Reflecting on reflection: scale extension and a comparison of undergraduate business students in the United States and the United Kingdom

In the Peltier, Hay, and Drago (2005) article entitled “The Reflective Learning Continuum: Reflecting on Reflection,” a reflective learning continuum was conceptualized and tested. This is a follow-up article based on three extensions: (1) determine whether the continuum could be expanded, (2) further validating the continuum using additional schools, and (3) determining whether the continuum could also be applied to undergraduate business education. The findings from a study of U.S. and UK students show that the revised scale is valid and reliable and that U.S. students in the sample universities rated their educational experience higher and were more likely to use reflective thinking practices

Buyers of Used Goods and the Problems of Hidden Security Interests: A New Proposal to Modify Section 9-307 of the Uniform Commercial Code

The Uniform Commercial Code protects a buyer in ordinary course of business from claims by third parties with security interests in the goods purchased, but only when the security interest was created by the buyer\u27s immediate seller. Thus, buyers of used goods are not protected from assertions of security interests created by earlier owners. Up to now, only the courts have dealt with this problem, and they have done so on an ad hoc basis. This Article attempts to provide a comprehensive solution. It examines the problem, evaluates the competing interests of the buyer and the secured creditor, and proposes an amendment to the Code that balances those interests

Nox2 redox signaling maintains essential cell populations in the brain.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are conventionally classified as toxic consequences of aerobic life, and the brain is particularly susceptible to ROS-induced oxidative stress and damage owing to its high energy and oxygen demands. NADPH oxidases (Nox) are a widespread source of brain ROS implicated in seizures, stroke and neurodegeneration. A physiological role for ROS generation in normal brain function has not been established, despite the fact that mice and humans lacking functional Nox proteins have cognitive deficits. Using molecular imaging with Peroxyfluor-6 (PF6), a new selective fluorescent indicator for hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), we show that adult hippocampal stem/progenitor cells (AHPs) generate H(2)O(2) through Nox2 to regulate intracellular growth signaling pathways, which in turn maintains their normal proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Our results challenge the traditional view that brain ROS are solely deleterious by demonstrating that controlled ROS chemistry is needed for maintaining specific cell populations

The launching of the ESRO 2/IRIS satellite as seen from Redu

Launching of ESRO 2/IRIS satellite as seen from Red

Effect of thermal exposure, forming, and welding on high-temperature, dispersion-strengthened aluminum alloy: Al-8Fe-1V-2Si

The feasibility of applying conventional hot forming and welding methods to high temperature aluminum alloy, Al-8Fe-1V-2Si (FVS812), for structural applications and the effect of thermal exposure on mechanical properties were determined. FVS812 (AA8009) sheet exhibited good hot forming and resistance welding characteristics. It was brake formed to 90 deg bends (0.5T bend radius) at temperatures greater than or equal to 390 C (730 F), indicating the feasibility of fabricating basic shapes, such as angles and zees. Hot forming of simple contoured-flanged parts was demonstrated. Resistance spot welds with good static and fatigue strength at room and elevated temperatures were readily produced. Extended vacuum degassing during billet fabrication reduced porosity in fusion and resistance welds. However, electron beam welding was not possible because of extreme degassing during welding, and gas-tungsten-arc welds were not acceptable because of severely degraded mechanical properties. The FVS812 alloy exhibited excellent high temperature strength stability after thermal exposures up to 315 C (600 F) for 1000 h. Extended billet degassing appeared to generally improve tensile ductility, fatigue strength, and notch toughness. But the effects of billet degassing and thermal exposure on properties need to be further clarified. The manufacture of zee-stiffened, riveted, and resistance-spot-welded compression panels was demonstrated

Radiative effects of ozone on the climate of a Snowball Earth

Some geochemical and geological evidence has been interpreted to suggest that the concentration of atmospheric oxygen was only 1–10 % of the present level in the time interval from 750 to 580 million years ago when several nearly global glaciations or Snowball Earth events occurred. This low concentration of oxygen would have been accompanied by a lower ozone concentration than exists at present. Since ozone is a greenhouse gas, this change in ozone concentration would alter surface temperature, and thereby could have an important influence on the climate of the Snowball Earth. Previous works that have focused either on initiation or deglaciation of the proposed Snowball Earth has not taken the radiative effects of ozone changes into account. We address this issue herein by performing a series of simulations using an atmospheric general circulation model with various ozone concentrations. <br><br> Our simulation results demonstrate that, as ozone concentration is uniformly reduced from 100 % to 50 %, surface temperature decreases by approximately 0.8 K at the Equator, with the largest decreases located in the middle latitudes reaching as high as 2.5 K. When ozone concentration is reduced and its vertical and horizontal distribution is simultaneously modulated, surface temperature decreases by 0.4–1.0 K at the Equator and by 4–7 K in polar regions. These results here have uncertainties, depending on model parameterizations of cloud, surface snow albedo, and relevant feedback processes, while they are qualitatively consistent with radiative-convective model results that do not involve such parameterizations and feedbacks. These results suggest that ozone variations could have had a moderate impact on the climate during the Neoproterozoic glaciations

Deceleration of probe beam by stage bias potential improves resolution of serial block-face scanning electron microscopic images.

Serial block-face scanning electron microscopy (SBEM) is quickly becoming an important imaging tool to explore three-dimensional biological structure across spatial scales. At probe-beam-electron energies of 2.0 keV or lower, the axial resolution should improve, because there is less primary electron penetration into the block face. More specifically, at these lower energies, the interaction volume is much smaller, and therefore, surface detail is more highly resolved. However, the backscattered electron yield for metal contrast agents and the backscattered electron detector sensitivity are both sub-optimal at these lower energies, thus negating the gain in axial resolution. We found that the application of a negative voltage (reversal potential) applied to a modified SBEM stage creates a tunable electric field at the sample. This field can be used to decrease the probe-beam-landing energy and, at the same time, alter the trajectory of the signal to increase the signal collected by the detector. With decelerated low landing-energy electrons, we observed that the probe-beam-electron-penetration depth was reduced to less than 30 nm in epoxy-embedded biological specimens. Concurrently, a large increase in recorded signal occurred due to the re-acceleration of BSEs in the bias field towards the objective pole piece where the detector is located. By tuning the bias field, we were able to manipulate the trajectories of the  primary and secondary electrons, enabling the spatial discrimination of these signals using an advanced ring-type BSE detector configuration or a standard monolithic BSE detector coupled with a blocking aperture