A mathematically rigorous framework for singular limits of the magnetohydrodynamic rotating shallow water equations with ill-prepared data is developed when the Rossby and Froude numbers tend to zero at different rate...A mathematically rigorous framework for singular limits of the magnetohydrodynamic rotating shallow water equations with ill-prepared data is developed when the Rossby and Froude numbers tend to zero at different rates.The reduced systems are derived,respectively,for the stratification-dominant and the rotation-dominant cases by means of the developed three-scale fast averaging method.展开更多
Significantly increasing temperature since the 1980s in China has become a consensus under the background of global climate change and how climate change affects agriculture or even cropping systems has attracted more...Significantly increasing temperature since the 1980s in China has become a consensus under the background of global climate change and how climate change affects agriculture or even cropping systems has attracted more and more attention from Chinese government and scientists. In this study, the possible effects of climate warming on the national northern limits of cropping systems, the northern limits of winter wheat and double rice, and the stable-yield northern limits of rainfed winter wheat-summer maize rotation in China from 1981 to 2007 were analyzed. Also, the possible change of crop yield caused by planting limits displacement during the periods 1950s-1981 and 1981-2007 was compared and discussed. The recognized calculation methods of agricultural climatic indices were employed. According to the indices of climatic regionalization for cropping systems, the national northern limits of cropping systems, winter wheat and double rice, and the stable-yield northern limits of rainfed winter wheat-summer maize rotation during two periods, including the 1950s-1980 and 1981-2007, were drawn with ArcGIS software. Compared with the situation during the 1950s- 1980, the northern limits of double cropping system during 1981-2007 showed significant spatial displacement in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, and Liaoning provinces and Beijing municipality, China. The northern limits of triple cropping system showed the maximum spatial displacement in Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces, China. Without considering variety change and social economic factors, the per unit area grain yield of main planting patterns would increase about 54-106% if single cropping system was replaced by double cropping system, which turned out to be 27- 58% if double cropping system was replaced by triple cropping system. In Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai provinces, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia autonomous regions, China, the northern limits of winter wheat during 1981-2007 moved northward and expanded westward in different degrees, compared with those during the 1950s-1980. Taking Hebei Province as an example, the northern limits of winter wheat moved northward, and the per unit area grain yield would averagely increase about 25% in the change region if the spring wheat was replaced by winter wheat. In Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, and Hunan provinces, China, the planting northern limits of double rice moved northward, and the per unit area grain yield would increase in different degrees only from the perspective of heat resource. The stable- yield northern limits of rainfed winter wheat-summer maize rotation moved southeastward in most regions, which was caused by the decrease of local precipitation in recent years. During the past 50 yr, climate warming made the national northern limits of cropping systems move northward in different degrees, the northern limits of winter wheat and double rice both moved northward, and the cropping system change would cause the increase of per unit area grain yield in the change region. However, the stable-yield northern limits of rainfed winter wheat-summer maize rotation moved southeastward due to the decrease of precipitation.展开更多
Commonly,the standards for the geometric design of roads refer to a given set of values for the friction coefficient(longitudinal and transverse friction).These"reference"values imply corresponding visibilit...Commonly,the standards for the geometric design of roads refer to a given set of values for the friction coefficient(longitudinal and transverse friction).These"reference"values imply corresponding visibility sights,curvature radii,and speed limits.Unfortunately,not only do these reference values not correspond to a given standard to measure them,but nothing is said about the decrease of the posted speed limit(variable speed limits)when roads become slippery and lanes for autonomous vehicle(AV)are concerned.Furthermore,the same assessment of the friction coefficient has plenty of uncertainties due to measurement device,temperature,location,time passed from the construction,alignment-related variables(e.g.,curve,tangent,transition curve,convexity/crests or concavity/sags,longitudinal slope,superelevation,and ruling gradient),and supplementary singularities such as joints and bridge approaches.All the issues above may harm road safety and the complexity of forensic investigations of pavements.Consequently,this study's objectives were confined to(1)carrying out friction measurements and analyzing the problem of friction decay over time;(2)setting up a method to lower the speed limits where friction decays are detected;(3)setting up a method to handle friction decays for autonomous vehicles.Results demonstrate that:(1)a power law describes how the speed limits are affected by friction;(2)for speeds up to 170 km/h,due to the lower reaction time,AV reaction distance is lower,which benefits AV traffic(lower stopping distance);(3)on the contrary,for higher values of friction and higher speeds,under the hypothesis of having the same reaction time law for non-AV(NAV)(i.e.,decreasing with the initial speed),AV speed limits become lower than NAV speed limits;(4)not only do comfort-based speed profiles for AVs bring higher braking distances,but also,in the median part(of the deceleration process),this could pose safety issues and reduce the distance between the available and the needed friction.展开更多
In this paper,we compute sub-Riemannian limits of some important curvature variants associated with the connection with torsion for four dimensional twisted BCV spaces and derive a Gauss-Bonnet theorem for four dimens...In this paper,we compute sub-Riemannian limits of some important curvature variants associated with the connection with torsion for four dimensional twisted BCV spaces and derive a Gauss-Bonnet theorem for four dimensional twisted BCV spaces.展开更多
In chemical flooding,emulsification and interfacial tension(IFT)reduction are crucial for enhanced oil recovery(EOR).However,the dominant performance parameter and technical limits of surfactants for oil displacement ...In chemical flooding,emulsification and interfacial tension(IFT)reduction are crucial for enhanced oil recovery(EOR).However,the dominant performance parameter and technical limits of surfactants for oil displacement remain underexplored.This study investigated the relationship between the emulsification capability and IFT.Accordingly,the dominant performance parameter and the technical limits of surfactants were determined using oil displacement experiments.Specifically,an analysis of 74 sets of experimental results revealed a shift in the significant correlation between EI(a quantitative measure of emulsification capability)andσat anσvalue of 8.5×10^(-2)mN/m(i.e.,critical valueσ_(c)).Forσ<σ_(c),emulsification capability and IFT function as independent performance parameters.The oil displacement experiments using two surfactants with contrasting EI andσvalues demonstrate that emulsification capability,rather than ultra-low IFT,is the dominant performance parameter.This study determined the technical limit of EI using oil displacement experiments via in-situ emulsification.The experimental results indicate strong correlations of EI with oil displacement and recovery efficiencies.The incremental displacement and recovery efficiencies were employed to quantify the potential of surfactants to enhance oil displacement and recovery efficiencies,respectively.The incremental displacement and recovery efficiencies versus EI curves revealed a critical EI(EI_(c))value of 0.53.When EIEI_(c),their increasing rates slowed down markedly.Therefore,the technical limits of the emulsification capability and IFT of surfactants used in this study are determined at EI≥0.53 andσ≤8.5×10^(-2)mN/m,respectively.展开更多
