Core Knowledge Confusions Among University Students

Previous studies have demonstrated that university students hold several paranormal beliefs and that paranormal beliefs can be best explained with core knowledge confusions. The aim of this study was to explore to what extent university students confuse the core ontological attributes of lifeless material objects (e.g. a house, a stone), living organisms (e.g. plants), and mental states (e.g., thoughts); whether some core knowledge confusions are more common than others; whether the confusions differ between students from different fields of study, and to replicate the finding that paranormal beliefs increase together with core knowledge confusions. The results showed that half of the participants considered at least four, and one quarter of the participants considered 8?C30 confusion statements to be literally true and that the confusions were strongly and positively associated with the amount of paranormal beliefs. The findings indicate that university education does not abolish the misconceptions that characterize children??s thinking.     

Friction stir welding effect on transverse rigidity and sound transmission characteristics of AZ31B magnesium alloy

AZ31B magnesium alloy was subjected to friction stir welding with various welding parameters. The equivalent Young’s moduli of the friction stir welded samples and the base material were obtained by the three-point method, and their transverse rigidities were obtained as well. Furthermore, the sound transmission characteristics of those samples were experimentally studied by four-microphone impedance tube method. The experimental results indicate that the transverse rigidities of the friction stir welded samples were only 79%, 83% and 92% of those of the base material, respectively. The sound transmission losses of the processed samples were also lower, which was largely due to the reduction of transverse rigidities induced by the decrease of equivalent Young’s moduli.     

西藏发酵制品中拮抗酵母对水晶梨青霉病的防治效果研究

目的：从西藏发酵制品中分离筛选出对水晶梨采后青霉病具有较好防治效果的拮抗酵母,并对其作用机理进行研究。
　　创新点：首次从西藏发酵制品中筛选得到一株对水晶梨采后青霉病具有较好防治效果的拮抗酵母Rhodotorula mucilaginosa,并对其作用机理进行了初步研究。
　　方法：采用水晶梨果实体内筛选的方法,经过初筛与复筛,确定具有较好生防效果的拮抗酵母;通过对筛选所得拮抗酵母不同浓度、不同处理液的生防效果,果实伤口处生长动态,以及对梨果实采后品质影响的研究,初步探讨西藏发酵制品中拮抗酵母的生防作用机理。
　　结论：从西藏发酵制品中筛选得到一株拮抗酵母 R. mucilaginosa,其对水晶梨采后青霉病具有较好的生物防治效果。研究结果发现其主要作用机理为在果实伤口处与病原菌的营养与空间竞争。通过进一步研究,可开发为梨果实采后病害防治的新型生物保鲜剂。     

The testimony of neoliberal contradiction in education choice and privatisation in a poor country: the case of a private,undocumented rural primary school in Uganda

With international momentum to achieve ‘Education for All’ by 2015, global attention is being paid to those parts of the world where mass formal primary schooling is relatively new. Uganda is such a place. In the context of ethnographic fieldwork at a poor, undocumented, private primary school in rural Uganda, parents were interviewed in order to better understand their conceptualisations of education during this ‘massification’ era. The interviews reveal interesting contradictions between the espoused neoliberal principles and the nuances with which they describe education. In the absence of a robust public schooling system, privatisation has emerged to fill the gaps in educational provision as the country finds itself caught between the international mandate for free primary education and the lack of capital.     

Application of sigma metrics for the assessment of quality assurance using the MQ-2000 PT HbA1c analyzer

Introduction

Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) concentrations measured in clinical chemistry laboratories show large differences between their interlaboratory reported values. Laboratory measurements of quality performance should be based on quantitative data. The sigma metrics model provides an objective method for the assessment of current HbA1c assays and is useful in quality management planning. The aim of our study was to evaluate the analytical performance of the MQ-2000 PT HbA1c analyzer test results in the context of our operating conditions on the sigma scale.

Materials and methods

The coefficient of variation was determined from the calculated mean and standard deviation evaluated from internal quality control (QC) (N = 168 days) (Shanghai Huachen Biological Reagent Co. Ltd, China) data, and records of external quality data (KBUDEK, İstanbul, Turkey) measured in the period from May to November 2013 were used to determine the bias. The resulting data and total allowable error rate (TEA = 10%) from the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA’88) were used to calculate the sigma level.

Results

The calculated coefficient of variations (CVs) at the two levels, normal (QC1 = 36.6 ± 2.38 mmol/mol) and pathological (QC2 = 84.7 ± 2.68 mmol/mol), were 6.5% and 3.1%, respectively. The average bias between the external QC and MQ-2000 PT during the study period was 4.3%. The calculated average sigma value was 1.19.

Conclusions

The MQ-2000 PT HbA1c is a new analyser in the market; there is need for improvement and the method should be controlled with greater attention to ensure quality.Key words: diabetes mellitus, hemoglobin A1c protein, human, chromatography, high pressure liquid chromatography