bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Representations and sign pattern of the group inverse for some block matrices
Authors: Sun Lizhu , Wang Wenzhe , Bu Changjiang , Wei Yimin , Zheng Baodong
Published: November 2015

Let $M= \left[ \begin{array}{cc} A& B \\ C& O \end{array} \right]$ be a complex square matrix where A is square. When BCB^{\Omega} =0, rank(BC) = rank(B) and the group inverse of $\left[ \begin{array}{cc} B^{\Omega} A B^{\Omega} & 0 \\ CB^{\Omega} & 0 \right]$ exists, the group inverse of M exists if and only if rank(BC + A)B^{\Omega}AB^{\Omega})^{\pi}B^{\Omega}A)= rank(B). In this case, a representation of $M^#$ in terms of the group inverse and Moore-Penrose inverse of its subblocks is given. Let A be a real matrix. The sign pattern of A is a (0,+,â)-matrix obtained from A by replacing each entry by its sign. The qualitative class of A is the set of the matrices with the same sign pattern as A, denoted by Q(A). The matrix A is called S^2GI, if the group inverse of each matrix \bar{A} in Q(A) exists and its sign pattern is independent of e A. By using the group inverse representation, a necessary and sufficient condition for a real block matrix to be an S^2GI-matrix is given.
Potential of Mass Spectrometry in Developing Clinical Laboratory Biomarkers of Nonvolatiles in Exhaled Breath
Authors: Beck Olof , Olin Anna-Carin , Mirgorodskaya Ekaterina
Published: November 2015

BACKGROUND

Exhaled breath contains nonvolatile substances that are part of aerosol particles of submicrometer size. These particles are formed and exhaled as a result of normal breathing and contain material from distal airways of the respiratory system. Exhaled breath can be used to monitor biomarkers of both endogenous and exogenous origin and constitutes an attractive specimen for medical investigations.

CONTENT

This review summarizes the present status regarding potential biomarkers of nonvolatile compounds in exhaled breath. The field of exhaled breath condensate is briefly reviewed, together with more recent work on more selective collection procedures for exhaled particles. The relation of these particles to the surfactant in the terminal parts of the respiratory system is described. The literature on potential endogenous low molecular weight compounds as well as protein biomarkers is reviewed. The possibility to measure exposure to therapeutic and abused drugs is demonstrated. Finally, the potential future role and importance of mass spectrometry is discussed.

Nonvolatile compounds exit the lung as aerosol particles that can be sampled easily and selectively. The clinical applications of potential biomarkers in exhaled breath comprise diagnosis of disease, monitoring of disease progress, monitoring of drug therapy, and toxicological investigations.
An investigation of feedback styles of classroom teachers who have low and high professional self-efficacy perceptions
Authors: Çimen Çoşğun Ümit , Sarı Mediha
Published: November 2015

This study aims to make a comparative analysis of the feedback styles of classroom teachers who have low and high professional self-efficacy perceptions. The participants of the study are eight classroom teachers who work in state primary schools located in the city centre of Hatay. Descriptive analysis method was used to analyze the data collected through unstructured observations and semi-structured interviews. Schimmel's (1988) feedback classification was utilized in these analyses. Analysis of the data indicates very parallel findings in the observations and interviews. Both observations and interviews revealed that teachers in both groups generally used all feedback types; the type they used least frequently was exploratory feedback and then corrective and confirmation feedback stand in line respectively; confirmation feedback was found to be the most preferred feedback type by the teachers.  On the other hand, the teachers whose professional self-efficacy perceptions were high used all the feedback types much more frequently than the teachers with low professional self-efficacy perceptions. An analysis of the observations showed that exploratory feedback, which has more positive effects on students' learning than the other feedback types, is the least frequently used feedback type among teachers with high professional competence perception as well.
Usage of an ıntelligent software system in teaching algorithm and flowchart concepts
Authors: Köse Utku , Tüfekçi Aslıhan
Published: November 2015

Objective of this work is to introduce an Artificial Intelligence supported educational software system, which has been developed for teaching important subjects of computer programming: algorithm and flowchart concepts, and touch upon the findings, which were obtained for evaluating success of the system. The software system introduced in the work is tightly connected to the rule of teaching essential computer programming concepts, but ensures this task in the context of an Artificial Intelligence supported, intelligent mechanism. In order to have idea about whether the software is an effective teaching tool or not, a general evaluation process has been planned; students subjected to the work have been taken into this process. Findings obtained via evaluation process have shown that the developed software system is successful at effectively teaching the algorithmic thinking logic, which is the essential focus, and algorithm - flowchart concepts. Additionally, it is also possible to express that the software system has improved students' success rates in the courses related to essentials of computer programming and students have found both software and the performed educational processes pretty effective.
Foreign langauge instructors' attitudes towards learner autonomy in foreign language learnin
Authors: Özdere Mustafa
Published: November 2015

