A Rapid Method for Postmortem Vitreous Chemistry—Deadside Analysis

Vitreous fluid is commonly collected for toxicological analysis during forensic postmortem investigations. Vitreous fluid is also often analyzed for potassium, sodium, chloride and glucose for estimation of time since death, and for the evaluation of electrolyte imbalances and hyperglycemia, respectively. Obtaining such results in the early phase of a death investigation is desirable both in regard to assisting the police and in the decision-making prior to the autopsy. We analyzed vitreous fluid with blood gas instruments to evaluate/examine the possible impact of different sampling and pre-analytical treatment. We found that samples from the right and left eye, the center of the eye as well as whole vitreous samples gave similar results. We also found imprecision to be very low and that centrifugation and dilution were not necessary when analyzing vitreous samples with blood gas instruments. Similar results were obtained when analyzing the same samples with a regular multi-analysis instrument, but we found that such instruments could require dilution of samples with high viscosity, and that such dilution might impact measurement accuracy. In conclusion, using a blood gas instrument, the analysis of postmortem vitreous fluid for electrolytes and glucose without sample pretreatment produces rapid and reliable results.

Thermal analysis of building materials for decoration and INFRARED spectroscopy of gaseous products of their thermal destruction

В настоящей статье представлены результаты экспериментального исследования термической деструкции отделочных строительных материалов и идентификации продуктов их термического разложения. Исследование термической деструкции отделочных строительных материалов осуществлялось методом динамического термогравиметрического анализа, а идентификация продуктов термического разложения отделочных строительных материалов – методом инфракрасной спектроскопии. Термический анализ проводился на приборе синхронного термического анализа NETZSCH STA 449 F3 Jupiter, позволяющем фиксировать изменение массы и величин теплового потока от температуры. Нагрев образцов осуществлялся со скоростью 10℃/мин в атмосфере воздуха с расходом 100 мл/мин в интервале температур 25℃-650℃. Образующиеся при термической деструкции газообразные продукты анализировались на ИК-Фурье спектрометре «ФСМ 1201» с газовой кюветой ТГА 100 при длинах волн 600-4500 см-1. По результатам исследования получены ТГ, ДТГ и ДСК-кривые, характеризующие соответственно потерю массы образца, скорость потери массы и изменение величины теплового потока от температуры, а также ИК-спектры продуктов термической деструкции отделочных строительных материалов при различных температурах. Установлено, что отделочные строительные материалы при их термической деструкции образуют различные химические соединения, отдельные из которых представляют опасность для организма человека. This article presents the results of experimental research on thermal destruction of finishing building materials and a hazard assessment of the process. Thermal destruction of finishing materials was investigated by thermal analysis and the risk of the process was assessed by infrared spectroscopy of gaseous products resulting from thermal destruction. The thermal analysis was carried out by dynamic thermogravimetric analysis on the synchronous thermal analysis instrument NETZSCH STA 449 F3 Jupiter, which makes it possible to detect changes in mass and heat flow from temperature. The heating of the samples was carried out at a rate of 10 ℃/min in the atmosphere with a consumption of 100 ml/min. The gaseous products formed during thermal destruction were analyzed by infrared spectroscopy on IR-Fourier spectrometer «FSM 1201» with gas cell TGA 100 at wavelengths of 600-4500 cm-1. The results of the study led to the production of TG, TFG and DSK curves, describing respectively the loss of sample mass, the rate of mass loss and the change of heat flow from temperature as well as infrared spectra of products of thermal destruction of finishing building materials at various temperatures. It has been found that the finishing building materials, when thermally disrupted, form various chemical compounds, some of which are dangerous to the human body.

Calibration and validation of the mini-fiber EC image analysis instrument mean fiber diameter through direct or primary measurements

The Minifiber EC (MFEC) is a portable instrument for measuring the diameter of animal fibers. Its accuracy and precision have been estimated but by comparing its measurements with those of laboratory devices that had been calibrated on other devices in turn, not on a direct or primary measure of diameter. This work attempts to test direct measurements by gravimetry, Vernier mini caliper, microscope and the classic microprojector, using a non-deformable, high resistance synthetic fiber (Kevlar) for direct measurement. The MFEC instrument is calibrated with each mean fiber diameter obtained in direct measurements and its results are compared. The conclusions drawn are that it is possible to calibrate the MFEC instrument with direct measurements on Kevlar and measurement accuracy or tolerance of 0.28 microns is obtained. This indicates a very low biased mean fiber diameter measurement by MFEC.

