SCHEMA- BROADENING INSTRUCTION IN GRADE 9 MATHEMATICS

This pre-experimental study is aimed to present the effects of using the Schema- Broadening Instruction (SBI) to the Mathematics performance of one Grade 9 class at a barangay high school in the Philippines. The study used a modified approach of SBI that adopted the use of the following visual and procedural schemes: (a) The Frayer Model; (b) Visual representations of variation equations; and (c) Polya’s Four Steps in Problem Solving. The modified approach of SBI has also incorporated the use of structured (for concept formation) and open inquiry-based (for problem solving) activities. The approach aimed to reduce the students’ cognitive load in learning Mathematics by introducing visual and procedural schemas. Schemas can be handled with very little conscious effort once acquired and automated. Hence, can reduce students’ working memory load (Ericson, 2005). Results from the study showed that the students gained a wonderful experience of learning through the modified approach of Schema-Broadening Instruction. The students also showed capabilities of learning through structured forms of activities were guide questions and steps were provided for them in generalizing the concepts of the topic. But the Grade 9 students showed unreadiness for open inquiry-based activities and were not yet capable of constructing their own procedure in problem solving. The students preferred to be guided towards the step by step solution instead. Data gathered also showed that the approach has improved the students’ conceptual understanding that lead all the students to mastery. The students’ performance under problem solving also showed improvements but was not enough for all the students to gain mastery. Future scope for the study would be to develop validated visual and procedural schemas that can further reduce cognitive overload in learning Mathematics

Exploring the Micro-Dynamics of Adaptability: A Symbolic–Interpretative Perspective

Much of the work in contemporary organizations could be considered adaptive work: it requires individuals to deviate from routines to meet the needs of changing contexts. Yet, despite this, the dynamics of adaptive work have been largely underexplored. In this paper, we address this by exploring adaptive work as a micro-dynamic of organizational adaptability by focusing on different symbols individuals use in their work. We discover that individuals use exogenous (symbols surrounding the work) and endogenous (symbols within the work) symbols to insert variability into the work and adapt to unexpected events. Exogenous symbols create adaptive space where variability and routine coexist while endogenous symbols both link and disrupt routines thus enabling individuals to adapt to new circumstances. To this end, our study unpacks the practices that constitute adaptive work and adds clarity to the literature on organizational adaptation from the micro level of analysis

The topographical anatomy of the round window and related structures for the purpose of cochlear implant surgery

The treatment of total deafness using a cochlear implant has now become a routine medical procedure. The tendency to expand the audiological indications for cochlear stimulation and to preserve the remnants of hearing has brought new problems. The authors have studied the topographical anatomy of the internal structures of the ear in the area where cochleostomy is usually performed and an implant electrode inserted. Ten human temporal bones were obtained from cadavers and prepared in a formalin stain. After dissection of the bone in the area of round and oval windows, the following diameters were measured using a microscope with a scale: the transverse diameters of the cochlear and vestibular scalae at the level of the centre of the round window and 0.5 mm anteriorly to the round window, the distance between the windows and the distances from the end of the spiral lamina to the centre of the round window and to its anterior margin. The width of the cochlear scala at the level of the round window was 1.23 mm, and 0.5 mm anteriorly to the round window membrane it was 1.24 mm. The corresponding diameters for the vestibular scala are 1.34 and 1.27 mm. The distances from the end of the spiral lamina to the centre of the round window and to its anterior margin are 1.26 and 2.06 respectively. The authors noted that the two methods of electrode insertion show a difference of 2 mm in the length of the stimulated spiral lamina. The average total length of the unstimulated lamina is 2.06 and 4.06 in the two situations respectively

Dissecting gene expression at the blood-brain barrier

The availability of genome-wide expression data for the blood-brain barrier is an invaluable resource that has recently enabled the discovery of several genes and pathways involved in the development and maintenance of the blood-brain barrier, particularly in rodent models. The broad distribution of published datasets represents a viable starting point for the molecular dissection of the blood-brain barrier and will further direct the discovery of novel mechanisms of blood-brain barrier formation and function. Technical advances in purifying brain endothelial cells, the key cell that forms the critical barrier, have allowed for greater specificity in gene expression comparisons with other central nervous system cell types, and more systematic characterizations of the molecular composition of the blood-brain barrier. Nevertheless, our understanding of how the blood-brain barrier changes during aging and disease is underrepresented. Blood-brain barrier datasets from a wider range of experimental paradigms and species, including invertebrates and primates, would be invaluable for investigating the function and evolution of the blood-brain barrier. Newer technologies in gene expression profiling, such as RNA-sequencing, now allow for finer resolution of transcriptomic changes, including isoform specificity and RNA-editing. As our field continues to utilize more advanced expression profiling in its ongoing efforts to elucidate the blood-brain barrier, including in disease and drug delivery, we will continue to see rapid advances in our understanding of the molecular mediators of barrier biology. We predict that the recently published datasets, combined with forthcoming genomic and proteomic blood-brain barrier datasets, will continue to fuel the molecular genetic revolution of blood-brain barrier biology

An efficient finite element formulation of dynamics for a flexible robot with different type of joints