Based on archetype analysis of system dynamics,the limits-to-growth archetype of Peter Senge(one of his eight archetypes) was borrowed,and various influence factors of rural tourism development combined to construct t...Based on archetype analysis of system dynamics,the limits-to-growth archetype of Peter Senge(one of his eight archetypes) was borrowed,and various influence factors of rural tourism development combined to construct the limits-to-growth archetype which consists of limits-to-growth archetype of scientific planning balance,and limits-to-growth archetype of infrastructure input balance,and limits-to-growth archetype of high-quality staff balance.Through the join of limits-to-growth sub-archetypes,limits-to-growth archetype of rural tourism development in overseas countries were obtained,on the basis of which further researches were carried out to analyze management countermeasures to eliminate limits to growth via rural tourism development.It was stressed that government should play the guiding role,unified planning,scientific management and policy support further enhanced;more efforts should be devoted to the infrastructure construction,and more financial support given by the government;more professional talents should be introduced in multiple ways,and training for present rural tourism staff enhanced.展开更多
Two-dimensional(2D)transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDs)allow for atomic-scale manipulation,challenging the conventional limitations of semiconductor materials.This capability may overcome the short-channel effect,sp...Two-dimensional(2D)transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDs)allow for atomic-scale manipulation,challenging the conventional limitations of semiconductor materials.This capability may overcome the short-channel effect,sparking significant advancements in electronic devices that utilize 2D TMDs.Exploring the dimension and performance limits of transistors based on 2D TMDs has gained substantial importance.This review provides a comprehensive investigation into these limits of the single 2D-TMD transistor.It delves into the impacts of miniaturization,including the reduction of channel length,gate length,source/drain contact length,and dielectric thickness on transistor operation and performance.In addition,this review provides a detailed analysis of performance parameters such as source/drain contact resistance,subthreshold swing,hysteresis loop,carrier mobility,on/off ratio,and the development of p-type and single logic transistors.This review details the two logical expressions of the single 2D-TMD logic transistor,including current and voltage.It also emphasizes the role of 2D TMD-based transistors as memory devices,focusing on enhancing memory operation speed,endurance,data retention,and extinction ratio,as well as reducing energy consumption in memory devices functioning as artificial synapses.This review demonstrates the two calculating methods for dynamic energy consumption of 2D synaptic devices.This review not only summarizes the current state of the art in this field but also highlights potential future research directions and applications.It underscores the anticipated challenges,opportunities,and potential solutions in navigating the dimension and performance boundaries of 2D transistors.展开更多
This article provides a brief overview of various approaches that may be utilized for the analysis of human semen test results. Reference intervals are the most widely used tool for the interpretation of clinical labo...This article provides a brief overview of various approaches that may be utilized for the analysis of human semen test results. Reference intervals are the most widely used tool for the interpretation of clinical laboratory results. Reference interval development has classically relied on concepts elaborated by the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry Expert Panel on Reference Values during the 1980s. These guidelines involve obtaining and classifying samples from a healthy population of at least 120 individuals and then identifying the outermost 5% of observations to use in defining limits for two-sided or one-sided reference intervals. More recently, decision limits based on epidemiological outcome analysis have also been introduced to aid in test interpretation. The reference population must be carefully defined on the basis of the intended clinical use of the underlying test. To determine appropriate reference intervals for use in male fertility assessment, a reference population of men with documented time to pregnancy of 〈 12 months would be most suitable. However, for epidemiological assessment of semen testing results, a reference population made up ofunselected healthy men would be preferred. Although reference and decision limits derived for individual semen analysis test results will undoubtedly be the interpretational tools of choice in the near future, in the long term, multivariate methods for the interpretation of semen analysis alone or in combination with information from the female partner seem to represent better means for assessing the likelihood of achieving a successful pregnancy in a subfertile couple.展开更多
Combustible gases in coal mines are composed of methane, hydrogen, some multi-carbon alkane gases and other gases. Based on a numerical calculation, the explosion limits of combustible gases were studied, showing that...Combustible gases in coal mines are composed of methane, hydrogen, some multi-carbon alkane gases and other gases. Based on a numerical calculation, the explosion limits of combustible gases were studied, showing that these limits are related to the concentrations of different components in the mixture. With an increase of C4H10 and C6H14, the Lower ExplosionLimit （LEL） and Upper Explosion-Limit （UEL） of a combustible gas mixture will decrease clearly. For every 0.1% increase in C4H10 and C6H14, the LEL decreases by about 0.19% and the UEL by about 0.3%. The results also prove that, by increasing the amount of H2, the UEL of a combustible gas mixture will increase considerably. If the level of HE increases by 0.1%, the UEL will increase by about 0.3%. However, H2 has only a small effect on the LEL of the combustible gas mixture. Our study provides a theoretical foundation for judging the explosion risk of an explosive gas mixture in mines.展开更多
The explosive gases CO and C2H4, released mainly flammable gases during the process of coal self-ignition, are of the most important ingredients of the multi-component gases in goal areas, along with CH4. We have dete...The explosive gases CO and C2H4, released mainly flammable gases during the process of coal self-ignition, are of the most important ingredients of the multi-component gases in goal areas, along with CH4. We have determined some of the parame- ters of explosive properties of the one-component gases CH4, CO and C2H4 using an explosive trial device of polybasic explosive gas mixtures and emphasized particularly the effect on the limits of explosive concentration of the binary explosive mixed gases CH4＋CO, CH4＋C2H4, as a function of the amount of CO, C2H4 and inert flame resisting gases （N2, CO2）. The experimental results show that the effect of inert gases on the explosive limits of mixed gases, given the property of explosive gas, is obvious： the inert gases （N2, CO2） possess some inhibitory effects on the explosion of the multi-component explosive gas mixtures. The results will provide some experimental support to suppress the occurrence of the gas explosions in goaf areas and provide some directions for designing explosion-proof electric equipment and fire arresters.展开更多
