Conventional Labs Research Articles

A student-partnered approach to design a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) in biological sciences

Immersive research opportunities allow students to take ownership of their learning, explore based on curiosity, and engage in the scientific process while developing confidence and skills. However, research positions for biology undergraduates are limited, and conventional teaching labs are often restricted to pre-designed experiments without opportunities for curiosity-driven research. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are discovery-based research experiences that provide students with accessible avenues to explore research. Here we describe a unique student-partnered approach to the design of a foundation-level CURE in biological sciences (BIO-CURE). As student partners, we were mentored by faculty as we designed CURE projects that considered the interests and abilities of our peers to create a course structured around student-driven scientific exploration. We anticipate that this case study of our approach and experiences as the student partners of the CURE design team will serve as a helpful resource for other departments and institutions.

Assessing benefits of computer-based video training and tools on learning outcomes and motivation in mechanical engineering education: digitalized intervention and approach

Traditionally, laboratory work has been a common approach to facilitate the acquisition of practical skills and familiarize the undergraduate students, particularly engineering students, with specialized tools and equipment. However, the conventional in-person labs often experience challenges such as limited resources and space, instructor availability, and inflexible schedules. The emergence of digital tools and the recent COVID-19 pandemic have prompted educators to reconsider their teaching methods. To this effect, this paper introduces an innovative approach and teaching methodology to address the challenges in traditional engineering education within the laboratory. It presents a methodology that combines cost-effective instructional videos and portable kits to promote autonomous development of practical skills in undergraduate engineering students. The proposed teaching methodology was grounded on the Descriptive Decision theory and Learning-Oriented Assessment (LOA), which are theoretical framework and type of students’ learning outcome (SLO) model that studies the rationality behind the decisions that the users are disposed to make, as well as level of outcome of the students’ learning process or performance. Motivation among the students was assessed using the Model of Academic Motivation Inventory (MUSIC Inventory) to evaluate the impact of the proposed teaching method and learning intervention on the interest of the students. The method was implemented in four independent courses at two different campuses of Tecnologico de Monterrey. The results show that the proposed learning approach was effective in helping students develop hard skills with reduced instructor intervention. Moreover, high levels of motivation was reported through the MUSIC methodology and test administered to the participating students at the end of the courses. The outcome of this study can be used to inform and support the curriculum design by the educators, promote effective policy and decision making by the university leaders, and encourage wide adoption of the digitalized-education.

Validation of OpenCap: A low-cost markerless motion capture system for lower-extremity kinematics during return-to-sport tasks

Low-cost markerless motion capture systems offer the potential for 3D measurement of joint angles during human movement. This study aimed to validate a smartphone-based markerless motion capture system’s (OpenCap) derived lower extremity kinematics during common return-to-sport tasks, comparing it to an established optoelectronic motion capture system. Athletes with prior anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (12–18 months post-surgery) performed three movements: a jump-landing-rebound, single-leg hop, and lateral-vertical hop. Kinematics were recorded concurrently with two smartphones running OpenCap’s software and with a 10-camera, marker-based motion capture system. Validity of lower extremity joint kinematics was assessed across 437 recorded trials using measures of agreement (coefficient of multiple correlation: CMC) and error (mean absolute error: MAE, root mean squared error: RMSE) across the time series of movement. Agreement was best in the sagittal plane for the knee and hip in all movements (CMC > 0.94), followed by the ankle (CMC = 0.84–0.93). Lower agreement was observed for frontal (CMC = 0.47–0.78) and transverse (CMC = 0.51–0.6) plane motion. OpenCap presented a grand mean error of 3.85° (MAE) and 4.34° (RMSE) across all joint angles and movements. These results were comparable to other available markerless systems. Most notably, OpenCap’s user-friendly interface, free software, and small physical footprint have the potential to extend motion analysis applications beyond conventional biomechanics labs, thus enhancing the accessibility for a diverse range of users.

Virtual Simulation Lab Experiments versus Conventional Experiments in Teaching Physics - Comparative Study

The debate regarding the use of virtual (online) labs and conventional (in lab) labs in teaching is still going on. The educators are divided into three groups regarding this issue, some are in favor of using virtual labs more than conventional ones, others are in favor of using the conventional labs more in teaching and the third group are in favor in implementing virtual experiments side by side with the conventional ones. The student opinions are very important for educators to get an in-field insight into their experience of using virtual labs. This will help the educators to decide which is more effective in teaching. We have conducted a survey on one of our Physics-2425 classes, seeking the opinions of the students about the use of virtual-simulation experiments versus the use of conventional experiments. During the lab period, the students worked on both types of experiments and some of the experiments were about the same physics principles. Our results show that working virtual labs enables the students to get more understanding than when working the conventional one due to the reduced limitations that the students usually encounter when working conventional labs due to the limited space/time. Other findings will be presented in this paper.

