Performance Characterization of a GCA 4800 Stepper

Characterization of a GCA 4800 stepper was done in order to assess the system capability for image quality and overlay. This was achieved through running stepper jobs two or three times per week. Data was statistically analyzed and the results showed good agreement with accepted values with the exception of system registration [1]

Teachers' Conceptions of Improving Their Practice: A Developmental Approach

Recent efforts to help teachers improve have centered on teacher evaluation. This qualitative dissertation explored how eight teachers from one middle school described and understood improving their practice Additionally, this study used purposeful developmental sampling to explore how, if at all, participants’ way of knowing (meaning their internal cognitive, emotional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal capacities), as assessed by an expert developmental psychologist who employed the Subject-Object Interview (a reliable developmental assessment tool), might help with understanding how they teachers themselves describe and make sense of improving their practice. The participant’s way of knowing influenced their conceptions of improvement, as well as the supports and challenges they encountered. This study has implications for teachers themselves, as well as school districts and district leaders, as they work to improve teacher practice. This study is unique in that it focuses on the experiences and understandings of teachers, all of whom work within one middle school, as they strive to improve their practice. The research was set in a district with a unique teacher evaluation system through which teachers participate in setting evaluation goals and evaluations were not at all tied to standardized test scores. I recruited an expert developmental psychologist to conduct Subject-Object Interviews in order to develop a purposeful sample of eight participants with a developmental range from socializing to self-authoring way of knowing. Eight Subject-Object interviews and 24 in-depth, qualitative interviews (approximately 36 hours, transcribed verbatim) were the primary data source. Data analysis involved several iterative steps, including writing analytic notes and memos; reviewing, coding, categorizing data to identify key themes within and across cases; and crafting narrative summaries. For each of the connected dimensions of understanding improvement conceiving, recognizing, and supporting improvement participants’ way of knowing was intimately tied to how they described how they improved their practice. The key difference between the dominant socializing knowers and the dominant self-authoring knowers emerged that the socializing knowers were subject to external authorities and factors, while the dominant self-authoring knowers relied on their internal values and judgment. In describing their understanding of what it meant to improve, all of the participants described how they sought to improve their practice by deepening their PCK and improving rapport with students (8 of 8), with the dominant socializing knowers relying on external authorities and providing their descriptions from within their own experiences. The dominant self-authoring knowers had strong internal systems from which they evaluated external information to evaluate its relevance to their improvement. Participants also discussed their uncertainty recognizing improvement (8 of 8). For the fully socializing knowers, they were uncertain about their own improvement because of changeable external forces. Those participants who were dominant socializing knowers with full capacity for self-authoring ways of knowing, they expressed uncertainty in themselves, so the source was internal. The dominant self-authoring knowers had their own theories of the inherent uncertainties of measuring improving their practice, yet also described ways that they could gauge improvement. Almost all participants named both observing others (7 of 8) and time to meet with colleagues (7 of 8) as practices that supported improvement. The dominant socializing knowers valued time to observe others and to meet with colleagues as opportunities to take in ideas from external sources to help them improve their practice. In contrast, the dominant self-authoring knowers appreciated time to meet with and to observe colleagues so that they could problem-solve, evaluate ideas, and build community. In sharing their understanding of district initiatives and teacher evaluation plan, how participants described supports and obstacles for their improvement were qualitatively different based on their way of knowing. Some participants described district initiatives as helpful (3 of 8) for their improvement, but that all participants (8 of 8) said that the high volume and short life span of the initiatives created obstacles to their improvement. For the dominant socializing knowers, they described feeling judged and that they had to “keep up” with new initiatives. The dominant self-authoring knowers discussed initiatives as distractions from their self-determined improvement path. Importantly, the dominant socializing knowers in leadership roles expressed increased anxiety in having to represent new initiatives to colleagues. All participants (8 of 8) identified features of the teacher evaluation plan that were helpful for their improvement. For the dominant socializing knowers, they valued the external authority of guiding documents, whereas the dominant self-authoring knowers valued the time to discuss and evaluate their work with their evaluator. Most participants (7 of 8) also described ways in which the teacher evaluation plan created obstacles in their efforts to improve. For the dominant socializing knowers, they were concerned about feeling inadequate in their improvement, while most of the dominant self-authoring knowers expressed that the evaluation plan took away time and focus from how they thought they could best improve their practice. According to my research, teachers benefit from time to meet with and to observe their colleagues as well as transparency as to how to reconcile past and present initiatives. Additionally, to support teachers who are dominantly socializing in their way of knowing, my research shows that they profit from clearly delineated written guidance and affirmative discussion with evaluators

