Teachers Describe Epistemologies of Science Instruction Through Q Methodology

Creating scientifically literate students is a common goal among educational stakeholders. An understanding of nature of science is an important component of scientific literacy in K‐12 science education. Q methodology was used to investigate the opinions of preservice and in‐service teachers on how they intend to teach or currently teach science. Q methodology is a measurement tool designed to capture personal beliefs. Participants included 40 preservice and in‐service elementary and secondary science teachers who sorted 40 self‐referential statements regarding science instruction. The results identified three epistemologies toward teaching science: A Changing World, My Beliefs, and Tried and True. Participants with the A Changing World epistemology believe evidence is reliable, scientific knowledge is generated in multiple ways, and science changes in light of new evidence. The My Beliefs epistemology reflects that scientific knowledge is subject to change due to embedded bias, science is affected by culture and religion, and evolution should not be taught in the classroom. The Tried and True epistemology views a scientific method as an exact method to prove science, believes experiments are crucial for scientific discoveries, absolute truth exists in scientific knowledge, and society and cultural factors can be eliminated from investigations. Implications for preservice teacher education programs and in‐service teacher professional development are addressed.     

Synthesis, structures and membrane properties of siloxane-imide co-polymers produced by aqueous polymerization

We report for the first time, the synthesis of siloxane-imide co-polymers by the reaction of mixtures of 1,4-bis(aminobutyl)tetramethyldisiloxane (ABTMDS) and 1,3-bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzene (TPE-R) with bisphenol A diphthalic anhydride (BPADA) using water as the polymerization solvent. A series of co-polymers were prepared incorporating 10, 20, 40 and 100 mol% of ABTMDS with the aromatic diamine TPE-R as the co-monomer. The synthesized co-polymers showed number average molecular weights in the range of 25,000–60,000. As expected the glass transition temperatures (T_gs) and moduli of the polymers were found to decrease with increasing amounts of the siloxane monomer and the homo-polymer containing only the siloxane diamine showing the lowest T_g (60 °C). The resulting polymers could be solution cast into strong and flexible membranes which showed significant decreases in water absorption and moisture permeability compared to the control polymer without siloxane groups. The polymers were characterized by FTIR, ¹³C and ¹H NMR, GPC, DSC and mechanical properties and structural comparisons were made with similar polymers made by standard solvent synthesis methods. Also cross-linked polymers were prepared by the reaction of ABTMDS with the aromatic homo-polymer control and their membrane properties were compared to those of the water synthesized siloxane co-polymers with a similar siloxane content.     

Non-linear axisymmetric response of functionally graded shallow spherical shells under uniform external pressure including temperature effects

This paper presents an analytical approach to investigate the non-linear axisymmetric response of functionally graded shallow spherical shells subjected to uniform external pressure incorporating the effects of temperature. Material properties are assumed to be temperature-independent, and graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of constituents. Equilibrium and compatibility equations for shallow spherical shells are derived by using the classical shell theory and specialized for axisymmetric deformation with both geometrical non-linearity and initial geometrical imperfection are taken into consideration. One-term deflection mode is assumed and explicit expressions of buckling loads and load-deflection curves are determined due to Galerkin method. Stability analysis for a clamped spherical shell shows the effects of material and geometric parameters, edge restraint and temperature conditions, and imperfection on the behavior of the shells.     

Size-dependent heterogeneity benefits the mechanical performance of bone

Heterogeneity of biological materials, such as bone, tooth, and mollusc shells, plays a key role in determining their mechanical performance (e.g. the strength, damage tolerance, etc.). Here, we quantify heterogeneities in elasticity and inelasticity of bovine cortical bone between 100 nm and a few microns and identify a characteristic length scale (λ_c) of approximately 200 nm. Below λ_c the mechanical heterogeneity of bone is pronounced and exhibits a strong nonlinear size-dependence, while above λ_c the heterogeneity is much less. Such size-dependent heterogeneity benefits the mechanical performance of bone since it not only promotes the energy dissipation at nanoscale, but also suppresses heterogeneity-induced stress concentration and strain localization at larger length scales. This is one of the possible mechanisms functioning at multiple length scales that make bone a well-designed tough natural material. Utilizing experimentally measured data, systematic computational simulations were carried out, showing that the heterogeneity in inelasticity, rather than elasticity, plays a dominant role in promoting energy dissipation during deformation. Possible parameters that determine the inelasticity heterogeneity (e.g. mean value and standard deviation of heterogeneous yield stress) and therefore affect energy dissipation are investigated under typical deformation modes of bone. The analysis presented suggests that there exists an optimum ratio of macroscopic strength to elastic modulus for improving energy dissipation under tension. All these findings are of great value to the design and synthesis of improved bio-inspired composites.     

Molecularly Precise Dendrimer–Drug Conjugates with Tunable Drug Release for Cancer Therapy

The structural preciseness of dendrimers makes them perfect drug delivery carriers, particularly in the form of dendrimer–drug conjugates. Current dendrimer–drug conjugates are synthesized by anchoring drug and functional moieties onto the dendrimer peripheral surface. However, functional groups exhibiting the same reactivity make it impossible to precisely control the number and the position of the functional groups and drug molecules anchored to the dendrimer surface. This structural heterogeneity causes variable pharmacokinetics, preventing such conjugates to be translational. Furthermore, the highly hydrophobic drug molecules anchored on the dendrimer periphery can interact with blood components and alter the pharmacokinetic behavior. To address these problems, we herein report molecularly precise dendrimer–drug conjugates with drug moieties buried inside the dendrimers. Surprisingly, the drug release rates of these conjugates were tailorable by the dendrimer generation, surface chemistry, and acidity.     

广山药中16种元素的分析比较

用原子吸收法和分光光度法测定了5个产地的广山药及怀山药中16种元素的含量，并进行了比较。发现广山药及怀山药中均含有Mn,Fe,Zn,Ca,Cu,Mg,P,Se等元素，5个产地的广山药中的Cu/Zn值均低于正常人血清的Cu/Zn，这些元素可能是怀山药，广山药具有补脾养胃，生津益肺，补肾涩精，治疗糖尿病等功效的物质基础之一；广山药长期作为山药的一个品种同等入药，食用是有科学根据的；广山药，怀山药中含有一定量的As,Hg。     

A Construction of Multiresolution Analysis on Interval

We present a concrete method of constructing multiresolution analysis on interval. The method generalizes the corresponding results of Cohen, Daubechies and Vial [Appl. Comput. Harmonic Anal., 1（1993）, 54-81]. By the use of the subdivision operator, the expressions of the constructed functions are more compact. Furthermore, the method reveals more clearly some properties of multiresolution analysis with certain approximation order.     

Simple Preparation of the Photocatalyst of Sn^2＋ -doped Titania

TiO2 is widely used as photocatalyst because of its optical and electronic properties, low cost, chemical stability, non-toxicity and applicability to the treatment of a large variety of pollutants1. The activities of photocatalyst were influenced by the …     

Reactions of [60]Fullerene with Di(azidomethyl) benzenes

Alargenumberofadditionsto[6O]fullerenehavebeeninvestigated.However,mostoftheworkhaveconcentratedontheformationofthemono-additionproductS0f[60]fullerene'-Thedevelopment0fselechveroutestomultipleadductShascurrentlybecomethefrontierinthechendstryof[60]fuIlerene'~'.FollowingtheaPplicahonoftether-directedremotefunctionalizati0ntotheregi0specificformati0nofthedi-andtriadductSof[60]fullerene,F.Diederichetal6alsodescribed'awayforthedirectdifunctionalizationof[60]fullerenebasedonacyclizationreachono…