Studies of ultrasonic dehydration efficiency

The aim of this investigation was to define the effectiveness of non-contact drying using ultrasonic vibrations. Disk radiators were used for carrying out experiments, and a special drying chamber was designed to provide resonant amplification of ultrasonic vibrations (from 130 to 150 dB). Drying of ginseng and other vegetables demonstrated that the application of ultrasonic vibrations reduced power inputs by 20% in comparison with convective drying. It also led to a decrease of 6% in final moisture content, if the duration of drying was constant. The level of intensification of ultrasonic drying was high (up to 50 g for 1 kg of drying material), which helped to lower the temperature of the drying agent and improve the quality of the dried products.     

Assessing the Need and Potential of Community Networking for Development in Rural India

This article reports the results and conclusions of a mixed-methods research strategy designed to assess the potential of community networking in rural Tamil Nadu, India. The data reported and analyzed in this article include socioeconomic and household spending, agricultural marketing and price search, availability and use of information on agricultural problems, and communication media use. We use these data to define a framework of existing sources of information for various community agents, with a special emphasis on farmers. We analyze the methods and costs at which these agents obtain information, and identify information and communication gaps that information and communication technologies (ICTs) may help alleviate. This study allows us to demonstrate opportunities for socioeconomic development through ICT-enabled information access. The article concludes by stating the importance of basic communication technologies and contextually relevant information services, and suggesting recommendations for future research in this area.     

Future climate-induced pressures on painted wood

A broad category of cultural heritage objects are multilayer structures composed of organic, humidity-sensitive materials – wood, animal glue, paper, leather, bone or paints. They respond to variations in relative humidity (RH) in their environment by cyclically gaining and losing moisture, and consequently swelling and shrinking. Differences in the moisture response of the materials induce internal stresses in the individual layers of the structures, which cause objects to deform and crack. Polychrome wood is examined in detail. The cumulative physical damage of the design layer on wood due to repeated RH variations is quantified in terms of their magnitude and number of times they occur. The climatological risk index for accumulated, ‘fatigue’ damage is established, using a procedure to reduce irregular real-world climate histories into simple RH cycles of known damage impact. Using output from the Hadley Model (HadCM3) and simple transfer functions predicting indoor temperature and RH from outdoor climate, changes in the indoor climate through to 2100 were forecast for unheated buildings. European maps highlighting the areas in which painted wood may be significantly affected by climate change are presented.     

An interdisciplinary and application-oriented approach to teach microfluidics

Microfluidics is a relatively novel interdisciplinary research area with broad applications in chemistry, physics, material science, and biology. Despite the rapid growth of the field, students'' exposure to microfluidic technologies is still limited and often insufficient to appreciate the advantages over other commonly used technologies. To this end, we designed a five-day course, “Microfluidics for microbial ecology,” in which students with very different backgrounds learn the basics of microfluidic technologies and sample a range of applications in microbial ecology. The course was created for Master and Ph.D. students interested in applying microfluidics to their research and, therefore, followed an application-oriented approach. The presentation of critical aspects of fluid flow phenomena at the microscale and an outline of the advantages and constraints of the technology provide students with the background to design and perform microfluidics-based experiments. In order to improve the effectiveness of learning in a class with diverse interests and backgrounds, two active learning exercises were implemented. The first comprised the design of an individualized microfluidics experiment in parallel with the lectures: students were guided to apply each module to their personalized application and discuss it in groups. The second was a group experimental activity, in which students jointly set up, performed, analyzed, and presented a microfluidics-based experiment. Given the multidisciplinary teaching context, the course was able to foster common conceptual ground and promote discussion among students. This application-oriented approach built upon experimental activities and in-class discussion is well suited to promote learning in a technology-related subject such as microfluidics.     

Musculoskeletal loading during the round-off in female gymnastics: the effect of hand position

Chronic elbow injuries from tumbling in female gymnastics present a serious problem for performers. This research examined how the biomechanical characteristics of impact loading and elbow kinematics and kinetics change as a function of technique selection. Seven international-level female gymnasts performed 10 trials of the round-off from a hurdle step to flic-flac with ‘parallel’ and ‘T-shape’ hand positions. Synchronized kinematic (3D-automated motion analysis system; 247 Hz) and kinetic (two force plates; 1,235 Hz) data were collected for each trial. Wilcoxon non-parametric test and effect-size statistics determined differences between the hand positions examined in this study. Significant differences (p < 0.05) and large effect sizes (ES>0.8) were observed for peak vertical ground reaction force (GRF), anterior–posterior GRF, resultant GRF, loading rates of these forces and elbow joint angles, and internal moments of force in sagittal, transverse, and frontal planes. In conclusion, the T-shape hand position reduces vertical, anterior–posterior, and resultant contact forces and has a decreased loading rate indicating a safer technique for the round-off. Significant differences observed in joint elbow moments highlighted that the T-shape position may prevent overloading of the joint complex and consequently reduce the potential for elbow injury.     

A Welcome Dialogue Concerning the Need for Research on the Effectiveness of Summer Library Reading Programs: A Response to Ray Lyons's Critique

In his article, “Overstating Summer Reading Impact: The Dominican Study,” which appeared in PLQ 30, no. 1 (2011), library consultant Ray Lyons, who is the codeveloper and coauthor with Keith Curry Lance of LJ’s Star Rating system, published a critique of the study authored by Susan Roman, Deborah Carran, and Carole Fiore. PLQ editors provided an opportunity for the three scholars involved in the Dominican University-LIS study to reply to the article. This communication is that reply.     

Helping minority students to succeed in a technological college: a ‘round trip’ from cognitive functions to curriculum and back

The present study investigated the effectiveness of a cognitive enrichment programme as a tool for enhancing the chances of immigrant and minority students to be admitted to a technological college. Students received two weekly sessions (four hours) of Instrumental Enrichment (IE) during the second semester of the college preparatory programme. The cognitive principles of IE were ‘bridged’ to mathematics and science curricular material. The mathematics and science tasks were analysed to show the students the underlying cognitive principles essential for their solution. Graduates of the programme were much more successful in being admitted to technological college than students in previous years who received no cognitive enrichment.     

Benefits of Batch Reclamation: The Kent State University Libraries Experience

Bibliographic records in the Innovative library catalog at Kent State University Libraries had fallen out of synchronization with the Libraries’ holdings represented on OCLC's WorldCat database. The Libraries made a decision to undertake a batch reclamation project with OCLC to re-synch their holdings on WorldCat. This project was beneficial for both parties. OCLC received a clean copy of the Libraries’ database, while the Libraries were able to improve the quality of their local bibliographic data and address problem areas in the catalog. This case study is intended to provide a reference for other libraries considering OCLC batch reclamation projects.