National Social Investment Programmes in Nigeria:A Descriptive Analysis of the Socio-Economic Contributions of N-Power Programme in Benue State

This study analysed the socio-economic contributions of N-Power programme amongst the beneficiaries of the scheme in Benue State.Prior to the introduction of N-Power programme,successive administrations in Nigeria have made concerted efforts towards improving the standard of living of the citizenry through the execution of various welfare or social intervention programmes,but not much successes were recorded.Learning from the mistakes of the past regimes,and by way of deliberate state policy,the Buhari’s government initiated a multi-pronged social investment policy,one of which is the N-power programme that came onboard in 2016,which also doubles as the subject of this study.To achieve the goal of this study,a combination of desktop research and survey design was employed.Questionnaires were administered to 390 respondents through a combination of stratified and random sampling techniques.The results of the survey were matched with that of the secondary data obtained through online websites and other related sources.The result indicated that N-Power made positive contributions to the socio-economic life of the beneficiaries in Benue State:specifically,the scheme contributed in poverty eradication,employment generation,skills acquisitions and capacity building.However,some aspect of our findings revealed that the programme has a number of challenges such as:inadequate cash support,delay in monthly cash transfer to beneficiaries,distance participants had to move to their work stations,absence of posting in N-Teach scheme,and lack of adequate working tools amongst others.To salvage this problem the paper recommended the following solutions:expansion of the scheme to cover N-Teach and other aspects,increment in the monthly cash transfer to cushion the high rate of inflation,support for the participants/beneficiaries in transportation and logistics,enrolment of more youth into the various schemes,proper monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the schemes amongst others.

TV Programmes

TV Programmes, Monday,June 12,2002 (CCTV) Channel 1 18:00 TV Classroom: Computer 18 : 30 Popular Music 19 : 00 News 19 : 30 Weather Report 19:40 Today's Focus(焦点)

Antibiotic stewardship programmes in intensive care units:Why,how,and where are they leading us

Antibiotic usage and increasing antimicrobial resistance(AMR) mount significant challenges to patient safety and management of the critically ill on intensive care units(ICU). Antibiotic stewardship programmes(ASPs) aim to optimise appropriate antibiotic treatment whilst minimising antibiotic resistance. Different models of ASP in intensive care setting, include "standard" control of antibiotic prescribing such as "de-escalation strategies"through to interventional approaches utilising biomarkerguided antibiotic prescribing. A systematic review of outcomes related studies for ASPs in an ICU setting was conducted. Forty three studies were identified from MEDLINE between 1996 and 2014. Of 34 nonprotocolised studies, [1 randomised control trial(RCT), 22 observational and 11 case series], 29(85%) were positive with respect to one or more outcome: These were the key outcome of reduced antibiotic use, or ICU length of stay, antibiotic resistance, or prescribing cost burden. Limitations of non-standard antibiotic initiation triggers, patient and antibiotic selection bias or baseline demographic variance were identified. All 9 protocolised studies were RCTs, of which 8 were procalcitonin(PCT) guided antibiotic stop/start interventions. Five studies addressed antibiotic escalation, 3 de-escalation and 1 addressed both. Six studies reported positive outcomes for reduced antibiotic use, ICU length of stay or antibiotic resistance. PCT based ASPs are effective as antibiotic-stop(de-escalation) triggers, but not as an escalation trigger alone. PCT has also been effective in reducing antibiotic usage without worsening morbidity or mortality in ventilator associated pulmonary infection. No study has demonstrated survival benefit of ASP. Ongoing challenges to infectious disease management, reported by the World Health Organisation global report 2014, are high AMR to newer antibiotics, and regional knowledge gaps in AMR surveillance. Improved AMR surveillance data, identifying core aspects of successful ASPs that are transferable, and further well-conducted trials will be necessary if ASPs are to be an effective platform for delivering desired patient outcomes and safety through best antibiotic policy.

Training Teachers for Extensive Reading Programmes

It has been suggested that the success of an ER project can largely rely on several elements,such as the selection of appropriate materials,establishment of management system,workshop for training teachers. Among those,teachers play an indispensable role due to the fact that it is the teachers who are capable of turning conceptions into actions,who get students engaged and bridge and gap between the goals of the programme and the reality in classroom. This paper is an attempt to outline a detailed picture to demonstrate how to offer effective training courses which can enable teachers to play"multiple roles"to make great contribution to the development of an ER project.