Effect of Using Virtual Lab Simulations on Student’s Learning in Online General Physics Courses

A survey was conducted to collect the student’s learning outcomes when using virtual (simulation) labs in teaching. Two general physics courses [Phys I (2425) and Phys II (2426)] were chosen to conduct the survey. Five simulation experiments were performed by our students in Physics I and five experiments in Physics II. PhET (University of Colorado) interaction simulations were used by our students. The simulation experiments are covering most of the General Physics courses topics (Mechanics, Electricity, Heat, Thermodynamics, and Waves). Survey results show that performing the conventional simulation labs enhances the student's understanding of the theory and the physical concepts covered by the simulation. The resemblance of most simulations to real-life enables some of the students to improve or think of improving the simulation scenarios. The responses of our students indicate that the majority prefer that virtual experiments to be part of the conventional lab and not to be fully substituted.

Blended Approach to Physics Problem-Solving Using Conventional and Virtual Labs: A Survey of Student’s Perception

Physics education entails rigorous problem-solving. But physics is full of abstraction and mathematical representations, which are hard to visualize. Hence, understanding the problems requires constant lab activities essential to physics problem-solving. But due to limited equipment and limited periods of usage in conventional labs, virtual labs are an alternative with their own set of limitations. So, a blend of the two virtual and conventional labs is a better option for problem-solving. A mixed-method approach was adopted to know the perception of higher secondary students towards this blended approach. For this, 150 CBSE board higher secondary students of science stream selected using convenient sampling from Lucknow were surveyed using a Likert-type perception scale comprising 15 items followed by an unstructured interview to know the preferred mode for physics problem-solving. The data so obtained were expressed in percentages. The study revealed that most students agreed with the overall perceived benefits of using conventional and virtual labs separately. But due to the inherent problems of these labs separately, students perceived the benefits offered by the blend of conventional and virtual labs in physics problem-solving more than using them separately. A blend of conventional and virtual labs should be used more often.

Validation of a Novel Wearable Multistream Data Acquisition and Analysis System for Ergonomic Studies.

Nowadays, the growing interest in gathering physiological data and human behavior in everyday life scenarios is paralleled by an increase in wireless devices recording brain and body signals. However, the technical issues that characterize these solutions often limit the full brain-related assessments in real-life scenarios. Here we introduce the Biohub platform, a hardware/software (HW/SW) integrated wearable system for multistream synchronized acquisitions. This system consists of off-the-shelf hardware and state-of-art open-source software components, which are highly integrated into a high-tech low-cost solution, complete, yet easy to use outside conventional labs. It flexibly cooperates with several devices, regardless of the manufacturer, and overcomes the possibly limited resources of recording devices. The Biohub was validated through the characterization of the quality of (i) multistream synchronization, (ii) in-lab electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings compared with a medical-grade high-density device, and (iii) a Brain-Computer-Interface (BCI) in a real driving condition. Results show that this system can reliably acquire multiple data streams with high time accuracy and record standard quality EEG signals, becoming a valid device to be used for advanced ergonomics studies such as driving, telerehabilitation, and occupational safety.

Scaled preparation of extracellular vesicles from conditioned media.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) especially of mesenchymal stem/stomal cells (MSCs) are increasingly considered as biotherapeutic agents for a variety of different diseases. For translating them effectively into the clinics, scalable production processes fulfilling good manufacturing practice (GMP) are needed. Like for other biotherapeutic agents, the manufacturing of EV products can be subdivided in the upstream and downstream processing and the subsequent quality control, each of them containing several unit operations. During upstream processing (USP), cells are isolated, stored (cell banking) and expanded; furthermore, EV-containing conditioned media are produced. During downstream processing (DSP), conditioned media (CM) are processed to obtain concentrated and purified EV products. CM are either stored until DSP or are directly processed. As first unit operation in DSP, clarification removes remaining cells, debris and other larger impurities. The key operations of each EV DSP is volume-reduction combined with purification of the concentrated EVs. Most of the EV preparation methods used in conventional research labs including differential centrifugation procedures are limited in their scalability. Consequently, it is a major challenge in the therapeutic EV field to identify appropriate EV concentration and purification methods allowing scale up. As EVs share several features with enveloped viruses, that are used for more than two decades in the clinics now, several principles can be adopted to EV manufacturing. Here, we introduce and discuss volume reducing and purification methods frequently used for viruses and analyze their value for the manufacturing of EV-based therapeutics.

