Getting to know biology through textiles

An attempt to find new ways to popularize science and encourage more women into it by demonstrating the scientific content of women's traditional work is described. The idea was to teach scientists textile knowledge and to teach those interested in textiles, science. Scientists could be given a course in textile dyeing and the textile group could illustrate a scientific problem in textiles. The plans to give a course in textile dyeing had to be postponed but the textile illustration of a scientific problem went well. Seventy students illustrated their thoughts on gene technology in six different works. Four of these were exhibited at an official commercial exhibition. One entitled ‘The Pyramid’ aroused especially strong feelings. The textile works showed that the new knowledge could be achieved through textiles.     

Developing teachers’ subject didactic competence through problem posing

Problem posing (not only in lesson planning but also directly in teaching whenever needed) is one of the attributes of a teacher’s subject didactic competence. In this paper, problem posing in teacher education is understood as an educational and a diagnostic tool. The results of the study were gained in pre-service primary school teacher education. Students were asked to pose problems containing some given data (namely fractions). The subsequent analysis of the problems posed by the students revealed shortcomings in their conceptual understanding of fractions. Classroom-based joint reflection became the means of reeducation.     

Acute effects of walking on inflammatory and cardiovascular risk in sedentary post-menopausal women

Biochemical markers of inflammation are emerging as new predictors of risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and may alter acutely with exercise. Few studies have been conducted on the effects of walking on these markers or whether different walking intensities elicit varied effects. As there is growing interest in modifiable lifestyle factors such as walking to reduce CVD risk, these inflammatory responses warrant investigation. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of walking at 50% versus 70% of predicted maximal heart rate on C-reactive protein (CRP), plasma fibrinogen, and triglycerides in sedentary post-menopausal women. Twelve post-menopausal women (mean age 58 years, s +/-6; stature 1.62 m, s+/-0.06; body mass 66.8 kg, s +/-6.2) completed two 30-min treadmill walks in a randomized cross-over design. Fasted blood samples were taken (for the determination of plasma fibrinogen, CRP, and lipids) before, immediately after, and 1 and 24 h after exercise. Triglyceride concentrations decreased from pre-exercise to 24 h post exercise at both walking intensities (time x group interaction, P < 0.05). No significant effects were observed for plasma fibrinogen, CRP, total cholesterol, low-density or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (time x group interaction, P > 0.05). The results of this study suggest that fasting plasma triglycerides are decreased on the morning after 30 min of brisk walking at either 50% or 70% of maximal heart rate (moderate and vigorous intensity).     

Comparison of bilingual children on the WISC-R and the Escala de Inteligencia Wechsler Para Ninos

A comparison was made of bilingual Puerto Rican students' scores on the WISC-R and the Escala de Inteligencia Wechsler Para Ninos to see whether there were any differences in scores based on the language in which they were tested. These children were determined to be equally proficient in English and Spanish, based on scores from the Dailey Language Facility Test. There were no significant differences between the Full Scale and the Verbal Scale scores on both tests, but significant differences were found between the Verbal and Performance Scale scores on both tests. Caution in testing bilingual children before determination of bilinguality, as well as further research into development of intelligence tests for individual culture groups, is recommended.     

Measuring academic Self-Concept in children: A comparison of two scales

While numerous studies attest to a relationship between academic self-concept and achievement, a variety of measures of self-concept have been used, and the equivalence of these instruments has received limited attention. In this investigation, the Self-Concept of Ability Scale (SCAS) and the newer and less examined Self-Perception of Attainment Scale (SPAS) were compared for their ability to predict achievement in reading as measured by the California Achievement Test (CAT). We predicted that: (a) both scales would be significant predictors of reading achievement, (b) when used as single predictors, the SCAS would have significantly greater weight than the SPAS, and (c) a linear combination of these scales would have greater weight than either scale alone. Using 187 eighth-grade students, we confirmed that both scales were significant predictors of achievement in reading and that a linear combination of the two accounted for more variance than either scale alone. We did not find, however, that the SCAS was a significantly better predictor than the SPAS.     

Mechanical properties of adobe walls in a Roman Republican domus at Suasa

Adobe is a construction technique that uses raw earth mixed and moulded to form sun-dried blocks to realize a bearing wall. The recent discovery of adobe walls belonging to a Republican domus sited in Suasa (Ancona, Italy) was the starting point of the present work. The research was developed through an experimental approach, in order to characterize the mechanical behavior of this type of walls: firstly some adobe blocks similar to the original ones were reproduced by using the soil directly came from the archaeological site near the adobe walls and adding straw to reduce hygrometric shrinkage and coarse sand, taken from a local quarry, as a stabilizer, as Romans were used to do. Then, after a seasoning period of 4 months, four adobe walls were produced to be tested by compression and shear. From compression tests, maximum strength, first cracking compression stress, Young modulus and breaking manner were evaluated. As well, compression results show a possible two-storey structure of the earthen Republican domus. In fact, it appears that the stress from the two-storey load analysis is lower than the first cracking compression stress. From the shear tests, a proportional law seems to regulate the relation between the maximum value of the mean tangential tensions and the vertical compression the sample is subjected to. This could be the starting point for a future seismic analysis.     

Recent Publications in Natural History

Principal Review: Edwards, Stephen R., Bruce M. Bell, and Mary Elizabeth King , comps. Pest control in museums: a status report (1980). Principal Review: Dubos, René . The Wooing of Earth: new perspectives on man's use of nature.     

Fabricating and prefabricating language: troubling trends in libraries

Librarians are succumbing to the influence of the easy-to-adopt, prefab, impersonal, ugly, and often impenetrable jargon borrowed from business and computer technology. Thus, they are in danger of beginning to think of libraries as businesses that provide primarily electronic information and facts rather than materials to support humanistic knowledge and insight.