bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Revision and Validation of the Academic Motivation Scale in China
Authors: Zhang Bo , Li Yi Ming , Li Jian , Li Ye , Zhang Houcan
Published: March 2015

Self-determination theory (SDT) has contributed greatly to our understanding of human motivation. Based on SDT, the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) was developed to assess students’ motivation to learn. AMS has been successfully applied to the educational context in Western cultures. However, no psychometrically validated version is available in China. The present study aimed to revise and validate AMS in China. The AMS was administered to 882 traditional high school students and 419 vocational high students. A retest was administered to 67 traditional high school students 2 months later. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) demonstrated that the seven-factor model fitted the data well in both samples. Further analysis revealed that each subscale showed satisfactory Cronbach’s alpha and test–retest reliability. The AMS also showed significant correlations with criteria such as basic psychological needs, school satisfaction, perceived autonomy in the classroom, and other motivational counterparts, demonstrating good criterion-related validity. Group comparison showed that traditional high school students were more intrinsically motivated, less extrinsically motivated, and less amotivated than vocational high school students, providing support for its discriminant validity. In conclusion, the Chinese version of AMS was psychometrically sound and could be applied in China.
Hispanics’ SAT Scores
Authors: Hannon Brenda
Published: March 2015

This study uncovers which learning (epistemic belief of learning), socioeconomic background (level of parental education, family income) or social-personality factors (performance-avoidance goals, test anxiety) mitigate the ethnic gap in SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) scores. Measures assessing achievement motivation, test anxiety, socioeconomic family background, and epistemic belief of learning were administered to 143 European American and 62 Hispanic students. ANCOVA revealed that the measures of epistemic belief of learning, performance-avoidance goals, and level of parental education each had a unique influence on combined SAT (SAT-V + SAT-M), SAT-V (verbal SAT), and SAT-M (math SAT) scores. Indeed, the statistical removal of these influences resulted in the elimination of 55% to 75% of the effect attributed to ethnic differences in SAT performance. Moreover, even when gender differences were controlled, ANCOVA revealed the same results. Taken as a whole, these results suggest that multiple factors influence ethnic differences in SAT performance.
Writing in Museums
Authors: Noy Chaim
Published: March 2015

The study takes a situated and material approach to texts and writing practices and examines writing ethnographically as it transpires and displayed in museums. The ethnography highlights the richness and sociality embodied in writing practices as well as the ideological, communal, and ritualistic functions that writing and texts serve in cultural institutions. Specifically, I offer a comparative study of visitor books and similar writing platforms in two Jewish heritage museums in the United States. Extended ethnographic observations of visitors’ writing activities are augmented by analysis of visitors’ texts, which, following Bakhtin, are understood in terms of their addressivity structures or whom they are addressed to. The study shows how visitors’ texts amount to collective contributions that are part of museums’ heritage display, and that visitors become rhetors when their mode of heritage consumption is the production of texts.
Finding the Written in Unexpected Places
Authors: Pogue Tiffany D.
Published: March 2015

This study describes the use of literacy—including the written word—in the maintenance and practice of Lukumí, a Diasporic African spiritual tradition. While Lukumí is decidedly orally transmitted, the written word is still a critical part of its contemporary practice. Relying on data collected during participant observation of ceremonies and rituals, semistructured interviews and focus groups, the study reveals the ways in which orality, material culture, and the written word exist within a communicative continuum critical to Lukumí devotion and practice.
Mechanical and physicochemical characterization along with biological interactions of a new Ti25Nb21Hf alloy for bone tissue engineering
Authors: Herranz-Diez C , Gil FJ , Guillem-Marti J , Manero JM
Published: March 2015

Nowadays, one of the main challenges in metal implants for bone substitution is the achievement of an elastic modulus close to that of human cortical bone as well as to provide an adequate interaction with the surrounding tissue avoiding in vivo foreign body reaction. From this perspective, a new Ti-based alloy has been developed with Nb and Hf as alloying elements which are known as non-toxic and with good corrosion properties. The microstructure, mechanical behaviour and the physicochemical properties of this novel titanium alloy have been studied. Relationship of surface chemistry and surface electric charge with protein adsorption and cell adhesion has been evaluated due to its role for understanding the mechanism of biological interactions with tissues. The Ti25Nb21Hf alloy presented a lower elastic modulus than commercial alloys with a superior ultimate strength and yield strength than CP-Ti and very close to Ti6Al4V. It also exhibited good corrosion resistance. Furthermore, the results revealed that it had no cytotoxic effect on rat mesenchymal stem cells and allowed protein adsorption and cell adhesion. The experimental results make this alloy a promising material for bone substitution or for biomedical devices.
Assessing the Mental Health/Offending Relationship Across Race/Ethnicity in a Sample of Serious Adolescent Offenders
Authors: Sayed Sarah El , Piquero Alex R. , Schubert Carol A. , Mulvey Edward P. , Pitzer Lindsay , Piquero Nicole Leeper
Published: March 2015

