INVESTIGATING COGNITIVE AND METACOGNITIVE STRATEGY USE DURING AN ENGLISH PROFICIENCY TEST

 This paper reports on the results of a study of cognitive and metacognitive strategy use and its effect on the students’ test performance at the tertiary level in a Chinese EFL context. A 18-item survey involving 526 undergraduate non-English majors revealed that: (1) the students had a medium use of both cognitive and metacognitive strategies during the test; (2) cognitive and metacognitive strategy use was closely related to each other, but neither was a predictor for the other; and (3) though cognitive and metacognitive strategy use significantly correlated with the students’ performance in certain parts of the proficiency test, only the metacognitive strategy of evaluating one’s performance proved to be a positive predictor of the students’ performance in listening and reading comprehension and the overall written test. Based on the results, some implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. Keywords: Strategy use; Cognitive; Metacognitive; Test performance; Tertiary

Investigating Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategy Use During an English Proficiency Test

This paper reports on the results of a study of cognitive and metacognitive strategy use and its effect on the students\u27 test performance at the tertiary level in a Chinese EFL context. A 18-item survey involving 526 undergraduate non-English majors revealed that: (1) the students had a medium use of both cognitive and metacognitive strategies during the test; (2) cognitive and metacognitive strategy use was closely related to each other, but neither was a predictor for the other; and (3) though cognitive and metacognitive strategy use significantly correlated with the students\u27 performance in certain parts of the proficiency test, only the metacognitive strategy of evaluating one\u27s performance proved to be a positive predictor of the students\u27 performance in listening and reading comprehension and the overall written test. Based on the results, some implications and suggestions for future research are discussed

MODIFICATION OF PAPERMAKING GRADE FILLERS: A BRIEF REVIEW

The use of fillers in paper products can provide cost and energy savings, improved paper properties, increased productivities, and specifically desired paper functionalities. There are many problems associated with the use of fillers, such as unsuitability of calcium carbonate fillers in acid papermaking, negative effects of filler loading on paper strength, sizing, and retention, and tendencies of fillers to cause abrasion and dusting. In order to solve these problems and to make better use of fillers, many methods have been proposed, among which filler modification has been a hot topic. The available technologies of filler modification mainly include modification with inorganic substances, modification with natural polymers or their derivatives, modification with water-soluble synthetic polymers, modification with surfactants, modification with polymer latexes, hydrophobic modification, cationic modification, surface nano-structuring, physical modification by compressing, calcination or grinding, and modification for use in functional papers. The methods of filler modification can provide improved acid tolerant and optical properties of fillers, enhanced fiber-filler bonding, improved filler retention and filler sizabilities, alleviated filler abrasiveness, improved filler dispersability, and functionalization of filled papers. Filler modification has been an indispensable way to accelerate the development of high filler technology in papermaking, which is likely to create additional benefits to papermaking industry in the future

MODIFICATION OF PRECIPITATED CALCIUM CARBONATE FILLER USING SODIUM SILICATE/ZINC CHLORIDE BASED MODIFIERS TO IMPROVE ACID-RESISTANCE AND USE OF THE MODIFIED FILLER IN PAPERMAKING

In order to improve the acid-resistant property of papermaking grade precipitated calcium carbonate filler and to obtain modified filler in powder form, sodium silicate/zinc chloride based modifiers were used in filler modification, and the use of modified filler in papermaking of deinked pulp derived from recycled newspaper was also preliminarily investigated. Under the preliminarily optimized experimental conditions, when sodium silicate, zinc chloride, sodium hexametaphosphate, and phosphoric acid with dosages of 10 wt%, 3 wt%, 1 wt% and 0.2 wt%, respectively, were used as modifiers, and when the temperature, aging time, and PCC concentration during the filler modification process was 70 oC, 7 h and 9.1 wt%, respectively, the acid-resistant property of filler was significantly improved after modification, as evaluated using alum consumption and pH methods. The use of modified precipitated calcium carbonate filler prepared under the optimized conditions provided considerably more brightness and light scattering improvement in comparison to unmodified filler, and filler modification was found to have only negligible influence on tensile and burst strength of the paper, air permeability of the paper, and retention performance of the filler. Surface analysis of the modified filler using XPS and SEM confirmed the occurring of surface encapsulation and modification of precipitated calcium carbonate filler when the relevant modifiers were used in filler modification. The encapsulating effect of modifiers on filler was thought to be favorable to improvement in acid-resistant property, and optical properties of the filled paper

Motion of Droplets Along Thin Fibers With Temperature Gradient

Liquid n-decane, n-undecane, n-dodecane, and n-hexadecane formed tiny symmetrical droplets on a partially wettable cylindrical fiber. When a temperature gradient was created along the fiber, the droplets began to move along the fiber toward the cold region. An explanation of the phenomenon is related to the thermocapillary motion. Other possible mechanisms were ruled out. The theoretical results and experimental data agree reasonably well. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics

Implications of C1q/TNF-related protein superfamily in patients with coronary artery disease.

The C1q complement/TNF-related protein superfamily (CTRPs) displays differential effects on the regulation of metabolic homeostasis, governing cardiovascular function. However, whether and how they may serve as predictor/pro-diagnosis factors for assessing the risks of coronary artery disease (CAD) remains controversial. Therefore, we performed a clinical study to elaborate on the implication of CTRPs (CTRP1, CTRP5, CTRP7, and CTRP15) in CAD. CTRP1 were significantly increased, whereas CTRP7 and CTRP15 levels were decreased in CAD patients compared to the non-CAD group. Significant differences in CTRP1 levels were discovered between the single- and triple-vascular-vessel lesion groups. ROC analysis revealed that CTRP7 and CTRP15 may serve as CAD markers, while CTRP1 may serve as a marker for the single-vessel lesion of CAD. CTRP1 and CTRP5 can serve as markers for the triple-vessel lesion. CTRP1 may serve as an independent risk predictor for triple-vessel lesion, whereas CTRP15 alteration may serve for a single-vessel lesion of CAD. CTRP1 may serve as a novel superior biomarker for diagnosis of severity of vessel-lesion of CAD patients. CTRP7, CTRP15 may serve as more suitable biomarker for the diagnosis of CAD patients, whereas CTRP5 may serve as an independent predictor for CAD. These findings suggest CTRPs may be the superior predictive factors for the vascular lesion of CAD and represent novel therapeutic targets against CAD