In order to reduce the number of accidents due to explosions of flammable gases in the goaf of coalmines,the conditions for explosion of flammable gases and their explosion limits,affected to a considerable extent by ...In order to reduce the number of accidents due to explosions of flammable gases in the goaf of coalmines,the conditions for explosion of flammable gases and their explosion limits,affected to a considerable extent by CO2,are explored.With the use of our experimental equipment suitable for the study of explosion of polybasic explosive gas mixtures,we investigated the effect of CH4/H2=10/1 and CH4/C2H4=10/1 gases mixed with CO2 on their explosion limits.The results indicate that after adding CO2,the explosion limit of the CH4/H2(or C2H4) =10/1 gas mixtures decreased markedly with increasing amounts of CO2.When the amount of CO2 exceeded 25%,the CH4/C2H4=10/1 flammable gas mixture did not lead to explosions.Similar results were obtained when the amount of CO2 exceeded 23% in the CH4/H2=10/1 flammable gas mixture.We also compared the explosion limits and the explosion suppression effect of N2 or CO2 on the explosion limits of the CH4+CO and CH4+C2H4 dual explosive gas mixtures.Along with the increases in the amounts of CO2 or N2,the area of the explosion limits of gas mixtures decreased.Under the same conditions,the explosion suppression effect of CO2 was greater than that of N2.CO2 has clearly the better suppression effect on the explosion of flammable gases in goafs.展开更多
Allowable levels for pesticide residues in foods, known as tolerances in the US and as maximum residue limits （MRLs） in much of the world, are widely yet inappropriately perceived as levels of safety concern. A nove...Allowable levels for pesticide residues in foods, known as tolerances in the US and as maximum residue limits （MRLs） in much of the world, are widely yet inappropriately perceived as levels of safety concern. A novel approach to develop scientifically defensible levels of safety concern is presented and an example to determine acute and chronic pesticide food safety standard （PFSS） levels for the fungicide captan on strawberries is provided. Using this approach, the chronic PFSS level for captan on strawberries was determined to be 2 000 mg kg-1 and the acute PFSS level was determined to be 250 mg kg-1. Both levels are far above the existing tolerance and MRLs that commonly range from 3 to 20 mg kg-~, and provide evidence that captan residues detected at levels greater than the tolerance or MRLs are not of acute or chronic health concern even though they represent violative residues. The benefits of developing the PFSS approach to serve as a companion to existing tolerances/MRLs include a greater understanding concerning the health significance, if any, from exposure to violative pesticide residues. In addition, the PFSS approach can be universally applied to all potential pesticide residues on all food commodities, can be modified by specific jurisdictions to take into account differences in food consumption practices, and can help prioritize food residue monitoring by identifying the pesticide/commodity combinations of the greatest potential food safety concern and guiding development of field level analytical methods to detect pesticide residues on prioritized pesticide/commodity combinations.展开更多
Lean blow-out （LBO） is critical to operational performance of combustion systems in propulsion and power generation. Current predictive tools for LBO limits are based on decadesold empirical correlations that have l...Lean blow-out （LBO） is critical to operational performance of combustion systems in propulsion and power generation. Current predictive tools for LBO limits are based on decadesold empirical correlations that have limited applicability for modern combustor designs. According to the Lefebvre＇s model for LBO and classical perfect stirred reactor （PSR） concept, a load parameter （LP） is proposed for LBO analysis of aero-engine combustors in this paper. The parameters contained in load parameter are all estimated from the non-reacting flow field of a combustor that is obtained by numerical simulation. Additionally, based on the load parameter, a method of fuel iterative approximation （FIA） is proposed to predict the LBO limit of the combustor. Compared with experimental data for 19 combustors, it is found that load parameter can represent the actual combustion load of the combustor near LBO and have good relativity with LBO fuel/air ratio （FAR）. The LBO FAR obtained by FIA shows good agreement with experimental data, the maximum prediction uncertainty of FIA is about ±17.5%. Because only the non-reacting flow is simulated, the time cost of the LBO limit prediction using FIA is relatively low （about 6 h for one combustor with computer equipment of CPU 2.66 GHz · 4 and 4 GB memory）, showing that FIA is reliable and efficient to be used for practical applications.展开更多
Direct propylene epoxidation with H2 and O2,an attractive process to produce propylene oxide(PO),has a potential explosion danger due to the coexistence of flammable gases(i.e.,C3 H6 and H2)and oxidizer(i.e.,O2).The u...Direct propylene epoxidation with H2 and O2,an attractive process to produce propylene oxide(PO),has a potential explosion danger due to the coexistence of flammable gases(i.e.,C3 H6 and H2)and oxidizer(i.e.,O2).The unknown explosion limits of the multi-component feed gas mixture make it difficult to optimize the reaction process under safe operation conditions.In this work,a distribution method is proposed and verified to be effective by comparing estimated and experimental explosion limits of more than 200 kinds of flammable gas mixture.Then,it is employed to estimate the explosion limits of the feed gas mixture,some results of which are also validated by the classic Le Chatelier’s Rule and flammable resistance method.Based on the estimated explosion limits,process optimization is carried out using commercially high and inherently safe reactant concentrations to enhance reaction performance.The promising results are directly obtained through the interface called gOPT in gPROMS only by using a simple,easy-constructed and mature packed-bed reactor,such as the PO yield of 13.3%,PO selectivity of 85.1%and outlet PO fraction of 1.8%.These results can be rationalized by indepth analyses and discussion about the effects of the decision variables on the operation safety and reaction performance.The insights revealed here could shed new light on the process development of the PO production based on the estimation of the explosion limits of the multi-component feed gas mixture containing flammable gase s,inert gas and O2,followed by process optimization.展开更多
From the view of both objective and subjective factors,the indoor air quality(IAQ)evaluation was considered.Carbon dioxide(CO2)and formaldehyde(HCHO)were selected as the typical contaminants of indoor air,and the eval...From the view of both objective and subjective factors,the indoor air quality(IAQ)evaluation was considered.Carbon dioxide(CO2)and formaldehyde(HCHO)were selected as the typical contaminants of indoor air,and the evaluation method of logarithmic index was adopted as the evaluation means of IAQ.Then the recommended limits(RL)of typical contaminants CO2 and HCHO were given through analysis and calculation.The limits of CO2 and HCHO in Indoor Air Quality Standard of China or other existing standards probably correspond to the level of PD=25(%).The result shows that the existing standards fail to meet the requirement of the definition of "acceptable indoor air quality",that is to say,less than 20% of the people express dissatisfaction.When PD=20%,RL of CO2 and HCHO are 728×10-6 and 0.068×10-6 respectively,which are stricter than the limits in the existing standards.The method proposed in this paper is applicable to 13.1%≤PD≤86.7%.展开更多
The deformation performance index limits of high reinforced concrete （RC） shear wall components based on Chinese codes were discussed by the nonlinear finite element method. Two typical RC shear wall specimens in th...The deformation performance index limits of high reinforced concrete （RC） shear wall components based on Chinese codes were discussed by the nonlinear finite element method. Two typical RC shear wall specimens in the previous work were first used to verify the correctness of the nonlinear finite element method. Then, the nonlinear finite element method was applied to study the deformability of a set of high RC shear wall components designed according to current Chinese codes and with shear span ratio λ≥2.0. Parametric studies were made on the influence of shear span ratio, axial compression ratio, ratio of flexural capacity to shear capacity and main flexural reinforcement ratio of confined botmdary members. Finally, the deformation performance index and its limits of high RC shear wall components under severe earthquakes were proposed by the finite element model results, which offers a reference in determining the performance status of RC shear wall components designed based on Chinese codes.展开更多
