Biobutanol was produced from cooked rice by utilizing two steps: microbial saccharification followed by aerobic acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) fermentation. The scaled-up process was simulated via SuperPro Designer®.
Piezoresponse force microscopy has been used to perform nanoscale characterization of the spatial variations in the imprint and switching behavior of (111)-oriented Pb(Zr,Ti)O3-based capacitors on Pt electrodes. Mapping of polarization distribution in the poled capacitors as well as local d33–V loop measurements revealed a significant difference in imprint and switching behavior between the peripheral and inner parts of the capacitors. It has been found that the inner regions of the capacitors are negatively imprinted (with the preferential direction of the normal component of polarization upward) and tend to switch back after application of the positive poling voltage. On the other hand, switchable regions at the edge of the integrated capacitors generally exhibit more symmetric hysteresis behavior. Application of an ac switching voltage, contrary to what was expected, resulted in an increase of the negatively imprinted regions. The observed effect has been explained by incomplete or asymmetric switching due to the mechanical stress conditions existing in the central parts of the capacitors.
We conducted a pilot test of American Cancer Society Workplace Solutions, an intervention that takes a marketing approach to increasing employers' adoption of evidence-based practices to prevent and control chronic diseases among their employees.We delivered the intervention and assessed the changes in practices of 8 large employers in the Pacific Northwest.Workplace Solutions recommends 15 employer practices in 5 categories: 1) health insurance benefits, 2) policies, 3) workplace programs, 4) health-promoting communication, and 5) tracking of employee health behaviors to measure progress. The intervention includes 4 meetings with employers over 2 months and begins with a questionnaire-based assessment of employer practices. Tailored recommendations follow, along with practice-specific implementation assistance on requested topics. We tested the intervention in a before-after study without a comparison group.The employers ranged in size from 7500 to 115,522 employees and included private companies and public employers. Seven of the eight employers implemented more of the recommended practices at follow-up (an average of 13 months after the intervention) than at baseline. Overall, implementation of the practices increased from 38% at baseline to 61% at follow-up (P = .02).Workplace Solutions is a promising new approach to bringing evidence-based best practices for preventing chronic disease to large numbers of adults.
Japanese elementary schools introduced programming education in 2020, but are Japanese educators better equipped to teach this new subject? Most programming education research focuses on children. Unfortunately, educators are often overlooked. In this research, elementary schools in five Japanese prefectures were visited to understand better in-service educators’ tasks and preparedness in teaching programming. An electronic survey was distributed to twenty-five schools, augmented by interviews with school principals. Data shows that while educators are recently better equipped to teach programming education compared to 2020, much work remains to be done in offering teachers pre-service training and lifelong learning opportunities. This paper provides insight into better professional development for Japanese elementary educators in programming education.