We examine the extent to which the relationship between mental health and substance use problems and the risk of rearrest varies across race/ethnicity. Data from the Pathways to Desistance, a longitudinal study of serious adolescent offenders, are used to estimate the risk of rearrest over time. Results show that mental health (except for substance use) does little, above and beyond traditional criminogenic risk markers and control variables, to significantly increase or decrease the risk of rearrest, a finding that was largely replicated across race/ethnicity. Some evidence emerged that the mechanisms by which mental health/substance use disorders and criminogenic risk interact to affect risk of rearrest operated differently across race/ethnic groups. Mental health conditions may have some small relationship to rearrest, but this effect is dwarfed by other more powerful risk factors such as antisocial history. Research is needed assessing the conditions under which mental health is implicated in offending.
Parental Grief Expression in Online Cancer Support Groups
Authors: Elder Jessica , Burke Laurie A.
Published: March 2015

Few studies exist on the benefits of online grief support for bereaved parents. We sought to learn from parents who lost a child to a brain or spinal cord tumor who participated in an online grief-support group. Eighteen bereaved parents and two professional facilitators participated in 20 monthly online groups, with chat room discussions analyzed for themes. Parents completed a 10-item survey evaluating reasons for participation and the group's effectiveness regarding coping following loss. Examples of chat room topics included the grief process or adjustment, negative social interactions, milestones or holidays, and sibling grief. Seventy-eight percent of eligible parents completed the survey. They endorsed online groups as effective for connecting with other bereaved parents and offering grief support, among other positive outcomes. Parents used online groups for a variety of reasons, including convenience, anonymity, and lack of local support. Parents' responses suggest that online support groups can be a convenient or effective grief-coping strategy for parents bereaved by cancer.
Bringing the state up conceptually: Forging a body politics through anti-gay Christian refusal
Authors: Cooper Davina
Published: March 2015

If how the state is imagined shapes social and political action, the politics of state imagining provides an important site for progressive reflection. Arguing that conceptual approaches which support critique may not necessarily prove the best frameworks for supporting change, this article takes a left poststructuralist conception as its starting point to explore the place of conflicting interests, beliefs and affect in the make-up of the state and in shaping its enactment within civil society. Seeking to re-imagine state form in a way that enhances the state's relevance for progressive politics, the paper moves between (i) conservative Christian refusal to provide gay people with a service, as public sector staff and guesthouse owners; and (ii) feminist work in embodiment studies and on the intimate/impersonal, with its ways of thinking about, and imagining, a state that is oriented to encounters, dissonance, tension and change.
Towards a political economy of the use of research assistants: reflections from fieldwork in Tanzania and Mozambique
Authors: Deane Kevin , Stevano Sara
Published: March 2015

Research assistants play a vital role in the research process, often acting as more than just translators or interpreters. However, their contributions to and impacts on the research process and outcomes often remain unacknowledged or unaccounted for. We build on previous work that looks at the subjective relations between the researcher, research assistant and research participant to explore this issue. In particular, drawing on a political economy approach, we look at how research assistants, through their objective position, mediate relations between researcher and participants, and also how power relations and different configurations of roles influence the research process and outcomes. Our analysis concludes that ignoring the role of research assistants in empirical research will lead to flawed processes, biased data and possibly misleading results.
Technical Adequacy and Acceptability of Curriculum-Based Measurement and the Measures of Academic Progress
Authors: January Stacy-Ann A. , Ardoin Scott P.
Published: March 2015

Curriculum-based measurement in reading (CBM-R) and the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) are assessment tools widely employed for universal screening in schools. Although a large body of research supports the validity of CBM-R, limited empirical evidence exists supporting the technical adequacy of MAP or the acceptability of either measure for universal screening. Purposes of the current study were to replicate and extend prior research by (a) examining the extent to which CBM-R performance measures more than word reading skills, (b) evaluating the concurrent validity of MAP with CBM-R, (c) determining the potential benefit of administering MAP with CBM-R for universal screening, and (d) examining teachers’ acceptability of MAP and CBM-R. Participants included 802 students in Grades 1 to 5 who were administered three CBM-R probes and the MAP during universal screening and 86 elementary teachers who completed a universal screening assessments survey. Results provide evidence of the concurrent validity of MAP with CBM-R and suggest both measures are acceptable to teachers. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Underground MDMA-, LSD- and 2-CB-assisted individual and group psychotherapy in Zurich: Outcomes, implications and commentary
Authors: Sessa Ben , Fischer Friederike Meckel
Published: March 2015

Underground psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has persisted in Europe despite the banning of the substances LSD and MDMA in the 1960s and 1980s, respectively. This article describes the work of a Zurich-based psychotherapist providing individual and group psycholytic psychotherapy, whose practice persisted for several years before she was arrested in 2009. The article provides commentary on the psychopharmacological, moral, ethical and legal issues of this case and discusses these issues in the context of the growing medical research of psychedelic substances as mainstream treatments for psychiatry.
The Comprehensive Emergent Literacy Model
Authors: Rohde Leigh
Published: March 2015

