The Effects of Verbal Mediation Training on the Problem‐Solving Skills of Children with Partial Sight and Children without Visual Impairments

Thirty children with partial sight and 30 children with unimpaired sight aged between 8 and 12 years were randomly assigned to either verbal mediation or visual mediation training regimes. Participants were asked to complete four variations of the Tower of Hanoi puzzle and success on the task was judged on the basis of the number of moves and time taken to complete the puzzles. Children with visual impairments had some difficulty in adjusting to the requirements of the problem‐solving tasks. However, on the final and most difficult of the tasks (a four‐disc problem), the children with impaired sight performed very much like participants without visual impairments. The effect of verbal mediation training was superior to that of visual mediation training in the final trials of the four‐disc problem‐solving period for both children with partial sight and children without visual impairments.     

A retrospective look at replacing face‐to‐face embryology instruction with online lectures in a human anatomy course

Embryology is integrated into the Clinically Oriented Anatomy course at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine. Before 2008, the same instructor presented embryology in 13 face‐to‐face lectures distributed by organ systems throughout the course. For the 2008 and 2009 offerings of the course, a hybrid embryology instruction model with four face‐to‐face classes that supplemented online recorded lectures was used. One instructor delivered the lectures face‐to‐face in 2007 and by online videos in 2008–2009, while a second instructor provided the supplemental face‐to‐face classes in 2008–2009. The same embryology learning objectives and selected examination questions were used for each of the three years. This allowed direct comparison of learning outcomes, as measured by examination performance, for students receiving only face‐to‐face embryology instruction versus the hybrid approach. Comparison of the face‐to‐face lectures to the hybrid approach showed no difference in overall class performance on embryology questions that were used all three years. Moreover, there was no differential effect of the delivery method on the examination scores for bottom quartile students. Students completed an end‐of‐course survey to assess their opinions. They rated the two forms of delivery similarly on a six‐point Likert scale and reported that face‐to‐face lectures have the advantage of allowing them to interact with the instructor, whereas online lectures could be paused, replayed, and viewed at any time. These experiences suggest the need for well‐designed prospective studies to determine whether online lectures can be used to enhance the efficacy of embryology instruction. Anat Sci Educ 7: 234–241. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

A microfluidic device for simultaneous measurement of viscosity and flow rate of blood in a complex fluidic network

Blood viscosity has been considered as one of important biophysical parameters for effectively monitoring variations in physiological and pathological conditions of circulatory disorders. Standard previous methods make it difficult to evaluate variations of blood viscosity under cardiopulmonary bypass procedures or hemodialysis. In this study, we proposed a unique microfluidic device for simultaneously measuring viscosity and flow rate of whole blood circulating in a complex fluidic network including a rat, a reservoir, a pinch valve, and a peristaltic pump. To demonstrate the proposed method, a twin-shaped microfluidic device, which is composed of two half-circular chambers, two side channels with multiple indicating channels, and one bridge channel, was carefully designed. Based on the microfluidic device, three sequential flow controls were applied to identify viscosity and flow rate of blood, with label-free and sensorless detection. The half-circular chamber was employed to achieve mechanical membrane compliance for flow stabilization in the microfluidic device. To quantify the effect of flow stabilization on flow fluctuations, a formula of pulsation index (PI) was analytically derived using a discrete fluidic circuit model. Using the PI formula, the time constant contributed by the half-circular chamber is estimated to be 8 s. Furthermore, flow fluctuations resulting from the peristaltic pumps are completely removed, especially under periodic flow conditions within short periods (T < 10 s). For performance demonstrations, the proposed method was applied to evaluate blood viscosity with respect to varying flow rate conditions [(a) known blood flow rate via a syringe pump, (b) unknown blood flow rate via a peristaltic pump]. As a result, the flow rate and viscosity of blood can be simultaneously measured with satisfactory accuracy. In addition, the proposed method was successfully applied to identify the viscosity of rat blood, which circulates in a complex fluidic network. These observations confirm that the proposed method can be used for simultaneous measurement of viscosity and flow rate of whole blood circulating in the complex fluid network, with sensorless and label-free detection. Furthermore, the proposed method will be used in evaluating variations in the viscosity of human blood during cardiopulmonary bypass procedures or hemodialysis.     

秦始皇兵马俑博物馆室内含硫颗粒物的SEM-EDX研究

本文对秦始皇兵马俑博物馆室内采集的长短期降尘、大气悬浮颗粒物和彩绘漆层进行了SEM-EDX研究，在大气悬浮颗粒、短期和长期降尘中，含硫颗粒的粒径分别为0.9～22.8μm、1.0～29.0μm和1.2～37.7μm，多为石膏与粘土或石英以内部混合的状态存在。降尘中的附着型絮状硫酸钙多于大气悬浮颗粒物中，显示降尘和大气中的二氧化硫发生了累进的化学反应。彩绘漆层表面的坑和裂隙附近观察到原位生长的硫酸钙晶体，显示漆层材料或降尘颗粒物与大气二氧化硫之间的酸化学反应，可能是彩绘漆层表面受侵蚀形成微小坑和裂隙的原因之一。     

Dependency structure language model for topic detection and tracking

In this paper, we propose a new language model, namely, a dependency structure language model, for topic detection and tracking (TDT) to compensate for weakness of unigram and bigram language models. The dependency structure language model is based on the Chow expansion theory and the dependency parse tree generated by a linguistic parser. So, long-distance dependencies can be naturally captured by the dependency structure language model. We carried out extensive experiments to verify the proposed model on topic tracking and link detection in TDT. In both cases, the dependency structure language models perform better than strong baseline approaches.     

Campus commons: The calculus of grief

Lee Burdette Williams shares her firsthand experience of her students' resilience in the face of loss.     

Binding dilemma: Changing horses mid stream—Or why we stopped binding periodicals at HKBU

A review of print and print + online English serials conducted at Hong Kong Baptist University Library in 2006 revealed low usage of many print journals calling into question the age old practice of binding serials. With binding costs escalating, serials budgets being reduced, and libraries increasingly purchasing electronic titles, it was time to review current binding practices. On conclusion of the review, it was recommended that binding of more than 85% of serials cease and be replaced by the use of boxes and that usage statistics be reviewed annually with a view to effecting further reductions.     

Reclassification and documentation in talog cards and a computer stored record

A project to recatalog and reclassify the book collection of the Bowman Gray School of Medicine Library utilizing the Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typwriter system for simultaneous catalog card production and computer stored data acquisition marks the beginning of eventual computerization of all library operations. A keyboard optical display system will be added by late 1970. Major input operations requiring the creation of "hard copy" will continue via the MTST system. Updating, editing and retrieval operations as well as input without hard copy production will be done through the "on-line" keyboard optical display system. Once the library's first data bank, the book catalog, has been established the computer may be consulted directly for library holdings from any optical display terminal throughout the medical center. Three basic information retrieval operations may be carried out through "on-line" optical display terminals. Output options include the reproduction of part or all of a given document, or the generation of statistical data, which are derived from two Acquisition Code lines. The creation of a central bibliographic record of Bowman Gray Faculty publications patterned after the cataloging program is presently under way. The cataloging and computer storage of serial holdings records will begin after completion of the reclassification project. All acquisitions added to the collection since October 1967 are computer-stored and fully retrievable. Reclassification of older titles will be completed in early 1971.