Toilet learning

AitAlice Sterling Honig is Professor of Child Development at Syracuse University and Research Review editor for Day Care and Early Education.Dr. Honig is the author of Playtime Learning Games for Young Children,editor of Risk Factors in Infancy,and coauthor of Infant Caregiving: A Design for Training.     

Influence of pinning center distribution on the pinning of two-dimensional vortex system

The superconductor sample had periodic distribution of pinned region (with length ofL _p) and unpinned region (with length ofL−L _p) along the driving force direction. Numerical study on the influence of the distribution of pinning centers on pinning of the two-dimensional vortex system showed that the critical depinning forceF _c, beyond which the vortex system begins to depin, increases with increase ofL _p, indicating that the homogeneity of pinning centers helps to enhance the critical electric current of a superconductor. We found that the critical depinning forceF _c depends logarithmically onL/L _p. Project supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (NKBRSF-G19990646) and Zhejiang Proviace Foundation (199031).     

Some limsup results for increments of stable processes in random scenery

In this paper, we prove some limsup results for increments and lag increments ofG(t), which is a stable processe in random scenery. The proofs rely on the tail probability estimation ofG(t). Project (No. 10071072) supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China     

Development of human resources in and for bilingual intercultural education in Latin America

Worked as consultant for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit on the Bilingual Education Programme of Puno (Peru). Professor of Andean Linguistics at the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano. Co-author (with Ingrid Jung) of Las lenguas en la educación bilingüe: el caso de Puno,and compiler of Pesquisas en linguística andinaand Pueblos indios, estados y educación.     

Determination of the genus-specific antigens in outer membrane proteins from the strains of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Leptospira interrogans</Emphasis> and<Emphasis Type="Italic">Leptospira biflexa</Emphasis> with different virulence

Objective: To determine the existence of genus-specific antigens in outer membrane proteins (OMPs) ofleptospira with different virulence. Methods: Microscope agglutination test (MAT) was applied to detect the agglutination between commercial rabbit antiserum against leptospiral genus-specific TR/Patoc I antigen and 17 strains ofLeptospira interrongans belonging to 15 serogroups and 2 strains ofLeptospira biflexa belonging to 2 serogroups. The outer envelopes (OEs) ofLinterrogans serogroupIcterohaemorrhagiae serovarlai strainlai (56601) with strong virulence and serogroupPomona serovarpomona strainLuo (56608) with low virulence, andL. biflexa serogroupSemaranga serovarpatoc strainPatoc I without virulence were prepared by using the method reported in Auranet al. (1972). OMPs in the OEs were obtained by treatment with sodium deoxycholate. SDS-PAGE and western blot were used for analyzing the features of the OMPs on electrophoretic pattern and the immunoreactivity to the antiserum against TR/Patoc I antigen, respectively. Results: All the tested strains belonging to different leptospiral serogroups agglutinated to the antiserum against leptospiral genus-specific TR/Patoc I antigen with agglutination titers ranging from 1:256–1:512. A similar SDS-PAGE pattern of the OMPs from the three strains ofleptospira with different virulence was shown and the molecular weight of a major protein fragment in the OMPs was found to be approximately 60 Kda. A positive protein fragment with approximately 32 KDa confirmed by Western blot, was able to react with the antiserum against leptospiral genus-specific TR/Patoc I antigen, and was found in each the OMPs of the three stains ofleptospira. Conclusion: There are genus-specific antigens on the surface ofL.interrogans andL.biflexa. The OMP with molecular weight of 32 KDa may be one of the genus-specific protein antigens ofleptospira. Project (No. 39970678) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China     

Construction of some hypergroups from combinatorial structures

Jajcay's studies(1993; 1994) on the automorphism groups of Cayley maps yielded a new product of groups, which he called, rotary product. Using this product, we define a hyperoperation ⊙ on the groupSym _e(G), the stabilizer of the identitye∈G in the groupSym(G). We prove that (Sym _e (G), ⊙) is a hypergroup and characterize the subhypergroups of this hypergroup. Finally, we show that the set of all subhypergroups ofSym _e (G) constitute a lattice under ordinary join and meet and that the minimal elements of order two of this lattice is a subgroup ofAut (G).     

