Assessment of oral storytelling abilities of Latino junior high school students with learning handicaps.

PubMed

Goldstein, B C; Harris, K C; Klein, M D

1993-02-01

This study investigated the relationship between reading comprehension and oral storytelling abilities. Thirty-one Latino junior high school students with learning handicaps were selected as subjects based on learning handicapped designation, home language, and language proficiency status. Reading comprehension was measured by the Reading Comprehension subtest of the Peabody Individual Achievement Test. Storytelling was measured by (a) the Oral Production subtest of the Language Assessment Scales using the standard scoring protocol and (b) a story structure analysis. A comparison of the standard scoring protocol and reading comprehension revealed no relationship, while the comparison of the story structure analysis and reading comprehension revealed a significant correlation. The implications of these results for language assessment of bilingual students are discussed.

Some Relationships between Operativity and Reading Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stack, Wesner Brown

Samples of 98 fourth graders and 111 sixth graders participated in a study of the relationships between operational thinking and reading comprehension of texts involving operational structures. Tests of operational thinking, reading comprehension, IQ, and vocabulary were administered in class groups. Results from correlational and factor analyses…

Hypertext comprehension of deaf and hard-of-hearing students and students with specific language impairment.

PubMed

Blom, Helen; Segers, Eliane; Hermans, Daan; Knoors, Harry; Verhoeven, Ludo

2017-02-01

This paper provides insight into the reading comprehension of hierarchically structured hypertexts within D/HH students and students with SLI. To our knowledge, it is the first study on hypertext comprehension in D/HH students and students with SLI, and it also considers the role of working memory. We compared hypertext versus linear text comprehension in D/HH students and students with SLI versus younger students without language problems who had a similar level of decoding and vocabulary. The results demonstrated no difference in text comprehension between the hierarchically structured hypertext and the linear text. Text comprehension of D/HH students and students with SLI was comparable to that of the students without language problems. In addition, there was a similar positive predictive value of visuospatial and not verbal working memory on hypertext comprehension for all three groups. The findings implicate that educational settings can make use of hierarchically structured hypertexts as well as linear texts and that children can navigate in the digital world from young age on, even if language or working memory problems are present. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On the Parity of Structural Persistence in Language Production and Comprehension

PubMed Central

Tooley, Kristen M.; Bock, Kathryn

2014-01-01

Structural priming creates structural persistence. That is, differences in experience with syntax can change subsequent language performance, and the changes can be observed in both language production and comprehension. However, the effects in comprehension and production appear to differ. In comprehension, persistence is typically found when the verbs are the same in primes and targets; in production, persistence occurs without verb overlap. The contrast suggests a theoretically important hypothesis: parsing in comprehension is lexically driven while formulation in production is structurally driven. A major weakness in this hypothesis about comprehension-production differences is that its empirical motivation rests on the outcomes of experiments in which the priming manipulations differ, the primed sentence structures differ, and the measures of priming differ. To sharpen the comparison, we examined structural persistence with and without verb overlap in both reading comprehension and spoken production, using the same prime presentation procedure, the same syntactic structures, the same sentences, and the same participants. These methods yielded abstract sructural persistence in comprehension as well as production. A measure of the strength of persistence revealed significant effects of priming and verb overlap without significant comprehension—production differences. This argues for uniformity in the structural mechanisms of language processing. PMID:24803423

False belief and language comprehension in Cantonese-speaking children.

PubMed

Cheung, Him

2006-10-01

The current research compared two accounts of the relation between language and false belief in children, namely that (a) language is generally related to false belief because both require secondary representation in a social-interactional context and that (b) specific language structures that explicitly code metarepresentation contribute uniquely to the language-false belief relation. In three studies, attempts were made to correlate Cantonese-speaking children's false belief with their general language comprehension and understanding of certain structures that explicitly express metarepresentational knowledge. Results showed that these structures failed to predict false belief after age, nonverbal intelligence, and general language comprehension were considered. In contrast, general language remained predictive of false belief after controlling for age, nonverbal intelligence, and language structures. The current findings are more consistent with a general language account than a language structure account.

Syntactic Priming and the Lexical Boost Effect during Sentence Production and Sentence Comprehension: An fMRI Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Segaert, Katrien; Kempen, Gerard; Petersson, Karl Magnus; Hagoort, Peter

2013-01-01

Behavioral syntactic priming effects during sentence comprehension are typically observed only if both the syntactic structure and lexical head are repeated. In contrast, during production syntactic priming occurs with structure repetition alone, but the effect is boosted by repetition of the lexical head. We used fMRI to investigate the neuronal…

Comprehensive Environmental Assessment and U.S. EPA Nanomaterial Case Studies

EPA Science Inventory

These case studies are not completed risk assessments but are structured around an approach known as comprehensive environmental assessment (CEA), which combines a product life cycle framework with the risk assessment paradigm (Davis, J.M., J. Nanosci. Nanotech. 7:402-9, 2007). ...

Phonological Awareness and Speech Comprehensibility: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Venkatagiri, H. S.; Levis, John M.

2007-01-01

This study examined whether differences in phonological awareness were related to differences in speech comprehensibility. Seventeen adults who learned English as a foreign language (EFL) in academic settings completed 14 tests of phonological awareness that measured their explicit knowledge of English phonological structures, and three tests of…

Determinants of Success in Native and Non-Native Listening Comprehension: An Individual Differences Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andringa, Sible; Olsthoorn, Nomi; van Beuningen, Catherine; Schoonen, Rob; Hulstijn, Jan

2012-01-01

The goal of this study was to explain individual differences in both native and non-native listening comprehension; 121 native and 113 non-native speakers of Dutch were tested on various linguistic and nonlinguistic cognitive skills thought to underlie listening comprehension. Structural equation modeling was used to identify the predictors of…

The Reading-Writing Connection II: Text Structure and Reading Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schatzberg-Smith, Kathleen

1987-01-01

Distinguishes between macrostructures and microstructures in text, reviews research on the comprehension of text structures, and concludes that both theory and research support the presence of a link between text structure and reading comprehension. (DMM)

How Problems of Reading Fluency and Comprehension Are Related to Difficulties in Syntactic Awareness Skills among Fifth Graders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mokhtari, Kouider; Thompson, H. Brian

2006-01-01

In this study, we assessed and analyzed 5th grade students' levels of syntactic awareness in relation to their reading fluency and comprehension. The aim was to examine the role of syntactic awareness (children's awareness of the syntactic structure of sentences and their ability to reflect on and manipulate that structure) as a potential source…

The Structure of Oral Language and Reading and Their Relation to Comprehension in Kindergarten through Grade 2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foorman, Barbara R.; Herrera, Sarah; Petscher, Yaacov; Mitchell, Alison; Truckenmiller, Adrea

2015-01-01

This study examined the structure of oral language and reading and their relation to comprehension from a latent variable modeling perspective in Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2. Participants were students in Kindergarten (n = 218), Grade 1 (n = 372), and Grade 2 (n = 273), attending Title 1 schools. Students were administered phonological…

Dimensional Model for Estimating Factors influencing Childhood Obesity: Path Analysis Based Modeling

PubMed Central

Kheirollahpour, Maryam; Shohaimi, Shamarina

2014-01-01

The main objective of this study is to identify and develop a comprehensive model which estimates and evaluates the overall relations among the factors that lead to weight gain in children by using structural equation modeling. The proposed models in this study explore the connection among the socioeconomic status of the family, parental feeding practice, and physical activity. Six structural models were tested to identify the direct and indirect relationship between the socioeconomic status and parental feeding practice general level of physical activity, and weight status of children. Finally, a comprehensive model was devised to show how these factors relate to each other as well as to the body mass index (BMI) of the children simultaneously. Concerning the methodology of the current study, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied to reveal the hidden (secondary) effect of socioeconomic factors on feeding practice and ultimately on the weight status of the children and also to determine the degree of model fit. The comprehensive structural model tested in this study suggested that there are significant direct and indirect relationships among variables of interest. Moreover, the results suggest that parental feeding practice and physical activity are mediators in the structural model. PMID:25097878

Enhancing Reading Comprehension among Students with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roux, Catherine; Dion, Eric; Barrette, Anne

2015-01-01

Reading with comprehension is a challenge for students with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. Unfortunately, research has little to offer to teachers trying to help these students. The present study pilots a new intervention targeting vocabulary, main idea identification, anaphoric relations, and text structure. Students (N = 13, M…

Correlates of lower comprehension of informed consent among participants enrolled in a cohort study in Pune, India.

PubMed

Joglekar, Neelam S; Deshpande, Swapna S; Sahay, Seema; Ghate, Manisha V; Bollinger, Robert C; Mehendale, Sanjay M

2013-03-01

Optimum comprehension of informed consent by research participants is essential yet challenging. This study explored correlates of lower comprehension of informed consent among 1334 participants of a cohort study aimed at estimating HIV incidence in Pune, India. As part of the informed consent process, a structured comprehension tool was administered to study participants. Participants scoring ≥90% were categorised into the 'optimal comprehension group', whilst those scoring 80-89% were categorised into the 'lower comprehension group'. Data were analysed to identify sociodemographic and behavioural correlates of lower consent comprehension. The mean ± SD comprehension score was 94.4 ± 5.00%. Information pertaining to study-related risks was not comprehended by 61.7% of participants. HIV-negative men (adjusted OR [AOR] = 4.36, 95% CI 1.71-11.05) or HIV-negative women (AOR = 13.54, 95% CI 6.42-28.55), illiteracy (AOR= 1.65, 95% CI 1.19-2.30), those with a history of multiple partners (AOR = 1.73, 95% CI 1.12-2.66) and those never using condoms (AOR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.01-1.82) were more likely to have lower consent comprehension. We recommend exploration of domains of lower consent comprehension using a validated consent comprehension tool. Improved education in these specific domains would optimise consent comprehension among research participants.

The Effects of Teaching Informative Text through Processual Model on Reading Comprehension Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sulak, Süleyman Erkam; Günes, Firdevs

2017-01-01

This study was carried out in order to search the effects of teaching informative text structures through processual model on the reading comprehension skills of 4th grade students. The research was designed in accordance with experimental model with pre-test-post-test control groups. The study group of the study consisted of 62 fourth grade…

Mind wandering and reading comprehension: examining the roles of working memory capacity, interest, motivation, and topic experience.

PubMed

Unsworth, Nash; McMillan, Brittany D

2013-05-01

Individual differences in mind wandering and reading comprehension were examined in the current study. In particular, individual differences in mind wandering, working memory capacity, interest in the current topic, motivation to do well on the task, and topic experience and their relations with reading comprehension were examined in the current study. Using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling it was found that variation in mind wandering while reading was influenced by working memory capacity, topic interest, and motivation. Furthermore, these same factors, along with topic experience, influenced individual differences in reading comprehension. Importantly, several factors had direct effects on reading comprehension (and mind wandering), while the relation between reading comprehension (and mind wandering) and other factors occurred via indirect effects. These results suggest that both domain-general and domain-specific factors contribute to mind wandering while reading and to reading comprehension.

Derivational Morphology in Reading Comprehension of Chinese-Speaking Learners of English: A Longitudinal Structural Equation Modeling Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Dongbo

2017-01-01

This longitudinal study examined the contribution of morphological awareness to English as a Second Language (ESL) reading comprehension. Young Chinese-speaking ESL learners completed twice with a one-year interval the same set of tasks that measured derivational awareness, vocabulary breadth, fluency of reading derived words, and passage…

The Acquisition of Pronouns by French Children: A Parallel Study of Production and Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zesiger, Pascal; Zesiger, Laurence Chillier; Arabatzi, Marina; Baranzini, Lara; Cronel-Ohayon, Stephany; Franck, Julie; Frauenfelder, Ulrich Hans; Hamann, Cornelia; Rizzi, Luigi

2010-01-01

This study examines syntactic and morphological aspects of the production and comprehension of pronouns by 99 typically developing French-speaking children aged 3 years, 5 months to 6 years, 5 months. A fine structural analysis of subject, object, and reflexive clitics suggests that whereas the object clitic chain crosses the subject chain, the…

Brain structure differences between Chinese and Caucasian cohorts: A comprehensive morphometry study.

PubMed

Tang, Yuchun; Zhao, Lu; Lou, Yunxia; Shi, Yonggang; Fang, Rui; Lin, Xiangtao; Liu, Shuwei; Toga, Arthur

2018-05-01

Numerous behavioral observations and brain function studies have demonstrated that neurological differences exist between East Asians and Westerners. However, the extent to which these factors relate to differences in brain structure is still not clear. As the basis of brain functions, the anatomical differences in brain structure play a primary and critical role in the origination of functional and behavior differences. To investigate the underlying differences in brain structure between the two cultural/ethnic groups, we conducted a comparative study on education-matched right-handed young male adults (age = 22-29 years) from two cohorts, Han Chinese (n = 45) and Caucasians (n = 45), using high-dimensional structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. Using two well-validated imaging analysis techniques, surface-based morphometry (SBM) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM), we performed a comprehensive vertex-wise morphometric analysis of the brain structures between Chinese and Caucasian cohorts. We identified consistent significant between-group differences in cortical thickness, volume, and surface area in the frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital, and insular lobes as well as the cingulate cortices. The SBM analyses revealed that compared with Caucasians, the Chinese population showed larger cortical structures in the temporal and cingulate regions, and smaller structural measures in the frontal and parietal cortices. The VBM data of the same sample was well-aligned with the SBM findings. Our findings systematically revealed comprehensive brain structural differences between young male Chinese and Caucasians, and provided new neuroanatomical insights to the behavioral and functional distinctions in the two cultural/ethnic populations. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Correlates of lower comprehension of informed consent among participants enrolled in a cohort study in Pune, India

PubMed Central

Joglekar, Neelam S.; Deshpande, Swapna S.; Sahay, Seema; Ghate, Manisha V.; Bollinger, Robert C.; Mehendale, Sanjay M.

2013-01-01

Background Optimum comprehension of informed consent by research participants is essential yet challenging. This study explored correlates of lower comprehension of informed consent among 1334 participants of a cohort study aimed at estimating HIV incidence in Pune, India. Methods As part of the informed consent process, a structured comprehension tool was administered to study participants. Participants scoring ≥90% were categorised into the ‘optimal comprehension group’, whilst those scoring 80–89% were categorised into the ‘lower comprehension group’. Data were analysed to identify sociodemographic and behavioural correlates of lower consent comprehension. Results The mean ± SD comprehension score was 94.4 ± 5.00%. Information pertaining to study-related risks was not comprehended by 61.7% of participants. HIV-negative men (adjusted OR [AOR] = 4.36, 95% CI 1.71–11.05) or HIV-negative women (AOR = 13.54, 95% CI 6.42–28.55), illiteracy (AOR= 1.65, 95% CI 1.19–2.30), those with a history of multiple partners (AOR = 1.73, 95% CI 1.12–2.66) and those never using condoms (AOR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.01–1.82) were more likely to have lower consent comprehension. Conclusions We recommend exploration of domains of lower consent comprehension using a validated consent comprehension tool. Improved education in these specific domains would optimise consent comprehension among research participants. PMID:24029848

Imitated Prosodic Fluency Predicts Reading Comprehension Ability in Good and Poor High School Readers

PubMed Central

Breen, Mara; Kaswer, Lianne; Van Dyke, Julie A.; Krivokapić, Jelena; Landi, Nicole

2016-01-01

Researchers have established a relationship between beginning readers' silent comprehension ability and their prosodic fluency, such that readers who read aloud with appropriate prosody tend to have higher scores on silent reading comprehension assessments. The current study was designed to investigate this relationship in two groups of high school readers: Specifically Poor Comprehenders (SPCs), who have adequate word level and phonological skills but poor reading comprehension ability, and a group of age- and decoding skill-matched controls. We compared the prosodic fluency of the two groups by determining how effectively they produced prosodic cues to syntactic and semantic structure in imitations of a model speaker's production of syntactically and semantically varied sentences. Analyses of pitch and duration patterns revealed that speakers in both groups produced the expected prosodic patterns; however, controls provided stronger durational cues to syntactic structure. These results demonstrate that the relationship between prosodic fluency and reading comprehension continues past the stage of early reading instruction. Moreover, they suggest that prosodically fluent speakers may also generate more fluent implicit prosodic representations during silent reading, leading to more effective comprehension. PMID:27486409

Improving DHH students' grammar through an individualized software program.

PubMed

Cannon, Joanna E; Easterbrooks, Susan R; Gagné, Phill; Beal-Alvarez, Jennifer

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine if the frequent use of a targeted, computer software grammar instruction program, used as an individualized classroom activity, would influence the comprehension of morphosyntax structures (determiners, tense, and complementizers) in deaf/hard-of-hearing (DHH) participants who use American Sign Language (ASL). Twenty-six students from an urban day school for the deaf participated in this study. Two hierarchical linear modeling growth curve analyses showed that the influence of LanguageLinks: Syntax Assessment and Intervention (LL) resulted in statistically significant gains in participants' comprehension of morphosyntax structures. Two dependent t tests revealed statistically significant results between the pre- and postintervention assessments on the Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation-Norm Referenced. The daily use of LL increased the morphosyntax comprehension of the participants in this study and may be a promising practice for DHH students who use ASL.

Discourse Memory and Reading Comprehension Skill

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perfetti, Charles A.; Goldman, Susan R.

1976-01-01

A study is reported in which short-term memory capacity, estimated by a probe digit task, and memory for structured language, measured by a probe discourse task, were investigated in an experiment with third and fifth grade IQ-matched children representing two levels of reading comprehension skill. (Author/RM)

Content validity of the Comprehensive ICF Core Set for multiple sclerosis from the perspective of speech and language therapists.

PubMed

Renom, Marta; Conrad, Andrea; Bascuñana, Helena; Cieza, Alarcos; Galán, Ingrid; Kesselring, Jürg; Coenen, Michaela

2014-11-01

The Comprehensive International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Set for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a comprehensive framework to structure the information obtained in multidisciplinary clinical settings according to the biopsychosocial perspective of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and to guide the treatment and rehabilitation process accordingly. It is now undergoing validation from the user perspective for which it has been developed in the first place. To validate the content of the Comprehensive ICF Core Set for MS from the perspective of speech and language therapists (SLTs) involved in the treatment of persons with MS (PwMS). Within a three-round e-mail-based Delphi Study 34 SLTs were asked about PwMS' problems, resources and aspects of the environment treated by SLTs. Responses were linked to ICF categories. Identified ICF categories were compared with those included in the Comprehensive ICF Core Set for MS to examine its content validity. Thirty-four SLTs named 524 problems and resources, as well as aspects of environment. Statements were linked to 129 ICF categories (60 Body-functions categories, two Body-structures categories, 42 Activities-&-participation categories, and 25 Environmental-factors categories). SLTs confirmed 46 categories in the Comprehensive ICF Core Set. Twenty-one ICF categories were identified as not-yet-included categories. This study contributes to the content validity of the Comprehensive ICF Core Set for MS from the perspective of SLTs. Study participants agreed on a few not-yet-included categories that should be further discussed for inclusion in a revised version of the Comprehensive ICF Core Set to strengthen SLTs' perspective in PwMS' neurorehabilitation. © 2014 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Temporal lobe networks supporting the comprehension of spoken words.

PubMed

Bonilha, Leonardo; Hillis, Argye E; Hickok, Gregory; den Ouden, Dirk B; Rorden, Chris; Fridriksson, Julius

2017-09-01

Auditory word comprehension is a cognitive process that involves the transformation of auditory signals into abstract concepts. Traditional lesion-based studies of stroke survivors with aphasia have suggested that neocortical regions adjacent to auditory cortex are primarily responsible for word comprehension. However, recent primary progressive aphasia and normal neurophysiological studies have challenged this concept, suggesting that the left temporal pole is crucial for word comprehension. Due to its vasculature, the temporal pole is not commonly completely lesioned in stroke survivors and this heterogeneity may have prevented its identification in lesion-based studies of auditory comprehension. We aimed to resolve this controversy using a combined voxel-based-and structural connectome-lesion symptom mapping approach, since cortical dysfunction after stroke can arise from cortical damage or from white matter disconnection. Magnetic resonance imaging (T1-weighted and diffusion tensor imaging-based structural connectome), auditory word comprehension and object recognition tests were obtained from 67 chronic left hemisphere stroke survivors. We observed that damage to the inferior temporal gyrus, to the fusiform gyrus and to a white matter network including the left posterior temporal region and its connections to the middle temporal gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, and cingulate cortex, was associated with word comprehension difficulties after factoring out object recognition. These results suggest that the posterior lateral and inferior temporal regions are crucial for word comprehension, serving as a hub to integrate auditory and conceptual processing. Early processing linking auditory words to concepts is situated in posterior lateral temporal regions, whereas additional and deeper levels of semantic processing likely require more anterior temporal regions.10.1093/brain/awx169_video1awx169media15555638084001. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Preliminary Findings on the Computer-Administered Multiple-Choice Online Causal Comprehension Assessment, a Diagnostic Reading Comprehension Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davison, Mark L.; Biancarosa, Gina; Carlson, Sarah E.; Seipel, Ben; Liu, Bowen

2018-01-01

The computer-administered Multiple-Choice Online Causal Comprehension Assessment (MOCCA) for Grades 3 to 5 has an innovative, 40-item multiple-choice structure in which each distractor corresponds to a comprehension process upon which poor comprehenders have been shown to rely. This structure requires revised thinking about measurement issues…

ERP Evidence for the Activation of Syntactic Structure During Comprehension of Lexical Idiom.

PubMed

Zhang, Meichao; Lu, Aitao; Song, Pingfang

2017-10-01

The present study used event-related potentials to investigate whether the syntactic structure was activated in the comprehension of lexical idioms, and if so, whether it varied as a function of familiarity and semantic transparency. Participants were asked to passively read the "1+2" structural Chinese lexical idioms with each being presented following 3-5 contextual "1+2" (congruent-structure condition) or "2+1" structural Chinese phrases (incongruent-structure condition). The N400 ERP responses showed more positivity in congruent-structure condition relative to incongruent-structure condition in idioms with high familiarity and high semantic transparency, but less positivity in congruent-structure condition in idioms with high familiarity but low semantic transparency, idioms with low familiarity but high semantic transparency, and idioms with low familiarity and low semantic transparency. Our results suggest that syntactic structure, as the unnecessarity of lexical idiomatic words, was nevertheless activated, independent of familiarity and semantic transparency.

Structural Enhancement of Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trumpower, David L.; Goldsmith, Timothy E.

2004-01-01

Structural learning aids, such as interactive overviews (IOs), have previously been shown to facilitate text comprehension and recall. In this study, we examined the effects of structural aids on learners' structural knowledge and their performance on a procedural transfer task. In Experiment 1, 90 college students were presented definitions of…

Structural Priming and Frequency Effects Interact in Chinese Sentence Comprehension

PubMed Central

Wei, Hang; Dong, Yanping; Boland, Julie E.; Yuan, Fang

2016-01-01

Previous research in several European languages has shown that the language processing system is sensitive to both structural frequency and structural priming effects. However, it is currently not clear whether these two types of effects interact during online sentence comprehension, especially for languages that do not have morphological markings. To explore this issue, the present study investigated the possible interplay between structural priming and frequency effects for sentences containing the Chinese ambiguous construction V NP1 de NP2 in a self-paced reading experiment. The sentences were disambiguated to either the more frequent/preferred NP structure or the less frequent VP structure. Each target sentence was preceded by a prime sentence of three possible types: NP primes, VP primes, and neutral primes. When the ambiguous construction V NP1 de NP2 was disambiguated to the dispreferred VP structure, participants experienced more processing difficulty following an NP prime relative to following a VP prime or a neutral baseline. When the ambiguity was resolved to the preferred NP structure, prime type had no effect. These results suggest that structural priming in comprehension is modulated by the baseline frequency of alternative structures, with the less frequent structure being more subject to structural priming effects. These results are discussed in the context of the error-based, implicit learning account of structural priming. PMID:26869954

Theoretical Study of tip apex electronic structure in Scanning Tunneling Microscope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Heesung; Huang, Min; Randall, John; Cho, Kyeongjae

2011-03-01

Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) has been widely used to explore diverse surface properties with an atomic resolution, and STM tip has played a critical role in controlling surface structures. However, detailed information of atomic and electronic structure of STM tip and the fundamental understanding of STM images are still incomplete. Therefore, it is important to develop a comprehensive understanding of the electronic structure of STM tip. We have studied the atomic and electronic structures of STM tip with various transition metals (TMs) by DFT method. The d-electrons of TM tip apex atoms show different orbital states near the Fermi level. We will present comprehensive data of STM tips from our DFT calculation. Verified quantification of the tip electronic structures will lead to fundamental understanding of STM tip structure-property relationship. This work is supported by the DARPA TBN Program and the Texas ETF. DARPA Tip Based Nanofabrication Program and the Emerging Technology Fund of the State of Texas.

Treatment Effects for Adolescent Struggling Readers: An Application of Moderated Mediation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Greg; Fletcher, Jack M.; Stuebing, Karla K.; Barth, Amy E.; Vaughn, Sharon

2013-01-01

This study used multigroup structural equations to evaluate the possibility that a theory-driven, evidence-based, yearlong reading program for sixth-grade struggling readers moderates the interrelationships among elements of the simple model of reading (i.e., listening comprehension, word reading, and reading comprehension; Hoover & Gough,…

Change, Continuity and Path-Dependency in Hungarian Public Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szolár, Éva

2015-01-01

In this descriptive study the aim is to analyze the Hungarian educational policy history and event-chain of the comprehensive and post-comprehensive project. As a structuring framework this paper used the historical landmarks and the different institutional arrangement models (governance types and power distribution models). Accordingly, three…

Modeling the Relations Among Morphological Awareness Dimensions, Vocabulary Knowledge, and Reading Comprehension in Adult Basic Education Students

PubMed Central

Tighe, Elizabeth L.; Schatschneider, Christopher

2016-01-01

This study extended the findings of Tighe and Schatschneider (2015) by investigating the predictive utility of separate dimensions of morphological awareness as well as vocabulary knowledge to reading comprehension in adult basic education (ABE) students. We competed two- and three-factor structural equation models of reading comprehension. A three-factor model of real word morphological awareness, pseudoword morphological awareness, and vocabulary knowledge emerged as the best fit and accounted for 79% of the reading comprehension variance. The results indicated that the constructs contributed jointly to reading comprehension; however, vocabulary knowledge was the only potentially unique predictor (p = 0.052), accounting for an additional 5.6% of the variance. This study demonstrates the feasibility of applying a latent variable modeling approach to examine individual differences in the reading comprehension skills of ABE students. Further, this study replicates the findings of Tighe and Schatschneider (2015) on the importance of differentiating among dimensions of morphological awareness in this population. PMID:26869981

Modeling the Relations Among Morphological Awareness Dimensions, Vocabulary Knowledge, and Reading Comprehension in Adult Basic Education Students.

PubMed

Tighe, Elizabeth L; Schatschneider, Christopher

2016-01-01

This study extended the findings of Tighe and Schatschneider (2015) by investigating the predictive utility of separate dimensions of morphological awareness as well as vocabulary knowledge to reading comprehension in adult basic education (ABE) students. We competed two- and three-factor structural equation models of reading comprehension. A three-factor model of real word morphological awareness, pseudoword morphological awareness, and vocabulary knowledge emerged as the best fit and accounted for 79% of the reading comprehension variance. The results indicated that the constructs contributed jointly to reading comprehension; however, vocabulary knowledge was the only potentially unique predictor (p = 0.052), accounting for an additional 5.6% of the variance. This study demonstrates the feasibility of applying a latent variable modeling approach to examine individual differences in the reading comprehension skills of ABE students. Further, this study replicates the findings of Tighe and Schatschneider (2015) on the importance of differentiating among dimensions of morphological awareness in this population.

78 FR 46928 - Meeting of the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-02

... come, first served basis, other opportunities for oral comments will be provided at future meetings... appropriate in light of the results of the study. The comprehensive study of the structure of the U.S. Air...

Predicting reading comprehension of narrative and expository texts among Hebrew-speaking readers with and without a reading disability.

PubMed

Primor, Liron; Pierce, Margaret E; Katzir, Tami

2011-12-01

The aim of this study was to investigate which cognitive and reading-related linguistic skills contribute to reading comprehension of narrative and expository texts. The study examined an Israeli national database of Hebrew-speaking readers in fourth grade, from which a subsample of 190 readers with a reading disability (RD) and 190 readers with no reading disability (NRD) was selected. IQ, text reading, reading comprehension, and various linguistic and cognitive skills were assessed. Structural equation modeling results suggested that both groups rely on lower level processes such as text reading accuracy and orthographic knowledge for reading comprehension of both genres. However, RD readers depend more heavily upon these lower level processes compared with NRD for whom higher level processes contribute more to reading comprehension. The various variables accounted for only 25-34% of reading comprehension variance, and possible explanations are discussed. Taken together, these findings highlight the variety of factors influencing reading comprehension and its multidimensional nature.