TESTING THE EFFICACY OF VIRTUAL LABS IN INDIA FOR SIMULATION OF OPTICS EXPERIMENTS AT THE UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL

Laboratory experimentation isan important ingredient of every undergraduate program in science education. The use of virtual and remote laboratories (VRLs) offers several benefits to students, teachers, and instructors. It can mitigate the high costs of procurement of apparatus in traditional labs and can support distance and blended learning. The recent outbreak of Covid-19 has resulted in isolating the students from labs which have made such online laboratories imperative even in the traditional offline education system. They offer a possible alternative to conventional hands-on labs. Such online mode imparts freedom to teachers as well as students to define their experimental goals and objectives. This paper tests the efficacy of the Virtual Labs platform for conducting simulated experiments onlinein the field of Optics. The learning outcome of the students who employ the same to simulate experiments online is analyzed. The main objective is to explore the limitations posed to the users of such an online lab platform in terms of designing the experimentsand visualization of the experiment results and offer suggestions to make such VRLs more efficacious, versatile, and user-friendly.

Delivering remote food engineering labs in COVID-19 time

The impromptu closure of schools and universities and the strict lockdown decided by the French State in March 2020 forced us to find -urgently and without preparation- alternative solutions to conventional face-to-face teaching. Due to their experimental nature, the transposition of labs on pilot plants was particularly challenging. Despite this inherent difficulty, we succeeded in implementing a remote educational device within a few weeks, designed as a viable alternative to conventional food engineering labs for Master level students. Four engineering labs (corresponding to four unit operations widely found in the food industry) were transposed: appertization of cans; concentration in a falling film evaporator; frontal filtration in a plate filter; and spray drying. In the remote labs, hands-on experiments were replaced with various types of virtual tours of the equipment, a detailed description and illustration of its operation, and analysis of real data (previously collected). Evaluation was done via individual quizzes (counting for a small part of the mark, because their aim was above all formative), individual and collective written reports and an individual online oral exam. The teaching team comprised six lecturers, one pedagogical engineer and the person in charge of the technology platform, who also had long experience in distance learning. This experiment took place in the second half of May 2020, with approximately thirty first-year Master students. The effectiveness of the implemented system was evaluated through direct observation and discussions, marks obtained by the students and an anonymous survey. This teaching experiment presents certain flaws induced by the very peculiar conditions of its conception (short time frame, no direct access to the pilot plants). While an “all-digital” approach is not our ultimate aim for these lab sessions, where handling and testing are inherent to the learning process of the student, the educational resources deployed here can be seen as a great incentive to further develop hybrid teaching approaches in food engineering. Moreover, the educational resources and practices implemented in these exceptional circumstances are an opportunity to develop new teaching methods in the future. The present paper reports on this teaching experiment during lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and tries to draw exciting lessons for the future and pitfalls to avoid.

