A Comparative Study of the Learning Styles of Southeast Asian and American Caucasian College Students on Two Seventh-day Adventist Campuses

Problem. While much research has been conducted on learning style in the United States, no known empirical study has been done to compare the learning styles of Asian and Caucasian students on Seventh-day Adventist campuses. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in learning-style preferences between a group of Asian students at Southeast Asia Union College in Singapore and Caucasian students at Andrews University in Michigan. Method. This study employed the Productivity Environmental Preference Scale to measure the learning styles of the two groups. The data which were computed and analyzed to test seven null hypotheses were provided by a total of 309 undergraduate students (143 Asiansand 166 Caucasians). Findings. (1) Caucasians appear to have a higher preference for warmth, responsibility, intake, learning in the morning, and mobility. They exhibit a lower preference for auditory and visual learning than the Asians. (2) Males as compared to females have a higher preference for noise, tactile learning experiences, intake, responsibility, and warmth; they have a lower preference for learning in several ways, peer-oriented learning, and persistence. (3) Caucasian males, as compared to Asian males, appear to have a stronger preference for warmth, responsibility, persistence, and intake, and a lower preference for auditory learningand learning in the late morning. (4) Caucasian females have a higher preference for responsibility, warmth, mobility, learning in the morning, and intake than the Asian females; and they have a lower preference for visual and auditory learning experiences. Conclusions. From an analysis of the findings, it appears that culture is a determinant of learning style as Asians are significantly different from Caucasians in their preferences. Sex appears to be a contributing factor as well

Multimodal Literacy in School Science

This book establishes a new theoretical and practical framework for multimodal disciplinary literacy (MDL) fused with the subject-specific science pedagogies of senior high school biology, chemistry and physics. It builds a compatible alignment of multiple representation and representation construction approaches to science pedagogy with the social semiotic, systemic functional linguistic-based approaches to explicit teaching of disciplinary literacy. The early part of the book explicates the transdisciplinary negotiated theoretical underpinning of the MDL framework, followed by the research-informed repertoire of learning experiences that are then articulated into a comprehensive framework of options for the planning of classroom work. Practical adoption and adaptation of the framework in biology, chemistry and physics classrooms are detailed in separate chapters. The latter chapters indicate the impact of the collaborative research on teachers' professional learning and students’ multimodal disciplinary literacy engagement, concluding with proposals for accommodating emerging developments in MDL in an ever-changing digital communication world. The MDL framework is designed to enable teachers to develop all students' disciplinary literacy competencies. This book will be of interest to researchers, teacher educators and postgraduate students in the field of science education. It will also have appeal to those in literacy education and social semiotics

Coherent state quantization of a particle in de Sitter space

We present a coherent state quantization of the dynamics of a relativistic test particle on a one-sheet hyperboloid embedded in a three-dimensional Minkowski space. The group SO_0(1,2) is considered to be the symmetry group of the system. Our procedure relies on the choice of coherent states of the motion on a circle. The coherent state realization of the principal series representation of SO_0(1,2) seems to be a new result.Comment: Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and General, vol. 37, in pres

Collagen VI regulates motor circuit plasticity and motor performance by cannabinoid modulation

Collagen VI is a key component of muscle basement membranes, and genetic variants can cause monogenic muscular dystrophies. Conversely, human genetic studies recently implicated collagen VI in central nervous system function, with variants causing the movement disorder dystonia. To elucidate the neurophysiological role of collagen VI, we generated mice with a truncation of the dystonia-related collagen alpha 3 (VI) (COL6A3) C-terminal domain (CTD). These Col6a3(CTT) mice showed a recessive dystonia-like phenotype in both sexes. We found that COL6A3 interacts with the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R) complex in a CTD-dependent manner. Col6a3(CTT) mice of both sexes have impaired homeostasis of excitatory input to the basal pontine nuclei (BPN), a motor control hub with dense COL6A3 expression, consistent with deficient endocannabinoid signaling. Aberrant synaptic input in the BPN was normalized by a CB1R agonist, and motor performance in Col6a3(CTT) mice of both sexes was improved by CB1R agonist treatment. Our findings identify a readily therapeutically addressable synaptic mechanism for motor control

Mouse screen reveals multiple new genes underlying mouse and human hearing loss.