Total-System Approach To Design And Analysis Of Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Verderaime, V.

1995-01-01

Paper presents overview and study of, and comprehensive approach to, multidisciplinary engineering design and analysis of structures. Emphasizes issues related to design of semistatic structures in environments in which spacecraft launched, underlying concepts applicable to other structures within unique terrestrial, marine, or flight environments. Purpose of study to understand interactions among traditionally separate engineering design disciplines with view toward optimizing not only structure but also overall design process.

Annotation and structural elucidation of bovine milk oligosaccharides and determination of novel fucosylated structures

PubMed Central

Aldredge, Danielle L; Geronimo, Maria R; Hua, Serenus; Nwosu, Charles C; Lebrilla, Carlito B; Barile, Daniela

2013-01-01

Bovine milk oligosaccharides (BMOs) are recognized by the dairy and food industries, as well as by infant formula manufacturers, as novel, high-potential bioactive food ingredients. Recent studies revealed that bovine milk contains complex oligosaccharides structurally related to those previously thought to be present in only human milk. These BMOs are microbiotic modulators involved in important biological activities, including preventing pathogen binding to the intestinal epithelium and serving as nutrients for a selected class of beneficial bacteria. Only a small number of BMO structures are fully elucidated. To better understand the potential of BMOs as a class of biotherapeutics, their detailed structure analysis is needed. This study initiated the development of a structure library of BMOs and a comprehensive evaluation of structure-related specificity. The bovine milk glycome was profiled by high-performance mass spectrometry and advanced separation techniques to obtain a comprehensive catalog of BMOs, including several novel, lower abundant neutral and fucosylated oligosaccharides that are often overlooked during analysis. Structures were identified using isomer-specific tandem mass spectroscopy and targeted exoglycosidase digestions to produce a BMO library detailing retention time, accurate mass and structure to allow their rapid identification in future studies. PMID:23436288

Delamination Assessment Tool for Spacecraft Composite Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Portela, Pedro; Preller, Fabian; Wittke, Henrik; Sinnema, Gerben; Camanho, Pedro; Turon, Albert

2012-07-01

Fortunately only few cases are known where failure of spacecraft structures due to undetected damage has resulted in a loss of spacecraft and launcher mission. However, several problems related to damage tolerance and in particular delamination of composite materials have been encountered during structure development of various ESA projects and qualification testing. To avoid such costly failures during development, launch or service of spacecraft, launcher and reusable launch vehicles structures a comprehensive damage tolerance verification approach is needed. In 2009, the European Space Agency (ESA) initiated an activity called “Delamination Assessment Tool” which is led by the Portuguese company HPS Lda and includes academic and industrial partners. The goal of this study is the development of a comprehensive damage tolerance verification approach for launcher and reusable launch vehicles (RLV) structures, addressing analytical and numerical methodologies, material-, subcomponent- and component testing, as well as non-destructive inspection. The study includes a comprehensive review of current industrial damage tolerance practice resulting from ECSS and NASA standards, the development of new Best Practice Guidelines for analysis, test and inspection methods and the validation of these with a real industrial case study. The paper describes the main findings of this activity so far and presents a first iteration of a Damage Tolerance Verification Approach, which includes the introduction of novel analytical and numerical tools at an industrial level. This new approach is being put to the test using real industrial case studies provided by the industrial partners, MT Aerospace, RUAG Space and INVENT GmbH

Comprehension of Written Grammar Test: Reliability and Known-Groups Validity Study with Hearing and Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cannon, Joanna E.; Hubley, Anita M.; Millhoff, Courtney; Mazlouman, Shahla

2016-01-01

The aim of the current study was to gather validation evidence for the "Comprehension of Written Grammar" (CWG; Easterbrooks, 2010) receptive test of 26 grammatical structures of English print for use with children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH). Reliability and validity data were collected for 98 participants (49 DHH and 49…

(Pea)nuts and Bolts of Visual Narrative: Structure and Meaning in Sequential Image Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohn, Neil; Paczynski, Martin; Jackendoff, Ray; Holcomb, Phillip J.; Kuperberg, Gina R.

2012-01-01

Just as syntax differentiates coherent sentences from scrambled word strings, the comprehension of sequential images must also use a cognitive system to distinguish coherent narrative sequences from random strings of images. We conducted experiments analogous to two classic studies of language processing to examine the contributions of narrative…

How do language-specific characteristics affect the acquisition of different relative clause types? Evidence from Finnish.

PubMed

Kirjavainen, Minna; Kidd, Evan; Lieven, Elena

2017-01-01

We report three studies (one corpus, two experimental) that investigated the acquisition of relative clauses (RCs) in Finnish-speaking children. Study 1 found that Finnish children's naturalistic exposure to RCs predominantly consists of non-subject relatives (i.e. oblique, object) which typically have inanimate head nouns. Study 2 tested children's comprehension of subject, object, and two types of oblique relatives. No difference was found in the children's performance on different structures, including a lack of previously widely reported asymmetry between subject and object relatives. However, children's comprehension was modulated by animacy of the head referent. Study 3 tested children's production of the same RC structures using sentence repetition. Again we found no subject-object asymmetry. The pattern of results suggested that distributional frequency patterns and the relative complexity of the relativizer contribute to the difficulty associated with particular RC structures.

(Pea)nuts and bolts of visual narrative: Structure and meaning in sequential image comprehension

PubMed Central

Cohn, Neil; Paczynski, Martin; Jackendoff, Ray; Holcomb, Phillip J.; Kuperberg, Gina R.

2012-01-01

Just as syntax differentiates coherent sentences from scrambled word strings, the comprehension of sequential images must also use a cognitive system to distinguish coherent narrative sequences from random strings of images. We conducted experiments analogous to two classic studies of language processing to examine the contributions of narrative structure and semantic relatedness to processing sequential images. We compared four types of comic strips: 1) Normal sequences with both structure and meaning, 2) Semantic Only sequences (in which the panels were related to a common semantic theme, but had no narrative structure), 3) Structural Only sequences (narrative structure but no semantic relatedness), and 4) Scrambled sequences of randomly-ordered panels. In Experiment 1, participants monitored for target panels in sequences presented panel-by-panel. Reaction times were slowest to panels in Scrambled sequences, intermediate in both Structural Only and Semantic Only sequences, and fastest in Normal sequences. This suggests that both semantic relatedness and narrative structure offer advantages to processing. Experiment 2 measured ERPs to all panels across the whole sequence. The N300/N400 was largest to panels in both the Scrambled and Structural Only sequences, intermediate in Semantic Only sequences and smallest in the Normal sequences. This implies that a combination of narrative structure and semantic relatedness can facilitate semantic processing of upcoming panels (as reflected by the N300/N400). Also, panels in the Scrambled sequences evoked a larger left-lateralized anterior negativity than panels in the Structural Only sequences. This localized effect was distinct from the N300/N400, and appeared despite the fact that these two sequence types were matched on local semantic relatedness between individual panels. These findings suggest that sequential image comprehension uses a narrative structure that may be independent of semantic relatedness. Altogether, we argue that the comprehension of visual narrative is guided by an interaction between structure and meaning. PMID:22387723

The Relation of Morphological Awareness and Syntactic Awareness to Adults' Reading Comprehension: Is Vocabulary Knowledge a Mediating Variable?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guo, Ying; Roehrig, Alysia D.; Williams, Rihana S.

2011-01-01

The authors' goal was to examine the structural relationships among vocabulary knowledge, morphological awareness, syntactic awareness, and reading comprehension in English-speaking adults. Structural equation analysis of data collected from 151 participants revealed that morphological awareness affected reading comprehension directly. Syntactic…

Structural Priming in Spanish as Evidence of Implicit Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gámez, Perla B.; Shimpi, Priya M.

2016-01-01

This study uses a structural priming technique with young Spanish speakers to test whether exposure to a rare syntactic form in Spanish ("fue"-passive) would increase the production and comprehension of that form. In Study 1, 14 six-year-old Spanish speakers described pictures of transitive scenes. This baseline study revealed that…

The Evaluation of Argument Mapping as a Learning Tool: Comparing the Effects of Map Reading versus Text Reading on Comprehension and Recall of Arguments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dwyer, Christopher P.; Hogan, Michael J.; Stewart, Ian

2010-01-01

The current study compared the effects on comprehension and memory of learning via text versus learning via argument map. Argument mapping is a method of diagrammatic representation of arguments designed to simplify the reading of an argument structure and allow for easy assimilation of core propositions and relations. In the current study, 400…

Developing comprehensive and Brief ICF core sets for morbid obesity for disability assessment in Taiwan: a preliminary study.

PubMed

Lin, Y-N; Chang, K-H; Lin, C-Y; Hsu, M-I; Chen, H-C; Chen, H-H; Liou, T-H

2014-04-01

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) provides a framework for measuring functioning and disability based on a biopsychosocial model. The aim of this study was to develop comprehensive and brief ICF core sets for morbid obesity for disability assessment in Taiwan. Observational Other Twenty-nine multidisciplinary experts of ICF METHODS: The questionnaire contained 112 obesity-relevant and second-level ICF categories. Using a 5-point Likert scale, the participants rated the significance of the effects of each category on the heath status of people with obesity. Correlation between an individual's score and the average score of the group indicated consensus. The categories were selected for the comprehensive core set for obesity if more than 50% of the experts rated them as "important" in the third round of the Delphi exercise, and for the brief core set if more than 80% of the experts rated them "very important." Twenty-nine experts participated in the study. These included 18 physicians, 4 dieticians, 3 physical therapists, 2 nurses, and 2 ICF experts. The comprehensive core set for morbid obesity contained 61 categories. Of these, 26 categories were from the component body function, 8 were from body structure, 18 were from activities and participation, and 9 were from environmental factors. The brief core set for obesity disability contained 29 categories. Of these, 19 categories were from the component body function, 3 were from body structure, 6 were from activities and participation, and one was from environmental factors. The comprehensive and brief ICF core sets provide comprehensive information on the health effects of morbid obesity and concise information for clinical practice. Comprehensive and brief core sets were created after three rounds of Delphi technique. Further validation study of these core sets by applying to patients with morbid obesity is needed. The comprehensive ICF core set for morbid obesity provides comprehensive information on the health effects of morbid obesity; the brief core set can provide concise information for clinical practice.

Cross-Language Transfer of Syntactic Skills and Reading Comprehension among Young Cantonese-English Bilingual Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siu, Carrey Tik-Sze; Ho, Connie Suk-Han

2015-01-01

The present study examined the roles of different dimensions of syntactic skills in predicting reading comprehension within and across two languages with contrasting structural properties: Chinese and English. A total of 413 young Cantonese-English bilingual students in Hong Kong (202 first graders and 211 third graders) were tested on word order…

Content Validation of the Comprehension of Written Grammar Assessment for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cannon, Joanna E.; Hubley, Anita M.

2014-01-01

Content validation is a crucial, but often neglected, component of good test development. In the present study, content validity evidence was collected to determine the degree to which elements (e.g., grammatical structures, items, picture responses, administration, and scoring instructions) of the Comprehension of Written Grammar (CWG) test are…

Direct and mediated effects of language and cognitive skills on comprehension of oral narrative texts (listening comprehension) for children.

PubMed

Kim, Young-Suk Grace

2016-01-01

We investigated component language and cognitive skills of oral language comprehension of narrative texts (i.e., listening comprehension). Using the construction-integration model of text comprehension as an overarching theoretical framework, we examined direct and mediated relations of foundational cognitive skills (working memory and attention), foundational language skills (vocabulary and grammatical knowledge), and higher-order cognitive skills (inference, theory of mind, and comprehension monitoring) to listening comprehension. A total of 201 first grade children in South Korea participated in the study. Structural equation modeling results showed that listening comprehension is directly predicted by working memory, grammatical knowledge, inference, and theory of mind and is indirectly predicted by attention, vocabulary, and comprehension monitoring. The total effects were .46 for working memory, .07 for attention, .30 for vocabulary, .49 for grammatical knowledge, .31 for inference, .52 for theory of mind, and .18 for comprehension monitoring. These results suggest that multiple language and cognitive skills make contributions to listening comprehension, and their contributions are both direct and indirect. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Planning and Revising Written Arguments: The Effects of Two Text Structure-Based Interventions on Persuasiveness of 8th-Grade Students' Essays

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Midgette, Ekaterina; Haria, Priti

2016-01-01

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of two comprehensive argumentative writing interventions--Text Structure Instruction (TSI) and Text Structure Revision Instruction (TSRI)--on the eighth-grade students' ability to compose convincing essays that include structural elements of argumentative discourse. Both treatment groups…

The Effect of Screen Size on Mobile Phone User Comprehension of Health Information and Application Structure: An Experimental Approach.

PubMed

Al Ghamdi, Ebtisam; Yunus, Faisal; Da'ar, Omar; El-Metwally, Ashraf; Khalifa, Mohamed; Aldossari, Bakheet; Househ, Mowafa

2016-01-01

This research analyzes the impact of mobile phone screen size on user comprehension of health information and application structure. Applying experimental approach, we asked randomly selected users to read content and conduct tasks on a commonly used diabetes mobile application using three different mobile phone screen sizes. We timed and tracked a number of parameters, including correctness, effectiveness of completing tasks, content ease of reading, clarity of information organization, and comprehension. The impact of screen size on user comprehension/retention, clarity of information organization, and reading time were mixed. It is assumed on first glance that mobile screen size would affect all qualities of information reading and comprehension, including clarity of displayed information organization, reading time and user comprehension/retention of displayed information, but actually the screen size, in this experimental research, did not have significant impact on user comprehension/retention of the content or on understanding the application structure. However, it did have significant impact on clarity of information organization and reading time. Participants with larger screen size took shorter time reading the content with a significant difference in the ease of reading. While there was no significant difference in the comprehension of information or the application structures, there were a higher task completion rate and a lower number of errors with the bigger screen size. Screen size does not directly affect user comprehension of health information. However, it does affect clarity of information organization, reading time and user's ability to recall information.

Lexical prosody beyond first-language boundary: Chinese lexical tone sensitivity predicts English reading comprehension.

PubMed

Choi, William; Tong, Xiuli; Cain, Kate

2016-08-01

This 1-year longitudinal study examined the role of Cantonese lexical tone sensitivity in predicting English reading comprehension and the pathways underlying their relation. Multiple measures of Cantonese lexical tone sensitivity, English lexical stress sensitivity, Cantonese segmental phonological awareness, general auditory sensitivity, English word reading, and English reading comprehension were administered to 133 Cantonese-English unbalanced bilingual second graders. Structural equation modeling analysis identified transfer of Cantonese lexical tone sensitivity to English reading comprehension. This transfer was realized through a direct pathway via English stress sensitivity and also an indirect pathway via English word reading. These results suggest that prosodic sensitivity is an important factor influencing English reading comprehension and that it needs to be incorporated into theoretical accounts of reading comprehension across languages. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Is Oral/Text Reading Fluency a “Bridge” to Reading Comprehension?

PubMed Central

Kim, Young-Suk Grace; Park, Chea Hyeong; Wagner, Richard K.

2015-01-01

In the present study we investigated developmental relations among word reading fluency, listening comprehension, and text reading fluency to reading comprehension in a relatively transparent language, Korean. A total of 98 kindergartners and 170 first graders in Korea were assessed on a series of tasks involving listening comprehension, word reading fluency, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension. Results from multigroup structural equation models showed that text reading fluency was a dissociable construct for both kindergartners and first graders. In addition, a developmental pattern emerged: listening comprehension was not uniquely related to text reading fluency for first graders, but not for kindergartners, over and above word reading fluency. In addition, text reading fluency was uniquely related to reading comprehension for kindergartners, but not for first graders, after accounting for word reading fluency and listening comprehension. For first graders, listening comprehension dominated the relations. There were no differences in the pattern of relations for skilled and less skilled readers in first grade. Results are discussed from a developmental perspective for reading comprehension component skills including text reading fluency. PMID:25653474

Important considerations in lesion-symptom mapping: Illustrations from studies of word comprehension.

PubMed

Shahid, Hinna; Sebastian, Rajani; Schnur, Tatiana T; Hanayik, Taylor; Wright, Amy; Tippett, Donna C; Fridriksson, Julius; Rorden, Chris; Hillis, Argye E

2017-06-01

Lesion-symptom mapping is an important method of identifying networks of brain regions critical for functions. However, results might be influenced substantially by the imaging modality and timing of assessment. We tested the hypothesis that brain regions found to be associated with acute language deficits depend on (1) timing of behavioral measurement, (2) imaging sequences utilized to define the "lesion" (structural abnormality only or structural plus perfusion abnormality), and (3) power of the study. We studied 191 individuals with acute left hemisphere stroke with MRI and language testing to identify areas critical for spoken word comprehension. We use the data from this study to examine the potential impact of these three variables on lesion-symptom mapping. We found that only the combination of structural and perfusion imaging within 48 h of onset identified areas where more abnormal voxels was associated with more severe acute deficits, after controlling for lesion volume and multiple comparisons. The critical area identified with this methodology was the left posterior superior temporal gyrus, consistent with other methods that have identified an important role of this area in spoken word comprehension. Results have implications for interpretation of other lesion-symptom mapping studies, as well as for understanding areas critical for auditory word comprehension in the healthy brain. We propose that lesion-symptom mapping at the acute stage of stroke addresses a different sort of question about brain-behavior relationships than lesion-symptom mapping at the chronic stage, but that timing of behavioral measurement and imaging modalities should be considered in either case. Hum Brain Mapp 38:2990-3000, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Bidirectional Relations between Text Reading Prosody and Reading Comprehension in the Upper Primary School Grades: A Longitudinal Perspective

PubMed Central

Veenendaal, Nathalie J.; Groen, Margriet A.; Verhoeven, Ludo

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the directionality of the relationship between text reading prosody and reading comprehension in the upper grades of primary school. We compared three theoretical possibilities: Two unidirectional relations from text reading prosody to reading comprehension and from reading comprehension to text reading prosody and a bidirectional relation between text reading prosody and reading comprehension. Further, we controlled for autoregressive effects and included decoding efficiency as a measure of general reading skill. Participants were 99 Dutch children, followed longitudinally, from fourth- to sixth-grade. Structural equation modeling showed that the bidirectional relation provided the best fitting model. In fifth-grade, text reading prosody was related to prior decoding and reading comprehension, whereas in sixth-grade, reading comprehension was related to prior text reading prosody. As such, the results suggest that the relation between text reading prosody and reading comprehension is reciprocal, but dependent on grade level. PMID:27667916

Components and context: exploring sources of reading difficulties for language minority learners and native English speakers in urban schools.

PubMed

Kieffer, Michael J; Vukovic, Rose K

2012-01-01

Drawing on the cognitive and ecological domains within the componential model of reading, this longitudinal study explores heterogeneity in the sources of reading difficulties for language minority learners and native English speakers in urban schools. Students (N = 150) were followed from first through third grade and assessed annually on standardized English language and reading measures. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the relative contributions of code-related and linguistic comprehension skills in first and second grade to third grade reading comprehension. Linguistic comprehension and the interaction between linguistic comprehension and code-related skills each explained substantial variation in reading comprehension. Among students with low reading comprehension, more than 80% demonstrated weaknesses in linguistic comprehension alone, whereas approximately 15% demonstrated weaknesses in both linguistic comprehension and code-related skills. Results were remarkably similar for the language minority learners and native English speakers, suggesting the importance of their shared socioeconomic backgrounds and schooling contexts.

Disaster Metrics: A Comprehensive Framework for Disaster Evaluation Typologies.

PubMed

Wong, Diana F; Spencer, Caroline; Boyd, Lee; Burkle, Frederick M; Archer, Frank

2017-10-01

Introduction The frequency of disasters is increasing around the world with more people being at risk. There is a moral imperative to improve the way in which disaster evaluations are undertaken and reported with the aim of reducing preventable mortality and morbidity in future events. Disasters are complex events and undertaking disaster evaluations is a specialized area of study at an international level. Hypothesis/Problem While some frameworks have been developed to support consistent disaster research and evaluation, they lack validation, consistent terminology, and standards for reporting across the different phases of a disaster. There is yet to be an agreed, comprehensive framework to structure disaster evaluation typologies. The aim of this paper is to outline an evolving comprehensive framework for disaster evaluation typologies. It is anticipated that this new framework will facilitate an agreement on identifying, structuring, and relating the various evaluations found in the disaster setting with a view to better understand the process, outcomes, and impacts of the effectiveness and efficiency of interventions. Research was undertaken in two phases: (1) a scoping literature review (peer-reviewed and "grey literature") was undertaken to identify current evaluation frameworks and typologies used in the disaster setting; and (2) a structure was developed that included the range of typologies identified in Phase One and suggests possible relationships in the disaster setting. No core, unifying framework to structure disaster evaluation and research was identified in the literature. The authors propose a "Comprehensive Framework for Disaster Evaluation Typologies" that identifies, structures, and suggests relationships for the various typologies detected. The proposed Comprehensive Framework for Disaster Evaluation Typologies outlines the different typologies of disaster evaluations that were identified in this study and brings them together into a single framework. This unique, unifying framework has relevance at an international level and is expected to benefit the disaster, humanitarian, and development sectors. The next step is to undertake a validation process that will include international leaders with experience in evaluation, in general, and disasters specifically. This work promotes an environment for constructive dialogue on evaluations in the disaster setting to strengthen the evidence base for interventions across the disaster spectrum. It remains a work in progress. Wong DF , Spencer C , Boyd L , Burkle FM Jr. , Archer F . Disaster metrics: a comprehensive framework for disaster evaluation typologies. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(5):501-514.

What component of executive functions contributes to normal and impaired reading comprehension in young adults?

PubMed

Georgiou, George K; Das, J P

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (a) to examine what component of executive functions (EF) - planning and working memory - predicts reading comprehension in young adults (Study 1), and (b) to examine if less skilled comprehenders experience deficits in the EF components (Study 2). In Study 1, we assessed 178 university students (120 females; mean age=21.82 years) on planning (Planned Connections, Planned Codes, and Planned Patterns), working memory (Listening Span, Digit Span Backward, and Digit Memory), and reading comprehension (Nelson-Denny Reading Test). The results of structural equation modeling indicated that only planning was a significant predictor of reading comprehension. In Study 2, we assessed 30 university students with a specific reading comprehension deficit (19 females; mean age=23.01 years) and 30 controls (18 females; mean age=22.77 years) on planning (Planned Connections and Crack the Code) and working memory (Listening Span and Digit Span Backward). The results showed that less skilled comprehenders performed significantly poorer than controls only in planning. Taken together, the findings of both studies suggest that planning is the preeminent component of EF that is driving its relationship with reading comprehension in young adults. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predictors of Reading Comprehension for Struggling Readers: The Case of Spanish Speaking Language Minority Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mancilla-Martinez, Jeannette; Lesaux, Nonie K.

2010-01-01

This longitudinal study examined the process of English reading comprehension at age 11 years for 173 low-achieving Spanish-speaking children. The influence of growth rates, from early childhood (age 4.5 years) to pre-adolescence (age 11 years), in vocabulary and word reading skills on this complex process were evaluated with structural equation…

First-Year Students' Perceptions of Extended National Diploma Programmes: The Case of a Comprehensive South African University (2012)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mavunga, George; Cachalia, Fahmida

2014-01-01

This study compared how the cohort of extended diploma students enrolled at a comprehensive South African university in 2012 perceived the programmes for which they were enrolled at the beginning of their first year and towards the end of the year. Data were gathered using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews involving students enrolled…

The Mediating Role of Mind Wandering in the Relationship between Working Memory Capacity and Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McVay, Jennifer C.

2010-01-01

The primary goal of this study was to investigate the mediating role of mind wandering in the relationship between working memory capacity (WMC) and reading comprehension as predicted by the executive-attention theory of WMC (e.g., Kane & Engle, 2003). I used a latent-variable, structural-equation-model approach with three WMC span tasks, seven…

The Effects of Cooperative and Individual Goal Structures on Learning Disabled and Nondisabled Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cosden, Merith; And Others

1985-01-01

Elementary children (N=138) in LD-NLD or NLD-LD (learning disabled - nonlearning disabled) dyads were individually tested on reading comprehension after study periods which emphasized either cooperative or individual study behaviors and goal incentives. There were sex differences in the impact of cooperative goal structures on attitudes,…

A comprehensive study of the delay vector variance method for quantification of nonlinearity in dynamical systems

PubMed Central

Mandic, D. P.; Ryan, K.; Basu, B.; Pakrashi, V.

2016-01-01

Although vibration monitoring is a popular method to monitor and assess dynamic structures, quantification of linearity or nonlinearity of the dynamic responses remains a challenging problem. We investigate the delay vector variance (DVV) method in this regard in a comprehensive manner to establish the degree to which a change in signal nonlinearity can be related to system nonlinearity and how a change in system parameters affects the nonlinearity in the dynamic response of the system. A wide range of theoretical situations are considered in this regard using a single degree of freedom (SDOF) system to obtain numerical benchmarks. A number of experiments are then carried out using a physical SDOF model in the laboratory. Finally, a composite wind turbine blade is tested for different excitations and the dynamic responses are measured at a number of points to extend the investigation to continuum structures. The dynamic responses were measured using accelerometers, strain gauges and a Laser Doppler vibrometer. This comprehensive study creates a numerical and experimental benchmark for structurally dynamical systems where output-only information is typically available, especially in the context of DVV. The study also allows for comparative analysis between different systems driven by the similar input. PMID:26909175

Persistent Structural Priming from Language Comprehension to Language Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bock, Kathryn; Dell, Gary S.; Chang, Franklin; Onishi, Kristine H.

2007-01-01

To examine the relationship between syntactic processes in language comprehension and language production, we compared structural persistence from sentence primes that speakers heard to persistence from primes that speakers produced. [Bock, J. K., & Griffin, Z. M. (2000). The persistence of structural priming: transient activation or implicit…

Who was the agent? The neural correlates of reanalysis processes during sentence comprehension.

PubMed

Hirotani, Masako; Makuuchi, Michiru; Rüschemeyer, Shirley-Ann; Friederici, Angela D

2011-11-01

Sentence comprehension is a complex process. Besides identifying the meaning of each word and processing the syntactic structure of a sentence, it requires the computation of thematic information, that is, information about who did what to whom. The present fMRI study investigated the neural basis for thematic reanalysis (reanalysis of the thematic roles initially assigned to noun phrases in a sentence) and its interplay with syntactic reanalysis (reanalysis of the underlying syntactic structure originally constructed for a sentence). Thematic reanalysis recruited a network consisting of Broca's area, that is, the left pars triangularis (LPT), and the left posterior superior temporal gyrus, whereas only LPT showed greater sensitivity to syntactic reanalysis. These data provide direct evidence for a functional neuroanatomical basis for two linguistically motivated reanalysis processes during sentence comprehension. Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Electrophysiological responses to argument structure violations in healthy adults and individuals with agrammatic aphasia

PubMed Central

Kielar, Aneta; Meltzer-Asscher, Aya; Thompson, Cynthia

2012-01-01

Sentence comprehension requires processing of argument structure information associated with verbs, i.e. the number and type of arguments that they select. Many individuals with agrammatic aphasia show impaired production of verbs with greater argument structure density. The extent to which these participants also show argument structure deficits during comprehension, however, is unclear. Some studies find normal access to verb arguments, whereas others report impaired ability. The present study investigated verb argument structure processing in agrammatic aphasia by examining event-related potentials associated with argument structure violations in healthy young and older adults as well as aphasic individuals. A semantic violation condition was included to investigate possible differences in sensitivity to semantic and argument structure information during sentence processing. Results for the healthy control participants showed a negativity followed by a positive shift (N400-P600) in the argument structure violation condition, as found in previous ERP studies (Friederici & Frisch, 2000; Frisch, Hahne, & Friederici, 2004). In contrast, individuals with agrammatic aphasia showed a P600, but no N400, response to argument structure mismatches. Additionally, compared to the control groups, the agrammatic participants showed an attenuated, but relatively preserved, N400 response to semantic violations. These data show that agrammatic individuals do not demonstrate normal real-time sensitivity to verb argument structure requirements during sentence processing. PMID:23022079

Text Structure Strategies for Improving Expository Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roehling, Julia V.; Hebert, Michael; Nelson, J. Ron; Bohaty, Janet J.

2017-01-01

Comprehending expository reading material is a challenge for many students. Research has shown that students' expository reading comprehension can improve with the help of text structure instruction. The purpose of this article is to present teachers with a framework for effectively implementing text structure instruction in their classrooms.…

Predictors of Reading Comprehension for Struggling Readers: The Case of Spanish-speaking Language Minority Learners.