Evaluation of BSc Radiologic Sciences and Medical Imaging Technology Programmes in Sudanese Universities from Students’ Perspective

This study sets the objective to involve undergraduate students in the evaluation of radiologic sciences and medical imaging technology programmes in Sudanese universities. Based on the analysis of survey results in which the participants (BSc students undertaking radiologic sciences and medical imaging technology programmes at university level) are asked to answer both closed and open-ended questions, the study seeks to reveal the participants’ perceptions and introspections about the radiologic sciences and medical imaging technology programmes in Sudan. It also attempts to explore the participants’ suggestions and recommendations as to enhance the quality of these programmes with an eye to helping syllabus designers to improve these programmes, thereby bettering healthcare services for the larger good to the community. A brief cross-sectional survey is completed by a total of 105 radiologic sciences and medical imaging technology students, i.e. 39 (37.1%) third-year students and 66 (62.9%) fourth-year students. The majority of participants is satisfied with the programmes, indicating that they are up-to-date and ran abreast with the latest developments in the field. Very few suggest that the programmes should be reviewed for revision, implying that there is room for improvement. Some participants recommend that more training hours in modern imaging modalities (e.g. MRI, CT and U/S) should be introduced. Only one participant recommends the introduction of advanced training centres.

Forests Policies and Programmes in India: Implications for Climate Change Adaptation

Climate change is a major global environmental and developmental challenge and climate proofing of vulnerable sectors, programmes, natural systems and communities by integrating adaptation and mitigation options into planning process are increasingly becoming an integral part of development. The basic premises on which this could happen are the national and sectoral policies that govern any programmes and actions implemented on ground. This study reviews existing policies, plans and programmes and their implications for climate change. Based on the analyses, key areas of research, policy initiatives and institutional and capacity development needs have been identified, to facilitate climate change adaptation. The forest policies formulated so far in India have been broadly aimed at conservation, reduction of pressure on forests and provisioning of biomass to the large forest dependent population for their fuel and fodder needs apart from generating revenue through production and sale of timber. However, these have not been formulated with climate change as a consideration and therefore may become less effective as climate change and its impacts become increasingly evident. The study clearly identifies that the current policies and programmes have elements/features and activities that directly or indirectly contribute positively towards adaptation, although the primary implications are towards biodiversity and to some extent ecosystem functioning. It finally highlights the need for incorporating climate change concerns in forest sector development programmes and also to address the issue of climate change.

Pixelated non-volatile programmable photonic integrated circuits with 20-level intermediate states

Multi-level programmable photonic integrated circuits(PICs)and optical metasurfaces have gained widespread attention in many fields,such as neuromorphic photonics,opticalcommunications,and quantum information.In this paper,we propose pixelated programmable Si_(3)N_(4)PICs with record-high 20-level intermediate states at 785 nm wavelength.Such flexibility in phase or amplitude modulation is achieved by a programmable Sb_(2)S_(3)matrix,the footprint of whose elements can be as small as 1.2μm,limited only by the optical diffraction limit of anin-house developed pulsed laser writing system.We believe our work lays the foundation for laser-writing ultra-high-level(20 levels and even more)programmable photonic systems and metasurfaces based on phase change materials,which could catalyze diverse applications such as programmable neuromorphic photonics,biosensing,optical computing,photonic quantum computing,and reconfigurable metasurfaces.

Analysis on the Financial Impact Due to Non-compliance to Rules of the European Union Funding Programmes for Research

The analysis is targeted on the financial impact of non-compliance to rules for European Union （EU） funding in thefield of research in quantitative terms, by examining statistical documents prepared by the European Commissionwhich are available for the public and relate to the period 2008-2016. It is to be noted that these statisticaldocuments use the terminology of irregularity instead of error and it is seen as any breach of rules that may lead toa financial impact and to damage on the budget of the European Union. Details related to error and irregularityterms are included in this paper. In the research on the impact of irregularities for EU research funding, severaltasks were accomplished, such as highlighting the evolution of irregularities during the period under study, acomparison between reported irregularities in the research field and other EU policy areas for one year where thefinancial impact is the highest and an analysis of the types of irregularities identified by the statistical evaluationdocuments on irregularities.

Exhibition Programmes in Beijing CCPIT 2002

The 28th China Fur & Leather Products FairDATE: 16-19Jan2002 FREQUENCY: Annual FOUNDED YEAR: 1975 APPLICATION DEADLINE:

Assessing Sport and Recreation Programmes＇ Service Quality at Hotels and Resorts＂ Towards Enhancing Customer Participation

Many issues and challenges are faced by the managers programmes today. Although many previous researches on and professionals in managing sport and recreation service quality provided by the organizations had been explored, very few studies pertaining to service quality in sport and recreation programmes in local hotels and resorts have been emphasized. This study aims to assess customers＇ perceptions of service quality in sport and recreation programmes and to determine the differences between customers＇ perceptions of service quality in terms of their gender and nationality. A total of 450 respondents from the hotels and resorts located in coastal areas of the northern Peninsular Malaysia participated in the survey. They were asked to respond to a series of the adapted service quality （SERVQUAL） items to measure five dimensions of service quality including tangibles, assurance, responsiveness, reliability, and empathy. Results from this study revealed that the customers＇ perceptions of the overall services in sport and recreation programmes provided by the hotels and resorts were satisfactory. It was also indicated that there was no significant difference between male and female customers＇ perceptions of service quality in sport and recreation programmes. Conversely, the results revealed that there was a significant difference between local and foreign customers＇ perceptions of sport and recreation services provided. These findings had implications on sport and recreation programmes in relation to designing effective management and marketing strategies at hotels and resorts.

