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Turning Point (turning + point)
Selected AbstractsOVERT AND COVERT NARCISSISM: TURNING POINTS AND MUTATIVE ELEMENTS IN TWO PSYCHOTHERAPIESBRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY, Issue 4 2001Jan Ole Revik ABSTRACT Two patients, one with an overt and the other with a covert narcis-sistic disorder, are followed through five years of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. A number of important turning points in the therapies are closely evaluated in order to discover possible mutative elements. Special attention is paid to the patients' self-sufficiency. The attachment process to the therapist and the patients' gradual acceptance of healthy dependency are described. The theoretical framework is selfpsychological. [source] Editorial: 2009, a Turning Point for Europe?JCMS: JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, Issue 2010NATHANIEL COPSEY First page of article [source] The Meaning of the Turning Point of the Index of Motor Current Amplitude Curve in Controlling a Continuous Flow Pump or Evaluation of Left Ventricular FunctionARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 3 2003G.J. Endo It is the goal of this section to publish material that provides information regarding specific issues, aspects of artificial organ application, approach, philosophy, suggestions, and/or thoughts for the future Abstract: In this series, we investigated the meaning of the t-point of index of motor current amplitude (ICA) curve from a point of view of flow rate on in vitro and in vivo studies. On mock circulation loop and left ventricular assist device (LVAD),equipped pigs, we detected the t-point and compared the pump flow at the t-point with the simultaneous cardiac output. The pump flow at the t-point showed high correlation against the simultaneous cardiac output for in vitro or in vivo study. By detection of the t-point of the ICA curve and measuring or estimating the pump flow at t-point, the cardiac output may be assessed without any sensor in various cardiac conditions. [source] 2 Incorporation of Audience Participation Technology into Resident Curriculum ReviewACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 2008Brian Sayger We have incorporated audience participation technology (Turning Point) into our weekly curriculum review sessions. This audience response system consists of individual remote response keypads, a USB port-compatible receiver, and software which integrates into PowerPoint. Board-style questions are written into PowerPoint slides and presented by the speaker. Rather than selecting one resident to answer a question, all audience members select an answer using their keypad. The receiver registers the answers and immediately displays a graph of the audience's responses. Questions with more incorrect answers are discussed in detail while less time is spent on questions answered correctly by most of the audience. This encourages active participation for each question and eliminates the stress of a single resident giving an incorrect answer in front of a large number of peers. Audience members are engaged throughout the hour rather than concentrating only on questions assigned to them. Residents and students discover that challenging questions are answered incorrectly by a significant number of audience members. In a short time using this system, we've seen audience discussion increase dramatically. We plan to expand our use of this technology to other lectures. Speakers will administer end-of-lecture quizzes, immediately assessing how effectively their presentation achieved its learning objectives. All residents have an assigned keypad, and their percentage of correct answers is recorded during every session. This allows the program to monitor a resident's progress and to identify areas in which the resident may need more instruction. This system has potential applications for competency assessment. [source] Chemischer Apparatebau im Aufbruch?CHEMIE-INGENIEUR-TECHNIK (CIT), Issue 5 2003E. Weiß Prof. Dr.-Ing. Abstract Die ACHEMA stellt eine eindrucksvolle Leistungsschau des Apparatebaus dar, die im engen Zusammenhang mit den epochalen Entwicklungen der Verfahrens- und Prozesstechnik steht. Dies ist ein günstiger Zeitpunkt, um über die Entwicklungschancen nachzudenken. Der Großanlagenbau hat in den letzten Jahrzehnten eine beträchtliche Korrektur erfahren, was sich besonders auf den deutschen Apparatebau ausgewirkt hat. Wirtschaftliche Zwänge lieferten einen zusätzlichen Anstoß für einen beachtlichen Schrumpfungsprozess. Der Apparatebau muss sich in der Zukunft auf zwei Standbeine konzentrieren: Hochqualifizierte Standardapparate und neuartige Produkte, die im engen Zusammenwirken mit der Verfahrenstechnik entwickelt werden müssen, um für neue Technologien und Prozessstrategien die erforderliche Hardware auf den Markt zu bringen. Der Beitrag nennt Gebiete, in denen sich der allgemeine technische Fortschritt manifestiert, aber auch aus der apparatetechnischen Sicht werden Anstöße vermittelt, wie ein gehobenes Qualitätsniveau der Produkte erreicht werden kann. Hierbei handelt es sich durchaus um Eigenschaften, die sich letztlich im wirtschaftlichen Ergebnis niederschlagen. Chemical Apparatus Engineering at a Turning Point? The ACHEMA conference is the leading international exhibition on chemical-apparatus engineering, closely connected with the epochal developments of chemical and process