The geographic accessibility and inequality of community-based elderly learning resources: a remodeling assessment, 2009–2017

Continuous elderly learning activities not only empower elderly populations’ knowledge about health but also enhance these populations’ social connections and social abilities, which can enhance their overall quality of life. Geographic accessibility is a determinant factor for elderly participation in social activities. In this study, we proposed six measurement methods and employed the Gini coefficient to discuss the geographic accessibility and geographic inequality of community-based elderly learning resources. This study provides three methodological contributions for future research. First, we propose an origin–destination cost matrix analysis that incorporates a post-pruning technique. Applying this technique allows for the consideration of policy restrictions in relation to resource utilization. This approach also contributes to the ability to obtain a reliable assessment of the accessibility of resources. Second, this study proposes a new, more direct and convenient, method of calculating the Gini coefficient. Third, we find that the different distance-decay index β indicates the impact of distance factors on the efficiency of resource utilization. The distance-decay index β should carefully discern when distance is under 1 km. These results indicate that assessing accessibility does not only consider length and traffic distance but also requires a deliberate and weighted calculating process depending on the distance, elderly demand population, and supply capacities of learning centers. Although our study focuses on Taiwanese cases, our methodologies and results illustrate possibilities for other contributions that assess geographic accessibility and resource-allocation inequality for elderly learning policy planning and implementation.     

Validating the Digital Games Motivation Scale for Comparative Research Between Countries

Researchers interested in motives for playing digital games can draw on a variety of measurement instruments. When the aim is to compare between groups, however, instruments need to show certain psychometric properties. Specifically, an instrument needs to be invariant. Without such properties, comparisons between groups run the danger of yielding invalid results. The current study investigates to what extent the Digital Games Motivation Scale (DGMS) can be used to compare motivations between cultures by testing it in four different countries. Results indicate configural, metric, and partial scalar invariance for the cross-cultural comparisons. In conclusion, this study presents a psychometrically sound measurement instrument that can be used in cross-cultural settings.     

Unpacking immigration in youths' academic and occupational pathways

This study sought to unpack how immigration is associated with youths' educational choices during the transition to college and adulthood. Surveys and school records were collected on 789 youth (ages 18-25) with Asian Pacific, Latino, African/Afro-Caribbean, and European backgrounds. The results indicated generational differences in educational choices, such that children of immigrants chose courses of study with higher math and science content than that of their peers with U.S.-born parents. Mediation analyses indicated that children of immigrants reported higher social and economic aspirations than did their peers, and their economic aspirations accounted for part of the generational difference in educational choices. Generational differences in educational choices were also mediated by verbal achievement test scores and perceived English skills.     

Blocking in autoshaped lever-pressing procedures with rats

Rats will approach and contact a lever whose insertion into the chamber signals response-independent food delivery. This “autoshaping” or “sign-tracking” phenomenon has recently attracted considerable attention as a platform for studying individual differences in impulsivity, drug sensitization, and other traits associated with vulnerability to drug addiction. Here, we examined two basic stimulus selection phenomena—blocking and overshadowing—in the autoshaped lever pressing of rats. Blocking and overshadowing were decidedly asymmetrical. Previously reinforced lever-extension conditioned stimuli (CSs) completely blocked conditioning to auditory cues (Exps. 1 and 2), and previously nonreinforced lever-extension CSs overshadowed conditioning to auditory cues. By contrast, conditioning to lever-extension CSs was not blocked by either auditory (Exp. 3) or lever-insertion (Exp. 4) cues, and was not overshadowed by auditory cues. Conditioning to a lever-insertion cue was somewhat overshadowed by the presence of another lever, especially in terms of food cup behavior displayed after lever withdrawal. We discuss several frameworks in which the apparent immunity of autoshaped lever pressing to blocking might be understood. Given evidence that different brain systems are engaged when different kinds of cues are paired with food delivery, it is worth considering the possibility that interactions among them in learning and performance may follow different rules. In particular, it is intriguing to speculate that the roles of simple cue–reinforcer contiguity, as well as of individual and aggregate reinforcer prediction errors, may differ across stimulus classes.     

Serum Lactate Dehydrogenase in Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma: A Prognostic Indicator

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma constitutes a group of disorders originating from the malignant transformation of lymphocytes and involving either the lymph nodes or extranodal sites. NHL commonly presents in the sixth to seventh decade of life with a male preponderance (50–75 %). Recent studies have shown importance of serum LDH in prognosis of NHL. Authors report a case of a 63 year old male presenting with complaints of fever and backache for past 4 months. General and systemic examination revealed bilateral axillary lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly respectively. Serum LDH level was highly elevated (3441 U/l). Excisional axillary and bone marrow biopsy were done before oncology referral. Complete workup revealed diffuse Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma with bone marrow infiltration. Patient died because of acute renal failure due to NHL and DM 2 (Type 2 diabetes mellitus).     

Quantitative structure-activity relationships of antimicrobial fatty acids and derivatives against Staphylococcus aureus

Fatty acids and derivatives (FADs) are resources for natural antimicrobials. In order to screen for additional potent antimicrobial agents, the antimicrobial activities of FADs against Staphylococcus aureus were examined using a microplate assay. Monoglycerides of fatty acids were the most potent class of fatty acids, among which monotridecanoin possessed the most potent antimicrobial activity. The conventional quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) and comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) were performed to establish two statistically reliable models (conventional QSAR: R ²=0.942, Q ² _LOO=0.910; CoMFA: R ²=0.979, Q ²=0.588, respectively). Improved forecasting can be achieved by the combination of these two models that provide a good insight into the structure-activity relationships of the FADs and that may be useful to design new FADs as antimicrobial agents.     

Gender Differences in Strength

The purpose of this study was to examine gender differences in upper and lower body strength as a function of lean body weight and the distribution of muscle and subcutaneous fat in the upper and lower limbs. The subjects were 103 physically active men (n = 48) and women (n = 55). The peak torques produced during shoulder flexion (SF) and knee extension (KE) were used as measures of upper body and lower body strength, respectively. Flexed arm girth, thigh girth, triceps skinfold, and thigh skinfold were used to estimate the distribution of muscle and subcutaneous fat in the limbs. Results of the MANOVA revealed that the overall strength of men was significantly greater than that of women. Results of MANCOVA indicated that the SF and KE strength of women and men did not differ significantly when differences in lean body weight, arm girth, thigh girth, triceps skinfold and thigh skinfold were statistically controlled. High levels of SF and KE strength were associated with a high lean body weight and a large arm girth. Results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that for men a substantial portion of the variance in both SF and KE strength was explained by lean body weight alone; whereas strength variations in women were explained more adequately by including limb variables along with lean body weight. Within the limitations of this study, it was concluded that gender differences in upper and lower body strength are a function of differences in lean body weight and the distribution of muscle and subcutaneous fat in the body segments. Upper body strength is relatively more important than lower body strength in characterizing the gender difference in strength.     

How to Help Teachers Develop Inquiry Teaching: Perspectives from Experienced Science Teachers

This study has two purposes: the first is to explore experienced science teachers’ perspectives on inquiry teaching, and the second is to categorize these perspectives into patterns. Fifteen junior high school science teachers experienced at inquiry teaching were selected, and a semi-structured interview was conducted to collect the teachers’ perspectives on inquiry and inquiry teaching. The findings indicate that these experienced science teachers hold multiple perspectives on inquiry and inquiry teaching. The two patterns generated from these teachers’ perspectives of inquiry and inquiry teaching were systematic-based inquiry instruction and learning-based inquiry instructions. Suggestions for science teacher educators are discussed in this paper.