The early skills of Emergent Literacy include the knowledge and abilities related to the alphabet, phonological awareness, symbolic representation, and communication. However, existing models of emergent literacy focus on discrete skills and miss the perspective of the surrounding environment. Early literacy skills, including their relationship to one another, and the substantial impact of the setting and context, are critical in ensuring that children gain all of the preliminary skills and awareness they will need to become successful readers and writers. Research findings over the last few decades have led to a fuller understanding of all that emergent literacy includes, resulting in a need for a new, more comprehensive model. A new model, described in this article, strives to explain how emergent literacy can be viewed as an interactive process of skills and context rather than a linear series of individual components. Early literacy learning opportunities are more likely to happen when teachers have a solid knowledge base of emergent literacy and child development. Research has shown that preschool teachers with limited knowledge about literacy development are significantly less able to provide such experiences for children. Teachers will be better able to facilitate all of the components of emergent literacy if they have access to, and understanding of, a model that describes the components, their interactions, and the importance of environmental factors in supporting children.
The Right Profile? An Examination of Race-based Pharmacological Treatment of Hypertension
Authors: Hinkson Leslie R.
Published: March 2015

Racial profiling has been increasingly cited in the clinical and social science literatures to describe race-based differences in medical diagnoses and treatment. However, the extent to which racial profiling in medicine is an empirical reality is debated—partly because the term itself is used to describe competing processes of bias. This article distinguishes between two such processes that influence race-based treatment recommendations: racial profiling and racial valuation. Through a systematic analysis of the role of race in the pharmacological treatment of hypertension, it illustrates that both mechanisms—to varying degrees—help explain race-based trends in treatment for the disease. Analyses are based on data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, collected during and soon after the period in which such treatment became validated and encoded in national guidelines. Findings indicate a nuanced process by which sex/gender mediates not only the effect of race on treatment recommendations but also the mechanism through which racialized treatment operates. They also suggest that over time, drugs may take on a racial character, leading to the systematic identification of certain drugs with specific races, driving treatment patterns that conflate race with legitimate medical criteria.
Dental Health and the Transition to Agriculture in Prehistoric Ukraine: A Study of Dental Caries
Authors: Karsten Jordan K. , Heins Sarah E. , Madden Gwyn D. , Sokhatskyi Mykhailo P.
Published: March 2015

Bioarchaeological studies have found that, in general, the adoption of agriculture is associated with deteriorating oral health, most frequently manifested as an increase in the prevalence of dental caries. However, compared to other regions of the world, bioarchaeological studies focusing on prehistoric Europe have produced more variable results, with different populations experiencing deteriorations, improvements, and stasis in oral health. This study assesses the oral health of individuals of the Tripolye culture buried in Verteba Cave, Ukraine, within the context of the transition to agriculture in Eastern Europe. We compare the rates of dental caries between Tripolye farmers with earlier hunter-fisher-gatherers from Ukraine. The Tripolye were found to have carious lesions on 9.5 per cent of teeth, while the hunter-fisher-gatherers were found to be universally free of carious lesions. A Fisher's exact test demonstrates that this difference is statistically significant, supporting the model that the transition to agriculture was detrimental to oral health in prehistoric Ukraine. This could be related to the manner in which grain was processed by the Tripolye and the needs of their relatively population-dense society.
How I treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia in older adolescents and young adults
Authors: Curran Emily , Stock Wendy
Published: March 2015

At the intersection between children and older adults, the care of adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) poses unique challenges and issues beyond those faced by other age groups. Although the survival of AYA patients is inferior to younger children, growing evidence suggests that AYA patients have improved outcomes, with disease-free survival rates of 60% to 70%, when treated with pediatric-based approaches. A holistic approach, incorporating a multidisciplinary team, is a key component of successful treatment of these AYA patients. With the appropriate support and management of toxicities during and following treatment, these regimens are well tolerated in the AYA population. Even with the significant progress that has been made during the last decade, patients with persistence of minimal residual disease (MRD) during intensive therapy still have a poor prognosis. With new insights into disease pathogenesis in AYA ALL and the availability of disease-specific kinase inhibitors and novel targeted antibodies, future studies will focus on individualized therapy to eradicate MRD and result in further improvements in survival. This case-based review will discuss the biology, pharmacology, and psychosocial aspects of AYA patients with ALL, highlighting our current approach to the management of these unique patients.
Effects of six months of Yoga on inflammatory serum markers prognostic of recurrence risk in breast cancer survivors
Authors: Long Parma Dorothy , Hughes Daniel C , Ghosh Sagar , Li Rong , Treviño-Whitaker Rose A , Ogden Susan M , Ramirez Amelie G
Published: March 2015

Yoga-based exercise has proven to be beneficial for practitioners, including cancer survivors. This study reports on the effect on inflammatory biological markers for 20 breast cancer survivors who participated in a six-month yoga-based (YE) exercise program. Results are compared to a comprehensive exercise (CE) program group and a comparison (C) exercise group who chose their own exercises.