engineering. At the moment it is most timely to think about new opportunities of development. Large-scale plant engineering and general plant construction has experienced considerable improvement over the past decades, and the effects of these changes are particularly perceptible in the economic sector of German apparatus engineering. Economic pressures have given an additional impetus to a considerable shrinking process. Chemical apparatus engineering will have to focus on two main pillars in the near future: highly qualified standard and innovative products. Especially the latter must be developed in close interaction with chemical engineering in order to put the hardware required for new technologies and process strategies on the market. This article names the important fields of current general technical progress, showing that the main thrust is directed toward an elevated level of product quality that can be achieved through apparatus engineering. Such superior product properties are one important means to achieve higher profitability. [source] Sectoral Sources of the Massachusetts Miracle and Other Turning PointsJOURNAL OF REGIONAL SCIENCE, Issue 4 2001N. Edward Coulson Previous analyses of the Massachusetts Miracle and the subsequent evolution of employment in the area have centered in part on sectoral explanations. In this paper these explanations are evaluated with the use of a sectoral-based VAR model of the Boston economy, developed to identify local and national sectoral shocks. The relative importance of these shocks is estimated both for the overall sample and at several turning points in aggregate Boston employment, the latter using historical decompostions. [source] Living With China: Regional States and China Through Crises and Turning Points , Edited by Shiping Tang, Mingjiang Li, and Amitav AcharyaASIAN POLITICS AND POLICY, Issue 2 2010Noel M. Morada No abstract is available for this article. [source] Earnings Management and Corporate Governance in Asia's Emerging MarketsCORPORATE GOVERNANCE, Issue 5 2007Chung-Hua Shen This paper studies the impacts of corporate governance on earnings management. We use firm-level governance data, taken from Credit Lyonnais Security Asia (CLSA), of nine Asian countries, in addition to the country-level governance data used in past studies. Our conclusion is as follows. First, firms with good corporate governance tend to conduct less earnings management. Second, there is a size effect for earnings smoothing, that is, large size firms are prone to conduct earnings smoothing, but good corporate governance can mitigate the effect on average. Third, there is a turning point for leverage effect, i.e. when the governance index is large, leverage effect exists, otherwise reverse leverage effect exists. It shows that a highly leveraged firm with poor governance is prone to be scrutinised closely and thus finds it harder to fool the market by manipulating earnings. Fourth, firms with higher growth (lower earnings yield) are prone to engage in earnings smoothing and earnings aggressiveness, but good corporate governance can mitigate the effect. Finally, firms in stronger anti-director rights countries tend to exhibit stronger earnings smoothing. This counter-intuitive result is different from Leuz et al. (2003). [source] The transformation of kinship and the family in late Anglo-Saxon EnglandEARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE, Issue 3 2001Andrew Wareham The development of the family into a small unit in which descent was traced almost exclusively through the male line is regarded as a major turning point in medieval European history. The early stages of the formation of agnatic kinship have usually been connected to strategies designed to preserve and retain control of patrimonies and castles, arising from the breakdown of public order. In this article it is suggested that the emergence of new kinship values was connected to the investment of aristocratic energy and resources in monastic programmes, and to subtle changes in lay involvement with the rituals associated with death and the salvation of souls. [source] Flexural deformation capacity of rectangular RC columns determined by the CAE methodEARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS, Issue 12 2006Iztok Peru Abstract A non-parametric empirical approach, called the conditional average estimator (CAE) method, has been implemented for the estimation of the flexural deformation capacity of reinforced concrete rectangular columns expressed in terms of the ultimate (,near collapse') drift. Two databases (PEER and Fardis), which represent subsets of the original databases, were used. Four input parameters were employed in the basic model: axial load index, index related to confinement, shear span index, and concrete compressive strength. The results of analyses suggest that, in general, ultimate drift decreases with increasing axial load index, and increases with better confinement. An increase in the shear span-to-depth ratio has a beneficial effect until a turning point is reached. After that the opposite trend can be observed, i.e. a decrease in the ultimate drift with further increasing of the shear span-to-depth ratio. No clear trend is observed in the case of concrete compressive strength. The predictions, obtained by using the Fardis database are in general somewhat larger than the predictions from the PEER database, due to the difference in the definition of ultimate drift. The scatter of results is large. The local coefficient of variation, which is a measure for dispersion, amounts to about 0.2,0.5. The ultimate drifts obtained by using the two databases, were compared with the values predicted by the Eurocode 8 empirical formula. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The role of mercantilism in Anglo-Dutch political relations, 1650,74ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 3 2010GIJS ROMMELSE The three Anglo-Dutch wars of the seventeenth century are traditionally seen as mercantile confrontations. This view has been challenged by political historians. Firstly, this article discusses the historiographic developments in this field. Secondly, it aims to explore the relationship between Anglo-Dutch mercantile competition and political and diplomatic relations in the period 1650 to 1674. It favours an integrated approach in which all these dimensions are taken into account. The article argues that the 1667 Peace Treaty of Breda was a major turning point in Anglo-Dutch relations after which mercantilism ceased to dominate Anglo-Dutch political relations. [source] Transition and sustainability: empirical analysis of environmental Kuznets curve for water pollution in 25 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent StatesENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2009Sandra O. Archibald Abstract This paper examines the effects of political, structural and economic changes on environmental quality in 25 Central and East European countries (CEECs) and the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) using selected water pollution indicators and by testing the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). Despite substantial research on the transition effects from centrally planned economies and totalitarian political systems to democracy and free market economies, the literature is limited with respect to the short- and long-term environmental impacts. Considering the institutional and structural changes in these economies, rising per capita income and increased trade and investment openness, these countries can be characterized as early, late and non-liberalizers with respect to the start and continuation of liberalization processes , a critical element of the systemic transformation in the CEECs. While trends in selected economic and social indicators (based on the OECD pressure,state,response framework) show that early liberalizers enjoyed positive gains relative to late liberalizers, the selected environmental indicators do not indicate consistent trends with regard to surface water quality. Among early and late liberalizers, nitrate, orthophosphate and ammonium concentrations decline and converge over time. Phosphorus concentrations initially dropped but then increased again for both groups of countries. Using the indicator of biological oxygen demand (BOD) as the dependent variable and a set of structural and economic measures as the independent variables, our econometric regression model provides some evidence for the EKC hypothesis and estimates the per capita income turning point for industrial BOD effluents to be approximately 3800,5000 USD. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] If you could identify one turning point of our specialty in the last 25 years, what would it be?ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 4 2000Ronald Krome MD No abstract is available for this article. [source] If you could identify one turning point of our specialty in the last 25 years, what would it be?ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 4 2000George Podgorny MD No abstract is available for this article. [source] New Routes to the PhD: Cause for Concern?HIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2004Bill Johnston Recent developments suggest that the PhD is at a turning point. Professional groups have criticised the so-called ,traditional PhD'. New routes to the PhD are proposed by several bodies and endorsed by one funding council. In light of these developments, it is appropriate to ask what the implications are for the PhD and for the academy. A focus group was used to gather student responses to these developments. The findings show qualified support: students agree that the PhD should cater for different careers but challenge what they see as a simplistic channelling of PhD routes. This paper demonstrates apparent consensus on the need for change in the PhD and reveals movement beyond reconceptualisation towards reconstruction. However, we argue that there is cause for concern in the lack of attention paid to student views and the continuing neglect of quality issues in the PhD. [source] Napoleon's Lost Legions: French Prisoners of War in Britain, 1803,1814HISTORY, Issue 295 2004GAVIN DALY During the Napoleonic Wars, over 100,000 French prisoners of war were held captive in Britain. These prisoners remain a marginal group in the military history of the period, yet they represent a key turning point in the history of European prisoners of war, and their predicament offers insights into the nature of the French Revolution. This article considers the treatment and experiences of French prisoners, and in particular seeks to understand the circumstances surrounding their long-term captivity. Unlike eighteenth-century prisoners of war, prisoners of the Napoleonic Wars remained captive for the duration of the conflict, unable to return home through the