Teacher-informed Expansion of an Idea Detection Model for a Knowledge Integration Assessment

Students come to science classrooms with ideas informed by their prior instruction and everyday observations. Following constructivist pedagogy, assessments that encourage students to elaborate their ideas, distinguish among them, and link the most promising ones can capture students' potential and help teachers plan their lessons. In this investigation, we study an assessment that engages students in a dialog to refine their response to a Knowledge Integration (KI) question. Our Research Practice Partnership (RPP) initially trained a Natural Language Processing (NLP) idea detection model on 1218 student responses from 5 schools and identified 13 student ideas. The original model had an overall micro-averaged F-score of 0.7634. After classroom testing, three RPP expert teachers with 10+ years of experience reviewed the classroom data and expanded the model, adding six additional ideas including two that they described as precursor ideas because they foreshadowed more sophisticated reasoning. We trained the idea detection model on these 19 ideas using a dataset from 13 teachers and 1206 students across 8 public schools. The updated model had a somewhat lower overall micro-averaged F-score of 0.7297. The two precursor ideas were among the top four detected ideas. The assessment, using the updated model, guided students to express significantly more ideas. A regression model showed that the updated model was associated with greater KI score gains. Expanding the model, thus, created an assessment that motivated students to express more ideas and to achieve higher KI scores. It also provides teachers with deeper insights into their students' understanding of science

Research on quantitative inversion of ion adsorption type rare earth ore based on convolutional neural network

Rare earth resource is a national strategic resource, which plays an essential role in the field of high technology research and development. In this paper, we aim to use remote sensing quantitative inversion prospecting technology, use surface-to-surface mode, and model inversion and evaluation through convolutional neural network model to achieve a new research method for large-scale, low-cost, rapid and efficient exploration of ion-adsorbed rare earth ore. The results show that the RE2O3 content of samples has significant negative correlation with the second, third and fourth band of GF-2 image, but has no significant correlation with the first band of GF-2 image; the convolution neural network model can be used to reconstruct the RE2O3 content. The content distribution map of RE2O3 obtained by inversion is similar to that of geochemical map, which indicates that the convolution neural network model can be used to invert the RE2O3 content in the sampling area. The quantitative inversion results show that the content distribution characteristics of ion adsorption rare earth ore in the study area are basically consistent with the actual situation; there are two main high anomaly areas in the study area. The high anomaly area I is a known mining area, and the high anomaly area II can be a prospective area of ion adsorption type rare earth deposit. It shows that the remote sensing quantitative inversion prospecting method of ion adsorption type rare earth deposit based on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) model is feasible

Fruit quality assessment based on mineral elements and juice properties in nine citrus cultivars

IntroductionCitrus fruit is considered a superfood due to its multiple nutritional functions and health benefits. Quantitative analysis of the numerous quality characteristics of citrus fruit is required to promote its sustainable production and industrial utilization. However, little information is available on the comprehensive quality assessment of various fruit quality indicators in different citrus cultivars.MethodsA total of nine different fresh citrus fruits containing seeds were collected as the experimental materials. The objectives of this study were: (i) to determine the morphological and juice properties of citrus fruits, (ii) to measure the mineral elements in the peel, pulp, and seeds, and (iii) to evaluate the fruit quality index (FQI) using the integrated quality index (IQI) and the Nemoro quality index (NQI) methods.ResultsThere were significant differences in fruit quality characteristics, including morphological, mineral, and juice quality, among the investigated citrus cultivars. The proportion of pulp biomass was the highest, followed by that of peel and seeds. N and Cu had the highest and lowest concentrations, respectively, among the measured elements across all citrus fruits, and the amounts of N, P, Mg, Cu, and Zn in seeds, K and Al in pulp, and Ca, Fe, and Mn in peel were the highest, dramatically affecting the accumulation of minerals in the whole fruit and their distribution in various fruit parts. Additionally, Ningmeng fruits had the highest vitamin C and titratable acidity (TA) but the lowest total soluble solids (TSS) and total phenolic (TP) contents, resulting in the lowest TSS/TA and pH values. In contrast, Jinju fruits had the highest TSS and TP contents. Based on the mineral element and juice quality parameters, principal component analysis showed that the citrus fruits were well separated into four groups, and the dendrogram also showed four clusters with different distances. The FQI range based on the IQI method (FQIIQI) and NQI method (FQINQI) was 0.382-0.590 and 0.106-0.245, respectively, and a positive relationship between FQIIQI and FQINQI was observed.ConclusionOur results highlight the great differences in mineral and juice characteristics among fruit parts, which mediated fruit quality. The strategy of fruit quality assessment using the FQI can be expanded for targeted utilization in the citrus industry

Ganoderma lingzhi culture enhance growth performance via improvement of antioxidant activity and gut probiotic proliferation in Sanhuang broilers

