The classroom environment and students' reports of avoidance strategies in mathematics: A multimethod study.

The relation between the learning environment (e.g., students' perceptions of the classroom goal structure and teachers' instructional discourse) and students' reported use of avoidance strategies (self-handicapping, avoidance of help seeking) and preference to avoid novelty in mathematics was examined. Quantitative analyses indicated that students' reports of avoidance behaviors varied significantly among classrooms. A perceived emphasis on mastery goals in the classroom was positively related to lower reports of avoidance. Qualitative analyses revealed that teachers in high-mastery/low-avoidance and low-mastery/high-avoidance classrooms used distinctively different patterns of instructional and motivational discourse. High incidence of motivational support was uniquely characteristic of high-mastery/ low-avoidance classrooms, suggesting that mastery goals may include an affective component. Implications of the results for both theory and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Variation of nitric oxide concentration during inspiration

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the pattern of inspiratory nitric oxide concentration in a simple, constant flow delivery system during the use of two phasic-flow ventilatory modes. DESIGN: Laboratory study in a lung model. SETTING: University experimental laboratory. SUBJECT: Nitric oxide (800 ppm in nitrogen) was administered continuously into the inspiratory circuit to deliver a nitric oxide concentration of 10 and 40 ppm to a test lung during volume-controlled (constant flow) and pressure-controlled (decelerating flow) ventilation, with an FIO2 of 1.0. INTERVENTIONS: In each mode, minute ventilation of 7, 14, and 21 L/min and installation of mixing chambers (none, 1-L, 2-L, and 3.2-L turbulence boxes) were studied, respectively. Nitric oxide and nitric dioxide were monitored by chemiluminescence. Since the nitric oxide/nitrogen gas is the only nitrogen source in the system during ventilation with an FIO2 of 1.0, we evaluated the fluctuation in the inspiratory nitric oxide (NOx) concentration by measuring nitrogen with a fast-response analyzer. To test the effect of the measurement site, we measured nitric oxide concentrations using chemiluminescence at different positions in the inspiratory and expiratory limbs, with and without the mixing chambers, with a minute ventilation of 14 L/min and a nitric oxide concentration of 40 ppm. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Nitrogen dioxide production was not influenced by the flow pattern. During a nitric oxide concentration of 10 ppm, nitrogen dioxide was always < 0.6 ppm. During a nitric oxide concentration of 40 ppm, the highest nitrogen dioxide (4.47 ppm) concentration was found at the lowest minute ventilation and the largest inspiratory circuit volume. Nitric oxide values displayed by chemiluminescence indicated stable concentrations at all settings. However, without mixing chambers, NOx concentration calculated from nitrogen measurements demonstrated marked inspiratory fluctuations and was highest with a minute ventilation of 21 L/min and higher during pressure-controlled ventilation compared with volume-controlled ventilation (nitric oxide concentration of 40 ppm, pressure-controlled ventilation: 14.5 to 130.5 ppm; volume-controlled ventilation: 21.6 to 104.7 ppm; nitric oxide concentration of 10 ppm, pressure-controlled ventilation: 3.2 to 30.9 ppm; volume-controlled ventilation: 4.5 to 27.1 ppm). NOx concentration fluctuation decreased with an increasing mixing chamber, and was negligible at all settings with the 3.2-L turbulence box. Nitric oxide concentration fluctuation influenced chemiluminescence measurements. The displayed nitric oxide values varied, depending on the sampling site, and did not accurately reflect mean inspiratory nitric oxide concentration. Incorporation of a mixing chamber eradicated this sampling site influence. CONCLUSIONS: Continuous flow delivery of nitric oxide into the circuit of a phasic-flow ventilator results in marked inspiratory nitric oxide concentration fluctuation that is not detected by a slow-response chemiluminescence analyzer. Moreover, nitric oxide concentration fluctuation can influence the accuracy of the chemiluminescence measurements. These effects can be diminished by using additional mixing chambers to facilitate a stable gas concentration. As these mixing volumes increase the contact time of nitric oxide with oxygen, an increase of nitrogen dioxide has to be taken into account.     

Tenant Participation in the Netherlands: The Role of Laws,Covenants and (Power) Positions

This paper looks at what is pursued and achieved by formalised tenant participation in the Netherlands, and at the main factors influencing the participation process and outcome. An evaluative examination of a participation agreement, drawn up by a Rotterdam housing association and its tenants, and the implementation of this agreement illustrates the field of friction between what is written and what is done. The paper argues that the notion of power as embedded in structuration theory is important to the understanding of the process and outcome of tenant participation. The case study shows that it is difficult to fulfil the high ambition of co-operating in equality when positions are structurally different, even when the actors have formally agreed to do so. In crucial issues, the actors' own motives prevail and the distribution of power is decisive. In the studied case, tenants' successes were achieved only on less controversial issues. Nevertheless, formalised participation provides an added value to the outcome for all actors, including the weaker ones. Having to talk to each other about policy and carrying out the procedures in itself offer an important learning process valuable to both. Furthermore, the cyclic nature of formalised tenant participation offers recursive opportunities to influence the decision-making culture, which can gradually lead to rewarding improvements in both the process and the outcome.     

