Diabetic cardiomyopathy and reactive oxygen species (ROS) related parameters in male and female rats: A comparative study

Studies were carried out to examine and compare the effects of alloxan-diabetes on reactive oxygen species (ROS) related parameters in the heart from male and female rats. Effects of insulin treatment were also evaluated. The diabetic state severely compromised the ROS defense mechanism in the cardiac tissue and the effects were more pronounced in the female than in the male rats. There was several fold increase in the xanthine oxidase (XO) activity in general and the magnitude of increase was higher in the females; insulin treatment resulted in further increase in the XO activity. The glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) and catalase activities decreased and the reduced glutathione (GSH) content in mitochondria was completely depleted in diabetic state with significant decrease in the GSH levels in the post-mitochondrial fraction; the effect was more pronounced in the females. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPox) activities increased in the diabetic state to a greater extent in male rats. Insulin treatment had restorative action only on some parameters. In conclusion, our results suggest that diabetic state may further compromise the weak ROS defense systems in the heart thus initiating a lesion at the level of mitochondria which ultimately leads to cardiomyopathy and the effects are especially more pronounced in the females. Our results also pointed out that insulin treatment was ineffective in restoring ROS related parameters.     

Inventors and invention processes in Europe: Results from the PatVal-EU survey

Based on a survey of the inventors of 9017 European patented inventions, this paper provides new information about the characteristics of European inventors, the sources of their knowledge, the importance of formal and informal collaborations, the motivations to invent, and the actual use and economic value of the patents.     

An algorithm for Eigenvalue assignment in multi-input systems

This paper describes a computational method for solving the problem of eigenvalue assignment in a multi-input linear system. The given system is first reduced to an upper block Hessenberg form by means of orthogonal state coordinate transformations. It is then shown how a sequence of state feedback matrices and orthogonal state coordinate transformations can be applied to obtain a block triangular structure for the resulting state matrix, where the matrices on the diagonal are square matrices in upper Hessenberg form and of dimensions equal to the controllability indices of the multi-input system. Furthermore, the structure of the corresponding input matrix is such that the problem of eigenvalue assignment in the multi-input system can be reduced to several single-input eigenvalue assignment problems where the dimensions of the single-input systems are equal to the controllability indices of the multi-input system.     

Comprehending instructions for using pharmaceutical products in rural Kenya

This paper reports two studies on comprehension of pharmaceutical texta containing pictorial and written instructions by mothers in rural Kenya. The subjects were asked to read and recall instructions for preparing and administering a solution for the treatment of dehydration due to diarrheal disease in children. A set of pictures describing the preparation procedure, together with written text instructions under two conditions, (a) original, as in the commercial product, and (b) revised, to include familiar terminology and explanations of some procedures, were presented to two groups of Kenyan mothers. The verbal protocols generated were transcribed and analyzed using propositional representation of instructional procedures.The results showed that mothers recalled the procedures for the preparation as in the pictures but not those presented in the written instructions. The written instructions were generally found to be difficult, with the original text being more difficult than the revised text. Any conflicting information between the written and pictorial instructions was resolved by selecting the familiar procedure. The information recalled from the revised text that was recalled was that which supported the procedures in the pictures. The results have implications for writing adequate pharmaceutical texts for users such that little room is left for misinterpretation.     

Peer assessment in a project-based engineering course: comparing between on-campus and online learning environments

As the number of participants in online distance learning courses increases, peer assessment is becoming a popular strategy for evaluating open assignments and for breaking the social isolation surrounding distance education. Yet, the quality and characteristics of peer assessment in massive online courses has received little attention. Hence, this study was set to examine peer feedback quality and grading accuracy in a project-based course. The study applied a sequential exploratory mixed methods design. It included 339 participants who studied the same engineering course, but in three different modes: on-campus (n = 77), small private online course (n = 110), and massive open online course (MOOC) (n = 152). Content analysis of feedback comments identified four categories: reinforcement, statement, verification and elaboration, arranged in an ascending scale of cognitive ability. The findings indicated that the MOOC participants provided more feedback comments and volunteered to assess more projects than their counterparts did. However, the on-campus students provided higher quality feedback and their peer grading was better correlated with the grades assigned by the teaching assistants.     

Integrating actual time usage into the assessment of examination time extensions provided to disabled college engineering students

Abstract

In this study, we suggest combining the monitoring of actual examination time used with grades in order to assess examination time extensions in terms of access provision and expected outcome. Using naturally-occurring data collected from a large sample (N?=?2315) of undergraduate engineering students, we argue that extended examination time may be regarded as providing equal access when a disabled student actually utilizes more examination time than a normally achieving student, regardless of the grade obtained. We further argue that extended examination time may be regarded as resulting in the expected outcome when a disabled student either (a) utilizes less or equal examination time and achieve grades that are lower than a normally achieving student, or (b) utilizes more examination time and achieve grades that are equal to a normally achieving student. In our data, equal access was provided in all courses (i.e. disabled students utilized more time than normal achievers), but the expected outcome (i.e. equal grades) was not observed in software and English examinations. The results of this study emphasize the importance of monitoring actual time usage in addition to performance measures when assessing examination time extensions.     

How research informs educational technology decision-making in higher education: the role of external research versus internal research

Educational technology research and development - Research use in educational decision-making has been encouraged and well documented at the K-12 education level in the United States but not in...     

ANCHORING ADHD SYMPTOMS TO MENTAL AGE

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM‐5), requires that symptoms of ADHD must be developmentally inappropriate in order for an ADHD diagnosis to be considered. Because the DSM‐5 does not specifically outline procedure for determining developmental inappropriateness of behaviors, practitioners do not have guidance for making this consideration. To explore the relationship between mental age and behavior ratings of ADHD symptoms, the cognitive and behavioral data from 50 children who were evaluated in a school or clinic were compiled for this study. Cognitive ability scores were used to calculate mental age and behavior rating scores were then recalculated using the assessed mental age. Using the recalculated behavior ratings, scores based on mental age decreased significantly on the Attention Problems, Hyperactivity, and Atypicality scales of the BASC‐2. Additionally, as the discrepancy between mental and chronological age increased, larger differences in scores were found.     

Effects of mora deletion,nonword repetition,rapid naming,and visual search performance on beginning reading in Japanese

This study examined the extent to which mora deletion (phonological analysis), nonword repetition (phonological memory), rapid automatized naming (RAN), and visual search abilities predict reading in Japanese kindergartners and first graders. Analogous abilities have been identified as important predictors of reading skills in alphabetic languages like English. In contrast to English, which is based on grapheme-phoneme relationships, the primary components of Japanese orthography are two syllabaries—hiragana and katakana (collectively termed “kana”)—and a system of morphosyllabic symbols (kanji). Three RAN tasks (numbers, objects, syllabary symbols [hiragana]) were used with kindergartners, with an additional kanji RAN task included for first graders. Reading measures included accuracy and speed of passage reading for kindergartners and first graders, and reading comprehension for first graders. In kindergartners, hiragana RAN and number RAN were the only significant predictors of reading accuracy and speed. In first graders, kanji RAN and hiragana RAN predicted reading speed, whereas accuracy was predicted by mora deletion. Reading comprehension was predicted by kanji RAN, mora deletion, and nonword repetition. Although number RAN did not contribute unique variance to any reading measure, it correlated highly with kanji RAN. Implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.