Development of an Instrument to Assess Spirituality: Reliability and Validation of the Attitudes Related to Spirituality Scale (ARES)

Background: Several instruments that measure spirituality present overlaps with positive emotions, impacting the interpretation of their findings. In order to minimize these problems, we aimed to develop, assess the reliability and validate a new scale to evaluate spirituality.Methods: The instrument was designed using a theoretical framework minimizing tautological issues (i.e., Koenig’s framework), a qualitative study investigating the definitions of spirituality, the development of the first version of instrument by experts’ meetings and a qualitative cognitive debriefing. Then, the instrument was examined for its content validity by a multidisciplinary group of judges and was pilot-tested in two different groups – less religious (medical students – n = 85) and more religious (practicing religious members – n = 85). Finally, psychometric properties and validity were assessed.Results: The developed Attitudes Related to Spirituality Scale (ARES) is a self-report 11-item instrument using five-level Likert items. ARES presented appropriate psychometric properties revealing excellent internal consistency (alpha = 0.98) and temporal stability (ICC = 0.98). Likewise, ARES was strongly correlated with other validated R/S instruments (i.e., Duke Religion Index and Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality) and was able to discriminate higher and lower religious groups. In the exploratory factor analysis, a unidimensional structure of the scale was described. Fit indices for the scale demonstrated good fit in the unidimensional model.Conclusion: The ARES is a reliable, valid and stable one-dimension instrument that is appropriate for use in the Portuguese-speaking population.Descriptors: Spirituality; Scale; Factorial Analysis; Instrument; Measure; Psychometrics.

O ensino de ciências para alunos com deficiência visual: identificando limites e possibilidades por meio de uma revisão sistemática da literatura

Resumo: Este trabalho tem o objetivo de caracterizar as pesquisas em ensino de Ciências referentes aos alunos com deficiência visual. Trata-se de uma pesquisa com abordagem qualitativa, através de uma revisão sistemática de trabalhos publicados em eventos nacionais e periódicos da área de ensino de Ciências com Qualis Capes A1/A2. O instrumento de análise dos dados foi a Análise Textual Discursiva (ATD). Os resultados foram divididos em duas partes. A primeira buscou caracterizar o levantamento bibliográfico dos trabalhos publicados em ensino de Ciências sobre alunos com deficiências visuais. A segunda parte caracteriza os limites e possibilidades sobre esta temática, através de quatro categorias emergentes: 1) Inclusão e o ensino de Ciências; 2) Formação de professores de Ciências e deficiência visual; 3) Construção, uso ou análise de materiais didáticos adaptados para alunos com deficiência visual no ensino de Ciências; e 4) Reflexões epistêmicas no ensino de Ciências para alunos com deficiência visual.Palavras-chave: Deficiência Visual; Baixa Visão; Ensino de Ciências; Educação Inclusiva. Science education for students with visual impairment: identifying limits and possibilities through a systematic literature reviewAbstract: This work aims to characterize research in science education related to students with visual impairment. This is a research with a qualitative approach, through a systematic review of works published in national events and journals in the field of science teaching with Qualis Capes A1/A2. The data analysis instrument was the Textual Discursive Analysis (TDA). The results were divided into two parts. The first sought to characterize the bibliographic survey of works published in science teaching about students with visual impairments. The second part characterizes the limits and possibilities on this theme, through four emerging categories: 1) Inclusion and the science teaching; 2) Training of science teachers and visual impairment; 3) Construction, use or analysis of didactic materials adapted for students with visual impairments in science teaching; and 4) Epistemic reflections on science teaching for visually impaired students.Keywords: Visual impairment; Low vision; Science education; Inclusive education.

International Curriculum Comparison in Vocational Education and Training: A Collaborative Development of an Analysis Instrument

