Sole Medium Research Articles

Leather: an important material for defence

Many articles made of leather are required by the Armed Forces, the most important being army boots and sadlery. The kinds of leather needed for making them are the heavy leathers, viz., sole and harness and medium substance leather for army footwear uppers. The best available heavy buffalo and cow hides must be used, the former for making sole and harness and the latter for army footwear uppers. The techniques of manufacturing these leathers must also be of the highest possible order and the processes should be scientifically controlled.

Higher Education Students’ Reflections on Learning in Times of Academic Language Shift

This article deals with the current debate on the use of English as the only medium of instruction in contexts where it is a second or foreign language. More specifically, it investigates Rwandan students’ reflections on using English as the sole medium of instruction in their everyday higher education academic activities. The study is mainly based on individual interviews from students at a University in Rwanda, where the language in education policy has changed considerably over the last decade. The findings suggest that students face different challenges and difficulties in using the newly adopted language of learning and teaching. They are, however, aware of the globalisation process and dissolution of national boundaries and are willing to upgrade their English in order to cope with the new academic situation.

ChemInform Abstract: Green Synthesis of Fluorinated Biaryl Derivatives via Thermoregulated Ligand/Palladium‐Catalyzed Suzuki Reaction.

AbstractA variety of target compounds including fluorinated liquid crystals (III) is prepared using a thermoregulated ligand/palladium catalyst and water as a sole medium.

Green synthesis of fluorinated biaryl derivatives via thermoregulated ligand/palladium-catalyzed Suzuki reaction

Fluorinated compounds have attracted considerable attention in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and material science due to their unique physical properties. This paper reports an efficient and environmentally benign protocol for the Suzuki reaction of aryl halides with fluorinated arylboronic acids over a thermoregulated ligand/palladium catalyst using water as sole medium, affording a variety of fluorinated biaryls, including fluorinated liquid crystals, in excellent yields. The catalyst could be recycled four times with high activity. The active catalyst was proved to be a palladium/ligand complex via a mercury-poisoning test.

Redefining Technology Role in Education

The paper is a conceptual attempt to explore the new roles of technology in education which has increasingly become more than a sole medium, as was its description in the past. Basically, the key idea is that technology, with the powers of ICT, in education has now three main roles, namely: a medium/resource, a management, and a delivery. These new roles, when combined, could set the stage for restructuring the education institutions in an innovative way that leaves the current education system in history.

1, 4-Addition of Terminal Alkynes to Conjugated Enones in Water Using Green Catalyst Bis[(l)prolinato-N,O]Zn—An Environmentally Benign Protocol

An easy, low cost, and green procedure is proposed for the 1, 4-addition of terminal alkynes to conjugated enones in water as a sole medium using easily accessible Zn[(l)Proline]2. This protocol has advantages of high yield, mild reaction conditions, no environmental pollution and simple work up procedure. Recyclable Bis[(l)prolinato-N,O]Zn provides eminent, efficient, economical, environmentally benign protocol for the 1, 4-addition of terminal alkynes to conjugated enones in water as sole media. For the first time easily accessible, cheap catalyst was employed for such type of reaction.

Ascorbate Promotes Epigenetic Activation of CD30 in Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells have the ability to adapt to various culture conditions. Phenotypic and epigenetic changes brought about by the culture conditions can, however, have significant impacts on their use in research and in clinical applications. Here, we show that diploid hESCs start to express CD30, a biomarker for malignant cells in Hodgkin's disease and embryonal carcinoma cells, when cultured in knockout serum replacement (KOSR)-based medium, but not in fetal calf serum containing medium. We identify the commonly used medium additive, ascorbate, as the sole medium component in KOSR responsible for CD30 induction. Our data show that this epigenetic activation of CD30 expression in hESCs by ascorbate occurs through a dramatic loss of DNA methylation of a CpG island in the CD30 promoter. Analysis of the phenotype and transcriptome of hESCs that overexpress the CD30 signaling domain reveals that CD30 signaling leads to inhibition of apoptosis, enhanced single-cell growth, and transcriptome changes that are associated with cell signaling, lipid metabolism, and tissue development. Collectively, our data show that hESC culture media that contain ascorbate trigger CD30 expression through an epigenetic mechanism and that this provides a survival advantage and transcriptome changes that may help adapt hESCs to in vitro culture conditions.

