THE WILD RICE INDUSTRY: ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF RAPID GROWTH AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MINNESOTA

Crop Production/Industries,

Interaction of field dependence independence with computer-assisted instruction structure in an orthographic projection lesson

The purpose of this study was to compare the learning outcomes of two computer-assisted instruction (CAI) strategies: drill and practice and simulation. These strategies related specifically to an orthographic projection lesson. Students enrolled in the four sections of freshman engineering during the spring semester 1984 at Iowa State University were the subjects for the study. These students were randomly assigned to either the drill and practice lesson or the simulation strategy. These lessons were completed by the students as part of their regular course work. The cognitive learning style of field dependence independence was also examined as part of this study through the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT);It is theorized that individuals who are field dependent have difficulty imposing structure on an unorganized perceptual field. By providing these students a more structured learning environment, it was conjectured the difference between field dependent and field independent students might be eliminated;The results of this study indicated there was no significant difference between the posttest achievement scores of the two CAI strategies; nor was there a difference between the scores of males and females\u27 scores. The interaction between treatment (CAI strategy) and cognitive learning style (field dependency) was also not significant;The interaction of CAI strategy and sex was found to be significant. The males and females who completed the drill and practice strategy had very similar scores, but the females completing the simulation lesson scored lower than the males. The three-way interaction of sex, CAI strategy and field dependency was also significant. Field dependent females who were assigned the simulation strategy had lower scores than the field dependent males of the same strategy. They also had lower scores than the field dependent students assigned the drill and practice strategy. The field independent student scores did not differ between CAI strategy or sex

Four phases of video streaming: A case study of medical teaching

This article examines video streaming in teaching situations with varying degrees of student activation ranging from lectures to team-based learning. The article is a case study of the implementation of video streaming at the Department of Medicine, Aarhus University. The aim of the article is to develop a model of video streaming in student-centered teaching. The research question is what characterizes the phases of video streaming in relation to student-centered teaching? The article develops a model with four phases of video streaming based on the case study and the literature on learning design. The article argues that both educators, e-moderators and students play a role in making video streaming a useful teaching technology. There are advantages to embedding the technology in a social educational context in relation to roles and phases of teaching. In collaboration with educators, instructional developers must learn to see the possibilities of video streaming from the perspective of the instructional process.Denne artikel undersøger videostreaming i forskellige undervisningssituationer med varierende grader af studenteraktivering lige fra forelæsninger til team-baseret læring. Artiklen er et casestudie om implementering af video-streaming på Medicin, Aarhus Universitet. Artiklens mål er at udvikle en model af videostreaming i studenter-centreret undervisning. Forskningsspørgsmålet er: Hvad kendetegner faser i video-streaming i forhold til studentercentreret undervisning? Artiklen udvikler en model med fire faser af videostreaming baseret på et empirisk casestudie og teori om læringsdesign. Artiklen argumenterer for at både undervisere, e-moderatorer og studerende spiller en rolle i forhold til at gøre video-streaming til en nyttig undervisningsteknologi. Selvom universitetsundervisere relativt nemt kan udvikle videoer med sin smartphone eller ved hjælp af et digitalt videokamera, er der fordele ved at indlejre teknologien i en social uddannelsessammenhæng i forhold til roller og faser i undervisningsforløb. Undervisningsudviklere skal i samarbejde med undervisere lære at se mulighederne i video-streaming ud fra et undervisningsforløb

Mom-it helps when youre right here! Attenuation of neural stress markers in anxious youths whose caregivers are present during fMRI.

Close proximity to an attachment figure, such as a caregiver, has been shown to attenuate threat-related activity in limbic regions such as the hypothalamus in healthy individuals. We hypothesized that such features might be similarly attenuated by proximity during a potentially stressful situation in a clinically anxious population of youths. Confirmation of this hypothesis could support the role of attachment figures in the management of anxiety among children and adolescents. Three groups were analyzed: anxious children and adolescents who requested that their caregiver accompany them in the scanner room, anxious children and adolescents without their caregiver in the scanner room and healthy controls (each of N = 10). The groups were matched for age and, among the two anxious groups, for diagnosis (mean age 9.5). The children and adolescents were exposed to physical threat words during an fMRI assessment. Results indicate that activity in the hypothalamus, ventromedial, and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex were significantly reduced in anxious children and adolescents who requested that their caregiver accompany them in the scanner room compared to those without their caregiver in the scanner room. Mean activity in these regions in anxious children and adolescents with their caregiver in the scanner room was comparable to that of healthy controls. These data suggest links between social contact and neural mechanisms of emotional reactivity; specifically, presence of caregivers moderates the increase in anxiety seen with stressful stimuli. Capitalizing on the ability of anxious youths to manifest low levels of anxiety-like information processing in the presence of a caregiver could help in modeling adaptive function in behavioral treatments

Detection of COPD in a high risk population:Should the diagnostic work-up include bronchodilator reversibility testing?