PubMed

Mancilla-Martinez, Jeannette; Lesaux, Nonie K

2010-08-01

This longitudinal study examined the process of English reading comprehension at age 11 for 173 low achieving Spanish-speaking children. The influence of growth rates, from early childhood (age 4.5) to pre-adolescence (age 11), in vocabulary and word reading skills on this complex process were evaluated using structural equation modeling. Standardized measures of word reading accuracy and productive vocabulary were administered annually, in English and Spanish, and English reading comprehension measures were administered at age 11. Latent growth curve analyses revealed that English skills accounted for all unique variance in English reading comprehension outcomes. Further, expected developmental shifts in the influence of word reading and vocabulary skills over time were not shown, likely on account of students' below grade level reading comprehension achievement. This work underscores the need for theoretical models of comprehension to account for students' skill profiles and abilities.

Predictors of Reading Comprehension for Struggling Readers: The Case of Spanish-speaking Language Minority Learners

PubMed Central

Mancilla-Martinez, Jeannette; Lesaux, Nonie K.

2010-01-01

This longitudinal study examined the process of English reading comprehension at age 11 for 173 low achieving Spanish-speaking children. The influence of growth rates, from early childhood (age 4.5) to pre-adolescence (age 11), in vocabulary and word reading skills on this complex process were evaluated using structural equation modeling. Standardized measures of word reading accuracy and productive vocabulary were administered annually, in English and Spanish, and English reading comprehension measures were administered at age 11. Latent growth curve analyses revealed that English skills accounted for all unique variance in English reading comprehension outcomes. Further, expected developmental shifts in the influence of word reading and vocabulary skills over time were not shown, likely on account of students’ below grade level reading comprehension achievement. This work underscores the need for theoretical models of comprehension to account for students’ skill profiles and abilities. PMID:20856691

A Comprehensive Review of the Study and Development of Microcapsule Based Self-Resilience Systems for Concrete Structures at Shenzhen University

PubMed Central

Han, Ning-Xu; Xing, Feng

2016-01-01

A review of the research activities and achievements at Shenzhen University is conducted in this paper concerning the creation and further development of novel microcapsule based self-resilience systems for their application in concrete structures. After a brief description of pioneering works in the field starting about 10 years ago, the principles raised in the relevant research are examined, where fundamental terms related to the concept of resilience are discussed. Several breakthrough points are highlighted concerning the three adopted comprehensive self-resilience systems, namely physical, chemical and microbial systems. The major challenges regarding evaluation are emphasized and further development concerning self-resilience in concrete structures will be addressed. PMID:28772362

A Comprehensive Review of the Study and Development of Microcapsule Based Self-Resilience Systems for Concrete Structures at Shenzhen University.

PubMed

Han, Ning-Xu; Xing, Feng

2016-12-22

A review of the research activities and achievements at Shenzhen University is conducted in this paper concerning the creation and further development of novel microcapsule based self-resilience systems for their application in concrete structures. After a brief description of pioneering works in the field starting about 10 years ago, the principles raised in the relevant research are examined, where fundamental terms related to the concept of resilience are discussed. Several breakthrough points are highlighted concerning the three adopted comprehensive self-resilience systems, namely physical, chemical and microbial systems. The major challenges regarding evaluation are emphasized and further development concerning self-resilience in concrete structures will be addressed.

Scalable total synthesis and comprehensive structure-activity relationship studies of the phytotoxin coronatine.

PubMed

Littleson, Mairi M; Baker, Christopher M; Dalençon, Anne J; Frye, Elizabeth C; Jamieson, Craig; Kennedy, Alan R; Ling, Kenneth B; McLachlan, Matthew M; Montgomery, Mark G; Russell, Claire J; Watson, Allan J B

2018-03-16

Natural phytotoxins are valuable starting points for agrochemical design. Acting as a jasmonate agonist, coronatine represents an attractive herbicidal lead with novel mode of action, and has been an important synthetic target for agrochemical development. However, both restricted access to quantities of coronatine and a lack of a suitably scalable and flexible synthetic approach to its constituent natural product components, coronafacic and coronamic acids, has frustrated development of this target. Here, we report gram-scale production of coronafacic acid that allows a comprehensive structure-activity relationship study of this target. Biological assessment of a >120 member library combined with computational studies have revealed the key determinants of potency, rationalising hypotheses held for decades, and allowing future rational design of new herbicidal leads based on this template.

European validation of The Comprehensive International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Core Set for Osteoarthritis from the perspective of patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip.

PubMed

Weigl, Martin; Wild, Heike

2017-09-15

To validate the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Comprehensive Core Set for Osteoarthritis from the patient perspective in Europe. This multicenter cross-sectional study involved 375 patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis. Trained health professionals completed the Comprehensive Core Set, and patients completed the Short-Form 36 questionnaire. Content validity was evaluated by calculating prevalences of impairments in body function and structures, limitations in activities and participation and environmental factors, which were either barriers or facilitators. Convergent construct validity was evaluated by correlating the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health categories with the Short-Form 36 Physical Component Score and the SF-36 Mental Component Score in a subgroup of 259 patients. The prevalences of all body function, body structure and activities and participation categories were >40%, >32% and >20%, respectively, and all environmental factors were relevant for >16% of patients. Few categories showed relevant differences between knee and hip osteoarthritis. All body function categories and all but two activities and participation categories showed significant correlations with the Physical Component Score. Body functions from the ICF chapter Mental Functions showed higher correlations with the Mental Component Score than with the Physical Component Score. This study supports the validity of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Comprehensive Core Set for Osteoarthritis. Implications for Rehabilitation Comprehensive International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Core Sets were developed as practical tools for application in multidisciplinary assessments. The validity of the Comprehensive International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Core Set for Osteoarthritis in this study supports its application in European patients with osteoarthritis. The differences in results between this Europe validation study and a previous Singaporean validation study underscore the need to validate the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Core Sets in different regions of the world.

Study of the structure of 3-D composites based on carbon nanotubes in bovine serum albumin matrix by X-ray microtomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ignatov, D.; Zhurbina, N.; Gerasimenko, A.

2017-01-01

3-D composites are widely used in tissue engineering. A comprehensive analysis by X-ray microtomography was conducted to study the structure of the 3-D composites. Comprehensive analysis of the structure of the 3-D composites consisted of scanning, image reconstruction of shadow projections, two-dimensional and three-dimensional visualization of the reconstructed images and quantitative analysis of the samples. Experimental samples of composites were formed by laser vaporization of the aqueous dispersion BSA and single-walled (SWCNTs) and multi-layer (MWCNTs) carbon nanotubes. The samples have a homogeneous structure over the entire volume, the percentage of porosity of 3-D composites based on SWCNTs and MWCNTs - 16.44%, 28.31%, respectively. An average pore diameter of 3-D composites based on SWCNTs and MWCNTs - 45 μm 93 μm. 3-D composites based on carbon nanotubes in bovine serum albumin matrix can be used in tissue engineering of bone and cartilage, providing cell proliferation and blood vessel sprouting.

White matter pathways for prosodic structure building: A case study.

PubMed

Sammler, Daniela; Cunitz, Katrin; Gierhan, Sarah M E; Anwander, Alfred; Adermann, Jens; Meixensberger, Jürgen; Friederici, Angela D

2018-05-11

The relevance of left dorsal and ventral fiber pathways for syntactic and semantic comprehension is well established, while pathways for prosody are little explored. The present study examined linguistic prosodic structure building in a patient whose right arcuate/superior longitudinal fascicles and posterior corpus callosum were transiently compromised by a vasogenic peritumoral edema. Compared to ten matched healthy controls, the patient's ability to detect irregular prosodic structure significantly improved between pre- and post-surgical assessment. This recovery was accompanied by an increase in average fractional anisotropy (FA) in right dorsal and posterior transcallosal fiber tracts. Neither general cognitive abilities nor (non-prosodic) syntactic comprehension nor FA in right ventral and left dorsal fiber tracts showed a similar pre-post increase. Together, these findings suggest a contribution of right dorsal and inter-hemispheric pathways to prosody perception, including the right-dorsal tracking and structuring of prosodic pitch contours that is transcallosally informed by concurrent syntactic information. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Managing comprehensive care: a case study in a health district in Bahia State, Brazil].

PubMed

dos Santos, Adriano Maia; Giovanella, Ligia

2016-03-01

This study analyzed management of comprehensive care in a health district in Bahia State, Brazil, at the political, institutional, organizational, and healthcare practice levels and the challenges for establishing coordinated care between municipalities. The information sources were semi-structured interviews with administrators, focal groups with healthcare professionals and users, institutional documents, and observations. A comprehensive and critical analysis was produced with dialectical hermeneutics as the reference. The results show that the Inter-Administrators Regional Commission was the main regional governance strategy. There is a fragmentation between various points and lack of communications linkage in the network. Private interests and partisan political interference overlook the formally agreed-upon flows and create parallel circuits, turning the right to health into currency for trading favors. Such issues hinder coordination of comprehensive care in the inter-municipal network.

Developing Reading Comprehension Skills in High-Functioning Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Review of the Research, 1990-2012

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Senokossoff, Gwyn W.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this article is twofold: (a) to describe a structured literature review that was completed to determine how reading comprehension instruction has been studied with high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and (b) to provide insight into the reading strategies that teachers might use to support these children.…

Are Models Easier to Understand than Code? An Empirical Study on Comprehension of Entity-Relationship (ER) Models vs. Structured Query Language (SQL) Code

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanchez, Pablo; Zorrilla, Marta; Duque, Rafael; Nieto-Reyes, Alicia

2011-01-01

Models in Software Engineering are considered as abstract representations of software systems. Models highlight relevant details for a certain purpose, whereas irrelevant ones are hidden. Models are supposed to make system comprehension easier by reducing complexity. Therefore, models should play a key role in education, since they would ease the…

Verb Argument Structure in Children with SLI: Evidence from Eye-Tracking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andreu, Llorenc

2011-01-01

Despite the problems found in relation to verbs, to date there have been few studies on the online processing of verb argument structure in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). This work explores the role of verb semantics and specifically verb argument structure in language comprehension and language production. To carry out the…

Beyond the Flipped Classroom: A Highly Interactive Cloud-Classroom (HIC) Embedded into Basic Materials Science Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liou, Wei-Kai; Bhagat, Kaushal Kumar; Chang, Chun-Yen

2016-01-01

The present study compares the highly interactive cloud-classroom (HIC) system with traditional methods of teaching materials science that utilize crystal structure picture or real crystal structure model, in order to examine its learning effectiveness across three dimensions: knowledge, comprehension and application. The aim of this study was to…

Text (Oral) Reading Fluency as a Construct in Reading Development: An Investigation of its Mediating Role for Children from Grades 1 to 4

PubMed Central

Kim, Young-Suk Grace; Wagner, Richard K.

2015-01-01

In the present study we investigated a developmentally changing role of text reading fluency in mediating the relations of word reading fluency and listening comprehension to reading comprehension. We addressed this question by using longitudinal data from Grades 1 to 4, and employing structural equation models. Results showed that the role of text reading fluency changes over time as children’s reading proficiency develops. In the beginning phase of reading development (Grade 1), text reading fluency was not independently related to reading comprehension over and above word reading fluency and listening comprehension. In Grades 2 to 4, however, text reading fluency completely mediated the relation between word reading fluency and reading comprehension whereas it partially mediated the relation between listening comprehension and reading comprehension. These results suggest that text reading fluency is a dissociable construct that plays a developmentally changing role in reading acquisition. PMID:25848201

The Role of Elaboration in the Comprehension and Retention of Prose: A Critical Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reder, Lynne M.

1980-01-01

Recent research in the area of prose comprehension is reviewed, including factors that affect amount of recall, representations of text structures, and use of world knowledge to aid comprehension. The need for more information processing models of comprehension is emphasized. Elaboration is considered important for comprehension and retention.…

The unique role of executive function skills in predicting Hong Kong kindergarteners' reading comprehension.

PubMed

Liu, Yingyi; Sun, Huilin; Lin, Dan; Li, Hong; Yeung, Susanna Siu-Sze; Wong, Terry Tin-Yau

2018-01-15

Word reading and linguistic comprehension skills are two crucial components in reading comprehension, according to the Simple View of Reading (SVR). Some researchers have posited that a third component should be involved in reading and understanding texts, namely executive function (EF) skills. This study was novel in two ways. Not only did we tested EF skills as a predictor of reading comprehension in a non-alphabetic language (i.e., Chinese) to extend the theoretical model of SVR, we also examined reading comprehension further in kindergarten children (age 5) in Hong Kong, in the attempt to reveal possible early precursors of reading comprehension. A group of 170 K3 kindergarteners was recruited in Hong Kong. Children's word reading was assessed. Their linguistic comprehension was assessed with phonological awareness, verbal short-term memory, and vocabulary knowledge. Using a structured observation task, Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS), we measured their composite scores for EF skills. Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders performance predicted unique variance in children's Chinese reading comprehension concurrently beyond word reading and a set of linguistic comprehension skills. The results highlight the important role of EF skills in beginning readers' reading comprehension. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

Comprehensive identification and structural characterization of target components from Gelsemium elegans by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry based on accurate mass databases combined with MS/MS spectra.

PubMed

Liu, Yan-Chun; Xiao, Sa; Yang, Kun; Ling, Li; Sun, Zhi-Liang; Liu, Zhao-Ying

2017-06-01

This study reports an applicable analytical strategy of comprehensive identification and structure characterization of target components from Gelsemium elegans by using high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QqTOF MS) based on the use of accurate mass databases combined with MS/MS spectra. The databases created included accurate masses and elemental compositions of 204 components from Gelsemium and their structural data. The accurate MS and MS/MS spectra were acquired through data-dependent auto MS/MS mode followed by an extraction of the potential compounds from the LC-QqTOF MS raw data of the sample. The same was matched using the databases to search for targeted components in the sample. The structures for detected components were tentatively characterized by manually interpreting the accurate MS/MS spectra for the first time. A total of 57 components have been successfully detected and structurally characterized from the crude extracts of G. elegans, but has failed to differentiate some isomers. This analytical strategy is generic and efficient, avoids isolation and purification procedures, enables a comprehensive structure characterization of target components of Gelsemium and would be widely applicable for complicated mixtures that are derived from Gelsemium preparations. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Improved informed consent documents for biomedical research do not increase patients’ understanding but reduce enrolment: a study in real settings

PubMed Central

Paris, Adeline; Deygas, Béatrice; Cornu, Catherine; Thalamas, Claire; Maison, Patrick; Duale, Christian; Kane, Maty; Hodaj, Enkelejda; Cracowski, Jean-Luc

2015-01-01

Aims The aim was to evaluate the comprehension of participants of an improved informed consent document (ICD). Method This was a randomized controlled French multicentre study performed in real conditions. Participants were adult patients undergoing screening for enrolment in biomedical research studies, who agreed to answer a validated questionnaire evaluating objective and subjective comprehension scored from 0 (no comprehension) to 100 (excellent comprehension). Patients were provided either the original ICD or an ICD modified in terms of structure and readability. The primary end point was the score of objective comprehension. The secondary end-points were the enrolment rate in the clinical study and patient characteristics associated with the score of objective comprehension. Results Four hundred and eighty-one patients were included, 241 patients in the original ICD group and 240 patients in the modified ICD group. There was no difference between the two groups for the score of objective comprehension (original ICD 72.7 (95% CI 71.3, 74.1) vs. modified ICD 72.5 (95% CI 71.0, 74.0); P = 0.81). However, the rate of enrolment in the clinical study was lower in the group who received the modified ICD (64.4% (95% CI 58.3, 70.5)) than for the original ICD (73.0% (95% CI 67.4, 78.7)) (P = 0.042). Only female gender and high educational level were associated with a better objective comprehension. Conclusions Improving ICDs had no effect on participants’ understanding, whereas the rate of enrolment was lower in this group. In attempts at improving potential participants’ understanding of clinical research information, efforts and future trials should focus on other ways to improve comprehension. PMID:26147763

Developmental changes in children's comprehension and explanation of spatial metaphors for time.

PubMed

Stites, Lauren J; Özçalişkan, Şeyda

2013-11-01

Time is frequently expressed with spatial motion, using one of three different metaphor types: moving-time, moving-ego, and sequence-as-position. Previous work shows that children can understand and explain moving-time metaphors by age five (Özçalışkan, 2005). In this study, we focus on all three metaphor types for time, and ask whether metaphor type has an effect on children's metaphor comprehension and explanation abilities. Analysis of the responses of three- to six-year-old children and adults showed that comprehension and explanation of all three metaphor types emerge at an early age. Moreover, children's metaphor comprehension and explanation vary by metaphor type: children perform better in understanding and explaining metaphors that structure time in relation to the observer of time (moving-ego, moving-time) than metaphors that structure time without any relation to the observer of time (sequence-as-position-on-a-path). Our findings suggest that children's bodily experiences might play a role in their developing understanding of the abstract concept of time.

The Scope and Nature of Reading Comprehension Impairments in School-Aged Children with Higher-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

McIntyre, Nancy S; Solari, Emily J; Gonzales, Joseph E; Solomon, Marjorie; Lerro, Lindsay E; Novotny, Stephanie; Oswald, Tasha M; Mundy, Peter C

2017-09-01

This study of 8-16-year-olds was designed to test the hypothesis that reading comprehension impairments are part of the social communication phenotype for many higher-functioning students with autism spectrum disorder (HFASD). Students with HFASD (n = 81) were compared to those with high attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptomatology (ADHD; n = 39), or typical development (TD; n = 44), on a comprehensive battery of oral language, word recognition, and reading comprehension measures. Results indicated that students with HFASD performed significantly lower on the majority of the reading and language tasks as compared to TD and ADHD groups. Structural equation models suggested that greater ASD symptomatology was related to poorer reading comprehension outcomes; further analyses suggested that this relation was mediated by oral language skills.

Contribution of Morphological Awareness and Lexical Inferencing Ability to L2 Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension among Advanced EFL Learners: Testing Direct and Indirect Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Dongbo; Koda, Keiko

2012-01-01

Within the Structural Equation Modeling framework, this study tested the direct and indirect effects of morphological awareness and lexical inferencing ability on L2 vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension among advanced Chinese EFL readers in a university in China. Using both regular z-test and the bootstrapping (data-based resampling)…

USSR Report, International Affairs

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-10-07

the comprehensive utilization of coal and devel- opment of improved methods assuring a more effective use of low-quality coals, low- calory lignites...promising trend of the joint activity in this sphere. Thus, cyclone furnaces for burning low-quality fuel and fuel wastes save up to 10-20 per cent of...structure of the developing countries should be refined and made concrete and we should move from studying particular classes and strata to a comprehensive

Text (Oral) Reading Fluency as a Construct in Reading Development: An Investigation of Its Mediating Role for Children from Grades 1 to 4

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Young-Suk Grace; Wagner, Richard K.

2015-01-01

In the present study we investigated a developmentally changing role of text reading fluency in mediating the relations of word reading fluency and listening comprehension to reading comprehension. We addressed this question by using longitudinal data from Grades 1 to 4 and employing structural equation models. Results showed that the role of text…

Adaptation of Educational Text to an Open Interactive Learning System: A Case Study for ReTuDiS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samarakou, M.; Fylladitakis, E. D.; Tsaganou, G.; Gelegenis, J.; Karolidis, D.; Prentakis, P.

2013-01-01

Theoretical education is mainly based on university text-books, which usually include texts not structured according to any theory of text comprehension. Structuring a text is a demanding process. Text should be organized and structured in order to include descriptions on micro and macro-level representation of the knowledge domain. Since this is…

Structure of the Autism Symptom Phenotype: A Proposed Multidimensional Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Georgiades, Stelios; Szatmari, Peter; Zwaigenbaum, Lonnie; Duku, Eric; Bryson, Susan; Roberts, Wendy; Goldberg, Jeremy; Mahoney, William

2007-01-01

Background: The main objective of this study was to develop a comprehensive, empirical model that would allow the reorganization of the structure of the pervasive developmental disorder symptom phenotype through factor analysis into more homogeneous dimensions. Method: The sample consisted of 209 children with pervasive developmental disorder…

Factor Structure of Character Strengths in Youth: Consistency across Ages and Measures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGrath, Robert E.; Walker, David Ian

2016-01-01

The VIA Classification of Strengths and Virtues attempts to provide a comprehensive model of character based on 24 character strengths. The present study is the largest study to date exploring the structure of the 24 strengths in youth. One sample (N = 23,850) completed the VIA-Youth, a teen measure of the VIA Classification. Based on a random…

The Development of a Structural Equation Model to Demonstrate the Correlations between Marijuana Use and Involvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borcherding, Matthew J.

2017-01-01

This quantitative study examined the effects of marijuana on academic and social involvement in undergraduates using a structural equation model. The study was conducted at a midsized comprehensive community college in the Midwest and was guided by Astin's (1985) theory of student involvement. A survey link was e-mailed to all 4,527 eligible…

Do You Want to Know What I Learned? Using Informational Trade Books as Models to Teach Text Structure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Read, Sylvia; Reutzel, D. Ray; Fawson, Parker C.

2008-01-01

Informational text is an important resource for classroom teachers that places unique comprehension demands on young students. Research on teaching expository text structure to young children shows that explicit instruction improves student comprehension. This practical article addresses how to use "well-structured" expository trade book titles to…

Derivatives of Ergot-alkaloids: Molecular structure, physical properties, and structure-activity relationships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanova, Bojidarka B.; Spiteller, Michael

2012-09-01

A comprehensive screening of fifteen functionalized Ergot-alkaloids, containing bulk aliphatic cyclic substituents at D-ring of the ergoline molecular skeleton was performed, studying their structure-active relationships and model interactions with α2A-adreno-, serotonin (5HT2A) and dopamine D3 (D3A) receptors. The accounted high affinity to the receptors binding loops and unusual bonding situations, joined with the molecular flexibility of the substituents and the presence of proton accepting/donating functional groups in the studied alkaloids, may contribute to further understanding the mechanisms of biological activity in vivo and in predicting their therapeutic potential in central nervous system (CNS), including those related the Schizophrenia. Since the presented correlation between the molecular structure and properties, was based on the comprehensively theoretical computational and experimental physical study on the successfully isolated derivatives, through using routine synthetic pathways in a relatively high yields, marked these derivatives as 'treasure' for further experimental and theoretical studied in areas such as: (a) pharmacological and clinical testing; (b) molecular-drugs design of novel psychoactive substances; (c) development of the analytical protocols for determination of Ergot-alkaloids through a functionalization of the ergoline-skeleton, and more.

Insights on beer volatile profile: Optimization of solid-phase microextraction procedure taking advantage of the comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography structured separation.

PubMed

Martins, Cátia; Brandão, Tiago; Almeida, Adelaide; Rocha, Sílvia M

2015-06-01

The aroma profile of beer is crucial for its quality and consumer acceptance, which is modu-lated by a network of variables. The main goal of this study was to optimize solid-phase microextraction experimental parameters (fiber coating, extraction temperature, and time), taking advantage of the comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography structured separation. As far as we know, it is the first time that this approach was used to the untargeted and comprehensive study of the beer volatile profile. Decarbonation is a critical sample preparation step, and two conditions were tested: static and under ultrasonic treatment, and the static condition was selected. Considering the conditions that promoted the highest extraction efficiency, the following parameters were selected: poly(dimethylsiloxane)/divinylbenzene fiber coating, at 40ºC, using 10 min of pre-equilibrium followed by 30 min of extraction. Around 700-800 compounds per sample were detected, corresponding to the beer volatile profile. An exploratory application was performed with commercial beers, using a set of 32 compounds with reported impact on beer aroma, in which different patterns can be observed through the structured chromatogram. In summary, the obtained results emphasize the potential of this methodology to allow an in-depth study of volatile molecular composition of beer. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Comprehensive chlorophyll composition in the main edible seaweeds.

PubMed

Chen, Kewei; Ríos, José Julián; Pérez-Gálvez, Antonio; Roca, María

2017-08-01

Natural chlorophylls present in seaweeds have been studied regarding their biological activities and health benefit effects. However, detailed studies regarding characterization of the complete chlorophyll profile either qualitatively and quantitatively are scarce. This work deals with the comprehensive spectrometric study of the chlorophyll derivatives present in the five main coloured edible seaweeds. The novel complete MS 2 characterization of five chlorophyll derivatives: chlorophyll c 2 , chlorophyll c 1 , purpurin-18 a, pheophytin d and phytyl-purpurin-18 a has allowed to obtain fragmentation patterns associated with their different structural features. New chlorophyll derivatives have been identified and quantified by first time in red, green and brown seaweeds, including some oxidative structures. Quantitative data of the chlorophyll content comes to achieve significant information for food composition databases in bioactive compounds. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of metalinguistic awareness on reading comprehension and the mediator role of reading fluency from grades 2 to 4.

PubMed

Li, Liping; Wu, Xinchun

2015-01-01

This study examined the contribution of metalinguistic awareness including morphological awareness, phonological awareness and orthographical awareness to reading comprehension, and the role of reading fluency as a mediator of the effects of metalinguistic awareness on reading comprehension from grades 2 to 4. Four hundred and fifteen elementary students in China mainland were administered a test battery that included measures of morphological awareness, phonological awareness, orthographical awareness, reading fluency, reading comprehension and IQ. Hierarchical regression and structural equation models (SEM) were used to analyze the data. Morphological awareness uniquely explained 9%, 10% and 13% variance of reading comprehension respectively from grade 2 to grade 4, however, phonological awareness and orthographical awareness did not contribute to reading comprehension; Reading fluency partially mediated the effect of morphological awareness on reading comprehension in grades 2-4. These findings indicated that reading fluency and morphological awareness should be facilitated in the Chinese instruction. Morphological awareness played an important role in Chinese reading and affected reading comprehension in grades 2 to 4; Reading fluency was a significant link between morphological awareness and reading comprehension in grades 2-4.

Effects of Metalinguistic Awareness on Reading Comprehension and the Mediator Role of Reading Fluency from Grades 2 to 4

PubMed Central

Li, Liping; Wu, Xinchun

2015-01-01

Purpose This study examined the contribution of metalinguistic awareness including morphological awareness, phonological awareness and orthographical awareness to reading comprehension, and the role of reading fluency as a mediator of the effects of metalinguistic awareness on reading comprehension from grades 2 to 4. Methods Four hundred and fifteen elementary students in China mainland were administered a test battery that included measures of morphological awareness, phonological awareness, orthographical awareness, reading fluency, reading comprehension and IQ. Hierarchical regression and structural equation models (SEM) were used to analyze the data. Results Morphological awareness uniquely explained 9%, 10% and 13% variance of reading comprehension respectively from grade 2 to grade 4, however, phonological awareness and orthographical awareness did not contribute to reading comprehension; Reading fluency partially mediated the effect of morphological awareness on reading comprehension in grades 2-4. Conclusions These findings indicated that reading fluency and morphological awareness should be facilitated in the Chinese instruction. Morphological awareness played an important role in Chinese reading and affected reading comprehension in grades 2 to 4; Reading fluency was a significant link between morphological awareness and reading comprehension in grades 2-4. PMID:25799530

Continuous Trailing-Edge Flaps for Primary Flight Control of a Helicopter Main Rotor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thornburgh, Robert P.; Kreshock, Andrew R.; Wilbur, Matthew L.; Sekula, Martin K.; Shen, Jinwei

2014-01-01

The use of continuous trailing-edge flaps (CTEFs) for primary flight control of a helicopter main rotor is studied. A practical, optimized bimorph design with Macro-Fiber Composite actuators is developed for CTEF control, and a coupled structures and computational fluid dynamics methodology is used to study the fundamental behavior of an airfoil with CTEFs. These results are used within a comprehensive rotorcraft analysis model to study the control authority requirements of the CTEFs when utilized for primary flight control of a utility class helicopter. A study of the effect of blade root pitch index (RPI) on CTEF control authority is conducted, and the impact of structural and aerodynamic model complexity on the comprehensive analysis results is presented. The results show that primary flight control using CTEFs is promising; however, a more viable option may include the control of blade RPI, as well.

Revisiting the impact of mobile phone screen size on user comprehension of health information.

PubMed

Alghamdi, Ebtisam; Yunus, Faisel; Househ, Mowafa

2014-01-01

Abstract goes here. This is completion of the research and update of the previous work that was published in 2013[1]. The paper describes our recent experimental study of the impact of mobile screen size on the user comprehension of health information and application structures. An experiment was conducted to measure the impact of screen size on user comprehension and retention. Participants were given the same simple scenario, which consisted of searching from different menus, navigating and reading some contents. They were timed and tracked for correctness. Also, a follow-up survey was given to each participant that consisted of a rating scale to assess usability features, comprehension and retention abilities of the participants based on different mobile screen sizes. Results showed that there was a significant difference between mobile phone screen size and the time taken to read the contents, which was at its highest on small screens (p-value=0.02). Also, reading characters was hardest on a small screen (p-value=0.003). In addition, there was a significant difference between the three screen sizes regarding the organization of the application's information, showing that the smaller the screen size, the more organized the information. On the other hand, there was no significant impact of screen size on user comprehension, retention scores, number of errors or effective task completion but it was generally better if a large screen size was used. This study concludes that the screen size is not the main concern in comprehension of the contents or application structure. However, reading speed improves with the larger screen size and positively influences the task completion and understanding of the application elements.