Learner autonomy has been a buzz word in foreign language education in the past decades. Learner autonomy can be defined as the situation in which learners accept the overall responsibility regarding their own learning. In formal learning contexts, teachers are expected to share some instructional responsibilities with students, acquire new roles and lead their students accordingly for the promotion of learner autonomy. The purpose of this study is to determine if there has been a change in the foreign language instructors' attitudes towards learner autonomy and sharing some instructional responsibilities with their students throughout time at Niğde University. It also aims to determine the direction and the possible causes of this change. For this study, trend survey study design was employed. 25 instructors participated the study. Data for these two studies was collected by a questionnaire designed on a 5 point Likert-Scale consisting of 13 main questions. The overall results of the study indicated that foreign language instructors' attitudes towards learner autonomy have changed within time in a positive way. The possible reasons for this change could be the development of the facilities, opportunities for professional development, increase in the awareness regarding the concept, cultural and traditional changes in attitudes towards learning a foreign language.
Corrosion Behavior of Ceramic Cup of Blast Furnace Hearth by Liquid Iron and Slag
Authors: Li Yanglong , Cheng Shusen , Wang Zhifeng
Published: November 2015

Three kinds of sample bricks of ceramic cups for blast furnace hearth were studied by dynamic corrosion tests based on different corrosion systems, i.e., liquid iron system, liquid slag system and liquid iron–slag system. Considering the influence of temperature and sample rotational speed, the corrosion profiles and mass loss of the samples were analyzed. In addition, the microstructure of the corroded samples was observed by optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). It was found that the corrosion profiles could be divided into iron corrosion region, slag corrosion region and iron–slag corrosion region via corrosion degree after iron–slag corrosion experiment. The most serious corrosion occurred in iron–slag corrosion region. This is due to Marangoni effect, which promotes a slag film formed between liquid iron and ceramic cup and results in local corrosion. The corrosion of the samples deepened with increasing temperature of liquid iron and slag from 1,623 K to 1,823 K. The variation of slag composition had greater influence on the erosion degree than that of rotational speed in this experiment. Taking these results into account the ceramic cup composition should be close to slag composition to decrease the chemical reaction. A microporous and strong material should be applied for ceramic cup.
Contraception: a questionnaire on knowledge and attitude of adolescents, distributed on Facebook
Authors: Denis Lies , Storms Machteld , Peremans Lieve , Van Royen Kathleen , Verhoeven Veronique
Published: November 2015

Background:

The contraceptive pill is widely used. An accurate knowledge is necessary for correct use.

Objective:

This study sheds light on adolescents’ knowledge, attitude and behavior in regard to contraceptive use, in the year 2014. The goal is to provide general practitioners (GP) with information about the potential gaps in knowledge concerning contraceptive use in order to give better counseling and prevent high-risk behavior in adolescents.

Methods:

A quantitative descriptive study was carried out among 14–25-year-old female and male adolescents. Data were collected through a web-based survey using the online survey software Qualtrics (Qualtrics, Provo, UT, USA) and was distributed via the social networking site Facebook.

Results:

The survey was started by 1185 participants. The most popular contraceptive method among females is the oral contraceptive pill (63.7%). Four out of ten females (42.6%) do not know that when using an emergency pill, they must still take their regular contraceptive pill on the same day. The majority of female respondents (80.0%) go to their general practitioner for a prescription for the pill. Ninety-five percent (95.1%) of the females would feel comfortable asking their GP for extra information about the drug. The sex of the GP does not influence the likelihood of female patients seeking more information. The Internet also seems to serve as an important source of information. We defined a female subgroup, called “vulnerable”. The majority of females in the non-vulnerable group (70.4%) protected themselves before their first sexual contact instead of only half of the members in the vulnerable group (51.0%).

Conclusion:

The level of knowledge among adolescents about contraception is not alarming, but there are a few blind spots. Eliminating these gaps should be the aim of the doctor and pharmacologist.
Passive smoking: knowledge, exposure and responses among adolescents in a rural setting in Sri Lanka
Authors: Perera Emmanuwelge Madhurangi , Gunawardena Nalika Sepali
Published: November 2015

Background:

Passive smoking adversely affects the health of those exposed to it. Exposure to passive smoking among adolescents is also associated with early initiation to smoking.

Objective:

This study aimed at determining the knowledge, exposure and response to passive smoking among adolescents in a rural setting in Sri Lanka.

Subject:

Adolescents studying in grade 10 in seven rural schools in Polonnaruwa district.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study, using a self-administered questionnaire, was conducted among 498 adolescents selected proportionate to the size of the student population using a multi-stage cluster sampling method.

Results:

The response rate was 99.6% (498/500). Only 69.3%, (n=345) had heard of the term passive smoking. Of those who had heard of the term, 83.2%, (n=287) was accurate about what the term meant. Only 2.4% (n=12) of the study population was categorized as having a good level of knowledge on passive smoking. Self reported exposure levels to passive smoking was low among a majority (81%, n=406). On inquiring how they had reacted or will react to a situation of exposure to passive smoking, a majority (92.2%, n=459) indicated that they had/will rescind from the situation.