If two adjacent links of a flexible robot are connected via a revolute joint or a fixed prismatic joint, the relative motion of the next link will depend on both the joint motion and the elastic displacement of the distal end of the previous link. However, if the two adjacent links are connected via a sliding prismatic joint, the relative motion of the next link will depend additionally on the elastic deformation distributed along the previous link. Therefore, formulation of the motion equations for a multi-link flexible robot consisting of the revolute joints, the fixed prismatic joints and the sliding prismatic joints is challenging. In this study, the finite element kinematic and dynamic formulation was successfully developed and validated for the flexible robot, in which a transformation matrix is proposed to describe the kinematics of both the joint motion and the link deformation. Additionally, a new recursive formulation of the dynamic equations is introduced. As compared with the previous methods, the time complexity of the formulation is reduced by O(2η), where η is the number of finite elements on all links. The numerical examples and experiments were implemented to validate the proposed kinematic and dynamic modelling method

Social Roles and Baseline Proxemic Preferences for a Domestic Service Robot

© The Author(s) 2014. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited. The work described in this paper was conducted within the EU Integrated Projects LIREC (LIving with Robots and intEractive Companions, funded by the European Commission under contract numbers FP7 215554, and partly funded by the ACCOMPANY project, a part of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement n287624The goal of our research is to develop socially acceptable behavior for domestic robots in a setting where a user and the robot are sharing the same physical space and interact with each other in close proximity. Specifically, our research focuses on approach distances and directions in the context of a robot handing over an object to a userPeer reviewe

Measurements and predictions of heat of hydration of portland cement using isothermal conduction calorimetry

Two industrial ASTM Portland cements were carefully tested for heat of hydration (HOH) continuously up to 7 days at 23º C using isothermal conduction calorimetry in accordance to ASTM C1702. Internal and external mixing procedures were implemented. The results for HOH measurements at 7 days using isothermal calorimetry were compared to those obtained through heat of solution method (ASTM C186). The results indicate that for a given Portland cement, the shape of the HOH curve can be predicted with sufficient accuracy by measuring the heat of hydration to an age corresponding to an approximately ten times the age at maximum heat flow or main hydration peak. The heat of hydration at ages up to 7 days can be predicted by fitting an analytical function similar to functions used in Maturity calculations. The suggested approach would eliminate the need for measuring data at ages when the heat flow has decreased substantially well past its maximum where the signal to noise ratio is low. This approach effectively proposes a method for predicting accurately the total heat generated at 7 days by Portland cement based on 3 days heat flow measurements

Mutation and expression analysis in medulloblastoma yields prognostic variants and a putative mechanism of disease for i17q tumors

Current consensus identifies four molecular subtypes of medulloblastoma (MB): WNT, sonic hedgehog (SHH), and groups “3/C” and “4/D”. Group 4 is not well characterized, but harbors the most frequently observed chromosomal abnormality in MB, i17q, whose presence may confer a worse outcome. Recent publications have identified mutations in chromatin remodeling genes that may be overrepresented in this group, suggesting a biological role for these genes in i17q. This work seeks to explore the pathology that underlies i17q in MB. Specifically, we examine the prognostic significance of the previously-identified gene mutations in an independent set of MBs as well as to examine biological relevance of these genes and related pathways by gene expression profiling. The previously-implicated p53 signaling pathway is also examined as a putative driver of i17q tumor oncogenesis. The data show gene mutations associated with i17q tumors in previous studies (KMD6A, ZMYM3, MLL3 and GPS2) were correlated with significantly worse outcomes despite not being specific to i17q in this set. Expression of these genes did not appear to underlie the biology of the molecular variants. TP53 expression was significantly reduced in i17q/group 4 tumors; this could not be accounted for by dosage effects alone. Expression of regulators and mediators of p53 signaling were significantly altered in i17q tumors. Our findings support that chromatin remodeling gene mutations are associated with significantly worse outcomes in MB but cannot explain outcomes or pathogenesis of i17q tumors. However, expression analyses of the p53 signaling pathway shows alterations in i17q tumors that cannot be explained by dosage effects and is strongly suggestive of an oncogenic role. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40478-014-0074-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Inverse kinematic control algorithm for a welding robot - positioner system to trace a 3D complex curve

The welding robots equipped with rotary positioners have been widely used in several manufacturing industries. However, for welding a 3D complex weld seam, a great deal of points should be created to ensure the weld path smooth. This is a boring job and is a great challenge - rotary positioner system since the robot and the positioner must move simultaneously at the same time. Therefore, in this article, a new inverse kinematics solution is proposed to generate the movement codes for a six DOFs welding robot incorporated with a rotary positioner. In the algorithm, the kinematic error is minimized, and the actual welding error is controlled so that it is always less than an allowable limit. It has shown that the proposed algorithm is useful in developing an offline CAD-based programming tool for robots when welding complex 3D paths. The use of the algorithm increases the accuracy of the end-effector positioning and orientation, and reduces the time for teaching a welding robot - positioner system. Simulation scenarios demonstrate the potency of the suggested method

Implementation of the Damages Directive in England & Wales

The Dossier discusses the questions arising from the need to implement the EU Damages Directive 2014/104/EU in several European Member States. My contribution focuses on the need for implementation in England & Wales