To correct or not correct?: Teachers\u27 behavior and students\u27 perception

Recent, well-known explorations of the role of models in science suggest a theory of scientific innovation which links innovation to a creative extension of knowledge brought about by the invokation of a metaphor. At the same time, concrete evidence about actual procedures of scientific investigation have for the first time become available from anthropological observation studies of scientific laboratories. This paper draws upon one year of observations done in 1976-77 in a group working on chemical, microbiological, toxicological and technological aspects of plant proteins and plant protein generation at a research institute employing more than 300 scientists in Berkeley, Ca. and upon interviews done with scientists of various other groups at the same institute. The paper attempts to reconsider the role of metaphor in the light of the observer's account of the research process in the laboratory, and in the light of the scientists' accounts of research efforts they considered innovative. Both the scientists' and the observer's account suggest that reference to metaphor needs to be extended to include, in accordance with some earlier conceptual investigations, the more general phenomenon of analogical reasoning. At the same time they suggest that the metaphor- or analogytheory needs to be restricted in its claim to account for innovation, and that innovation must be linked to the active constructions of the process of production and reproduction of research

Oscillatory Bursting as a Mechanism for Temporal Coupling and Information Coding

© Copyright © 2020 Tal, Neymotin, Bickel, Lakatos and Schroeder. Even the simplest cognitive processes involve interactions between cortical regions. To study these processes, we usually rely on averaging across several repetitions of a task or across long segments of data to reach a statistically valid conclusion. Neuronal oscillations reflect synchronized excitability fluctuations in ensembles of neurons and can be observed in electrophysiological recordings in the presence or absence of an external stimulus. Oscillatory brain activity has been viewed as sustained increase in power at specific frequency bands. However, this perspective has been challenged in recent years by the notion that oscillations may occur as transient burst-like events that occur in individual trials and may only appear as sustained activity when multiple trials are averaged together. In this review, we examine the idea that oscillatory activity can manifest as a transient burst as well as a sustained increase in power. We discuss the technical challenges involved in the detection and characterization of transient events at the single trial level, the mechanisms that might generate them and the features that can be extracted from these events to study single-trial dynamics of neuronal ensemble activity

Haptoglobin Polymorphism: A Novel Genetic Risk Factor for Celiac Disease Development and Its Clinical Manifestations

Background: Haptoglobin (Hp) α-chain alleles 1 and 2 account for 3 phenotypes that may influence the course of inflammatory diseases via biologically important differences in their antioxidant, scavenging, and immunomodulatory properties. Hp1-1 genotype results in the production of small dimeric, Hp2-1 linear, and Hp2-2 cyclic polymeric haptoglobin molecules. We investigated the haptoglobin polymorphism in patients with celiac disease and its possible association to the presenting symptoms. Methods: We studied 712 unrelated, biopsy-proven Hungarian celiac patients (357 children, 355 adults; severe malabsorption 32.9%, minor gastrointestinal symptoms 22.8%, iron deficiency anemia 9.4%, dermatitis herpetiformis 15.6%, silent disease 7.2%, other 12.1%) and 384 healthy subjects. We determined haptoglobin phenotypes by gel electrophoresis and assigned corresponding genotypes. Results: Hp2-1 was associated with a significant risk for celiac disease (P = 0.0006, odds ratio [OR] 1.54, 95% CI 1.20–1.98; prevalence 56.9% in patients vs 46.1% in controls). It was also overrepresented among patients with mild symptoms (69.2%) or silent disease (72.5%). Hp2-2 was less frequent in patients than in controls (P = 0.0023), but patients having this phenotype were at an increased risk for severe malabsorption (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.60–3.07) and accounted for 45.3% of all malabsorption cases. Celiac and dermatitis herpetiformis patients showed similar haptoglobin phenotype distributions. Conclusions: The haptoglobin polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to celiac disease and its clinical presentations. The predominant genotype in the celiac population was Hp2-1, but Hp2-2 predisposed to a more severe clinical course. The phenotype-dependent effect of haptoglobin may result from the molecule’s structural and functional properties

Some aspects of disease management of cherry leaf spot (Blumeriella jaapii) with special reference to pesticide use

In this review, some aspects of disease management of cherry leaf spot (Blumeriella jaapii) are summarised with special reference to pesticide use. In the first part of the review, we show the non-chemical control approach (e. g. removal of fallen leaves, planting resistant cultivar) against leaf spot. In the second part of the review, the effect of pesticides including fertilizers (urea) and fungicides on cherry leaf spot are discussed. Special attention are given to the fungicides of copper, dodine, captafol, captan, benomil, chlorothalonil, sterol demethylation inhibitors (e.g. fenarimol, fenbuconazole, myclobutanil, tebuconazole), and strobilurins about their effectiveness against cherry leaf spot. In the final part of the review, possibilities of cherry leaf spot control are discussed in integrated and organic cherry orchards

