of knowledge of STIs in the heterosexual population with poor understanding of STIs affecting MSM through anal sex. Most of the MSM played a female or bottom role, which made them vulnerable because they could not successfully negotiate condom use, and they reported that they sometimes accepted gifts or money in exchange for anal sex. Conclusion: The study concludes that the MSM in this study had casual sex, and are involved in sex work without practising safe sex. There is a need for health promotion on STIs and risky behaviours among MSM in communities as well as in health facilities for MSM in the North-West region of Tshwane.

Poverty Alleviation in Xundian Hui and Yi Autonomous County by Promoting Labor Migration

The transfer of rural population to urban areas is the inevitable result of China s economic development,and going out to work is an important poverty alleviation model for poor areas to adapt to this historical trend.Studying its typical practices not only has practical guidance and reference for targeted poverty alleviation and poverty alleviation work,but also has important implications for how to rationally allocate regional population,resources,environment and economy.This paper investigates and explores the labor migration-promoting poverty alleviation model in Xundian Hui and Yi Autonomous County in the Wumeng mountainous area,a national concentrated and contiguous poverty-stricken area.On the basis of sorting out the leadership system,training methods,assistance ideas,working mechanism and poverty alleviation achievements,the income of 50 poverty-free households in 2018 was investigated and analyzed specifically.The results show that the poverty alleviation in Xundian County has achieved significant achievements both in macro and individual farmers,and it has played a decisive role in getting rid of poverty for households with migrant workers.In addition,the successful experience of Xundian County to increase income and get rid of poverty is sorted out,and the problems existing in this model are analyzed.It is believed that attention should be paid to the impact of labor migration on rural land use and citizenization of migrant workers.

The Work of NAHE on Promotion of Achievements in Hydrogen Energy in Russia and of Advantages of Using Platinoids in the Energy Sector

National Association for Hydrogen Energy (NAHE) was established in 2003 to facilitate the effective integration of the Russian Federation into the world hydrogen economy. The priority for the Association is to create legislation and basic standards which necessary for the successful development of hydrogen energy, promote this sector to a large public and to support the development of those priority areas, where Russia has the best prospects to take a rightful place in the international division of labour (atomic hydrogen energy, fuel cells, hydrogen vehicles). Hydrogen Energy, National Association for Hydrogen Energy By now the Association has developed a draft technical regulation on security devices and systems

Which is Better? Pair Work or Group Discussion

This paper, based on the small-scale study carried out in Hebei University of Science and Technology as well as of the careful analysis of the data collected, concludes that pair work and group discussion are warmly welcomed by both teachers and students, and comparatively speaking, pair work is more useful than group discussion in keeping students on-task, and group discussion, on the other hand, is more popular.

A comprehensive research framework for Bitcoin’s energy use:Fundamentals,economic rationale,and a pinch of thermodynamics

The energy use of Bitcoin is fiercely debated among academics,practitioners,and the general public.This debate is often biased and characterized by a lack of understanding.Therefore,I start this paper with a discussion of the fundamentals of Bitcoin,which includes the clarification of widely held misconceptions.Next,I illustrate how Bitcoin is related to energy and describe the underlying incentive mechanism.In the main body of the paper,I discuss various components of Bitcoin’s energy use,including the amount,composition,and geographical distribution of the energy,as well as emerging positive and negative effects.These components are then combined into a comprehensive framework that provides a solid foundation for future academic research and presents practitioners with the big picture of how and why Bitcoin requires energy and whether this can be justified from an environmental point of view.

Feasibility of shoulder use for highway work zone optimization

Highway maintenance, often requiring lane closure, is very expensive in terms of the costs associated with transportation agencies （i. e. work zone setups） and road users （i. e. delay）. Longer work zones tend to increase the user delay but will be efficient because of fewer repeated setups. To increase road capacity and mitigate congestion impact for a short-term work zone, temporary shoulder use may be applied. This study develops an analytical model to optimize work zone length on a multi-lane highway considering time-varying traffic volume and road capacity affected by light condition, heavy vehicle percentage, and lane width. The results can be used to evaluate the work Zone impact （i. e. delay and cost） and assist engineers/planners to prepare and develop a cost-effective highway maintenance plan. A case study for a highway work zone in New Jersey has been conducted, in which the optimized solution is found. A guideline of using road shoulder under various circumstances is developed.

THE USE OF GROUP ERROR CORRECTION IN ENGLISH TEACHING TO INCREASE LEARNER INVOLVEMENT

In view of the major defect of the traditionalteacher correction,this paper introduces a new ap-proach to error correction—group error correction,inwhich learners’ role in learning language is greatly in-creased.Group error correction can be used to correcterrors in students’ oral work,group work and writtenwork,both in class and after class.Half a year’spractice of group error correction shows that it helpsincrease learner involvement in the teaching and learn-ing process,stimulate learner motivation in learningthe foreign language,raise the learners’ awareness oferrors,facilitate learners’ learning of the foreign lan-guage,relieve the teacher’s burden,and helps theteacher make better teaching plans.Error correction is an enormously complex pro-cess(Ellis,1994,p585).As for which is the most ef-fective method to correct errors,researchers havenot reached an agreement.Therefore more effortsneed to be made in this field.

Mass transfer mechanisms in fixed-bed adsorption of erythromycin

The equilibrium and kinetic characteristics of the adsorption of erythromycin to Sepabeads SP825 were determined.The equilibrium data in a batch system was well described by a Langmuir isotherm.The separation performance was investigated in a fixed-bed system with respect to the adsorption superficial velocity,ionic strength and pH.A mathematical model was used to simulate the mass transfer mechanism,taking film mass transfer,pore diffusion and axial dispersion into account.The model predictions were consistent with the experi-mental data and were consequently used to determine the mass transfer coefficients.