E家之言:热爱平凡、享受快乐、诚实研究

图书馆员是一份非常平凡的工作,平凡到可以被人忽略。前些日子,一个网名叫“土匪”的图书馆学系在校生写了一篇向新生介绍图书馆学的帖子,我高度评价这个学生对图书馆事业的热爱。但是在这个帖子里,他努力想证明研究图书馆学和从事图书馆工作也能出人头地,我不赞成他的看法。毕竟能够成为国家主席、总统夫人的图书馆员只有那么几个。大部分的图书馆员是默默无闻的。作为一个图书馆员,热爱平凡是其最重要的人格品质。一个人什么叫出人头地？有些地方人口众多,资源有限,大家都想出人头地,所以竞争就激烈,争来争去,当老年静下来的时候,回头一想,发现一生只有勾心斗角了,发现其实一生没有快乐过,没有轻松过,那时才后悔莫及。其实,人生最大的乐趣不是出人头地,而是享受人生的快乐。     

Anti-adipogenic effects of extracts of Ficus deltoidea var. deltoidea and var. angustifolia on 3T3-L1 adipocytes简

Objective

This study examined the anti-adipogenic effects of extracts of Ficus deltoidea var. deltoidia and var. angustifolia, a natural slimming aid, on 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

Methods

Methanol and water extracts of leaves of the F. deltoidea varieties were analyzed to determine their total flavonoid content (TFC) and total phenolic content (TPC), respectively. The study was initiated by determining the maximum non-toxic dose (MNTD) of the methanol and water extracts for 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Possible anti-adipogenic effects were then examined by treating 2-d post confluent 3T3-L1 preadipocytes with either methanol extract or water extract at MNTD and half MNTD (1/2MNTD), after which the preadipocytces were induced to form mature adipocytes. Visualisation and quantification of lipid content in mature adipocytes were carried out through oil red O staining and measurement of optical density (OD) at 520 nm, respectively.

Results

The TFCs of the methanol extracts were 1.36 and 1.97 g quercetin equivalents (QE)/100 g dry weight (DW), while the TPCs of the water extracts were 5.61 and 2.73 g gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100 g DW for var. deltoidea and var. angustilofia, respectively. The MNTDs determined for methanol and water extracts were (300.0±28.3) and (225.0±21.2) μg/ml, respectively, for var. deltoidea, while much lower MNTDs [(60.0±2.0) μg/ml for methanol extracts and (8.0±1.0) μg/ml for water extracts] were recorded for var. angustifolia. Studies revealed that the methanol extracts of both varieties and the water extracts of var. angustifolia at either MNTD or 1/2MNTD significantly inhibited the maturation of preadipocytes. Conclusions: The inhibition of the formation of mature adipocytes indicated that leaf extracts of F. deltoidea could have potential anti-obesity effects.     

The social practice of learning: a craft for the 21st century

This article argues that the social practice of learning (SPL), involving life-long learning, meta-learning, deep reflection, and dialogue in a community, should be the distinguishing knowledge base of schools in the twenty-first century. This article also analyses the strategies and challenges of the recent education reforms in Singapore through the lens of an SPL education paradigm. Although the Singapore government has done much to train teachers, trim syllabi and introduce new ways of teaching and learning, such as project work, the real challenge is to go beyond the provision of structural changes to the substance of the epistemological reform.     

Investigating the effect of imikode virtual reality game in enhancing object oriented programming concepts among university students in Nigeria

Education and Information Technologies - Learning object oriented programming (OOP) has been a daunting and challenging task for students across tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Various...     

Role of Task-related Factors in Assessing Young Children's Logical Ability in Class Inclusion

One of the ways in which we assess children's logical competence is to ask them questions. This is based on two rather weak assumptions – first, that they understand these questions in the same way adults do and secondly, that logical operations are required to answer these questions. However, since at the start, the child does not know the intentions behind our question, he has to consider the form in which the question is posed and use whatever contextual cues or clues are available to make a correct inference. Relevant information may or may not be contained in the question or the external context. Sometimes, both question and context contain these information, and variation in either can lead to a correct or incorrect answer, independent of the logical abilities theoretically being assessed.     

Personal strengths and perceived teacher support as predictors of Singapore students’ academic risk status

Abstract

This study explored the relative salience of students’ personal strengths and teacher support in predicting academic risk status. The participants were Secondary One (S1, Grade Seven) students from Singapore who scored below the cohort’s mean score in a national test administered at the end of primary education, and were identified as low risk (n = 309) or high risk (n = 396), based on their S1 achievement score in the English Language subject. Logistic regression analysis was conducted with academic risk status as criterion variable and the following potential predictors: students’ background variables (i.e. socio-economic status, cognitive ability and initial achievement), personal strengths, teacher–student relatedness, and teacher autonomy and competence support. After controlling for the effects of the students’ background variables, teacher trust emerged as the strongest (negative) and most stable predictor of high-risk status; teacher alienation and teacher–student communication were found as significant positive predictors of students’ placement in the high-risk group.