Integrated Comprehensive Care - A Case Study in Nursing Leadership and System Transformation.

PubMed

Wheatley, Laura; Doyle, Winnie; Evans, Cheryl; Gosse, Carolyn; Smith, Kevin

2017-01-01

Calls for transformational change of our healthcare system are increasingly clear, persuasive and insistent. They resonate at all levels, with those who fund, deliver, provide and receive care, and they are rooted in a deep understanding that the system, as currently rigidly structured, most often lacks the necessary flexibility to comprehensively meet the needs of patients across the continuum of care. The St. Joseph's Health System (SJHS) Integrated Comprehensive Care (ICC) Program, which bundles care and funding across the hospital to home continuum, has reduced fragmentation of care, and it has delivered improved outcomes for patients, providers and the system. This case study explores the essential contribution of nursing leadership to this successful transformation of healthcare service delivery.

Perception of patterns of musical beat distribution in phonological developmental dyslexia: significant longitudinal relations with word reading and reading comprehension.

PubMed

Goswami, Usha; Huss, Martina; Mead, Natasha; Fosker, Tim; Verney, John P

2013-05-01

In a recent study, we reported that the accurate perception of beat structure in music ('perception of musical meter') accounted for over 40% of the variance in single word reading in children with and without dyslexia (Huss et al., 2011). Performance in the musical task was most strongly associated with the auditory processing of rise time, even though beat structure was varied by manipulating the duration of the musical notes. Here we administered the same musical task a year later to 88 children with and without dyslexia, and used new auditory processing measures to provide a more comprehensive picture of the auditory correlates of the beat structure task. We also measured reading comprehension and nonword reading in addition to single word reading. One year later, the children with dyslexia performed more poorly in the musical task than younger children reading at the same level, indicating a severe perceptual deficit for musical beat patterns. They now also had significantly poorer perception of sound rise time than younger children. Longitudinal analyses showed that the musical beat structure task was a significant longitudinal predictor of development in reading, accounting for over half of the variance in reading comprehension along with a linguistic measure of phonological awareness. The non-linguistic musical beat structure task is an important independent longitudinal and concurrent predictor of variance in reading attainment by children. The different longitudinal versus concurrent associations between musical beat perception and auditory processing suggest that individual differences in the perception of rhythmic timing are an important shared neural basis for individual differences in children in linguistic and musical processing. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Verb and sentence production and comprehension in aphasia: Northwestern Assessment of Verbs and Sentences (NAVS)

PubMed Central

Cho-Reyes, Soojin; Thompson, Cynthia K.

2015-01-01

Background Verbs and sentences are often impaired in individuals with aphasia, and differential impairment patterns are associated with different types of aphasia. With currently available test batteries, however, it is challenging to provide a comprehensive profile of aphasic language impairments because they do not examine syntactically important properties of verbs and sentences. Aims This study presents data derived from the Northwestern Assessment of Verbs and Sentences (NAVS; Thompson, 2011), a new test battery designed to examine syntactic deficits in aphasia. The NAVS includes tests for verb naming and comprehension, and production of verb argument structure in simple active sentences, with each examining the effects of the number and optionality of arguments. The NAVS also tests production and comprehension of canonical and non-canonical sentences. Methods & Procedures A total of 59 aphasic participants (35 agrammatic and 24 anomic) were tested using a set of action pictures. Participants produced verbs or sentences for the production subtests and identified pictures corresponding to auditorily provided verbs or sentences for the comprehension subtests. Outcomes & Results The agrammatic group, compared to the anomic group, performed significantly more poorly on all subtests except verb comprehension, and for both groups comprehension was less impaired than production. On verb naming and argument structure production tests both groups exhibited difficulty with three-argument verbs, affected by the number and optionality of arguments. However, production of sentences using three-argument verbs was more impaired in the agrammatic, compared to the anomic, group. On sentence production and comprehension tests, the agrammatic group showed impairments in all types of non-canonical sentences, whereas the anomic group exhibited difficulty primarily with the most difficult, object relative, structures. Conclusions Results show that verb and sentence deficits seen in individuals with agrammatic aphasia are largely influenced by syntactic complexity; however, individuals with anomic aphasia appear to exhibit these impairments only for the most complex forms of verbs and sentences. The present data indicate that the NAVS is useful for characterising verb and sentence deficits in people with aphasia. PMID:26379358

The Multidimensional Structure of Verbal Comprehension Test Items.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peled, Zimra

1984-01-01

The multidimensional structure of verbal comprehension test items was investigated. Empirical evidence was provided to support the theory that item tasks are multivariate-multiordered composites of faceted components: language, contextual knowledge, and cognitive operation. Linear and circular properties of cylindrical manifestation were…

Systematic review of the neural basis of social cognition in patients with mood disorders.

PubMed

Cusi, Andrée M; Nazarov, Anthony; Holshausen, Katherine; Macqueen, Glenda M; McKinnon, Margaret C

2012-05-01

This review integrates neuroimaging studies of 2 domains of social cognition--emotion comprehension and theory of mind (ToM)--in patients with major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. The influence of key clinical and method variables on patterns of neural activation during social cognitive processing is also examined. Studies were identified using PsycINFO and PubMed (January 1967 to May 2011). The search terms were "fMRI," "emotion comprehension," "emotion perception," "affect comprehension," "affect perception," "facial expression," "prosody," "theory of mind," "mentalizing" and "empathy" in combination with "major depressive disorder," "bipolar disorder," "major depression," "unipolar depression," "clinical depression" and "mania." Taken together, neuroimaging studies of social cognition in patients with mood disorders reveal enhanced activation in limbic and emotion-related structures and attenuated activity within frontal regions associated with emotion regulation and higher cognitive functions. These results reveal an overall lack of inhibition by higher-order cognitive structures on limbic and emotion-related structures during social cognitive processing in patients with mood disorders. Critically, key variables, including illness burden, symptom severity, comorbidity, medication status and cognitive load may moderate this pattern of neural activation. Studies that did not include control tasks or a comparator group were included in this review. Further work is needed to examine the contribution of key moderator variables and to further elucidate the neural networks underlying altered social cognition in patients with mood disorders. The neural networks under lying higher-order social cognitive processes, including empathy, remain unexplored in patients with mood disorders.

A FUNCTIONAL NEUROIMAGING INVESTIGATION OF THE ROLES OF STRUCTURAL COMPLEXITY AND TASK-DEMAND DURING AUDITORY SENTENCE PROCESSING

PubMed Central

Love, Tracy; Haist, Frank; Nicol, Janet; Swinney, David

2009-01-01

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), this study directly examined an issue that bridges the potential language processing and multi-modal views of the role of Broca’s area: the effects of task-demands in language comprehension studies. We presented syntactically simple and complex sentences for auditory comprehension under three different (differentially complex) task-demand conditions: passive listening, probe verification, and theme judgment. Contrary to many language imaging findings, we found that both simple and complex syntactic structures activated left inferior frontal cortex (L-IFC). Critically, we found activation in these frontal regions increased together with increased task-demands. Specifically, tasks that required greater manipulation and comparison of linguistic material recruited L-IFC more strongly; independent of syntactic structure complexity. We argue that much of the presumed syntactic effects previously found in sentence imaging studies of L-IFC may, among other things, reflect the tasks employed in these studies and that L-IFC is a region underlying mnemonic and other integrative functions, on which much language processing may rely. PMID:16881268

An Evaluation Report: i3 Development Grant Dev07--Sammamish High School. "Re-Imagining Career and College Readiness: STEM, Rigor, and Equity in a Comprehensive High School"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knuth, Randy; Sutton, Paul S.; Levias, Sheldon; Kuo, Annie Camey; Callison, Matthew

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to describe and examine the structures and policies a public, comprehensive high school put in place to implement problem-based learning (PBL) across content areas. Starting in 2010, the school implemented PBL in the hopes of increasing students' career and college readiness skills. The research took place at a…

“Whatdunit?” Sentence Comprehension Abilities of Children With SLI: Sensitivity to Word Order in Canonical and Noncanonical Structures

PubMed Central

Gillam, Ronald B.; Evans, Julia L.; Sergeev, Alexander V.

2017-01-01

Purpose With Aim 1, we compared the comprehension of and sensitivity to canonical and noncanonical word order structures in school-age children with specific language impairment (SLI) and same-age typically developing (TD) children. Aim 2 centered on the developmental improvement of sentence comprehension in the groups. With Aim 3, we compared the comprehension error patterns of the groups. Method Using a “Whatdunit” agent selection task, 117 children with SLI and 117 TD children (ages 7:0–11:11, years:months) propensity matched on age, gender, mother's education, and family income pointed to the picture that best represented the agent in semantically implausible canonical structures (subject–verb–object, subject relative) and noncanonical structures (passive, object relative). Results The SLI group performed worse than the TD group across sentence types. TD children demonstrated developmental improvement across each sentence type, but children with SLI showed improvement only for canonical sentences. Both groups chose the object noun as agent significantly more often than the noun appearing in a prepositional phrase. Conclusions In the absence of semantic–pragmatic cues, comprehension of canonical and noncanonical sentences by children with SLI is limited, with noncanonical sentence comprehension being disproportionately limited. The children's ability to make proper semantic role assignments to the noun arguments in sentences, especially noncanonical, is significantly hindered. PMID:28832884

Web-ware bioinformatical analysis and structure modelling of N-terminus of human multisynthetase complex auxiliary component protein p43.

PubMed

Deineko, Viktor

2006-01-01

Human multisynthetase complex auxiliary component, protein p43 is an endothelial monocyte-activating polypeptide II precursor. In this study, comprehensive sequence analysis of N-terminus has been performed to identify structural domains, motifs, sites of post-translation modification and other functionally important parameters. The spatial structure model of full-chain protein p43 is obtained.

Why does working memory capacity predict variation in reading comprehension? On the influence of mind wandering and executive attention.

PubMed

McVay, Jennifer C; Kane, Michael J

2012-05-01

Some people are better readers than others, and this variation in comprehension ability is predicted by measures of working memory capacity (WMC). The primary goal of this study was to investigate the mediating role of mind-wandering experiences in the association between WMC and normal individual differences in reading comprehension, as predicted by the executive-attention theory of WMC (e.g., Engle & Kane, 2004). We used a latent-variable, structural-equation-model approach, testing skilled adult readers on 3 WMC span tasks, 7 varied reading-comprehension tasks, and 3 attention-control tasks. Mind wandering was assessed using experimenter-scheduled thought probes during 4 different tasks (2 reading, 2 attention-control). The results support the executive-attention theory of WMC. Mind wandering across the 4 tasks loaded onto a single latent factor, reflecting a stable individual difference. Most important, mind wandering was a significant mediator in the relationship between WMC and reading comprehension, suggesting that the WMC-comprehension correlation is driven, in part, by attention control over intruding thoughts. We discuss implications for theories of WMC, attention control, and reading comprehension.

Using technology-enhanced, cooperative, group-project learning for student comprehension and academic performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tlhoaele, Malefyane; Suhre, Cor; Hofman, Adriaan

2016-05-01

Cooperative learning may improve students' motivation, understanding of course concepts, and academic performance. This study therefore enhanced a cooperative, group-project learning technique with technology resources to determine whether doing so improved students' deep learning and performance. A sample of 118 engineering students, randomly divided into two groups, participated in this study and provided data through questionnaires issued before and after the experiment. The results, obtained through analyses of variance and structural equation modelling, reveal that technology-enhanced, cooperative, group-project learning improves students' comprehension and academic performance.

Associations of Teacher Autonomy Support and Structure with Young Adolescents' Motivation, Engagement, Belonging, and Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kiefer, Sarah M.; Pennington, Sarah

2017-01-01

The purpose of this short-term longitudinal quantitative study was to gain a comprehensive understanding of the influence of teacher autonomy support and structure on young adolescents' academic motivation, classroom engagement, school belonging, and achievement. Middle school students (N = 209, 61% female) self-reported perceptions of teacher…

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ): The Factor Structure and Scale Validation in U.S. Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

He, Jian-Ping; Burstein, Marcy; Schmitz, Anja; Merikangas, Kathleen R.

2013-01-01

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is one of the most commonly used instruments for screening psychopathology in children and adolescents. This study evaluated the hypothesized five-factor structure of the SDQ and examined its convergent validity against comprehensive clinical diagnostic assessments. Data were derived from the…

Income Tax Reform and Agriculture: A Symposium.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Economic Research Service (USDA), Washington, DC.

Five papers are provided from a symposium organized to present several economic studies relating to income tax structure and reform in agriculture. "Toward an Optimal Income Tax Policy for Southern and U.S. Agriculture" (Harold F. Breimyer) is a structured argument for comprehensive tax reform that increases the equity of the income tax…

The Reliability, Validity, and Usefulness of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in Dental Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graham, Roseanna

2010-01-01

This study evaluated the reliability, validity, and educational usefulness of a comprehensive, multidisciplinary Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in dental education. The OSCE was administered to dental students at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine (CDM) before they entered clinical training. Participants in this…

The Matching of Educational and Occupational Structures in Finland and Sweden. Final Report. CEDEFOP Dossier.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahola, Sakari

This report studies the matching of educational and occupational structures in Sweden and Finland by using classifications that include all educational and occupational groups. By using comprehensive databases available in Finland and Sweden, it aims to develop the methodological and theoretical perspectives of the research on education and…

Deformation behaviors of three-dimensional graphene honeycombs under out-of-plane compression: Atomistic simulations and predictive modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Fanchao; Chen, Cheng; Hu, Dianyin; Song, Jun

2017-12-01

Combining atomistic simulations and continuum modeling, a comprehensive study of the out-of-plane compressive deformation behaviors of equilateral three-dimensional (3D) graphene honeycombs was performed. It was demonstrated that under out-of-plane compression, the honeycomb exhibits two critical deformation events, i.e., elastic mechanical instability (including elastic buckling and structural transformation) and inelastic structural collapse. The above events were shown to be strongly dependent on the honeycomb cell size and affected by the local atomic bonding at the cell junction. By treating the 3D graphene honeycomb as a continuum cellular solid, and accounting for the structural heterogeneity and constraint at the junction, a set of analytical models were developed to accurately predict the threshold stresses corresponding to the onset of those deformation events. The present study elucidates key structure-property relationships of 3D graphene honeycombs under out-of-plane compression, and provides a comprehensive theoretical framework to predictively analyze their deformation responses, and more generally, offers critical new knowledge for the rational bottom-up design of 3D networks of two-dimensional nanomaterials.

Sustainability on the urban scale: Proposal of a structure of indicators for the Spanish context

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Braulio-Gonzalo, Marta, E-mail: braulio@uji.es; Bovea, María Dolores, E-mail: bovea@uji.es; Ruá, María José, E-mail: rua@uji.es

Some efforts to assess sustainability on the urban scale have been made and different tools for measuring the impact on and caused by cities have emerged. However, the sustainability concept varies from region to region, and indicators to measure it should be suitable for the context-specific conditions of the region under study. After doing a comprehensive review of the indicators included in 13 tools developed to assess urban sustainability of cities, this article proposes a new structure of indicators adapted to a Mediterranean city in Spain. The proposed structure is based on a two-level scheme that consists in 14 categoriesmore » and 63 subcategories, which agglutinate urban sustainability indicators according to their purpose. This structure suggests a set of comprehensible qualitative and quantitative indicators that are easily applicable on neighbourhood or city scales. Given the similar features of Mediterranean countries in terms of environmental and socio-economic aspects, the proposed structure could be extrapolated to other countries with climatic and cultural similarities. Otherwise, the system is a useful tool in the decision-making process to help the different stakeholders involved in new urban developments and regeneration projects in existing neighbourhoods, such as developers, urban planners and public administrations. - Highlights: • Comprehensive review of 13 urban sustainability assessment tools • Proposal of a two-level structure to cluster urban sustainability indicators • Inclusion of sustainability criteria for urban planning projects and interventions.« less

Direct Instruction of Comprehension: Instructional Examples from Intervention Research on Listening and Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coyne, Michael D.; Zipoli, Richard P., Jr.; Chard, David J.; Faggella-Luby, Michael; Ruby, Maureen; Santoro, Lana E.; Baker, Scott

2009-01-01

This article examines the role of direct instruction in promoting listening and reading comprehension. Instructional examples from 2 programs of intervention research focused on improving comprehension; the Story Read Aloud Program and the Embedded Story Structure Routine are used to illustrate principles of direct instruction. An analysis of…

Towards a comprehensive understanding of emerging dynamics and function of pancreatic islets: A complex network approach. Comment on "Network science of biological systems at different scales: A review" by Gosak et al.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loppini, Alessandro

2018-03-01

Complex network theory represents a comprehensive mathematical framework to investigate biological systems, ranging from sub-cellular and cellular scales up to large-scale networks describing species interactions and ecological systems. In their exhaustive and comprehensive work [1], Gosak et al. discuss several scenarios in which the network approach was able to uncover general properties and underlying mechanisms of cells organization and regulation, tissue functions and cell/tissue failure in pathology, by the study of chemical reaction networks, structural networks and functional connectivities.

The choroid plexus: a comprehensive review of its history, anatomy, function, histology, embryology, and surgical considerations.

PubMed

Mortazavi, Martin M; Griessenauer, Christoph J; Adeeb, Nimer; Deep, Aman; Bavarsad Shahripour, Reza; Shahripour, Reza Bavarsad; Loukas, Marios; Tubbs, Richard Isaiah; Tubbs, R Shane

2014-02-01

The role of the choroid plexus in cerebrospinal fluid production has been identified for more than a century. Over the years, more intensive studies of this structure has lead to a better understanding of the functions, including brain immunity, protection, absorption, and many others. Here, we review the macro- and microanatomical structure of the choroid plexus in addition to its function and embryology. The literature was searched for articles and textbooks for data related to the history, anatomy, physiology, histology, embryology, potential functions, and surgical implications of the choroid plexus. All were gathered and summarized comprehensively. We summarize the literature regarding the choroid plexus and its surgical implications.

Computer-Aided Structural Engineering (CASE) Project: State of the Art on Expert Systems Applications in Design, Construction and Maintenance of Structures

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-09-01

OGT, F1EPQRTJTL4, W" - 3^ n"r-- n *ON EXPERT SYSTEMS IN DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND’, IWAJNTENANCE-OF STRUCTURES Arockiasamy, Sunghoon Lee Clepartrhent...based expert system applications in the areas of structural design, design standards, and construction planning. This study will aid in the development...of a comprehensive expert system for tvical hydraulic structures. Funding for this report was provided by the US Army Engineer Waterways Experiment

Toward comprehensive studies of liquids at high pressures and high temperatures: Combined structure, elastic wave velocity, and viscosity measurements in the Paris-Edinburgh cell

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kono, Yoshio; Park, Changyong; Kenney-Benson, Curtis

2014-08-19

Techniques for measuring liquid structure, elastic wave velocity, and viscosity under high pressure have been integrated using a Paris–Edinburgh cell at Beamline 16-BM-B, HPCAT of the Advanced Photon Source. The Paris–Edinburgh press allows for compressing large volume samples (up to 2 mm in both diameter and length) up to ~7 GPa and 2000 °C. Multi-angle energy dispersive X-ray diffraction provides structure factors of liquid to a large Q of ~19 Å. Ultrasonic techniques have been developed to investigate elastic wave velocity of liquids combined with the X-ray imaging. Falling sphere viscometry, using high-speed X-ray radiography (>1000 frames/s), enables us tomore » investigate a wide range of viscosity, from those of high viscosity silicates or oxides melts to low viscosity (<1 mPa s) liquids and fluids such as liquid metals or salts. The integration of these multiple techniques has promoted comprehensive studies of structure and physical properties of liquids as well as amorphous materials at high pressures and high temperatures, making it possible to investigate correlations between structure and physical properties of liquids in situ.« less

Language Comprehension as Structure Building

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-10-17

Final Tech Report 89-0258 LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION AS STRUCTURE BUILDING Morton Ann Gemsbacher Psychology De artment Uiversity of regon Eugene, OR 97403...they represent is no longer as necessary. My students and I have investigated the three subprocesses involved in structure building, namely, laying a...memory nodes; once activated, two cognitive mechanisms control memory nodes’ activation levels: suppression and enhancement. My students and I have also

78 FR 36751 - Meeting of the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-19

... on a first come, first served basis, other opportunities for oral comments will be provided at future... it may consider appropriate in light of the results of the study. The comprehensive study of the...

Comprehensive Environmental Assessment Applied to ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

In September 2013, EPA announced the availability of the final report, Comprehensive Environmental Assessment Applied to Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Flame-Retardant Coatings in Upholstery Textiles: A Case Study Presenting Priority Research Gaps for Future Risk Assessments. This final report presents a case study of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs); it focuses on the specific example of MWCNTs as used in flame-retardant coatings applied to upholstery textiles. This case study is organized around the comprehensive environmental assessment (CEA) framework, which structures available information pertaining to the product life cycle, environmental transport and fate, exposure-dose in receptors (i.e., humans, ecological populations, and the environment), and potential impacts in these receptors. A group of experts representing multiple disciplines and multiple sector perspectives used an earlier draft of the case study in conjunction with a structured workshop process to identify and prioritize research gaps that, if pursued, could inform future MWCNT assessment efforts. The final report is not a health, risk, or exposure assessment and as such does not draw conclusions about potential risks, or present an exhaustive review of the literature. Rather, it presents the MWCNT research priorities that experts identified in this application of CEA in order to aid research planning throughout the scientific community. The outcomes of these research efforts may subsequ

Sentence comprehension in specific language impairment: a task designed to distinguish between cognitive capacity and syntactic complexity.

PubMed

Leonard, Laurence B; Deevy, Patricia; Fey, Marc E; Bredin-Oja, Shelley L

2013-04-01

This study examined sentence comprehension in children with specific language impairment (SLI) in a manner designed to separate the contribution of cognitive capacity from the effects of syntactic structure. Nineteen children with SLI, 19 typically developing children matched for age (TD-A), and 19 younger typically developing children (TD-Y) matched according to sentence comprehension test scores responded to sentence comprehension items that varied in either length or their demands on cognitive capacity, based on the nature of the foils competing with the target picture. The TD-A children were accurate across all item types. The SLI and TD-Y groups were less accurate than the TD-A group on items with greater length and, especially, on items with the greatest demands on cognitive capacity. The types of errors were consistent with failure to retain details of the sentence apart from syntactic structure. The difficulty in the more demanding conditions seemed attributable to interference. Specifically, the children with SLI and the TD-Y children appeared to have difficulty retaining details of the target sentence when the information reflected in the foils closely resembled the information in the target sentence.

A comparative study of the health care systems of Canada and Saudi Arabia: lessons and insights.

PubMed

Qutub, Akram F; Al-Jewair, Thikriat S; Leake, James L

2009-10-01

Understanding the structure of a health care system is essential in improving public health policies and health outcomes. To describe and compare the health care systems of Canada and Saudi Arabia; to discuss possible lessons that could be learned from both for policy-making purposes. A comprehensive method was used to describe the national health care systems of both countries. For each country, the system is described by: context, ownership, delivery, financing, organisational structure, target groups, and comprehensiveness of services. In Canada, the Medicare system provides comprehensive medical services except for dental, optometric, chiropractic, pharmacologic and home care services. The dental care system is financed privately (94%) and is owned and delivered by private for-profit dental practitioners. In Saudi Arabia, the government sector is owned, delivered, and financed by the government and provides free comprehensive medical and dental services. The same services are provided by the private sector, but under governmental supervision. Among the relevant lessons: access to care, accountability, quality assurance, mix and reimbursement of providers. Canada can learn about different approaches to socialising the dental care system. Saudi Arabia can improve the implementation of quality assurance practices and management.

Neuronal basis of speech comprehension.

PubMed

Specht, Karsten

2014-01-01

Verbal communication does not rely only on the simple perception of auditory signals. It is rather a parallel and integrative processing of linguistic and non-linguistic information, involving temporal and frontal areas in particular. This review describes the inherent complexity of auditory speech comprehension from a functional-neuroanatomical perspective. The review is divided into two parts. In the first part, structural and functional asymmetry of language relevant structures will be discus. The second part of the review will discuss recent neuroimaging studies, which coherently demonstrate that speech comprehension processes rely on a hierarchical network involving the temporal, parietal, and frontal lobes. Further, the results support the dual-stream model for speech comprehension, with a dorsal stream for auditory-motor integration, and a ventral stream for extracting meaning but also the processing of sentences and narratives. Specific patterns of functional asymmetry between the left and right hemisphere can also be demonstrated. The review article concludes with a discussion on interactions between the dorsal and ventral streams, particularly the involvement of motor related areas in speech perception processes, and outlines some remaining unresolved issues. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Human Auditory Neuroimaging. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comprehension of climate change and environmental attitudes across the lifespan.

PubMed

Degen, C; Kettner, S E; Fischer, H; Lohse, J; Funke, J; Schwieren, C; Goeschl, T; Schröder, J

2014-08-01

Given the coincidence of the demographic change and climate change in the upcoming decades the aging voter gains increasing importance in climate change mitigation and adaptation processes. It is generally assumed that information status and comprehension of complex processes underlying climate change are prerequisites for adopting pro-environmental attitudes and taking pro-environmental actions. In a cross-sectional study, we investigated in how far (1) environmental knowledge and comprehension of feedback processes underlying climate change and (2) pro-environmental attitudes change as a function of age. Our sample consisted of 92 participants aged 25-75 years (mean age 49.4 years, SD 17.0). Age was negatively related to comprehension of system structures inherent to climate change, but positively associated with level of fear of consequences and anxiousness towards climate change. No significant relations were found between environmental knowledge and pro-environmental attitude. These results indicate that, albeit understanding of relevant structures of the climate system is less present in older age, age is not a limiting factor for being engaged in the complex dilemma of climate change. Results bear implications for the communication of climate change and pro-environmental actions in aging societies.

Structural cost optimization of photovoltaic central power station modules and support structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sutton, P. D.; Stolte, W. J.; Marsh, R. O.

1979-01-01

The results of a comprehensive study of photovoltaic module structural support concepts for photovoltaic central power stations and their associated costs are presented. The objective of the study has been the identification of structural cost drivers. Parametric structural design and cost analyses of complete array systems consisting of modules, primary support structures, and foundations were performed. Area related module cost was found to be constant with design, size, and loading. A curved glass module concept was evaluated and found to have the potential to significantly reduce panel structural costs. Conclusions of the study are: array costs do not vary greatly among the designs evaluated; panel and array costs are strongly dependent on design loading; and the best support configuration is load dependent

The power of projectomes: genetic mosaic labeling in the larval zebrafish brain reveals organizing principles of sensory circuits.

PubMed

Robles, Estuardo

2017-09-01

In no vertebrate species do we possess an accurate, comprehensive tally of neuron types in the brain. This is in no small part due to the vast diversity of neuronal types that comprise complex vertebrate nervous systems. A fundamental goal of neuroscience is to construct comprehensive catalogs of cell types defined by structure, connectivity, and physiological response properties. This type of information will be invaluable for generating models of how assemblies of neurons encode and distribute sensory information and correspondingly alter behavior. This review summarizes recent efforts in the larval zebrafish to construct sensory projectomes, comprehensive analyses of axonal morphologies in sensory axon tracts. Focusing on the olfactory and optic tract, these studies revealed principles of sensory information processing in the olfactory and visual systems that could not have been directly quantified by other methods. In essence, these studies reconstructed the optic and olfactory tract in a virtual manner, providing insights into patterns of neuronal growth that underlie the formation of sensory axon tracts. Quantitative analysis of neuronal diversity revealed organizing principles that determine information flow through sensory systems in the zebrafish that are likely to be conserved across vertebrate species. The generation of comprehensive cell type classifications based on structural, physiological, and molecular features will lead to testable hypotheses on the functional role of individual sensory neuron subtypes in controlling specific sensory-evoked behaviors.

Why reread? Evidence from garden-path and local coherence structures.