Conclusion:

The level of knowledge on passive smoking was poor among the adolescents in the rural setting in Sri Lanka. Despite the low level of exposure, the adolescents indicated that they were/will be assertive when faced with a situation of exposure to passive smoking. The study recommends that knowledge of adolescents on passive smoking be improved.
Cannabinoids in the management of chronic pain: a front line clinical perspective
Authors: Lynch Mary E.
Published: November 2015

Chronic pain is an escalating public health problem. Currently available treatments are inadequate to control chronic pain conditions, and there is a critical need for novel treatments. Over a half century of elegant preclinical research has identified the presence of a sophisticated endocannabinoid system that is part of our natural pain and immune defense network. Convergent work has supported the significant potential to exploit this system to decrease pain and inflammation. Although the clinical research remains in its infancy, recent systematic reviews have found that 25 of 30 randomized controlled trials have demonstrated a significant analgesic effect. The authors concluded that cannabinoids currently available for clinical use demonstrate a modest analgesic effect and are safe for the management of chronic pain. There is a critical need for more translational research so that the excellent work of Dr. Itai Bab and our basic science colleagues around the world can move forward in providing novel cannabinoid-based medicines. This should include more potent analgesics that are limited in side effects with several routes of delivery. Our patients deserve additional agents for pain control with a novel mechanism of action, and cannabinoids are the new frontier.
Linewidth Enhancement Factor Measurement of a Fabry Perot Laser Diode through Narrowband Optical FM Generation
Authors: Chattopadhyay Taraprasad , Bhattacharyya Prosenjit , Ghosh Chiranjib
Published: November 2015

This paper presents a simple method of linewidth enhancement factor (LEF) measurement of a semiconductor laser through narrowband optical frequency modulation (FM) generation by direct modulation. The narrowband optical FM is generated by using small-amplitude direct-current modulation, thereby limiting the resultant optical intensity modulation index level typically within 10%. The LEF is found to decrease linearly with the increase in bias current of the laser diode above threshold.
Remission of congenital hyperinsulinism following conservative treatment: an exploratory study in patients with KATP channel mutations
Authors: Lachmann Mark J. , Salgin Burak , Kummer Sebastian , Welters Alena , Döing Carsten , Zenker Martin , Wieland Ilse , Mayatepek Ertan , Meissner Thomas
Published: November 2015

During conservative treatment, congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) can resolve spontaneously. This study describes the hormonal and metabolic profiles in three patients with

An age-adapted fasting and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) were performed.

All patients (aged 6–9 years) tolerated age-adapted fasting durations (20, respectively 24 h), without reaching glucose concentrations ≤2.5 mmol/L, nor developing hypoglycemia-related symptoms. Nevertheless, insulin concentrations from all patients exceeded the 90th reference percentile at the end of the fasting test (range: 4.2–15.8 mU/L). During the OGTT, one patient (patient 2; BMI: 23.4 kg/m

The insulin concentration profiles in CHI patients in apparent clinical remission range from almost complete normalization to persistent, yet attenuated, hypersecretion. The hyperglycemia, detected during the OGTT, must be further monitored.
Ultrasonographic assessment of cervical length in pregnancies scheduled for a cesarean delivery: prediction of early spontaneous onset of labor
Authors: Rizzo Giuseppe , Aiello Elisa , Pietrolucci Maria Elena , Arduini Domenico
Published: November 2015

Aim:

To investigate whether the cervical length measured by transvaginal ultrasound at 35 to 36 weeks of gestation is predictive of spontaneous early onset of labor in pregnancies scheduled for elective cesarean section (CS).

Study design:

This was a prospective observational study on 167 women scheduled for elective CS at 39 weeks of gestation. The cervical length was measured ultrasonographycally at 35 to 36 weeks of gestation and the pregnancies characteristics were recorded. The presence or absence of spontaneous onset of labor before the time scheduled for elective CS was related to cervical length and pregnancies characteristics.

Results:

Of the 167 pregnancies enrolled, 25 (14.97%) underwent early spontaneous onset of labor before the time scheduled for the elective CS. The cervical length was significantly shorter in these women when compared with those delivering with an elective CS (21 vs. 30 mm z=5.49 P<0.0001). The presence of ≥2 previous CS as an indicator for elective CS resulted a significant predictor of early onset of labor in univariate analysis (P=0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that cervical length (adjusted odds ratio 1.40; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.22–1.61; P≤0.0001) was the only predictor for the early onset of labor. The area under the receiver–operating characteristics curve for the prediction of early onset of labor was 0.844 (95% CI 0.738–0.950) for cervical length as test variable. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that a cervical length <24 mm was significantly associated with a short time interval to delivery (log rank test χ

Conclusion:

Cervical length at 35–36 weeks of gestation provides information about the likelihood of spontaneous early onset of labor in pregnancies scheduled for CS and may be useful in individualizing the gestational age for elective CS.
Interleukin 6 im Liquor – diagnostische Wertigkeit
Authors: Gruber Sylvia , Werner Philipp , Germann Reinhard , Fraunberger Peter
Published: November 2015