The speed of evolution of a qubit undergoing a nonequilibrium environment with spectral density of general ohmic form is investigated. First we reveal non-Markovianity of the model, and find that the non-Markovianity ...The speed of evolution of a qubit undergoing a nonequilibrium environment with spectral density of general ohmic form is investigated. First we reveal non-Markovianity of the model, and find that the non-Markovianity quantified by information backflow of Breuer et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103 210401（2009）] displays a nonmonotonic behavior for different values of the ohmicity parameter s in fixed other parameters and the maximal non-Markovianity can be achieved at a specified value s. We also find that the non-Markovianity displays a nonmonotonic behavior with the change of a phase control parameter. Then we further discuss the relationship between quantum speed limit（QSL） time and non-Markovianity of the open-qubit system for any initial states including pure and mixed states. By investigation, we find that the QSL time of a qubit with any initial states can be expressed by a simple factorization law： the QSL time of a qubit with any qubitinitial states are equal to the product of the coherence of the initial state and the QSL time of maximally coherent states,where the QSL time of the maximally coherent states are jointly determined by the non-Markovianity, decoherence factor and a given driving time. Moreover, we also find that the speed of quantum evolution can be obviously accelerated in the wide range of the ohmicity parameter, i.e., from sub-Ohmic to Ohmic and super-Ohmic cases, which is different from the thermal equilibrium environment case.展开更多
Price limits in product market have been discarded in classic microeconomics. However, price limits affect the trade behavior of the same agent, since agents in the stock market change their trade status frequently. D...Price limits in product market have been discarded in classic microeconomics. However, price limits affect the trade behavior of the same agent, since agents in the stock market change their trade status frequently. Due to the controversy on the institution effectiveness of the price limits in stock market, this paper design an experimental market with two stocks with continuous bid, in which we investigate the impact of the price limits on the stock market. The results show that the price limits moderate the price volatility within and between the trades periods, thus can stabilize stock price. In addition, price limits, when measured by traditional approach, restrain the fluidity of the market, reduce the volatility of transaction shares and maintain durative of fluidity. While volatility-based fluidity measurements show that the fluidity is enhanced significantly in stock market with price limits.展开更多
Atterberg limits and consistency indices are used for classifications of cohesive(fine-grained) soils in relation with compaction and tillage practices. They also provide information for interpreting several soil mech...Atterberg limits and consistency indices are used for classifications of cohesive(fine-grained) soils in relation with compaction and tillage practices. They also provide information for interpreting several soil mechanical and physical properties such as shear strength, compressibility, shrinkage and swelling potentials. Although, several studies have been conducted regarding the land use effects on various soil mechanical properties, little is known about the effects of land use and slope positions on Atterberg limits and consistency indices. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of land use and slope position on selected soil physical and chemical properties, Atterberg limits and consistency indices in hilly region of western Iran. Three land uses including dryland farming, irrigated farming and pasture and four slope positions(i.e., shoulder, backslope, footslope, and toeslope) were used for soil samplings. One hundred eleven soil samples were collected from the surface soil(0-10 cm). Selected physical and chemical properties, liquid limit(LL), plastic limit(PL) and shrinkage limit(SL) were measured using the standard methods; and consistency indices including plastic index(PI), friability index(FI), shrinkage index(SI) and soil activity(A=PI/clay) were calculated. The results showed that irrigated farming significantly increased organic matter content(OM) and OM/clay ratio, and decreased bulk density(ρb) and relative bulk density(ρb-rel) as a result of higher biomass production and plant residues added to the soil compared to other land uses. Except for sand content, OM, ρb, cation exchange capacity(CEC) and calcium carbonate equivalent(CCE), slope position significantly affected soil physical and chemical properties. The highest values of silt, OM/clay and CEC/clay were found in the toeslope position, predominantly induced by soil redistribution within the landscape. The use of complexed(COC)- noncomplexed organic carbon(NCOC) concept indicated that majority of the studied soils were located below the saturation line and the OM in the soils was mainly in the COC form. The LL, PI, FI and A showed significant differences among the land uses; the highest values belonged to the irrigated farming due to high biomass production and plant residues returned to the soils. Furthermore, slope position significantly affected the Atterberg limits and consistency indices except for SL. The highest values of LL, PI, SI and A were observed in the toeslope position probably because of higher OM and CEC/clay due to greater amount of expandable phyllosilicate clays. Overall, soils on the toeslope under irrigated farming with high LL and SI and low values of FI need careful tillage management to avoid soil compaction.展开更多
The introduction of presidential term limits was one of the outcomes of the various negotiations that preceded the post-Cold War transition elections in Africa. With constitutional support for presidential term limits...The introduction of presidential term limits was one of the outcomes of the various negotiations that preceded the post-Cold War transition elections in Africa. With constitutional support for presidential term limits, which were often ratified in most African countries through a referendum, presidential term limits not only assumed a democratic principle, but were also expected to become both a ＂process and practice＂ in new African democracies.1 The constitution legitimizes term limits （years and tenures） as a democratic principle to regulate power and leadership transition within the context of democratic elections. Shinn （2009） argues that term limits for a country＇s most important political leader are an essential component of building democracy. Their importance adds value to the process, practice and constitutive feature of liberal democracy （Shinn, 2009）. Numerous studies show that presidential term limits are one of the most consistent predictors of power transition （Beetham, 1994; Linz, 1996a; Cheeseman, 2010）. Presidential term limits are also important in sustaining open-seat contests that ensure power alternation. However, this was not to be the case in African democratic experiment, where the process and practice of presidential term limits have become problematic. This paper focuses on how the removal of presidential term limits has worked against the consolidation of democracy in African post-Cold War democratic experiment, resulting in weak institutions, entrenchment and reconsolidation of power by long serving dictators, democratic hybridity and sometimes democratic reversal.展开更多
基金supported by Natural Science Foundation of China(12001506)the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province(ZR2020QA014).
