Shorter Term (shorter + term)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


An educational tool for power electronics circuits

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION, Issue 1 2010
Cetin Elmas
Abstract In this study, an educational tool has been prepared for a shorter term and more economic education of power electronics circuits. In parallel with the improvements of semiconductor technology, the development of power electronics circuits has magnified the importance of either teorical or practical education of power electronics course. The education of power electronic circuits in laboratory is an agelong, costly piece of work. In this study, to overcome the mentioned negativities, a tool has been prepared for the education of power electronic circuits. The tool, which has been prepared on C++ Builder environment has a flexible structure and a graphical interface. It has enabled the analysis of working principles of the circuits and traceability of the system response by the help of graphics, under different conditions created by changing the values of circuit elements. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 18: 157,165, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.20237 [source]


Conserving the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly over two decades: Where to next?

ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT & RESTORATION, Issue 1 2008
Don Sands
Summary The Richmond Birdwing Butterfly, restricted to subtropical areas of Australia, is threatened with extinction in the Queensland part of its range because of clearing and fragmenting rainforests containing its larval food vines. Habitat fragmentation and drought have exacerbated risks of inbreeding depression and a range of other threats exist, including invasions of the exotic Dutchmans Pipe Vine which is toxic to Richmond Birdwing larvae. This article outlines the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly project from its beginnings in the Double Helix Club project and recently the Richmond Birdwing Recovery Network. It provides details of the biology of the butterfy and its food vines, as well as discussing elements for consideration in a future recovery plan including (i) protecting the remaining breeding sites; and, for the shorter term (ii) continuing to propagate and plant food plants at appropriate localities that previously supported the butterfly. [source]


The Elephant in the Corner?

GEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2010
Reviewing India-Africa Relations in the New Millennium
As countries of the ,global South' seek to challenge existing uneven architectures of economic, political and institutional power, now under different circumstances to those prevailing during the Cold War, relations between African countries and various ,Rising Powers' have drawn a great deal of academic and public attention. This scrutiny has been heavily tilted towards analysis of China's African activities. This paper aims to partially redress this balance with an introductory review of India's contemporary relations with sub-Saharan Africa. A number of analysts suggest that in the longer term, India may well achieve a more prosperous and stable economy than China, while in the shorter term, its economic and political profile may result in a more productive relationship for many different African countries, sectors and constituencies. But India will also bring its own challenges in its African commercial interactions, bilateral relations and through its part in shaping the multilateral polity and global economy. This paper therefore aims to critically review contemporary India-Africa relations on four broad thematic points. 1Changing geographies of Indo-African relations; 2Trade and foreign direct investment; 3Development cooperation; and 4Geopolitics and diplomacy. India's confidence as a global political and economic actor is apparent in its African diplomacy and economic engagements, but claims to exceptionalism (relative both to Chinese and Western actors) in such relations are not as self-evident as some have asserted. Whether recent shifts in relations between African nations and India will work in the interests of less privileged citizens, workers and consumers in Africa and in India also remain unclear. [source]


Do Corticosteroids Damage the Brain?

JOURNAL OF NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY, Issue 6 2006
J. Herbert
Abstract Corticosteroids are an essential component of the body's homeostatic system. In common with other such systems, this implies that corticosteroid levels in blood and, more importantly, in the tissues remain within an optimal range. It also implies that this range may vary according to circumstance. Lack of corticosteroids, such as untreated Addison's disease, can be fatal in humans. In this review, we are principally concerned with excess or disturbed patterns of circulating corticosteroids in the longer or shorter term, and the effects they have on the brain. [source]


Long-term effects of porcine small intestine submucosa on the healing of medial collateral ligament: A functional tissue engineering study

JOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH, Issue 4 2006
Rui Liang
Abstract Porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS) was previously shown to enhance the mechanical properties of healing medial collateral ligaments (MCL), and the histomorphological appearance and collagen type V/I ratio were found to be close to those of normal MCL. We hypothesized that at a longer term, 26 weeks, SIS could guide a better organized neo-ligament formation, increasing mechanical properties and increasing collagen fibril diameters mediated by a reduction in collagen type V. A 6 mm gap injury in the right MCL was surgically created in 38 rabbits, while the contralateral intact MCL served as a sham-operated control. In half the animals, a strip of SIS was sutured onto the severed ends. In the other half, no SIS was applied. The cross-sectional area (CSA) was determined with a laser micrometer system. The femur,MCL,tibia complex was mechanically tested in uniaxial tension. Histomorphology was determined through H&E and immunofluorescent staining and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Sodium-dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was used to determine collagen type V/I ratio. SIS-treated MCLs displayed a 28% reduction in CSA, a 33% increase in tangent modulus, and a 50% increase in tensile strength compared with the nontreated group (p,<,0.05). TEM showed groups of collagen fibrils with larger diameters in the SIS-treated ligaments in comparison with uniformly small fibrils for the nontreated group. H&E staining showed more densely stained collagen fibers in the SIS-treated group aligned along the longitudinal axis with more interspersed spindle-shaped cells. Immunofluorescent staining showed less collagen type V signals, confirmed by a 5% lower ratio of collagen type V/I compared with the nontreated controls (p,<,0.05). The findings extend the shorter term 12-week results, and support the potential of porcine SIS as a bioscaffold to enhance ligament healing. © 2006 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res [source]