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) wurde bereits 1985 als Differenzierungsfaktor für B-Zellen (B-cell stimulatory Factor 2) identifiziert, unter dessen Einfluss B-Zellen in Antikörper-bildende Zellen maturierten. In zahlreichen Studien wurde seither der pleiotrope Charakter von IL-6 belegt, das neben seinen Funktionen in der Immunabwehr, auch eine bedeutende Rolle in der Regulation von Hämatopoese, Inflammation und Onkogenese übernimmt. In Bezug auf das ZNS wurde die Beteiligung von IL-6 an der Neurogenese sowie an der Reaktion von Neuronen und Glia-Zellen auf Verletzungen beschrieben. Infektionen des ZNS, cerebrale Ischämien, schwere ZNS-Traumata oder chronisch entzündliche Erkrankungen wie Neuro-Lupus oder Neuro-Sarkoidose gehen mit erhöhten IL-6 Konzentrationen im Liquor einher. Aufgrund der Präsenz des Neuropoetins IL-6 im Rahmen dieser Erkrankungen wird ein möglicher Einsatz des Parameters IL-6 im Liquor zur Diagnostik und, in manchen Fällen, zur Verlaufsbeurteilung und Therapieüberwachung überprüft. In diesem Review geben wir einen Überblick über die derzeitige Studienlage und die diagnostische Wertigkeit von IL-6 im Liquor.
Acute Ischemic Stroke Endovascular Treatment of Patients With Large Vessel Occlusions / Akūta Cerebrāla Infarkta Endovaskulāra Ārstēšana Pacientiem ar Maģistrālo Artēriju Oklūzijām
Authors: Balodis Arturs , Radziņa Maija , Miglāne Evija , Valante Ramona , Millers Andrejs , Kupčs Kārlis
Published: November 2015

Mechanical thrombectomy as an active treatment method has recently been chosen for patients with large artery occlusions and thrombolysis beyond a time window. The aim of our study was to evaluate the results of endovascular treatment in patients with proximal vessel occlusion, compare this group with the intravenous thrombolysis group, and to identify possible criteria of active treatment. The prospective study included 81 patients hospitalised in the Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital due to acute ischemic stroke; 48 of them received mechanical thrombectomy and 33 - intravenous thrombolysis. Thrombectomy (TE) was performed using Solitaire FR stent retrievers. The NIHSS score was used for evaluation of early therapy results and mRS (modified Rankin Scale) was used for late therapy results. ASPECTS was used to define the lesion size using imaging on admission and after treatment. Median NIHSS on admission was higher in the TE group - 16 (range 12 to 19) than in the TL group - 12 (range 8 to 15) (p < 0.05). Ninety days after treatment, mRS (0-2) was seen in 67% of patients in the TE group (n = 29), and 34% of patients in the TL group (n = 9) patients (p < 0.05). Median ASPECTS was lower in TE group - 5, in comparison to the TL group - 7 (p < 0.01) Mortality frequency was higher in the TL group (p > 0.05). Frequency of symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhages was similar in the groups. Mechanical thrombectomy can achieve better late functional outcome than thrombolysis in a selected patients group.
Thermal Quantitative Sensory Testing in Fibromyalgia Patients / Termāla Kvantitatīva Sensora Testēšana Fibromialģijas Pacientiem
Authors: Mihailova Marija , Logina Ināra , Rasa Santa , Čapenko Svetlana , Murovska Modra , Krūmiņa Angelika
Published: November 2015

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic disorder manifested by diffuse musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, sleep, and emotional disturbance. The disorder is probably associated with dysfunction of C and A delta peripheral nerve fibres. Thermal quantitative sensory testing (QST) was used to analyse thinly myelinated A delta fibres and nonmylinated C fibres, which function in the nociceptive sensory system, and the spinothalamic pathway. The observation that FM pain has neuropathic nature increased the value of QST as an additional diagnostic tool. The research group included 51 patients. Somatic symptoms were assessed using the Fatigue Severity Score (FSS), Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2010 year diagnostic criteria. QST was performed by using thermal stimulus at wrist and feet. QST results were compared with 20 non-FM controls matched for age and sex. FM patients showed significant alteration of thermal perception and pain threshold compared with that in healthy controls, which demonstrated possible neuropathic pain nature in FM patients. Changes were more expressed in warm perception and heat pain threshold, which probably indicates that in FM patients C fibres are more damaged and warm perception and warm pain threshold are more sensitive, which may be used as FM diagnostics. We also found statistically significant negative correlations between warm and cold perception thresholds and between heat and cold pain thresholds, reflecting central sensitization or a defective pain inhibitory system.
Functional and Structural Evaluation of Afferent Visual System in Multiple Sclerosis Patients / Funkcionālas un Strukturālas Redzes Sistēmas Izmaiņas Multiplās Sklerozes Pacientiem
Authors: Pastare Daina , Ķire Ieva , Erts Renārs , Laganovska Guna , Millers Andrejs
Published: November 2015