PubMed

Christianson, Kiel; Luke, Steven G; Hussey, Erika K; Wochna, Kacey L

2017-07-01

Two eye-tracking experiments were conducted to compare the online reading and offline comprehension of main verb/reduced relative garden-path sentences and local coherence sentences. Rereading of early material in garden-path reduced relatives should be revisionary, aimed at reanalysing an earlier misparse; however, rereading of early material in a local coherence reduced relative need only be confirmatory, as the original parse of the earlier portion of these sentences is ultimately correct. Results of online and offline measures showed that local coherence structures elicited signals of reading disruption that arose earlier and lasted longer, and local coherence comprehension was also better than garden path comprehension. Few rereading measures in either sentence type were predicted by structural features of these sentences, nor was rereading related to comprehension accuracy, which was extremely low overall. Results are discussed with respect to selective reanalysis and good-enough processing.

A Practical Engineering Approach to Predicting Fatigue Crack Growth in Riveted Lap Joints

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, Charles E.; Piascik, Robert S.; Newman, James C., Jr.

1999-01-01

An extensive experimental database has been assembled from very detailed teardown examinations of fatigue cracks found in rivet holes of fuselage structural components. Based on this experimental database, a comprehensive analysis methodology was developed to predict the onset of widespread fatigue damage in lap joints of fuselage structure. Several computer codes were developed with specialized capabilities to conduct the various analyses that make up the comprehensive methodology. Over the past several years, the authors have interrogated various aspects of the analysis methods to determine the degree of computational rigor required to produce numerical predictions with acceptable engineering accuracy. This study led to the formulation of a practical engineering approach to predicting fatigue crack growth in riveted lap joints. This paper describes the practical engineering approach and compares predictions with the results from several experimental studies.

A Practical Engineering Approach to Predicting Fatigue Crack Growth in Riveted Lap Joints

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, C. E.; Piascik, R. S.; Newman, J. C., Jr.

2000-01-01

An extensive experimental database has been assembled from very detailed teardown examinations of fatigue cracks found in rivet holes of fuselage structural components. Based on this experimental database, a comprehensive analysis methodology was developed to predict the onset of widespread fatigue damage in lap joints of fuselage structure. Several computer codes were developed with specialized capabilities to conduct the various analyses that make up the comprehensive methodology. Over the past several years, the authors have interrogated various aspects of the analysis methods to determine the degree of computational rigor required to produce numerical predictions with acceptable engineering accuracy. This study led to the formulation of a practical engineering approach to predicting fatigue crack growth in riveted lap joints. This paper describes the practical engineering approach and compares predictions with the results from several experimental studies.

A developmental study of proverb comprehension.

PubMed

Resnick, D A

1982-09-01

Growth in proverb comprehension was hypothesized to result from the gradual emergence of cognitive abilities reflected in a sequence of increasingly complex abilities: story matching, transfer of relations, desymbolization, proverb matching, and paraphrase. Items for these abilities for each of 10 proverbs of two structural types were administered in three test sessions to 438 students in grades three to seven. An analogy subtest was used to measure general intelligence. ANOVA yielded significant main effects for grade, tasks, and proverbs (all p's less than .01). A significant task x proverb interaction (p less than .01) revealed the difficulty of precise control over the language of the items. Proverb structure had no measurable impact on difficulty. Analogy score was a significant factor in performance (p less than .01) but not as potent as age (p less than .01). The sequential order of abilities received only weak confirmation, though tasks did correlate among themselves with medium strength (r's = .50-.70). Individual interviews added a qualitative dimension to the findings. The suitability of cognitive hierarchical models for proverb comprehension was questioned.

Comprehensive Peptide Ion Structure Studies Using Ion Mobility Techniques: Part 1. An Advanced Protocol for Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Collision Cross-Section Calculation.

PubMed

Ghassabi Kondalaji, Samaneh; Khakinejad, Mahdiar; Tafreshian, Amirmahdi; J Valentine, Stephen

2017-05-01

Collision cross-section (CCS) measurements with a linear drift tube have been utilized to study the gas-phase conformers of a model peptide (acetyl-PAAAAKAAAAKAAAAKAAAAK). Extensive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been conducted to derive an advanced protocol for the generation of a comprehensive pool of in-silico structures; both higher energy and more thermodynamically stable structures are included to provide an unbiased sampling of conformational space. MD simulations at 300 K are applied to the in-silico structures to more accurately describe the gas-phase transport properties of the ion conformers including their dynamics. Different methods used previously for trajectory method (TM) CCS calculation employing the Mobcal software [1] are evaluated. A new method for accurate CCS calculation is proposed based on clustering and data mining techniques. CCS values are calculated for all in-silico structures, and those with matching CCS values are chosen as candidate structures. With this approach, more than 300 candidate structures with significant structural variation are produced; although no final gas-phase structure is proposed here, in a second installment of this work, gas-phase hydrogen deuterium exchange data will be utilized as a second criterion to select among these structures as well as to propose relative populations for these ion conformers. Here the need to increase conformer diversity and accurate CCS calculation is demonstrated and the advanced methods are discussed. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Comprehensive Peptide Ion Structure Studies Using Ion Mobility Techniques: Part 1. An Advanced Protocol for Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Collision Cross-Section Calculation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghassabi Kondalaji, Samaneh; Khakinejad, Mahdiar; Tafreshian, Amirmahdi; J. Valentine, Stephen

2017-05-01

Collision cross-section (CCS) measurements with a linear drift tube have been utilized to study the gas-phase conformers of a model peptide (acetyl-PAAAAKAAAAKAAAAKAAAAK). Extensive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been conducted to derive an advanced protocol for the generation of a comprehensive pool of in-silico structures; both higher energy and more thermodynamically stable structures are included to provide an unbiased sampling of conformational space. MD simulations at 300 K are applied to the in-silico structures to more accurately describe the gas-phase transport properties of the ion conformers including their dynamics. Different methods used previously for trajectory method (TM) CCS calculation employing the Mobcal software [1] are evaluated. A new method for accurate CCS calculation is proposed based on clustering and data mining techniques. CCS values are calculated for all in-silico structures, and those with matching CCS values are chosen as candidate structures. With this approach, more than 300 candidate structures with significant structural variation are produced; although no final gas-phase structure is proposed here, in a second installment of this work, gas-phase hydrogen deuterium exchange data will be utilized as a second criterion to select among these structures as well as to propose relative populations for these ion conformers. Here the need to increase conformer diversity and accurate CCS calculation is demonstrated and the advanced methods are discussed.

The Effects of Organization and Instructional Set on Story Memory. Technical Report No. 68.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stein, Nancy L.; Nezworski, Teresa

Sixty four college students participated in a study which sought to validate a set of predictions about story memory, derived from a story-grammar approach to comprehension. The grammar describes the higher-order structures regulating the organization and retrieval of incoming story information. These structures, defined by a basic set of rewrite…

Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial Examining Intelligent Tutoring of Structure Strategy for Fifth-Grade Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wijekumar, Kausalai; Meyer, Bonnie J. F.; Lei, Pui-Wa; Lin, Yu-Chu; Johnson, Lori A.; Spielvogel, James A.; Shurmatz, Kathryn M.; Ray, Melissa; Cook, Michael

2014-01-01

This article reports on a large scale randomized controlled trial to study the efficacy of a web-based intelligent tutoring system for the structure strategy designed to improve content area reading comprehension. The research was conducted with 128 fifth-grade classrooms within 12 school districts in rural and suburban settings. Classrooms within…

78 FR 40446 - Meeting of the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-05

... each. While requests to make an oral presentation to the Commission will be honored on a first come... it may consider appropriate in light of the results of the study. The comprehensive study of the...

Improving Listening Comprehension through a Whole-Schema Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellermeyer, Deborah

1993-01-01

Examines the development of the schema, or cognitive structure, theory of reading comprehension. Advances a model for improving listening comprehension within the classroom through a teacher-facilitated approach which leads students to selecting and utilizing existing schema within a whole-language environment. (MDM)

Educating preschoolers about sun safety.

PubMed Central

Loescher, L J; Emerson, J; Taylor, A; Christensen, D H; McKinney, M

1995-01-01

OBJECTIVES. This feasibility study examined whether a sun safety curriculum designed for and administered to preschoolers affects their cognition (knowledge, comprehension, application) regarding sun safety. METHODS. Twelve classes of 4- to 5-year-olds were recruited from local preschools and randomly assigned to an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group received an investigator-developed sun safety curriculum; the control group did not. Children in both groups were tested at the beginning of the study about their cognition related to sun safety. They then received posttests 2 and 7 weeks following the pretest. RESULTS. The curriculum had a significant effect on the knowledge (P = .01) and comprehension (P = .006) components of cognition. The application component of cognition was not significantly changed by the curriculum. CONCLUSIONS. A structured curriculum was found to be an efficacious means of enhancing knowledge and comprehension of sun safety in preschool children. At the preoperational developmental stage, however, children may not be able to apply such knowledge and comprehension. PMID:7604917

What Are the Perceptions, Experiences, and Behaviors of Health Care Providers After Implementation of a Comprehensive Smoke-Free Hospital Policy?

PubMed

Luck, Kerrie E; Doucet, Shelley

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions, experiences, and behaviors of health care providers (HCPs) after the implementation of a comprehensive smoke-free policy. This qualitative descriptive study, using semi-structured interviews, was conducted with 28 HCPs working in a Canadian hospital. Four overarching themes emerged from the analysis including (a) greater support for tobacco reduction, (b) enhanced patient care and interactions, (c) improved staff morale, and (d) some barriers still exist. The main findings suggest a comprehensive smoke-free hospital environment can strengthen the tobacco-free workplace culture within a hospital setting among HCPs where support for tobacco reduction is amplified, patient care and interactions regarding tobacco dependence are improved, and staff morale is enhanced. While there are still some challenging barriers as well as opportunities for improvements, the implementation of a comprehensive smoke-free policy heightened the call-to-action among HCPs to take a more active role in tobacco reduction.

Comprehension of concrete and abstract words in semantic variant primary progressive aphasia and Alzheimer's disease: A behavioral and neuroimaging study.

PubMed

Joubert, Sven; Vallet, Guillaume T; Montembeault, Maxime; Boukadi, Mariem; Wilson, Maximiliano A; Laforce, Robert Jr; Rouleau, Isabelle; Brambati, Simona M

2017-07-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the comprehension of concrete, abstract and abstract emotional words in semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and healthy elderly adults (HE) Three groups of participants (9 svPPA, 12 AD, 11 HE) underwent a general neuropsychological assessment, a similarity judgment task, and structural brain MRI. The three types of words were processed similarly in the group of AD participants. In contrast, patients in the svPPA group were significantly more impaired at processing concrete words than abstract words, while comprehension of abstract emotional words was in between. VBM analyses showed that comprehension of concrete words relative to abstract words was significantly correlated with atrophy in the left anterior temporal lobe. These results support the view that concrete words are disproportionately impaired in svPPA, and that concrete and abstract words may rely upon partly dissociable brain regions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

What Are the Perceptions, Experiences, and Behaviors of Health Care Providers After Implementation of a Comprehensive Smoke-Free Hospital Policy?

PubMed Central

Luck, Kerrie E.; Doucet, Shelley

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions, experiences, and behaviors of health care providers (HCPs) after the implementation of a comprehensive smoke-free policy. This qualitative descriptive study, using semi-structured interviews, was conducted with 28 HCPs working in a Canadian hospital. Four overarching themes emerged from the analysis including (a) greater support for tobacco reduction, (b) enhanced patient care and interactions, (c) improved staff morale, and (d) some barriers still exist. The main findings suggest a comprehensive smoke-free hospital environment can strengthen the tobacco-free workplace culture within a hospital setting among HCPs where support for tobacco reduction is amplified, patient care and interactions regarding tobacco dependence are improved, and staff morale is enhanced. While there are still some challenging barriers as well as opportunities for improvements, the implementation of a comprehensive smoke-free policy heightened the call-to-action among HCPs to take a more active role in tobacco reduction. PMID:29568792

Syntactic comprehension in reading and listening: a study with French children with dyslexia.

PubMed

Casalis, Séverine; Leuwers, Christel; Hilton, Heather

2013-01-01

This study examined syntactic comprehension in French children with dyslexia in both listening and reading. In the first syntactic comprehension task, a partial version of the Epreuve de Compréhension syntaxico-sémantique (ECOSSE test; French adaptation of Bishop's test for receptive grammar test) children with dyslexia performed at a lower level in the written but not in the spoken modality, compared to reading age-matched children, suggesting a difficulty in handling syntax while reading. In the second task, syntactic processing was further explored through a test of relative clause processing, in which inflectional markers could aid in attributing roles to the elements in a complex syntactic structure. Children with dyslexia were insensitive to inflectional markers in both reading and listening, as was the reading age control group, while only the older normal reader group appeared to make use of the inflectional markers. Overall, the results support the hypothesis that difficulties in comprehension in dyslexia are strongly related to poor reading skills.

When all children comprehend: increasing the external validity of narrative comprehension development research

PubMed Central

Burris, Silas E.; Brown, Danielle D.

2014-01-01

Narratives, also called stories, can be found in conversations, children's play interactions, reading material, and television programs. From infancy to adulthood, narrative comprehension processes interpret events and inform our understanding of physical and social environments. These processes have been extensively studied to ascertain the multifaceted nature of narrative comprehension. From this research we know that three overlapping processes (i.e., knowledge integration, goal structure understanding, and causal inference generation) proposed by the constructionist paradigm are necessary for narrative comprehension, narrative comprehension has a predictive relationship with children's later reading performance, and comprehension processes are generalizable to other contexts. Much of the previous research has emphasized internal and predictive validity; thus, limiting the generalizability of previous findings. We are concerned these limitations may be excluding underrepresented populations from benefits and implications identified by early comprehension processes research. This review identifies gaps in extant literature regarding external validity and argues for increased emphasis on externally valid research. We highlight limited research on narrative comprehension processes in children from low-income and minority populations, and argue for changes in comprehension assessments. Specifically, we argue both on- and off-line assessments should be used across various narrative types (e.g., picture books, televised narratives) with traditionally underserved and underrepresented populations. We propose increasing the generalizability of narrative comprehension processes research can inform persistent reading achievement gaps, and have practical implications for how children learn from narratives. PMID:24659973

Medical University admission test: a confirmatory factor analysis of the results.

PubMed

Luschin-Ebengreuth, Marion; Dimai, Hans P; Ithaler, Daniel; Neges, Heide M; Reibnegger, Gilbert

2016-05-01

The Graz Admission Test has been applied since the academic year 2006/2007. The validity of the Test was demonstrated by a significant improvement of study success and a significant reduction of dropout rate. The purpose of this study was a detailed analysis of the internal correlation structure of the various components of the Graz Admission Test. In particular, the question investigated was whether or not the various test parts constitute a suitable construct which might be designated as "Basic Knowledge in Natural Science." This study is an observational investigation, analyzing the results of the Graz Admission Test for the study of human medicine and dentistry. A total of 4741 applicants were included in the analysis. Principal component factor analysis (PCFA) as well as techniques from structural equation modeling, specifically confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), were employed to detect potential underlying latent variables governing the behavior of the measured variables. PCFA showed good clustering of the science test parts, including also text comprehension. A putative latent variable "Basic Knowledge in Natural Science," investigated by CFA, was indeed shown to govern the response behavior of the applicants in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics as well as text comprehension. The analysis of the correlation structure of the various test parts confirmed that the science test parts together with text comprehension constitute a satisfactory instrument for measuring a latent construct variable "Basic Knowledge in Natural Science." The present results suggest the fundamental importance of basic science knowledge for results obtained in the framework of the admission process for medical universities.

Effects of an intervention in active strategies for text comprehension and recall.

PubMed

Elosúa, M Rosa; García-Madruga, Juan A; Gutiérrez, Francisco; Luque, Juan Luis; Gárate, Milagros

2002-11-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of an intervention program to promote active text-processing strategies (main-idea identification and summarization) at two developmental levels (12- and 16-year-olds). The independent variables were training condition (experimental and control) and school level (7th and 10th grades). Several measures were taken as dependent variables: reading span, reading time, construction of macrostructure, and structural recall. The hypothesis claimed that training would increase comprehension and recall significantly. Furthermore, as a result of the training program, a reduction in developmental differences in the experimental groups at posttest was also expected. Results supported the predictions, showing a significant improvement in the experimental groups' reading comprehension and recall. These results are discussed in terms of the importance of active and self-controlled strategies for text comprehension and recall.

Navigation and Comprehension of Digital Expository Texts: Hypertext Structure, Previous Domain Knowledge, and Working Memory Capacity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burin, Debora I.; Barreyro, Juan P.; Saux, Gastón; Irrazábal, Natalia C.

2015-01-01

Introduction: In contemporary information societies, reading digital text has become pervasive. One of the most distinctive features of digital texts is their internal connections via hyperlinks, resulting in non-linear hypertexts. Hypertext structure and previous knowledge affect navigation and comprehension of digital expository texts. From the…

The Relationship of Morphological Analysis and Morphological Decoding to Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deacon, S. Hélène; Tong, Xiuli; Francis, Kathryn

2017-01-01

The ultimate goal of children's reading development is the full and fluid understanding of texts. Morphological structure awareness, or children's awareness of the minimal units of meaning in language, has been identified as a key skill influencing reading comprehension. Here, we evaluate the roles of morphological structure awareness and two…

Analyses of track-related railroad accident data

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1978-12-01

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), as part if a comprehensive research program, has sponsored the Improved Track Structures Research Program (ITSRP) at the Transportation Systems Center (TSC). The study, documented in this report, supports th...

Dependency distance minimization in understanding of ambiguous structure. Comment on "Dependency distance: A new perspective on syntactic patterns in natural languages" by Haitao Liu et al.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yiyi

2017-07-01

Dependency Distance, proposed by Hudson [1], calculated by Liu [2,3], is an important concept in Dependency Theory. It can be used as a measure of the syntactic difficulty, and lots of research [2,4] have testified the universal of Dependency Distance in various languages. Human languages seem to present a preference for short dependency distance, which may be explained in terms of general cognitive constraint of limited working memory [5]. Psychological experiments in English, German, Russian and Chinese support the hypothesis that Dependency Distance minimization (DDM) make languages to evolve into some syntactic patterns to reduce memory burden [6-9]. The study of psychology focuses on the process and mechanism of syntactic structure selection in speech comprehension. In many speech comprehension experiments [10], ambiguous structure is an important experimental material.

Assessing Analytical Similarity of Proposed Amgen Biosimilar ABP 501 to Adalimumab.

PubMed

Liu, Jennifer; Eris, Tamer; Li, Cynthia; Cao, Shawn; Kuhns, Scott

2016-08-01

ABP 501 is being developed as a biosimilar to adalimumab. Comprehensive comparative analytical characterization studies have been conducted and completed. The objective of this study was to assess analytical similarity between ABP 501 and two adalimumab reference products (RPs), licensed by the United States Food and Drug Administration (adalimumab [US]) and authorized by the European Union (adalimumab [EU]), using state-of-the-art analytical methods. Comprehensive analytical characterization incorporating orthogonal analytical techniques was used to compare products. Physicochemical property comparisons comprised the primary structure related to amino acid sequence and post-translational modifications including glycans; higher-order structure; primary biological properties mediated by target and receptor binding; product-related substances and impurities; host-cell impurities; general properties of the finished drug product, including strength and formulation; subvisible and submicron particles and aggregates; and forced thermal degradation. ABP 501 had the same amino acid sequence and similar post-translational modification profiles compared with adalimumab RPs. Primary structure, higher-order structure, and biological activities were similar for the three products. Product-related size and charge variants and aggregate and particle levels were also similar. ABP 501 had very low residual host-cell protein and DNA. The finished ABP 501 drug product has the same strength with regard to protein concentration and fill volume as adalimumab RPs. ABP 501 and the RPs had a similar stability profile both in normal storage and thermal stress conditions. Based on the comprehensive analytical similarity assessment, ABP 501 was found to be similar to adalimumab with respect to physicochemical and biological properties.

Why Does Working Memory Capacity Predict Variation in Reading Comprehension? On the Influence of Mind Wandering and Executive Attention

PubMed Central

McVay, Jennifer C.; Kane, Michael J.

2012-01-01

Some people are better readers than others, and this variation in comprehension ability is predicted by measures of working memory capacity (WMC). The primary goal of this study was to investigate the mediating role of mind wandering experiences in the association between WMC and normal individual differences in reading comprehension, as predicted by the executive-attention theory of WMC (e.g., Engle & Kane, 2004). We used a latent-variable, structural-equation-model approach, testing skilled adult readers on three WMC span tasks, seven varied reading comprehension tasks, and three attention-control tasks. Mind wandering was assessed using experimenter-scheduled thought probes during four different tasks (two reading, two attention-control tasks). The results support the executive-attention theory of WMC. Mind wandering across the four tasks loaded onto a single latent factor, reflecting a stable individual difference. Most importantly, mind wandering was a significant mediator in the relationship between WMC and reading comprehension, suggesting that the WMC-comprehension correlation is driven, in part, by attention control over intruding thoughts. We discuss implications for theories of WMC, attention control, and reading comprehension. PMID:21875246

Informed consent recall and comprehension in orthodontics: traditional vs improved readability and processability methods.

PubMed

Kang, Edith Y; Fields, Henry W; Kiyak, Asuman; Beck, F Michael; Firestone, Allen R

2009-10-01

Low general and health literacy in the United States means informed consent documents are not well understood by most adults. Methods to improve recall and comprehension of informed consent have not been tested in orthodontics. The purposes of this study were to evaluate (1) recall and comprehension among patients and parents by using the American Association of Orthodontists' (AAO) informed consent form and new forms incorporating improved readability and processability; (2) the association between reading ability, anxiety, and sociodemographic variables and recall and comprehension; and (3) how various domains (treatment, risk, and responsibility) of information are affected by the forms. Three treatment groups (30 patient-parent pairs in each) received an orthodontic case presentation and either the AAO form, an improved readability form (MIC), or an improved readability and processability (pairing audio and visual cues) form (MIC + SS). Structured interviews were transcribed and coded to evaluate recall and comprehension. Significant relationships among patient-related variables and recall and comprehension explained little of the variance. The MIC + SS form significantly improved patient recall and parent recall and comprehension. Recall was better than comprehension, and parents performed better than patients. The MIC + SS form significantly improved patient treatment comprehension and risk recall and parent treatment recall and comprehension. Patients and parents both overestimated their understanding of the materials. Improving the readability of consent materials made little difference, but combining improved readability and processability benefited both patients' recall and parents' recall and comprehension compared with the AAO form.

Right is not always wrong: DTI and fMRI evidence for the reliance of reading comprehension on language-comprehension networks in the right hemisphere.

PubMed

Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi; Grainger, Molly; DiFrancesco, Mark; Vannest, Jennifer; Holland, Scott K

2015-03-01

The Simple View theory suggests that reading comprehension relies on automatic recognition of words combined with language comprehension. The goal of the current study was to examine the structural and functional connectivity in networks supporting reading comprehension and their relationship with language comprehension within 7-9 year old children using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and fMRI during a Sentence Picture Matching task. Fractional Anisotropy (FA) values in the left and right Inferior Longitudinal Fasciculus (ILF) and Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus (SLF), known language-related tracts, were correlated from DTI data with scores from the Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III) Passage Comprehension sub-test. Brodmann areas most proximal to white-matter regions with significant correlation to Passage Comprehension scores were chosen as Regions-of-Interest (ROIs) and used as seeds in a functional connectivity analysis using the Sentence Picture Matching task. The correlation between percentile scores for the WJ-III Passage Comprehension subtest and the FA values in the right and left ILF and SLF indicated positive correlation in language-related ROIs, with greater distribution in the right hemisphere, which in turn showed strong connectivity in the fMRI data from the Sentence Picture Matching task. These results support the participation of the right hemisphere in reading comprehension and may provide physiologic support for a distinction between different types of reading comprehension deficits vs difficulties in technical reading.

Context updating during sentence comprehension: the effect of aboutness topic.

PubMed

Burmester, Juliane; Spalek, Katharina; Wartenburger, Isabell

2014-10-01

To communicate efficiently, speakers typically link their utterances to the discourse environment and adapt their utterances to the listener's discourse representation. Information structure describes how linguistic information is packaged within a discourse to optimize information transfer. The present study investigates the nature and time course of context integration (i.e., aboutness topic vs. neutral context) on the comprehension of German declarative sentences with either subject-before-object (SO) or object-before-subject (OS) word order using offline comprehensibility judgments and online event-related potentials (ERPs). Comprehensibility judgments revealed that the topic context selectively facilitated comprehension of stories containing OS (i.e., non-canonical) sentences. In the ERPs, the topic context effect was reflected in a less pronounced late positivity at the sentence-initial object. In line with the Syntax-Discourse Model, we argue that these context-induced effects are attributable to reduced processing costs for updating the current discourse model. The results support recent approaches of neurocognitive models of discourse processing. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Contribution of Segmental and Suprasegmental Phonology to Reading Comprehension

PubMed Central

Veenendaal, Nathalie J.; Groen, Margriet A.; Verhoeven, Ludo

2016-01-01

The aim of the present study was to examine the relation between decoding and segmental and suprasegmental phonology, and their contribution to reading comprehension, in the upper primary grades. Following a longitudinal design, the performance of 99 Dutch primary school children on phonological awareness (segmental phonology) and text reading prosody (suprasegmental phonology) in fourth-grade and fifth-grade, and reading comprehension in sixth-grade were examined. In addition, decoding efficiency as a general assessment of reading was examined. Structural path modeling firstly showed that the relation between decoding efficiency and both measures of phonology from fourth- to fifth grade was unidirectional. Secondly, the relation between decoding in fourth- and fifth-grade and reading comprehension in sixth-grade became indirect when segmental and suprasegmental phonology were added to the model. Both factors independently exerted influence on later reading comprehension. This leads to the conclusion that not only segmental, but also suprasegmental phonology, contributes substantially to children's reading development. PMID:27551159

Neural Mechanism Underling Comprehension of Narrative Speech and Its Heritability: Study in a Large Population.

PubMed

Babajani-Feremi, Abbas

2017-09-01

Comprehension of narratives constitutes a fundamental part of our everyday life experience. Although the neural mechanism of auditory narrative comprehension has been investigated in some studies, the neural correlates underlying this mechanism and its heritability remain poorly understood. We investigated comprehension of naturalistic speech in a large, healthy adult population (n = 429; 176/253 M/F; 22-36 years of age) consisting of 192 twin pairs (49 monozygotic and 47 dizygotic pairs) and 237 of their siblings. We used high quality functional MRI datasets from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) in which a story-based paradigm was utilized for the auditory narrative comprehension. Our results revealed that narrative comprehension was associated with activations of the classical language regions including superior temporal gyrus (STG), middle temporal gyrus (MTG), and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) in both hemispheres, though STG and MTG were activated symmetrically and activation in IFG were left-lateralized. Our results further showed that the narrative comprehension was associated with activations in areas beyond the classical language regions, e.g. medial superior frontal gyrus (SFGmed), middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and supplementary motor area (SMA). Of subcortical structures, only the hippocampus was involved. The results of heritability analysis revealed that the oral reading recognition and picture vocabulary comprehension were significantly heritable (h 2  > 0.56, p < 10 - 13 ). In addition, the extent of activation of five areas in the left hemisphere, i.e. STG, IFG pars opercularis, SFGmed, SMA, and precuneus, and one area in the right hemisphere, i.e. MFG, were significantly heritable (h 2  > 0.33, p < 0.0004). The current study, to the best of our knowledge, is the first to investigate auditory narrative comprehension and its heritability in a large healthy population. Referring to the excellent quality of the HCP data, our results can clarify the functional contributions of linguistic and extra-linguistic cortices during narrative comprehension.