“Pre” and “post” assessments included measures of anthropometrics, cardiorespiratory capacity, and inflammatory markers interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Descriptive statistics, effect size (d), and dependent sample ‘t’ tests for all outcome measures were calculated for the YE group.

Significant improvements were seen in decreased % body fat, (−3.00%, d = −0.44, p = <.001) but not in cardiorespiratory capacity or in inflammatory serum markers. To compare YE outcomes with the other two groups, a one-way analysis of co-variance (ANCOVA) was used, controlling for age, BMI, cardiorespiratory capacity and serum marker baseline values. We found no differences between groups. Moreover, we did not see significant changes in any inflammatory marker for any group.

Our results support the effectiveness of yoga-based exercise modified for breast cancer survivors for improving body composition. Larger studies are needed to determine if there are significant changes in inflammatory serum markers as a result of specific exercise modalities.
Tensile properties of the rectal and sigmoid colon: a comparative analysis of human and porcine tissue
Authors: Christensen Michael B , Oberg Kevin , Wolchok Jeffrey C
Published: March 2015

For many patients, rectal catheters are an effective means to manage bowel incontinence. Unfortunately, the incidence of catheter leakage in these patients remains troublingly high. Matching the mechanical properties of the catheter and the surrounding tissue may improve the catheter seal and reduce leakage. However, little data is available on the mechanical properties of colorectal tissue. Therefore, our group examined the mechanical properties of colorectal tissue obtained from both a common animal model and humans. Uniaxial tension tests were performed to determine the effects of location, orientation, and species (porcine and human) on bowel tissue tensile mechanical properties. Bowel tissue ultimate strength, elongation at failure, and elastic modulus were derived from these tests and statistically analyzed. Ultimate tensile strength (0.58 MPa, 0.87 MPa), elongation at failure (113.19%, 62.81%), and elastic modulus (1.83 MPa, 5.18 MPa) for porcine and human samples respectively exhibited significant differences based on species. Generally, human tissues were stronger and less compliant than their porcine counterparts. Furthermore, harvest site location and testing orientation significantly affected several mechanical properties in porcine derived tissues, but very few in human tissues. The data suggests that porcine colorectal tissue does not accurately model human colorectal tissue mechanical properties. Ultimately, the tensile properties reported herein may be used to help guide the design of next generation rectal catheters with tissue mimetic properties, as well as aid in the development of physical and computer based bowel models.
Acute necrotic pancreatitis after esophagectomy: a case report
Authors: Kawamorita Keisuke , Tsubosa Yasuhiro , Oka Yurika , Matsuda Satoru , Takebayashi Katsushi , Niihara Masahiro , Okamura Yukiyasu , Uesaka Katsuhiko
Published: March 2015

Acute pancreatitis after esophagectomy is a very rare but fatal complication. This case report describes a 74-year-old man diagnosed with cT2N0M0, cStage IB esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (Union for International Cancer Control, seventh edition). On the basis of the patient’s condition, it was decided that he should undergo esophagectomy without thoracotomy. The patient developed pyrexia 3 days after the operation. Chest and abdominal computed tomography revealed severe acute pancreatitis and gastric tube necrosis; therefore, gastrectomy was performed. Subsequent surgical exploration indicated pancreatic necrosis that was diagnosed as acute necrotic pancreatitis. Postoperative management of acute pancreatitis and the general condition of the patient were quite challenging, and rapid deterioration of the respiratory status was observed. The patient experienced multiple organ failure and died 57 days after the second surgery (60 days after the first surgery). This is a report of a patient with acute necrotic pancreatitis after esophagectomy.
Transcranial light affects the expression of brain encephalopsin and plasma monoamine concentration in the mouse
Authors: Flyktman Antti , Mänttäri Satu , Nissilä Juuso , Timonen Markku , Saarela Seppo
Published: March 2015

Encephalopsin (OPN3) belongs to the light sensitive transmembrane receptor family mainly expressed in the brain and retina. It is believed that light affects mammalian circadian rhythmicity only through the retinohypothalamic tract, which transmits light information to the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the hypothalamus, although it has been shown that light penetrates the skull. Here we present the effect of transcranial light treatment on OPN3 expression and monoamine concentrations in mouse brain. Mice were randomly assigned to control group, morning-light group and evening-light group, and animals were illuminated transcranially five times a week eight minutes per mouse for four weeks. The concentrations of OPN3 and monoamines were analysed using Western blotting and HPLC, respectively. We report that transcranial light treatment affects OPN3 expression in different brain areas and plasma/adrenal gland monoamine concentrations. In addition, when light was administered at a different time of the day, the response varied in different tissues. These results provide new information on the effects of light on transmitters mediating mammalian rhythmicity.
Diversity and functional convergence of small noncoding RNAs in male germ cell differentiation and fertilization
Authors: García-López Jesús , Alonso Lola , Cárdenas David B. , Artaza-Alvarez Haydeé , Hourcade Juan de Dios , Martínez Sergio , Brieño-Enríquez Miguel A. , Mazo Jesús del
Published: March 2015