Stakeholders’ Participation in Agricultural Farmers’ Extension Services Programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case of the Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) Programme in Uganda

The paper presents findings from a study carried out to assess the contribution of stakeholders’participation on the performance of the national agricultural farmers’extension services programme in Uganda known as Operation Wealth Creation(OWEC).Specifically,the study sought to establish how participatory planning,budgeting,monitoring and evaluation(M&E)respectively contributed to the performance of OWC in selected district in central Uganda.The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design using both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis techniques and employed both questionnaires and interview guides on key participants in the programme.Findings of the study indicated positive relationships between stakeholders’participation and programme performance with participatory planning,budgeting and M&E all having positive significant effects on the performance of OWC programme.The study concluded that indeed stakeholders’participation contributed to improved performance of the OWC programme.The study recommends increased funding and M&E of the agricultural extension programmes for improved performance.

Reconfigurable mechanism-based metamaterials for ternary-coded elastic wave polarizers and programmable refraction control

Elastic metamaterials with unusual elastic properties offer unprecedented ways to modulate the polarization and propagation of elastic waves.However,most of them rely on the resonant structural components,and thus are frequency-dependent and unchangeable.Here,we present a reconfigurable 2D mechanism-based metamaterial which possesses transformable and frequency-independent elastic properties.Based on the proposed mechanism-based metamaterial,interesting functionalities,such as ternarycoded elastic wave polarizer and programmable refraction,are demonstrated.Particularly,unique ternary-coded polarizers,with 1-trit polarization filtering and 2-trit polarization separating of longitudinal and transverse waves,are first achieved.Then,the strong anisotropy of the proposed metamaterial is harnessed to realize positive-negative bi-refraction,only-positive refraction,and only-negative refraction.Finally,the wave functions with detailed microstructures are numerically verified.

A novel one-time-programmable memory unit based on Schottky-type p-GaN diode

In this work,a novel one-time-programmable memory unit based on a Schottky-type p-GaN diode is proposed.During the programming process,the junction switches from a high-resistance state to a low-resistance state through Schottky junction breakdown,and the state is permanently preserved.The memory unit features a current ratio of more than 10^(3),a read voltage window of 6 V,a programming time of less than 10^(−4)s,a stability of more than 108 read cycles,and a lifetime of far more than 10 years.Besides,the fabrication of the device is fully compatible with commercial Si-based GaN process platforms,which is of great significance for the realization of low-cost read-only memory in all-GaN integration.

A Regional Comparative Study of Distance Learning MBA Programmes in Selected Asian Countries

Distance learning MBA programmes have increased tremendously in the past decade in selected Asian countries. This paper uses a stakeholders approach to conduct research on distance learning MBA programmes in Asian. Conclusions of the research are then given.

Teaching Reform and Exploration of Practical Courses Based on Programmable Control

As the country continues to promote the development of intelligent manufacturing,all industries are carrying out enterprise automation upgrading,the Pearl River Delta Intelligent Manufacturing Conference held in March 2024 provides a direction guide for each enterprise on how to integrate the intelligent manufacturing technology into each link and provide direction guidance for enterprises to create new models and new business formats.College teachers,in focusing on the teaching process,should closely match the enterprise and social needs and cultivate excellent students.As the core controller of automation control,the application of programmable controllers in teaching is particularly important.In practical classes,by setting progressive difficulty,project guidance,team collaboration,and other links,students can master the automation equipment design of programmable control in repeated practice.

一款基于新型Field Programmable Gate Array芯片的投影仪梯形校正系统研究与实现

投影设备配备的梯形校正普遍存在校正范围小,画面的一些线条和字符边缘会出现毛刺和不平滑现象,矫正效果不理想.如果采用通用的图像处理芯片和复杂的算法,可以解决上述问题,但又会导致成本急剧上升.为了解决上述矛盾,提出一种基于FPGA(Field Programmable Gate Array)芯片的新型梯形校正实现方案,解决了校正范围与锯齿失真的矛盾问题,并为进一步成为芯片级产品铺平了道路.图像处理采用kaiser窗函数和sinc函数相结合的方法进行插值,这样的滤波器改善了旁瓣抑制,具有较好的通带性能.介绍了梯形失真的产生和校正原理,提出了利用FPGA芯片XC3S400作为核心图像处理单元的梯形校正系统的硬件和软件实现,说明了该芯片结构、功能及特性,最后提供了校正的效果图.

