EFFECTS OF ELABORATIVE INTERROGATION AFTER READING BELIEF-INCONSISTENT ARGUMENTS AND NEED FOR COGNITION ON ARGUMENTATION AND TOPIC BELIEFS

Constructing quality argumentation to justify one’s own beliefs on a topic is important both for a thorough topic understanding and the development of argumentation writing skills. Also, one’s change or retention of topic beliefs should be based on quality argumentation, such that the belief can be considered rational. The purpose of this study was to test whether a cognitive strategy, elaborative interrogation, can improve the understanding of belief-inconsistent arguments on a controversial topic and then improve argumentation quality, as well as result in reflective belief change. Elaborative interrogation is a cognitive strategy which prompts individuals to answer “why” questions on the to-be-learned information. The present study also examined the role of individuals’ need for cognition in argumentation and its role in the relationship between using elaborative interrogation and quality of argumentation. This study used a mixed model pretest-posttest experimental design with random assignment to three experimental conditions (elaborative interrogation treatment condition, summary control condition, and no-processing control condition) to test three hypotheses on effects of elaborative interrogation and need for cognition. It was hypothesized individuals who used elaborative interrogation strategy when reading belief-inconsistent arguments would demonstrate improvement in quality of argumentation (Hypothesis 1) and reflective belief change (Hypothesis 2) after reading, whereas individuals who did not use this strategy would not. Argumentation quality and topic beliefs were measured before and after the experimental manipulation to examine pre-post changes, if any. It was also hypothesized high need for cognition would be associated with high quality of argumentation (Hypothesis 3). Based on the experimental results, Hypotheses 1 and 2 were confirmed. Hypothesis 3 was rejected. In the end, implications of the findings about each hypothesis are discussed, along with possible cognitive mechanisms underlying these findings. Contributions of this study also are summarized, highlighting the connection between the psychology literature on cognitive biases and the education literature on learning strategies. Finally, limitations of the study are discussed, followed by suggestions for future research. Advisor: Roger Brunin

A Metabonomics Profiling Study on Phlegm Syndrome and Blood-Stasis Syndrome in Coronary Heart Disease Patients Using Liquid Chromatography/Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

A metabonomics approach based on liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-Q-TOF/MS) was utilized to obtain potential biomarkers of coronary heart disease (CHD) patients and investigate the ZHENG types differentiation in CHD patients. The plasma samples of 20 CHD patients with phlegm syndrome, 20 CHD patients with blood-stasis syndrome, and 16 healthy volunteers were collected in the study. 26 potential biomarkers were identified in the plasma of CHD patients and 19 differential metabolites contributed to the discrimination of phlegm syndrome and blood-stasis syndrome in CHD patients (VIP>1.5; P<0.05) which mainly involved purine metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, amino acid metabolism, steroid biosynthesis, and arachidonic acid metabolism. This study demonstrated that metabonomics approach based on LC-MS was useful for studying pathologic changes of CHD patients and interpreting the differentiation of ZHENG types (phlegm and blood-stasis syndrome) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

Recent Progress in Ohmic/Schottky-Contacted ZnO Nanowire Sensors

We review the recent progress of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire sensors with ohmic-contacted and Schottky-contacted configurations and the enhancement of the performances of Schottky-contacted ZnO NW sensors (SCZNSs) by the piezotronic effect. Comparing with the traditional ohmic-contacted ZnO NW sensors (OCZNSs), the SCZNSs have higher sensitivities and faster responses controlled by the barrier height at the metal-semiconductor (M-S) interface. The piezotronic effect was applied to tune the Schottky barrier height (SBH) with the strain-induced piezoelectric polarization charges at the interface of the M-S contact. The piezotronic effect can thus improve the detection limitation, sensitivity, and response time of the SCZNSs in different applications, such as UV detection, gas and bio/chemical sensing. These piezotronic-enhanced SCZNSs may find potential applications in human-machine interfacing and flexible electronics skin technologies

Simultaneous analysis of five triterpenes in Centella asiatica by high performance liquid chromatography with cyclodextrins as the mobile phase additives

AbstractTriterpenes are considered the major active components in Centella asiatica (L.) Urb. (C. asiatica), such as asiatic acid, madecassic acid, asiaticoside, madecassoside and asiaticoside B. It is difficult to simultaneously determine five triterpenes because of madecassoside isomers (madecassoside and asiaticoside B), and the great polarity difference between triterpene acid and triterpene glycoside. In this study, a simple high performance liquid chromatography method with isocratic elution employing cyclodextrins (CDs) as the mobile phase additives was developed to determine five triterpenes in C. asiatica. Various factors affecting triterpenes retention in the C18 column, such as the nature of CDs, γ-CD concentration, acetonitrile percentage and temperature, were studied. Experimental results showed that γ-CD, as an effective mobile phase additive, could markedly reduce the retention of triterpenes (especially asiatic acid and madecassic acid), and improve the separation for madecassoside and asiaticoside B. The elution of five triterpenes could be achieved on an ODS C18 column within 30 min using the acetonitrile-0.2% phosphoric acid contained 4.0 mM γ-CD (20:80, v/v) mixture as the mobile phase. The retention modification of triterpenes may be attributed to the formation of the triterpenes-γ-CD inclusion complexes. The optimized method was successfully applied for simultaneous determination of five triterpenes in C. asiatica.</jats:p

Secondary Students’ Writing Achievement Goals: Assessing the Mediating Effects of Mastery and Performance Goals on Writing Self-Efficacy, Affect, and Writing Achievement

The two studies reported here explored the factor structure of the newly constructed Writing Achievement Goal Scale (WAGS), and examined relationships among secondary students’ writing achievement goals, writing self-efficacy, affect for writing, and writing achievement. In the first study, 697 middle school students completed the WAGS. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good fit for this data with a three-factor model that corresponds with mastery, performance approach, and performance avoidance goals. The results of Study 1 were an indication for the researchers to move forward with Study 2, which included 563 high school students. The secondary students completed theWAGS, as well as the Self-efficacy forWriting Scale, and the LikingWriting Scale. Students also self-reported grades for writing and for language arts courses. Approximately 6 weeks later, students completed a statewide writing assessment. We tested a theoretical model representing relationships among Study 2 variables using structural equation modeling including students’ responses to the study scales and students’ scores on the statewide assessment. Results from Study 2 revealed a good fit between a model depicting proposed relationships among the constructs and the data. Findings are discussed relative to achievement goal theory and writing