The small noncoding RNAs (sncRNAs) are considered as post-transcriptional key regulators of male germ cell development. In addition to microRNAs (miRNAs) and PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), other sncRNAs generated from small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), tRNAs, or rRNAs processing may also play important regulatory roles in spermatogenesis. By next-generation sequencing (NGS), we characterized the sncRNA populations detected at three milestone stages in male germ differentiation: primordial germ cells (PGCs), pubertal spermatogonia cells, and mature spermatozoa. To assess their potential transmission through the spermatozoa during fertilization, the sncRNAs of mouse oocytes and zygotes were also analyzed. Both, microRNAs and snoRNA-derived small RNAs are abundantly expressed in PGCs but transiently replaced by piRNAs in spermatozoa and endo-siRNAs in oocytes and zygotes. Exhaustive analysis of miRNA sequence variants also shows an increment of noncanonical microRNA forms along male germ cell differentiation. RNAs-derived from tRNAs and rRNAs interacting with PIWI proteins are not generated by the ping-pong pathway and could be a source of primary piRNAs. Moreover, our results strongly suggest that the small RNAs-derived from tRNAs and rRNAs are interacting with PIWI proteins, and specifically with MILI. Finally, computational analysis revealed their potential involvement in post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA transcripts suggesting functional convergence among different small RNA classes in germ cells and zygotes.
Determination of the secondary structure of group II bulge loops using the fluorescent probe 2-aminopurine
Authors: Dishler Abigael L. , McMichael Elizabeth L. , Serra Martin J.
Published: March 2015

Eleven RNA hairpins containing 2-aminopurine (2-AP) in either base-paired or single nucleotide bulge loop positions were optically melted in 1 M NaCl; and, the thermodynamic parameters ΔH°, ΔS°, ΔG°37, and TM for each hairpin were determined. Substitution of 2-AP for an A (adenosine) at a bulge position (where either the 2-AP or A is the bulge) in the stem of a hairpin, does not affect the stability of the hairpin. For group II bulge loops such as AA/U, where there is ambiguity as to which of the A residues is paired with the U, hairpins with 2-AP substituted for either the 5′ or 3′ position in the hairpin stem have similar stability. Fluorescent melts were performed to monitor the environment of the 2-AP. When the 2-AP was located distal to the hairpin loop on either the 5′ or 3′ side of the hairpin stem, the change in fluorescent intensity upon heating was indicative of an unpaired nucleotide. A database of phylogenetically determined RNA secondary structures was examined to explore the presence of naturally occurring bulge loops embedded within a hairpin stem. The distribution of bulge loops is discussed and related to the stability of hairpin structures.
Technology to Monitor Learners� General Purpose Intellectual Educational Activities
Authors: ��������  , Dashkevich Ivan
Published: March 2015

The paper considers technologies on how to monitor completeness of general purpose intellectual educational activities (such as skills to analyze, to synthesize, to compare, to generalize and to classify) based on criteria, put forward by the author, and also on the author�s proprietary level-sensitive description of the degree of these activities� completeness, as displayed by learners. Universality of educational activities manifests itself in their abovedisciplinary nature, as these actions provide for consistency of common cultural, individual and cognitive development of a learner�s personality and underpin organization and control of any activity of a learner, regardless of an academic subject area. The author believes that identifying the nature of logical faults, made by learners in the course of intellectual operation, would facilitate the focused efforts to eliminate such faults, which in turn would help: to improve the degree of intellectual skills� completeness; to increase the quality of learners� knowledge as well as to forecast training outcomes of individual learners and of the class as a whole. In conclusion the author presents outcomes of monitoring, implemented within the practical work of a general secondary school, and emphasizes, that the outcomes obtained give insights in concrete specifics of intellectual skills mastering and ways to eliminate errors in the process of mastering of such skills.
Social Partnership �s a Factor of Developing Vocational Competencies of To-Be-Professionals
Authors: ������������  , Burdukovskaya E. , �����  , Shkil O.
Published: March 2015

The paper concerns the problem of engaging employers in the educational process at higher education institutions in order to improve quality of future

employees� professional training in the context of meeting requirements, introduced by educational standards of the new generation. Presented is the

Program of interaction between employers and higher school teachers on issues of improving students� professional training. Also considered are various

forms of social partnership, as one among a number of factors conducive to fostering professional competencies in future specialists.
Problems of Standardization and Designing Instruments of Mathematics Teachers� Professional Activities
Authors: �������  , Monakhov V.
Published: March 2015