The effectiveness of using english as the sole medium of instruction in english classes: student responses and improved english proficiency

This longitudinal action research study investigates the effectiveness of English as the sole medium of instruction in Hong Kong by comparing the preferences of two non-native English language classes under two different teaching policies, while also examining both classes for any potential correlations with improved English proficiency. In one English class, an English-only policy was strictly enforced, while in the second class the use of Cantonese (the students' first language) was permitted. Results revealed that not only did the class under the strict policy have a stronger preference for English as the sole medium of instruction, but their English proficiency had also become higher than that of the more Cantonese-tolerant class. La efectividad del uso del ingles como unico medio de instruccion en las clases de ingles: respuesta de los estudiantes y mejora en los niveles

Cereal-based biorefinery development: Utilisation of wheat milling by-products for the production of succinic acid

A novel wheat-based bioprocess for the production of a nutrient-complete feedstock for the fermentative succinic acid production by Actinobacillus succinogenes has been developed. Wheat was fractionated into bran, middlings and flour. The bran fraction, which would normally be a waste product of the wheat milling industry, was used as the sole medium in two solid-state fermentations (SSF) of Aspergillus awamori and Aspergillus oryzae that produce enzyme complexes rich in amylolytic and proteolytic enzymes, respectively. The resulting fermentation solids were then used as crude enzyme sources, by adding directly to an aqueous suspension of milled bran and middlings fractions (wheat flour milling by-products) to generate a hydrolysate containing over 95 g/L glucose, 25 g/L maltose and 300 mg/L free amino nitrogen (FAN). This hydrolysate was then used as the sole medium for A. succinogenes fermentations, which led to the production of 50.6 g/L succinic acid. Supplementation of the medium with yeast extract did not significantly improve succinic acid production though increasing the inoculum concentration to 20% did result in the production of 62.1 g/L succinic acid. Results indicated that A. succinogenes cells were able to utilise glucose and maltose in the wheat hydrolysate for cell growth and succinic acid production. The proposed process could be potentially integrated into a wheat-milling process to upgrade the wheat flour milling by-products (WFMB) into succinic acid, one of the future platform chemicals of a sustainable chemical industry.

Idiomatic variation in Nigerian English : implications for standarization in the context of globalization

A global phenomenon that involves language use, which has not been given sufficient attention by researchers, is idiomatic variation. In this study, we provide a classification of idioms in Nigerian English based on factors of stability in both formal and colloquial usage, length of usage, and international intelligibility. We also examine the implications of idiomatic variation for standardization in the context of globalization. Against the backdrop of the debate on whether or not the native speakers’ English should be the sole medium of international communication, this study attempts to explain the reasons why different varieties of English should be accorded recognition and allowed to function as media of international communication provided they meet the condition of international intelligibility. In addition to a general discussion of idiomatic variation in Nigerian English, the study provides real examples of idioms in different contexts of communicative performance targeted at global/transnational audience with a view to addressing the subject of “contending with globalization in World Englishes”.

