How New Caledonian crows solve novel foraging problems and what it means for cumulative culture

New Caledonian crows make and use tools, and tool types vary over geographic landscapes. Social learning may explain the variation in tool design, but it is unknown to what degree social learning accounts for the maintenance of these designs. Indeed, little is known about the mechanisms these crows use to obtain information from others, despite the question’s importance in understanding whether tool behavior is transmitted via social, genetic, or environmental means. For social transmission to account for tool-type variation, copying must utilize a mechanism that is action specific (e.g., pushing left vs. right) as well as context specific (e.g., pushing a particular object vs. any object). To determine whether crows can copy a demonstrator’s actions as well as the contexts in which they occur, we conducted a diffusion experiment using a novel foraging task. We used a nontool task to eliminate any confounds introduced by individual differences in their prior tool experience. Two groups had demonstrators (trained in isolation on different options of a four-option task, including a two-action option) and one group did not. We found that crows socially learn about context: After observers see a demonstrator interact with the task, they are more likely to interact with the same parts of the task. In contrast, observers did not copy the demonstrator’s specific actions. Our results suggest it is unlikely that observing tool-making behavior transmits tool types. We suggest it is possible that tool types are transmitted when crows copy the physical form of the tools they encounter.     

Models and Paradigms in Kuhn and Halloun

In Modeling Theory in Science Education, Halloun (2004) adopts the word ‘paradigm’, but his use of the term is radically different from that of Kuhn. In this paper, I explore some of the differences between Kuhn’s paradigms and Halloun’s paradigms. Where Kuhn’s paradigms are public, community-defining exemplars of practice, Halloun’s paradigms are private, individualized ways of thinking. Where Kuhn writes of the paradigm shift as a revolutionary, vision-altering conversion experience, Halloun writes of a gradual evolution from one way of thinking to another and an easy back-and-forth switch between paradigms. Since Kuhn’s paradigms are self-enclosed and incommensurable, there is no objective standard by which one paradigm can be shown to be superior to the other. But Halloun uses ‘viability’ as a standard for paradigm choice. Underlying all of this is the more basic question of whether the history of science is an appropriate metaphor for student progress in the classroom. I conclude with some brief thoughts on this question.     

A simple channel estimator for space-time coded OFDM systems in rapid fading channels

A simple channel estimator for space-time coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems in rapid fading channels is proposed. The channels at the training bauds are estimated using the EM (expectation-maximization) algorithm, while the channels at the data bauds are estimated based on the method for modelling the time-varying channel as the linear combination of several time-invariant "Doppler channels". Computer simulations showed that this estimator outperforms the decision-directed tracking in rapid fading channels and that the performance of this method can be improved by iteration.     

How transformational learning promotes caring,consultation and creativity,and ultimately contributes to sustainable development: Lessons from the Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living (PERL) network

Oases of learning which are transformative and lead to significant behavioural change can be found around the globe. Transformational learning has helped learners not only to understand what they have been taught but also to re-conceptualise and re-apply this understanding to their daily lives. Unfortunately, as many global reports indicate, inspirational transformational learning approaches for sustainable development are rare and have yet to become the norm – despite calls for such approaches by several outstanding educators and organisations. This article examines three learning approaches developed by the network of the Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living (PERL). These approaches are structured around core elements of transformative learning for sustainable development, yet focus particularly on the ability to care, consult with others and be creative. They seem to depend on the learners’ ability to articulate their perceptions of sustainable development in relation to their own values and to identify how these are actualised in their daily life. Together with other core elements of transformative learning, an almost magical (not precisely measurable) synergy then emerges. The intensity of this synergy appears to be directly related to the individual learner’s understanding of the contradictions, interlinkages and interdependencies of modern society. The impact of this synergy seems to be concurrent with the extent to which the learner engages in a continual learning process with those with whom he/she has contact. The findings of this study suggest that mainstreaming transformational learning for sustainable development in ways that release the “magic synergy of creative caring” can result in the emergence of individuals who are willing and able to move from “business as usual” towards more socially just, economically equitable, and environmentally sensitive behaviour.     

Distribution and differentiation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells after fluid resuscitation in mice with hemorrhagic shock

Objective

To investigate the distribution and differentiation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in hemorrhagic shock mice, which are resuscitated with normal saline (NS), hypertonic saline (HTS), and hydroxyethyl starch (HES).

Methods

BALB/c mice were randomly divided into control, NS, HTS, and HES resuscitation groups. Three subgroups (n=8) in each resuscitation group were marked as 2, 24, and 72 h. Flow cytometry was used to detect the MDSCs, monocytic MDSCs (M-MDSCs), and granulocytic/neutrophilic MDSCs (G-MDSCs) in peripheral blood nucleated cells (PBNCs), spleen single-cell suspension, and bone marrow nucleated cells (BMNCs).

