Thermal mixing of two miscible fluids in a T-shaped microchannel

In this paper, thermal mixing characteristics of two miscible fluids in a T-shaped microchannel are investigated theoretically, experimentally, and numerically. Thermal mixing processes in a T-shaped microchannel are divided into two zones, consisting of a T-junction and a mixing channel. An analytical two-dimensional model was first built to describe the heat transfer processes in the mixing channel. In the experiments, de-ionized water was employed as the working fluid. Laser induced fluorescence method was used to measure the fluid temperature field in the microchannel. Different combinations of flow rate ratios were studied to investigate the thermal mixing characteristics in the microchannel. At the T-junction, thermal diffusion is found to be dominant in this area due to the striation in the temperature contours. In the mixing channel, heat transfer processes are found to be controlled by thermal diffusion and convection. Measured temperature profiles at the T-junction and mixing channel are compared with analytical model and numerical simulation, respectively.     

Targeting HSPA1A in ARID2-deficient lung adenocarcinoma

Somatic mutations of the chromatin remodeling gene ARID2 are observed in ∼7% of human lung adenocarcinomas (LUADs). However, the role of ARID2 in the pathogenesis of LUADs remains largely unknown. Here we find that ARID2 expression is decreased during the malignant progression of both human and mice LUADs. Using two Kras^G12D-based genetically engineered murine models, we demonstrate that ARID2 knockout significantly promotes lung cancer malignant progression and shortens overall survival. Consistently, ARID2 knockdown significantly promotes cell proliferation in human and mice lung cancer cells. Through integrative analyses of ChIP-Seq and RNA-Seq data, we find that Hspa1a is up-regulated by Arid2 loss. Knockdown of Hspa1a specifically inhibits malignant progression of Arid2-deficient but not Arid2-wt lung cancers in both cell lines as well as animal models. Treatment with an HSPA1A inhibitor could significantly inhibit the malignant progression of lung cancer with ARID2 deficiency. Together, our findings establish ARID2 as an important tumor suppressor in LUADs with novel mechanistic insights, and further identify HSPA1A as a potential therapeutic target in ARID2-deficient LUADs.     

When marketisation and privatisation clash with socialist ideals: Educational inequality in Urban China

In the last two decades, China's education has experienced significant transformations and restructuring on account of privatization and marketization. Unlike the Mao era when the state assumed the major responsibilities in financing and providing education, individuals and families have now to bear increasing financial burdens in paying for education. The marketization and privatization of education has undoubtedly intensified educational inequalities and widened regional disparities between the economically developed areas in the eastern coast and the less economically developed areas in the middle and north-western parts of the country. The growing inequalities in education and the increasing financial burdens presented by education have been a source of social discontentment, which have in turn prompted the central government to revisit its approaches to educational development. This article sets out to examine, how in this wider policy context, China's education has been transformed following the adoption of more pro-competition and market-oriented reform measures. This article is based on intensive secondary data analysis, fieldwork observations, and findings from a household survey conducted in eight different Chinese cities about people's perceived education hardship. The article concludes by considering how the Chinese government has attempted to address the problems of educational inequalities that have intensified on account of two decades of education marketization.     

Career decision-making, career barriers and occupational aspirations in Chinese adolescents

The study tested the relationship between occupational aspirations/expectations (type and status) and decision-making difficulties, efficacy and career barriers in 498 Chinese high school students. Males aspired to investigative and enterprising types, but expected realistic and enterprising ones; females aspired to enterprising and conventional types, but expected conventional and social ones. Students with aspirations/expectations type discrepancies were more likely to be higher achieving females; those with aspirations/expectations status discrepancies had poorer academic achievement, less confidence and perceived more barriers.     

Improving technology literacy: does it open doors to traditional content?

This study investigated whether an identifiable link existed between gains in technology literacy and achievement in the areas of reading, mathematics, and language arts. Normal curve equivalent (NCE) content score changes from TerraNova assessments were calculated for approximately 5,000 students from fourth- to fifth-grade and 5,000 students from seventh- to eighth-grade. These changes were compared to relative gains from a pre- to post-assessment in technology literacy. The rationale that a correlation might be expected is grounded in two ideas: (1) technology literacy gains lead to heightened subject specific confidence, and (2) technology literacy gains reflect improved ability to use technology as a mediator of new learning. If correct, both of these conjectures would predict increased academic achievement among students experiencing gains in technology literacy. Results provided evidence of such connections between technology literacy gains and language arts skills.     