There is insufficient information about the progress and variability of multiple sclerosis (MS). Afferent visual pathways are an appropriate MS clinical model. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) allows to perform precise measurements of axonal tissue in the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL). Visual evoked potentials (VEP) provide information about the functional status of visual pathways. The aim of our study was to use OCT and VEP to evaluate MS patients with and without optic neuritis (ON) history and to determine relationships between functional and structural changes. The cross-sectional study included 76 relapsing-remitting MS patients and 28 healthy controls. The lowest mean VEP N75/P100 amplitude was found in ON affected eyes (8.16 mkV, SD = 4.60). However, it was observed that the mean amplitude in patients without ON (M = 9.86; SD = 4.63) was by 4.64 mkV lower than in controls (p < 0.001). Similarly, the mean P 100 latency in ON eyes was 9.26 ms longer than in eyes of patients without ON history (p < 0.01). RNFL in the temporal segment (RNFLT) was the thinnest in ON eyes, and even in patient eyes without ON, it was thinner than in controls. We found a significant positive correlation between RNFLT and mean N75/P100 amplitude in patients without ON (rs = 0.43; p < 0.001), and after ON (rs = 0.45; p < 0.001). Both in patients without ON (rs = -0.40; p < 0.001) and in ON eyes we found a significant negative correlation (rs = -0.55; p > 0.001) between RNFLT and mean P100 latency. In summary, we found that deterioration in the visual system was not associated with the clinical ON episode. Regardless of ON symptoms in history, there exists correlation between functional and structural changes.
Nasal alar and lobule reconstruction – Case presentation
Authors: Budurca Aurelian Radu , Stamate Teodor , Cobzeanu Mihail Dan , Balaur Angelica
Published: November 2015

We present a reconstruction of a posttraumatic nasal lobular and alar defect in a three-stage intervention. The first operation restored the cartilaginous support by a combination of a free conchal composite graft and a septal chondromucosal pivotal flap covered by a paramedian forehead pedicled flap. The second operation separated the pedicle of the flap, followed one month later by cosmetic refinements. We restored both length and shape of the nose and a functional symmetrical nostril. Surgical options are discussed regarding available donor areas and techniques.

Conclusion. Lobule reconstruction must be performed as an entire esthetic unit and must address all three layers - skin, cartilage and internal lining. Careful planning is fundamental in ensuring good cosmetic results.
Using Authentic Environmental Data to Enhance Biology Understanding
Authors: Kroen William
Published: November 2015

Scientists often integrate measurements and data from various sources to ask questions and perform investigations. The exercises described here allow students to think critically and understand concepts that affect biological organisms as they make hypotheses about a selected stream or river, then graph, analyze, and interpret physical and chemical water-quality data (and possibly weather data) from local sources. Details on how to access, download, and manage data sets are provided.
A Laboratory Exercise to Explore Sustained Gravitational-Force Tolerance by Insects
Authors: Wyatt Hoback W. , Pursley Adrianne , Farnsworth-Hoback Kerri , Higley Leon G.
Published: November 2015

This exercise examines the correlation between gravitational-force (g-force) tolerance and the sizes of organisms, emphasizing differences between vertebrates and invertebrates, particularly the effects of size and scale on biological processes. Students form a hypothesis based on background information and then test it by spinning subjects in a centrifuge. Class results can be graphed, analyzed, and compared to human tolerance. The activity engages students in scientific process while investigating the effects of physical forces on structure and function.
Integrating Life Science Content & Instructional Methods in Elementary Teacher Education
Authors: Forbes Cory , Sabel Jaime , Zangori Laura
Published: November 2015

Elementary students need to have meaningful experiences with the life sciences in order to develop understanding of the natural world. However, they often possess alternative ideas about core life-science concepts that may not be scientifically accurate. There is a need for innovative science curriculum and instruction that is responsive to students’ ideas, to help students develop a foundation of disciplinary knowledge that will ground their science learning in later grades. Formative assessment gives teachers an important toolkit to elicit, evaluate, and respond to students’ ideas. Formative-assessment practices are discipline-specific, in that they require teachers to possess both disciplinary content knowledge and sufficient pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Unfortunately, formative-assessment practices are not widely used in elementary classrooms; this may be due to elementary teachers’ limited disciplinary knowledge and PCK of science topics. Teachers need support in learning how to effectively engage in formative-assessment practices and to integrate the strategies into science classrooms. To address this need, we designed an innovative new course for prospective elementary teachers that integrates life-science disciplinary knowledge with instructional methods – in particular, formative assessment. Here, we describe the course and highlight key findings from its first implementation.
Reconsidering the Use of Scoring Rubrics in Biology Instruction
Authors: Tang Xiaowei , Coffey Janet , Levin Daniel M.
Published: November 2015

Scoring rubrics are widely employed across content areas and grade levels, including in high school biology classes. Besides regular external use within accountability systems, educators also have advanced their instructional use inside classrooms. In recent years, a consensus appears to be emerging in the educational literature that instructional use of rubrics is beneficial for student learning, and numerous examples in the research and practitioner literature establish their importance in teachers’ planning, instruction, and assessment. We examine this assumption through close analysis of students’ use of a scoring rubric in a high school biology classroom. We explore how instructional use of a scoring rubric influences biology teaching and learning activities, what messages about knowledge and learning such use conveys to students, and what influence such use may have on students’ emergent understandings of what constitutes quality in biological thinking and practice. Our analysis suggests that instructional use of scoring rubrics can actually undermine the very learning it is intended to support. We discuss an alternative way to help students understand what constitutes high-quality work, and we draw implications for science teacher education.
Promoting Student Understanding of the Ecological Impacts & Management of Invasive Species
Authors: Poppenwimer Tyler L. , Hicks Hannah M. , Nyamai Priscilla A. , Boes Kathryn E.
Published: November 2015