Radiation grafting of acrylic acid onto poly(ethylene terephthalate) fabric

AbstractRadiation grafting of acrylic acid onto poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) knittings was investigated by preirradiation technique. The influence of the grafting conditions, such as reaction time, ferrous sulfate concentration, preirradiation dose, organic additives, monomer concentration, and reaction temperature on the degree of grafting was investigated. Precise control over the degree of grafting was achieved by proper selection of the reaction conditions. The organic solvents such as methanol, acetone, isopropanol, THF, and MEK when used as sole medium do not allow the grafting to proceed, probably due to the inhibitory action. However, reasonable grafting proceeded when a mixture of water and organic solvent was used. Attenuated total reflectance‐FTIR spectroscopy analysis of the grafted knittings confirmed the existence of carboxylic acid groups in the knittings. The surface morphology, as studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), was significantly influenced by the addition of organic solvents in the reaction medium. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009

Playing School in Mauritius

The development in Mauritius's three major languages is essentially sequential for most of the population: Creole, French, English. In schools, English is used alongside French (and some Creole) in Primary Standards 1 (ages five–six) to 3 (ages seven–eight). English is officially the sole medium of instruction from Primary Standard 4 (ages eight–nine), though this is not the case in practice. Two Mauritian cousins (aged six and eight years) in the initial stages of the development of English were filmed playing school. The children are native speakers of Creole and (to a varying extent) French, have some exposure to Bhojpuri (used among older family members), and have attended French-medium nursery schools. Although older family members speak English, it is little used in the home domain, and the children's major exposure to English is in the classroom. The children were told that the rule of the game was that they would use only English while playing schools. However, they sometimes broke the rule. Codeswitching in the enacted English lessons is compared to that of actual teachers and pupils who were observed in classrooms. Both children show realistic knowledge of how different languages have different domains and functions in the classroom.

Carotenoid production byXanthophyllomyces dendrorhous: use of pineapple juice as a production medium

To select a carotenoid-hyperproducing mutant and to formulate pineapple juice as a carotenoid production medium. Yeast strain of Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous mutant GM 807 (derived from gamma irradiation) and the mutant n78 (from neutron irradiation) were selected based on higher carotenoid production in diluted pineapple juice as a medium. The selected strain was evaluated under various concentrations of pineapple juice. The results obtained in the study demonstrate that the mutant GM 807 enhanced production by 65.8% when using pineapple juice as medium at 10% dilution in place of yeast malt medium. Pineapple juice could be used as a sole medium for carotenoid production. Our results provide useful information for the design of production media for carotenoids to be used in various applications.

Enacting English language ownership in the Outer Circle: a study of Singaporean Indians' orientations to English norms

ABSTRACT: Singapore is unique in that it has not only embraced English as one of its official languages, but has made the language of its colonizers the de facto working language of the nation and the sole medium of instruction in all its schools, while assigning its other three official languages, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil, an L2 status in the school curriculum. With the use of English institutionalized in almost all domains of life, present‐ day Singaporeans grow up as ‘English‐knowing’ bilinguals, acquiring English in the process of its use and interaction in school, in the playground, in the workplace, and increasingly in the home as well, making them native speakers of their variety of English. This raises interesting questions with regard to the ownership and authority of Singaporean speakers, and as to their legitimacy as mother‐tongue speakers of the language. Drawing on Higgins' (2003) study on speakers' orientations towards English norms of Inner and Outer Circle countries, we examined Singaporean speakers' degree of ownership of their English norms along the dimensions of age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic class. In this paper we discuss some data from this ongoing study relating specifically to the language use of Singapore's Indian community, with a focus on how they positioned themselves in the process of articulating their orientations to English norms.

286 EFFECTS OF PORCINE FOLLICULAR FLUID DURING IN VITRO MATURATION OF OOCYTES ON IN VITRO FERTILIZATION AND EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT

When used as a solo maturation medium for oocytes, porcine follicular fluid (pFF) promoted male pronucleus formation (MPF) of oocytes after in vitro maturation (IVM), using a static system, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) in pigs (Naito et al. 1988 Gamete Res. 21, 289–295). However, the developmental competence of oocytes matured in pFF after IVM/IVF has not been reported. This study was conducted to assess the ability of pFF as a maturation medium to support IVM/IVF of porcine oocytes and their subsequent in vitro development. pFF, including cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs), was aspirated from follicles (2–5 mm in diameter) of prepubertal crossbred gilt ovaries, and large clusters of follicular cells (FC) were removed from pFF by filtration through 212 �m of mesh. All of the COCs in filtered pFF were collected, and COCs with compact cumulus cells were selected for IVM. Also, small clusters of FC were collected by centrifugation of the filtered pFF, and pFF without any cells was prepared by centrifugation and used as a maturation medium (MpFF) after supplementation with FSH and antibiotics. COCs were transferred to 3.5 mL (in a 15-mL test tube) of MpFF with FC (5.2 � 106 cells mL-1) and cultured for 44–48 h at 38.5�C in 5% O2 and 5% CO2 using the rotating culture system. As a control group, COCs were cultured in 2 mL of MpFF without FC in a 35-mm Petri dish by the standard static culture system. After maturation, culture oocytes were co-incubated (IVF) for 5 h with frozen–thawed sperm in vitro, as reported previously (Kikuchi et al. 2002 Biol. Reprod. 66, 1033–1041), and then some of them were fixed 10 h after IVF to assess the fertilization status; the rest of them were cultured in PZM (Yoshioka et al. 2002 Biol. Reprod. 60, 112–119) for 7 days to assess their early embryonic development. All of the data were analyzed by ANOVA. Oocytes cultured with FC in the rotating system (R group) showed significantly higher sperm penetration (71.0%), MPF formation (70.5%), and normal fertilization (monospermic fertilization with female and male pronuclei; 31.5%) rates than those in the control group (56.0%, 56.9%, and 17.6%, respectively; P < 0.05). Also, the R group showed significantly higher rates of 8-cell embryos at 2 days after IVF and blastocyst formation at 7 days after IVF than those of the control group (17.2% vs. 8.3% and 10.9% vs. 4.5%, respectively; P < 0.05). These results indicate that porcine oocytes matured in pFF supplemented with FC using the rotating system have the ability to be penetrated by sperm and form MPF, and to develop to the blastocyst stage at higher rates, than oocytes cultured in the standard static maturation culture system. In conclusion, the pFF can be a sole and simple maturation culture medium useful for the in vitro production of blastocysts in pigs.

Meeting Scheduling: Face-to-Face, Automatic Scheduler, and Email Based Coordination

We conducted laboratory experiments based on small groups (4 to 5 participants) to compare the performance of 4 different mechanisms of meeting scheduling: (a) face-to-face coordination wherein individuals negotiate in person and arrive at a consensus on the timing of the meeting, (b) email as the sole communication medium with no structured support, (c) the calendar-based scheduling mechanism using email, and (d) an automated scheduler. Participants of the experiment were drawn from a university in Hong Kong. The experiment was implemented based on the real task of meeting scheduling among project groups that had to meet several times during a 3-month period to work on their project (regardless of this experiment). Postexperimental surveys were used to assess satisfaction with agreed meeting time and perceived efficiency in coordination. The frequency of scheduling conflicts also was measured. Data analysis indicates that even with higher scheduling conflicts among the group members, participants in general showed more satisfaction with the meeting time reached during the face-to-face meeting and also concurred on the efficiency of face-to-face coordination. Overall, they preferred communication-oriented approaches such as face-to-face coordination over decision-oriented ones such as the automated scheduler. We discuss the result of data analysis from the perspective of cultural implications on meeting scheduling and on virtual process management.

Do Acquisitions Drive Performance or Does Performance Drive Acquisitions?

