Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reading Comprehension: Effects of Individualized, Integrated Language Arts as a Reading Approach with Struggling Readers

This study examined the effects of individualized, integrated language arts as a reading approach on struggling readers' comprehension scores obtained from oral narrative, silent narrative, and silent expository passages at three levels: below-grade, on-grade, and above-grade levels. Students (N = 93) in grades four through eight, who were reading below grade level, participated in the study. Treatment group students (n = 51) received individualized, integrated language arts as a reading approach once a week in place of basal reading instruction. Comparison group students (n = 42) received basal reading instruction for the duration of the study. Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to analyze posttest Analytical Reading Inventory (ARI) comprehension scores. Several statistically significant (p < .001) differences in comprehension performance were found for on-grade-level scores and for above-grade-level scores, but few differences were found between treatment and comparison groups on below-grade-level scores. All statistically significant differences favored students in the treatment group. The findings of the study strongly suggest that the use of individualized, integrated language arts as a method for teaching reading is an effective approach for improving the reading comprehension performance of struggling readers.
Saltating particles in a turbulent boundary layer: experiment and theory

The work presented here focuses on the analysis of a turbulent boundary layer saturated with saltating particles. Experiments were carried out in a wind tunnel 15m long and 0.6m wide at the University of Aarhus in Denmark with sand grains 242 μm in size for wind speeds ranging from the threshold speed to twice its value. The saltating particles were analysed using particle image velocimetry (PIV) and particle-tracking velocimetry (PTV), and vertical profiles of particle concentration and velocity were extracted. The particle concentration was found to decrease exponentially with the height above the bed, and the characteristic decay height was independent of the wind speed. In contrast with the logarithmic profile of the wind speed, the grain velocity was found to vary linearly with the height. In addition, the measurements indicated that the grain velocity profile depended only slightly on the wind speed. These results are shown to be closely related to the features of the splash function that characterizes the impact of the saltating particles on a sandbed. A numerical simulation is developed that explicitly incorporates low-velocity moments of the splash function in a calculation of the boundary conditions that apply at the bed. The overall features of the experimental measurements are reproduced by simulation.
The Role of Factor Content in Trade: Have Changes in Factor Endowments Been Reflected in Trade Patterns and on Relative Wages?

The pattern of trade analysed from a factor content perspective reflects the relative factor endowments of the countries examined. Although some large economies, such as the United States, seem to exhibit counter-intuitive behaviour, this is reversed when intermediate trade is taken into account. We argue this is a reflection of the changing nature of production processes and trade. The evidence presented here implies factor endowments are undergoing changes that call for careful analysis of the measures commonly used in trade. Acknowledging the role of intermediate goods to understand a country‘s factor content trade position is one step. Additionally, one must account for the interaction between the domestic determination of employment and wages with international movement of goods and services, and location of tasks.
Upland (aerobic) rice breeding for the harsh environment of the High Plateau of Madagascar

Rice is the staple crop and food in Madagascar, where further expansion of new irrigated lowland rice fields is almost impossible. The challenge is to intensify lowland rice cultivation and to develop new efficient and sustainable rice-based production systems for upland conditions. Blast populations have overcome the resistance of the first set of released varieties causing heavy losses, especially within intensified rice cropping systems. The cold and humid conditions of the High Plateau increase the risk of panicle sterility and favor blast epidemics. The breeding program has therefore focused on widening the genetic base with emphasis on blast tolerance through introduction of new genetic resources, as well as further investigation of the local genetic diversity. Nepalese traditional lowland landraces well adapted to cold environments and altitude, such as Jumli Marshi or Chhomrong Dhan, with the latter performing particularly well in upland conditions, have been used as parents. A mixture of breeding strategies — bi-parental crosses, recurrent population improvement and markerassisted backcrosses to introgress the three blast-resistance genes (Pi1, Pi2, Pi33) into susceptible varieties FOFIFA 154 and FOFIFA 152 — is being implemented with the objective of creating new adapted, blastresistant varieties. No-tillage cropping systems on mulches from crop residue and integrated pest management strategies for upland rice cultivation are also under investigation for sustainability in this extreme and fragile ecosystem. Upland lines developed in Madagascar have already been successfully evaluated in the highlands of Andean areas of Colombia and Bolivia.
Effects of food insecurity and universal school meals on children’s dietary intake