Reconciling Time, Space and Function: A New Dorsal-Ventral Stream Model of Sentence Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Ina; Schlesewsky, Matthias

2013-01-01

We present a new dorsal-ventral stream framework for language comprehension which unifies basic neurobiological assumptions (Rauschecker & Scott, 2009) with a cross-linguistic neurocognitive sentence comprehension model (eADM; Bornkessel & Schlesewsky, 2006). The dissociation between (time-dependent) syntactic structure-building and…

Curated collection of yeast transcription factor DNA binding specificity data reveals novel structural and gene regulatory insights

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Transcription factors (TFs) play a central role in regulating gene expression by interacting with cis-regulatory DNA elements associated with their target genes. Recent surveys have examined the DNA binding specificities of most Saccharomyces cerevisiae TFs, but a comprehensive evaluation of their data has been lacking. Results We analyzed in vitro and in vivo TF-DNA binding data reported in previous large-scale studies to generate a comprehensive, curated resource of DNA binding specificity data for all characterized S. cerevisiae TFs. Our collection comprises DNA binding site motifs and comprehensive in vitro DNA binding specificity data for all possible 8-bp sequences. Investigation of the DNA binding specificities within the basic leucine zipper (bZIP) and VHT1 regulator (VHR) TF families revealed unexpected plasticity in TF-DNA recognition: intriguingly, the VHR TFs, newly characterized by protein binding microarrays in this study, recognize bZIP-like DNA motifs, while the bZIP TF Hac1 recognizes a motif highly similar to the canonical E-box motif of basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) TFs. We identified several TFs with distinct primary and secondary motifs, which might be associated with different regulatory functions. Finally, integrated analysis of in vivo TF binding data with protein binding microarray data lends further support for indirect DNA binding in vivo by sequence-specific TFs. Conclusions The comprehensive data in this curated collection allow for more accurate analyses of regulatory TF-DNA interactions, in-depth structural studies of TF-DNA specificity determinants, and future experimental investigations of the TFs' predicted target genes and regulatory roles. PMID:22189060

Web-Based Tutoring of the Structure Strategy with or without Elaborated Feedback or Choice for Fifth- and Seventh-Grade Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Bonnie J. F.; Wijekumar, Kay; Middlemiss, Wendy; Higley, Kelli; Lei, Pui-Wa; Meier, Catherine; Spielvogel, James

2010-01-01

This study investigated the effects of different versions of Web-based instruction focused on text structure on fifth- and seventh-grade students' reading comprehension. Stratified random assignment was employed in a two-factor experiment embedded within a pretest and multiple posttests design (immediate and four-month delayed posttests). The two…

Structural map of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus RNA provides clues to molecular interactions | Center for Cancer Research

Cancer.gov

Scientists from CCR have generated a comprehensive structural map of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus polyadenylated nuclear (PAN) RNA, a long non-coding RNA that helps the virus evade detection by its host’s immune system. The findings open new oppportunites to study the life cycle of this cancer-causing virus.  Learn more...

Effects of Social-Cognitive Processing Demands and Structural Importance on Narrative Recall: Differences between Children, Adolescents, and Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pavias, Marcella; van den Broek, Paul; Hickendorff, Marian; Beker, Katinka; Van Leijenhorst, Linda

2016-01-01

This study examined the contributions of developmental changes in social-cognitive ability throughout adolescence to the development of narrative comprehension. We measured the effects of sensitivity to the causal structure of narratives and of sensitivity to differences in social-cognitive processing demands on narrative recall by children (8-10…

Comprehensive comparative analysis and identification of RNA-binding protein domains: multi-class classification and feature selection.

PubMed

Jahandideh, Samad; Srinivasasainagendra, Vinodh; Zhi, Degui

2012-11-07

RNA-protein interaction plays an important role in various cellular processes, such as protein synthesis, gene regulation, post-transcriptional gene regulation, alternative splicing, and infections by RNA viruses. In this study, using Gene Ontology Annotated (GOA) and Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP) databases an automatic procedure was designed to capture structurally solved RNA-binding protein domains in different subclasses. Subsequently, we applied tuned multi-class SVM (TMCSVM), Random Forest (RF), and multi-class ℓ1/ℓq-regularized logistic regression (MCRLR) for analysis and classifying RNA-binding protein domains based on a comprehensive set of sequence and structural features. In this study, we compared prediction accuracy of three different state-of-the-art predictor methods. From our results, TMCSVM outperforms the other methods and suggests the potential of TMCSVM as a useful tool for facilitating the multi-class prediction of RNA-binding protein domains. On the other hand, MCRLR by elucidating importance of features for their contribution in predictive accuracy of RNA-binding protein domains subclasses, helps us to provide some biological insights into the roles of sequences and structures in protein-RNA interactions.

A Comprehensive Atlas of the Adult Mouse Penis

PubMed Central

Phillips, Tiffany R.; Wright, David K.; Gradie, Paul E.; Johnston, Leigh A.; Pask, Andrew J.

2016-01-01

Mice are routinely used to study the development of the external genitalia and, in particular, the process of male urethral closure. This is because misplacement of the male penile urethra, or hypospadias, is amongst the most common birth defects reported in humans. While mice present a tractable model to study penile development, several structures differ between mice and humans, and there is a lack of consensus in the literature on their annotation and developmental origins. Defining the ontology of the mouse prepuce is especially important for the relevance and interpretation of mouse models of hypospadias to human conditions. We have developed a detailed annotation of the adult mouse penis that addresses these differences and enables an accurate comparison of murine and human hypospadias phenotypes. Through MRI data, gross morphology and section histology, we define the origin of the mouse external and internal prepuces, their relationship to the single human foreskin as well as provide a comprehensive view of the various structures of the mouse penis and their associated muscle attachments within the body. These data are combined to annotate structures in a novel 3D adult penis atlas that can be downloaded, viewed at any angle, and manipulated to examine the relationship of various structures. PMID:26112156

Eleventh NASTRAN User's Colloquium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

NASTRAN (NASA STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS) is a large, comprehensive, nonproprietary, general purpose finite element computer code for structural analysis which was developed under NASA sponsorship. The Eleventh Colloquium provides some comprehensive general papers on the application of finite element methods in engineering, comparisons with other approaches, unique applications, pre- and post-processing or auxiliary programs, and new methods of analysis with NASTRAN.

A Visual Evaluation Study of Graph Sampling Techniques

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Fangyan; Zhang, Song; Wong, Pak C.

2017-01-29

We evaluate a dozen prevailing graph-sampling techniques with an ultimate goal to better visualize and understand big and complex graphs that exhibit different properties and structures. The evaluation uses eight benchmark datasets with four different graph types collected from Stanford Network Analysis Platform and NetworkX to give a comprehensive comparison of various types of graphs. The study provides a practical guideline for visualizing big graphs of different sizes and structures. The paper discusses results and important observations from the study.

Association Between National Board Dental Examination Part II Scores and Comprehensive Examinations at Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

PubMed

Lee, Min Kyeong; Allareddy, Veerasathpurush; Howell, T Howard; Karimbux, Nadeem Y

2011-01-01

Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) uses a hybrid problem-based approach to teaching in the predoctoral program. The objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is a formative examination designed to assess the performance of students in the problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum. At HSDM three comprehensive examinations with OSCE components are administered during the third and fourth years of clinical training. The National Board Dental Examination (NBDE) Part II is taken in the final year of the predoctoral program. This study examines the association between the NBDE Part II and the comprehensive exams held at HSDM. Predoctoral students from the HSDM classes of 2005 and 2006 were included in this study. The outcome variable of interest was the scores obtained by students in the NBDE Part II, and the main independent variable of interest was the performance of students in the comprehensive exams (honors, pass, make-up exam to pass). The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to examine the association between the grades obtained in the each of the three comprehensive exams and the NBDE Part II scores. Multivariable linear regression analysis was also used to examine the association between the NBDE Part II scores and the comprehensive exam grades. The effect of potential confounding factors including age, sex, and race/ethnicity was adjusted. The results suggest that students who performed well in the comprehensive exams performed better on the NBDE Part II, even after adjusting for confounding factors. Future studies will examine the long-term impact of PBL on postdoctoral plans and career choices.

Cognitive Processing in Oral and Silent Reading Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salasoo, Aita

1986-01-01

Reading rates and comprehension measures that probed recognition of various levels of text structure were collected for passages read orally and silently by 16 college students. Results showed that memory traces of text microstructure created in oral reading were accessed faster during memory-based comprehension tasks than traces established by…

Arginine-based poly(ester amide) nanoparticle platform: From structure-property relationship to nucleic acid delivery.

PubMed

You, Xinru; Gu, Zhipeng; Huang, Jun; Kang, Yang; Chu, Chih-Chang; Wu, Jun

2018-05-25

Many different types of polycations have been vigorously studied for nucleic acid delivery, but a systematical investigation of the structure-property relationships of polycations for nucleic acid delivery is still lacking. In this study, a new library of biodegradable and biocompatible arginine-based poly(ester amide) (Arg-PEA) biomaterials was designed and synthesized with a tunable structure for such a comprehensive structure-property research. Nanoparticle (NP) complexes were formed through the electrostatic interactions between the polycationic Arg-PEAs and anionic nucleic acids. The following structure effects of the Arg-PEAs on the transfection efficiency of nucleic acids were investigated: 1) the linker/spacer length (length effect and odd-even effect); 2) salt type of arginine; 3) the side chain; 4) chain stiffness; 5) molecular weight (MW). The data obtained revealed that a slight change in the Arg-PEA structure could finely tune its physicochemical property such as hydrophobicity, and this could subsequently affect the nanoparticle size and zeta potential, which, in turn, regulate the transfection efficiency and silencing outcomes. A further study of the Arg-PEA/CpG oligodeoxynucleotide NP complexes indicated that the polymer structure could precisily regulate the immune response of CpG, thus providing a new potential nano-immunotherapy strategy. The in vitro data have further confirmed that the Arg-PEA NPs showed a satisfactory delivery performance for a variety of nucleic acids. Therefore, the data from the current study provide comprehensive information about the Arg-PEA structure-transfection property relationship; the tunable property of the library of Arg-PEA biomaterials can be one of the promising candidates for nucleic acid delivery and other biomedical applications. Polycations have being intensive utilized for nucleic acid delivery. However, there has not been elucidated about the relationship between polycation's structure and the physicochemical properties/biological function. In this timely report, an arginine based poly(ester amide) (Arg-PEA) library was prepared with finely tunable structure to systematically investigate the structure-property relationships of polycations for nucleic acid delivery. The results revealed that slight change of Arg-PEA structure could finely tune the physicochemical property (such as hydrophobicity), which subsequently affect the size and zeta potential of Arg-PEA/nucleic acid nanoparticles(NPs), and finally regulate the resulting transfection or silencing outcomes. Further study of Arg-PEA/CpG NPs indicated that the polymer structure could precisely regulate immuno response of CpG, providing new potential nano-immunotherapy strategy. In vitro evaluations confirmed that the NPs showed satisfied delivery performance for a variety types of nucleic acids. Therefore, these studies provide comprehensive information of Arg-PEA structure-property relationship, and the tunable properties of Arg-PEAs make them promising candidates for nucleic acid delivery and other biomedical applications. Overall, we have shown enough significance and novelty in terms of nucleic acid delivery, biomaterials, pharmaceutical science and nanomedicine. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Physical Characteristics of Medical Textile Prostheses Designed for Hernia Repair: A Comprehensive Analysis of Select Commercial Devices

PubMed Central

Miao, Linli; Wang, Fang; Wang, Lu; Zou, Ting; Brochu, Gaétan; Guidoin, Robert

2015-01-01

Inguinal hernia repairs are among the most frequent operations performed worldwide. This study aims to provide further understanding of structural characteristics of hernia prostheses, and better comprehensive evaluation. Weight, porosity, pore size and other physical characteristics were evaluated; warp knitting structures were thoroughly discussed. Two methods referring to ISO 7198:1998, i.e., weight method and area method, were employed to calculate porosity. Porosity ranged from 37.3% to 69.7% measured by the area method, and 81.1% to 89.6% by the weight method. Devices with two-guide bar structures displayed both higher porosity (57.7%–69.7%) and effective porosity (30.8%–60.1%) than single-guide bar structure (37.3%–62.4% and 0%–5.9%, respectively). Filament diameter, stitch density and loop structure combined determined the thickness, weight and characteristics of pores. They must be well designed to avoid zero effective porosity regarding a single-bar structure. The area method was more effective in characterizing flat sheet meshes while the weight method was perhaps more accurate in describing stereoscopic void space for 3D structure devices. This article will give instructive clues for engineers to improve mesh structures, and better understanding of warp knitting meshes for surgeons. PMID:28793704

A systematic review on popularity, application and characteristics of protein secondary structure prediction tools.

PubMed

Kashani-Amin, Elaheh; Tabatabaei-Malazy, Ozra; Sakhteman, Amirhossein; Larijani, Bagher; Ebrahim-Habibi, Azadeh

2018-02-27

Prediction of proteins' secondary structure is one of the major steps in the generation of homology models. These models provide structural information which is used to design suitable ligands for potential medicinal targets. However, selecting a proper tool between multiple secondary structure prediction (SSP) options is challenging. The current study is an insight onto currently favored methods and tools, within various contexts. A systematic review was performed for a comprehensive access to recent (2013-2016) studies which used or recommended protein SSP tools. Three databases, Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus were systematically searched and 99 out of 209 studies were finally found eligible to extract data. Four categories of applications for 59 retrieved SSP tools were: (I) prediction of structural features of a given sequence, (II) evaluation of a method, (III) providing input for a new SSP method and (IV) integrating a SSP tool as a component for a program. PSIPRED was found to be the most popular tool in all four categories. JPred and tools utilizing PHD (Profile network from HeiDelberg) method occupied second and third places of popularity in categories I and II. JPred was only found in the two first categories, while PHD was present in three fields. This study provides a comprehensive insight about the recent usage of SSP tools which could be helpful for selecting a proper tool's choice. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Extra-Linguistic Influences on Sentence Comprehension in Italian-Speaking Children with and without Specific Language Impairment

PubMed Central

Pettenati, P.; Benassi, E.; Deevy, P.; Leonard, L.B.; Caselli, M.C.

2014-01-01

Background Many children with specific language impairment (SLI) have deficits in sentence comprehension. These deficits are usually attributed to limitations in the children’s understanding of syntax or the lexical items contained in the sentences. In this study, we examine the role that extra-linguistic factors can play in these children’s sentence comprehension. Aims In this study, extra-linguistic demands on sentence comprehension were manipulated directly by varying the nature of the materials used. Methods & Procedure Forty-five Italian-speaking children participated: 15 with SLI (M age = 4;5), 15 typically developing children matched for age (TD-A, M age = 4;5), and 15 younger typically developing children matched according to language comprehension test scores (TD-Y, M age = 3;9). The children responded to sentence comprehension items that varied in their length and/or in the number and type of foils that competed with the target picture. Outcome & Results The TD-A children were more accurate than the TD-Y children and the children with SLI, but, for all groups, accuracy declined when task demands increased. In particular, sentences containing superfluous adjectives (e.g., Il topo bello copre l’uccello allegro “The nice mouse covers the happy bird” where all depicted mice were nice and all birds were happy) yielded higher scores than similar sentences in which each adjective had to be associated with the proper character (e.g., Il cane giallo lava il maiale bianco “The yellow dog washes the white pig” where foils included a yellow dog washing a pink pig, and a brown dog washing a white pig). Many errors reflected recency effects, probably influenced by the fact that adjectives modifying the object appear at the end of the sentence in Italian. Conclusions & Implications Differences between conditions were observed even when lexical content, syntactic structure, and sentence length were controlled. This finding suggests the need for great care when assessing children’s comprehension of sentences. The same syntactic structure and lexical content can vary in difficulty depending on the number and types of foils that are used in combination with the target picture. PMID:25469803

Comparison and Analysis of Steel Frame Based on High Strength Column and Normal Strength Column

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Taiyu; An, Yuwei

2018-01-01

The anti-seismic performance of high strength steel has restricted its industrialization in civil buildings. In order to study the influence of high strength steel column on frame structure, three models are designed through MIDAS/GEN finite element software. By comparing the seismic performance and economic performance of the three models, the three different structures are comprehensively evaluated to provide some references for the development of high strength steel in steel structure.

A Study of Syntactic Processing in Aphasia II: Neurological Aspects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caplan, David; Waters, Gloria; Kennedy, David; Alpert, Nathanial; Makris, Nikos; DeDe, Gayle; Michaud, Jennifer; Reddy, Amanda

2007-01-01

This paper presents the results of a study of the effects of left hemisphere strokes on syntactically-based comprehension in aphasic patients. We studied 42 patients with aphasia secondary to left hemisphere strokes and 25 control subjects for the ability to assign and interpret three syntactic structures (passives, object extracted relative…

Oral morphosyntactic competence as a predictor of reading comprehension in children with specific language impairment.

PubMed

Buil-Legaz, Lucía; Aguilar-Mediavilla, Eva; Rodríguez-Ferreiro, Javier

2016-07-01

Children with a diagnosis of specific language impairment (SLI) present impaired oral comprehension. According to the simple view of reading, general amodal linguistic capacity accounts for both oral and reading comprehension. Considering this, we should expect SLI children to display a reading comprehension deficit. However, previous research regarding the association between reading disorders and SLI has yielded inconsistent results. To study the influence of prior oral comprehension competence over reading comprehension during the first years of reading acquisition of bilingual Catalan-Spanish children with SLI (ages 7-8). We assessed groups of bilingual Catalan-Spanish SLI and matched control children at ages 7 and 8 with standardized reading comprehension tasks including grammatical structures, sentence and text comprehension. Early oral competence and prior non-verbal intelligence were also measured and introduced into regression analyses with the participants' reading results in order to state the relation between the comprehension of oral and written material. Although we found no significant differences between the scores of our two participant groups in the reading tasks, data regarding their early oral competence, but not non-verbal intelligence measures, significantly influence their reading outcome. The results extend our knowledge regarding the course of literacy acquisition of children with SLI and provide evidence in support of the theories that assume common linguistic processes to be responsible for both oral and reading comprehension. © 2016 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Approximations to the distribution of a test statistic in covariance structure analysis: A comprehensive study.

PubMed

Wu, Hao

2018-05-01

In structural equation modelling (SEM), a robust adjustment to the test statistic or to its reference distribution is needed when its null distribution deviates from a χ 2 distribution, which usually arises when data do not follow a multivariate normal distribution. Unfortunately, existing studies on this issue typically focus on only a few methods and neglect the majority of alternative methods in statistics. Existing simulation studies typically consider only non-normal distributions of data that either satisfy asymptotic robustness or lead to an asymptotic scaled χ 2 distribution. In this work we conduct a comprehensive study that involves both typical methods in SEM and less well-known methods from the statistics literature. We also propose the use of several novel non-normal data distributions that are qualitatively different from the non-normal distributions widely used in existing studies. We found that several under-studied methods give the best performance under specific conditions, but the Satorra-Bentler method remains the most viable method for most situations. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Exploring GPCR-Lipid Interactions by Molecular Dynamics Simulations: Excitements, Challenges, and the Way Forward.

PubMed

Sengupta, Durba; Prasanna, Xavier; Mohole, Madhura; Chattopadhyay, Amitabha

2018-06-07

Gprotein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are seven transmembrane receptors that mediate a large number of cellular responses and are important drug targets. One of the current challenges in GPCR biology is to analyze the molecular signatures of receptor-lipid interactions and their subsequent effects on GPCR structure, organization, and function. Molecular dynamics simulation studies have been successful in predicting molecular determinants of receptor-lipid interactions. In particular, predicted cholesterol interaction sites appear to correspond well with experimentally determined binding sites and estimated time scales of association. In spite of several success stories, the methodologies in molecular dynamics simulations are still emerging. In this Feature Article, we provide a comprehensive overview of coarse-grain and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of GPCR-lipid interaction in the context of experimental observations. In addition, we discuss the effect of secondary and tertiary structural constraints in coarse-grain simulations in the context of functional dynamics and structural plasticity of GPCRs. We envision that this comprehensive overview will help resolve differences in computational studies and provide a way forward.

Analyzing crack development pattern of masonry structure in seismic oscillation by digital photography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Guojian; Yu, Chengxin; Ding, Xinhua

2018-01-01

In this study, digital photography is used to monitor the instantaneous deformation of a masonry wall in seismic oscillation. In order to obtain higher measurement accuracy, the image matching-time baseline parallax method (IM-TBPM) is used to correct errors caused by the change of intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of digital cameras. Results show that the average errors of control point C5 are 0.79mm, 0.44mm and 0.96mm in X, Z and comprehensive direction, respectively. The average errors of control point C6 are 0.49mm, 0.44mm and 0.71mm in X, Z and comprehensive direction, respectively. These suggest that IM-TBPM can meet the accuracy requirements of instantaneous deformation monitoring. In seismic oscillation the middle to lower of the masonry wall develops cracks firstly. Then the shear failure occurs on the middle of masonry wall. This study provides technical basis for analyzing the crack development pattern of masonry structure in seismic oscillation and have significant implications for improved construction of masonry structures in earthquake prone areas.

Structural study and conformational behavior of the two different lipopolysaccharide O-antigens produced by the cystic fibrosis pathogen Burkholderia multivorans.

PubMed

Ieranò, Teresa; Silipo, Alba; Cescutti, Paola; Leone, Maria Rosaria; Rizzo, Roberto; Lanzetta, Rosa; Parrilli, Michelangelo; Molinaro, Antonio

2009-07-20

Lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) are virulence factors expressed by gram-negative bacteria; they are among those mainly responsible for bacterial virulence. In this work we define the primary structure and the conformational features of the O-chain from the LPS produced by the highly virulent clinical isolate Burkholderia multivorans strain C1576, an opportunistic human pathogen isolated in a cystic fibrosis center and causative of an outbreak with lethal outcome. We demonstrate that the LPS from this clinical isolate consists of two O-polysaccharide chains present in different amounts and made up of repeating units, both containing deoxy sugar. Additionally, conformational studies have been performed to establish and compare the spatial arrangements of the two polysaccharides and differences in their shape have been highlighted. The comprehension of the structural and conformational features of the two repeating units may help to explain their biological significance, the molecular shape of the bacterial external surface, and the comprehension at the molecular level of the recognition mechanisms of the antibodies.

The role of reading time complexity and reading speed in text comprehension.

PubMed

Wallot, Sebastian; O'Brien, Beth A; Haussmann, Anna; Kloos, Heidi; Lyby, Marlene S

2014-11-01

Reading speed is commonly used as an index of reading fluency. However, reading speed is not a consistent predictor of text comprehension, when speed and comprehension are measured on the same text within the same reader. This might be due to the somewhat ambiguous nature of reading speed, which is sometimes regarded as a feature of the reading process, and sometimes as a product of that process. We argue that both reading speed and comprehension should be seen as the result of the reading process, and that the process of fluent text reading can instead be described by complexity metrics that quantify aspects of the stability of the reading process. In this article, we introduce complexity metrics in the context of reading and apply them to data from a self-paced reading study. In this study, children and adults read a text silently or aloud and answered comprehension questions after reading. Our results show that recurrence metrics that quantify the degree of temporal structure in reading times yield better prediction of text comprehension compared to reading speed. However, the results for fractal metrics are less clear. Furthermore, prediction of text comprehension is generally strongest and most consistent across silent and oral reading when comprehension scores are normalized by reading speed. Analyses of word length and word frequency indicate that the observed complexity in reading times is not a simple function of the lexical properties of the text, suggesting that text reading might work differently compared to reading of isolated word or sentences. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Development of a theoretically based treatment for sentence comprehension deficits in individuals with aphasia.

PubMed

Kiran, Swathi; Caplan, David; Sandberg, Chaleece; Levy, Joshua; Berardino, Alex; Ascenso, Elsa; Villard, Sarah; Tripodis, Yorghos

2012-05-01

Two new treatments, 1 based on sentence to picture matching (SPM) and the other on object manipulation (OM), that train participants on the thematic roles of sentences using pictures or by manipulating objects were piloted. Using a single-subject multiple-baseline design, sentence comprehension was trained on the affected sentence type in 1 task-related protocol in 15 participants with aphasia. The 2 tasks were SPM and OM; the treatment stimuli were object relatives, object clefts, passives, and unaccusatives, as well as two control structures-object relatives with a complex noun phrase (NP) and active sentences with three NPs. The criteria for efficacious treatment was an increase in the level of performance from the pretreatment probes to the posttreatment probes for the treated structure such that accuracy rose from at or below chance to above chance and either (a) accuracy rose by 33% or (b) the effect size was 2.6. Based on these criteria, the success rate for training the target structure was 2/6 participants in the SPM condition and 4/7 participants in the OM condition. The outcome of this study illustrates the utility of this theoretically motivated and efficacious treatment for sentence comprehension deficits in individuals with aphasia.

Syntactic Structural Assignment in Brazilian Portuguese-Speaking Children With Specific Language Impairment

PubMed Central

Fortunato-Tavares, Talita; de Andrade, Claudia R. F.; Befi-Lopes, Debora M.; Hestvik, Arild; Epstein, Baila; Tornyova, Lidiya; Schwartz, Richard G.

2013-01-01

Purpose In this study, the authors examined the comprehension of sentences with predicates and reflexives that are linked to a nonadjacent noun as a test of the hierarchical ordering deficit (HOD) hypothesis. That hypothesis and more modern versions posit that children with specific language impairment (SLI) have difficulty in establishing nonadjacent (hierarchical) relations among elements of a sentence. The authors also tested whether additional working memory demands in constructions containing reflexives affected the extent to which children with SLI incorrectly structure sentences as indicated by their picture-pointing comprehension responses. Method Sixteen Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children (8;4–l 0;6 [years;months]) with SLI and 16 children with typical language development (TLD) matched for age (±3 months), gender, and socioeconomic status participated in 2 experiments (predicate and reflexive interpretation). In the reflexive experiment, the authors also manipulated working memory demands. Each experiment involved a 4-choice picture selection sentence comprehension task. Results Children with SLI were significantly less accurate on all conditions. Both groups made more hierarchical syntactic construction errors in the long working memory condition than in the short working memory condition. Conclusion The HOD hypothesis was not confirmed. For both groups, syntactic factors (structural assignment) were more vulnerable than lexical factors (prepositions) to working memory effects in sentence miscomprehension. PMID:22232402

A Structured Transfer of Care Process Reduces Perioperative Complications in Cardiac Surgery Patients.

PubMed

Hall, Michael; Robertson, Jamie; Merkel, Matthias; Aziz, Michael; Hutchens, Michael

2017-08-01

Serious complications are common during the intensive care of postoperative cardiac surgery patients. Some of these complications may be influenced by communication during the process of handover of care from the operating room to the intensive care unit (ICU) team. A structured transfer of care process may reduce the rate of communication errors and perioperative complications. We hypothesized that a collaborative, comprehensive, structured handover of care from the intraoperative team to the ICU team would reduce a specific set of postoperative complications. We tested this hypothesis by developing and introducing a comprehensive multidisciplinary transfer of care process. We measured patient outcomes before and after the intervention using a linkage between 2 care databases: an Anesthesia Information Management System and a critical care complication registry database. There were 1127 total postoperative cardiac surgery admissions during the study period, 550 before and 577 after the intervention. There was no statistical difference between overall complications before and after the intervention (P = .154). However, there was a statistically significant reduction in preventable complications after the intervention (P = .023). The main finding of this investigation is that the introduction of a collaborative, comprehensive transfer of care process from the operating room to the ICU was associated with patients suffering fewer preventable complications.

Loneliness among Elderly Widowers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vinick, Barbara H.

The fact that few researchers have studied loneliness in widowhood may be related to the concept itself which spans intellectual perspectives, incorporating elements of affect, cognition, and social structure. To examine loneliness among elderly widowers, 24 adult males (participants in a more comprehensive study of widowed men, aged 63 to 93…

Brain Responses to Filled Gaps

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hestvik, Arild; Maxfield, Nathan; Schwartz, Richard G.; Shafer, Valerie

2007-01-01

An unresolved issue in the study of sentence comprehension is whether the process of gap-filling is mediated by the construction of empty categories (traces), or whether the parser relates fillers directly to the associated verb's argument structure. We conducted an event-related potentials (ERP) study that used the violation paradigm to examine…

Systematic review of the neural basis of social cognition in patients with mood disorders

PubMed Central

Cusi, Andrée M.; Nazarov, Anthony; Holshausen, Katherine; MacQueen, Glenda M.; McKinnon, Margaret C.

2012-01-01

Background This review integrates neuroimaging studies of 2 domains of social cognition — emotion comprehension and theory of mind (ToM) — in patients with major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. The influence of key clinical and method variables on patterns of neural activation during social cognitive processing is also examined. Methods Studies were identified using PsycINFO and PubMed (January 1967 to May 2011). The search terms were “fMRI,” “emotion comprehension,” “emotion perception,” “affect comprehension,” “affect perception,” “facial expression,” “prosody,” “theory of mind,” “mentalizing” and “empathy” in combination with “major depressive disorder,” “bipolar disorder,” “major depression,” “unipolar depression,” “clinical depression” and “mania.” Results Taken together, neuroimaging studies of social cognition in patients with mood disorders reveal enhanced activation in limbic and emotion-related structures and attenuated activity within frontal regions associated with emotion regulation and higher cognitive functions. These results reveal an overall lack of inhibition by higher-order cognitive structures on limbic and emotion-related structures during social cognitive processing in patients with mood disorders. Critically, key variables, including illness burden, symptom severity, comorbidity, medication status and cognitive load may moderate this pattern of neural activation. Limitations Studies that did not include control tasks or a comparator group were included in this review. Conclusion Further work is needed to examine the contribution of key moderator variables and to further elucidate the neural networks underlying altered social cognition in patients with mood disorders. The neural networks underlying higher-order social cognitive processes, including empathy, remain unexplored in patients with mood disorders. PMID:22297065

Organizing human functioning and rehabilitation research into distinct scientific fields. Part I: Developing a comprehensive structure from the cell to society.

