Listening and reflecting: an introduction to the special issue

The topic of listening has been broadly neglected in educational studies. This special issue presents studies on the connections between listening and reflecting in educational contexts.

Interactions between retroactive-interference and context-mediated treatments that impair Pavlovian conditioned responding

In Pavlovian fear conditioning, context-mediated decrements in conditioned responding (e.g., the US preexposure effect) can counteract competition between cues trained together (e.g., overshadowing). Two experiments were conducted using rats in a conditioned lick suppression preparation to determine whether context-mediated competition also counteracts competition between cues trained separately (retroactive interference, or RI). In Experiment 1, a combination of degraded contingency and RI treatments produced less of a decrement in conditioned responding than did either of those treatments alone. Experiment 2 showed that RI treatment attenuates the normally deleterious effect of trial massing. The results suggest that empirical similarities are shared by interference between cues trained apart and competition between cues trained together.     

Open Source software in US higher education: Reality or illusion?

As institutions of Higher Education try to balance limited resources with the rising costs of technology, some institutions are turning to Open Source software for campus-wide applications such as course management systems and portals. The assumption is that Open Source will provide the flexibility to build pedagogically sound learning environments while increasing technology efficiencies. This paper outlines the current state of Open Source software deployment in US Higher Education based on a survey of 772 Chief Academic Officers and Chief Information Officers conducted in 2006. The results indicate that Carnegie classification is a critical differentiator of awareness, adoption, and perceptions of Open Source software applications, with perceived cost of ownership being the key driver of Open Source adoption. Moreover, the study shows that institutions have made little progress in the development of polices and procedures for Open Source regulatory compliance and security. The study serves as a baseline for future research into the conditions for successful use of Open Source for supporting integrated learning environments that deliver campus-wide efficiencies.

Gleichstellung von Frauen und Männern an vollrechtsfähigen Universitäten

Trotz hoher Studentinnen- und Absolventinnenzahlen in den meisten Studienrichtungen ist der Anteil der Frauen an akademischen Spitzenpositionen noch immer gering. Die Gründe für dieses Missverhältnis liegen in einer Reihe spezifischer Schwierigkeiten, mit denen Frauen bei universitären Laufbahnen konfrontiert sind. Die Politik der Europäischen Union verfolgt seit 1999 das explizite Ziel, Frauen stärker in der universitären und außeruniversitären Forschung zu verankern. Mit dem Vertrag von Amsterdam wurde auch der gemeinschaftsrechtliche Rahmen neu gestaltet. Das UG 2002 hat "Frauenförderung" und "Gleichstellung von Frauen und Männern" zur Aufgabe der Universitäten und damit zu einem zentralen Teil ihres Bildungsauftrags erklärt. Die Europäische Strategie des "Gender Mainstreaming" wurde so in eine innerstaatliche, alle Universitätsorgane bindende Verpflichtung umgesetzt. Der Beitrag behandelt die rechtlichen Möglichkeiten der vollrechtsfähigen Universitäten zur Frauenförderung und bewertet Reichweite und Wirksamkeit der neuen Rechtslage.     

Genetic analysis for brix weight per stool and its component traits in sugarcane （Saccharum officinarum）

Brix weight per stool (BW) of sugarcane is a complex trait, which is the final product of a combination of many components. Diallel cross experiments were conducted during a period of two years for BW and its five component traits, including stalk diameter (SD), stalk length (SL), stalk number (SN), stalk weight (SW), and brix scale (BS) of sugarcane. Phenotypic data of all the six traits were analyzed by mixed linear model and their phenotype variances were portioned into additive (A),dominance (D), additive×environment interaction (AE) and dominance×environment interaction (DE) effects, and the correlations of A, D, AE and DE effects between BW and its components were estimated. Conditional analysis was employed to investigate the contribution of the components traits to the variances of A, D, AE and DE effects of BW. It was observed that the heritabilities of BW were significantly attributed to A, D and DE by 23.9%, 30.9% and 28.5%, respectively. The variance of A effect for BW was significantly affected by SL, SN and BS by 25.3%, 93.7% and 17.4%, respectively. The variances of D and DE effects for BW were also significantly influenced by all the five components by 5.1%～85.5%. These determinants might be helpful in sugarcane breeding and provide valuable information for multiple-trait improvement of BW.     

Microwave-assisted synthesis, anticonvulsant activity and quantum mechanical modelling of N-（4-bromo-3-methylphenyl） semicarbazones

Objective： To study the effect of halo substitution on disubstituted aryl semicarbazones on the anticonvulsant potential and model the activity based on quantum mechanics. Methods： A series of twenty-six compounds of N^4-（4-bromo-3-methylphenyl） semicarbazones were synthesized and evaluated for the anticonvulsant activity in the maximal electroshock seizure （MES） and subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole （scPTZ） seizure threshold tests. Some potential compounds were also tested in the subcutaneous strychnine （scSTY） and subcutaneous picrotoxin （scPIC） seizure threshold tests. The synthesized compounds were tested for behavioral impairment and CNS （central nervous system） depression in mice. Quantum mechanical modelling was carried out on these compounds to gain understanding on the structural features essential for activity. Results： Some compounds possessed broad spectrum anticonvulsant activity as indicated by their effect in pentylenetetrazole, strychnine, picrotoxin and maximal electroshock seizures models in resemblance to other aryl semicarbazone derivatives reported earlier. The higher the difference in HOMO （highest occupied molecular orbital） and LUMO （lowest unoccupied molecular orbital） energy levels was, the greater was the activity profile. Conclusion： The pharmacophoric requirements for compounds to exhibit anticonvulsant activity that includes one aryl unit in proximity to a hydrogen donor-acceptor domain and an electron donor have been justified with the molecular orbital surface analysis of the synthesized compounds.     