Author(s): Tan, May Lynn | Advisor(s): Laraia, Barbara | Abstract: This dissertation focuses on dietary intake patterns of children from low-income communities, and specifically the relationships of diet to food insecurity and school nutrition programs, respectively. The dissertation is divided into two parts. Part I discusses issues surrounding the measurement of food insecurity among children and provides support for the use of self-reported food insecurity measures, and for investigating effects that may differ by gender. Paper 1 explores the relationship between self-reported food insecurity and diet separately for boys and girls, using a dataset of 3,582 fourth and fifth grade students from San Diego area elementary schools. It concludes that among food-insecure children, gender may interact with food insecurity to influence eating behavior, with girls more prone than boys to alter their eating. Findings support a rationale to reduce child food insecurity and to address eating patterns that may place girls at greater risk for energy imbalances during critical periods of development.Part II focuses on the role of school nutrition programs in reducing food insecurity and improving dietary intake among participants. It introduces the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), discusses relevant legislation and political trends, and provides a conceptual framework for hypothesized pathways through which CEP may influence student outcomes. Paper 2 examines associations between CEP and school meal participation among students who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals (FRPM), near the eligibility cutoff but possibly eligible, or above the cutoff and ineligible, using a difference-in-difference framework and a cross-sectional national sample of 2,305 students from grades K-8. It finds that CEP is associated with higher participation in school breakfast and lunch, particularly among those who were above the cutoff and would not have had access to free or reduced-price meals through a 3-tiered application and certification model. Paper 3 investigates associations among school meal participation, CEP, and dietary intake patterns using a larger sample of 4,124 students from grades K-8. It uses a regression framework to identify whether CEP is an effect modifier of relationships between school meal participation and dietary measures. It concludes that CEP is modestly associated with improved dietary intakes and may help reduce nutritional disparities for students in high-poverty schools. Finally, a special supplemental section explores the extent to which endogeneity in meal participation at CEP schools is a potential threat to these conclusions, using an instrumental variable approach to help control for omitted variables. There was no evidence to support the hypothesis that the dietary effects identified in Paper 3 resulted from shifting the source of student meals from home to school for the subset of students whose participation was induced by CEP. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of alternative explanations for the relationships found.
Viability and properties of roll-to-roll coating of cellulose nanofibrils on recycled paperboard

Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) are, due in large part to excellent gas barrier properties, a potential environmentally friendly alternative to inorganic and petrochemical coatings of e.g. paperboard in packaging applications. In the current paper successful roll-to-roll coating of three qualities of CNF is demonstrated on a recycled quality, porous paperboard using a custom-built pilot machine. Single layers of three different thicknesses were applied for each coating. The three CNF qualities used were carboxymethylated CNF (CNF-C), TEMPOoxidized CNF (CNF-T) and mechanically produced CNF without chemical pre-treatment (CNF-M). All three qualities, which have a range of surface charge, fibril size and fibril size distribution, are shown to produce films that adhere well to the base board. It is revealed that the coating is suspended across surface pores in the base board, as opposed to penetrate into the base board pore structure. Samples were investigated for air and water permeability, gloss, surface roughness and hole density in the coating. Chemically pretreated qualities outperform CNF-M. Addition of 5 wt% carboxy-methyl cellulose (CMC) was shown to reduce hole formation, improve gloss and reduce surface roughness. For thick applications of pre-treated CNF, in particular CNF-C, mechanical strength of the board in and out of the plane increase beyond the untreated or water treated base board. Possibly a consequence of matter migrating through the base board from the CNF suspension.
Simple Synthesis of Some Diphenylsulfapyrimidine Acetates from Chalcones and Their Antimicrobial Activity.

Since a very low yield (19—43 %) in the reported results on the cyclocondensation of sulfaguanidine acetate with chalcones was given, a careful reinvestigation was carried out. New series of chalcones, bearing electron-attracting groups in the aromatic moiety, have been used as precursors in the synthesis of diphenylsulfapyrimidine acetates with good yield. The compounds were tested for their biological properties.
Political Discourse Analysis : A Case Study of 2014 Andhra Pradesh State Assembly Election of Interpersonal Speech Choices

Since the beginning of the 20th century, people have started studying the correlation between language and culture. They observed how language is used in discourses to establish power relations in the society. Eggins (2004) found that the link between language and the choice made by the speaker in the exchange enable us to see speakers making meaning about interpersonal: the extent of their intimacy, their level of familiarity with each other and their attitudes and judgments. In political speeches, the speaker uses language to persuade the voters, influence their perceptions and build a positive interpersonal identity. Keeping in mind this result-oriented attempt by the speakers, Van Dijk and others (1997) describe discourse as political when it has a direct functional role as a form of political action in the political process. In this paper, we will look at four such speeches given by notable politicians from both winning and losing parties during the campaign of Andhra Pradesh State Assembly elections of 2014 and closely observe the linguistic choices made at the lexical and semantic levels. By a contrastive analysis of the speeches of winning and losing parties, we can identify the linguistic features which contribute to the outcome.
Multi-functionalized graphene oxide based anticancer drug-carrier with dual-targeting function and pH-sensitivity

