Heavy-Light Decay Constants: Conclusions from the Wilson Action

We report on the results of a MILC collaboration calculation of $f_B$, $f_{B_s}$, $f_D$, $f_{D_s}$ and their ratios. We discuss the most important errors in more detail than we have elsewhere.Comment: LATTICE98(heavyqk) 3 latex pages and 3 postscript figures. The perturbative correction calculated by Kuramashi has been adjusted to take into account the fact that we match to the continuum at the kinetic mass of the heavy meson, not the pole mass. This produces a 2 to 4 MeV change in final results for decay constants, and has negligible effect on decay constant ratio

Combining agronomic and breeding approaches for improved nutrient use efficiency

There is a strong need to improve agricultural nutrient use efficiency (NUE), but NUE is complex, and not even well defined. The abstract and presentation deal with how NUE is determined by the combination of Genetic, Environmental and Management factors (GxExM), and how genetics as well as crop management must be combined in order to achieve improved overall NUE

Control of perennial weeds based on weed biology and environmental considerations

Timing, type and duration of tillage operations and cropping practices are of importance for reducing the regeneration of perennial weeds and also for minimizing the environmental impacts of such operations. In the present work and with reference to previous publications we find that, based on the knowledge gained on growth patterns, sensitivity to competition, growth potential of roots and mechanical and management measures it is possible to coordinate control of perennial weeds with considerations of yield and reduced environmental impact

Transition to organic food in Danish public procurement: can a top-down approach capture the practice?

This paper is addressing the attention towards organic transition processes which takes place in a Danish political context at the moment. With departure in the explicit propositions in an organic vision 2020 launched by the Danish government the practice in public kitchens is presented and discussed. The main findings in several recent studies address the lack of relations between key actors in the field and the challenges in embedding the change into a resilient practice. Especially the relation between kitchen staff and the public administrations seems to be lacking. The political aim is translated into an economic support program dedicated only the teaching of kitchen staff, but does not see the relational character of the transition. Concluding remarks underlines the complexity of a transition approach and problematizes the narrow focus on educational activities as the primary initiative to make farmers and public kitchens convert their production to organic

TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESS TO IMPROVE READING SKILLS FOR THE FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SD NEGERI 11 NGRINGO, JATEN, KARANGANYAR

This final project report is written based on the job training that which was carried out by the writer at SD Negeri 11 Ngringo, Jaten. The purposes of the project are to describe the process, method and the problems and the solution in teaching and learning process to improve reading skill for the fifth grade students of SD Negeri 11 Ngringo, Jaten, including its problems faced by the students and also the solutions for those problems. In writing this final report, the writer collected the data by observing the class, interviewing to the students, library study and directly teaching in the classroom. The writer found difficulties aced by students in the way to read the text covering the pronunciation and understanding the text. The writer used direct method in teaching and learning process. Moreover, the writer taught them systematically based on the lesson plan. It consist of three main steps namely, Pre Teaching, the process of teaching implementation and closing activity of the lesson. Pre-teaching was beginning activity of the lesson. The process of teaching implementation was the main steps of teacher duties that consisted of four steps namely, Building Knowledge of Field, Modeling Text, Join Construction and Individual Construction. The third step was closing activity where the writer could assess whether the objective of the lesson was adequately reached or not. Based on the job training experience, it can be concluded that the problems faced by fifth grade students in learning reading were from the students itself such as the low students’ interest and motivation. So, they were difficult to pronounce and understand the text. The writer tried to solve this problem by creating fun and communicative situation in the class related on the skill learned

Sustainability best practice in PPP: Case study of a hospital project in the UK

Globally, sustainable development has been given high priority for the Government agenda in order to achieve a balance of social, economic and environmental factors. The UK government realise the importance and criticality of sustainable development and they intend to use the public procurement power to demand more sustainable public building development to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. Public Private Partnership (PPP) is an effective procurement tool for the government to deliver the provision of public services. In the UK, the most common PPP form is Private Finance Initiative (PFI). Up until March 2012, a total of 717 PFI projects have been delivered to sustain social and economic development in the UK (HM Treasury, 2012). There is potential to use PPP to incorporate the sustainability agenda and support low carbon economic development. However, little research has been conducted to demonstrate the benefits and advantages of the PPP procurement system incorporating sustainable development. This paper aims to demonstrate best practice in sustainable development through PPP (PFI) procurement system in the UK. It initially illustrates the relationship between PPP and sustainable development and then uses a case study of one of the largest PPP hospital projects in the UK, utilising interviews and secondary data to show evidence of how the sustainability issues have been addressed within the procurement process and the advantage and limitations of using the PPP procurement system in delivering sustainable development. The results show best practice across different strands of sustainability through contribution to local employment and the local economy, a high percentage of waste recycling, dust and noise reduction and technical innovations such as green roofs, natural ventilation and a focus on occupant comfort

Drug Distribution and Stent Retention of Drug Eluting Stents

In this paper the examinations of drug eluting coronary stents are shown, such as the morphology of the coatings before expansion, drug distribution, the methodology and the value of stent retention. Surface qualities of drug coatings were examined with stereo-microscope, metallographic microscope and scanning electron microscope. Examinations with confocal microscope show drug distribution in the coatings. Stent retention is a very important property of the stent system. Stent retention is a force, needed to the stent slip down from the balloon. Three drug eluting coronary stents were tested with our method