Knowledge tree: Putting discourse into computer‐based learning

Most CBL materials currently in use model only the declarative aspects of the learning process. If such courseware is used without careful planning, this can be dangerous because one of the most fundamental aspects of education is the dialogue that occurs between teachers and the students. Traditionally, this has taken place in informal discussions as well as in formal small‐group learning sessions such as the conventional tutorial. However, as the student‐staff ratio increases, so does the opportunity for this type of personal dialogue decrease. Modern networking technology offers a huge potential to add discourse to CBL, but there are many pedagogical problems involved with the intrinsically ephemeral and anarchic nature both of the Internet and of most conferencing or bulletin‐board systems. In this paper we describe a software system called Knowledge Tree (KT) which we have developed to address some of these issues. KT combines a hierarchical concept‐oriented database functionality with that of a Usenet‐style bulletin board Using this, a knowledge garden may be developed for any subject area. These each contain a hypermedia database of frequently asked questions, together with answers provided by subject experts. There is provision for inter‐student discussions of problems and issues. When students ask new questions these are automatically emailed to a relevant subject expert (determined by a subject‐specific concept thesaurus). The answer is then placed in the database which eventually grows to become a valuable teaching resource. KT is discipline‐independent as the concept thesaurus can be changed to encapsulate any domain of knowledge. We have used it in support of conventional lecture courses, as an important component of a multimedia course, and for general IT support. These examples illustrate the role that this system can play both in basic information provision, and in facilitating the discussion of deep issues

Potential use of offshore marine structures in rebuilding an overfished rockfish species, bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis)

Although bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis) was an economically important rockfish species along the west coast of North America, overfishing has reduced the stock to about 7.4% of its former unfished population. In 2003, using a manned research submersible, we conducted fish surveys around eight oil and gas platforms off southern California as part of an assessment of the potential value of these structures as fish habitat. From these surveys, we estimated that there was a minimum of 430,000 juvenile bocaccio at these eight structures. We determined this number to be about 20% of the average number of juvenile bocaccio that survive annually for the geographic range of the species. When these juveniles become adults, they will contribute about one percent (0.8%) of the additional amount of fish needed to rebuild the Pacific Coast population. By comparison, juvenile bocaccio recruitment to nearshore natural nursery grounds, as determined through regional scuba surveys, was low in the same year. This research demonstrates that a relatively small amount of artificial nursery habitat may be quite valuable in rebuilding an overfished species

Recent pace of change in human impact on the world's ocean.

Humans interact with the oceans in diverse and profound ways. The scope, magnitude, footprint and ultimate cumulative impacts of human activities can threaten ocean ecosystems and have changed over time, resulting in new challenges and threats to marine ecosystems. A fundamental gap in understanding how humanity is affecting the oceans is our limited knowledge about the pace of change in cumulative impact on ocean ecosystems from expanding human activities - and the patterns, locations and drivers of most significant change. To help address this, we combined high resolution, annual data on the intensity of 14 human stressors and their impact on 21 marine ecosystems over 11 years (2003-2013) to assess pace of change in cumulative impacts on global oceans, where and how much that pace differs across the ocean, and which stressors and their impacts contribute most to those changes. We found that most of the ocean (59%) is experiencing significantly increasing cumulative impact, in particular due to climate change but also from fishing, land-based pollution and shipping. Nearly all countries saw increases in cumulative impacts in their coastal waters, as did all ecosystems, with coral reefs, seagrasses and mangroves at most risk. Mitigation of stressors most contributing to increases in overall cumulative impacts is urgently needed to sustain healthy oceans

The Art of Appropriation

This interactive event was held in the La Salle University Art Museum in the Renaissance Gallery on March 29, 2012. The presentation that is archived here includes many examples of the artistic appropriation of iconic images of the Vietnam War. This presentation explored the different methods of appropriation, including memes, and exploitation. This presentation served to complement the work of Jane Irish, whose paintings and ceramics appropriate images and text drawn from the Imaginative Representations of the Vietnam War Collection in La Salle University\u27s Connelly Library

Unevenly distributed: a systematic review of the health literature about socioeconomic inequalities in adult obesity in the United Kingdom

Background: There is a growing literature documenting socioeconomic inequalities in obesity risk among adults in the UK, with poorer groups suffering higher risk. Methods: In this systematic review, we summarize and appraise the extant peer-reviewed literature about socioeconomic inequalities in adult obesity risk in the UK published between 1980 and 2010. Only studies featuring empirical assessments of relations between socioeconomic indicators and measures of obesity among adults in the UK were included. Results: A total of 35 articles met inclusion criteria, and were reviewed here. Conclusion: Socioeconomic indicators of low socioeconomic position (SEP), including occupational social class of the head-of-household at birth and during childhood, earlier adulthood occupational social class, contemporaneous occupational social class, educational attainment, and area-level deprivation were generally inversely associated with adult obesity risk in the UK. Measures of SEP were more predictive of obesity among women than among men. We outline important methodological limitations to the literature and recommend avenues for future research

Nonlinear Relaxation Dynamics in Elastic Networks and Design Principles of Molecular Machines

Analyzing nonlinear conformational relaxation dynamics in elastic networks corresponding to two classical motor proteins, we find that they respond by well-defined internal mechanical motions to various initial deformations and that these motions are robust against external perturbations. We show that this behavior is not characteristic for random elastic networks. However, special network architectures with such properties can be designed by evolutionary optimization methods. Using them, an example of an artificial elastic network, operating as a cyclic machine powered by ligand binding, is constructed.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure

Should nutrient profile models be ‘category specific' or ‘across-the-board'? A comparison of the two systems using diets of British adults

Background/Objectives: Nutrient profile models have the potential to help promote healthier diets. Some models treat all foods equally (across-the-board), some consider different categories of food separately (category specific). This paper assesses whether across-the-board or category-specific nutrient profile models are more appropriate tools for improving diets. Subjects/Methods: Adult respondents to a British dietary survey were split into four groups using a diet quality index. Fifteen food categories were identified. A nutrient profile model provided a measure of the healthiness of all foods consumed. The four diet quality groups were compared for differences in (a) the calories consumed from each food category and (b) the healthiness of foods consumed in each category. Evidence of a healthier diet quality groups consuming more of healthy food categories than unhealthy diet quality groups supported the adoption of across-the-board nutrient profile models. Evidence of healthier diet quality groups consuming healthier versions of foods within food categories supported adoption of category-specific nutrient profile models. Results: A significantly greater percentage of the healthiest diet quality group's diet consisted of fruit and vegetables (21 vs 16%), fish (3 vs 2%) and breakfast cereals (7 vs 2%), and significantly less meat and meat products (7 vs 14%) than the least healthy diet quality group. The foods from the meat, dairy and cereals categories consumed by the healthy diet quality groups were healthier versions than those consumed by the unhealthy diet quality groups. Conclusions: All other things being equal, nutrient profile models designed to promote an achievable healthy diet should be category specific but with a limited number of categories. However models which use large number of categories are unhelpful for promoting a healthy diet

Identical Response of Caged Rock Crabs (Genera Metacarcinus and Cancer) to Energized and Unenergized Undersea Power Cables in Southern California, USA

Energy generation facilities (i.e., wave and wind) are being sited in offshore marine waters. The electricity generated from these facilities is transmitted to shore through cables carrying alternating or direct current. This current produces an electromagnetic field (EMF) that is emitted from the cable. Concerns have been voiced regarding how marine organisms, in this instance crabs, respond to the EMF emitted by submarine power cables. Two submarine cables, one energized and the other unenergized, and separated by about 7 m, were used in the experiment. Crabs (Metacarcinus anthonyi (Rathbun, 1897) and Cancer productus (Randall, 1839)) were placed in plastic perforated boxes secured to the sea floor with one end in contact with one of the two cables. After one hour and 24 hours, scuba divers ascertained the position of the crabs within the boxes, these positions designated as either “near-half” or “far-half.” EMF readings were taken on the floor of each box at the edge closest to the cable and on the floor of that box furthest from the cable at one and 24 hours. Within the boxes, EMF levels were between 46.2–80.0 microteslas next to the cable an

Death is associated with complement C3 depletion in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with pneumococcal meningitis.

Pneumococcal meningitis can lead to death or serious neurological sequelae as a result of the host inflammatory response. We investigated the association between host response protein expression and outcome in patients with pneumococcal meningitis. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was obtained from 80 patients with pneumococcal meningitis (40 nonsurvivors and 40 survivors) and 10 normal controls. Candidate proteins were analyzed for an association with survival. Complement C3 levels were 5-fold lower in nonsurvivors than in survivors (P < 0.05). This C3 reduction was not associated with lower levels in serum, indicating a compartmentalized CSF response. Transferrin levels were significantly higher in CSF (but not serum) from nonsurvivors than in CSF from survivors, suggestive of blood-brain barrier damage. Classical apoptosis proteins caspase 3 and apoptosis-inducing factor were not present in CSF. Expression of creatine kinase BB in clinically infected CSF suggested neuronal necrosis, but there was no clear association between level of expression and clinical outcome. Increased blood-brain barrier permeability and complement C3 depletion may have a role in determining outcome from bacterial meningitis. Therapeutic use of citicoline or caspase inhibitors is unlikely to have beneficial effects in patients with meningitis. IMPORTANCE: We previously identified proteins associated with clinical outcome in patients diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis in a pilot proteomics study of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In this article, we have quantitatively assayed specific proteins identified from this previous proteomics analysis along with proteins associated with cell death by using Western blotting

The Organisms Living Around Energized Submarine Power Cables, Pipe, and Natural Sea Floor in the Inshore waters of Southern California

Between 1 February 2012 and 26 February 2014 using scuba, we surveyed the fishes, invertebrates, and macrophytes living on two energized submarine power cables, an adjacent pipe, and nearby natural habitat in southern California at bottom depths of 10–11 m and 13–14 m. Over the course of the study, average electromagnetic field (EMF) levels at the two cables (A and B) were statistically similar (Cable A = 73.0µT, Cable B = 91.4µT) and were much higher at these two cables than at either the pipe (average = 0.5µT) or sand (0µT). Overall, our study demonstrated that 1) the fish and invertebrate communities on cables, pipe, and natural habitat strongly overlapped and 2) there were differences between the shallower and deeper fish and invertebrate communities. We saw no evidence that fishes or invertebrates are either preferentially attracted to, or repelled by, the EMF emitted by the cables. Any differences in the fish or invertebrate densities between cables, pipe, and natural habitat taxa were most likely due to the differences in the physical characteristics of these habitats. As with the fishes and invertebrates, macrophytes did not appear to be responding to the EMF emitted by the cables. Rather, it is likely that differences in the plant communities were driven by site depth and habitat type