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This study investigated appropriate pedagogical techniques for workplace e-learning programs in the South African wood products (furniture) manufacturing sector. The study found that learners responded favourably to constructivist teaching approaches, such as asynchronous discussions, open-ended task-based activities, and assignments incorporating authentic, real-world examples. Learners viewed constructivist activities to be more useful than quizzes and traditional essay-based assignments, as they allowed new concepts to be learned in context and were perceived to promote deeper understanding of the subject matter. Nevertheless, they valued the inclusion of a blend of pedagogical approaches in the course design, as this enabled them to approach and analyze new concepts in an assortment of ways. Learners placed importance on regular interaction with other learners and course instructors, and were strongly in favour of including face-to-face components in Web-based courses. (Contains 2 tables and 2 footnotes.)

The study of glass multilayer columns made of ordinary glass using triplexing technology. The main disadvantage of using ordinary glass is the fragile nature of its destruction, it breaks instantly. To avoid this effect, triplexing technology is used: the glass is joined in several layers with an EVASAFE polymer film (Bridgestone, Japan), after which the columns were heated to a temperature of 130 °C and kept for 30 minutes. The film material is an elastomer (a polymer with highly elastic properties in a wide temperature range). This allowed restraining parts of fragments of glass structures, making them plastic inside the bonding plane, increased their reliability, prevented the instantaneous opening of cracks in the depth of the section. A method for studying multilayer glass columns for central-axial compression using the method of two-dimensional digital image correlation is developed. Two series of prototypes were manufactured and tested. The tests were performed on a hydraulic press. The model of the destruction of glass columns of different cross-section is investigated and described. The accuracy of the digital image correlation method using two-dimensional correlation for glass centrally compressed columns is estimated. The results of the digital image correlation method with the results of measurements of absolute deformations by mechanical devices are compared. Based on the analysis of the results, the dependences of relative deformations ε on the applied load N were determined using the digital image correlation method. The dependences of relative deformations ε on normal stresses σ=N/A and dependences of relative deformations ε on the outer glass surfaces on the applied load N are determined [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV/AIDS is likely to lead to an intensification of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, and poverty can also lead people into conditions that increase their risk of exposure to, and exacerbate the impact of, HIV/AIDS. While the role of forest biodiversity as a safety net for the rural poor during times of crisis has been noted in studies across the developing world, the links between HIV/AIDS, poverty, and forests are not well understood. In particular, scholarly inquiry into the death of a productive household member due to HIV/AIDS, and the environmental ramifications of such an event on household livelihoods, has been lacking. This is an important research gap given the extent of prime-age adult mortality attributable to the HIV/ AIDS pandemic, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted a systematic analysis of the published and gray literature in this domain to answer the following questions: (1) How does household dependence on forest biodiversity change from the onset of HIV/AIDS through morbidity and mortality? (2) Is there evidence to suggest that level of dependence varies according to the role of the deceased within the household economy (e.g., wage earner, resource collector)? (3) What do we know about the effects of loss of forest biodiversity on HIV/AIDS-affected households? Our results indicate that: HIV/AIDS-related morbidity and mortality appears to increase an affected household's dependence on forest biodiversity (although further research is required); the death of a wage earner versus a resource harvester could impoverish a household by making it more reliant on collected natural capital that could previously have been bought; and the loss of forest biodiversity can threaten livelihood sustainability by reducing the availability of important medicinal plants, forcing people to skip meals to compensate for a lack of firewood for cooking, and requiring more physical labour to acquire forest resources such as firewood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Focuses on the results of a study measuring the release of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus in rats through push-pull technique. Peak of NPY release; Comparison of feeding behavior between lean and obese rats.

Focuses on the measurement of neuropeptide Y (NPY) release in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of unrestrained rats through the push-pull technique. How NPY release was augmented; Indication that NPY release could drive feeding behavior in the normal life; Discussion on results of study.