Red Cell Rheology Biomarkers to Assess Cure in Gene-Based Therapies

Introduction Red cell rheology is abnormal in sickle cell disease (SCD); red blood cells (RBC) are rigid, dense, and the sickle hemoglobin (HbS) polymerizes with deoxygenation. There are several devices commercially available and under development to assess RBC rheology. One is an oxygen gradient ektacytometer (Lorrca with Oxygenscan, RR Mechatronics) which measures RBC deformability under oxygenated conditions (EImax) and deoxygenated conditions (EImin), and the oxygen concentration at which deformability begins to worsen, point of sickling (PoS). A commercially available hematology analyzer, the ADVIA (Siemens), measures hemoglobin (Hb) by flow and colorimetric methods, permitting automated calculation of the percent dense red blood cells (%DRBC). Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (alloHSCT) can provide a cure for SCD, and viable gene-based therapy options are under investigation to serve the many patients without a matched related donor. However, the level of HbS correction or functional Hb induction necessary to achieve a cure is still unknown. Clinical endpoints such as prevention of pain events are important, but it is possible to be pain free for several years while still experiencing organ damage. As gene-based therapy clinical trials move forward, we must assess the level of functional improvement beyond Hb profile and conventional clinical labs. We propose that the goal of any gene-based SCD therapy should be to normalize blood rheology to the level of an individual with sickle cell trait (HbAS), and that EImax, EImin, PoS, and %DRBC may be used to distinguish between HbAS and HbSS/Sβ0 genotypes. Methods Subjects: Blood samples were collected from 257 unique patients (17 HbAS, and 240 HbSS/Sβ0) under IRB-approved protocols at Texas Children's Hospital and University Medical Center Utrecht. Patients were 56% male, ages 9 months to 22 years. Some HbSS/Sβ0 subjects were on transfusion and hydroxyurea (HU) (Table 1). Fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels ranged from 0-41%. Oxygen gradient ektacytometry: Blood collected in EDTA and standardized to a fixed RBC count was suspended in 5 mL polyvinylpyrrolidone at room temperature. 1.5 mL of the sample solution was injected into test cup. Each sample was run in duplicate. ADVIA: 250µL of blood collected in EDTA at room temperature was aspirated to measure the %DRBC, defined as the percentage of RBCs with a Hb concentration >1.11 mg/mL. Analysis: Patient characteristics were summarized using median with 25th and 75th percentiles, and frequency with percentage. Characteristics and labs were compared by group with t-test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, or Fisher's exact test. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analyses were performed to identify HbAS versus HbSS/Sβ0 for each biomarker. All analyses were performed using Stata 15. Results The EImin, EImax, PoS, and %DRBC differed significantly between the HbAS and HbSS/Sβ0 groups, despite including transfused, very young, and HU-treated samples in the HbSS/Sβ0 cohort (p<0.001, p=0.002, p<0.001, and p<0.001, respectively; Table 1). ROC analysis showed that a threshold Elmin greater than or equal to 0.453 identified HbAS with 94.12% sensitivity and 95.43% specificity. EImax greater or equal to 0.569 identified HbAS with 94.12% sensitivity and 81.57% specificity. PoS less than 21.38 mmHg identified HbAS with 93.87% sensitivity and 93.33% specificity. %DRBC less than 1.6% identified HbAS with 88.13% sensitivity and 88.00% specificity (Table 2). Conclusion Conventional laboratory testing may not be able to establish if gene-based therapy has achieved a cure. We propose to define a cure as achievement of an HbAS level of RBC quality in a gene-based therapy edited RBC population. We show that rheological biomarkers EImin, EImax, PoS, and %DRBC differ significantly between individuals with HbAS and HbSS/Sβ0 of all spectrums of severity and treatment regimens. Not only are the rheological biomarker values significantly different, but there is little to no overlap in ranges of values obtained from the different genotypes, even in heavily transfused HbSS patients, with HbS as low as 31%. EImin, EImax, PoS, and %DRBC functionally identify genotype with high sensitivity and specificity; we propose that they be used not to diagnose SCD, but to determine if a HbSS or HbSS/Sβ0 individual who has undergone successful gene-based therapy has achieved the RBC functionality of a HbAS individual. Disclosures van Beers: Novartis: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Agios: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; RR mechatronics: Research Funding. Wijk:Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc.: Research Funding; RR mechatronics: Research Funding. Rab:RR Mechatronics: Research Funding. Sheehan:Global Blood Therapeutics: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Emmaus: Research Funding.

Quantitation of Single and Combinatorial Histone Modifications by Integrated Chromatography of Bottom-up Peptides and Middle-down Polypeptide Tails.

The analysis of histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) by mass spectrometry (MS) has been critical to the advancement of the field of epigenetics. The most sensitive and accurate workflow is similar to the canonical proteomics analysis workflow (bottom-up MS), where histones are digested into short peptides (4-20 aa) and quantitated in extracted ion chromatograms. However, this limits the ability to detect even very common co-occurrences of modifications on histone proteins, preventing biological interpretation of PTM crosstalk. By digesting with GluC rather than trypsin, it is possible to produce long polypeptides corresponding to intact histone N-terminal tails (50-60 aa), where most modifications reside. This middle-down MS approach is used to study distant PTM co-existence. However, the most sensitive middle-down workflow uses weak cation exchange-hydrophilic interaction chromatography (WCX-HILIC), which is less robust than conventional reversed-phase chromatography. Additionally, since the buffer systems for middle-down and bottom-up proteomics differ substantially, it is cumbersome to toggle back and forth between both experimental setups on the same LC system. Here, we present a new workflow using porous graphitic carbon (PGC) as a stationary phase for histone analysis where bottom-up and middle-down sized histone peptides can be analyzed simultaneously using the same reversed-phase buffer setup. By using this protocol for middle-down sized peptides, we identified 406 uniquely modified intact histone tails and achieved a correlation of 0.85 between PGC and WCX-HILICLC methods. Together, our method facilitates the analysis of single and combinatorial histone PTMs with much simpler applicability for conventional proteomics labs than the state-of-the-art middle-down MS.