We examine the characteristics, strategies, and performance of acquirers in 12,476 completed US acquisitions. We document that a portfolio of acquiring firms significantly outperformed market benchmarks during the 1990s, and that frequent acquirers outperformed infrequent acquirers. This outperformance reflects superior stock price performance that occurs before, not after, acquisition announcements, implying that it is good performance that begets acquisitions rather than the reverse. In addition to this pre-acquisition stock price run-up, in the vast majority of cases, we observe a statistically and economically significant positive market reaction to the acquisition announcement itself. Further, we find that acquirer size is not the most important determinant of the market reaction to an acquisition announcement. Instead, the target organizational form – i.e., whether the target is public or non-public – dominates all else. In addition, the size of the target and the medium of exchange are at least as important as acquirer size. Our empirical results lead us to conclude that the widely accepted attributions of “hubris” and “agency costs” to the motivations of the managers of acquiring firms are perhaps overstated, since they apply only to a small subset of cases where the target is relatively large and publicly traded, and stock is used as the sole medium of exchange. A substantial portion of M&A activity is consistent with shareholder value-maximizing behavior.

A secure infrastructure for service discovery and access in pervasive computing

Security is paramount to the success of pervasive computing environments. The system presented in this paper provides a communications and security infrastructure that goes far in advancing the goal of anywhere-anytime computing. Our work securely enables clients to access and utilize services in heterogeneous networks. We provide a service registration and discovery mechanism implemented through a hierarchy of service management. The system is built upon a simplified Public Key Infrastructure that provides for authentication, non-repudiation, anti-playback, and access control. Smartcards are used as secure containers for digital certificates. The system is implemented in Java and we use Extensible Markup Language as the sole medium for communications and data exchange. Currently, we are solely dependent on a base set of access rights for our distributed trust model however, we are expanding the model to include the delegation of rights based upon a predefined policy. In our proposed expansion, instead of exclusively relying on predefined access rights, we have developed a flexible representation of trust information, in Prolog, that can model permissions, obligations, entitlements, and prohibitions. In this paper, we present the implementation of our system and describe the modifications to the design that are required to further enhance distributed trust. Our implementation is applicable to any distributed service infrastructure, whether the infrastructure is wired, mobile, or ad hoc.

Amplification of the Escherichia coli lacZ gene in Bacillus subtilis and its expression on a by‐product growth medium

A Bacillus subtilis wild type strain and a kinA (spoIIJ) isogenic mutant were compared as hosts for the expression of the Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase gene, lacZ, driven by the B. subtilis aprE promoter in a chromosomal system. The 2 x SG sporulation formula, with some modifications, was used as a basal medium. The specific activity values recorded by the mutant strain at the stationary phase were markedly higher than those achieved by the wild type host. Exposure of the cells to increasing levels of chloramphenicol resulted in significant amplifications of the lacZ region. Gene copy numbers of 19 and 11 were estimated in the amplified wild type and kinA strains, respectively, with high segregational stability records. The magnitude of beta-galactosidase over-expression was dependent on, and roughly proportional to antibiotic resistance levels. Among five examined by-products, a 2.3-times diluted concentration of neutralized cheese whey was successfully used as a sole medium component for over-expression of the recombinant beta-galactosidase gene in B. subtilis.

Amplification of theEscherichia coli lacZ gene inBacillus subtilis and its expression on a by-product growth medium

A Bacillus subtilis wild type strain and a kinA (spoIIJ) isogenic mutant were compared as hosts for the expression of the Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase gene, lacZ, driven by the B. subtilis aprE promoter in a chromosomal system. The 2 x SG sporulation formula, with some modifications, was used as a basal medium. The specific activity values recorded by the mutant strain at the stationary phase were markedly higher than those achieved by the wild type host. Exposure of the cells to increasing levels of chloramphenicol resulted in significant amplifications of the lacZ region. Gene copy numbers of 19 and 11 were estimated in the amplified wild type and kinA strains, respectively, with high segregational stability records. The magnitude of beta-galactosidase over-expression was dependent on, and roughly proportional to antibiotic resistance levels. Among five examined by-products, a 2.3-times diluted concentration of neutralized cheese whey was successfully used as a sole medium component for over-expression of the recombinant beta-galactosidase gene in B. subtilis.