Views of Omani post-basic education students about religious and cultural tolerance

The study aims to investigate the views of Omani post-basic education students (Grades 10–12) about religious and cultural tolerance. The sample consisted of 1390 male and female students in grades 10, 11 and 12, from four of Oman’s seven regions. A questionnaire was used to gather data, which consisted of 27 items divided into five domains. The results showed that students place a strong emphasis on the importance of religious and cultural tolerance, both within Oman society and worldwide. They are also not in favour of any type of aggression, religious and cultural symbols or the fuelling of disagreements between religions or cultures. The results also indicated that female students are more strongly concerned with tolerance than males, grade 12 students more concerned than those in grades 10 and 11, and students from Muscat more concerned than those in other less urban areas.     

车轮扭矩传感器的结构分析

用ANSYS软件描述了有限元建模及扭矩传感器的分析 ,通常采用力传感器的应变片布片方案 .本文主要工作是建立传感器结构的弹性体的有限元模型 ,分析滚动力矩My 作用于弹性体时的应力和应变分布情况 ,并展示结果     

Principals' and teachers' attitudes and knowledge of inclusive education as predictors of effective teaching practices in Ghana

Surveys and observations were undertaken in selected primary schools in Ghana to determine whether principals' and teachers' attitudes towards and knowledge of inclusive education, as well as principals' expectations of teachers in implementing inclusion, were predictors of effective teaching practices in their classrooms. The sample of 128 educators (20 principals and 108 teachers) drawn from 20 primary schools in two districts, were required to respond to questionnaire measures of Attitude Towards Inclusive Education Scale (ATIES), Knowledge of Inclusive Education Scale (KIES) and Principals' Expectations Scale (PES). Of the total number of teachers ( N  = 108), 37 were observed during instructional delivery in their classrooms. The data were analysed by a variety of statistical procedures including Regression Analysis and Discriminant Function Analysis. In the context of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1985), the results showed that whilst attitudes towards inclusion (attitude element) and knowledge of inclusion (perceived behavioural control element) predicted effective teaching practices, principals' expectations (subjective norm) did not. Implications for the implementation of effective inclusive practices in Ghanaian schools and the need for future research are discussed.     

A study of the validity of four types of student ratings of college teaching assessed on a criterion of student achievement gains

The purpose of the study was to investigate relationships between student ratings of college teaching using four types of student rating instruments and pre- vs. post-student achievement gains in 36 sections of an undergraduate analytic geometry and calculus course. Student rating instruments used varied according to type of items (high vs. low inference) and focus (students rating their own perceived growth vs. rating the instructor). Data were collected on 799 students (66% freshmen; 16% sophomore; and 15% juniors) at the University of Florida, and relationships were analyzed using the Pearson product-moment correlation technique. Significant relationships were not found between student ratings and student achievement.     

Writing evaluation: rater and task effects on the reliability of writing scores for children in Grades 3 and 4

We examined how raters and tasks influence measurement error in writing evaluation and how many raters and tasks are needed to reach a desirable level of .90 and .80 reliabilities for children in Grades 3 and 4. A total of 211 children (102 boys) were administered three tasks in narrative and expository genres, respectively, and their written compositions were evaluated in widely used evaluation methods for developing writers: holistic scoring, productivity, and curriculum-based writing scores. Results showed that 54 and 52% of variance in narrative and expository compositions were attributable to true individual differences in writing. Students’ scores varied largely by tasks (30.44 and 28.61% of variance), but not by raters. To reach the reliability of .90, multiple tasks and raters were needed, and for the reliability of .80, a single rater and multiple tasks were needed. These findings offer important implications about reliably evaluating children’s writing skills, given that writing is typically evaluated by a single task and a single rater in classrooms and even in some state accountability systems.     

The major players in adaptive immunity

How do we remain healthy, for the most parts, in the midst of an environment teeming with opportunistic and infectious microbes, potential carcinogens and allergens? The fact is that our immune system, by and large, does a fine job in protecting us. It is therefore important to understand the organization of the immune network, which is broadly categorized into two groups: innate and adaptive. Cells involved in innate immunity are the first to come into contact with invading microbes, similar to the border security force, and respond rapidly but in a non-specific manner. On the other hand, the cells involved in adaptive immunity are slower to respond but act in a very specific manner. Though the primary response is slow, the secondary response is much faster and demonstrates memory. This article will focus on some important features and key players involved in the adaptive immune response. The first part deals with the humoral immune response mediated mainly by immunoglobulins produced by the B cells. The second part deals with T cells, the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC)-encoded molecules, and Recombination Activating Genes (RAG) responsible for generating diverse B-cell receptors (BCR) and T-cell receptors (TCR). With the advent of newer and smarter infectious agents, it is important to understand the working of the immune network as more research in this area may facilitate the development of better protective strategies.     

Developing critical thinking in e‐learning environment: Kuwait University as a case study

This article investigated the impact of using e‐learning models' with the principles of constructivism to enhance the critical thinking skills of students in higher education institutions. The study examines the effectiveness of e‐learning model in enhancing critical thinking of students at university level. This effectiveness is measured by a critical thinking test. The target population for this study is undergraduate information systems' students enrolled in Spring 2005 and Fall 2006 semesters at Kuwait University.     

Prior knowledge in mathematics and study success in engineering: informational value of learner data collected from a web-based pre-course

The article describes the development and evaluation of a web-based pre-course in mathematics, delivered to four cohorts of engineering students at a German university. Based on demographic, personal, and learning-related data relationships between students’ preconditions, their learning gains in the pre-course, and study success in the degree programme were analysed. The results support the existing literature in that domain-related prior knowledge and secondary school achievement play a dominant role regarding study success in engineering. The analyses also showed that the influence of cognitive predictors could only be compensated for by a strong learner engagement. At-risk students with high pre-course learning gains showed significantly better first-year performance. The number of self-tests a student attempted was positively related to pre-course learning gains and even to first-year performance, suggesting that this variable is a good indicator of student engagement.     

Possible Role of microRNA-122 in Modulating Multidrug Resistance of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a hypervascular primary liver cancer characterized by rapid progression, besides, resistance to traditional chemotherapeutic agents. It has been shown that microRNAs play critical roles in regulation of tumor cell sensitivity to drugs through modulating the expression of genes involved in drug transport. The present study investigated whether restoration of miR-122 in HCC cells could alter the cell cycle distribution and the expression of multidrug resistance (MDR)-related genes (ABCB1, ABCC1, ABCG2 and ABCF2). After overexpression of miR-122 in HepG2 cells treated or untreated with doxorubicin doses, total RNAs and protein extracts were isolated for application of QRT-PCR and western blotting techniques. Moreover, cell cycle distribution was monitored by flow cytometry. Our results revealed that, the over expression of miR-122 in HepG2 cells treated or untreated with doxorubicin could modulate the sensitivity of cells to chemotherapeutic drug through downregulation of MDR-related genes, ABCB1 and ABCF2. Interpretation of cell cycle distribution revealed that, the anti-proliferative effect of miR-122 is associated with the accumulation of cells in G₀/G1 phase. Moreover, treatment with miR-122 and doxorubicin resulted in high percentage of HCC cells in G₀/G1 phase. Taken together, our findings revealed that, overexpression of miR-122 inhibited HCC cell growth by inducing cell cycle arrest and this arrest is associated with down-regulation of MDR-related genes.