Invasive species are an issue of global concern because they can have large impacts on ecosystems and are challenging to manage. We present an activity aimed at improving undergraduate students’ understanding of the ecological impacts and management of invasive species. Students work collaboratively in teams to examine the impacts of a particular invasive species on an ecosystem (a fictional national park). The teams then propose policies that would assist their park in minimizing the introduction and impacts of the invasive species, and discuss potential limitations of these proposed policies. Finally, the teams present their proposals in class, which allows for class discussions and opportunities for collaborative learning. By engaging in this activity, students can develop a more concrete understanding and appreciation of both the impacts of invasive species and the challenges involved in managing them.
Engaging Students in Inquiry through Behavioral Bioassays of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates
Authors: Eberhardt Laurie S. , Swanson Robert J. , Dulin Gary S.
Published: November 2015

Laboratories in introductory biology must engage and excite students in ways that effectively prepare them to succeed in upper-level courses in a field with a rapidly increasing body of knowledge. Our inquiry-based lab immerses students in the process of science by asking them to develop behavioral bioassays to test the response of aquatic macroinvertebrates to various pollutants. Students begin with literature review and hypothesis generation on an open-ended question; continue through experimental design, data collection, and analysis; and finish with writing a paper that is peer reviewed. A series of weekly lab activities serves to scaffold key skills that enable completion of the behavioral bioassays, and a final field aquatic-biomonitoring project connects lab work to real-life environmental issues. Because not much is known about how certain pollutants affect the behavior of specific aquatic invertebrates, students’ curiosity is piqued by new discovery, and instructors are engaged by the sense of partnering with students to explore the unknown. This module requires that students engage in core biological concepts, including the significance of variation in living organisms, the structure and function of organisms, and impacts of environmental change on both homeostasis and populations.
Ghrelin modulates hypothalamic fatty acid-sensing and control of food intake in rainbow trout
Authors: Velasco Cristina , Librán-Pérez Marta , Otero-Rodiño Cristina , López-Patiño Marcos A , Míguez Jesús M , Cerdá-Reverter José Miguel , Soengas José L
Published: November 2015

There is no information available on fish as far as the possible effects of ghrelin on hypothalamic fatty acid metabolism and the response of fatty acid-sensing systems, which are involved in the control of food intake. Therefore, we assessed in rainbow trout the response of food intake, hypothalamic fatty acid-sensing mechanisms and expression of neuropeptides involved in the control of food intake to the central treatment of ghrelin in the presence or absence of a long-chain fatty acid such as oleate. We observed that the orexigenic actions of ghrelin in rainbow trout are associated with changes in fatty acid metabolism in the hypothalamus and an inhibition of fatty acid-sensing mechanisms, which ultimately lead to changes in the expression of anorexigenic and orexigenic peptides resulting in increased orexigenic potential and food intake. Moreover, the response to increased levels of oleate of hypothalamic fatty acid-sensing systems (activation), expression of neuropeptides (enhanced anorexigenic potential) and food intake (decrease) were counteracted by the simultaneous treatment with ghrelin. These changes provide evidence for the first time in fish of a possible modulatory role of ghrelin on the metabolic regulation by fatty acid of food intake occurring in the hypothalamus.
Distribución de la orientación empática en estudiantes de odontología. Cartagena, Colombia
Authors: González Martínez Farith Damian , Díaz Narváez Victor Patricio , Arrieta Vergara Katherine , Díaz Cárdenas Shyrley , Tirado Amador Lesbia Rosa , Madera Anaya Meisser
Published: November 2015

Objetivo Describir el nivel de empatía de los alumnos que cursan el programa de odontología en la Universidad de Cartagena.

Métodos Estudio  descriptivo cuantitativo realizado en una muestra de 360 estudiantes de 1º a 5º año de odontología Universidad de Cartagena (Colombia), durante el segundo periodo académico de 2012. En quienes se aplicó la Escala de Empatía Médica de Jefferson (EEMJ) en versión español para estudiantes (versión S). El análisis consistió en la estimación de estadígrafos descriptivos; media aritmética y desviación típica en todos los factores y sus niveles correspondientes. La comparación de las medias se realizó mediante un Análisis de Varianza Bifactorial Modelo III, con interacción de primer orden y se aplicó la prueba de comparación múltiple de Duncan.

Resultados Se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas para las variables “nivel” (p<0,005) y “sexo” (p<0,001), existiendo menores valores de orientación empática para los estudiantes de 1º nivel y mayores valores para las mujeres. No se encontró significación en la interacción entre estos dos factores (p>0,05).