Enhancing Student Learning in Food Engineering Using Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations

Abstract: The current generation of students coming into food science and engineering programs is very visually oriented from their early experiences. To increase their interest in learning, new and visually appealing teaching materials need to be developed. Two diverse groups of students may be identified based on their math skills. Food science students tend to find it difficult to use mathematics as a problem‐solving tool for food engineering problems. Food engineering students, on the other hand, should be challenged to use emerging mathematical tools to develop their problem‐solving skills. Therefore, the approach of this project involved the development of a curriculum to train undergraduate food engineers in the effective use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software to solve food engineering problems by engaging them in the creation of food engineering teaching tools. These CFD outputs were then used as innovative teaching tools for the food science students. In this paper, this concept will be illustrated by unsteady‐state heat transfer and fluid flow problems. To evaluate the efficiency of the teaching materials developed, a student focus group was asked to answer the same quiz following a conventional and CFD output aided teaching session. The assessment result showed an improved understanding of the subject after the CFD teaching session. These visual aids were excellent tools to illustrate the validity of the formulas presented in class. In addition, the new visual materials enabled a better understanding of the relationships among different process parameters. In general, this helped the food science students better appreciate the food engineering concepts that govern food processing operations.     

佛名与忏仪——以张荣迁碑和陈海龙碑为中心

6世纪中国佛教忏仪流行甚广,以张荣迁碑和陈海龙碑为代表的造像碑就是最好的例证。考察发现,二碑所刻佛名分别来自《金光明经》、《法华经》和《大通方广忏悔灭罪庄严成佛经》。此文在铭文考释的基础上探讨了佛名与忏仪的关系。     

Exploring the reading–writing relationship in young Chinese language learners’ sentence writing

This study explored the concurrent and longitudinal relationships between reading and writing in young Chinese-as-a-second-language (CSL) learners’ sentence writing, using structural equation modeling. The participants comprised 126 Hong Kong senior primary ethnic minority students, whose literacy skills were assessed at two time points over the course of a year. In grade 5 (Time-1), they were assessed with Chinese character reading and reading comprehension measures to evaluate their reading ability. In grade 6 (Time-2), their sentence reading, sentence writing, and literacy component skills of Chinese character writing fluency and written syntactic skills were assessed. The results demonstrated that students’ reading and writing performances were substantially related both concurrently and longitudinally. Furthermore, (1) at Time-2, the component skills accounted for substantial portions of variance in sentence reading and writing skills, along with the relationship between them, while (2) Time-1 reading ability predicted Time-2 component skills and, through the mediation thereof, indirectly predicted sentence writing. Thus, in light of the linguistic characteristics of the Chinese language, literacy component skills are crucial component processes that connect reading and writing in CSL learners’ sentence writing.     

A Comparison of Video and Text-Based Questionnaire Methods for Testing Older Adults

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to initiate systematic research on dance as a creative and expressive art form. Although the process of expression through movement has concerned dancers and dance teachers for some time, there have been few attempts at a systematic analysis of either the process or the product of dance expression. Dance has generally been considered immeasurable because of its peculiarities as an art form.

While there is little apparent value in quantitative measurement of dance, qualitative measurement appears to have considerable value. It can sharpen the focus on principles of dance composition, contribute toward increased teaching effectiveness, enlarge dance's expressive range, and increase its ability to communicate.

Specifically, this study attempted to determine how effectively modern dance communicates by using a systematic analysis of individual dance compositions. Samples of dance studies with specific intentions were choreographed and filmed. The dances were then viewed and evaluated by a selected and trained jury on (a) their ability to communicate emotional and physical qualities, (b) the type and structure of their composition, and (c) their choreographic and artistic effectiveness.

Results of this study showed that least agreement was reached by the jurors in rating the dances according to structural strength and in identifying their composition type. Realistic vehicles of expression were more easily recognized than were abstract ones. There was substantial agreement on the emotion communicated by each composition. Presence of all the traditional dance elements appears unnecessary for effective communication.