Supporting the Language Development of international students in an Online Higher Education Context

International students, the critical stakeholders of Canadian higher education, deserve attention and efforts to maximize their academic acculturation and post-secondary success. In the educational context, many international students reported experiencing major linguistic challenges which significantly hinder them to understand and digest teaching content (Zhou & Zhang, 2014). When the learning environment changes from face-to-face to online, communication becomes difficult, in general, and international students’ linguistic barriers become intensified. The symposium draws upon sociocultural learning theory to discuss the potential linguistic challenges international students are facing in an online higher educational learning context, and what teachers can do to support students’ language development across the discipline

A Study of Drop-out Chinese International Students from a Canadian Pre-University English Language Improvement Program: Acculturation Experiences and Challenges

With an increasing number of international students coming to Canada for higher education, Canadian universities are offering diverse English Language Improvement Programs (ELIP) to increase education opportunities. However, some Chinese international students are found cannot pass this program, eventually result in withdrawing. The purpose of this study is to understand the life and learning experiences of drop-out Chinese international students who used to study in ELIP, and also seeks to explain the their retention and dropout in this program. Data were collected through interviews, and five participants took part in this study. Chinese international students in this study dropped out of ELIP due to academic failure and largely regard ELIP learning as a waste of time. Possible factors have been raised may cause students’ academic failure, which include low learning and integrative motivation, lack of time management and self-regulation, and an inability to adapt to distinctive learning and teacher-student relationships

Baicalein administration protects against pentylenetetrazole-induced chronic epilepsy in rats

Purpose: To investigate the protective effect of baicalein against chronic seizures in pentylenetetrazole induced epilepsy in a rat model.Methods: A rat model of chronic epilepsy was prepared by administration of pentylenetetrazole at a dose of 35 mg/kg to Sprague-Dawley rats. The animals were divided into 6 groups (5 rats/group): normal control, model (untreated epilepsy) and four treatment groups that received separately, intraperitoneal injection of 20, 30, 40 and 50 mg/kg baicalein, respectively, on alternate days for 30 days. On each day following baicalein treatment, behavioural alterations in the  rats were assessed.Results: Analyses of behavioural changes revealed significant (p < 0.05) decrease in pentylenetetrazole-induced convulsions by baicalein treatment at a dose of 50 mg/kg. Immunohistochemical studies revealed that treatment with baicalein caused significant (p < 0.05) dosedependent reductions in the levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Baicalein treatment inhibited alterations in cell morphology, and also inhibited pentylenetetrazole-induced increase in the proportion of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive cells in a dose-dependent manner (p < 0.05). Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis showed that baicalein significantly inhibited the expression of mRNA of NR1 subunit N methyl D aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor, without any effect on the expression of the NR2b (N-methyl D-aspartate receptor subtype 2B ) subunit mRNA (p < 0.05).Conclusion: These results indicate that baicalein inhibits pentylenetetrazole-induced chronic seizures in rats via reduction in astrocytes, inhibition of neuronal death and reduction of NR1 mRNA expression. Thus, baicalein has a potential for development into a new drug for the treatment of chronic epilepsy.Keywords: Pentylenetetrazole, Epilepsy, Baicalein, Convulsion, Inhibition, behavioural changes, Hippocampu

An integrated decision making model for dynamic pricing and inventory control of substitutable products based on demand learning