Conclusiones Los valores de orientación empática en los estudiantes de odontología evaluados, fueron diferentes en los niveles de estudio y el sexo, lo que puede influir en la formación profesional integral que propenden las instituciones de educación superior dentro de sus Proyectos Educativos y hace imperativo impulsar el desarrollo de habilidades interpersonales en los educandos desde los primeros años de formación, que contribuya a mejorar la calidad de la atención en salud brindada. 
First record of Oxyurella longicaudis (Birgei, 1910) (Cladocera: Chydoridae) in Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil
Authors: Castilho Maria Carolina De Almeida , Wisniewski Maria José Dos Santos
Published: November 2015

Oxyurella longicaudis (Birgei 1910), a species of Chydoridae family, is widely distributed in South and North America. Samples were collected from 40 water bodies in five conservation-priority regions in the south of Minas Gerais state, Brazil, aiming to increase knowledge about Cladocera distribution in this region. O. longicaudis was recorded in three of the 40 sampled water bodies. It is the first record of this species in the state.
First record and range extensions of Cryptophion Viereck, 1913 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) species in the Southeast region of Brazil with erratum
Authors: Onody Helena Carolina , Sandonato Diogo Loibel , Penteado-Dias Angélica Maria
Published: November 2015

We report the first record of Cryptophion guillermoi Gauld and Janzen, 1994 in Brazil and present the geographic range extensions for Cryptophion espinozai Gauld and Janzen, 1994 in the Southeast region of Brazil.
Distribution extension of the Yellow Anaconda Eunectes notaeus Cope, 1862 (Squamata: Boidae) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Authors: Santos Guilherme S. , Lema Thales de , Winck Gisele R. , Cechin Sonia Z. , Boelter Ruben A.
Published: November 2015

The yellow anaconda, Eunectes notaeus, was until recently considered as a species with accidental occurrence on southern Brazil, due to river floods from the Pantanal region on central Brazil. Here we provide monitoring records of a well-established population in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and also discuss its distribution in the area.
New genus and species records of Bromeliaceae in the Caatinga of Rio Grande do Norte state, northeastern Brazil: Orthophytum disjunctum L.B. Sm. (Bromelioideae) and Tillandsia paraibensis R.A. Pontes (Tillandsioideae)
Authors: Versieux Leonardo M. , Tomaz Eduardo Calisto , Jardim Jomar G.
Published: November 2015

In the present work we describe the first occurrence of the genus Orthophytum (Bromeliaceae, Bromelioideae) and of the species Tillandsia paraibensis within the state of Rio Grande do Norte, northeastern Brazil. Both taxa were recorded on inselbergs in areas of caatinga. These findings are important, improving the knowledge of the Flora of Rio Grande do Norte and giving a better understand of the biogeography of Brazilian bromeliads.
Wiedomys cerradensis Gonçalves, Almeida and Bonvicino, 2005 (Mammalia: Rodentia: Cricetidae) in Tocantins and Goiás states, central-northern Brazil
Authors: Bezerra Alexandra M. R. , Lazar Ana , Bonvicino Cibele R. , Marinho-Filho Jader
Published: November 2015

We report two new localities for the rodent species Wiedomys cerradensis Gonçalves, Almeida and Bonvicino, 2005, previously known only from its type locality, in southwestern Bahia state, and one neighbor locality. Three new specimens were collected along the Paranã River Valley, in the Goiás and Tocantins states, central Brazil. These records extend the range of this species to the northwest, approximately 190 km. We provide external and cranial measurements of these specimens and comment on their morphology.
Mammalia, Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae, Mimon crenulatum (Geoffroy St.-Hilaire, 1803): first Record for the Cerrado Biome in the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil
Authors: Oliveira Sérgio Lopes de , Silva Joaquim Manoel da , Sousa Ricardo Firmino de , Faria Karina De Cassia
Published: November 2015

Two male individuals of Mimon crenulatum were captured in the Mario Viana Municipal Park, at Nova Xavantina, eastern Mato Grosso, Brazil. This record expands the species’ distribution in West-Central Brazil, and represents the first record for the Cerrado of Mato Grosso. The specimens’ morphometric data are presented and compared with those of specimens found in other biomes. Two predictive geographic distribution models were generated, indicating the expansion of the potential distribution of the species.
Congress Shall Make No Law: The First Amendment, Unprotected Expression, and the U.S. Supreme Court
Authors: DeWitt Charles Percy
Published: November 2015

David M. O’Brien’s Congress Shall Make No Law: The First Amendment, Unprotected Expression, and the Supreme Court serves as a significant contribution to the field of First Amendment Law by offering an overview of crucial issues and, moreover, by emphasizing the outlook for the future of free speech. O’Brien’s credentials position him favorably for the task; he was a judicial fellow and research associate with the Supreme Court, he has written numerous articles and books on the Supreme Court, and he is currently the Leone Reaves and George W. Spicer Professor of Law at the University of Virginia. Considering the daunting task of compiling a succinct account and analysis of the history of free speech in the United States, Professor O’Brien does well to allow readers to better understand the complexities of free speech policy in the United States.
Darwin, Literature, & Victorian Respectability
Authors: Edelstein Leya
Published: November 2015

A book review essay on Gowan Dawson's latest publication.
The Enduring Legacy: Oil, Culture, and Society in Venezuela
Authors: Porterfield Aubrey Kimball
Published: November 2015