BACKGROUND: Underdiagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is widespread. Early detection of COPD may improve the outcome by timely smoking cessation, a change in lifestyle, and treatment with an inhaled bronchodilator (BD). The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic role of BD reversibility testing in early COPD case finding. METHODS: General practitioners (n=241) consecutively recruited subjects aged ≥35 years with relevant exposure (history of smoking, and/or occupational exposure) and at least one respiratory symptom. Information on age, smoking status, body mass index, dyspnea score (Medical Research Council scale), and spirometry was obtained. Individuals with airway obstruction (forced expiratory volume in one second [FEV(1)]/forced vital capacity [FVC] <0.70) underwent a BD test with an inhaled β(2) agonist, which was considered positive if ΔFEV(1) was >0.20 L and >12%. Asthma and COPD were, respectively, defined as an FEV(1) increase >0.50 L and a post-BD FEV(1)/FVC <0.70. RESULTS: In total, 4,049 subjects (51% male) were included (mean age 58 years, body mass index 27, 32 pack-years of smoking). A significant BD response was found in 143 (15%) of the 937 subjects (23%) with airway obstruction at screening spirometry. In 59% of these subjects, the post-BD FEV(1)/FVC remained <0.70. In 24% of the subjects with pre-BD airway obstruction, the post-BD FEV(1)/FVC ratio was within the reference range. In subjects with confirmed COPD, the mean increase in FEV(1) following BD was 0.11 L±0.10 L. The subjects with COPD and a significant BD response were characterized by a higher prevalence of dyspnea (72% versus 57%, P=0.02) but less cough (55% versus 75%, P=0.001) when compared with COPD subjects without BD reversibility. CONCLUSION: Administration of a BD in COPD case finding is important in order to determine the post-BD FEV(1)/FVC ratio. Exclusion of subjects with a significant BD response may result in underdiagnosis of COPD, and we question the need for the BD reversibility test in the diagnostic screening algorithm in early COPD case finding

Lysis with Saponin improves detection of the response through CD203c and CD63 in the basophil activation test after crosslinking of the high affinity IgE receptor FcεRI

BACKGROUND: The basophil activation test (BAT), in which translocation of markers to the surface of blood basophils is measured in response to allergen by flow cytometry, is a rapid assay that is gaining popularity. Two markers are currently being evaluated for the BAT; CD63 and the lineage-specific CD203c. In a recent report, detection of CD203c after lysis with Saponin was shown to be superior to detection of CD63 after lysis with formic acid. We wanted to compare a) lysis with formic acid and lysis with Saponin, b) the response through CD203c and CD63, and c) the definition 10% activated cells above background with the probability binning metric T(χ) > 4, on sets of data generated with blood basophils stimulated with varying concentrations of anti-FcεRI antibody. METHODS: Blood from volunteers was incubated with serial logarithmic dilutions of anti-FcεRI and subsequently with antibodies to CD203c PE and CD63 FITC. Sets of samples set up in parallel were lysed with either Saponin based Whole Blood Lysing reagent or with formic acid based Immunoprep/Q-prep. Samples were acquired on a FACS Calibur, but were compensated and analysed offline. Responders were defined as persons who had 10% or more activated basophils above background, or a T(χ) > 4, for two consecutive dilutions of anti-FcεRI antibody. RESULTS: More basophils (median 1164 vs. median 397) and better discrimination of upregulated CD203c and CD63 amongst responders were obtained after lysis with Saponin than after lysis with formic acid. We suggest that CD203c may be a more sensitive marker for the BAT than CD63, as 6/11 responders were found with CD203c, compared with 3/11 with CD63. Most responders (7/11) were identified with probability binning. CONCLUSION: A combination of lysis with Saponin and the markers CD203c and CD63 computed by probability binning may be the most sensitive method of detecting activation of basophils after stimulation through FcεRI