AUTONOMOUS LEARNING IN ELLE: CYBERNAUTICAL APPROACH AS THE VIADUCT TO L2 ACQUISITION

Recent researches on cognitive methods show that institutionalized language learning is a constant source of stress, and a psychological obstacle leading to discomfort and insecurity. In the ELLE (Electronic Language Learning Environment) of the current times cybernautical approach opens attractive horizons by relaxing and empowering the learner, through its emphasis on communication, and by increasing interaction between the learner and the 'teacherfacilitator. This paper shows how the cybernautical approachfosters L2 acquisition by valorizing 'meaning' and 'content' over 'form' and 'competence in grammatical structures.' The attempt in the paper is to analyze the essential ingredients of the cybernautical approach and explore the practical content of the method in the context of the Sultanate of Oman. The focus of the presentation is on the (re)defining of the learning space-the classroomwhich has today become a major constraint owing to its spatial (fixed location) and temporal (fIXed class timetable) inflexibility

The Interaction of Obesity Related Genotypes, Phenotypes, and Economics: An Experimental Economics Approach with Mice

Food intake is greatly influenced by economic factors. Consequently, neuroeconomics has been identified as a new and important area for understanding the interaction between genotypes and phenotypes related to food intake. A foundational element of economics is choice between alternatives. Changing food choices are a central element in the explanation of the increasing obesity rates in human populations. The purpose of this research is to incorporate the key element of choice into the investigation of food intake and weight-related phenotypes for mice in an operant chamber setting. Using normal mice, and mice with a mutation in the Tubby gene (Tub-Mut) which results in adult onset obesity, this research will investigate different behavioral responses among genotypes, as well as unexplored phenotype outcomes when mice are confronted with a falling price of a high fat food relative to a low fat food. Results for both genotypes indicate that as the price of the high fat food falls, consumption of that food increases, but consumption of the low fat food does not decrease in a compensatory fashion. For both genotypes, weight and body fat percentage increases with decreasing high fat food price, but ghrelin and leptin levels do not significantly change. The Tub-Mut shows a significant increase in the area under the glucose tolerance curve, suggestive of a diabetic state. These results show that accounting for choice in neuroeconomic studies is important to understanding the complex regulation of body weight and diabetes.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

In-Situ absolute phase detection of a microwave field via incoherent fluorescence

Measuring the amplitude and the absolute phase of a monochromatic microwave field at a specific point of space and time has many potential applications, including precise qubit rotations and wavelength quantum teleportation. Here we show how such a measurement can indeed be made using resonant atomic probes, via detection of incoherent fluorescence induced by a laser beam. This measurement is possible due to self-interference effects between the positive and negative frequency components of the field. In effect, the small cluster of atoms here act as a highly localized pick-up coil, and the fluorescence channel acts as a transmission line.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

Report of the Consultation on Stock Assessment for Small-Scale Fisheries in the Bay of Bengal

The total marine fish production in India has been estimated at an average of 1.37 million tones a year for the two year period of 1978-79. Roughly two thirds of this is contributed by the traditional small-scale fisheries and the rest by small and medium sized mechanised ‘boats using mostly bottom trawls and gill nets. Nearly 30% of the marine fish produced in India is landed along the east coast

Near infrared spectroscopy of the type IIn SN 2010jl: evidence for high velocity ejecta

The Type IIn supernova SN 2010jl was relatively nearby and luminous, allowing detailed studies of the near-infrared (NIR) emission. We present 1 - 2.4 micron spectroscopy over the age range of 36 - 565 days from the earliest detection of the supernova. On day 36, the H lines show an unresolved narrow emission component along with a symmetric broad component that can be modeled as the result of electron scattering by a thermal distribution of electrons. Over the next hundreds of days, the broad components of the H lines shift to the blue by 700 km/s, as is also observed in optical lines. The narrow lines do not show a shift, indicating they originate in a different region. He I 1.0830 and 2.0587 micron lines both show an asymmetric broad emission component, with a shoulder on the blue side that varies in prominence and velocity from -5500 km/s on day 108 to -4000 km/s on day 219. This component may be associated with the higher velocity flow indicated by X-ray observations of the supernova. The absence of the feature in the H lines suggests that this is from a He rich ejecta flow. The He I 1.0830 micron feature has a narrow P Cygni line, with absorption extending to ~100 km/s and strengthening over the first 200 days, and an emission component which weakens with time. At day 403, the continuum emission becomes dominated by a blackbody spectrum with a temperature of ~1900 K, suggestive of dust emission.Comment: 17 pages, 18 figure