A dual-targeting drug delivery and pH-sensitive controlled release system based on multi-functionalized graphene oxide (GO) was established in order to enhance the effect of targeted drug delivery and realize intelligently controlled release. A superparamagnetic GO–Fe3O4 nanohybrid was firstly prepared via a simple and effective chemical precipitation method. Then folic acid, a targeting agent toward some tumor cells, was conjugated onto Fe3O4 nanoparticlesvia the chemical linkage with amino groups of the 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APS) modified superparamagnetic GO–Fe3O4 nanohybrid, to give the multi-functionalized GO. Doxorubicin hydrochloride (Dox) as an anti-tumor drug model was loaded onto the surface of this multi-functionalized GO via π–π stacking. The drug loading capacity of this multi-functionalized GO is as high as 0.387 mg mg−1 and the drug release depends strongly on pH values. Cell uptake studies were carried out using fluorescein isothiocyanate labeled or Dox loaded multi-functionalized GO to evaluate their targeted delivery property and toxicity to tumor cells. The results show that this multi-functionalized GO has potential applications for targeted delivery and the controlled release of anticancer drugs.
Shift-invariant multichannel blind restoration

Existing multichannel blind restoration techniques are prone to noise, assume perfect spatial alignment of channels and a correct estimation of blur size. We develop an alternating minimization scheme based on maximum a posteriori probability estimation with a priori distribution of blurs derived from the multichannel framework and a priori distribution of original images defined by the total variation semi-norm. This stochastic approach enables us to recover the blurs and the original image from channels severely corrupted by noise. We observe that the exact knowledge of the blur size is not necessary and we show that translation misregistration up to a certain extent can be automatically removed in the restoration process.
Dental caries and salivary physiochemical characteristics among osteoporotic old adult women

Background: Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder affects general health in addition to effect on salivary physical and chemical composition which lead to an adverse effect on oral health status. This study was conducted to evaluate the concentration of glycoprotein (osteonectin) in saliva and its effect on dental caries in relation to salivary flow rate and viscosity among osteoporotic women and compared to control group. Materials and Methods: The total sample composed of 60 females aged 60-65 years attending Al-Yarmook Teaching Hospital, 30 females diagnosed with osteoporosis by measuring bone density at the spine and femur with a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at T-score of >2.5, and 30 women without osteoporosis with T-score of ˂-1 (control group). The diagnosis and recording of dental caries was through the application of D1-4MFS index according to criteria of Muhlemman (1976). Stimulated salivary samples were collected under standardized condition, according to Tenovuo and Lagerlof, (1994). The flow rate and viscosity were estimated and then the saliva was analyzed for estimation of glycoprotein (osteonectin) by using Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: The percentage of dental caries occurrence was 100% among osteoporotic group and control group. Results revealed that DMFS value was higher but statistically not significant among osteoporotic women, Concerning DMFS components, the data of the present study showed that the DS was lower but statistically not significant among osteoporotic women, while MS value was significantly higher among them (t=2.044, P<0.05, df =58), on the other hand the opposite figure was found concerning filling component FS however the difference was not significant. Correlation coefficients of caries experience with salivary flow rate revealed a weak negative not significant correlation with D1-4MFS and its component.On the other hand, the data of the present study showed that salivary viscosity correlate weakly not significant in negative direction with DS and its severity and in positive direction with MS, FS, DMFS. The correlation coefficient between salivary osteonectin and dental caries were weak significant in positive directions concerning Ds and its severity except D3 and FS component as the relation were in negative direction, the positive not significant relation were also found between salivary osteonectin and MS,DMFS. Concerning the relation between salivary osteonectin and physical properties of saliva, the data of the present study revealed a non-significant relation in negative direction with salivary flow rate and in positive direction for salivary viscosity. Conclusions: Dental caries revealed lower percentage of occurrence among osteoporotic group.
The Study on Detection Method of Water Vapor on Boundary Layer Based on Multiagent System

A method of detecting water vapor on boundary layer based on multiagent system is proposed in this paper. Multiagent system receives electromagnetic signals emitted by the telecommunication base station. Due to the analysis of the actual electromagnetic wave signal propagation path in the atmosphere, atmospheric refraction index and moisture inversion are discussed in this paper. And the feasibility of using electromagnetic detection method is also analyzed. A multiagent system is designed to receive the electromagnetic signals. The composition and function of the multiagent system are clearly described. The atmospheric refractivity is detected by the multiagent system in three weather conditions of sunny, foggy, and rainy days. The results demonstrate the feasibility of water vapor detection method of multiagent system boundary by comparing the result of experiment with traditional method.
Exploring the potential of Raman spectroscopy for crystallochemical analyses of complex hydrous silicates: II. Tourmalines