Mineral and Bone Disorders After Kidney Transplantation.

The risk of mineral and bone disorders among patients with chronic kidney disease is substantially elevated, owing largely to alterations in calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D, parathyroid hormone, and fibroblast growth factor 23. The interwoven relationship among these minerals and hormones results in maladaptive responses that are differentially affected by the process of kidney transplantation. Interpretation of conventional labs, imaging, and other fracture risk assessment tools are not standardized in the post-transplant setting. Post-transplant bone disease is not uniformly improved and considerable variation exists in monitoring and treatment practices. A spectrum of abnormalities such as hypophosphatemia, hypercalcemia, hyperparathyroidism, osteomalacia, osteopenia, and osteoporosis are commonly encountered in the post-transplant period. Thus, reducing fracture risk and other bone-related complications requires recognition of these abnormalities along with the risk incurred by concomitant immunosuppression use. As kidney transplant recipients continue to age, the drivers of bone disease vary throughout the post-transplant period among persistent hyperparathyroidism, de novo hyperparathyroidism, and osteoporosis. The use of anti-resorptive therapies require understanding of different options and the clinical scenarios that warrant their use. With limited studies underscoring clinical events such as fractures, expert understanding of MBD physiology, and surrogate marker interpretation is needed to determine ideal and individualized therapy.

INTEGRATING ELEMENTS OF TEAM-BASED LEARNING AND INCREASING INDEPENDENCE IN A 4TH-YEAR LAB COURSE TO PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL THINKING, PROBLEM-SOLVING AND TROUBLESHOOTING SKILLS

Although conventional labs provide good opportunities to develop technical communication and analytical skills, they offer few avenues to develop creative problem-solving or experimental design skills. Even when an open-ended Problem-Based Lab (PBL) format is followed, many students remain reliant on TAs or instructors and when problems arise are reluctant to attempt a solution themselves. This paper describes a new design for a 4th-year chemical engineering PBL-based lab course that incorporates elements of Team-Based Learning (TBL), flexibility, and greatly reduces formal supervision to promote independence, problem-solving, troubleshooting, and critical thinking skills. The course structure and deliverables are described. Student feedback, collected from surveys, indicates that they preferred this approach compared to regular labs and felt it was quite successful in developing the aforementioned skills and in increasing their confidence in their engineering judgement. It will therefore be expanded in the future.

Conducting Online Lab Experiments with Blockly

Laboratory experimentation plays an essential role in control education. To reduce the high costs of maintaining apparatus in traditional labs and to support distance and blended learning, online laboratories are used as a possible alternative to conventional hands-on labs. In these labs it is often desirable to allow students to define their own experiments. This paper presents the definition and implementation of a generic experimentation language for conducting automatic experiments on existing online laboratories. The main objective is to use an online lab, created independently, as a component in which users can perform experiments. To achieve it, authors present the Experiment Application. It is composed by Blockly, to define and design the experiments, and Google Chart, review and visualize the experiment results. This tool offers benefits to students, teachers and, even, lab designers. For the moment, it can be used with any existing lab or simulation created with the authoring tool Easy Java(script) Simulations. Since there are repositories with hundreds of free available labs created with this tool, the potential applicability of the described tool is considerable. To illustrate the utility of the Experiment Application a very well-known system is used: the Simple Harmonic Oscillator system.

Virtual and remote labs in education: A bibliometric analysis

Laboratory experimentation plays an essential role in engineering and scientific education. Virtual and remote labs reduce the costs associated with conventional hands-on labs due to their required equipment, space, and maintenance staff. Furthermore, they provide additional benefits such as supporting distance learning, improving lab accessibility to handicapped people, and increasing safety for dangerous experimentation. This paper analyzes the literature on virtual and remote labs from its beginnings to 2015, identifying the most influential publications, the most researched topics, and how the interest in those topics has evolved along the way. To do so, bibliographical data gathered from ISI Web of Science, Scopus and GRC2014 have been examined using two prominent bibliometric approaches: science mapping and performance analysis.