PubMed

Stucki, Gerold; Grimby, Gunnar

2007-05-01

There is a need to organize rehabilitation and related research into distinct scientific fields in order to overcome the current limitations of rehabilitation research. Based on the general distinction in basic, applied and professional sciences applicable to research in general, and the rehabilitation relevant distinction between the comprehensive perspective based on WHO's integrative model of human functioning (ICF) and the partial perspective focusing on the biomedical aspects of functioning, it is possible to identify 5 distinct scientific fields of human functioning and rehabilitation research. These are the emerging human functioning sciences and integrative rehabilitation sciences from the comprehensive perspective, the established biosciences and biomedical rehabilitation sciences and engineering from the partial perspective, and the professional rehabilitation sciences at the cutting edge of research and practice. The human functioning sciences aim to understand human functioning and to identify targets for comprehensive interventions, with the goal of contributing to the minimization of the experience of disability in the population. The biosciences in rehabilitation aim to explain body injury and repair and to identify targets for biomedical interventions. The integrative rehabilitation sciences design and study comprehensive assessments and interventions that integrate biomedical, personal factor and environmental approaches suited to optimize people's performance. The biomedical rehabilitation sciences and engineering study diagnostic measures and interventions suitable to minimize impairment, including symptom control, and to optimize people's capacity. The professional rehabilitation sciences study how to provide best care with the goal of enabling people with health conditions experiencing or likely to experience disability to achieve and maintain optimal functioning in interaction with the environment. The organization of human functioning and rehabilitation research into the 5 distinct scientific fields facilitates the development of academic training programs and career building as well as the development of research structures dedicated to human functioning and rehabilitation research.

Innovative Product Design Based on Comprehensive Customer Requirements of Different Cognitive Levels

PubMed Central

Zhao, Wu; Zheng, Yake; Wang, Rui; Wang, Chen

2014-01-01

To improve customer satisfaction in innovative product design, a topology structure of customer requirements is established and an innovative product approach is proposed. The topology structure provides designers with reasonable guidance to capture the customer requirements comprehensively. With the aid of analytic hierarchy process (AHP), the importance of the customer requirements is evaluated. Quality function deployment (QFD) is used to translate customer requirements into product and process design demands and pick out the technical requirements which need urgent improvement. In this way, the product is developed in a more targeted way to satisfy the customers. the theory of innovative problems solving (TRIZ) is used to help designers to produce innovative solutions. Finally, a case study of automobile steering system is used to illustrate the application of the proposed approach. PMID:25013862

Innovative product design based on comprehensive customer requirements of different cognitive levels.

PubMed

Li, Xiaolong; Zhao, Wu; Zheng, Yake; Wang, Rui; Wang, Chen

2014-01-01

To improve customer satisfaction in innovative product design, a topology structure of customer requirements is established and an innovative product approach is proposed. The topology structure provides designers with reasonable guidance to capture the customer requirements comprehensively. With the aid of analytic hierarchy process (AHP), the importance of the customer requirements is evaluated. Quality function deployment (QFD) is used to translate customer requirements into product and process design demands and pick out the technical requirements which need urgent improvement. In this way, the product is developed in a more targeted way to satisfy the customers. the theory of innovative problems solving (TRIZ) is used to help designers to produce innovative solutions. Finally, a case study of automobile steering system is used to illustrate the application of the proposed approach.

Instructional Implications of Listening Comprehension Research. Reading Education Report No. 39.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearson, P. David; Fielding, Linda

While listening comprehension is perhaps the most ignored area of the language arts, a review of the literature suggests that it is deserving of more classroom instructional time. Involving the simultaneous orchestration of skills in phonology, syntax, semantics, and knowledge of text structure, listening comprehension seems to be controlled by…

Content Validity of the Comprehensive ICF Core Set for Multiple Sclerosis from the Perspective of Speech and Language Therapists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Renom, Marta; Conrad, Andrea; Bascuñana, Helena; Cieza, Alarcos; Galán, Ingrid; Kesselring, Jürg; Coenen, Michaela

2014-01-01

Background: The Comprehensive International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Set for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a comprehensive framework to structure the information obtained in multidisciplinary clinical settings according to the biopsychosocial perspective of the International Classification of Functioning,…

Investigating the Relationships among Metacognitive Strategy Training, Willingness to Read English Medical Texts, and Reading Comprehension Ability Using Structural Equation Modeling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hassanpour, Masoumeh; Ghonsooly, Behzad; Nooghabi, Mehdi Jabbari; Shafiee, Mohammad Naser

2017-01-01

This quasi-experimental study examined the relationship between students' metacognitive awareness and willingness to read English medical texts. So, a model was proposed and tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) with R software. Participants included 98 medical students of two classes. One class was assigned as the control group and the…

Validation of the Factor Structure of the Positive Life Assets Scale for High School Students in Thailand

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tripathi, Suriyadeo

2018-01-01

The aim of the present study was to determine the factor structure of the Positive Life Assets Scale (PLAS), a new measure to identify both internal and external life assets among high school students in Thailand, and to further examine the usefulness of the PLAS for a comprehensive, developmental, and strengths-based school and community…

Disentangling the surface and bulk electronic structures of LaOFeAs

DOE PAGES

Zhang, P.; Ma, J.; Qian, T.; ...

2016-09-20

We performed a comprehensive angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study of the electronic band structure of LaOFeAs single crystals. We found that samples cleaved at low temperature show an unstable and very complicated band structure, whereas samples cleaved at high temperature exhibit a stable and clearer electronic structure. Using in situ surface doping with K and supported by first-principles calculations, we identify both surface and bulk bands. Our assignments are confirmed by the difference in the temperature dependence of the bulk and surface states.

Analysis of the enablers of capacities to produce primary health care-based reforms in Latin America: a multiple case study

PubMed Central

Báscolo, Ernesto Pablo; Yavich, Natalia; Denis, Jean-Louis

2016-01-01

Abstract Background Primary health care (PHC)-based reforms have had different results in Latin America. Little attention has been paid to the enablers of collective action capacities required to produce a comprehensive PHC approach. Objective To analyse the enablers of collective action capacities to transform health systems towards a comprehensive PHC approach in Latin American PHC-based reforms. Methods We conducted a longitudinal, retrospective case study of three municipal PHC-based reforms in Bolivia and Argentina. We used multiple data sources and methodologies: document review; interviews with policymakers, managers and practitioners; and household and services surveys. We used temporal bracketing to analyse how the dynamic of interaction between the institutional reform process and the collective action characteristics enabled or hindered the enablers of collective action capacities required to produce the envisioned changes. Results The institutional structuring dynamics and collective action capacities were different in each case. In Cochabamba, there was an ‘interrupted’ structuring process that achieved the establishment of a primary level with a selective PHC approach. In Vicente López, there was a ‘path-dependency’ structuring process that permitted the consolidation of a ‘primary care’ approach, but with limited influence in hospitals. In Rosario, there was a ‘dialectic’ structuring process that favoured the development of the capacities needed to consolidate a comprehensive PHC approach that permeates the entire system. Conclusion The institutional change processes achieved the development of a primary health care level with different degrees of consolidation and system-wide influence given how the characteristics of each collective action enabled or hindered the ‘structuring’ processes. PMID:27209640

Revise and resubmit: How real-time parsing limitations influence grammar acquisition

PubMed Central

Pozzan, Lucia; Trueswell, John C.

2015-01-01

We present the results from a three-day artificial language learning study on adults. The study examined whether sentence-parsing limitations, in particular, difficulties revising initial syntactic/semantic commitments during comprehension, shape learners’ ability to acquire a language. Findings show that both comprehension and production of morphology pertaining to sentence argument structure are delayed when this morphology consistently appears at the end, rather than at the beginning, of sentences in otherwise identical grammatical systems. This suggests that real-time processing constraints impact acquisition; morphological cues that tend to guide linguistic analyses are easier to learn than cues that revise these analyses. Parallel performance in production and comprehension indicates that parsing constraints affect grammatical acquisition, not just real-time commitments. Properties of the linguistic system (e.g., ordering of cues within a sentence) interact with the properties of the cognitive system (cognitive control and conflict-resolution abilities) and together affect language acquisition. PMID:26026607

Assessing understanding of relative clauses: a comparison of multiple-choice comprehension versus sentence repetition.

PubMed

Frizelle, Pauline; O'Neill, Clodagh; Bishop, Dorothy V M

2017-11-01

Although sentence repetition is considered a reliable measure of children's grammatical knowledge, few studies have directly compared children's sentence repetition performance with their understanding of grammatical structures. The current study aimed to compare children's performance on these two assessment measures, using a multiple-choice picture-matching sentence comprehension task and a sentence repetition task. Thirty-three typically developing children completed both assessments, which included relative clauses representing a range of syntactic roles. Results revealed a similar order of difficulty of constructions on both measures but little agreement between them when evaluating individual differences. Interestingly, repetition was the easier of the two measures, with children showing the ability to repeat sentences they did not understand. This discrepancy is primarily attributed to the additional processing load resulting from the design of multiple-choice comprehension tasks, and highlights the fact that these assessments are invoking skills beyond those of linguistic competence.

Grammatical Impairments in PPA

PubMed Central

Thompson, Cynthia K.; Mack, Jennifer E.

2015-01-01

Background Grammatical impairments are commonly observed in the agrammatic subtype of primary progressive aphasia (PPA-G), whereas grammatical processing is relatively preserved in logopenic (PPA-L) and semantic (PPA-S) subtypes. Aims We review research on grammatical deficits in PPA and associated neural mechanisms, with discussion focused on production and comprehension of four aspects of morphosyntactic structure: grammatical morphology, functional categories, verbs and verb argument structure, and complex syntactic structures. We also address assessment of grammatical deficits in PPA, with emphasis on behavioral tests of grammatical processing. Finally, we address research examining the effects of treatment for progressive grammatical impairments. Main Contribution PPA-G is associated with grammatical deficits that are evident across linguistic domains in both production and comprehension. PPA-G is associated with damage to regions including the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and dorsal white matter tracts, which have been linked to impaired comprehension and production of complex sentences. Detailing grammatical deficits in PPA is important for estimating the trajectory of language decline and associated neuropathology. We, therefore, highlight several new assessment tools for examining different aspects of morphosyntactic processing in PPA. Conclusions Individuals with PPA-G present with agrammatic deficit patterns distinct from those associated with PPA-L and PPA-S, but similar to those seen in agrammatism resulting from stroke, and patterns of cortical atrophy and white matter changes associated with PPA-G have been identified. Methods for clinical evaluation of agrammatism, focusing on comprehension and production of grammatical morphology, functional categories, verbs and verb argument structure, and complex syntactic structures are recommended and tools for this are emerging in the literature. Further research is needed to investigate the real-time processes underlying grammatical impairments in PPA, as well as the structural and functional neural correlates of grammatical impairments across linguistic domains. Few studies have examined the effects of treatment for grammatical impairments in PPA; research in this area is needed to better understand how (or if) grammatical processing ability can be improved, the potential for spared neural tissue to be recruited to support this, and whether the neural connections within areas of dysfunctional tissue required for grammatical processing can be enhanced using cortical stimulation. PMID:25642014

Grammatical Impairments in PPA.

PubMed

Thompson, Cynthia K; Mack, Jennifer E

2014-09-01

Grammatical impairments are commonly observed in the agrammatic subtype of primary progressive aphasia (PPA-G), whereas grammatical processing is relatively preserved in logopenic (PPA-L) and semantic (PPA-S) subtypes. We review research on grammatical deficits in PPA and associated neural mechanisms, with discussion focused on production and comprehension of four aspects of morphosyntactic structure: grammatical morphology, functional categories, verbs and verb argument structure, and complex syntactic structures. We also address assessment of grammatical deficits in PPA, with emphasis on behavioral tests of grammatical processing. Finally, we address research examining the effects of treatment for progressive grammatical impairments. PPA-G is associated with grammatical deficits that are evident across linguistic domains in both production and comprehension. PPA-G is associated with damage to regions including the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and dorsal white matter tracts, which have been linked to impaired comprehension and production of complex sentences. Detailing grammatical deficits in PPA is important for estimating the trajectory of language decline and associated neuropathology. We, therefore, highlight several new assessment tools for examining different aspects of morphosyntactic processing in PPA. Individuals with PPA-G present with agrammatic deficit patterns distinct from those associated with PPA-L and PPA-S, but similar to those seen in agrammatism resulting from stroke, and patterns of cortical atrophy and white matter changes associated with PPA-G have been identified. Methods for clinical evaluation of agrammatism, focusing on comprehension and production of grammatical morphology, functional categories, verbs and verb argument structure, and complex syntactic structures are recommended and tools for this are emerging in the literature. Further research is needed to investigate the real-time processes underlying grammatical impairments in PPA, as well as the structural and functional neural correlates of grammatical impairments across linguistic domains. Few studies have examined the effects of treatment for grammatical impairments in PPA; research in this area is needed to better understand how (or if) grammatical processing ability can be improved, the potential for spared neural tissue to be recruited to support this, and whether the neural connections within areas of dysfunctional tissue required for grammatical processing can be enhanced using cortical stimulation.

Characterising receptive language processing in schizophrenia using word and sentence tasks.

PubMed

Tan, Eric J; Yelland, Gregory W; Rossell, Susan L

2016-01-01

Language dysfunction is proposed to relate to the speech disturbances in schizophrenia, which are more commonly referred to as formal thought disorder (FTD). Presently, language production deficits in schizophrenia are better characterised than language comprehension difficulties. This study thus aimed to examine three aspects of language comprehension in schizophrenia: (1) the role of lexical processing, (2) meaning attribution for words and sentences, and (3) the relationship between comprehension and production. Fifty-seven schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder patients and 48 healthy controls completed a clinical assessment and three language tasks assessing word recognition, synonym identification, and sentence comprehension. Poorer patient performance was expected on the latter two tasks. Recognition of word form was not impaired in schizophrenia, indicating intact lexical processing. Whereas single-word synonym identification was not significantly impaired, there was a tendency to attribute word meanings based on phonological similarity with increasing FTD severity. Importantly, there was a significant sentence comprehension deficit for processing deep structure, which correlated with FTD severity. These findings established a receptive language deficit in schizophrenia at the syntactic level. There was also evidence for a relationship between some aspects of language comprehension and speech production/FTD. Apart from indicating language as another mechanism in FTD aetiology, the data also suggest that remediating language comprehension problems may be an avenue to pursue in alleviating FTD symptomatology.

Grammatical comprehension deficits in non-fluent/agrammatic primary progressive aphasia.

PubMed

Charles, Dorothy; Olm, Christopher; Powers, John; Ash, Sharon; Irwin, David J; McMillan, Corey T; Rascovsky, Katya; Grossman, Murray

2014-03-01

Grammatical comprehension difficulty is an essential supporting feature of the non-fluent/agrammatic variant of primary progressive aphasia (naPPA), but well-controlled clinical measures of grammatical comprehension are unavailable. To develop a measure of grammatical comprehension and examine this comparatively in PPA variants and behavioural-variant frontotemporal degeneration (bvFTD) and to assess the neuroanatomic basis for these deficits with volumetric grey matter atrophy and whole-brain fractional anisotropy (FA) in white matter tracts. Case-control study. Academic medical centre. 39 patients with variants of PPA (naPPA=12, lvPPA=15 and svPPA=12), 27 bvFTD patients without aphasia and 12 healthy controls. Grammatical comprehension accuracy. Patients with naPPA had selective difficulty understanding cleft sentence structures, while all PPA variants and patients with bvFTD were impaired with sentences containing a centre-embedded subordinate clause. Patients with bvFTD were also impaired understanding sentences involving short-term memory. Linear regressions related grammatical comprehension difficulty in naPPA to left anterior-superior temporal atrophy and reduced FA in corpus callosum and inferior frontal-occipital fasciculus. Difficulty with centre-embedded sentences in other PPA variants was related to other brain regions. These findings emphasise a distinct grammatical comprehension deficit in naPPA and associate this with interruption of a frontal-temporal neural network.

Identification of potential fee structures for land development reviews by the Virginia Department of Transportation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-01-01

This report describes an effort to determine the costs incurred by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) when reviewing land development proposals, such as traffic impact studies, comprehensive plan amendments, rezonings, and subdivision a...

Small Group Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGrath, Joseph E.

1978-01-01

Summarizes research on small group processes by giving a comprehensive account of the types of variables primarily studied in the laboratory. These include group structure, group composition, group size, and group relations. Considers effects of power, leadership, conformity to social norms, and role relationships. (Author/AV)

The use of ternary mixtures in concrete.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-05-01

This manual is a summary of the findings of a comprehensive study. Its purpose is to provide engineers with the information they need to make educated decisions on the use of ternary mixtures for constructing concrete structures. It discusses the eff...

Predicting and understanding comprehensive drug-drug interactions via semi-nonnegative matrix factorization.

PubMed

Yu, Hui; Mao, Kui-Tao; Shi, Jian-Yu; Huang, Hua; Chen, Zhi; Dong, Kai; Yiu, Siu-Ming

2018-04-11

Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) always cause unexpected and even adverse drug reactions. It is important to identify DDIs before drugs are used in the market. However, preclinical identification of DDIs requires much money and time. Computational approaches have exhibited their abilities to predict potential DDIs on a large scale by utilizing pre-market drug properties (e.g. chemical structure). Nevertheless, none of them can predict two comprehensive types of DDIs, including enhancive and degressive DDIs, which increases and decreases the behaviors of the interacting drugs respectively. There is a lack of systematic analysis on the structural relationship among known DDIs. Revealing such a relationship is very important, because it is able to help understand how DDIs occur. Both the prediction of comprehensive DDIs and the discovery of structural relationship among them play an important guidance when making a co-prescription. In this work, treating a set of comprehensive DDIs as a signed network, we design a novel model (DDINMF) for the prediction of enhancive and degressive DDIs based on semi-nonnegative matrix factorization. Inspiringly, DDINMF achieves the conventional DDI prediction (AUROC = 0.872 and AUPR = 0.605) and the comprehensive DDI prediction (AUROC = 0.796 and AUPR = 0.579). Compared with two state-of-the-art approaches, DDINMF shows it superiority. Finally, representing DDIs as a binary network and a signed network respectively, an analysis based on NMF reveals crucial knowledge hidden among DDIs. Our approach is able to predict not only conventional binary DDIs but also comprehensive DDIs. More importantly, it reveals several key points about the DDI network: (1) both binary and signed networks show fairly clear clusters, in which both drug degree and the difference between positive degree and negative degree show significant distribution; (2) the drugs having large degrees tend to have a larger difference between positive degree and negative degree; (3) though the binary DDI network contains no information about enhancive and degressive DDIs at all, it implies some of their relationship in the comprehensive DDI matrix; (4) the occurrence of signs indicating enhancive and degressive DDIs is not random because the comprehensive DDI network is equipped with a structural balance.

Structural Feature Ions for Distinguishing N- and O-Linked Glycan Isomers by LC-ESI-IT MS/MS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Everest-Dass, Arun V.; Abrahams, Jodie L.; Kolarich, Daniel; Packer, Nicolle H.; Campbell, Matthew P.

2013-06-01

Glycomics is the comprehensive study of glycan expression in an organism, cell, or tissue that relies on effective analytical technologies to understand glycan structure-function relationships. Owing to the macro- and micro-heterogeneity of oligosaccharides, detailed structure characterization has required an orthogonal approach, such as a combination of specific exoglycosidase digestions, LC-MS/MS, and the development of bioinformatic resources to comprehensively profile a complex biological sample. Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) has emerged as a key tool in the structural analysis of oligosaccharides because of its high sensitivity, resolution, and robustness. Here, we present a strategy that uses LC-ESI-MS/MS to characterize over 200 N- and O-glycans from human saliva glycoproteins, complemented by sequential exoglycosidase treatment, to further verify the annotated glycan structures. Fragment-specific substructure diagnostic ions were collated from an extensive screen of the literature available on the detailed structural characterization of oligosaccharides and, together with other specific glycan structure feature ions derived from cross-ring and glycosidic-linkage fragmentation, were used to characterize the glycans and differentiate isomers. The availability of such annotated mass spectrometric fragmentation spectral libraries of glycan structures, together with such substructure diagnostic ions, will be key inputs for the future development of the automated elucidation of oligosaccharide structures from MS/MS data.

Increased Diversity of Libraries from Libraries: Chemoinformatic Analysis of Bis-Diazacyclic Libraries

PubMed Central

López-Vallejo, Fabian; Nefzi, Adel; Bender, Andreas; Owen, John R.; Nabney, Ian T.; Houghten, Richard A.; Medina-Franco, Jose L.

2011-01-01

Combinatorial libraries continue to play a key role in drug discovery. To increase structural diversity, several experimental methods have been developed. However, limited efforts have been performed so far to quantify the diversity of the broadly used diversity-oriented synthetic (DOS) libraries. Herein we report a comprehensive characterization of 15 bis-diazacyclic combinatorial libraries obtained through libraries from libraries, which is a DOS approach. Using MACCS keys, radial and different pharmacophoric fingerprints as well as six molecular properties, it was demonstrated the increased structural and property diversity of the libraries from libraries over the individual libraries. Comparison of the libraries to existing drugs, NCI Diversity and the Molecular Libraries Small Molecule Repository revealed the structural uniqueness of the combinatorial libraries (mean similarity < 0.5 for any fingerprint representation). In particular, bis-cyclic thiourea libraries were the most structurally dissimilar to drugs retaining drug-like character in property space. This study represents the first comprehensive quantification of the diversity of libraries from libraries providing a solid quantitative approach to compare and contrast the diversity of DOS libraries with existing drugs or any other compound collection. PMID:21294850

The HESP (High Energy Solar Physics) project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kai, K.

1986-01-01

A project for space observations of solar flares for the coming solar maximum phase is briefly described. The main objective is to make a comprehensive study of high energy phenomena of flares through simultaneous imagings in both hard and soft X-rays. The project will be performed with collaboration from US scientists. The HESP (High Energy Solar Physics) WG of ISAS (Institute of Space and Astronautical Sciences) has extensively discussed future aspects of space observations of high energy phenomena of solar flares based on successful results of the Hinotori mission, and proposed a comprehensive research program for the next solar maximum, called the HESP (SOLAR-A) project. The objective of the HESP project is to make a comprehensive study of both high energy phenomena of flares and quiet structures including pre-flare states, which have been left uncovered by SMM and Hinotori. For such a study simultaneous imagings with better resolutions in space and time in a wide range of energy will be extremely important.

Comprehension Tools for Teachers: Reading for Understanding from Prekindergarten through Fourth Grade

PubMed Central

Connor, Carol McDonald; Phillips, Beth M.; Kaschak, Michael; Apel, Kenn; Kim, Young-Suk; Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Crowe, Elizabeth C.; Thomas-Tate, Shurita; Johnson, Lakeisha Cooper; Lonigan, Christopher J.

2015-01-01

This paper describes the theoretical framework, as well as the development and testing of the intervention, Comprehension Tools for Teachers (CTT), which is composed of eight component interventions targeting malleable language and reading comprehension skills that emerging research indicates contribute to proficient reading for understanding for prekindergarteners through fourth graders. Component interventions target processes considered largely automatic as well as more reflective processes, with interacting and reciprocal effects. Specifically, we present component interventions targeting cognitive, linguistic, and text-specific processes, including morphological awareness, syntax, mental-state verbs, comprehension monitoring, narrative and expository text structure, enacted comprehension, academic knowledge, and reading to learn from informational text. Our aim was to develop a tool set composed of intensive meaningful individualized small group interventions. We improved feasibility in regular classrooms through the use of design-based iterative research methods including careful lesson planning, targeted scripting, pre- and postintervention proximal assessments, and technology. In addition to the overall framework, we discuss seven of the component interventions and general results of design and efficacy studies. PMID:26500420

New Era of Studying RNA Secondary Structure and Its Influence on Gene Regulation in Plants.

PubMed

Yang, Xiaofei; Yang, Minglei; Deng, Hongjing; Ding, Yiliang

2018-01-01

The dynamic structure of RNA plays a central role in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression such as RNA maturation, degradation, and translation. With the rise of next-generation sequencing, the study of RNA structure has been transformed from in vitro low-throughput RNA structure probing methods to in vivo high-throughput RNA structure profiling. The development of these methods enables incremental studies on the function of RNA structure to be performed, revealing new insights of novel regulatory mechanisms of RNA structure in plants. Genome-wide scale RNA structure profiling allows us to investigate general RNA structural features over 10s of 1000s of mRNAs and to compare RNA structuromes between plant species. Here, we provide a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of: (i) RNA structure probing methods; (ii) the biological functions of RNA structure; (iii) genome-wide RNA structural features corresponding to their regulatory mechanisms; and (iv) RNA structurome evolution in plants.

Multiscale Pores in TBCs for Lower Thermal Conductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wei-Wei; Li, Guang-Rong; Zhang, Qiang; Yang, Guan-Jun

2017-08-01

The morphology and pattern (including orientation and aspect ratio) of pores in thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) significantly affect their thermal insulation performance. In this work, finite element analysis was used to comprehensively understand the thermal insulation effect of pores and correlate the effective thermal conductivity with the structure. The results indicated that intersplat pores, and in particular their aspect ratio, dominantly affect the heat transfer in the top coat. The effective thermal conductivity decreased as a function of aspect ratio, since a larger aspect ratio often corresponds to a greater proportion of effective length of the pores. However, in conventional plasma-sprayed TBCs, intersplat pores often fail to maximize thermal insulation due to their distinct lower aspect ratios. Therefore, considering this effect of aspect ratio, a new structure design with multiscale pores is proposed and a corresponding structural model developed to correlate the thermal properties with this pore-rich structure. The predictions of the model are well consistent with experimental data. This study provides comprehensive understanding of the effect of pores on the thermal insulation performance, shedding light on the possibility of structural tailoring to obtain advanced TBCs with lower thermal conductivity.

The architecture of visual narrative comprehension: the interaction of narrative structure and page layout in understanding comics.

PubMed

Cohn, Neil

2014-01-01

How do people make sense of the sequential images in visual narratives like comics? A growing literature of recent research has suggested that this comprehension involves the interaction of multiple systems: The creation of meaning across sequential images relies on a "narrative grammar" that packages conceptual information into categorical roles organized in hierarchic constituents. These images are encapsulated into panels arranged in the layout of a physical page. Finally, how panels frame information can impact both the narrative structure and page layout. Altogether, these systems operate in parallel to construct the Gestalt whole of comprehension of this visual language found in comics.

Comprehensive Aspectual UML approach to support AspectJ.

PubMed

Magableh, Aws; Shukur, Zarina; Ali, Noorazean Mohd

2014-01-01

Unified Modeling Language is the most popular and widely used Object-Oriented modelling language in the IT industry. This study focuses on investigating the ability to expand UML to some extent to model crosscutting concerns (Aspects) to support AspectJ. Through a comprehensive literature review, we identify and extensively examine all the available Aspect-Oriented UML modelling approaches and find that the existing Aspect-Oriented Design Modelling approaches using UML cannot be considered to provide a framework for a comprehensive Aspectual UML modelling approach and also that there is a lack of adequate Aspect-Oriented tool support. This study also proposes a set of Aspectual UML semantic rules and attempts to generate AspectJ pseudocode from UML diagrams. The proposed Aspectual UML modelling approach is formally evaluated using a focus group to test six hypotheses regarding performance; a "good design" criteria-based evaluation to assess the quality of the design; and an AspectJ-based evaluation as a reference measurement-based evaluation. The results of the focus group evaluation confirm all the hypotheses put forward regarding the proposed approach. The proposed approach provides a comprehensive set of Aspectual UML structural and behavioral diagrams, which are designed and implemented based on a comprehensive and detailed set of AspectJ programming constructs.

Comprehensive Aspectual UML Approach to Support AspectJ

PubMed Central

Magableh, Aws; Shukur, Zarina; Mohd. Ali, Noorazean

2014-01-01

Unified Modeling Language is the most popular and widely used Object-Oriented modelling language in the IT industry. This study focuses on investigating the ability to expand UML to some extent to model crosscutting concerns (Aspects) to support AspectJ. Through a comprehensive literature review, we identify and extensively examine all the available Aspect-Oriented UML modelling approaches and find that the existing Aspect-Oriented Design Modelling approaches using UML cannot be considered to provide a framework for a comprehensive Aspectual UML modelling approach and also that there is a lack of adequate Aspect-Oriented tool support. This study also proposes a set of Aspectual UML semantic rules and attempts to generate AspectJ pseudocode from UML diagrams. The proposed Aspectual UML modelling approach is formally evaluated using a focus group to test six hypotheses regarding performance; a “good design” criteria-based evaluation to assess the quality of the design; and an AspectJ-based evaluation as a reference measurement-based evaluation. The results of the focus group evaluation confirm all the hypotheses put forward regarding the proposed approach. The proposed approach provides a comprehensive set of Aspectual UML structural and behavioral diagrams, which are designed and implemented based on a comprehensive and detailed set of AspectJ programming constructs. PMID:25136656

Studies of Tidal and Planetary Wave Variability in the Middle Atmosphere using UARS and Correlative MF Radar Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fritts, David C.

