Designing a Mathematics Curriculum

A decade of PMRI saw the changes in the classroom in some of the primaryschools in Indonesia. Based on observation, we can say that though themathematics syllabus in Indonesia did not change, its curriculum has changedunder the movement of PMRI. In this article, we put in writing some of theexperience gained through the involvement in designing curricula since 1971.Hopefully, some of the observations made may be of use to the colleagues inIndonesia. The discussion below will cover some deciding factors in designing acurriculum, some practices, and the latest trends. For convenience, we keep thediscussion general, and do not refer to a specific syllabus. Also, in many cases,we refer mainly to secondary schools, that is, Grade 7 to Grade 10

Designing a Mathematics Curriculum

A decade of PMRI saw the changes in the classroom in some of the primaryschools in Indonesia. Based on observation, we can say that though themathematics syllabus in Indonesia did not change, its curriculum has changedunder the movement of PMRI. In this article, we put in writing some of theexperience gained through the involvement in designing curricula since 1971.Hopefully, some of the observations made may be of use to the colleagues inIndonesia. The discussion below will cover some deciding factors in designing acurriculum, some practices, and the latest trends. For convenience, we keep thediscussion general, and do not refer to a specific syllabus. Also, in many cases,we refer mainly to secondary schools, that is, Grade 7 to Grade 10

Number of Sialic Acid Residues in Ganglioside Headgroup Affects Interactions with Neighboring Lipids

Monolayers of binary mixtures of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) and asialo-(GA1), disialo-(GD1b) and trisialo-(GT1b) gangliosides were used to determine the effect of ganglioside headgroup charge and geometry on its interactions with the neighboring zwitterionic lipid. Surface pressure versus molecular area isotherm measurements along with concurrent fluorescence microscopy of the monolayers at the air-water interface were complemented with atomic force microscopy imaging of monolayers deposited on solid substrates. Results were used to further develop a proposed geometric packing model that the complementary geometry of DPPC and monosialoganglioside GM1 headgroups affects their close molecular packing, inducing condensation of the layer at small mol % of ganglioside. For GA1, GD1b, and GT1b, a similar condensing effect, followed by a fluidizing effect is seen that varies with glycosphingolipid concentration, but results do not directly follow from geometric arguments because less DPPC is needed to condense ganglioside molecules with larger cross-sectional areas. The variations in critical packing mole ratios can be explained by global effects of headgroup charge and resultant dipole moments within the monolayer. Atomic force microscopy micrographs further support the model of ganglioside-induced DPPC condensation with condensed domains composed of a striped phase of condensed DPPC and DPPC/ganglioside geometrically packed complexes at low concentrations

A Focus Group Study of Child Nutrition Professionals' Attitudes about Food Allergies and Current Training Practices

Citation: Lee, Y. M., Kwon, J., & Sauer, K. (2014). A focus group study of child nutrition professionals’ attitudes about food allergies and current training practices. Journal of Child Nutrition and Management, 38(1).Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore child nutrition professionals' (CNPs) attitudes about food allergies, current practices of food allergy training, and operational issues related to food allergy training in school foodservice operations. Methods: Three focus groups were conducted with 21 CNPs with managerial responsibilities from a midwestern state. Responses to guided, open-ended questions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed to identify common themes. Results: Participants felt that the prevalence and types of food allergies affecting school nutrition programs have increased in recent years. They also felt that communicating with other stakeholders and verifying physicians' recommendations regarding food allergies can be difficult. Participants agreed that training could improve food allergy knowledge and awareness of their employees and improve safety of children with food allergies. However, only a few reported providing specific food allergy training for employees. Cost, scheduling difficulties, and time constraints were identified as barriers to providing food allergy training. Participants preferred having credentialed professionals to conduct employee food allergy training. Support from school administrators and witnessing a food allergic reaction in the cafeteria would trigger a decision to initiate food allergy training. Applications to Child Nutrition Professionals: Improved communication between school foodservice staff and other stakeholders is crucial to better serve students with food allergies. A well-planned, structured training program could better prepare school foodservice employees serving students with food allergies. CNPs might need continuous guidance and assistance regarding employee food allergy training. State agencies and professional organizations should work with CNPs to develop and communicate best practices for prevention and management of food allergic reactions

Universal Scaling and Signatures of Nodal Structures in Electron Tunneling from Two-Dimensional Semimetals

