New insights on the utilization of ultrasonicated mustard seed cake: chemical composition and antagonistic potential for root-knot nematode,Meloidogyne javanica

This study focused, for the first time, on the effect of ultrasonic features on the extraction efficiency of secondary metabolites in mustard seed cake(MSC). The nematostatic potential of sonicated seed cake was examined against the second-stage juveniles(J2 s) of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne javanica. The results show that a 35 ppm(parts per million) concentration of a sonicated extract(SE) sample of MSC caused 65% J2 s mortality at 18 h exposure period in vitro. It also significantly suppressed the root-knot index(RKI=0.94) in tomato roots. The lethal concentration values for SE were 51.76, 29.79, and 13.34 ppm,respectively, at 6, 12, and 18 h of the exposure period, and the lethal concentration values for the non-sonicated extract(NSE)sample were 116.95, 76.38, and 55.59 ppm, respectively, at similar exposure time. Sinapine and gluconapin were identified as the major compounds in ultrasonic-assisted MSC. Because of the high extraction efficiency of metabolites in the SE, all treatments of SE were shown to be antagonistic to J2 s. Thus, this study of ultrasonication activity-based profiling of MSC may help generate target-based compounds at a scale relevant to the control of disease caused by nematodes in economic crops.     

Glial Cells: The other cells of the nervous system

Theodor Schwann, the German physiologist who first propounded the cell theory with M Schieiden, had diverse interests. He was not only the first to isolate the enzyme pepsin, but also investigated muscle contraction and nerve structure. In the mid nineteenth century Schwann discovered that a sheath made up of myelin covered the axons of neurons in the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The cells that form the myelin are today called Schwann cells after him. Today, we know that the Schwann cells not only form the myelin sheath around neurons, but also regulate several neuronal functions and are an indispensable part of the PNS.     

Brain type natriuretic peptide (BNP)—A marker of new millennium in diagnosis of congestive heart failure

The burden of disease in patients with congestive heart failure is high. The future of BNP looks promising as it may be a better diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of CHF in developing countries in new millennium. Natriuretic peptide hormones, a family of vasoactive peptides with many favourable physiological properties, have emerged as important contenders for development of diagnostic tools and therapeutic agents in cardiovascular disease. Measurement of B-type natriuretic peptide has become as an easy-to-perform bedside test. The clinical and diagnostic significance of the measurement of plasma Nt-proBNP in the diseases of the cardiovascular system with particular emphasis on the assessment of patients with heart failure and their effects on predicting survival rate. The plasma levels of Nt-proBrain Natriuretic peptide responds more vigorously after myocardial infarction than those of other natriuretic peptides. This article is an attempt to give a short overview on the utility of BNP-blood levels for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure     

The case in case-based design of educational software: A methodological interrogation

This research assessed the value of case study methodology in the design of an educational computer simulation. Three sources of knowledge were compared to assess the value of case study: practitioner and programmer knowledge, disciplinary knowledge, and knowledge obtained from a case study of teacher practice. A retrospective analysis revealed that the case study was the source of 16 out of 23 design decisions and therefore was the most significant influence on the design of the simulation. The case study was particularly effective in sensitizing the design team to the classroom context, identifying common and uncommon teacher practices, revealing unexpected dimensions of interactions in the classroom, and generating constructive changes to the design of the simulation. Case studies can significantly enrich the design of educational software and are a promising methodological choice for design teams.

What��s Missing in Model-Based Teaching

In this study, the author investigated how four science teachers employed model-based teaching (MBT) over a 1-year period. The purpose of the research was to develop a baseline of the fundamental and specific dimensions of MBT that are present and absent in science teaching. Teacher interviews, classroom observations, and pre and post-student assessments were gathered. Using a Generate-Evaluate-Modify framework as a theoretical guide, the author identified three fundamental aspects of MBT that were not apparent in an analysis of the teaching methods. Drawing on these findings, the author hypothesizes the consequent impact of the absence of these aspects on MBT on students?? experiences and performance in science. Implications for core science teacher professional development activities on MBT are discussed.     

Frictions that activate change: dynamics of global to local non-governmental organizations for female education and empowerment in China,India, and Pakistan*

This article examines how non-governmental organizations create resources and spaces for girls and women’s education and empowerment in China, India and Pakistan – in the context of global expectations and local state relations as well as cultural norms. We examine the dynamics that foster female empowerment associated with educational attainment. Analysis showed that the five NGO’s responses to enabling and constraining local needs and demands gave rise to productive friction that activated positive development. We conclude that engaging local individuals as managers, teachers or facilitators who can negotiate with international actors and with the state is an effective foundation for maintaining a balance between being accountable to local contingencies and norms and to global social justice principles of the projects. These models indicated that “effective scale” might better be defined as a collaboration between the local and global, rather than “scaling up” in size.

International NGO partnerships with several of state organizations and local leadership can be a catalyst for fundamental change, subject to dynamic engagement with productive friction that activates educational empowerment and social change.     

A modified peer rating system to recognise rating skill as a learning outcome

The peer rating system used here advances the quantitative literacy goals outlined in the social sciences. We instituted a mid-semester intervention to teach rating skills and used an index to track longitudinal changes of skill mastery over the course of the semester. Seventy-four students in five advanced research classes followed the procedure of the existing peer rating system by completing reading assignments, writing reflections online, engaging in class discussions, rating their peers’ reflections and receiving feedback on their group effort. Peer ratings were then compared with each other and also with the instructor ratings to derive individualised indices of reliability and validity. These technical indicators enabled two rounds of assessment before and after a class-wide intervention. An omnibus test across the five classes showed a significant improvement in rating quality due to the intervention. Our courses not only met a quantitative learning outcome but also promised vocational competence.     

Establishment of engineering laboratories for undergraduate and postgraduate studies

The importance of the laboratories for the study of engineering problems is manifold. At the undergraduate level it provides an opportunity for the students to get an impression of the basic principles of engineering. At the postgraduate level it becomes an instrument for advanced level study and for the solutions to real-life engineering problems. Level of emphasis by an individual engineering institution on basic engineering, interdisciplinary aspects of engineering and relevance to international, national and local industrial trends effects the policy to establish the engineering laboratories. However, a core facility, for the teaching of the most basic principals of relevant field of engineering should be a common feature of all the laboratories associated with individual subject area. In this research paper an approach for establishing engineering laboratories is presented. It discusses the relation between the syllabus of appropriate level of study and the equipment required in the laboratory, physical planning for the laboratory, sequential and parallel approaches for establishing the laboratories, the functional capacity of laboratories, the organizational flexibility of the laboratories, the cost factor and the recurring expenditure. It suggests ways of utilizing the laboratory for effective teaching and research through optimal use of the above factors.