959 research outputs found
Decentralization, Democracy, and Development : Recent Experience from Sierra Leone
No full textIn 2004, the government of Sierra Leone
opted for a rethink of its national governance arrangement
by embarking on the resuscitation of democratically elected
local government after 32 years experimenting with central
government appointed district and municipal governments. The
decision by the government and the people of Sierra Leone
was driven by a primary consideration to address the
country's seeming nonperformance in the areas of
citizens' participation in governance and responding to
the needs of citizens as it relates to attainment of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as ensuring
poverty reduction in the country. This book is a
retrospective of the decentralization reform process in
Sierra Leone from 2003-07. During this period, the
Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) reestablished elected
district and urban councils across the country, transferred
certain responsibilities for primary services and local
investment and some financial resources to the new councils,
and invested heavily in building the administrative
infrastructure and capacity of the local councils. The
author is partners who were intimately involved in the
reform. Through recording various aspects of the process and
reflecting on the observations and learning during that
time, the author hope to contribute to the debates on the
merits and risks of decentralization in general and its
desirability and viability in post-conflict countries
Supplemental Material - Novel deoxyribonucleic acid methylation perturbations in workers exposed to vinyl chloride novel deoxyribonucleic acid methylation changes exposed to vinyl chloridein workers
No full textSupplemental Material for Novel deoxyribonucleic acid methylation perturbations in workers exposed to vinyl chloride novel deoxyribonucleic acid methylation changes exposed to vinyl chloridein workers by Xiaotian Zhao, Yan Hao, Qian Wang, Yongmei Shen, Ying Cheng, Ben Li, Yi Gao, Tong Wang, Yulan Qiu in Toxicology and Industrial Health</p
Enantioselective organocatalytic conjugate addition of amines to ?,?-unsaturated aldehydes: one-pot asymmetric synthesis of ?-amino acids and 1,3-diamines
No full textOrganocatalytic asymmetric amine conjugate additions to ?,?-unsaturated aldehydes catalyzed by protected diarylprolinols are presented. The reactions proceed with high enantioselectivity and result in Cbz or Boc protected ?-amino aldehydes, ?-amino alcohols, ?-amino acids and 1,3-diamines with typically 82–99% ee
Heteroepitaxial Growth of 3C-SiC Films on Maskless Patterned Silicon Substrates
No full textHeteroepitaxial growth of 3C-SiC on patterned Si substrates by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) has been investigated to improve the crystal quality of 3C-SiC films. Si substrates were patterned with parallel lines, 1 to 10μm wide and spaced 1 to 10μm apart, which was carried out by photolithography and reactive ion etching. Growth behavior on the patterned substrates was systematically studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). An air gap structure and a spherical shape were formed on the patterned Si substrates with different dimensions. The air gap formed after coalescence reduced the stress in the 3C-SiC films, solving the wafer warp and making it possible to grow thicker films. XRD patterns indicated that the films grown on the maskless patterned Si substrates were mainly composed of crystal planes with (111) orientation
Recyclable three-dimensional Ag nanoparticle-decorated TiO2 nanorod arrays for surface-enhanced Raman scattering
No full text
Fabrication and characterisation of polysilicon-based clamped-clamped filter
No full textThe rapid growth of micromaching technology makes the miniaturized or integrated MEMS resonator or filter become possible. This paper reports on the fabrication and characterization of the polysilicon-based RF MEMS filter, comprised of the two clamped-clamped resonators coupled with the micro dimensions beam. The surface micromaching technology has been adopted to fabricate the clamped-clamped filter. The fabricating process and the optimization of the typical micromaching process for the MEMS RF filter are illustrated in detail. After the fabrication, the resonating characteristics are measured. The center frequency of30 MHz of the micromechanical bandpass filter is demonstrated.?(2011) Trans Tech Publications
Genetic association study of QT interval highlights role for calcium signaling pathways in myocardial repolarization.
No full textThe QT interval, an electrocardiographic measure reflecting myocardial repolarization, is a heritable trait. QT prolongation is a risk factor for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD) and could indicate the presence of the potentially lethal mendelian long-QT syndrome (LQTS). Using a genome-wide association and replication study in up to 100,000 individuals, we identified 35 common variant loci associated with QT interval that collectively explain ∼8-10% of QT-interval variation and highlight the importance of calcium regulation in myocardial repolarization. Rare variant analysis of 6 new QT interval-associated loci in 298 unrelated probands with LQTS identified coding variants not found in controls but of uncertain causality and therefore requiring validation. Several newly identified loci encode proteins that physically interact with other recognized repolarization proteins. Our integration of common variant association, expression and orthogonal protein-protein interaction screens provides new insights into cardiac electrophysiology and identifies new candidate genes for ventricular arrhythmias, LQTS and SCD
Feed-through cancellation of a MEMS filter using the difference method and analysis of the induced notch
No full textSingle-Walled Carbon Nanohorns Inhibit Proliferation of Conjunctival Melanoma Cell Lines CRMM-1 and Involved in Energy Metabolism
No full textSWNHs induces accumulate with the levels of cytotoxic effects on different cell types and organs in animal models; it in a wide range may used for biomedical imaging. Conjunctival melanoma is a rare but potentially fatal ocular surface tumor. Recent studies of us have indicated the ability of SWNHs to inhibit proliferation of conjunctival melanoma cell line CRMM-1. But the role and molecular mechanisms of it was unclear. To address this question, the research about direct role of SWNHs on the growth, proliferation and apoptosis of CRMM-1 had been performed. Our results indicate that followed with the increasing concentrations of SWNHs, the number of cells decreased and apoptotic cells increased significantly. SWNHs delayed obviously mitotic entry of cells, and these effects followed the cultured time and the gradually increasing concentrations of SWNHs. SWNHs inhibited proliferation of cells at each time point in a time and dose-dependent manner, too. The TEM images showed that individual spherical SWNHs particles smaller than 100 nm in diameters were localized inside cytoplasma of cells. In summary, SWNHs inhibited mitotic entry, growth and proliferation of conjunctival melanoma cells and promoted its apoptosis, inhibited energy metabolism of cells in a dose-dependent manner. The roles of SWNHS on conjunctival melanoma cells were implicating energy metabolism. It may be the effective methods for treatment to conjunctival melanoma.Chemistry, MultidisciplinaryNanoscience & NanotechnologyMaterials Science, MultidisciplinaryPhysics, AppliedPhysics, Condensed MatterSCI(E)EI0ARTICLE21821-18301
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