Assessing students' conceptual understanding using an online three‐tier diagnostic test

When solving a mathematical problem, students who do not have sufficient conceptual understanding may perform poorly and exhibit misconceptions. This study was aimed to examine students' conceptual understanding and significant misconceptions when solving number sense‐related problems. An online three‐tier diagnostic test was administered to 125 fifth‐grade students with varied socio‐economic backgrounds in Hong Kong. Only 14.40% of the students exhibited high performance with high confidence, indicating that these students had a profound conceptual understanding of number sense. In addition, the majority of the students (66.40%) did not demonstrate number sense; these students exhibited several significant misconceptions and could solve the questions only by using a rule‐based method or guessing. Accordingly, most students performed unsatisfactorily on number sense‐related problems. This study is imperative in identifying early predictors and provides information for further compatible interventions in the teaching and learning of number sense in Hong Kong in particular and worldwide in general.     

Role of glutathione, glutathione S-transferases and multidrug resistance-related proteins in cisplatin sensitivity of head and neck cancer cell lines

Spontaneous proliferative liver lesions were found in 15 (13 males and 2 females) of 244 (122 of each sex) transgenic (Tg) mice carrying the human prototype c-H-ras gene (rasH2). The liver lesions included 3 foci of cellular alteration, 1 hepatocellular adenoma, 5 hepatocellular carcinomas, and 4 hepatic hemangiosarcomas in the males and 1 focus of cellular alteration and 1 hepatocellular carcinoma in the females. The mutation patterns of the human and endogenous mouse c-H-ras codon 61 in these proliferative liver lesions were analyzed by DNA amplification using polymerase chain reaction, single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP), and oligonucleotide dot blot hybridization. The hepatocellular carcinomas in 4 males and 1 female contained a point mutation in the mouse c-H-ras gene: 3, 1, and 1 carcinomas had a CAA to AAA transversion at the first base of codon 61, a CAA to CTA transversions, and a CAA to CGA transition at the second base of codon 61, respectively. No point mutations in the human c-H-ras transgene were detected in any hepatocellular carcinoma. All 4 hepatic hemangiosarcomas had a CAG to CTG transversion at codon 61 of the human c-H-ras gene, but no point mutations were detected in codon 61 of the mouse c-H-ras gene. No mutations in human or mouse c-H-ras codon 61 were detected in altered cell foci or hepatocellular adenoma. These results indicate that spontaneous liver tumors in rasH2 Tg mice contain different mutation patterns depending on the histologic type or cell origin of the tumors (i.e., hepatocellular carcinomas or hepatic hemangiosacomas). The absence of similar mutations in foci of cellular alteration and the hepatocellular adenoma suggests that the occurrence of codon 61 point mutations is a late event in the progression of hepatocellular neoplasia in rasH2 Tg mice.     

Theoretical consideration of the effect of porosity on thermal conductivity of porous materials

The thermal conductivity of porous materials is theoretically studied in connection with nanoporous materials used in recent semiconductor devices. The effects of porosity and pore size on the thermal conductivity are discussed. The thermal conductivity of insulating materials is determined by the heat capacity of phonons, the average phonon velocity and the phonon mean free path. We investigate the porosity dependence of these quantities, especially by taking into account phonon scatterings by pores, and present an expression for the thermal conductivity as a function of porosity. Our model consideration predicts that the thermal conductivity of nanoporous materials depends on the ratio of the pore size R_p to the phonon mean free path for zero-porosity, l₀. The thermal conductivity for l₀/R_p > 1 decreases steeply with increasing porosity because of effective phonon scatterings by pores. On the other hand, the thermal conductivity for l₀/R_p < 0.1 decreases moderately with increasing porosity because phonon scatterings by pores are no longer effective. On the basis of the present theoretical consideration, we discuss the principal factor dominating the porosity dependence of thermal conductivity in nanoporous materials. We also discuss how one can design nanoporous materials with lower or higher thermal conductivity.     

Learning science in a virtual reality application: The impacts of animated-virtual actors’ visual complexity

As the technology in computer graphics advances, Animated-Virtual Actors (AVAs) in Virtual Reality (VR) applications become increasingly rich and complex. Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) suggests that complex visual materials could hinder novice learners from attending to the lesson properly. On the other hand, previous studies have shown that visual complexity correlates with presence and may increase the perceived affective quality of the virtual world, towards an optimal experience or flow. Increasing these in VR applications may promote enjoyment and higher cognitive engagement for better learning outcomes. While visually complex materials could be motivating and pleasing to attend to, would they affect learning adversely? We developed a series of VR presentations to teach second-year psychology students about the navigational behaviour of Cataglyphis ants with flat, cartoon, or lifelike AVAs. To assess learning outcomes, we used Program Ratings, which measured perception of learning and perceived difficulty, and retention and transfer tests. The results from 200 students did not reveal any significant differences in presence, perceived affective quality, or learning outcomes as a function of the AVA’s visual complexity. While the results showed positive correlations between presence, perceived affective quality and perception of learning, none of these correlates with perceived difficulty, retention, or transfer scores. Nevertheless, our simulation produced significant improvements on retention and transfer scores in all conditions. We discuss possible explanations and future research directions.     