Context: International comparative research on Vocational Education and Training (VET) is gaining importance, as global cooperation and mutual learning in VET grows. However, it is characterized by a high degree of complexity, due on one hand, to the heterogeneity of the VET sector, and on the other hand to the unique challenges of international comparisons. In addition, comparative research projects are increasingly conducted in the form of cross-border collaborations, which have their own particular organizational and methodological considerations, opportunities, and challenges. This paper presents an example of a cooperative research process, aimed at investigating the complex phenomenon of the competence-based approach in Russian and Chinese VET. In providing an example of developing an instrument for curriculum analysis and comparison, we discuss and reflect on the methodological and organizational peculiarities and challenges of the research process conducted collaboratively by an international team. Method: The instrument for analysis and comparison of curricular documents, was developed in an iterative multi-stage process, combining deductive and inductive steps. The embeddedness of the elements of a competence-based approach in curricular documents is investigated, using qualitative content analysis. To develop a coding frame, we started with a comprehensive partially systematic literature review of international, Russian and Chinese discourses on competence-based curricula. The frame was built on the selected model of competence-based education, and on accumulated results of the literature analysis of national discourses. Furthermore, during the first coding process, an iterative adaptation of the developed instrument took place. Results: The result of this process was the development of an analysis instrument which, on the one hand, is well-adapted to each national context and, on the other hand, allows a comparison of results along the same dimensions of analysis, in our case, elements of the competence-based approach in curriculum. Conclusion: Developing an analysis framework for a cross-cultural comparative investigation of such a diffuse and heterogeneous construct as the competence-based approach, can pose a methodological challenge for an international team of researchers. However, an effective application of own team resources such as proficiency in different languages, insider and outsider perspectives, along with continuous intensive communication and a flexible, iterative research process, allows development of a well-adapted analysis instrument for international comparison.

FrameAxis: characterizing microframe bias and intensity with word embedding

Framing is a process of emphasizing a certain aspect of an issue over the others, nudging readers or listeners towards different positions on the issue even without making a biased argument. Here, we propose FrameAxis, a method for characterizing documents by identifying the most relevant semantic axes (“microframes”) that are overrepresented in the text using word embedding. Our unsupervised approach can be readily applied to large datasets because it does not require manual annotations. It can also provide nuanced insights by considering a rich set of semantic axes. FrameAxis is designed to quantitatively tease out two important dimensions of how microframes are used in the text. Microframe bias captures how biased the text is on a certain microframe, and microframe intensity shows how prominently a certain microframe is used. Together, they offer a detailed characterization of the text. We demonstrate that microframes with the highest bias and intensity align well with sentiment, topic, and partisan spectrum by applying FrameAxis to multiple datasets from restaurant reviews to political news. The existing domain knowledge can be incorporated into FrameAxis by using custom microframes and by using FrameAxis as an iterative exploratory analysis instrument. Additionally, we propose methods for explaining the results of FrameAxis at the level of individual words and documents. Our method may accelerate scalable and sophisticated computational analyses of framing across disciplines.

The Gender Gap Among EduTubers and the Factors Significantly Influencing It

An increased use of YouTube in education has resulted in the emergence of a large number of audiovisual educational content creators known as EduTubers. Our research considers gender as a relevant variable within this group by analysing the 204 most successful channels in Spain so as to identify the existence of models and reference points throughout the area of informal education. The study methodology is based on a qualitative analysis instrument that provides descriptive statistics and contingency tables. The results provide original evidence on the topic. We reflect on the possible existence of a gender gap among EduTubers, concluding that there is actually one. After identifying the significant factors regarding to this inequality, they were grouped together into four categories: media exposure level; women’s participation in the educational stages that are most in demand on YouTube; elements and factors determining the success of videos; and time spent on the channel as a content creator. A suggestion is made of possible steps to reduce this gender gap through emotional support and training aimed at women who wish to become EduTubers, as well as via social change that facilitates the presence of women as influential figures in informal education.

The Feasibility Analysis of Mathematics Textbook Material based on Bell's Criteria

The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of Mathematics textbook material for Grade VII 1st semester on 2017 Revised Edition based on Bell's criteria. So that if there is an error, it can be fixed. Then, this type of research is descriptive research. In the descriptive analysis, there is no need to find or explain its relationships and test hypotheses. The approach used is qualitative. Moreover, this study uses a qualitative approach because the data collected are described in sentences. This study will be obtained from two sources, namely the main source of the Mathematics Textbook Grade VII of 2013 curriculum and peer-discussion support sources. The method used in this research is the documentation method. The documentation data used in this research is the textbook itself. However, the data obtained by using the Analysis Instrument Result shows that the suitability of the mathematics textbook material of Grade VII with the material based on Bell's criteria for the numbers and algebra chapters includes a good category. Meanwhile, the sets and equations and linear inequalities of one variable chapter belong to be an excellent category. The average suitability of the mathematics material from each chapter in the textbook toward Bell's criteria is 83.75% and is supported by the validity data results through forms and peer discussions. As a result, the feasibility of the mathematics textbook material for grade VII of the 2017 revised edition based on Bell's criteria is very good.