The paper analyzes new types of professional activities of modern teachers, set up by the �Pedagogue� Professional Standard and the Federal State Educational Standard. Present-day teachers� work should meet such standardization requirements, as skills to design pedagogical objects and to employ pedagogical technologies; acquaintance with theories of educational processes management and ways to achieve relevant educational outcomes. The author suggests and considers the model of full-cycle technological textbook, where the above-mentioned innovative requirements get appropriate design and implementation. The tutorial shows how the overall process for developing the set of competencies, introduced by the Federal State Educational Standard of Higher Education, is modeled. The tutorial model also provides technological guidelines to monitor the quality of competences developed. Further, the paper describes the technological tutorial module structure, specifying that each module is oriented on developing certain professional competencies. Along with the tutorial the package includes DVD with the system for automatic processing of results obtained through diagnostics.
Current Standards of Math Teachers� ICT-Competencies
Authors: ��������  , Fedorova Yuliya , �������  , Nevskaya O.
Published: March 2015

This article discusses aspects of the application of modern information technologies in professional work of math teacher. Implementation of programs,

defined by standard, in practice puts the task to develop guidelines on the use of various ICT tools, collections of sample plans of lessons and assignments

for students during the lessons, using mathematical modeling and experiment. In addition, there is a need to build a new model of training teachers in

the system of additional vocational training. This work is carried out on the training courses under the program for teachers engaged in a gradual transition

to the Federal State Educational Standard as soon as available. The authors explore the questions: What is the general level of ICT competence of

math teachers today; is it possible to build a system of training for math teachers to acquire modern ICT competences.
Will a Second Mouse Get the Cheese? Learning from Early Entrants’ Failures in a Foreign Market
Authors: Yang Jing Yu , Li Jiatao , Delios Andrew
Published: March 2015

We examine the conditions that can facilitate or hinder the effectiveness with which a new entrant learns from the failures of prior entrants by analyzing the experiences of 822 Japanese subsidiaries in China founded between 1979 and 2000. Our conceptual arguments and empirical findings demonstrate that learning from the failure experiences of prior entrants increases a new entrant’s survival chances when entering China. Further, we find that the value of this learning is less effective when there is a greater level of heterogeneity in the causes of these failures. However, this learning is more effective when a new entrant’s parent firm has ownership ties with investors who had ventures that failed previously in China.
Avaliação da vulnerabilidade de edifícios antigos e do risco sísmico à escala do centro histórico. O caso da baixa de Coimbra (Portugal)
Authors: Vicente R. , Varum H. , Mendes da Silva J. A. R. , Lagomarsino S.
Published: March 2015

Nas últimas décadas, a avaliação do risco sísmico é de preocupação crescente, considerada essencial na actividade e definição de estratégias de planeamento e gestão urbana. A avaliação da vulnerabilidade sísmica dos edifícios existentes na perspectiva da mitigação do risco sísmico deve colocar-se não só em relação aos edifícios isolados de relevante importância histórica, mas também em relação aos aglomerados de construções em centros históricos.
The Synergetic Effect of Multinational Corporation Management's Social Cognitive Capability on Tacit-Knowledge Management: Product Innovation Ability Insights from Asia
Authors: Sheng Margaret L. , Hartmann Nathaniel N. , Chen Qimei , Chen Irene
Published: March 2015

Multinational corporations (MNCs) use their overseas subsidiaries to access tacit knowledge about host countries. It is generally assumed that subsidiary tacit knowledge contributes directly to greater product innovativeness; however, little empirical evidence supports this assumption. In this research, the authors propose a negative direct relationship between subsidiary tacit-knowledge level and MNCs’ product innovation ability. The authors then examine the role of social cognitive capability as an attenuator of this negative relationship between subsidiary tacit-knowledge level and MNCs’ product innovation ability. The results reveal that each of the MNCs’ social cognitive capability components (i.e., task efficacy, organic structure, and affective trust) independently weakens this negative relationship. Moreover, combining social cognitive capabilities exerts synergetic influences to further excavate the effect of tacit knowledge.
Monetizing Social Value Creation – A Business Model Approach
Authors: Dohrmann Susanne , Raith Matthias , Siebold Nicole
Published: March 2015

The creation of social value through entrepreneurial ventures occurs in various dimensions, which are often difficult to compare. From an economic standpoint, however, value creation requires resources and activities that lead to expenditures. The sustainability of social ventures, therefore, depends on how these expenditures are financed. We develop a general framework in which business models of diverse social ventures can be analyzed and categorized. Using a gallery of real-life case studies, we illustrate that social business models can be characterized and ordered by the degree to which they monetize social value creation and the level of generated market revenues in excess of expenditures. Our analysis reveals a positive correlation between the monetization of social value creation and financial output, and it shows that relatively simple changes in the business model can have a significant impact on monetization and market performance. Our framework thus yields several strategic implications for business modeling.
Synthesis of polysubstituted pyridines as potential multidrug resistance modulators
Authors: Krauze Aivars , Grinberga Signe , Sokolova Elina , Domracheva Ilona , Shestakova Irina , Duburs Gunars
Published: March 2015