traditional means of prisoner exchange or officer parole. This radical departure from the past gave rise to the modern practice of interning prisoners of war for the entire duration of a war. This historic shift was, on the one level, a result of the actions of one man , Napoleon Bonaparte. Yet, as this article highlights, it must also be understood as part of the long-term social and cultural legacy of the French Revolution. [source] The Christian Religion in Modern European and World History: A Review of The Cambridge History of Christianity, 1815,2000HISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 6 2008David Lindenfeld Volumes 8 and 9 of the Cambridge History, representing the work of 72 scholars, reflect two major recent historiographical trends: 1) the increased attention paid to religion in modern European history, and 2) the increasing importance of Christianity in as a topic in world history. While these volumes serve to summarize the work already done in the first field, with articles on a wide variety of European countries, they should significantly move the second field forward by bringing together the work of specialists on many different parts of the world in a single place. Volume 8 summarizes scholarship on the Western religious revivals of the nineteenth century, both Catholic and Protestant. By integrating religion and politics, it also presents a more complex picture of the formation of European national identities than Benedict Anderson's Imagined Communities suggests. One third of the volume is devoted to the spread of Christianity to the non-Western world. In Volume 9, the European and world history perspectives are more evenly interspersed. Major themes include the papacy, ecumenism, colonialism, Pentecostalism, and the independent churches of Africa and Asia. The 1960s emerge as a turning point, if for different reasons in different parts of the world. This was the decisive period of secularization in Europe, and the final section documents the social and cultural impact of that shift, particularly on the arts. Although there are inevitable gaps in coverage, these volumes will serve as an invaluable research tool for years to come. [source] Changing Patterns of Industrial Relations in TaiwanINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 3 2003Shyh-Jer Chen This article examines changing patterns of industrial relations (IR) in Taiwan. Although trade unions have become more autonomous since the lifting of martial law in the mid-1980s, trends such as the privatization of state-owned enterprises, industrial restructuring, flexible employment practices, and importation of foreign workers hinder union development. The millennium may represent a turning point for workers and their organizations because the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) replaced the Kuomintang (KMT) as the ruling party. This may further union independence and power because the DPP tends to be a more pro-labor party. However, balancing the interests of workers and employers will still be a challenge for the DPP, particularly given employer opposition to many of the DPP's labor policies. [source] A Fiscal Price Tag for International Reserves,INTERNATIONAL FINANCE, Issue 2 2006David Hauner This paper examines the (quasi-)fiscal impact of the (opportunity) cost of international reserves. It proposes a conceptual framework, with particular emphasis on two hitherto somewhat neglected aspects: a more appropriate measure of gross opportunity cost, and potential savings from lower external debt spreads that countries ,buy' by holding reserves. The framework is then applied to 100 countries over 1990,2004. The results suggest that a turning point has been reached in recent years: while most countries made money on their reserves during 1990,2001, most have been losing money during 2002,04. [source] PID adaptive control of incremental and arclength continuation in nonlinear applicationsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 11 2009A. M. P. Valli Abstract A proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control approach is developed, implemented and investigated numerically in conjunction with continuation techniques for nonlinear problems. The associated algorithm uses PID control to adapt parameter stepsize for branch,following strategies such as those applicable to turning point and bifurcation problems. As representative continuation strategies, incremental Newton, Euler,Newton and pseudo-arclength continuation techniques are considered. Supporting numerical experiments are conducted for finite element simulation of the ,driven cavity' Navier,Stokes benchmark over a range in Reynolds number, the classical Bratu turning point problem over a reaction parameter range, and for coupled fluid flow and heat transfer over a range in Rayleigh number. Computational performance using PID stepsize control in conjunction with inexact Newton,Krylov solution for coupled flow and heat transfer is also examined for a 3D test case. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Positive width function and energy indeterminacies in ammonia moleculeINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF QUANTUM CHEMISTRY, Issue 8 2007Theodosios G. Douvropoulos A recently published methodology based on the semiclassical path integral theory was applied in a double well structure and gave the analytic form of the system's Green's function. This type of potential can describe the ammonia molecule as far as the motion of the nitrogen atom perpendicular to the hydrogen plane is discussed. Because of the fact that a double well describes a bound system and correspondingly stationary states (constructed by the symmetric and antisymmetric superposition of the eigenstates of the two unperturbed wells), it was expected that the energy spectrum would be real, in a form of doublets due to the splitting effect that takes place. However, the result was a pair of complex poles, which had a clearly positive imaginary part for each member. The present work explains the role of the imaginary parts of the complex poles as the decay rate of quantities defined as the energy indeterminacies, which are directly related to the fact that energy is not well determined in a classically forbidden region of motion. These quantities come as a function of (d,)/dE, which is the derivative of the classical action inside the potential barrier, with respect to energy. The major contribution comes from the turning points, and then the imaginary parts are responsible, not only for the conservation of energy, but for the correct sign of time as well. In this way, a different approach for the tunneling process is adopted, in which the entry or exit of the particle from the potential barrier takes place inside a neighborhood of the turning point, as though the latter was broadened and fluctuating. The magnitude of the previously mentioned decay rate is equal to ,/,, where , is the frequency of the classical oscillations inside one well. In contrast, the inversion frequency is generated by the part of the complex pole that is unrelated to (d,)/dE and is much smaller in magnitude than the classical frequency, since it is given as ,/, exp(,,). In this way, the period of the energy fluctuations is much smaller than the internal period of the system produced by the oscillating communication of the two classically allowed regions of motion. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007 [source] "Shaking Out the Mat": Schism and Organizational Transformation at a Mexican Ark of the VirginJOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 2 2003Miguel C. Leatham The apocalyptic Marian colony of Nueva Jerusalén, Mexico suffered a violent schism in 1982, marking a turning point in the history of the sect. The rift resulted in a major organizational transformation and helped to establish the centralized system of authority now observable in the colony. This article examines the ideological and structural factors that promoted the schism. A succession crisis, caused by the death of a Marian apparition seer, precipitated schismatic activity as dissidents struggled to block the charismatic leader's attempts to revise the sect's authority structure and identity. At the same time, the prophet escalated tensions by reframing the conflict as a commitment test. Wallis's theory of structural opportunity for schism is used to show how the conflict grew out of long-standing interest groups and ambiguous authority arrangements in the colony. [source] Land and Social Change in a Tanzanian Village 1: Kinyanambo, 1920s,1990JOURNAL OF AGRARIAN CHANGE, Issue 3 2005Elizabeth Daley This article (in two parts) traces the historical development of land tenure in Kinyanambo village, Mufindi District, Tanzania. It suggests a gradual commoditization of land and the evolution of a predominantly individualized land market, processes influenced by the long-term commoditization of agriculture and social reproduction more generally. Local land tenure practices evolved more or less independently of national land tenure policy until 1974, when villagization altered the evolutionary path of local land tenure, marking a fundamental turning point in people's understandings of their land rights. Together with the simultaneous establishment of Mafinga town, it created conditions for the rapid and more spatially concentrated growth of the local population, for urbanization, and for associated changes in livelihoods, land use, and relations between people and land. As a result, and following the economic reforms of the current period of structural adjustment and liberalization, by 2000 Kinyanambo had a deep-rooted, widespread and socially legitimate market in land. [source] Assessment of survival of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Infantis and Enterococcus faecalis artificially inoculated into experimental waste or compostJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2010N. Paniel Abstract Aims:, To evaluate survival of pathogenic strains, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella Infantis and a sanitation indicator Enterococcus faecalis in composts at different stages of the composting process and during storage. Methods and Results:, The studied pathogenic and indicator strains, originally isolated from compost, were inoculated into compost samples from the various stages of the composting process. During incubation, indigenous microflora diversity was monitored with DGGE analysis. After 90 days of incubation, strain survival was observed in compost sampled before the beginning of the cooling phase, and DGGE analysis demonstrated an increase of microbial diversity up to the cooling phase. However, inoculated strains were not detected in composts after 30, 60 or 90 days of incubation in compost sampled after the start of the cooling phase. Microbial diversity also became stable, and DGGE profiles reached a maximum number of bands at this stage. Conclusions:, Strain survival was not observed in stabilized composts. The cooling phase seems to be the turning point for pathogen survival and at this stage the indigenous microflora appeared to play a significant role in suppression. Significance and Impact of the Study:, The importance of indigenous microflora in the survival of pathogens in four different composts was demonstrated. Stabilized composts were recommended for spreading on land. [source] Effect of interfacial strengthening in blends of reclaimed rubber and polypropyleneJOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE, Issue 2 2010S.