Socially shared regulation of learning in CSCL: understanding and prompting individual- and group-level shared regulatory activities

The field of computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is progressing instrumentally and theoretically. Nevertheless, few studies examine the effectiveness and efficiency of CSCL with respect to cognitive, motivational, emotional, and social issues, despite the fact that the role of regulatory processes is critical for the quality of students’ engagement in collaborative learning settings. We review the four earlier lines in developing support in CSCL and show how there has been a lack of work to support individuals in groups to engage in, sustain, and productively regulate their own and the group’s collaborative processes. Our aim is to discuss how our conceptual work in socially shared regulation of learning (SSRL) contributes to effective and efficient CSCL, what tools are presently available, and what the implications of research on these tools are for future tool development.     

Impact of rye-based evening meals on cognitive functions,mood and cardiometabolic risk factors: a randomized controlled study in healthy middle-aged subjects

Background

Whole grain (WG) intake is associated with reduced risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, whereas type 2 diabetes increases the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of short-term intervention with WG rye on cognitive functions, mood and cardiometabolic risk markers in middle-aged test subjects.

Method

Rye-based breads were provided to 38 healthy test subjects (aged 52-70y) during three consecutive days in a crossover study design, using white wheat flour bread (WWB) as a reference. The rye-based bread consisted of a WG rye kernel/flour mixture (1:1 ratio) supplemented with resistant starch type 2 (RS2) (RB?+?RS2). The last bread portion was ingested at 2100 h, and cognitive function, mood and cardiometabolic risk markers were determined the following morning, 11???14 h post intake.

Results

In comparison to WWB, the RB?+?RS2 product increased ratings of mood parameters (valance, P?<?0.001; activation P?<?0.05). No differences were seen in the cognitive tests depending on intervention (P?>?0.05). RB?+?RS2 increased insulin sensitivity (P?<?0.05), fasting levels of gut hormones (PYY, P?<?0.05; GLP-2, P?<?0.01) and fasting concentrations of plasma acetate, butyrate and total SCFA (P?<?0.001). In contrast, fasting levels of IL???1β were decreased (P?<?0.05). Insulin sensitivity was positively correlated with working memory test performance (P?<?0.05).

Conclusions

This study display novel findings regarding effects of WG rye products on mood, and glucose and appetite regulation in middle-aged subjects, indicating anti-diabetic properties of WG rye. The beneficial effects are suggested to be mediated through gut fermentation of dietary fiber in the RB?+?RS2 product.

Trial registration

The study was retrospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, register number NCT03275948. Registered September 8 2017.

     

Satellite derived crop calendar for canal operation schedule in Bhadra project command area,India

Spatial information on crop calendars in the command areas of irrigation systems is useful to irrigation engineers in order to achieve chronological synchronization between water delivery pattern and crop life cycle. Such synchronization is vital for efficient use of water. The capability of satellite remote sensing technology to generate spatial crop calendar information in an irrigated command area and its usefulness in the evaluation of water delivery patterns are demonstrated in this paper. The study pertains to the major crop paddy during the rabi season (December to June) of 1992-93, in the Bhadra project command area of Karnataka state, India. Analyses of multidate Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) profiles of paddy crop generated from Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite data for each distributary command reveal three distinct growth patterns in the study area with each pattern characterized by a particular crop calendar. The spatial variability in crop calendar over the total command area has thus been derived. The ground truth data obtained in crop cutting experiments (CCEs) validate the satellite derived crop calendar. Distributary wise, water delivery data have been studied in conjunction with the satellite derived crop calendar to determine whether the existing pattern of water delivery covers the required length of crop life cycle in the command area. It was found that the water supply was stopped about 30 days before harvesting in some distributaries and in some about 20-30 days before harvesting. A list of distributaries with greater lags between cessation of water supply and crop harvest was provided to irrigation system engineers to aid their plans for providing a reliable and predictable irrigation service. This is possible either through reorganization of canal operation schedule or through educating farmers about the need for adjusting their agricultural activities to match water supply patterns.     

Sublexical and Lexical Representations in Speech Production: Effects of Phonotactic Probability and Onset Density.