文摘A mathematically rigorous framework for singular limits of the magnetohydrodynamic rotating shallow water equations with ill-prepared data is developed when the Rossby and Froude numbers tend to zero at different rates.The reduced systems are derived,respectively,for the stratification-dominant and the rotation-dominant cases by means of the developed three-scale fast averaging method.
基金funded by the Mode Construction of Modern Farming System and Supporting Technology Research and Demonstration, China (200803028)
文摘Significantly increasing temperature since the 1980s in China has become a consensus under the background of global climate change and how climate change affects agriculture or even cropping systems has attracted more and more attention from Chinese government and scientists. In this study, the possible effects of climate warming on the national northern limits of cropping systems, the northern limits of winter wheat and double rice, and the stable-yield northern limits of rainfed winter wheat-summer maize rotation in China from 1981 to 2007 were analyzed. Also, the possible change of crop yield caused by planting limits displacement during the periods 1950s-1981 and 1981-2007 was compared and discussed. The recognized calculation methods of agricultural climatic indices were employed. According to the indices of climatic regionalization for cropping systems, the national northern limits of cropping systems, winter wheat and double rice, and the stable-yield northern limits of rainfed winter wheat-summer maize rotation during two periods, including the 1950s-1980 and 1981-2007, were drawn with ArcGIS software. Compared with the situation during the 1950s- 1980, the northern limits of double cropping system during 1981-2007 showed significant spatial displacement in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, and Liaoning provinces and Beijing municipality, China. The northern limits of triple cropping system showed the maximum spatial displacement in Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces, China. Without considering variety change and social economic factors, the per unit area grain yield of main planting patterns would increase about 54-106% if single cropping system was replaced by double cropping system, which turned out to be 27- 58% if double cropping system was replaced by triple cropping system. In Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai provinces, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia autonomous regions, China, the northern limits of winter wheat during 1981-2007 moved northward and expanded westward in different degrees, compared with those during the 1950s-1980. Taking Hebei Province as an example, the northern limits of winter wheat moved northward, and the per unit area grain yield would averagely increase about 25% in the change region if the spring wheat was replaced by winter wheat. In Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, and Hunan provinces, China, the planting northern limits of double rice moved northward, and the per unit area grain yield would increase in different degrees only from the perspective of heat resource. The stable- yield northern limits of rainfed winter wheat-summer maize rotation moved southeastward in most regions, which was caused by the decrease of local precipitation in recent years. During the past 50 yr, climate warming made the national northern limits of cropping systems move northward in different degrees, the northern limits of winter wheat and double rice both moved northward, and the cropping system change would cause the increase of per unit area grain yield in the change region. However, the stable-yield northern limits of rainfed winter wheat-summer maize rotation moved southeastward due to the decrease of precipitation.
文摘Commonly,the standards for the geometric design of roads refer to a given set of values for the friction coefficient(longitudinal and transverse friction).These"reference"values imply corresponding visibility sights,curvature radii,and speed limits.Unfortunately,not only do these reference values not correspond to a given standard to measure them,but nothing is said about the decrease of the posted speed limit(variable speed limits)when roads become slippery and lanes for autonomous vehicle(AV)are concerned.Furthermore,the same assessment of the friction coefficient has plenty of uncertainties due to measurement device,temperature,location,time passed from the construction,alignment-related variables(e.g.,curve,tangent,transition curve,convexity/crests or concavity/sags,longitudinal slope,superelevation,and ruling gradient),and supplementary singularities such as joints and bridge approaches.All the issues above may harm road safety and the complexity of forensic investigations of pavements.Consequently,this study's objectives were confined to(1)carrying out friction measurements and analyzing the problem of friction decay over time;(2)setting up a method to lower the speed limits where friction decays are detected;(3)setting up a method to handle friction decays for autonomous vehicles.Results demonstrate that:(1)a power law describes how the speed limits are affected by friction;(2)for speeds up to 170 km/h,due to the lower reaction time,AV reaction distance is lower,which benefits AV traffic(lower stopping distance);(3)on the contrary,for higher values of friction and higher speeds,under the hypothesis of having the same reaction time law for non-AV(NAV)(i.e.,decreasing with the initial speed),AV speed limits become lower than NAV speed limits;(4)not only do comfort-based speed profiles for AVs bring higher braking distances,but also,in the median part(of the deceleration process),this could pose safety issues and reduce the distance between the available and the needed friction.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.11771070).
文摘In this paper,we compute sub-Riemannian limits of some important curvature variants associated with the connection with torsion for four dimensional twisted BCV spaces and derive a Gauss-Bonnet theorem for four dimensional twisted BCV spaces.
基金funded by a basic research project of SINOPEC(KL22023)。
文摘In chemical flooding,emulsification and interfacial tension(IFT)reduction are crucial for enhanced oil recovery(EOR).However,the dominant performance parameter and technical limits of surfactants for oil displacement remain underexplored.This study investigated the relationship between the emulsification capability and IFT.Accordingly,the dominant performance parameter and the technical limits of surfactants were determined using oil displacement experiments.Specifically,an analysis of 74 sets of experimental results revealed a shift in the significant correlation between EI(a quantitative measure of emulsification capability)andσat anσvalue of 8.5×10^(-2)mN/m(i.e.,critical valueσ_(c)).Forσ<σ_(c),emulsification capability and IFT function as independent performance parameters.The oil displacement experiments using two surfactants with contrasting EI andσvalues demonstrate that emulsification capability,rather than ultra-low IFT,is the dominant performance parameter.This study determined the technical limit of EI using oil displacement experiments via in-situ emulsification.The experimental results indicate strong correlations of EI with oil displacement and recovery efficiencies.The incremental displacement and recovery efficiencies were employed to quantify the potential of surfactants to enhance oil displacement and recovery efficiencies,respectively.The incremental displacement and recovery efficiencies versus EI curves revealed a critical EI(EI_(c))value of 0.53.When EIEI_(c),their increasing rates slowed down markedly.Therefore,the technical limits of the emulsification capability and IFT of surfactants used in this study are determined at EI≥0.53 andσ≤8.5×10^(-2)mN/m,respectively.