Comparison of high order aberration after conventional and customized ablation in myopic LASIK in different eyes of the same patient

Purpose: To verify whether there exists any difference in higher order aberrations after undergoing myopic LASIK (laser in situ keratomileusis) with conventional ablation and customized ablation in different eyes of the same patient. Methods: This was a prospective randomized study of 54 myopic eyes (27 patients) that underwent LASIK using the Nidek EC-5000 ex-cimer laser system (Nidek, Gamagori, Japan). Topography-guided customized aspheric treatment zone (CATz) was used in the first eye of the patient (study group) and the other eye of the same patient was operated on with conventional ablation (control group). Higher order aberrations [root-mean-square (RMS) in the 5-mm zone] of both groups were observed with the Nidek OPD-Scan aberrometer before and 3 months after LASIK. Preoperative mean refractive error was similar between two eyes of the same patient (t=?0.577, P>0.05). Results: Preoperatively, higher order aberrations (RMS in the 5-mm zone) in the CATz ablation and conventional groups were (0.3600±0.0341) μm and (0.2680±0.1421) μm, respectively. This difference was not statistically significant (t=1.292, P>0.05). Three months after LASIK, higher order aberrations (RMS in 5-mm zone) in the CATz ablation and conventional groups were (0.3627±0.1510) μm and (0.3991±0.1582) μm, respectively. No statistically significant difference was noted between pre- and postoperative higher order aberrations in the CATz group (t=?0.047, P>0.05). However, a statistically significant increase in higher order aberrations was observed after conventional ablation (t=?5.261, P<0.05). A statistically sig-nificant difference was noted in the increase of higher order aberrations after LASIK between groups (t=?2.050, P=0.045). Con-clusion: LASIK with conventional ablation and topography-guided CATz ablation resulted in the same BSCVA (best specta-cle-corrected visual acuity) 3 month after LASIK. Higher order aberrations were increased, but the increase of higher order ab-errations after customized ablation treatment was less than that after conventional ablation.     

Study of Resistin gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cell and its gene polymorphism in a small range population

INTRODUCTION Recently discovered as an endocrine organ, adi-pose tissue can secrete many cytokines such as Re-sistin, adiponectin and free fatty acids, and receives much attention in the study of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). As a peptide hor-mone secreted by adipocyte, Resistin is considered to be the linkage between obesity and insulin resistance (Steppan et al., 2001). Most studies on Resistin in-vestigate adipose tissue. In this experiment we de-tected t…     

Insecticidal activity of the medicinal plant, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Alstonia boonei</Emphasis> De Wild,against <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sesamia calamistis</Emphasis> Hampson

The bioactivity of the aqueous extracts of the leaf and stem bark of the medicinal plant, Alstonia boonei De Wild (Apocyanaceae), against the pink stalk borer, Sesamia calamistis Hampson (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) was studied in a laboratory bioassay. The extracts were incorporated into artificial diet at a rate of 0.0% (control), 1.0%, 2.5%, 5.0%, and 10.0% (w/w). Both extracts significantly (P<0.01) reduced larval survival and weight in a dose dependent manner. The concentrations that killed 50% of the larvae (LC50) for the stem bark extract were 2.8% and 2.1% at 10 and 20 DAI (days after introduction), respectively, while those for the leaves extract were 5.6% and 3.5%. The weights of the larvae also varied significantly (P<0.05) between the treatments in a dose dependent manner. We conclude that both leaf and stem bark extracts of A. boonei are toxic, used as growth inhibitors to S. calamistis larvae, and hold good promise for use as alternative crop protectants against S. calamistis.     

Application of response surface methodology in medium optimization for pyruvic acid production of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Torulopsis glabrata</Emphasis> TP19 in batch fermentation

Response surface methodology （RSM） was used to optimize the fermentation medium for enhancing pyruvic acid production by Torulopsis glabrata TP19. In the first step of optimization, with Plackett-Burman design, ammonium sulfate, glucose and nicotinic acid were found to be the important factors affecting pyruvic acid production significantly. In the second step, a 23 full factorial central composite design and RSM were applied to determine the optimal concentration of each significant variable. A second-order polynomial was determined by the multiple regression analysis of the experimental data. The optimum values for the critical components were obtained as follows： ammonium sulfate 0.7498 （10.75 g/L）, glucose 0.9383 （109.38 g/L） and nicotinic acid 0.3633 （7.86 mg/L） with a predicted value of maximum pyruvic acid production of 42.2 g/L. Under the optimal conditions, the practical pyruvic acid production was 42.4 g/L. The determination coefficient （R^2） was 0.9483, which ensures adequate credibility of the model. By scaling up fermentation from flask to jar fermentor, we obtained promising results.