Results

The MDSCs in BMNCs among three resuscitation groups were lower 2 h after shock, in PBNCs of the HTS group were higher, and in spleen of the NS group were lower (all P<0.05 vs. control). The M-MDSC/G-MDSC ratios in PBNCs of the HTS and HES groups were lower (both P<0.05 vs. control). At 24 h, the MDSCs in PBNCs of the NS and HTS groups were higher, while the spleen MDSCs in the HTS group were higher (all P<0.05 vs. control). The M-MDSC/G-MDSC ratios were all less in PBNCs, spleen, and BMNCs of the NS and HTS groups, and were lower in BMNCs of the HES group (all P<0.05 vs. control). At 72 h, the elevated MDSCs in PBNCs were presented in the HTS and HES groups, and in spleen the augment turned up in three resuscitation groups (all P<0.05 vs. control). The inclined ratios to M-MDSC were exhibited in spleen of the NS and HTS groups, and in PBNCs of the NS group; the inclination to G-MDSC in BMNCs was shown in the HES group (all P<0.05 vs. control).

Conclusions

HTS induces the earlier elevation of MDSCs in peripheral blood and spleen, and influences its distribution and differentiation, while HES has a less effect on the distribution but a stronger impact on the differentiation of MDSCs, especially in bone marrow.

     

Correlates of Work-Life Balance for Faculty Across Racial/Ethnic Groups

Very few studies have examined issues of work-life balance among faculty of different racial/ethnic backgrounds. Utilizing data from Harvard University’s Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education project, this study examined predictors of work-life balance for 2953 faculty members from 69 institutions. The final sample consisted of 1059 (36%) Asian American faculty, 512 (17%) African American faculty, 359 (12%) Latina/o faculty, and 1023 (35%) White/Caucasian faculty. There were 1184 (40%) women faculty and 1769 (60%) men faculty. The predictors of worklife balance included faculty characteristics, departmental/institutional characteristics and support, and faculty satisfaction with work. While African American women faculty reported less work-life balance than African American men, the reverse was true for Latina/o faculty. In addition, White faculty who were single with no children were significantly less likely to report having work-life balance than their married counterparts with children. Faculty rank was a significant positive predictor of work-life balance for all faculty. Notably, the findings highlight the importance of department and institutional support for making personal/family obligations and an academic career compatible. Institutional support for making personal/family obligations and an academic career compatible was consistently the strongest positive predictor of perceived work-life balance for all faculty. In addition, satisfaction with time spent on research had positive associations with work-life balance for all faculty, highlighting how faculty from all racial/ethnic backgrounds value being able to spend enough time on their own research.     

Serum adenosine deaminase, 5′ nucleotidase and malondialdehyde in acute infective hepatitis

Serum adenosine deaminase (ADA), 5′ nucleotidase (5′NT) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were estimated in patients with acute infective hepatitis (AIH) along with the routine parameters of liver disease. Present study is done to evaluate these special parameters in patients with clinical history of AIH and to assess the utility of these parameters as diagnostic/ prognostic indices of liver function and to correlate special parameters with routine live function tests (LFT). ADA, 5′NT and MDA along with routine LFT was estimated in 25 patients with AIH and 25 samples from healthy voluntary blood donars served as the control group. Routine LFT was estimated by standard clinical chemistry procedures on dade behring analyser and ADA, 5′NT and MDA were estimated by berthlot reaction, fiske and subbarao method and thiobarbituric acid method respectively. Statistical analysis showed that serum ADA, 5′NT and MDA were significantly higher in patients as compared with the controls. There was a significant positive correlation between ADA and total bilirubin and MDA and total bilirubin. Hence we can conclude that these tests would be more sensitive to diagnose the patients with AIH and that the raised bilirubin levels could be looked upon, as a protective mechanism which the liver has evolved in order to combat oxidative stress.     

Success,failure and emotions: examining the relationship between performance feedback and emotions in diagnostic reasoning

Students experience a variety of emotions following achievement outcomes which stand to influence how they learn and perform in academic settings. However, little is known about the link between student outcome emotions and dimensions of performance feedback in computer-based learning environments (CBLEs). Understanding the dynamics of this relationship is particularly important for high-stakes, competency-based domains such as medical education. In this study, we examined the relationship between medical students’ (N = 30) outcome emotion profiles and their performance on a diagnostic reasoning task in the CBLE, BioWorld. We found that participants could be organized into distinct emotion groups using k-means cluster analyses based on their self-reported outcome emotion profiles: an expected positive emotion cluster and negative emotion cluster and an unexpected low intensity emotion cluster. A clear relationship was found between emotion clusters and diagnostic performance such that participants classified to the positive emotion cluster had the highest performance; those classified to the negative emotion cluster had the lowest performance; and those classified to the low intensity emotion cluster had performance outcomes that fell between the other two. Our discussion focuses on the theoretical implications of emotion classification and design recommendations for learning environments and emotional interventions in computer-based contexts.