Development of Online Optical Fiber Communications Experiments using the Interactive ILabs Shared Architecture

intervention approach in introducing new online fiber optic communications labs in an operating environment where resources for establishing new conventional labs are limited is presented. The focus of this educational intervention is on the technological aspect required to develop and deploy the labs online. The developed labs demonstrated some of the distinctive features of fiber optic communications compared to the conventional electronics copper wire communications media. Telecommunications kits from Emona - FOTEx, National Instruments - ELVIS II hardware platform and MIT iLabs Shared Architecture remote lab framework were used to develop and deploy online fiber optic experiments. The developed labs have provided means for students to perform relatively new lab work anytime, anywhere. The sharing aspects extend their accessibility to other institutions with similar operating environment and limited technical know- how on managing remote labs.

Practical Applications of in Vivo and ex Vivo MRI in Toxicologic Pathology Using a Novel High-performance Compact MRI System.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely used in preclinical research and drug development and is a powerful noninvasive method for assessment of phenotypes and therapeutic efficacy in murine models of disease. In vivo MRI provides an opportunity for longitudinal evaluation of tissue changes and phenotypic expression in experimental animal models. Ex vivo MRI of fixed samples permits a thorough examination of multiple digital slices while leaving the specimen intact for subsequent conventional hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) histology. With the advent of new compact MRI systems that are designed to operate in most conventional labs without the cost, complexity, and infrastructure needs of conventional MRI systems, the possibility of MRI becoming a practical modality is now viable. The purpose of this study was to investigate the capabilities of a new compact, high-performance MRI platform (M2™; Aspect Imaging, Israel) as it relates to preclinical toxicology studies. This overview will provide examples of major organ system pathologies with an emphasis on how compact MRI can serve as an important adjunct to conventional pathology by nondestructively providing 3-dimensional (3-D) digital data sets, detailed morphological insights, and quantitative information. Comparative data using compact MRI for both in vivo and ex vivo are provided as well as validation using conventional H&E.

Treadmill vs. overground running gait during childhood: A qualitative and quantitative analysis

Conventional gait labs are limited in their ability to study running gait due to their size. There is no consensus in the literature regarding the ability to extrapolate results for adult treadmill running to overground. This comparison has not been studied in children. Twenty-four healthy children (mean age 11.7) ran overground at a slow running speed while motion capture, ground reaction force, and surface electromyography (EMG) data were obtained. The same data were then collected while participants ran for 6min on an instrumented treadmill at a speed similar to their overground speed. The kinematic, kinetic, and EMG data for overground and treadmill running were compared. Sagittal plane kinematics demonstrated similar hip and knee waveforms with the exception of more knee extension just before toe off. Ankle kinematic waveforms were similar during stance phase but treadmill running demonstrated decreased dorsiflexion during swing. Kinetic data was significantly different between the two conditions with treadmill running having a more anterior ground reaction force compared to overground. Due to the numerous differences between overground and treadmill gait demonstrated in this study, it is felt that the use of an instrumented treadmill is not a surrogate to the study of overground running in a pediatric population. This data set will function as a normative data set against which future treadmill studies can be compared.

The Use of Aids for Teaching Language Components

Purpose: To present briefly the basic used phases when using aids to teach language components and also to outline the possible aids that could be used to support the teaching of each language component. Method: Related literature about the teaching of language components and use of aids were thoroughly consulted. On the basis of this, the study did not include any data-collection, investigated hypotheses, or whatever! It is just a descriptive study. Results: The descriptive discussion of the above raised issue indicated that three phases are to be minimally considered when using aids to teach the sound system component: discrimination and recognition, repletion and/or imitation, and free-production; three phases also for grammatical structures, namely: mechanical-drills, meaningful-exercises, and communicative exercises; and three also for vocabulary: form, meaning, and contextual usage and collocations. Besides, the major possible aids for teaching each language component were outlined and followed with the use of conventional labs, radio and TV¾for teaching language components. The last part introduced computer-assisted language learning CALL, its uses and the advantages of using it for teaching language components in particular and language skills in general. Conclusions: The use of aids whether they were conventional or modern is inexorably required so that language teachers can achieve what could have never been achieved through non-aid use teaching methods and/or strategies. Keywords: Language components, aids for teaching language components, , sound system, vocabulary, grammatical structures, computer-assisted language learning, aids-use teaching approach, non-aids-use teaching approach