-H. Zhu Abstract Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) were prepared from polypropylene (PP) and reclaimed ground tire rubber crumbs. Three types of interfacial strengthening agents,degraded PP, hydrosilylated PP, and hydrosilylated PP grafted onto styrene,butadiene rubber,were prepared in melt via a stepwise series of reactions and employed to generate various degrees of interfacial adhesion in the aforementioned blends. The incorporation of the interfacial agents resulted in improvements in the mechanical properties of these TPVs, and the rubber particle size remained constant. The PP chain length and the functional groups present in the interfacial agents affected the magnitude of the improvement in the mechanical properties. The interfacial agents were primarily present on the surface of the rubber particles in the blends, as shown by energy-dispersive X-ray spectra. These interfacial agents in the PP/rubber crumb blends led to a unique preyield kink in their stress,strain curves, a plateau, or a sharp turning point in the region of approximately 3% elongation and approximately 4-MPa stress. These kinks were interpreted similarly to the cold flow of semicrystalline polymers in tension. The addition of the interfacial modifiers decreased the shear viscosity and increased the entrance pressure drop in flow through capillary dies, and this was attributed to changes in the elongational viscosity of the blends. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010 [source] A joint study based on the electron localization function and catastrophe theory of the chameleonic and centauric models for the Cope rearrangement of 1,5-hexadiene and its cyano derivativesJOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 14 2005Victor Polo Abstract A novel interpretation of the chameleonic and centauric models for the Cope rearrangements of 1,5-hexadiene (A) and different cyano derivatives (B: 2,5-dicyano, C: 1,3,4,6-tetracyano, and D: 1,3,5-tricyano) is presented by using the topological analysis of the electron localization function (ELF) and Thom's catastrophe theory (CT) on the reaction paths calculated at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level. The progress of the reaction is monitorized by the changes of the ELF structural stability domains (SSD), each being change controlled by a turning point derived from CT. The reaction mechanism of the parent reaction A is characterized by nine ELF SSDs. All processes occur in the vicinity of the transition structure and corresponding to a concerted formation/breaking of C1C6 and C3C4 bonds, respectively, together with an accumulation of charge density onto C2 and C5 atoms. Reaction B presents the same number of ELF SSDs as A, but a different order appears; the presence of 2,5-dicyano substituents favors the formation of C1C6 bonds over the breaking of C3C4 bond process, changing the reaction mechanism from a concerted towards a stepwise, via a cyclohexane biradical intermediate. On the other side, reaction C presents the same type of turning points but two ELF SSD less than A or B; there is an enhancement of the C3C4 bond breaking process at an earlier stage of the reaction by delocalizing the electrons from the C3C4 bond among the cyano groups. In the case of competitive effects of cyano subsituents on each moiety, as it is for reaction D, seven different ELF SSDs have been identified separated by eight turning points (two of them occur simultaneously). Both processes, formation/breaking of C1C6 and C3C4 bonds, are slightly favored with respect to the parent reaction (A), and the TS presents mixed electronic features of both B and C. The employed methodology provides theoretical support for the centauric nature (half-allyl, half-radical) for the TS of D. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 26: 1427,1437, 2005 [source] Debt, democratization, and development in Latin America: How policy can affect global warmingJOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2008René W. Aubourg The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis conjectures a nonlinear relationship between pollution and economic growth, such that pollution per capita initially increases as countries economically develop, but then reaches a maximum point before ultimately declining. Much of the EKC literature has focused on testing this basic hypothesis and, in studies that find evidence of an EKC, estimating the "turning point" level of development at which the per capita pollution-growth relationship changes sign. This approach has not emphasized the policy relevance of specification issues or the potential role of policy variables. This research explores a modified EKC specification which conditions the pollution-growth relationship on a country's level of debt and degree of