The Effect of Flipped Learning Model on EFL Learners' Academic Achievement, Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence

The aim of the study is to examine the effect of flipped learning model on EFL learners academic achievement, self-esteem and self-confidence. This is a quantitative qualitative study in which a mixed methods design is used for data collection procedure. The study sample includes two groups of intermediate English students who study in foreign language institutions. They are selected by purposive sampling method. This method of sampling allows the researcher to select students with two years of learning experience. In this study, the independent variable of the research is flipped learning model, as opposed to traditional learning approach, while the dependent variables are students academic achievement, self-esteem, and self-confidence. One sample pre-test and post-test design is used to collect quantitative data on academic achievement, self-esteem and self-confidence. In order to collect qualitative data, a semi-structured interview is administered to reveal the general attitudes of the students towards the benefits, difficulties and the solutions of the flipped classroom. The results indicate that flipped learning model has significant effect on EFL learners academic achievement, self-esteem and self-confidence. The researcher concludes that learners with high self-confidence and self-esteem will have a greater academic achievement, and flipped classroom can enhance language learning

An exact solution of mechanical buckling for functionally graded material bimorph circular plates

Presented herein is the exact solution of mechanical buckling response of FGM (Functionally Graded Material) bimorph circular plates, performed under uniform radial compression, by means of the classic theory and the non-linear Von-Karman assumptions, for both simply supported and clamped boundary conditions. Material properties are assumed to be symmetric with respect to the middle surface and are graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law, in a way that the middle surface is pure metal and the two sides are pure ceramic. Using the energy method the non-linear equilibrium equations are derived and the stability equations have been used, so as to determine the critical buckling pressure, considering the adjacent equilibrium criterion, and finally a closed-form solution has been achieved for it. The effect of different factors, including thickness to radius variation rate of the plate, volumetric percentage of material index, and Poisson's ratio on the critical buckling compression have been investigated for two simply supported and clamped boundary conditions, and the result

Free vibration analysis of functionally graded nanocomposite cylindrical panel reinforced by carbon nanotube

In this study, based on the three-dimensional theory of elasticity, free vibration characteristics of nanocomposite cylindrical panels reinforced by single-walled carbon nanotubes are considered. The carbon nanotube reinforced (CNTRC) cylindrical panels have smooth variation of carbon nanotube (CNT) fraction in the radial direction and the material properties are estimated by the extended rule of mixture. Suitable displacement functions that identically satisfy the boundary conditions at the simply supported edges are used to reduce the equilibrium equations to a set of coupled ordinary differential equations with variable coefficients, which can be solved by a generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method. The results show that the kind of distribution and volume fraction of CNT have a significant effect on the normalized natural frequency

Liver Fat Content in Type 2 Diabetes: Relationship With Hepatic Perfusion and Substrate Metabolism

OBJECTIVE - Hepatic steatosis is common in type 2 diabetes. It is causally linked to the features of the metabolic syndrome, liver cirrhosis, and cardiovascular disease. Experimental data have indicated that increased liver fat may impair hepatic perfusion and metabolism. The aim of the current study was to assess hepatic parenchymal perfusion, together with glucose and fatty acid metabolism, in relation to hepatic triglyceride content. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - Fifty-nine men with well controlled type 2 diabetes and 18 age-matched healthy normoglycemic men were studied using positron emission tomography to assess hepatic tissue perfusion, insulin-stimulated glucose, and fasting fatty acid metabolism, respectively, in relation to hepatic triglyceride content, quantified by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Patients were divided into two groups with hepatic triglyceride content below (type 2 diabeteslow) or above (type 2 diabetes-high) the median of 8.6%. RESULTS - Type 2 diabetes-high patients had the highest BMI and A1C and lowest whole-body insulin sensitivity (ANOVA, all P < 0.001). Compared with control subjects and type 2 diabeteslow patients, type 2 diabetes-high patients had the lowest hepatic parenchymal perfusion (P = 0.004) and insulin-stimulated hepatic glucose uptake (P = 0.013). The observed decrease in hepatic fatty acid influx rate constant, however, only reached borderline significance (P = 0.088). In type 2 diabetic patients, hepatic parenchymal perfusion (r = -0.360, P = 0.007) and hepatic fatty acid influx rate constant (r = -0.407, P = 0.007) correlated inversely with hepatic triglyceride content. In a pooled analysis, hepatic fat correlated with hepatic glucose uptake (r = -0.329, P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS - In conclusion, type 2 diabetic patients with increased hepatic triglyceride content showed decreased hepatic parenchymal perfusion and hepatic insulin mediated glucose uptake, suggesting a potential modulating effect of hepatic fat on hepatic physiology. © 2010 by the American Diabetes Association

Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) Exacerbates Cisplatin-induced Sensory Hair Cell Death in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Inner ear sensory hair cells die following exposure to aminoglycoside antibiotics or chemotherapeutics like cisplatin, leading to permanent auditory and/or balance deficits in humans. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are used to study drug-induced sensory hair cell death since their hair cells are similar in structure and function to those found in humans. We developed a cisplatin dose-response curve using a transgenic line of zebrafish that expresses membrane-targeted green fluorescent protein under the control of the Brn3c promoter/enhancer. Recently, several small molecule screens have been conducted using zebrafish to identify potential pharmacological agents that could be used to protect sensory hair cells in the presence of ototoxic drugs. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is typically used as a solvent for many pharmacological agents in sensory hair cell cytotoxicity assays. Serendipitously, we found that DMSO potentiated the effects of cisplatin and killed more sensory hair cells than treatment with cisplatin alone. Yet, DMSO alone did not kill hair cells. We did not observe the synergistic effects of DMSO with the ototoxic aminoglycoside antibiotic neomycin. Cisplatin treatment with other commonly used organic solvents (i.e. ethanol, methanol, and polyethylene glycol 400) also did not result in increased cell death compared to cisplatin treatment alone. Thus, caution should be exercised when interpreting data generated from small molecule screens since many compounds are dissolved in DMSO.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (DC010998)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH DC010231)Harvard College (1780- )Sarah Fuller Foundation for Little Deaf Childre

An exact solution of mechanical buckling for functionally graded material bimorph circular plates

Presented herein is the exact solution of mechanical buckling response of FGM (Functionally Graded Material) bimorph circular plates, performed under uniform radial compression, by means of the classic theory and the non-linear Von-Karman assumptions, for both simply supported and clamped boundary conditions. Material properties are assumed to be symmetric with respect to the middle surface and are graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law, in a way that the middle surface is pure metal and the two sides are pure ceramic. Using the energy method the non-linear equilibrium equations are derived and the stability equations have been used, so as to determine the critical buckling pressure, considering the adjacent equilibrium criterion, and finally a closed-form solution has been achieved for it. The effect of different factors, including thickness to radius variation rate of the plate, volumetric percentage of material index, and Poisson's ratio on the critical buckling compression have been investigated for two simply supported and clamped boundary conditions, and the result