基金Supported by Scientific and Technological Program of Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education: Limits to Growth Archetype Analysis ofRural Tourism with Restricted Resources and Countermeasure Research(GJJ1622)~~
文摘Based on archetype analysis of system dynamics,the limits-to-growth archetype of Peter Senge(one of his eight archetypes) was borrowed,and various influence factors of rural tourism development combined to construct the limits-to-growth archetype which consists of limits-to-growth archetype of scientific planning balance,and limits-to-growth archetype of infrastructure input balance,and limits-to-growth archetype of high-quality staff balance.Through the join of limits-to-growth sub-archetypes,limits-to-growth archetype of rural tourism development in overseas countries were obtained,on the basis of which further researches were carried out to analyze management countermeasures to eliminate limits to growth via rural tourism development.It was stressed that government should play the guiding role,unified planning,scientific management and policy support further enhanced;more efforts should be devoted to the infrastructure construction,and more financial support given by the government;more professional talents should be introduced in multiple ways,and training for present rural tourism staff enhanced.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Plan of China(Grant 2021YFB3600703)the National Natural Science Foundation(Grant 62204137)of China for Youth,the Open Research Fund Program of Beijing National Research Centre for Information Science and Technology(BR2023KF02009)+1 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of china(U20A20168,61874065,and 51861145202)the Research Fund from Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program,the Center for Flexible Electronics Technology of Tsinghua University,and a grant from the Guoqiang Institute,Tsinghua University.
文摘Two-dimensional(2D)transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDs)allow for atomic-scale manipulation,challenging the conventional limitations of semiconductor materials.This capability may overcome the short-channel effect,sparking significant advancements in electronic devices that utilize 2D TMDs.Exploring the dimension and performance limits of transistors based on 2D TMDs has gained substantial importance.This review provides a comprehensive investigation into these limits of the single 2D-TMD transistor.It delves into the impacts of miniaturization,including the reduction of channel length,gate length,source/drain contact length,and dielectric thickness on transistor operation and performance.In addition,this review provides a detailed analysis of performance parameters such as source/drain contact resistance,subthreshold swing,hysteresis loop,carrier mobility,on/off ratio,and the development of p-type and single logic transistors.This review details the two logical expressions of the single 2D-TMD logic transistor,including current and voltage.It also emphasizes the role of 2D TMD-based transistors as memory devices,focusing on enhancing memory operation speed,endurance,data retention,and extinction ratio,as well as reducing energy consumption in memory devices functioning as artificial synapses.This review demonstrates the two calculating methods for dynamic energy consumption of 2D synaptic devices.This review not only summarizes the current state of the art in this field but also highlights potential future research directions and applications.It underscores the anticipated challenges,opportunities,and potential solutions in navigating the dimension and performance boundaries of 2D transistors.
文摘This article provides a brief overview of various approaches that may be utilized for the analysis of human semen test results. Reference intervals are the most widely used tool for the interpretation of clinical laboratory results. Reference interval development has classically relied on concepts elaborated by the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry Expert Panel on Reference Values during the 1980s. These guidelines involve obtaining and classifying samples from a healthy population of at least 120 individuals and then identifying the outermost 5% of observations to use in defining limits for two-sided or one-sided reference intervals. More recently, decision limits based on epidemiological outcome analysis have also been introduced to aid in test interpretation. The reference population must be carefully defined on the basis of the intended clinical use of the underlying test. To determine appropriate reference intervals for use in male fertility assessment, a reference population of men with documented time to pregnancy of 〈 12 months would be most suitable. However, for epidemiological assessment of semen testing results, a reference population made up ofunselected healthy men would be preferred. Although reference and decision limits derived for individual semen analysis test results will undoubtedly be the interpretational tools of choice in the near future, in the long term, multivariate methods for the interpretation of semen analysis alone or in combination with information from the female partner seem to represent better means for assessing the likelihood of achieving a successful pregnancy in a subfertile couple.
基金Projects 706029 supported by the Cultivation Fund of the Key Scientific and Technical Innovation Project of Ministry of Education of China2007AA04Z332 by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China
文摘Combustible gases in coal mines are composed of methane, hydrogen, some multi-carbon alkane gases and other gases. Based on a numerical calculation, the explosion limits of combustible gases were studied, showing that these limits are related to the concentrations of different components in the mixture. With an increase of C4H10 and C6H14, the Lower ExplosionLimit （LEL） and Upper Explosion-Limit （UEL） of a combustible gas mixture will decrease clearly. For every 0.1% increase in C4H10 and C6H14, the LEL decreases by about 0.19% and the UEL by about 0.3%. The results also prove that, by increasing the amount of H2, the UEL of a combustible gas mixture will increase considerably. If the level of HE increases by 0.1%, the UEL will increase by about 0.3%. However, H2 has only a small effect on the LEL of the combustible gas mixture. Our study provides a theoretical foundation for judging the explosion risk of an explosive gas mixture in mines.
基金The financial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.50874088)the Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (No.IRT0856)
文摘The explosive gases CO and C2H4, released mainly flammable gases during the process of coal self-ignition, are of the most important ingredients of the multi-component gases in goal areas, along with CH4. We have determined some of the parame- ters of explosive properties of the one-component gases CH4, CO and C2H4 using an explosive trial device of polybasic explosive gas mixtures and emphasized particularly the effect on the limits of explosive concentration of the binary explosive mixed gases CH4＋CO, CH4＋C2H4, as a function of the amount of CO, C2H4 and inert flame resisting gases （N2, CO2）. The experimental results show that the effect of inert gases on the explosive limits of mixed gases, given the property of explosive gas, is obvious： the inert gases （N2, CO2） possess some inhibitory effects on the explosion of the multi-component explosive gas mixtures. The results will provide some experimental support to suppress the occurrence of the gas explosions in goaf areas and provide some directions for designing explosion-proof electric equipment and fire arresters.