Effect of Environment, Sex and Protein Level of Ration on Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Growing-Finishing Swine

Research conducted at the Southeast South Dakota Experiment Farm during the winter of 1968-69 and reported at the 1969 Swine Field Day (A.S. Series 69-38) indicated that the performance of pigs fed rations containing 15% protein to about 115 lb. and 12% protein to market weight was equal to that of pigs fed a ration 17% protein to 115 lb. reduced to 14% protein from 110 lb. to market weight. In the previous trial about 9% more feed was required for those pigs fed in the uncontrolled environment; however, rate of gain was not affected by the type of housing. The present experiment was conducted to obtain further information on the protein needs of barrows and gilts and their performance when fed in a controlled environment building or an open-front building with feeders and waterers outside

Impact of Molecular Architecture and Adsorption Density on Adhesion of Mussel-Inspired Surface Primers with Catechol-Cation Synergy.

Marine mussels secrete proteins rich in residues containing catechols and cationic amines that displace hydration layers and adhere to charged surfaces under water via a cooperative binding effect known as catechol-cation synergy. Mussel-inspired adhesives containing paired catechol and cationic functionalities are a promising class of materials for biomedical applications, but few studies address the molecular adhesion mechanism(s) of these materials. To determine whether intramolecular adjacency of these functionalities is necessary for robust adhesion, a suite of siderophore analog surface primers was synthesized with systematic variations in intramolecular spacing between catechol and cationic functionalities. Adhesion measurements conducted with a surface forces apparatus (SFA) allow adhesive failure to be distinguished from cohesive failure and show that the failure mode depends critically on the siderophore analog adsorption density. The adhesion of these molecules to muscovite mica in an aqueous electrolyte solution demonstrates that direct intramolecular adjacency of catechol and cationic functionalities is not necessary for synergistic binding. However, we show that increasing the catechol-cation spacing by incorporating nonbinding domains results in decreased adhesion, which we attribute to a decrease in the density of catechol functionalities. A mechanism for catechol-cation synergy is proposed based on electrostatically driven adsorption and subsequent binding of catechol functionalities. This work should guide the design of new adhesives for binding to charged surfaces in saline environments

The Role of Diet in the Treatment of Pulmonary Tuberculosis: An Evaluation in a Controlled Chemotherapy Study in Home and Sanatorium Patients in South India

Before the advent of antituberculosis chemotherapy, a diet rich in calories, proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins was generally considered to be an important, if not essential, factor in the treatment of tuberculosis. The introduction of specific antituberculosis drugs, however, has so radically altered the management of the disease that the role of diet has to be reconsidered in the light of the recent advances in treatment. An evaluation of the influence of diet in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis with isoniazid plus p-aminosalicylic acid was recently undertaken by the Tuberculosis Chemotherapy Centre, Madras, in the course of a controlled comparison of home and sanatorium chemotherapy for tuberculous patients from a poverty-stricken community in Madras City. Despite the fact that during the year of treatment the home patients subsisted on a markedly poorer diet, were physically more active and, on the average, gained less weight than the sanatorium patients, the overall response to treatment in the home series closely approached that in the sanatorium series, although there was a tendency for tubercle bacilli to disappear earlier in the latter. Direct evidence has been presented that none of the dietary factors studied (calories, carbohydrates, total and animal proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins) appears to influence the attainment of quiescent disease among tuberculous patients treated for one year with an effective combination of antimicrobial drugs, and that initial chemotherapy of patients at home can be successful even if the dietary intake is low throughout the period of treatment

Molecular biomarkers and ablative therapies for Barrett’s esophagus

Author version made available in accordance with the publisher's policy.Barrett’s esophagus is the major risk factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma. Endoscopic interventions which ablate Barrett’s esophagus mucosa lead to replacement with a new squamous (neosquamous) mucosa, but it can be difficult to achieve complete ablation. Knowing whether cancer is less likely to develop in neosquamous mucosa or residual Barrett’s esophagus after ablation is critical for determining the efficacy of treatment. This issue can be informed by assessing biomarkers that are associated with an increased risk of progression to adenocarcinoma. Although there are few post-ablation biomarker studies, evidence suggests that that neosquamous mucosa may have a reduced risk of adenocarcinoma in patients who have been treated for dysplasia or cancer, but some patients who do not have complete eradication of non-dysplastic Barrett’s esophagus may still be at risk. Biomarkers could be used to optimize endoscopic surveillance strategies following ablation, but this needs to be assessed by clinical studies and economic modeling