Polysubstituted pyridines 4 bearing methoxyphenyl groups at different positions of the ring have been prepared by the alkylation of 6-thioxo-1,6-dihydropyridines 1 or by the oxidation of 1,4-dihydropyridine 6 with manganese triacetate. The multidrug resistance–modulating (P-glycoprotein inhibition) activity of pyridine derivatives 4 comparable with that of verapamil has been revealed.
Protective effect of some selected fruit blends on testicular toxicity in alloxan-induced diabetic rats
Authors: Obode Okukwe , Okafor Oluwatoyin , Erukainure Ochuko , Ajayi Atinuke , Suberu Yewande , Ogunji Akinyele , Okporua Teressa , Oluwole Oluwatoyin , Ozumba Augusta , Elemo Gloria
Published: March 2015

Background: The protective effect of a developed drink from blends of selected fruits on the sperm quality of alloxan-induced diabetic rats was investigated.

Methods: Diabetes was intraperitoneally induced with alloxan; the formulated drink blend was orally administered 2.5 or 5 mL/day. Treatment lasted for 14 days and the rats were humanely sacrificed by cervical dislocation. The antioxidant status via assessment of reduced glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and lipid peroxidation (LPO) was carried out on the testis, while sperm cells were analyzed for sperm motility, counts and abnormality.

Results: Induction of diabetes led to a significant (p<0.05) decrease in GSH level, elevated SOD and CAT activities, significant (p<0.05) decrease in the sperm quality parameters studied. However, treatment with the formulated drink led to a significant (p<0.05) reduction of LPO, SOD and CAT activities as well as increase in GSH level.

Conclusions: This study shows an improvement in testicular antioxidant activities and sperm qualities by single and double doses of the formulation, suggesting its protective potential against testicular toxicity in diabetic rats.
The Particle Swarm Differential Evolution Algorithm for Ecological Sensor Network Coverage Optimization
Authors: Xu Xing , Hu Na , Ying Weiqin , Wu Yu , Zhou Yang
Published: March 2015

The problem of coverage optimization is the challengingly important and key part in the research and application of ecology sensor network related with the ecological monitoring of Poyang Lake. A modified differential evolution algorithm (PSI-DE) combined with particle swarm intelligence is proposed to solve the coverage optimization problem. First, an improved version of the mutation rule combined with self-cognitive and social-cognitive items is introduced. Then, the influence on the coverage optimization performance of the PSI-DE algorithm brought by the five factors – namely, population size, number of iterations, sensing radius size, raster size, and number of nodes – is discussed and analyzed. The statistical results about the best coverage rate, average coverage rate, worst coverage rate, and variance are respectively obtained through a lot of simulation experiments. A series of the coverage rate curves, the line chart, and the node layout are drawn in this paper, and finally, the figures and the statistical results are proven to confirm each other.
Textual indeterminacy revisited: from Roman Ingarden onwards
Authors: Chrzanowska-Kluczewska Elżbieta
Published: March 2015

I discuss the phenomenological approach to the creative apprehension of a literary artwork along the lines set out, from the 1930s to the 1960s, by the Polish philosopher Roman Ingarden. Responding to a revival of interest in phenomenological proposals concerning language and its products, I focus specifically on the problem of ‘indeterminacy’, an inherent feature of both the linguistic system and the fictional worlds that support many literary texts, as envisaged by Ingarden. His works in the area of cognitive philosophy and aesthetics of literature, known to the readers outside Poland in not too numerous German and English versions, still merit the attention of contemporary scholars since they connect well with several frameworks that have taken up the issue of ‘gap-filling’ and its cognitive import. In brief, I would like to bring closer to the reader’s attention the issue of ‘places of indeterminacy’ in texts and text worlds and of their ‘concretization’ by the interpreter, according to the Ingarden model (discussed comprehensively by, among others, Wolfgang Iser). I argue that with some possible modifications, it is still relevant to the study of aesthetic response to both verbal and non-verbal texts from the perspective of phenomenology, cognitive studies and the neuroscience of the arts.
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Genesis of Literary Semantics
Authors: Eaton Trevor
Published: March 2015