基金provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.50874088)the Project of Creative Team by the Ministry of Education of China (No.IRT0856)+1 种基金the Excellent Talent Project of the New Century supported by the Ministry of Education of China (No.NECT050874)the Natural Science Foundation of the Education Department of Shaanxi Province (No.08JK351)
文摘In order to reduce the number of accidents due to explosions of flammable gases in the goaf of coalmines,the conditions for explosion of flammable gases and their explosion limits,affected to a considerable extent by CO2,are explored.With the use of our experimental equipment suitable for the study of explosion of polybasic explosive gas mixtures,we investigated the effect of CH4/H2=10/1 and CH4/C2H4=10/1 gases mixed with CO2 on their explosion limits.The results indicate that after adding CO2,the explosion limit of the CH4/H2(or C2H4) =10/1 gas mixtures decreased markedly with increasing amounts of CO2.When the amount of CO2 exceeded 25%,the CH4/C2H4=10/1 flammable gas mixture did not lead to explosions.Similar results were obtained when the amount of CO2 exceeded 23% in the CH4/H2=10/1 flammable gas mixture.We also compared the explosion limits and the explosion suppression effect of N2 or CO2 on the explosion limits of the CH4+CO and CH4+C2H4 dual explosive gas mixtures.Along with the increases in the amounts of CO2 or N2,the area of the explosion limits of gas mixtures decreased.Under the same conditions,the explosion suppression effect of CO2 was greater than that of N2.CO2 has clearly the better suppression effect on the explosion of flammable gases in goafs.
基金the Chilean Government and the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT) for supporting this work through the Becas Chile Scholarships
文摘Allowable levels for pesticide residues in foods, known as tolerances in the US and as maximum residue limits （MRLs） in much of the world, are widely yet inappropriately perceived as levels of safety concern. A novel approach to develop scientifically defensible levels of safety concern is presented and an example to determine acute and chronic pesticide food safety standard （PFSS） levels for the fungicide captan on strawberries is provided. Using this approach, the chronic PFSS level for captan on strawberries was determined to be 2 000 mg kg-1 and the acute PFSS level was determined to be 250 mg kg-1. Both levels are far above the existing tolerance and MRLs that commonly range from 3 to 20 mg kg-~, and provide evidence that captan residues detected at levels greater than the tolerance or MRLs are not of acute or chronic health concern even though they represent violative residues. The benefits of developing the PFSS approach to serve as a companion to existing tolerances/MRLs include a greater understanding concerning the health significance, if any, from exposure to violative pesticide residues. In addition, the PFSS approach can be universally applied to all potential pesticide residues on all food commodities, can be modified by specific jurisdictions to take into account differences in food consumption practices, and can help prioritize food residue monitoring by identifying the pesticide/commodity combinations of the greatest potential food safety concern and guiding development of field level analytical methods to detect pesticide residues on prioritized pesticide/commodity combinations.
文摘Lean blow-out （LBO） is critical to operational performance of combustion systems in propulsion and power generation. Current predictive tools for LBO limits are based on decadesold empirical correlations that have limited applicability for modern combustor designs. According to the Lefebvre＇s model for LBO and classical perfect stirred reactor （PSR） concept, a load parameter （LP） is proposed for LBO analysis of aero-engine combustors in this paper. The parameters contained in load parameter are all estimated from the non-reacting flow field of a combustor that is obtained by numerical simulation. Additionally, based on the load parameter, a method of fuel iterative approximation （FIA） is proposed to predict the LBO limit of the combustor. Compared with experimental data for 19 combustors, it is found that load parameter can represent the actual combustion load of the combustor near LBO and have good relativity with LBO fuel/air ratio （FAR）. The LBO FAR obtained by FIA shows good agreement with experimental data, the maximum prediction uncertainty of FIA is about ±17.5%. Because only the non-reacting flow is simulated, the time cost of the LBO limit prediction using FIA is relatively low （about 6 h for one combustor with computer equipment of CPU 2.66 GHz · 4 and 4 GB memory）, showing that FIA is reliable and efficient to be used for practical applications.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(91434117,21776077)the Shanghai Rising-Star Program(17QA1401200)+1 种基金the Program for Professor of Special Appointment(Eastern Scholar)at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learningthe Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering(SKL-Che-15C03).
文摘Direct propylene epoxidation with H2 and O2,an attractive process to produce propylene oxide(PO),has a potential explosion danger due to the coexistence of flammable gases(i.e.,C3 H6 and H2)and oxidizer(i.e.,O2).The unknown explosion limits of the multi-component feed gas mixture make it difficult to optimize the reaction process under safe operation conditions.In this work,a distribution method is proposed and verified to be effective by comparing estimated and experimental explosion limits of more than 200 kinds of flammable gas mixture.Then,it is employed to estimate the explosion limits of the feed gas mixture,some results of which are also validated by the classic Le Chatelier’s Rule and flammable resistance method.Based on the estimated explosion limits,process optimization is carried out using commercially high and inherently safe reactant concentrations to enhance reaction performance.The promising results are directly obtained through the interface called gOPT in gPROMS only by using a simple,easy-constructed and mature packed-bed reactor,such as the PO yield of 13.3%,PO selectivity of 85.1%and outlet PO fraction of 1.8%.These results can be rationalized by indepth analyses and discussion about the effects of the decision variables on the operation safety and reaction performance.The insights revealed here could shed new light on the process development of the PO production based on the estimation of the explosion limits of the multi-component feed gas mixture containing flammable gase s,inert gas and O2,followed by process optimization.
文摘From the view of both objective and subjective factors,the indoor air quality(IAQ)evaluation was considered.Carbon dioxide(CO2)and formaldehyde(HCHO)were selected as the typical contaminants of indoor air,and the evaluation method of logarithmic index was adopted as the evaluation means of IAQ.Then the recommended limits(RL)of typical contaminants CO2 and HCHO were given through analysis and calculation.The limits of CO2 and HCHO in Indoor Air Quality Standard of China or other existing standards probably correspond to the level of PD=25(%).The result shows that the existing standards fail to meet the requirement of the definition of "acceptable indoor air quality",that is to say,less than 20% of the people express dissatisfaction.When PD=20%,RL of CO2 and HCHO are 728×10-6 and 0.068×10-6 respectively,which are stricter than the limits in the existing standards.The method proposed in this paper is applicable to 13.1%≤PD≤86.7%.