IntroductionThe experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of Ganoderma lingzhi culture (GLC) as a fermented feed on growth performance, serum biochemical profile, meat quality, and intestinal morphology and microbiota in Sanhuang broilers. In addition, the association between gut bacteria and metabolites was investigated via untargeted metabolomic analysis.MethodsA total of 192 Sanhuang broilers (112 days old) with an initial body weight of 1.62 ± 0.19 kg were randomly allocated to four treatments, six replicate pens per treatment with 8 broilers per pen. The four treatments contain a control diet (corn-soybean meal basal diet, CON), a positive control diet (basal diet + 75 mg/kg chlortetracycline, PCON), and the experimental diets supplemented with 1.5 and 3% of GLC, respectively. The trial includes phase 1 (day 1–28) and phase 2 (day 29–56).ResultsThe results showed that broilers in PCON and GLC-added treatments showed a lower FCR (P < 0.05) in phase 2 and overall period and a higher ADG (P < 0.05) in phase 2. On day 56, the concentrations of serum SOD (P < 0.05), and HDL (P < 0.05) and cecal SCFA contents (P < 0.05) were increased in broilers fed GLC diets. Broilers fed GLC also showed a higher microbiota diversity and an elevated abundance of SCFA-related bacteria in the caecum. The association between intestinal bacteria and metabolites was investigated via correlation analysis. The differential metabolites in the caecum, such as L-beta-aspartyl-L-aspartic acid and nicotinamide riboside, were identified.ConclusionIn summary, dietary GCL supplementation could increase growth performance to some extent. Moreover, GLC might benefit broilers' health by improving serum HDL content, antioxidant status, SCFAs contents, bacterial diversity, and probiotic proliferation in the caecum

Trends in acupuncture for infertility: a scoping review with bibliometric and visual analysis

BackgroundUnexplained recurrent implantation failure and the high cost of assisted reproductive techniques for those experiencing infertility have increasingly resulted in the use of acupuncture. However, the trends and research status of acupuncture on infertility resulting in natural conception have not been systematically summarized. This scoping review and knowledge graph analysis aimed to summarize existing clinical studies on acupuncture for infertility that resulted in natural conception.MethodsSeven databases, namely, PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang Data, and SinoMed, were searched up to August 2023 (updated on 1 April). Two authors independently identified related clinical studies and systematic reviews, and extracted data from included studies on acupuncture for infertility; any discrepancies were resolved by discussion or judged by a third author. A meta-analysis was conducted based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and data were synthesized using risk ratios with 95% confidence intervals.ResultsOf the 310 articles meeting the inclusion criteria, 274 were primary studies, 7 were systematic reviews, and 29 were case reports. Reported adverse events included mild ovarian irritation and early signs of miscarriage. Out of the 274 primary studies, there were 40 (14.60%) cases of male infertility and 234 (85.40%) cases of female infertility. Current research highlights on acupuncture for infertility focused on female infertility caused by polycystic ovary syndrome, ovulation disorder, and luteinized unruptured follicle syndrome (LUFS), while acupuncture for male infertility was a hotspot in the early research stage. The meta-analysis also suggested that acupuncture was more effective than human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) [RR = 1.89, 95% CI (1.47, 2.42), 11 RCTs, 662 participants]. Acupuncture combined with HCG was comparable to HCG [RR = 2.33, 95% CI (1.53, 3.55), four RCTs, 259 participants]. Compared with no treatment, acupuncture resulted in a higher pregnancy rate [RR = 22.12, 95% CI (1.39, 353.09), one RCT, 47 participants]. There was no statistical difference between acupuncture combined with HCG plus letrozole and HCG plus letrozole [RR = 1.56, 95% CI (0.84, 2.89), one RCT, 84 participants].ConclusionCurrent research highlights on acupuncture for infertility resulting in natural conception focused on female infertility caused by polycystic ovary syndrome, ovulation disorder, and LUFS, while studies on male infertility and female infertility caused by blockage in the fallopian tube, thin endometrium, and other factors were insufficient. Well-designed confirmatory clinical studies are still needed as the research hypotheses of most studies were unclear

Global genetic diversity, introgression, and evolutionary adaptation of indicine cattle revealed by whole genome sequencing

Indicine cattle, also referred to as zebu (Bos taurus indicus), play a central role in pastoral communities across a wide range of agro-ecosystems, from extremely hot semiarid regions to hot humid tropical regions. However, their adaptive genetic changes following their dispersal into East Asia from the Indian subcontinent have remained poorly documented. Here, we characterize their global genetic diversity using high-quality whole-genome sequencing data from 354 indicine cattle of 57 breeds/populations, including major indicine phylogeographic groups worldwide. We reveal their probable migration into East Asia was along a coastal route rather than inland routes and we detected introgression from other bovine species. Genomic regions carrying morphology-, immune-, and heat-tolerance-related genes underwent divergent selection according to Asian agro-ecologies. We identify distinct sets of loci that contain promising candidate variants for adaptation to hot semi-arid and hot humid tropical ecosystems. Our results indicate that the rapid and successful adaptation of East Asian indicine cattle to hot humid environments was promoted by localized introgression from banteng and/or gaur. Our findings provide insights into the history and environmental adaptation of indicine cattle