democratization. These variables turn out to be significant, implying that different political and economic contexts can shift EKCs and their turning points. These findings suggest that policies to relieve debt burdens and institute political reform, in addition to their usual justifications, also could be used as a strategy to reduce carbon emissions from developing countries. © 2008 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. [source] Strength Properties of Poled Lead Zirconate Titanate Subjected to Biaxial Flexural Loading in High Electric FieldJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 9 2010Hong Wang The mechanical strength of poled lead zirconate titanate (PZT) has been studied using ball-on-ring (BoR) biaxial flexure tests with a high electric field applied concurrently. Both the as-received and the aged PZT specimens were tested. The Weibull plot and a 95% confidence ratio ring were used to characterize the responses of mechanical strength under various electric loading conditions. A fractographical study has been conducted at the same time, and the fracture origins or strength-limiting flaws of tested PZT specimens have been identified and characterized accordingly. The fracture toughness was further estimated to correlate with the obtained fracture stresses and flaws. It has been observed that electric field affects the mechanical strength of poled PZT, and the degree of the effect depends on the sign and magnitude of the applied electric field. Within the examined electric field range of ,3 to +3 times the coercive field, an increasing electric field resulted in a rapid strength decrease and a sharp increase with the turning point around the negative coercive field. Surface-located volume-distributed flaws were identified to be strength limiting for this PZT material. Variations of the mechanical strength with the electric field were believed to be related to the domain switching and amount of switchable domains. An aging effect on the mechanical strength of poled PZT could be significant, especially in the OC condition. These results and observations have the potential to serve probabilistic reliability analysis and design optimization of multilayer PZT piezo actuators. [source] Analysis of Phase Coexistence in Fe2O3 -Doped 0.2PZN,0.8PZT Ferroelectric Ceramics by Raman Scattering SpectraJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 12 2006Man-Kang Zhu In this work, we suggested a method to evaluate quantitatively the effect of doping oxide on the phase coexistence of PbZr1,xTixO3 (PZT)-based ceramics through the analysis of the Raman scattering spectra. Theoretically, the degenerated T3u mode in the cubic phase of PZT will transform as A1(3) and E(4) modes in the tetragonal phase or as rhombohedral (R) modes in the rhombohedral phase below the Curie temperature, which set up the theoretical base to study the phase coexistence in ferroelectric materials. Through separation by fitting of the Raman bands, the shifts and intensities of different Raman vibration modes were determined. A calculation equation representing the phase coexistence was put forward based on the theoretical analysis of the degenerated T3u modes. The results showed that a turning point appears at the Fe2O3 addition of 0.3%. The variation in the electrical properties of the Fe2O3 -doped Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PZN),PZT ceramics also affirmed the turning point of the phase evolution as the addition of Fe2O3. [source] Review article: from 1906 to 2006 , a century of major evolution of understanding of gastro-oesophageal reflux diseaseALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 9 2006J. DENT Summary Background Our understanding of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease has undergone significant changes over the last century. Aim To trace the rise in understanding of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and highlight remaining areas of uncertainty. Methods Literature review. Results In 1906, Tileston published his observations on ,peptic ulcer of the oesophagus'. Winkelstein, in 1934, first correlated symptoms of heartburn with acid regurgitation and reflux oesophagitis. In 1946, Allison described hiatus hernia as a causal factor in the development of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. In 1958, Bernstein and Baker showed a direct relationship between oesophageal acidification and heartburn in patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, irrespective of endoscopic findings, leading to the recognition of non-erosive gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. In the 1980s, continuous recordings of the lower oesophageal sphincter showed that episodes of reflux were related to transient relaxations of lower oesophageal sphincter tone. There is now increasing recognition that gastro-oesophageal reflux disease arises from the interaction of several anatomical and physiological factors. A turning point in the medical treatment of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease came with the introduction of the first proton pump inhibitor, omeprazole, in 1989. Conclusions Future efforts need to identify the multifactorial interactions of gastro-oesophageal junction anatomy and physiology in patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Increased understanding of the disease will guide development of new therapies. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||