Behavior therapy and tricyclic medication in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: A quantitative review.

A meta-analysis was used to integrate the research literature on the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Antidepressants, such as clomipramine, and behavior therapy have produced appreciable changes in obsessive-compulsive and depressive symptoms. Patients with obsessions who did not suffer from compulsions have responded less to treatment. No follow-up data have been available for clomipramine, but the benefits of behavior therapy have been shown to be stable at follow-up. Ratings of improvement by assessors have been higher than ratings made by patients. The effects of tricyclic medication and exposure therapies have not significantly differed, but both have proven significantly superior to nonspecific treatment programs. There is a need for a large, randomized comparison of clomipramine and exposure that includes adequate follow-up of subjects after treatment has concluded. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integration of biocatalytic conversions into chemical syntheses

The future application of enzymes in organic synthesis is in part dependent on excellent integration with the neighbouring chemical conversions. This paper outlines some of the key issues to be addressed to achieve optimal integration either by modification of preceding (or following) chemical steps, biocatalyst evolution or combinations of these approaches together with process engineering. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Nightly Home Hemodialysis: Fifteen Months of Experience in Lynchburg,Virginia

What constitutes adequate dialysis has been debated in the nephrology literature over the past eight years. The mortality rate of patients on dialysis in the United States is about 20% per year. We believed that short and infrequent dialysis sessions contributed to poor outcomes. To improve the results, Lynchburg Nephrology started the nightly home hemodialysis (NHHD) program in September 1997. Ten patients were trained in the first 15 months of the program. Patients dialyzed 7 – 9 hours, 6 nights/week, using the Fresenius 2008H machine. A standard dialysis solution with 2.0 mEq/L potassium, calcium concentration of 3.0 – 3.5 mEq/L was used. Dialysis solution flow rates were 200 – 300 mL/min. Serum phosphate levels were maintained above 2.5 mg/dL by adding 0 – 45 mL Fleet's Phosphosoda to the bicarbonate bath. Patients had marked improvement in quality of life as measured with the SF-36. Blood pressure was better controlled with fewer medications. All phosphate binders were eliminated. Caloric intake and protein intake increased to normal levels as measured by three-day dietary histories pre-NHHD, and at 3, 6, and 12 months on NHHD. Epoetin alfa dosages were reduced by about 50%. Nightly home hemodialysis should be considered as a valuable modality option for end-stage renal disease patients; it is potentially superior to conventional thrice-weekly hemodialysis.     

Quantitative Standards of 4-O-Acetyl- and 9-O-Acetyl-N-Acetylneuraminic Acid for the Analysis of Plasma and Serum

N-Acetylneuraminic acid (sialic acid, Neu5Ac) is one of a large, diverse family of nine-carbon monosaccharides that play roles in many biological functions such as immune response. Neu5Ac has previously been identified as a potential biomarker for the presence and pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes and cancer. More recent research has highlighted acetylated sialic acid derivatives, specifically Neu5,9Ac₂, as biomarkers for oral and breast cancers, but advances in analysis have been hampered due to a lack of commercially available quantitative standards. We report here the synthesis of 9-O- and 4-O-acetylated sialic acids (Neu5,9Ac₂ and Neu4,5Ac₂) with optimisation of previously reported synthetic routes. Neu5,9Ac₂ was synthesised in 1 step in 68 % yield. Neu4,5Ac₂ was synthesised in 4 steps in 39 % overall yield. Synthesis was followed by analysis of these standards via quantitative NMR (qNMR) spectroscopy. Their utilisation for the identification and quantification of specific acetylated sialic acid derivatives in biological samples is also demonstrated.     

Initial Development Towards a Trilingual Speech Interface for Financial Information Inquiries

This paper describes our initial effort in developing a trilingual speech interface for financial information inquiries. Our foreign exchange inquiry system consists of: (i) monolingual and trilingual speech recognizers, which receive the user's spoken input in the form of microphone speech; (ii) a real-time data capture component which continuously updates a relational database from a financial data satellite feed; and (iii) a trilingual speech generation component, which generates English and Chinese text based on the raw financial data. The generated text is then transformed into spoken presentations. English text is processed by the FESTIVAL synthesizer system. Chinese text is sent to our syllable-based synthesizer, which employs a concatenative resequencing technique to produce spoken presentations in Putonghua or Cantonese. The speech interface is augmented with a visual display which aims to provide feedback to the user at all times during an interaction. Within the restricted scope of foreign exchange (FOREX), our recognition performance accuracies remain above 93%. Confusions across languages contributed significantly to our recognition errors, but most are confusions between the same currency/country names spoken in different languages. These errors are not detrimental with respect to data retrieval. Our concatenative re-sequencing technique reports the date, time and exchange rates of the input currency pair. A demonstration can be found at http://www.se.cuhk.edu.hk/hccl/demos/.