Adult-onset hearing loss is very common, but we know little about the underlying molecular pathogenesis impeding the development of therapies. We took a genetic approach to identify new molecules involved in hearing loss by screening a large cohort of newly generated mouse mutants using a sensitive electrophysiological test, the auditory brainstem response (ABR). We review here the findings from this screen. Thirty-eight unexpected genes associated with raised thresholds were detected from our unbiased sample of 1,211 genes tested, suggesting extreme genetic heterogeneity. A wide range of auditory pathophysiologies was found, and some mutant lines showed normal development followed by deterioration of responses, revealing new molecular pathways involved in progressive hearing loss. Several of the genes were associated with the range of hearing thresholds in the human population and one, SPNS2, was involved in childhood deafness. The new pathways required for maintenance of hearing discovered by this screen present new therapeutic opportunities

Nesprin-1-alpha2 associates with kinesin at myotube outer nuclear membranes, but is restricted to neuromuscular junction nuclei in adult muscle

This project was supported by grants from the British Heart Foundation (PG/11/71/29091 and PG/16/68/31991) and the Orthopaedic Institute Ltd., (RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry, UK).Nesprins, nuclear envelope spectrin-repeat proteins encoded by the SYNE1 and SYNE2 genes, are involved in localization of nuclei. The short isoform, nesprin-1-alpha2, is required for relocation of the microtubule organizer function from centromeres to the nuclear rim during myogenesis. Using specific antibodies, we now show that both nesprin-1-alpha2 and nesprin-1-giant co-localize with kinesin at the junctions of concatenated nuclei and at the outer poles of nuclear chains in human skeletal myotubes. In adult muscle, nesprin-1-alpha2 was found, together with kinesin, only on nuclei associated with neuromuscular junctions, whereas all adult cardiomyocyte nuclei expressed nesprin-1-alpha2. In a proteomics study, kinesin heavy and light chains were the only significant proteins in myotube extracts pulled down by nesprin-1-alpha2, but not by a mutant lacking the highly-conserved STAR domain (18 amino-acids, including the LEWD motif). The results support a function for nesprin-1-alpha2 in the specific localization of skeletal muscle nuclei mediated by kinesins and suggest that its primary role is at the outer nuclear membrane.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Perceived stress as a predictor of eating behavior during the 3-year PREVIEW lifestyle intervention

Peer reviewe

PREVIEW: Prevention of Diabetes through Lifestyle Intervention and Population Studies in Europe and around the World. Design, Methods, and Baseline Participant Description of an Adult Cohort Enrolled into a Three-Year Randomised Clinical Trial

Type-2 diabetes (T2D) is one of the fastest growing chronic diseases worldwide. The PREVIEW project has been initiated to find the most effective lifestyle (diet and physical activity) for the prevention of T2D, in overweight and obese participants with increased risk for T2D. The study is a three-year multi-centre, 2 × 2 factorial, randomised controlled trial. The impact of a high-protein, low-glycaemic index (GI) vs. moderate protein, moderate-GI diet in combination with moderate or high-intensity physical activity on the incidence of T2D and the related clinical end-points are investigated. The intervention started with a two-month weight reduction using a low-calorie diet, followed by a randomised 34-month weight maintenance phase comprising four treatment arms. Eight intervention centres are participating (Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Spain, Bulgaria, Australia, and New Zealand). Data from blood specimens, urine, faeces, questionnaires, diaries, body composition assessments, and accelerometers are collected at months 0, 2, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36. In total, 2326 adults were recruited. The mean age was 51.6 (SD 11.6) years, 67% were women. PREVIEW is, to date, the largest multinational trial to address the prevention of T2D in pre-diabetic adults through diet and exercise intervention. Participants will complete the final intervention in March, 2018.Peer reviewe

What Is the Profile of Overweight Individuals Who Are Unsuccessful Responders to a Low-Energy Diet? A PREVIEW Sub-study

This study was performed to evaluate the profile of overweight individuals with pre-diabetes enrolled in PREVIEW who were unable to achieve a body weight loss of >= 8% of the baseline value in response to a 2-month low-energy diet (LED). Their baseline profile reflected potential stress-related vulnerability that predicted a reduced response of body weight to a LED programme. The mean daily energy deficit maintained by unsuccessful weight responders of both sexes was less than the estimated level in successful female (656 vs. 1,299 kcal, p < 0.01) and male (815 vs. 1,659 kcal, p < 0.01) responders. Despite this smaller energy deficit, unsuccessful responders displayed less favorable changes in susceptibility to hunger and appetite sensations. They also did not benefit from the intervention regarding the ability to improve sleep quality. In summary, these results show that some individuals display a behavioral vulnerability which may reduce the ability to lose weight in response to a diet-based weight loss program. They also suggest that this vulnerability may be accentuated by a prolonged diet restriction.Peer reviewe