Study of serum<Emphasis Type="Italic">Helicobacter pylori</Emphasis> soluble antigen

Objective: to explore a new serological method for detectingHelicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. Methods: Serum soluble antigen ofH. pylori was detected by using avidin-biotin ELISA technique to evaluate the status ofH. pylori infection and for comparison with rapid urease test (RUT), histologic examination and serology. Results: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 77.46%, 91.07%, 91.67% and 76.12%, respectively. The prevalence rate of serumH. pylori soluble antigen in 138 patients undergoing endoscopy was similar to the rate obtained by¹⁴C-UBT methods (P>0.05). Conclusions: The detection of serumH. pylori soluble antigen(HpSAg) could be used as a new serological method which is accurate, and convenient, not affected by the memorizing reaction of serum antibody; is more sensitive, more specific and suitable for clinical diagnosis, and evaluation of eradication and for follow-up ofH. pylori as well as for detection in children and pregnant women. Project supported by Zhejiang Provincial Health Bureau (No. 2000A118), China     

Planning of distance-learning projects

Author of Aspectos operativos en universidades a distancia.     

A sociology ‘of’ or a sociology ‘for’ education? The New Zealand experience of the dilemma

The sociology of education in New Zealand, as in other countries, is affected by the dilemma inherent to the discipline, namely: is it a sociology of education or a sociology for education? In this article I analyse three factors in which the dilemma is played out: ‘cultural oppositionism’ in the indigenous (kaupapa Maori) approach, critical policy research and the role of empirical research. I argue that a sociology for education is fundamentally weakened by its politicisation, a flaw not helped by the difficulties in drawing political goals from moral imperatives. In contrast a sociology of education, which uses the strengths of empirical research and theoretical analysis, offers the better hope of renewal for, what is, in New Zealand, a moribund discipline.     

A framework for research into Australian middle school practice

As a new reform in Australian education, middle schooling has been gaining momentum. The rationale behind middle schooling is to bridge the traditional primary-high school gap and provide a more developmentally appropriate educational experience for young adolescents. Middle schooling in the USA has gone through a “boom-to-bust” cycle and is currently undergoing a “reinvention” as research on practice and reporting of research on practice has, in the most part, been ad hoc and piecemeal. If Australian middle schools are to avoid the boom-to-bust-to-reinvention cycle experienced in parts of the USA (Beane 2001), then a more systematic approach to researching practice is required. Research-based criteria for systematic study and improvement of middle school practice have been identified as (a) acceptance as part ofplanning alternative practice, (b)effectiveness as part ofimplementing alternative practice, and (c)sustainability as part ofevaluating alternative practice.     

What is: the Applied Probability Trust?

In this final article on the four sponsoring bodies of Teaching Statistics, Mavis Hitchcock answers the question     

Brown and the politics of equality

Forty years afterBrown v. Topeka Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision declaring de jure segregated schools unconstitutional, we are still seeking the full implementation of that decree. Most Americans accepted limited implementation ofBrown, and the degree of acceptance is split along racial lines. Racial dialogue has changed. White Americans, who control the desegregation process, develop integration plans to their advantage. School integration was not implemented until after passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and peaked in 1972. Today, school integration is declining due to a backlash, changing demographics, and declining resources. However,Brown was a success because it rid the country of legalized state segregation by race in education and in other areas of public policy. The Court could merge the equality standards ofPlessy v. Ferguson and the integration standards ofBrown to give us quality integrated education.     