Micro area based spatial distribution of apple scab in an organic apple orchard

In this study, the objective was to report a two-year investigation on micro area based spatial distribution of apple scab in an organic apple orchard. Results showed that number of symptomatic plant part ranged between 587 and 623 on leaf and between 46 and 78 on fruit for an individual tree. Number of asymptomatic plant part ranged between 1034 and 1321 on leaf and between 119 and 193 on fruit. Disease incidence ranged between 35 and 40% on leaf and between 27 and 33% on fruit. Disease aggregation index ranged between 0.115 and 0.298 on leaf and between 0.117 and 0.221 on fruit. Three of the four trees showed significant within canopy aggregation of disease for leaf apple scab symptoms in both years. For fruit apple scab, two of the four trees showed significant random patterns in both years

Students’ Evolving Meaning About Tangent Line with the Mediation of a Dynamic Geometry Environment and an Instructional Example Space

In this paper I report a lengthy episode from a teaching experiment in which fifteen Year 12 Greek students negotiated their definitions of tangent line to a function graph. The experiment was designed for the purpose of introducing students to the notion of derivative and to the general case of tangent to a function graph. Its design was based on previous research results on students’ perspectives on tangency, especially in their transition from Geometry to Analysis. In this experiment an instructional example space of functions was used in an electronic environment utilising Dynamic Geometry software with Function Grapher tools. Following the Vygotskian approach according to which students’ knowledge develops in specific social and cultural contexts, students’ construction of the meaning of tangent line was observed in the classroom throughout the experiment. The analysis of the classroom data collected during the experiment focused on the evolution of students’ personal meanings about tangent line of function graph in relation to: the electronic environment; the pre-prepared as well as spontaneous examples; students’ engagement in classroom discussion; and, the role of researcher as a teacher. The analysis indicated that the evolution of students’ meanings towards a more sophisticated understanding of tangency was not linear. Also it was interrelated with the evolution of the meaning they had about the inscriptions in the electronic environment; the instructional example space; the classroom discussion; and, the role of the teacher

Screening some Common Molecular Markers and a Desaturase Marker, Linked to Sex Pheromone Biosynthesis, in Three Z-Strain and an E-Strain Populations of the European Corn Borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, Occurring in Central Europe

The European corn borer moth, (ECB), Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae, Pyraustinae) is one of the most destructive pests of maize worldwide. ECB has two pheromone-strains, separated by specific ratios of isomers of E- and Z11-tetradecenyl acetates (E11- and Z11-14Ac), but appearing morphologically identical. Accordingly, E- and Z-ECB pheromone traps are available for the respective populations for practical monitoring of the flight, however, traps for Z-strain are unreliable for practical usage in some parts of Central-Europe. E- and Z-ECB populations occur in sympatry in some areas, while in allelopatry in other areas. Determining the strains before the flight of adults, when difference in the composition of their respective pheromones is manifested, would be of practical interest for early warning. In addition to the known fatty-acyl-reductase (FAR) marker, further markers would allow more comprehensive studies. We screened the following common markers for mitochondrial and nuclear DNA regions: partial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI), cytochrome B (CytB), the second spacer of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS2), Elongation factor 1a (EF1a) and actin gene (Act). In addition, a marker of the Δ11-desaturase gene (11desat), linked to biosynthesis of female-produced sex pheromone, was also included, because we reported earlier a differential expression for this site. Three Z-ECB populations locating at distant sites within Hungary, an area where only Z-strain occurs, and an E-ECB population in Slovenia, known as the closest-occurring E-strain, were included into the study. Separate laboratory colonies were established from each population, and F1 generations were sampled to verify the identity of pheromone strains, by analysing the composition of sex pheromone by gas chromatography linked to an electroantennographic detector (GC-EAD). Molecular studies were conducted using specimens taken from the F2 generations. Results of genetic studies showed that there were no differences between the Z and E populations for the common markers. In contrast to this, several nucleic acid changes (11 nt in 4 positions) were found between the three Z-populations (Hungary) and the E-population (Slovenia) in the desaturase marker. Further study is required to reveal whether the differences found in this study are consistent across E-populations, thus making these markers suitable for diagnostic purposes