This review discusses the conceptual interventions that Salas makes in the fields of Venezuelan history, studies of extraction economics, and international relations between Latin America, the U.S., and Europe. Salas argues that the rise of the oil industry in Venezuela impacted not only Venezuela's economy and foreign relations but also its cultural and social formations. I summarize Salas's main points and examine the strengths of his book: his archival research, his synthesis of detail into a cohesive picture, and his interesting conceptual turn away from the idea of oil as an agent of modernization. I also recognize the absence of indigenous voices from Salas's account and attribute this to gaps that exist in the archival material.
Reading Knowledge
Authors: Cannon Christopher
Published: November 2015

Concerns about declining competence in elementary education are hardly new. In 1385 John of trevisa complained that new teaching methods were disadvantaging children “in alle þe gramere scoles of Engelond” (“in all the grammar schools of England”) since they once learned Latin and French but now “conneb na more Frensche ban can hir lift heele” (“know no more French than does their left heel” [Higden 2:161]). This concern was clearly widespread because William Langland also complains, at roughly the same time, that “naught oon among an hundred” (“not one among a hundred”) can read “a lettre” (“a letter”) of French (15.371-75). According to Langland, not only did schools no longer produce well-educated adults (“noon… kan versifie fair ne formaliche enditen” [“none can versify well nor write according to the rules” (15.372-73)]), but they were failing in even the most basic literacy training (grammar itself, he said, now “bigileth [perplexes] all children” [15.371]). The decline was so real—or the panic so great— that it seemed Johnny already couldn't read in 1357 (schoolchildren chanted basic prayers in Latin “without knowing how to construe or understand them” [“absque eo … construere sciant vel intellegere”], and “when they are grown up they do not understand what they… read every day” [“in etate adulta, cotidiana que … legunt non intelligant” (Leach 316-17; see also Zieman 73)]).
Learning to Read Childishly with “Master James”
Authors: Crain Patricia
Published: November 2015

This essay will read over the shoulder of Henry James as he reads a “boy's book” by Robert Louis stevenson, with the Design of using that seemingly unlikely encounter to think about children, books, and learning to read. An attentive reader of Stevenson's books for children and adults, James shared an affection and admiration for the man and the works with many of his contemporaries. The two became friendly after communicating in the pages ofLongman's Magazinein 1884, beginning with James's essay “The Art of Fiction.” Often overlooked in discussions of this much cited essay is, first, the venue, a magazine that would become largely devoted to boys' adventure serials, and, second, the weight that James gives there to the recently publishedTreasure Island(1883), which he treats as exemplary in that it “succeeded wonderfully in what it attempts.” He contrasted it to Edmond de Goncourt'sChérie, which “deplorably” failed in its effort to depict “the development of the moral consciousness of a child” (61), as much as James thought that particular “country” worthy of the art of fiction (62). The reader will “say Yes or No, as it may be, to what the artist puts before” him, and, as to childhood, James asserts expert personal knowledge. After all, he writes, “I have been a child in fact, but I have been on a quest for a buried treasure only in supposition” (62).
Theory by Analogy
Authors: Blanton C. D.
Published: November 2015

A is—A.

—G. W. F. Hegel (Science of Logic 415)

The thing stated and the restatement have constituted an analogy.

—Wallace Stevens (129)

M-C-M'.

—Karl Marx (257)

There is a hint of Minerva's owl in medieval philosophy's relation to the apparently mundane formal question of analogy. The problem is everywhere in scholastic thought, inherited from Aristotle and Averroës, then adapted as one of the basic formal mechanisms through which Thomistic logic both transposes its own theological categories onto an older classical framework and apprehends metaphysical relations of being, of identity and difference. Classically, it is by analogy that one conceives the likeness of the unlike, extracting a concept from the individual instances and scattered genera in which it otherwise resides: the quality of wisdom that characterizes God, say, but might differently characterize humans; the property of animation that attaches to humans but differently qualifies beasts. Hegel notes this problem of scholastic analogy in his Lectures on the History of Philosophy, when he comments of Aquinas that the category of “substance (forma substantialis) is, for instance, analogous to” Aristotle's notion of entelechy (3: 71) or when he dismisses medieval Latin more generally as “a quite unsuitable instrument” for the consideration of older philosophical forms—in effect, an imprecise exercise in analogy (38).
Valhalla Is Burning: Theory, the Middle Ages, and Secularization
Authors: Parker John
Published: November 2015

In 1802 the Franciscan Friary standing in Munich since the late thirteenth century was razed to make room for the national Theater. Many of its books found their way to the state library where, among further spoils swept up in the waves of secularization following the French Revolution, they fed the growth of modern medievalism. Other relics fed other tastes. A profitable brewery remained in the friary's basement, operated now under secular license, while everything else detachable—furniture, copper gutters and plates, lead and iron fittings, window frames, artwork, altars, the tower clock and organ—went to the highest bidder to pay for the theater's troubled construction. Buttresses buckled and pushed through walls. When three workers raising the roof beam fell into a pit, critics divined the hand of God in retaliation for the friary's ruin. Different observers, more favorable perhaps to the cause of art, stressed the workers' survival and took it as a miraculous omen for the theater's future—God's blessing, so to speak, on historical progress. In the short term, it wasn't. In 1823 the theater caught fire and burned to the ground, as onlookers claimed to see in the rising smoke “the face of a monstrous Franciscan.”