Sex-specific associations of moderate and vigorous physical activity with physical fitness in adolescents

The present study examined the sex-specific associations of moderate and vigorous physical activity (VPA) with physical fitness in 300 Japanese adolescents aged 12–14 years. Participants were asked to wear an accelerometer to evaluate physical activity (PA) levels of various intensities (i.e. moderate PA (MPA), 3–5.9 metabolic equivalents (METs); VPA, ≥6 METs; moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA), ≥3 METs). Eight fitness items were assessed (grip strength, bent-leg sit-up, sit-and-reach, side step, 50?m sprint, standing long jump, handball throw, and distance running) as part of the Japanese standardised fitness test. A fitness composite score was calculated using Japanese fitness norms, and participants were categorised according to their score from category A (most fit) to category E (least fit), with participants in categories D and E defined as having low fitness. It was found that for boys, accumulating more than 80.7?min/day of MVPA may reduce the probability of low fitness (odds ratio (ORs) [95% confidence interval (CI)]?=?0.17 [0.06–0.47], p?=?.001). For girls, accumulating only 8.4?min of VPA could reduce the likelihood of exhibiting low fitness (ORs [95% CI]?=?0.23 [0.05–0.89], p?=?.032). These results reveal that there are sex-specific differences in the relationship between PA and physical fitness in adolescents, suggesting that sex-specific PA recommendation may be needed to improve physical fitness in adolescents.     

An integrated teaching method of gross anatomy and computed tomography radiology

It is essential for medical students to learn and comprehend human anatomy in three dimensions (3D). With this in mind, a new system was designed in order to integrate anatomical dissections with diagnostic computed tomography (CT) radiology. Cadavers were scanned by CT scanners, and students then consulted the postmortem CT images during cadaver dissection to gain a better understanding of 3D human anatomy and diagnostic radiology. Students used handheld digital imaging and communications in medicine viewers at the bench‐side (OsiriX on iPod touch or iPad), which enabled “pixel‐to‐tissue” direct comparisons of CT images and cadavers. Students had lectures and workshops on diagnostic radiology, and they completed study assignments where they discussed findings in the anatomy laboratory compared with CT radiology findings. This teaching method for gross and radiological anatomy was used beginning in 2009, and it yielded strongly positive student perspectives and significant improvements in radiology skills in later clinical courses. Anat Sci Educ 7: 438–449. © 2014 American Association of Anatomists.     

Aprendizaje de la física mediante la expansión del metacontexto de los fenómenos

Desde una perspectiva socio-cultural los autores ven las “concepciones ingénuas” en física no como simples entidades o representaciones mentales, sino como construcciones de un sistema interactivo entre el mundo real y los dispositivos cognitivo-culturales de una determinada cultura. En esta perspectiva el cambio conceptual desde una concepción “ingenua” a una científica sería sólo y más bien un cambio de meta-contexto cultural e implica más un proceso de recontextualización que la simple transición de una estructura conceptual a otra.     

Current educational technology research trends in Japan

To examine trends in educational practice research, this article conducted a survey and analysis of factors affecting the review of research papers in the field of the educational technology in Japan. Two factors, namely, practical orientation and theoretical orientation, were extracted from 63 survey responses, and scores from members of a Japanese academic society were compared with the scores of its editorial board. Results show that the two factor scores were not correlated to each other, and they are independent measures for any evaluation or review of research articles. Also, there was no significant difference between society members and editorial board members, i.e., their preferences when reviewing research papers were identical. For the second part of this study, a group composed of anonymous members of an editorial board conducted a paper review of 12 published “practical papers” and 11 published “general papers.” Results indicated that there was no significant difference between the two categories. The final rating scores of these 23 papers were analyzed using a decision-tree rating model. Results also indicated that for publication, papers need to contribute to theoretical research, in addition to contributing to basic educational practice research in educational technology.     

Classroom disciplinary climate in secondary schools in England: What is the real picture?

This paper uses international data from a range of sources, principally the 2013 round of the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS 2013), to provide new information on classroom disciplinary climate in secondary schools in England. The paper advances the literature in three distinct ways. Firstly, the data show that teachers in England perceive that there is considerable disruption in their classrooms. While some reports, especially from official sources, have suggested that classroom disruption is minimal in schools in England that does not seem plausible given these results from TALIS. Secondly, since TALIS contains comparable data for over 30 countries, the results for England can be set in a wider context. Reports in the media frequently highlight pupil disruption and suggest that classroom climate tends to be worse in England than in many other countries. In fact what emerges from the international comparison is that, on each of the items measuring classroom climate in TALIS 2013, the results for England were somewhat better than both the all‐country average and the average for a group of European comparators. Thirdly, the survey also includes a range of information about the school in which the teacher worked, the pupils which they taught, and the teachers themselves. We draw on this data to investigate which school‐level characteristics, teacher attributes, and characteristics of pupils in the classroom, were associated with favourable classroom climate in England. While some commentators have focused exclusively on school‐level factors, we emphasise the importance of within‐school variation.     

Development of low-fluorescence thick photoresist for high-aspect-ratio microstructure in bio-application

In this study, we propose and evaluate a novel low-auto-fluorescence photoresist (SJI photoresist) for bio-application, e.g., in gene analysis and cell assay. The spin-coated SJI photoresist has a wide thickness range of ten to several hundred micrometers, and photoresist microstructures with an aspect ratio of over 7 and micropatterns of less than 2 μm are successfully fabricated. The emission spectrum intensity of the SJI photoresist is found to be over 80% less than that of the widely used SU-8 photoresist. To evaluate the validity of using the proposed photoresist in bio-application for fluorescence observation, we demonstrate a chromosome extension device composed of the SJI photoresist. The normalized contrast ratio of the SJI photoresist exhibits a 50% improvement over that of the SU-8 photoresist; thus, the SJI photoresist is a versatile tool for bio-application.