Polvinen observes “We must find an alternative to thinking of engagement as primarily a response to systems of knowledge and belief.” My essay takes this imperative as a starting point for proposing an alternative to the knowledge/belief analysis: the Trichotomy of Knowledge. I argue that the knowledge/belief analyses made by A.D. Woozley and A.J. Ayer lack the inclusiveness demanded by a theory of knowledge and that it is this very delimitation which has led to the analytical hindrance which Polvinen is experiencing. The Woozley/Ayer premises impose an exclusive disjunction upon a region (knowledge) whose undefinable entity transcends the object of their investigation. The Trichotomy of Knowledge, as a multimodal system, has greater complexity than the knowledge/belief model; this complexity is justified, however, by the need to complement the deficiencies in the scope of the latter. In my system, art and music and fiction are accorded equal epistemological status with logic, mathematics and science.
Cross-Recognition of a Myelin Peptide by CD8+T Cells in the CNS Is Not Sufficient to Promote Neuronal Damage
Authors: Reuter Eva , Gollan René , Grohmann Nadia , Paterka Magdalena , Salmon Hélène , Birkenstock Jérôme , Richers Sebastian , Leuenberger Tina , Brandt Alexander U. , Kuhlmann Tanja , Zipp Frauke , Siffrin Volker
Published: March 2015

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the CNS thought to be driven by CNS-specific T lymphocytes. Although CD8+T cells are frequently found in multiple sclerosis lesions, their distinct role remains controversial because direct signs of cytotoxicity have not been confirmedin vivo. In the present work, we determined that murine ovalbumin-transgenic (OT-1) CD8+T cells recognize the myelin peptide myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein 40–54 (MOG40–54) bothin vitroandin vivo. The aim of this study was to investigate whether such cross-recognizing CD8+T cells are capable of inducing CNS damagein vivo. Using intravital two-photon microscopy in the mouse model of multiple sclerosis, we detected antigen recognition motility of the OT-1 CD8+T cells within the CNS leading to a selective enrichment in inflammatory lesions. However, this cross-reactivity of OT-1 CD8+T cells with MOG peptide in the CNS did not result in clinically or subclinically significant damage, which is different from myelin-specific CD4+Th17-mediated autoimmune pathology. Therefore, intravital imaging demonstrates that local myelin recognition by autoreactive CD8+T cells in inflammatory CNS lesions alone is not sufficient to induce disability or increase axonal injury.
mGlu5 Acts As a Switch for Opposing Forms of Synaptic Plasticity at Mossy Fiber–CA3 and Commissural Associational–CA3 Synapses
Authors: Hagena Hardy , Manahan-Vaughan Denise
Published: March 2015

Within the hippocampus, different kinds of spatial experience determine the direction of change of synaptic weights. Synaptic plasticity resulting from such experience may enable memory encoding. The CA3 region is very striking in this regard: due to the distinct molecular properties of the mossy fiber (MF) and associational–commissural (AC) synapses, it is believed that they enable working memory and pattern completion. The question arises, however, as to how information reaching these synapses results in differentiated encoding. Given its crucial role in enabling persistent synaptic plasticity in other hippocampal subfields, we speculated that the metabotropic glutamate receptor mGlu5 may regulate information encoding at MF and AC synapses. Here, we show that antagonism of mGlu5 inhibits LTP, but not LTD at MF synapses of freely behaving adult rats. Conversely, mGlu5 antagonism prevents LTD but not LTP at AC–CA3 synapses. This suggests that, under conditions in which mGlu5 is activated, LTP may be preferentially induced at MF synapses, whereas LTD is favored at AC synapses. To assess this possibility, we applied 50 Hz stimulation that should generate postsynaptic activity that corresponds to θm, the activation threshold that lies between LTP and LTD. MGlu5 activation had no effect on AC responses but potentiated MF synapses. These data suggest that mGlu5 serves as a switch that alters signal-to-noise ratios during information encoding in the CA3 region. This mechanism supports highly tuned and differentiated information storage in CA3 synapses.
The Attentional Field Revealed by Single-Voxel Modeling of fMRI Time Courses
Authors: Puckett Alexander M. , DeYoe Edgar A.
Published: March 2015

The spatial topography of visual attention is a distinguishing and critical feature of many theoretical models of visuospatial attention. Previous fMRI-based measurements of the topography of attention have typically been too crude to adequately test the predictions of different competing models. This study demonstrates a new technique to make detailed measurements of the topography of visuospatial attention from single-voxel, fMRI time courses. Briefly, this technique involves first estimating a voxel's population receptive field (pRF) and then “drifting” attention through the pRF such that the modulation of the voxel's fMRI time course reflects the spatial topography of attention. The topography of the attentional field (AF) is then estimated using a time-course modeling procedure. Notably, we are able to make these measurements in many visual areas including smaller, higher order areas, thus enabling a more comprehensive comparison of attentional mechanisms throughout the full hierarchy of human visual cortex. Using this technique, we show that the AF scales with eccentricity and varies across visual areas. We also show that voxels in multiple visual areas exhibit suppressive attentional effects that are well modeled by an AF having an enhancing Gaussian center with a suppressive surround. These findings provide extensive, quantitative neurophysiological data for use in modeling the psychological effects of visuospatial attention.