The influence of the degree of heterogeneity on the elastic properties of random sphere packings

The macroscopic mechanical properties of colloidal particle gels strongly depend on the local arrangement of the powder particles. Experiments have shown that more heterogeneous microstructures exhibit up to one order of magnitude higher elastic properties than their more homogeneous counterparts at equal volume fraction. In this paper, packings of spherical particles are used as model structures to computationally investigate the elastic properties of coagulated particle gels as a function of their degree of heterogeneity. The discrete element model comprises a linear elastic contact law, particle bonding and damping. The simulation parameters were calibrated using a homogeneous and a heterogeneous microstructure originating from earlier Brownian dynamics simulations. A systematic study of the elastic properties as a function of the degree of heterogeneity was performed using two sets of microstructures obtained from Brownian dynamics simulation and from the void expansion method. Both sets cover a broad and to a large extent overlapping range of degrees of heterogeneity. The simulations have shown that the elastic properties as a function of the degree of heterogeneity are independent of the structure generation algorithm and that the relation between the shear modulus and the degree of heterogeneity can be well described by a power law. This suggests the presence of a critical degree of heterogeneity and, therefore, a phase transition between a phase with finite and one with zero elastic properties.     

AGORA剧院

Agora剧院是由Adriaan Geuze负责的莱利斯塔德中心城总体规划项目的一部分,旨在复兴这座冷清的城市,赋予其新的精神面貌。Agora剧院的设计通过关注剧院的根本功能——用各种技巧创造一个魔幻世界,来回应建筑本身承担的使命:战后荷兰城市的再生和复兴。建筑内外墙面层叠的多刻面表层由于打孔形成了一种万花筒般的世界舞台之效     

Dynamic X-ray radiography for the determination of foamed bitumen bubble area distribution

Foam bitumen is highly efficient in wetting and coating the surface of mineral aggregate at lower temperature. In order to improve understanding and characterization of the bitumen foam, X-ray radiography was used to study the formation and decay of bitumen foam in 2D representation. Image segmentation analysis was used to determine the foam bubble size distribution. In addition, the main parameters influencing foam bitumen formation, water content, and temperature were also investigated. The results demonstrate the influence of the water content on morphology and expansion of foam bitumen bubbles. Adding more water in the foaming process leads to quick collapse of bubbles and intensifies coalescence of foam bitumen. Higher temperatures produces larger bubbles at early foaming stage compared to lower temperature. Moreover the morphology of bubble formation depends on the types of bitumen used. An exponential function has been implemented to represent the bubble area distribution.     

法国海洋冲浪博物馆 “天空下”/“大海下”

法国海洋冲浪博物馆探索大海与海浪及其在休闲产业、科学和生态方面所扮演的重要角色。设计方案由斯蒂文·霍尔建筑师事务所与索朗·法比亚合作完成。2005年,在与安瑞科·米拉莱斯/贝娜蒂塔·塔格利亚布、布罗谢特·拉宇斯·普埃约、伯纳德·屈米和让·米歇尔·维尔莫特工作室的角逐中获得胜利,赢得国际竞赛大奖。建筑形式来源于"天空下"/"大海下"的空间理念。"天空下"的凹形体量成为主要的户外广场"海洋世界"的一大特色。广场朝向天空和大海开放,视野向远方无限扩展。凹形的结构天花板形成"大海下"的展览空间。     

克努特·汉姆生中心 无形力量的战场

克努特·汉姆生,作为挪威20世纪最具创意的作家以及诺贝尔文学奖获得者,他的第一部小说《饥饿》开创了一种全新的文学表达形式。这座为纪念汉姆生所设立的中心位于Hamary的Presteid村,地处北极圈腹地,距作家长大的农场很近。这座2508.38m2(27000平方英尺)的中心包括展览区、一座图书馆和阅览室、一间咖啡厅以及一个供博物馆和社区使用的礼堂。受到汉姆生对人类心灵中种种错综复杂之处的探索的影响,建筑在空间和灯光方面被设想为一种原初     

Adaptive B‐spline neural network‐based vector control for a grid side converter in wind turbine‐DFIG systems

This paper presents a novel control system design for the grid‐side converter of doubly fed induction generator wind power generation systems. The control method proposed in this work is a vector control based on adaptive B‐spline neural network by using a simple fixed‐gain stabilizing control topology. The adaptive control is designed both for inner current loops and an outer DC‐link voltage loop of the grid side converter control system. To guarantee the control stability, the weights updating rule for the B‐spline neural network is synthesized by utilizing Lyapunov's direct method. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed control system, extensive simulations are performed using MATLAB/Simulink. Based on the simulation results, it is concluded that the proposed controller has improved performance compared to an optimum proportional integral control system. It is also relatively robust against external disturbances and variations of the control parameters. © 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.