Abstract A detailed Raman spectroscopic, electron microprobe, and laser ablation-induced coupled plasma-mass spectrometric study of 46 natural tourmalines [XY3Z6(T6O18)(BO3)3V3W] from 10 subgroups was performed to evaluate the potential of the Raman scattering, in particular of the OH bond stretching vibrations, for the identification of tourmaline species and site-occupancy analysis. The widespread chemical variety of the studied samples is reflected in the different spectral shapes. The positions and intensities of the observed vibrational modes can be used for tourmaline species identification. Taking into account the charge of the Y- and Z-site cations as well as the X-site occupancy, the Raman peaks generated by the bond stretching mode of the VOH groups were attributed to different YZZ-YZZ-YZZ cationic configurations, while the peaks originating from WOH stretching is due to chemically different YYY triplets next to an X-site vacancy, X Na, or X Ca. It is shown that the integrated intensities of the VOH-stretching peaks can be used to calculate the contents of the major Y-site elements Mg, (Fe2++Mn2+), Li, and Al. The analysis of the VOH-peak positions yields information on the X-site occupancy. The fitted linear equations can be used to determine the content of X (Na+Ca) and X-site vacancy per formula unit. Guidelines for how to gain crystallochemical information from the Raman spectra of tourmaline are suggested. This study, along with Part 1 dedicated to amphiboles (Leissner et al. 2015), reveals that Raman spectroscopy is well suited as a non-destructive, preparation-free, and easy-to-handle method for species identification and site-occupancy analysis in complex hydrous silicate. Our results demonstrate that the chemistry on the non-tetrahedral positions substantially influences the Raman-active H-O bond stretching phonon modes, which allows for quantitative compositional analysis, including the content of lithium.
Analysis of GeMS tip-tilt on-sky data: LQG implementation for vibration rejections

Adaptive Optics (AO) systems aim at detecting and correcting for optical distortions induced by atmospheric turbulences on ground based telescopes astronomical images. They are also extremely sensitive to extraneous sources of perturbations such as vibrations, which degrade their performance. A new well defined vibration at 37Hz has been detected in January 2015 and is still currently affecting the Gemini South telescope secondary mirror. We show how its existence limits the performance of the operational systems at Gemini South: The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) and the Gemini Multi-Conjugated AO system (GeMS). We further focus on how these vibrations are affecting GeMS performance and propose to implement the Tip-Tilt control strategy first tested on CANARY and routinely used on SPHERE. It combines identification of a sum of auto-regressive models of order 2 with a Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) control. LQG is now routinely used for Tip-Tilt and focus control for GPI and has been successfully tested on all modes on CANARY. We show that the expected gain in performance brought by this LQG Tip-Tilt control strategy on GeMS compared with an Integral Controller is on the order of 15 to 20mas. The analysis was conducted in ”replay mode” using GeMS Tip-Tilt on-sky data. This allows realistic performance assessment before implementation inside the Real-Time Computer (RTC) of GeMS and on-sky tests during the first semester of 2016.
Evaluation of Soil Tests for Measuring Potentially Mineralizable Soil N in Southern Idaho Soils

Developing rapid soil tests to predict N availability could improve management strategies for irrigated crops and would assist in sustainable production. No rapid soil test has been evaluated for applicability in irrigated systems in the semiarid western united States. Soils were collected at two sampling depths (0–30 and 30–60 cm) from irrigated fields across southern Idaho representing predominant soil classes, crops, and irrigation management systems; a 0–60 cm depth was calculated. Anaerobic incubations were used to estimate N mineralization (NMIN) in the sampled soils. The tests were positively correlated with NMIN: the amino sugar N (ASN) test was strongly correlated at 0 to 30 cm (r = 0.73) and 0 to 60 cm (r = 0.79). The flush of CO2 from soil after capillary rewetting (FL_CO2_C) was also strongly correlated at the 0to 30-cm depth (r = 0.73) and 0to 60-cm depth (r = 0.67). The loss on ignition (LOI) test was strongly correlated for the 0to 30(r = 0.65) and 0to 60-cm (r = 0.67) depths. Removal of sites with high soil organic matter resulted in improved r2 for LOI and ASN but not FL_CO2_C. The relationship of several tests with NMIN warrants further investigation of their ability to predict crop responses in the region. The ASN test uses a standard 2 M KCl extract, can be automated, and is easily implemented with only minor changes. These results should be expanded to field correlation calibration trials before any test is recommended.