The Stranger: Adventures at zero point

Abstract

In one of his notebooks, Albert Camus describes, The stranger, The myth of Sisyphus, Caligula and The misunderstanding as pertaining to a series; a schema that suggests that if one were to write about one of these literary works, one would be writing about parts of a whole unless one also engaged with the others. Whether one does this or not, may or may not reflect the nature of the relationship one sees these texts as sharing. The stranger and The myth of Sisyphus share something unique: they are both as Camus describes them, zero points; a zero point here being understood as the zero point at which one thinks about one’s existence. This article begins with a reflection upon the relative philosophical value of understanding The myth of Sisyphus as a work of art and then occupies itself with how this understanding might provide an opportunity for self-reflection when reading The stranger. The reading of The myth of Sisyphus is not used so much to better understand Meursault (the protagonist of The stranger) and his story but to invert our interpretative methodology such that it is possible to speak to the reader as a significant actor. The novel is thought of in terms of the gifting of a philosophical problem, a problem which the author of this article attempts to understand from the point of view of how one might see oneself as paradoxically implicated in the drama of its articulation. It is this paradox that will lead us to speak of the narrative of The stranger as referring to a problem in how philosophy speaks to our experience of education.     

Study on the serum levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) in patients withHelicobacter pylori infection

Objective: To evaluate the interaction between serum levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) andHelicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in patients with chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer. Methods: The serum levels of sICAM-1 in 205 patients with chronic gastric diseases were detected by ELISA method and the status ofH. pylori was determined by histologic examination, RUT,¹⁴C-UBT, and serology. The sera obtained from 18 healthy volunteers served as controls. Results: The serum levels of sICAM-1 were significantly higher in patients withH. pylori positive than those of H. pylori negative (889.43±32.52 ng/ml vs. 747.07±30.45 ng/ml,P<0.05). The serum levels of sICAM-1 in patients with mild, moderate and severe infection ofH. pylori were 841.68±72.36 ng/ml, 905.43±37.59 ng/ml and 1012.54±49.34 ng/ml, respectively (P<0.05). The serum levels of sICAM-1, proved to be significantly correlated with the density ofH. pylori colonization in gastric mucosa (r _s=0.316,P<0.001). The serum levels of sICAM-1 in patients with chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer were significantly higher than those in healthy controls (P<0.05). Conclusions: These results indicated thatH. pylori infection up-regulates the expression of sICAM-1.     

Educational research in Latin America

Educational planning specialist at Unesco's Regional Office for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC). Former staff member of the World Bank and Coordinator of the Latin American educational research exchange network (REDUC), he was also Head of the Chilean Educational Planning Office (1965–70). Co-author of Development of Educational Planning Modelsand of Eight Years of their Lives.     

The beast within:Winnie-the-Pooh reassessed

Claudia Nelson is soon to be managaing editor ofCollege Literature. Her most recent article, Sex and the Single Boy: Ideals of Manliness and Sexuality in Victorian Literature for Boys, appeared in the Summer 1989 issue ofVictorian Studies.     

Introduction

Former Professor at the University of La Plata and the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, Argentina. His research deals with the sociology of education and the development process. Author of Educación y sociedad en Argentina (1971, reprinted 1979, 1981), Conceptos de sociología de la educación (1980, published in Portuguese in 1982) and El desafío educativo: calidad y democracia (1986).     

Sore throats — Causes and cures

Richard J. Sagall, MD is a board-certified Family Practitioner who lives and practices in Bangor, Maine. He is the editor of Pediatrics for Parents,a monthly newsletter for parents and others who care for children. His articles have appeared in many magazines.     

A question

Amy Laura Dombro is the author of The Ordinary is Extraordinary: How Children Under Three Learn,published by Simon &; Schuster. She lives in New York City.     

Trends in learning In the United States of America: A passing glance

A long carrer as a teacher at the school and university level and with disturbed and delinquent youth. He is a consultant in youth development, criminal justice, and substance abuse as well as being a freelance writer. Author ofFermer les prisons (Paris, Seuil, 1977); co-author ofDealing with deviants (London, Hogarth, 1972); co-editor ofAn open life: Michael Toms in conversation with Joseph Campbell (New York, Harper and Row, 1990).