A Programmable 2.4GHz CMOS Multi-Modulus Frequency Divider

A programmable multi-modulus frequency divider is designed and implemented in a 0. 35μm CMOS process. The multi-modulus frequency divider is a single chip with two dividers in series,which are divided by 4 or 5 prescaler and by 128-255 multi-modulus frequency divider. In the circuit design, power and speed trade-offs are analyzed for the prescaler, and power optimization techniques are used according to the input frequency of each divider cell for the 128-255 multimodulus frequency divider. The chip is designed with ESD protected I/O PAD. The dividers chain can work as high as 2.4GHz with a single ended input signal and beyond 2.6GHz with differential input signals. The dual-modulus prescaler consumes 11mA of current while the 128-255 multi-modulus frequency divider consumes 17mA of current with a 3.3V power supply. The core area of the die without PAD is 0.65mm × 0.3mm. This programmable multi-modulus frequency divider can be used for 2.4GHz ISM band PLL-based frequency synthesizers. To our knowledge, this is the first reported multi-modulus frequency divider with this structure in China.

0.18μm CMOS programmable frequency divider design for DVB-T

The implementation of a programmable frequency divider, which is one of the components of the phase-locked loop （PLL） frequency synthesizer for digital video broadcastingterrestrial （DVB-T） and other modem communication systems, is presented. By cooperating with a dual-modulus prescaler, this divider can realize an integer frequency division from 926 to 1 387. Besides the traditional standard cell design flow, such as logic synthesis, placement and routing, the interactions between front-end and back-end are also considered to optimize the design flow under deep submicron technology. By back-annotating the back-end information to front-end design, a custom wire-load model is created which is more practical compared with the default model. This divider has been fabricated in TSMC 0. 18μm CMOS technology using Artisan standard cell library. The chip area is 675 μm × 475 μm and the power consumption is about 2 mW under a 1.8 V power supply. Measurement results show that it works correctly and can realize a frequency division with high precision.

IC Implementation of a Programmable CMOS Voltage Reference

A new approach for the design and implementation of a programmable voltage reference based on an improved current mode bandgap voltage reference is presented. The circuit is simulated and fabricated with Chartered 0. 35μm mixed-signal technology. Measurements demonstrate that the temperature coefficient is ± 36. 3ppm/℃ from 0 to 100℃ when the VID inputs are 11110.As the supply voltage is varied from 2.7 to 5V, the voltage reference varies by about 5mV. The maximum glitch of the transient response is about 20mV at 125kHz. Depending on the state of the five VID inputs,an output voltage between 1.1 and 1.85V is programmed in increments of 25mV.

Fast-track surgery could improve postoperative recovery in radical total gastrectomy patients

AIM: To assess the impact of fast-track surgery (FTS) on hospital stay, cost of hospitalization and complications after radical total gastrectomy. METHODS: A randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted from November 2011 to August 2012 in the Department of Digestive Surgery, Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, the Fourth Military Medical University. A total of 122 gastric cancer patients who met the selection criteria were randomized into FTS and conventional care groups on the first day of hospitalization. All patients received elective standard D2 total gastrectomy. Clinical outcomes, including duration of flatus and defecation, white blood cell count, postoperative pain, duration of postoperative stay, cost of hospitalization and complications were recorded and evaluated.Two specially trained doctors who were blinded to the treatment were in charge of evaluating postoperative outcomes, discharge and follow-up. RESULTS: A total of 119 patients finished the study, including 60 patients in the conventional care group and 59 patients in the FTS group. Two patients were excluded from the FTS group due to withdrawal of consent. One patient was excluded from the conventional care group because of a non-resectable tumor. Compared with the conventional group, FTS shortened the duration of flatus (79.03 ± 20.26 hvs 60.97 ± 24.40 h, P = 0.000) and duration of defecation (93.03 ± 27.95 h vs 68.00 ± 25.42 h, P = 0.000), accelerated the decrease in white blood cell count [P < 0.05 on postoperative day (POD) 3 and 4], alleviated pain in patients after surgery (P < 0.05 on POD 1, 2 and 3), reduced complications (P < 0.05), shortened the duration of postoperative stay (7.10 ± 2.13 dvs 5.68 ± 1.22 d,P = 0.000), reduced the cost of hospitalization (43783.25 ± 8102.36 RMBvs 39597.62 ± 7529.98 RMB,P = 0.005), and promoted recovery of patients. CONCLUSION: FTS could be safely applied in radical total gastrectomy to accelerate clinical recovery of gastric cancer patients.