Hypoglycemic effects of Welsh onion in an animal model of diabetes mellitus

Tight control of blood glucose is the most important strategy for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Here, we investigated the beneficial effects of Welsh onion on fasting and postprandial hyperglycemia. Inhibitory activities of hot water extracts from the green stalk and white bulb, which are the edible portions of the Welsh onion, and the fibrous root extract against yeast α-glucosidase were measured in vitro. To study the effects of Welsh onion on postprandial hyperglycemia, a starch solution (1 g/kg) with and without Welsh onion fibrous root extract (500 mg/kg) or acarbose (50 mg/kg) was administered to streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats after an overnight fast. Postprandial plasma glucose levels were measured and incremental areas under the response curve were calculated. To study the hypoglycemic effects of chronic feeding of Welsh onion, five-week-old db/db mice were fed an AIN-93G diet or a diet containing either Welsh onion fibrous root extract at 0.5% or acarbose at 0.05% for 7 weeks after 1 week of adaptation. Fasting plasma glucose and blood glycated hemoglobin were measured. Compared to the extract from the edible portions of Welsh onion, the fibrous root extract showed stronger inhibition against yeast α-glucosidase, with an IC50 of 239 µg/mL. Oral administration of Welsh onion fibrous root extract (500 mg/kg) and acarbose (50 mg/kg) significantly decreased incremental plasma glucose levels 30-120 min after oral ingestion of starch as well as the area under the postprandial glucose response curve, compared to the control group (P < 0.01). The plasma glucose and blood glycated hemoglobin levels of the Welsh onion group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < 0.01), and were not significantly different from those fed acarbose. Thus, we conclude that the fibrous root of Welsh onion is effective in controlling hyperglycemia in animal models of diabetes mellitus

Inhibitory activity of Euonymus alatus against alpha-glucosidase in vitro and in vivo

The major goal in the treatment of diabetes mellitus is to achieve near-normal glycemic control. To optimize both fasting blood glucose and postprandial glucose levels is important in keeping blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible. α-Glucosidase is the enzyme that digests dietary carbohydrate, and inhibition of this enzyme could suppress postprandial hyperglycemia. The purpose of this study was to test the inhibitory activity of methanol extract of Euonymus alatus on α-glucosidase in vitro and in vivo to evaluate its possible use as an anti-diabetic agent. Yeast α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of methanol extract of E. alatus were measured at concentrations of 0.50, 0.25, 0.10, and 0.05 mg/ml. The ability of E. alatus to lower postprandial glucose was studied in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. A starch solution (1 g/kg) with and without E. alatus extract (500 mg/kg) was administered to diabetic rats by gastric intubation after an overnight fast. Plasma glucose levels were measured at 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 240 min. Plasma glucose levels were expressed in increments from baseline, and incremental areas under the response curve were calculated. Extract of E. alatus,which had an IC50 value of 0.272 mg/ml, inhibited yeast α-glucosidase activity in a concentration-dependent manner. A single oral dose of E. alatus extract significantly inhibited increases in blood glucose levels at 60 and 90 min (p<0.05) and significantly decreased incremental response areas under the glycemic response curve (p<0.05). These results suggest that E. alatus has an antihyperglycemic effect by inhibiting α-glucosidase activity in this animal model of diabetes mellitus

Hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of Saururus chinensis Baill in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Saururus chinensis Baill was reported to inhibit α-glucosidase in vitro and flatten postprandial increase in blood glucose in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. We studied the effect of chronic consumption of S. chinensis Baill on blood glucose and lipid profile in STZ-induced diabetic male rats fed high fat diet. Male rats weighing 100-120 g were fed 30% fat diet with and without 10% freeze-dried leaves of S. chinensis Baill for 7 weeks after 1 week of adaptation. The rats were rendered diabetic by intravenous injection of STZ (60 mg/kg) after 6-week feeding of the assigned diets. At 1 week after the injection, the rats were sacrificed after an overnight fast. Plasma glucose (380.2 ± 14.4 mg/dL), total cholesterol (93.9 ± 7.9 mg/dL) and triglyceride levels (123.6 ± 7.5 mg/dL) of the S. chinensis Baill group were significantly lower than those of the control group (418.1 ± 12.0 mg/dL, 119.9 ± 9.4 mg/dL, 152.0 ± 10.3 mg/dL, respectively, p<0.05). Chronic consumption of S. chinesis Baill significantly decreased maltase activity of the small intestinal mucosa (120.1 ± 8.7 U/g protein) compared with the control group (96.8 ± 7.0 U/g protein, p<0.05). These results suggest that S. chinensis Baill have hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects by inhibiting α-glucosidase activity in the animal model of diabetes mellitus