Purpose: This paper focuses on the PC industry, analyzing a PC supply chain system composed of onelarge retailer and two manufacturers. The retailer informs the suppliers of the total order quantity, namelyQ, based on demand forecast ahead of the selling season. The suppliers manufacture products accordingto the predicted quantity. When the actual demand has been observed, the retailer conducts demandlearning and determines the actual order quantity. Under the assumption that the products of the twosuppliers are one-way substitutable, an integrated decision-making model for dynamic pricing andinventory control is established.Design/methodology/approach: This paper proposes a mathematical model where a large domestichousehold appliance retailer decides the optimal original ordering quantity before the selling season and theoptimal actual ordering quantity, and two manufacturers decide the optimal wholesale price.Findings:By applying this model to a large domestic household appliance retail terminal, the authors canconclude that the model is quite feasible and effective. Meanwhile, the results of simulation analysis showthat when the product prices of two manufacturers both reduce gradually, one manufacturer will often waittill the other manufacturer reduces their price to a crucial inflection point, then their profit will show aqualitative change instead of a real-time profit-price change.Practical implications: This model can be adopted to a supply chain system composed of one largeretailer and two manufacturers, helping manufacturers better make a pricing and inventory controldecision.Originality/value: Previous research focuses on the ordering quantity directly be decided. Limited workhas considered the actual ordering quantity based on demand learning. However, this paper considers boththe optimal original ordering quantity before the selling season and the optimal actual ordering quantityfrom the perspective of the retailerPeer Reviewe

Laser facilitates vaccination

Development of novel vaccine deliveries and vaccine adjuvants is of great importance to address the dilemma that the vaccine field faces: to improve vaccine efficacy without compromising safety. Harnessing the specific effects of laser on biological systems, a number of novel concepts have been proposed and proved in recent years to facilitate vaccination in a safer and more efficient way. The key advantage of using laser technology in vaccine delivery and adjuvantation is that all processes are initiated by physical effects with no foreign chemicals administered into the body. Here, we review the recent advances in using laser technology to facilitate vaccine delivery and augment vaccine efficacy as well as the underlying mechanisms

Leaching resistance of hazardous waste cement solidification after accelerated carbonation

When cement-based materials are carbonated, some of their physicochemical properties are changed, which includes reductions of porosity by 20% and pH from 12-13 to 8–9. These changes can enhance the retention ability of cementitious solids containing hazard waste. This research studied the effect of carbonation on the leaching resistance of hazardous waste cement solidification. The finite element software COMSOL Multiphysics was used to simulate the process of accelerated carbonation and the effect of carbonation on leaching. Laboratory tests were conducted to validate the numerical models. Parametric studies from the numerical simulations revealed that carbonation could significantly improve leaching retention capabilities of cementitious solids containing hazardous wastes

Research on Passenger Flow Control Plans for a Metro Station Based on Social Force Model

To better utilise the service capacity of the limited facilities of a metro station, as well as ensure safety and transport efficiency during peak hours, a large passenger flow control plan is studied through theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. Firstly, by passenger data collection and data analysis, the characteristics of the inbound and outbound passenger flow of a T metro station are analysed. Secondly, AnyLogic evacuation simulation models for the T Station during peak hours, peak hours without/with passenger flow control are established based on real passenger flow data as well as the station structures and layouts by using the AnyLogic software. The results show that there are no obvious congestions in the station hall, and the travel delay is significantly reduced when effective passenger flow control measures are taken. By controlling the speed, direction and movement path of passengers, as well as adjusting the operation of escalators, entrances and automatic ticket-checking machines, passenger flow can become more orderly, transport efficiency can also be improved, and congestion in the station can be well mitigated

Calculation analysis of yaw bearings with a hardened raceway

The yaw bearing is a key support structure of wind turbines and is often exposed to substantial complex loads that cause damage and fatigue failure. Raceway surfaces accommodate high contact stress and require a hardening treatment. The hardened depth has a great influence on both the carrying capacity and fatigue life. We establish a whole finite element model of a yaw bearing and use non-linear springs instead of a ball to obtain the maximum contact load. The results of a strain gauge experiment and an empirical formula are compared to verify the spring model results. A local finite element model of a ball and raceway with different hardened depths is established to analyse the stress distribution and fatigue life. The raceway is divided into a hardened layer, transition layer, and core layer. An indentation experiment verifies the raceway model with different layers. The stress results are compared with Hertz contact theory, and the fatigue life results are compared with yaw bearing fatigue life theory. The influence of different hardened depths on the stress and lifetime of yaw bearings is analysed