We present the theory of out-of-plane electron thermal-field emission from 2D semimetals. We show that the current($\mathcal{J}$)-field($F$)-temperature($T$) characteristic is captured by a universal scaling law applicable for broad classes of 2D semimetals, including monolayer and few-layer graphene, nodal point semimetals, nodal line semimetals and Dirac semimetals at the verge of topological phase transition. The low-temperature scaling takes the universal form, $\log\left( \mathcal{J}/F^\gamma \right) \propto -1/F$ with $\gamma = 1$ for 2D semimetals, which is in stark contrast to the classic Fowler-Nordheim scaling of $\gamma = 2$ for 3D metals. Importantly, the Fermi level dependence of the tunneling currents depends sensitively on the nodal structure through the electronic density of states, thus serving as a probe for detecting the various possible nodal structures of 2D semimetals. Our findings provide a theoretical basis for the understanding of tunneling charge transport phenomena in solid/vacuum and solid/solid interfaces, critical for the development of 2D-material-based vacuum and solid-state electronic devices.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Relationship between Macroeconomics and Stock Market: Empirical Study in Malaysia

This paper attempt to investigate the relationship between macroeconomic variables and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI, the samples are divided into 2 groups such as foreign macroeconomic variables and local macroeconomic variables, foreign macroeconomic variables consist of Gold Bullion LBM price and Dow Jones Index, meanwhile local macroeconomic variables consist of Consumer Price Index, Base Lending Rate, Exchange Rate.This study employs data from Jan 2000 to Dec 2013 which contains a monthly data set of 168 observations. There are 3 methodologies used in this study to investigate the relationship, the first test is Unit Root test which used to test the stationary of each variable, the results indicate that all the variables are stationary in first difference, this is important to use stationary variables because if the variables are not stationary, it might lead to spurious regression. The second methodology is Johansen & Juselius Co-integration test to investigate the long run relationship among these variables, the results show that the foreign macroeconomic variables and local macroeconomic variables have long run relationship with KLCI and significant. Next, this study will investigate the short run relationship between macroeconomic variables and KLCI, the results indicate that Gold, BLR and CPI can granger cause KLCI and significant at 1%, 5% significance level respectively

Noncontact detection and analysis of respiratory function using microwave Doppler Radar

Real-time respiratory measurement with Doppler Radar has an important advantage in the monitoring of certain conditions such as sleep apnoea, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and many other general clinical uses requiring fast nonwearable and non-contact measurement of the respiratory function. In this paper, we demonstrate the feasibility of using Doppler Radar in measuring the basic respiratory frequencies (via fast Fourier transform) for four different types of breathing scenarios: normal breathing, rapid breathing, slow inhalation-fast exhalation, and fast inhalation-slow exhalation conducted in a laboratory environment. A high correlation factor was achieved between the Doppler Radar-based measurements and the conventional measurement device, a respiration strap. We also extended this work from basic signal acquisition to extracting detailed features of breathing function (I: E ratio). This facilitated additional insights into breathing activity and is likely to trigger a number of new applications in respiratory medicine

Optical studies of carrier and phonon dynamics in Ga_{1-x}Mn_{x}As

We present a time-resolved optical study of the dynamics of carriers and phonons in Ga_{1-x}Mn_{x}As layers for a series of Mn and hole concentrations. While band filling is the dominant effect in transient optical absorption in low-temperature-grown (LT) GaAs, band gap renormalization effects become important with increasing Mn concentration in Ga_{1-x}Mn_{x}As, as inferred from the sign of the absorption change. We also report direct observation on lattice vibrations in Ga1-xMnxAs layers via reflective electro-optic sampling technique. The data show increasingly fast dephasing of LO phonon oscillations for samples with increasing Mn and hole concentration, which can be understood in term of phonon scattering by the holes.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures replaced Fig.1 after finding a mistake in previous versio

Surgical Treatment of Neuroendocrine Liver Metastases

Management of Neuroendocrine liver metastases (NELM) is challenging. The presence of NELM worsens survival outcome and almost 10% of all liver metastases are neuroendocrine in origin. There is no firm consensus on the optimal treatment strategy for NELM. A systematic search of the PubMed database was performed from 1995–2010, to collate the current evidence and formulate a sound management algorithm. There are 22 case series with a total of 793 patients who had undergone surgery for NELM. The overall survival ranges from 46–86% at 5 years, 35–79% at 10 years, and the median survival ranges from 52–123 months. After successful cytoreductive surgery, the mean duration of symptom reduction is between 16–26 months, and the 5-year recurrence/progression rate ranges from 59–76%. Five studies evaluated the efficacy of a combination cytoreductive strategy reporting survival rate of ranging from 83% at 3 years to 50% at 10 years. To date, there is no level 1 evidence comparing surgery versus other liver-directed treatment options for NELM. An aggressive surgical approach, including combination with additional liver-directed procedures is recommended as it leads to long-term survival, significant long-term palliation, and a good quality of life. A multidisciplinary approach should be established as the platform for decision making