基金Project(2009ZA04) supported by the Independent Research Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Architecture Science,China
文摘The deformation performance index limits of high reinforced concrete （RC） shear wall components based on Chinese codes were discussed by the nonlinear finite element method. Two typical RC shear wall specimens in the previous work were first used to verify the correctness of the nonlinear finite element method. Then, the nonlinear finite element method was applied to study the deformability of a set of high RC shear wall components designed according to current Chinese codes and with shear span ratio λ≥2.0. Parametric studies were made on the influence of shear span ratio, axial compression ratio, ratio of flexural capacity to shear capacity and main flexural reinforcement ratio of confined botmdary members. Finally, the deformation performance index and its limits of high RC shear wall components under severe earthquakes were proposed by the finite element model results, which offers a reference in determining the performance status of RC shear wall components designed based on Chinese codes.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grants Nos.61505053 and 61475045)the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province,China(Grant No.2015JJ3092)+2 种基金the School Foundation from the Hunan University of Arts and Science(Grant No.14ZD01)the Fund from the Key Laboratory of Photoelectric Information Integration and Optical Manufacturing Technology of Hunan Province,Chinathe Construction Program of the Key Discipline in Hunan University of Arts and Science(Optics)
文摘The speed of evolution of a qubit undergoing a nonequilibrium environment with spectral density of general ohmic form is investigated. First we reveal non-Markovianity of the model, and find that the non-Markovianity quantified by information backflow of Breuer et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103 210401（2009）] displays a nonmonotonic behavior for different values of the ohmicity parameter s in fixed other parameters and the maximal non-Markovianity can be achieved at a specified value s. We also find that the non-Markovianity displays a nonmonotonic behavior with the change of a phase control parameter. Then we further discuss the relationship between quantum speed limit（QSL） time and non-Markovianity of the open-qubit system for any initial states including pure and mixed states. By investigation, we find that the QSL time of a qubit with any initial states can be expressed by a simple factorization law： the QSL time of a qubit with any qubitinitial states are equal to the product of the coherence of the initial state and the QSL time of maximally coherent states,where the QSL time of the maximally coherent states are jointly determined by the non-Markovianity, decoherence factor and a given driving time. Moreover, we also find that the speed of quantum evolution can be obviously accelerated in the wide range of the ohmicity parameter, i.e., from sub-Ohmic to Ohmic and super-Ohmic cases, which is different from the thermal equilibrium environment case.
基金Acknowledgements： This research is supported in part by National Nature Science Foundation of China （No. 70672029 and 70532001）, project of key base for studies of social science of Ministry of Education of China （No. 05JJD630023）, Social Science Foundation of Tianjin （No. TJ05-GL004）, base for innovation of Philosophy and Social Science 985 Project-＂Management and institution innovation of Corporate in China＂ item.
文摘Price limits in product market have been discarded in classic microeconomics. However, price limits affect the trade behavior of the same agent, since agents in the stock market change their trade status frequently. Due to the controversy on the institution effectiveness of the price limits in stock market, this paper design an experimental market with two stocks with continuous bid, in which we investigate the impact of the price limits on the stock market. The results show that the price limits moderate the price volatility within and between the trades periods, thus can stabilize stock price. In addition, price limits, when measured by traditional approach, restrain the fluidity of the market, reduce the volatility of transaction shares and maintain durative of fluidity. While volatility-based fluidity measurements show that the fluidity is enhanced significantly in stock market with price limits.
基金Isfahan University of Technology for the financial support of this study
文摘Atterberg limits and consistency indices are used for classifications of cohesive(fine-grained) soils in relation with compaction and tillage practices. They also provide information for interpreting several soil mechanical and physical properties such as shear strength, compressibility, shrinkage and swelling potentials. Although, several studies have been conducted regarding the land use effects on various soil mechanical properties, little is known about the effects of land use and slope positions on Atterberg limits and consistency indices. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of land use and slope position on selected soil physical and chemical properties, Atterberg limits and consistency indices in hilly region of western Iran. Three land uses including dryland farming, irrigated farming and pasture and four slope positions(i.e., shoulder, backslope, footslope, and toeslope) were used for soil samplings. One hundred eleven soil samples were collected from the surface soil(0-10 cm). Selected physical and chemical properties, liquid limit(LL), plastic limit(PL) and shrinkage limit(SL) were measured using the standard methods; and consistency indices including plastic index(PI), friability index(FI), shrinkage index(SI) and soil activity(A=PI/clay) were calculated. The results showed that irrigated farming significantly increased organic matter content(OM) and OM/clay ratio, and decreased bulk density(ρb) and relative bulk density(ρb-rel) as a result of higher biomass production and plant residues added to the soil compared to other land uses. Except for sand content, OM, ρb, cation exchange capacity(CEC) and calcium carbonate equivalent(CCE), slope position significantly affected soil physical and chemical properties. The highest values of silt, OM/clay and CEC/clay were found in the toeslope position, predominantly induced by soil redistribution within the landscape. The use of complexed(COC)- noncomplexed organic carbon(NCOC) concept indicated that majority of the studied soils were located below the saturation line and the OM in the soils was mainly in the COC form. The LL, PI, FI and A showed significant differences among the land uses; the highest values belonged to the irrigated farming due to high biomass production and plant residues returned to the soils. Furthermore, slope position significantly affected the Atterberg limits and consistency indices except for SL. The highest values of LL, PI, SI and A were observed in the toeslope position probably because of higher OM and CEC/clay due to greater amount of expandable phyllosilicate clays. Overall, soils on the toeslope under irrigated farming with high LL and SI and low values of FI need careful tillage management to avoid soil compaction.
文摘The introduction of presidential term limits was one of the outcomes of the various negotiations that preceded the post-Cold War transition elections in Africa. With constitutional support for presidential term limits, which were often ratified in most African countries through a referendum, presidential term limits not only assumed a democratic principle, but were also expected to become both a ＂process and practice＂ in new African democracies.1 The constitution legitimizes term limits （years and tenures） as a democratic principle to regulate power and leadership transition within the context of democratic elections. Shinn （2009） argues that term limits for a country＇s most important political leader are an essential component of building democracy. Their importance adds value to the process, practice and constitutive feature of liberal democracy （Shinn, 2009）. Numerous studies show that presidential term limits are one of the most consistent predictors of power transition （Beetham, 1994; Linz, 1996a; Cheeseman, 2010）. Presidential term limits are also important in sustaining open-seat contests that ensure power alternation. However, this was not to be the case in African democratic experiment, where the process and practice of presidential term limits have become problematic. This paper focuses on how the removal of presidential term limits has worked against the consolidation of democracy in African post-Cold War democratic experiment, resulting in weak institutions, entrenchment and reconsolidation of power by long serving dictators, democratic hybridity and sometimes democratic reversal.
