Academic maturity of students in an extended programme in mathematics

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on the students who are registered in the University of Pretoria’s academic development programme, named the Four-year Programme (FYP). The programme was introduced as a gateway for students who are underprepared but have the potential to succeed and then continue their studies into the mainstream science programmes. Our research focuses on measuring the change in the academic maturity of these students. In the theoretical framework that we developed, academic maturity is subdivided into two components namely non-subject based maturity and subject based maturity (mathematical maturity). This paper focuses on measuring non-subject based academic maturity. The survey used for this purpose is called the Student Academic Readiness Survey (STARS), taken at the beginning of the year and after the first semester respectively. The results of the surveys are compared to measure the change in students’ views. Results show that in all constructs there is a surprising decline in students’ perceptions regarding their own abilities over the first semester at university. We use the Dunning–Kruger effect to explain this unexpected decline, in that students seem to develop a more realistic view of their own maturity, which in itself can be seen as a growth in academic maturity.     

Bis-tridentate IrIII Phosphors Bearing Two Fused Five-Six-Membered Metallacycles: A Strategy to Improved Photostability of Blue Emitters

Iridium complexes bearing chelating cyclometalates are popular choices as dopant emitters in the fabrication of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). In this contribution, we report a series of blue-emitting, bis-tridentate Ir^III complexes bearing chelates with two fused five-six-membered metallacycles, which are in sharp contrast to the traditional designs of tridentate chelates that form the alternative, fused five-five metallacycles. Five Ir^III complexes, Px-21 – 23 , Cz-4 , and Cz-5 , have been synthesized that contain a coordinated dicarbene pincer chelate incorporating a methylene spacer and a dianionic chromophoric chelate possessing either a phenoxy or carbazolyl appendage to tune the coordination arrangement. All these tridentate chelates afford peripheral ligand–metal–ligand bite angles of 166–170°, which are larger than the typical bite angle of 153–155° observed for their five-five-coordinated tridentate counterparts, thereby leading to reduced geometrical distortion in the octahedral frameworks. Photophysical measurements and TD-DFT studies verified the inherent transition characteristics that give rise to high emission efficiency, and photodegradation experiments confirmed the improved stability in comparison with the benchmark fac-[Ir(ppy)₃] in degassed toluene at room temperature. Phosphorescent OLED devices were also fabricated, among which the carbazolyl-functionalized emitter Cz-5 exhibited the best performance among all the studied bis-tridentate phosphors, showing a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE_max) of 18.7 % and CIE_x,y coordinates of (0.145, 0.218), with a slightly reduced EQE of 13.7 % at 100 cd m⁻² due to efficiency roll-off.     

Gas-phase 21Ne NMR studies and the nuclear magnetic dipole moment of neon-21

Gas-phase ²¹Ne nuclear magnetic resonance spectra were measured at the natural abundance of ²¹Ne isotope for samples consisting of pressurized neon up to 60 bar at room temperature and applying the magnetic field of the strength B₀ = 11.7574 T. It showed that the nuclear magnetic resonance frequency is linearly dependent on the density of gaseous neon. The resonance frequency was extrapolated to the zero-density point, and it permitted the determination of the ²¹Ne nuclear magnetic moment, μ(²¹Ne) = 0.6617774(10) μ_N. The present value of μ(²¹Ne) is not influenced by the bulk magnetic susceptibility of neon and interactions between neon atoms; therefore, it is more precise and reliable than the previous result obtained for μ(²¹Ne).     

基于ESI的湖北省高校科技竞争力评价

基于ESI数据库，选取湖北省高校作为研究对象，分析各高校论文发表数量、被引情况、世界排名等，以期通过科技竞争力的研究，了解湖北省高校的整体实力，为决策者提供决策依据，提升湖北省高校的整体科研水平。     

Recent advances and challenges in materials for 3D bioprinting

3D bioprinting has been developed as a promising technology in a wide variety of biomedical applications. However, the successful implementation of bioprinting is still heavily restricted by the relatively narrow range of printable and biocompatible materials. Recently, many comprehensive reviews of the main bioprinting methods, commonly used bioprinting materials and the trending bioprinting applications have been carried out. In this review, we focused on the trends in the development of materials for 3D bioprinting. The significance and recent advances of ECM-based materials, multi-material and stimuli-responsive materials for bioprinting were summarized successively. Moreover, the challenges in current studies and future perspectives of materials for 3D bioprinting were discussed.     

公安院校《有机物检验技术》课程研发探究

目前公安院校刑事技术相关课程体系还存在诸多问题,课程科目重合、基础知识单薄、教学内容滞后,远远不能满足一线公安的实战要求.根据教学实践,针对公安院校刑事技术专业学生,进行了《有机物检验技术》课程的研发,精选教学内容,保持其系统性、实战性和前沿性.有效地增强警校学生的基础知识,培养其动手能力,提升其办案水平,保证了教学质量和学科的健康发展.     

QEPAS系统中石英音叉模态仿真计算与研究

对石英音叉增强型光声光谱(QEPAS)系统中常用的石英音叉进行了有限元模态计算，获得石英音叉前6阶振型与模态频率，认知了第4阶对称摆动振型为有效振动，利用单因素法分析了石英音叉的音臂长度l₁、音臂宽度w₁、音臂厚度t、音臂切角θ、音臂圆孔直径d及音臂圆孔高度h对低阶有效共振频率(Fre)的影响，敏感度依次为： l₁> w₁>d>θ>t>h，考虑实际设计情形，筛选出了l₁，w₁，d与h四个石英音叉设计变量，采用Box-Behnken实验设计方案与RSM(response surface methodology)方法，以Fre为函数目标，建立l₁，w₁，d与h的二次回归响应面模型，得到了参数之间的交互作用，利用Design-Expert软件对响应面模型进行设计参数反求，结果表明，在15 000 Hz≤Fre≤25 000 Hz计算区域内误差较小，基本满足QEPAS系统的计算需求，所提出的研究与设计方法具有一定通用性，可为QEPAS系统中石英音叉结构参数设计提供参考。     

国家层面创新能力的评价

 综述了创新、创新监测与评价的研究进展，辨析了国家创新能力、创新型国家和科技强国的内涵特征，分析了中国创新能力在世界上的相对位置，探讨了建设科技强国的经验及启示。     

基于炉灶热量回收的吸热装置设计

设计了一种基于炉灶热量回收的吸热装置。该装置通过将导热性能及焊接性能优良的无氧紫铜管与炉灶支架焊接成一个整体,近距离吸收炉灶火焰四周散失的热量,利用火焰散失的热量给生活用水加热,将生成的热水供日常生活使用;对出水装置进行改良,使其与加热装置形成循环结构,达到对整个系统进行保护的目的。本装置提高了对能源的利用率,减少了能源消耗,达到节能的目的。