Phonotactic probability, neighborhood density, and onset density were manipulated in 4 picture-naming tasks. Experiment 1 showed that pictures of words with high phonotactic probability were named more quickly than pictures of words with low phonotactic probability. This effect was consistent over multiple presentations of the pictures (Experiment 2). Manipulations of phonotactic probability and neighborhood density showed only an influence of phonotactic probability (Experiment 3). In Experiment 4, pictures of words with sparse onsets were named more quickly than pictures of words with dense onsets. The results of these experiments provide additional constraints on the architecture and processes involved in models of speech production, as well as constraints on the connections between the recognition and production systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strategies for revealing deformation and wear mechanisms of polymer composites by combining scanning electron microscopy,energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and cross-section techniques—Exemplified by glass fiber reinforced poly-phenylene-sulphide

Polymers and polymer composites are frequently used in tribological applications. However, their use is often limited by excessive wear or plastic deformation, therefore research and development aiming to improve the materials is ongoing. Tribological evaluations of polymer composites often study the friction coefficient and wear rate for different types, sizes and amounts of fillers. But rarely are any mechanisms presented. Although polymer materials differ from metals, the techniques typically used for metal components, for example, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), can be adapted to polymer materials, to achieve more informative SEM micrographs and EDS analyses. The aim of this article is to present useful analysis strategies, from sample preparation and selection of viewing angles, to selection of instrument settings and detector types. The strategies are exemplified by analysis of poly-phenylene-sulphide filled with glass fiber, evaluated against steel in a reciprocating ball-on-flat test set-up. This article takes its starting point with the worn surfaces, and subsequently analyze them using SEM and EDS. A selection of cross section preparation techniques, analysis parameters and microscopy settings are presented and discussed. By combining these techniques and settings, the observation of a strongly modified surface layer, as well as sub-surface plastic deformation and imbedded wear particles, is facilitated.     

Structurally Diverse Histone Deacetylase Photoreactive Probes: Design,Synthesis, and Photolabeling Studies in Live Cells and Tissue

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity is modulated in vivo by post-translational modifications and formation of multiprotein complexes. Novel chemical tools to study how these factors affect engagement of HDAC isoforms by HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) in cells and tissues are needed. In this study, a synthetic strategy to access chemically diverse photoreactive probes (PRPs) was developed and used to prepare seven novel HDAC PRPs 9 – 15 . The class I HDAC isoform engagement by PRPs was determined in biochemical assays and photolabeling experiments in live SET-2, HepG2, HuH7, and HEK293T cell lines and in mouse liver tissue. Unlike the HDAC protein abundance and biochemical activity against recombinant HDACs, the chemotype of the PRPs and the type of cells were key in defining the engagement of HDAC isoforms in live cells. Our findings suggest that engagement of HDAC isoforms by HDACi in vivo may be substantially modulated in a cell- and tissue-type-dependent manner.     

Structure-activity relationships for a family of benzothiophene selective estrogen receptor modulators including raloxifene and arzoxifene

The search for the "ideal" selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) as a substitute for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or use in cancer chemoprevention has focused on optimization of estrogen receptor (ER) ligand binding. Based on the clinical and preclinical benzothiophene SERMs, raloxifene and arzoxifene, a family of SERMs has been developed to modulate activity and oxidative lability. Antiestrogenic potency measured in human endometrial and breast cancer cells, and ER ligand binding data were correlated and seen to provide a guide to SERM design only when viewed in toto. The in vitro studies were extended to the juvenile rat model, in which the desired antiestrogenic profile and putative cardiovascular benefits of SERMs were observed.     

Rethinking shared environment as a source of variance underlying attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms: Comment on Burt (2009).

Burt (2009) recently published a meta-analysis of twin studies on behaviors associated with childhood psychopathologies, concluding that the finding that traits associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were the only behaviors that did not show a significant influence of shared environment (C) was surprising. We agree, highlighting four methodological issues that may account for this finding: (a) the use of nonlinear transformations to normalize skewed data; (b) low power to detect C and the subsequent presentation of reduced models; (c) the negative confounding of dominant genetic (D) and C influences in twin models with data exclusively from monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs reared together; and (d) the correction used for contrast effects (a form of rater bias), which may lead to an overestimate of additive genetic (A) or D parameters at the expense of C. We offer suggestions for future research to address these issues, and we emphasize the need for additional research to examine possible shared environmental factors related to ADHD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Laboratory creping equipment

Tissue production is largely dependent on the creping process as creping influences the paper properties and thus the quality of the end product and the runnability of the tissue machine. The process is very complex and includes numerous variables affecting the adhesion, and ultimately the creping of the tissue paper. To perform experiments on a full-scale machine, or even on a pilot machine, is very costly; therefore, a laboratory scale creping device is demanded, able to replicate conditions encountered on a tissue machine. In this paper, new laboratory testing equipment is developed, whereby the adhesion between paper and metal surfaces (when scraping off the paper with configurations similar to the industrial process) can be studied. A new method to adhere paper to metal, used in the new laboratory creping equipment, is also developed. To evaluate the equipment, different creping angles were tested. The scraping tests show a trend in decreasing creping force for an increasing creping angle.