Search

Purpose: The Canadian university where this study took place has established an international exchange program in teacher education with a large Chinese university. This study was designed to examine how the international exchange program influenced Chinese science teacher candidates' understanding of science education and how such learning impacted their teaching in China. Design/Approach/Methods: The study adopted a qualitative research design with interview and reflective journal as the main approaches for data collection. Findings: Participants greatly appreciated the opportunity of exchange. They reported an improved understanding of Canadian school education and its science curriculum and pedagogy, which changed many aspects of their original values about the relationship between the teacher and students, classroom environment, and so on. Although they faced many constraints to implement what they learned from the exchange in Chinese science classrooms, what they learned had never been forgotten. Participants tried to apply them here and there at the level they could control. Originality/Value: There are many reported studies in the literature about Chinese international students on Western campuses. However, research on Chinese students who participate in international exchange programs is very rare. The findings of this study can inform policymakers and education practitioners about student international exchange programs and benefit future exchange participants.

C25H33O4, monoclinic, I2 (no. 5), a = 15.8319 Å, b = 7.4609 Å, c = 19.2676 Å, β = 103.162°, V = 2216.11(5) Å3, Z = 4, Rgt(F) = 0.0323, wRref(F2) = 0.0936, T = 297(7) K.

AIM:To investigate the effects of overexpressing α-Klotho(KL)in RAW264.7 cells stimulated by oxidative stress on the proliferation, migration, tube-formation and tight junction of human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs).METHODS:RAW264.7 cells were categorized into control, 4-hydroxynonenal(4HNE), and 4HNE+KL groups, with F4/80 expression assessed via immunofluorescence staining. Three groups of conditional media were prepared for HUVECs and culture divided into Mø-NC, Mø-4HNE, and Mø-4HNE+KL groups. Cell proliferation was evaluated using CCK8 assay, while scratch test and Transwell assays were employed to measure cell migration. Additionally, tube-formation assay was conducted to assess cell tubule formation, and Western blot assay was utilized to detect the protein expression levels of Claudin 5, Occludin and ZO 1.RESULTS:The results of immunofluorescence staining showed that the fluorescence intensity of F4/80 of RAW264.7 cells in the 4HNE group was significantly enhanced compared with the control group, while that of F4/80 in the 4HNE+KL group was significantly decreased compared with the 4HNE group(all P

C44H108N20O12S4, monoclinic, P21/n (no. 14), a = 8.0480(3) Å, b = 18.6415(7) Å, c = 11.9008(4) Å, β = 103.242(2)°, V = 1737.97(11) Å3, Z = 4, Rgt (F) = 0.0471, wRref (F 2) = 0.1422, T = 296(2) K.

Internationally educated nurses' (IENs) English language proficiency is critical to professional licensure as communication is a key competency for safe practice. The Canadian English Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses (CELBAN) is Canada's only Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) referenced examination used in the context of healthcare regulation. This high-stakes assessment claims proof of proficiency for IENs seeking licensure in Canada and a measure of public safety for nursing regulators. Understanding the quality of rater performance when examination results are used for high-stakes decisions is crucial to maintaining speaking test quality as it involves judgement, and thus requires strong reliability evidence (Koizumi et al., 2017). This study examined rater performance on the CELBAN Speaking component using a Many-Facets Rasch Measurement (MFRM). Specifically, this study identified CELBAN rater reliability in terms of consistency and severity, rating bias, and use of rating scale. The study was based on a sample of 115 raters across eight test sites in Canada and results on 2698 examinations across four parallel versions. Findings demonstrated relatively high inter-rater reliability and intra-rater reliability, and that CLB-based speaking descriptors (CLB 6-9) provided sufficient information for raters to discriminate examinees' oral proficiency. There was no influence of test site or test version, offering validity evidence to support test use for high-stakes purposes. Grammar, among the eight speaking criteria, was identified as the most difficult criterion on the scale, and the one demonstrating most rater bias. This study highlights the value of MFRM analysis in rater performance research with implications for rater training. This study is one of the first research studies using MFRM with a CLB-referenced high-stakes assessment within the Canadian context.

ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between macronutrient intake and sleep quality， the current sleep quality of pregnant women from ten cities in China was investigated.MethodsMultistage stratified sampling was used to investigate the nutrient intake and sleep quality of 863 pregnant women in ten Chinese cities. Twenty-four dietary intake， sleep quality， perinatal depression， and other information was obtained using physical measurements and a questionnaire. Logistic and multiple linear regression models were used to explore the relationship between macronutrient intake and sleep quality.ResultsThe prevalence of poor sleep quality among pregnant women was 46.12%； pregnant women who were in the third trimester， who had depression， were currently unemployed， passively smoked during pregnancy， and had a history of previous alcohol consumption， demonstrated a higher levels of poor sleep quality （P

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by β and α cell dysfunction. We used phasor-FLIM (Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy) to monitor oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis in living islet cells before and after glucose stimulation. In healthy cells, glucose enhanced oxidative phosphorylation in β cells and suppressed oxidative phosphorylation in α cells. In Type 2 diabetes, glucose increased glycolysis in β cells, and only partially suppressed oxidative phosphorylation in α cells. FLIM uncovers key perturbations in glucose induced metabolism in living islet cells and provides a sensitive tool for drug discovery in diabetes.

With an increasing number of international students coming to Canada for higher education, Canadian universities are offering diverse English language improvement programs (ELIPs) to improve international students' English proficiency. However, some Chinese international students struggle to pass such programs and eventually withdraw. This study examines the living and learning experiences of Chinese international students who dropped out of ELIPs and identifies the factors associated with their decisions to drop out. The findings indicate that Chinese international students dropped out due to academic failure that was related to low learning motivation, lack of time management and self-regulation, and insufficient academic and social integration. Implications for educators in higher education, study support services, and students are presented.

The mistuning phenomenon is commonly seen in the bladed assemblies of turbomachinery, leading to an unreasonably localized energy distribution that may increase the risk of high cycle fatigue and potentially cause blade failure. The friction coupling interaction is often introduced to attenuate the effect of excessive amplification on the structural vibration. To investigate the vibration localization of damped and mistuned bladed-disk system, a typical mistuning characterization is applied to an improved four-degree-of-freedom lumped parameter model to explicit the vibratory properties with coupled frictional contact. The statistical findings of natural frequency and modal localization factor are obtained by employing the Monte Carlo simulation to explore the influence of mistuned variance and coupled stiffness on the modal localization of free and damped bladed-disk system, respectively. The forced response sensitivity featured in the mistuned variance is quantitatively analyzed from the perspective of vibration localization and energy distribution by the nonlinear solution method. The influence of excitation order and normal load are further, respectively, discussed on the response localization level of the mistuned system. The results can provide fundamental knowledge of the impact of the mistuning pattern on vibration localization for the early design of the aeroengine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]