1996-01-01

The goals of this research effort have been to use MF radar and UARS/HRDI wind measurements for correlative studies of large-scale atmospheric dynamics, focusing specifically on the tidal and various planetary wave structures occurring in the middle atmosphere. We believed that the two data sets together would provide the potential for much more comprehensive studies than either by itself, since they jointly would allow the removal of ambiguities in wave structure that are difficult to resolve with either data set alone. The joint data were to be used for studies of wave structure, variability, and the coupling of these motions to mean and higher-frequency motions.

Cost-effective use of minicomputers to solve structural problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Storaasli, O. O.; Foster, E. P.

1978-01-01

Minicomputers are receiving increased use throughout the aerospace industry. Until recently, their use focused primarily on process control and numerically controlled tooling applications, while their exposure to and the opportunity for structural calculations has been limited. With the increased availability of this computer hardware, the question arises as to the feasibility and practicality of carrying out comprehensive structural analysis on a minicomputer. This paper presents results on the potential for using minicomputers for structural analysis by (1) selecting a comprehensive, finite-element structural analysis system in use on large mainframe computers; (2) implementing the system on a minicomputer; and (3) comparing the performance of the minicomputers with that of a large mainframe computer for the solution to a wide range of finite element structural analysis problems.

Laying the Foundations for Scientometric Research: A Data Science Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perron, Brian E.; Victor, Bryan G.; Hodge, David R.; Salas-Wright, Christopher P.; Vaughn, Michael G.; Taylor, Robert Joseph

2017-01-01

Objective: Scientometric studies of social work have stagnated due to problems with the organization and structure of the disciplinary literature. This study utilized data science to produce a set of research tools to overcome these methodological challenges. Method: We constructed a comprehensive list of social work journals for a 25-year time…

Note-Taking Quality and Performance on an L2 Academic Listening Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Song, Min-Young

2012-01-01

This study investigated the relationships among the quality of L2 test takers' notes evaluated in terms of different levels of information and test takers' performance on open-ended listening tasks tapping into different comprehension subskills. In addition, this study examined the invariance of the structural relationships among the variables…

Computer Games Application within Alternative Classroom Goal Structures: Cognitive, Metacognitive, and Affective Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ke, Fengfeng

2008-01-01

This article reports findings on a study of educational computer games used within various classroom situations. Employing an across-stage, mixed method model, the study examined whether educational computer games, in comparison to traditional paper-and-pencil drills, would be more effective in facilitating comprehensive math learning outcomes,…

Increasing Comprehension of Expository Science Text for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carnahan, Christina R.; Williamson, Pamela; Birri, Nicole; Swoboda, Christopher; Snyder, Kate K.

2016-01-01

Using a multiple baseline single-subject design, this study evaluated the effects of a text structure intervention package on the ability of students with autism to comprehend traditional science texts. Three high school students with high-functioning autism and their teacher participated in this study. The intervention package included…

Semantic Integration Processes at Different Levels of Syntactic Hierarchy during Sentence Comprehension: An ERP Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhou, Xiaolin; Jiang, Xiaoming; Ye, Zheng; Zhang, Yaxu; Lou, Kaiyang; Zhan, Weidong

2010-01-01

An event-related potential (ERP) study was conducted to investigate the temporal neural dynamics of semantic integration processes at different levels of syntactic hierarchy during Chinese sentence reading. In a hierarchical structure, "subject noun" + "verb" + "numeral" + "classifier" + "object noun," the object noun is constrained by selectional…

Comprehensive Characteristics of Bottom Sediments of Water Bodies of Various Types in the Kiliya Delta of the Danube River

EPA Science Inventory

The "triad" approach, including analysis of the total content of toxicants, bioassay of bottom sediments, and the study of the structure of zoo- and phytobenthos communities, was used in assessing the quality of bottom sediments. It has been found that the studied bottom sediment...

Tight-binding calculation studies of vacancy and adatom defects in graphene

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Wei; Lu, Wen-Cai; Zhang, Hong-Xing

2016-02-19

Computational studies of complex defects in graphene usually need to deal with a larger number of atoms than the current first-principles methods can handle. We show a recently developed three-center tight-binding potential for carbon is very efficient for large scale atomistic simulations and can accurately describe the structures and energies of various defects in graphene. Using the three-center tight-binding potential, we have systematically studied the stable structures and formation energies of vacancy and embedded-atom defects of various sizes up to 4 vacancies and 4 embedded atoms in graphene. In conclusion, our calculations reveal low-energy defect structures and provide a moremore » comprehensive understanding of the structures and stability of defects in graphene.« less

Effects of Topic Familiarity and Training in Generative Learning Activities on Poor Readers' Comprehension of Comparison/Contrast Expository Text Structure: Transfer to Real-World Materials.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weisberg, Renee; Balajthy, Ernest

A study investigated transfer effects of training below average high school readers in the use of graphic organizers and summary writing on their recognition of compare/contrast text structure. Subjects, 32 high school students with below-expectancy standardized test scores, were placed in two groups: an experimental group (five males and 11…

The Impact of Text Structure Reading Strategy Instruction in a Second Language: Benefits across Languages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwartz, Ana Isabel; Mendoza, Laura; Meyer, Bonnie

2017-01-01

The goal of the present study was to examine the efficacy of learning a text structure strategy (TSS) for improving reading comprehension and recall for second language (L2) learners, as well as to test for transfer of the strategy to the native language (L1). University L2 learners of English completed a five-session course on using the TSS to…

Brain responses to filled gaps.

PubMed

Hestvik, Arild; Maxfield, Nathan; Schwartz, Richard G; Shafer, Valerie

2007-03-01

An unresolved issue in the study of sentence comprehension is whether the process of gap-filling is mediated by the construction of empty categories (traces), or whether the parser relates fillers directly to the associated verb's argument structure. We conducted an event-related potentials (ERP) study that used the violation paradigm to examine the time course and spatial distribution of brain responses to ungrammatically filled gaps. The results indicate that the earliest brain response to the violation is an early left anterior negativity (eLAN). This ERP indexes an early phase of pure syntactic structure building, temporally preceding ERPs that reflect semantic integration and argument structure satisfaction. The finding is interpreted as evidence that gap-filling is mediated by structurally predicted empty categories, rather than directly by argument structure operations.

Descriptive norms for 350 Chinese idioms with seven syntactic structures.

PubMed

Li, Degao; Zhang, Yu; Wang, Xiaolu

2016-12-01

The most important forms of idioms in Chinese, chengyus (CYs), have a fixed length of four Chinese characters. Most CYs are joined structures of two, two-character words-subject-verb units (SVs), verb-object units (VOs), structures of modification (SMs), or verb-verb units-or of four, one-character words. Both the first and second pairs of words in a four-word CY form an SV, a VO, or an SM. In the present study, normative measures were obtained for knowledge, familiarity, subjective frequency, age of acquisition, predictability, literality, and compositionality for 350 CYs, and the influences of the CYs' syntactic structures on the descriptive norms were analyzed. Consistent with previous studies, all of the norms yielded a high reliability, and there were strong correlations between knowledge, familiarity, subjective frequency, and age of acquisition, and between familiarity and predictability. Unlike in previous studies (e.g., Libben & Titone in Memory & Cognition, 36, 1103-1121, 2008), however, we observed a strong correlation between literality and compositionality. In general, the results seem to support a hybrid view of idiom representation and comprehension. According to the evaluation scores, we further concluded that CYs consisting of just one SM are less likely to be decomposable than those with a VOVO composition, and also less likely to be recognized through their constituent words, or to be familiar to, known by, or encountered by users. CYs with an SMSM composition are less likely than VOVO CYs to be decomposable or to be known or encountered by users. Experimental studies should investigate how a CY's syntactic structure influences its representation and comprehension.

The Many Facets and Applications of Text Structure in Supporting Educational Trajectories of Elementary and Middle Grade Children in Content Area Reading Comprehension and Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Albro, Elizabeth; Williams, Joanna P.; Wijekumar, Kausalai; Meyer, Bonnie J. F.; Harris, Karen R.

2015-01-01

Content area reading comprehension and writing have been a challenge for children in the U.S. schools for many years as evidenced by state and national assessments. One promising solution to the problem is text structure based instruction that promotes strategic selection, encoding, retrieval, and use of information for myriads of activities…

Fermi surface interconnectivity and topology in Weyl fermion semimetals TaAs, TaP, NbAs, and NbP

DOE PAGES

Lee, Chi-Cheng; Xu, Su-Yang; Huang, Shin-Ming; ...

2015-12-01

The family of binary compounds including TaAs, TaP, NbAs, and NbP was recently discovered as the first realization of Weyl semimetals. In order to develop a comprehensive description of the charge carriers in these Weyl semimetals, we performed detailed and systematic electronic band structure calculations which reveal the nature of Fermi surfaces and their complex interconnectivity in TaAs, TaP, NbAs, and NbP. In conclusion, our work reports a comparative and comprehensive study of Fermi surface topology and band structure details of all known members of the Weyl semimetal family and hence provides the fundamental knowledge for realizing the many predictedmore » exotic topological quantum physics of Weyl semimetals based on the TaAs class of materials.« less

A comprehensive visual rating scale of brain magnetic resonance imaging: application in elderly subjects with Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, and normal cognition.

PubMed

Jang, Jae-Won; Park, So Young; Park, Young Ho; Baek, Min Jae; Lim, Jae-Sung; Youn, Young Chul; Kim, SangYun

2015-01-01

Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows cerebral structural changes. However, a unified comprehensive visual rating scale (CVRS) has seldom been studied. Thus, we combined brain atrophy and small vessel disease scales and used an MRI template as a CVRS. The aims of this study were to design a simple and reliable CVRS, validate it by investigating cerebral structural changes in clinical groups, and made comparison to the volumetric measurements. Elderly subjects (n = 260) with normal cognition (NC, n = 65), mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 101), or Alzheimer's disease (AD, n = 94) were evaluated with brain MRI according to the CVRS of brain atrophy and small vessel disease. Validation of the CVRS with structural changes, neuropsychological tests, and volumetric analyses was performed. The CVRS revealed a high intra-rater and inter-rater agreement and it reflected the structural changes of subjects with NC, MCI, and AD better than volumetric measures (CVRS-coronal: F = 13.5, p < 0.001; CVRS-axial: F = 19.9, p < 0.001). The area under the receiver operation curve (aROC) of the CVRS showed higher accuracy than volumetric analyses. (NC versus MCI aROC: CVRS-coronal, 0.777; CVRS-axial, 0.773; MCI versus AD aROC: CVRS-coronal, 0.680; CVRS-axial, 0.681). The CVRS can be used clinically to conveniently measure structural changes of brain. It reflected cerebral structural changes of clinical groups and correlated with the age better than volumetric measures.

Effects of Pre-reading Instructions on the Comprehension of Science Texts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyons, Yuna H.

This study examined how three different pre-reading (or relevance) instructions led to different learning outcomes for middle school students reading science texts on the topic of sweetness. The first was a generic instruction to read for understanding. The second prompted students to form a holistic explanation of the topic of sweetness, and the third instruction prompted students to focus on the core scientific principle of the relationship between structure and function. The latter two were specifically designed to align with science disciplinary goals. A comparison of the three treatments found that the generic instruction and the structure-function instruction led to better learning outcomes, measured by recall, short-answer performance questions, and a traditional multiple-choice/short-answer assessment. A qualitative analysis of the data also revealed some small yet notable differences in the recall pattern of students, such as an increased recall of key ideas for the structure-function instruction. This effect was seen predominantly for higher-skilled readers. The results suggest the possibility that relevance instructions targeting core ideas may help to orient students to the key ideas and explanations in scientific text, especially for higher-skilled readers, and indirectly highlights some of the challenges for students with less reading competencies. Overall, this study provides greater insight into how middle-school students read science texts, the effectiveness of instructor-provided relevance instructions in promoting (higher-level) comprehension of science texts, and implications for teachers on how to use texts in science instruction. Keywords: relevance instructions, pre-reading instructions, comprehension, science texts, middle school students, low- versus high-skilled readers.

Predicting the Unbeaten Path through Syntactic Priming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arai, Manabu; Nakamura, Chie; Mazuka, Reiko

2015-01-01

A number of previous studies showed that comprehenders make use of lexically based constraints such as subcategorization frequency in processing structurally ambiguous sentences. One piece of such evidence is lexically specific syntactic priming in comprehension; following the costly processing of a temporarily ambiguous sentence, comprehenders…

Thought-action fusion: a comprehensive analysis using structural equation modeling.

PubMed

Marino, Teresa L; Lunt, Rachael A; Negy, Charles

2008-07-01

Thought-action fusion (TAF), the phenomenon whereby one has difficulty separating cognitions from corresponding behaviors, has implications in a wide variety of disturbances, including eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and panic disorder. Numerous constructs believed to contribute to the etiology or maintenance of TAF have been identified in the literature, but to date, no study has empirically integrated these findings into a comprehensive model. In this study, we examined simultaneously an array of variables thought to be related to TAF, and subsequently developed a model that elucidates the role of those variables that seem most involved in this phenomenon using a structural equation modeling approach. Results indicated that religiosity, as predicted by ethnic identity, was a significant predictor of TAF. Additionally, the relation between ethnic identity and TAF was partially mediated by an inflated sense of responsibility. Both TAF and obsessive-compulsive symptoms were found to be significant predictors of engagement in neutralization activities. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Young Children's Understanding of Teaching and Learning and Their Theory of Mind Development: A Causal Analysis from a Cross-Cultural Perspective

PubMed Central

Wang, Zhenlin; Wang, X. Christine; Chui, Wai Yip

2017-01-01

Children's understanding of the concepts of teaching and learning is closely associated with their theory of mind (ToM) ability and vital for school readiness. This study aimed to develop and validate a Preschool Teaching and Learning Comprehension Index (PTLCI) across cultures and examine the causal relationship between children's comprehension of teaching and learning and their mental state understanding. Two hundred and twelve children from 3 to 6 years of age from Hong Kong and the United States participated in study. The results suggested strong construct validity of the PTLCI, and its measurement and structural equivalence within and across cultures. ToM and PTLCI were significantly correlated with a medium effect size, even after controlling for age, and language ability. Hong Kong children outperformed their American counterparts in both ToM and PTLCI. Competing structural equation models suggested that children's performance on the PTLCI causally predicted their ToM across countries. PMID:28559863

The role of readability in effective health communication: an experiment using a Japanese health information text on chronic suppurative otitis media.

PubMed

Sakai, Yukiko

2013-09-01

This study identifies the most significant readability factors and examines ways of improving and evaluating Japanese health information text in terms of ease of reading and understanding. Six different Japanese texts were prepared based on an original short text written by a medical doctor for a hospital web site intended for laypersons regarding chronic suppurative otitis media. Four were revised for single readability factor (syntax, vocabulary, or text structure) and two were modified in all three factors. Using a web-based survey, 270 high school students read one of the seven texts, including the original, completed two kinds of comprehension tests, and answered questions on their impressions of the text's readability. Significantly higher comprehension test scores were shown in the true or false test for a mixed text that presented important information first for better text structure. They were also found in the cloze test for a text using common vocabulary and a cohesive mixed text. Vocabulary could be a critical single readability factor when presumably combined with better text structure. Using multiple evaluation methods can help assess comprehensive readability. The findings on improvement and evaluation methods of readability can be applied to support effective health communication. © 2013 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2013 Health Libraries Group Health Information and Libraries Journal.

Evolution of Structural Empowerment: Moving From Shared to Professional Governance.

PubMed

Clavelle, Joanne T; Porter O'Grady, Tim; Weston, Marla J; Verran, Joyce A

2016-06-01

The aim of this study is to describe the maturation of the concept of shared governance to professional governance as a framework for structural empowerment. An analysis of the literature and concept clarification of structural empowerment and shared governance demonstrate that the concept and attributes of shared governance have evolved toward professional governance. A comprehensive, deductive literature review and concept clarification of structural empowerment, shared governance, and related constructs was completed. The concept and practice of shared governance has matured to a concept of professional governance with the attributes of accountability, professional obligation, collateral relationships, and effective decision-making.

SWAHILI GRAMMAR AND SYNTAX. DUQUESNE STUDIES, AFRICAN SERIES 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LOOGMAN, ALFONS

THIS COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF SWAHILI, ONE OF THE BANTU LANGUAGES IN THE NIGER-CONGO GROUP, IS BASED ON THE AUTHOR'S 37 YEARS OF WRITING AND TEACHING EXPERIENCE IN EAST AFRICA. THE STUDY IS INTENDED TO PRESENT THE SWAHILI LANGUAGE IN TERMS OF ITS OWN STRUCTURE, RATHER THAN IN TERMS OF LATIN OR ENGLISH GRAMMARS. A PRELIMINARY SECTION IN PART ONE…

Evaluation, Modification, and Validation of Pictograms Depicting Medication Instructions in the Elderly.

PubMed

Berthenet, Marion; Vaillancourt, Régis; Pouliot, Annie

2016-01-01

Poor health literacy has been recognized as a limiting factor in the elderly's ability to comprehend written or verbal medication information and also to successfully adhere to medical regimens. The objective of this study was to validate a set of pictograms depicting medication instructions for use among the elderly to support health literacy. Elderly outpatients were recruited in 3 community pharmacies in Canada. One-on-one structured interviews were conducted to assess comprehension of 76 pictograms from the International Pharmaceutical Federation. Comprehension was assessed using transparency testing and pictogram translucency, or the degree to which the pictogram represents the intended message. A total of 135 participants were enrolled in this study, and 76 pictograms were assessed. A total of 50 pictograms achieved more than 67% comprehension. Pictograms depicting precautions and warnings against certain side effects were generally not well understood. Gender, age, and education level all had a significant impact on the interpretation scores of certain individual pictograms. When all pictograms were included, younger males had a significantly higher comprehension score than older females, and participants with a higher level of education provided significantly higher translucency scores. Even when pictograms reached the comprehension threshold set by the International Organization for Standardization in the general populations, only 50 of these pictograms achieved more than 67% comprehension among the elderly, confirming that validation in this subpopulation should be conducted prior to using specific pictograms. Accompanying pictograms with education about these pictograms and important counseling points remains extremely important.

Role of Oral Proficiency on Reading Comprehension: Within-Language and Cross-Language Relationships

PubMed Central

Uchikoshi, Yuuko; Yang, Lu; Lohr, Brandi; Leung, Genevieve

2016-01-01

This longitudinal study examined the role of oral proficiency, as measured with elicited narratives using a wordless picture book, Frog Where are You? (Meyer, 1969/1994), on English reading comprehension with a total of 102 English Language Learners (ELLs), including both Spanish and Cantonese speakers. Narrative samples were collected in the winter of first grade and reading skills were assessed on the same children one year later in second grade. Children were enrolled in either bilingual programs or mainstream programs. Multiple regression results show it was not the quantity and variety of words used in the narratives that predicted English reading comprehension one year later. Instead, the ability to produce a coherent oral narrative, in either the home language or English, explained a small variance in English reading comprehension for both English learner groups. These findings highlight the importance of examining narrative skills, especially as measured by narrative structure. Implications for parents and educators are discussed. PMID:28717774

A comprehensive investigation of structural, morphological, hydrogen absorption and magnetic properties of MmNi4.22Co0.48Mn0.15Al0.15 alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zareii, Seyyed Mojtaba; Arabi, Hadi; Pourarian, Faiz

2014-05-01

A comprehensive study of structural, morphological, hydrogen absorption and magnetic properties of MmNi4.22 Co0.48Mn0.15Al0.15 alloy as a promising hydrogen storage media was investigated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) profiles show that the alloy maintains its crystal structure (hexagonal LaNi5-type) even after 30 hydrogenation/dehydrogenation (H/D) cycles. However, the XRD peaks are found to be slightly broadened after cycling. SEM images reveal that particles size of the cycled sample decreases, with more uniform particle size distribution compared to noncycled ones. The pressure-composition (PC) isotherms and kinetics curves of hydrogen absorption reaction were obtained at different working temperatures by using a homemade Sievert apparatus. The enthalpy and entropy of hydride formation of the alloy were evaluated. Furthermore, the Jander diffusion and Johnson-Mehl-Avrami models as the fitting models were employed to study the kinetic mechanism of hydriding reaction and its activation energy. The room temperature magnetic measurements indicate that the milling and H/D cycling change the magnetic properties of the as-annealed alloy.

Structural, electronic, elastic and thermodynamic properties of Li2ZrO3: A comprehensive study using DFT formalism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chattaraj, D.

2017-12-01

Lithium zirconate is considered to be potential tritium breeder material for fusion reactors. Here I report a comprehensive study on structural, electronic, elastic, and thermodynamic properties of Li2ZrO3 using plane wave based density functional theory. While the electron-ion interaction term has been described by projected-augmented wave method, the exchange-correlation energy was taken care of through generalized gradient approximation scheme. The optimized lattice and internal parameters of Li2ZrO3 unit cell agree well within ±1-2% from the experimental values. From the electronic structure analysis it is seen that the Fermi energy has significant contribution from the 2s, 2p and 4d orbitals of Li, O and Zr atoms, respectively. Elastic property calculation of Li2ZrO3 showed mechanical stability and anisotropy at ambient pressure. The formation energy (ΔfH) of Li2ZrO3 at 0 K, after zero point energy correction, has been estimated to be -1550 kJ/mol. The temperature dependent thermodynamic functions of Li2ZrO3 have also been calculated from the Debye-Grüneisen quasi-harmonic approximation and reported here.

Implementation of a Novel Structured Social and Wellness Committee in a Surgical Residency Program: A Case Study.

PubMed

Van Orden, Kathryn E; Talutis, Stephanie D; Ng-Glazier, Joanna H; Richman, Aaron P; Pennington, Elliot C; Janeway, Megan G; Kauffman, Douglas F; Dechert, Tracey A

2017-01-01

This article provides a theoretical and practical rational for the implementation of an innovative and comprehensive social wellness program in a surgical residency program at a large safety net hospital on the East Coast of the United States. Using basic needs theory, we describe why it is particularly important for surgical residency programs to consider the residents sense of competence, autonomy, and belonging during residence. We describe how we have developed a comprehensive program to address our residents' (and residents' families) psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and belongingness.

The electrochemical performance of super P carbon black in reversible Li/Na ion uptake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Bo; Xu, Yaolin; Wang, Xiaoqun; Shi, Xinghua; Mulder, Fokko M.

2017-06-01

Super P carbon black (SPCB) has been widely used as a conducting additive in Li/Na ion batteries to improve the electronic conductivity. However, there has not yet been a comprehensive study on its structure and electrochemical properties for Li/Na ion uptake, though it is important to characterize its contribution in any study of active materials that uses this additive in non-negligible amounts. In this article the structure of SPCB has been characterized and a comprehensive study on the electrochemical Li/Na ion uptake capability and reaction mechanisms are reported. SPCB exhibits a considerable lithiation capacity (up to 310 mAh g-1) from the Li ion intercalation in the graphite structure. Sodiation in SPCB undergoes two stages: Na ion intercalation into the layers between the graphene sheets and the Na plating in the pores between the nano-graphitic domains, and a sodiation capacity up to 145 mAh g-1 has been achieved. Moreover, the influence of the type and content of binders on the lithiation and sodiation properties has been investigated. The cycling stability is much enhanced with sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (NaCMC) binder in the electrode and fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) in the electrolyte; and a higher content of binder improves the Coulombic efficiency during dis-/charge.

Comprehension of Written Grammar Test: Reliability and Known-Groups Validity Study With Hearing and Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students.

PubMed

Cannon, Joanna E; Hubley, Anita M; Millhoff, Courtney; Mazlouman, Shahla

2016-01-01

The aim of the current study was to gather validation evidence for the Comprehension of Written Grammar (CWG; Easterbrooks, 2010) receptive test of 26 grammatical structures of English print for use with children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH). Reliability and validity data were collected for 98 participants (49 DHH and 49 hearing) in Grades 2-6. The objectives were to: (a) examine 4-week test-retest reliability data; and (b) provide evidence of known-groups validity by examining expected differences between the groups on the CWG vocabulary pretest and main test, as well as selected structures. Results indicated excellent test-retest reliability estimates for CWG test scores. DHH participants performed statistically significantly lower on the CWG vocabulary pretest and main test than the hearing participants. Significantly lower performance by DHH participants on most expected grammatical structures (e.g., basic sentence patterns, auxiliary "be" singular/plural forms, tense, comparatives, and complementation) also provided known groups evidence. Overall, the findings of this study showed strong evidence of the reliability of scores and known group-based validity of inferences made from the CWG. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The architecture of visual narrative comprehension: the interaction of narrative structure and page layout in understanding comics

PubMed Central

Cohn, Neil

2014-01-01

How do people make sense of the sequential images in visual narratives like comics? A growing literature of recent research has suggested that this comprehension involves the interaction of multiple systems: The creation of meaning across sequential images relies on a “narrative grammar” that packages conceptual information into categorical roles organized in hierarchic constituents. These images are encapsulated into panels arranged in the layout of a physical page. Finally, how panels frame information can impact both the narrative structure and page layout. Altogether, these systems operate in parallel to construct the Gestalt whole of comprehension of this visual language found in comics. PMID:25071651

Patient comprehension of emergency department care and instructions: are patients aware of when they do not understand?

PubMed

Engel, Kirsten G; Heisler, Michele; Smith, Dylan M; Robinson, Claire H; Forman, Jane H; Ubel, Peter A

2009-04-01

To be able to adhere to discharge instructions after a visit to the emergency department (ED), patients should understand both the care that they received and their discharge instructions. The objective of this study is to assess, at discharge, patients' comprehension of their ED care and instructions and their awareness of deficiencies in their comprehension. We conducted structured interviews of 140 adult English-speaking patients or their primary caregivers after ED discharge in 2 health systems. Participants rated their subjective understanding of 4 domains: (1) diagnosis and cause; (2) ED care; (3) post-ED care, and (4) return instructions. We assessed patient comprehension as the degree of agreement (concordance) between patients' recall of each of these domains and information obtained from chart review. Two authors scored each case independently and discussed discrepancies before providing a final concordance rating (no concordance, minimal concordance, partial concordance, near concordance, complete concordance). Seventy-eight percent of patients demonstrated deficient comprehension (less than complete concordance) in at least 1 domain; 51% of patients, in 2 or more domains. Greater than a third of these deficiencies (34%) involved patients' understanding of post-ED care, whereas only 15% were for diagnosis and cause. The majority of patients with comprehension deficits failed to perceive them. Patients perceived difficulty with comprehension only 20% of the time when they demonstrated deficient comprehension. Many patients do not understand their ED care or their discharge instructions. Moreover, most patients appear to be unaware of their lack of understanding and report inappropriate confidence in their comprehension and recall.

What Is the Influence of Morphological Knowledge in the Early Stages of Reading Acquisition Among Low SES Children? A Graphical Modeling Approach

PubMed Central

Colé, Pascale; Cavalli, Eddy; Duncan, Lynne G.; Theurel, Anne; Gentaz, Edouard; Sprenger-Charolles, Liliane; El-Ahmadi, Abdessadek

2018-01-01

Children from low-SES families are known to show delays in aspects of language development which underpin reading acquisition such as vocabulary and listening comprehension. Research on the development of morphological skills in this group is scarce, and no studies exist in French. The present study investigated the involvement of morphological knowledge in the very early stages of reading acquisition (decoding), before reading comprehension can be reliably assessed. We assessed listening comprehension, receptive vocabulary, phoneme awareness, morphological awareness as well as decoding, word reading and non-verbal IQ in 703 French first-graders from low-SES families after 3 months of formal schooling (November). Awareness of derivational morphology was assessed using three oral tasks: Relationship Judgment (e.g., do these words belong to the same family or not? heat-heater … ham-hammer); Lexical Sentence Completion [e.g., Someone who runs is a …? (runner)]; and Non-lexical Sentence Completion [e.g., Someone who lums is a…? (lummer)]. The tasks differ on implicit/explicit demands and also tap different kinds of morphological knowledge. The Judgement task measures the phonological and semantic properties of the morphological relationship and the Sentence Completion tasks measure knowledge of morphological production rules. Data were processed using a graphical modeling approach which offers key information about how skills known to be involved in learning to read are organized in memory. This modeling approach was therefore useful in revealing a potential network which expresses the conditional dependence structure between skills, after which recursive structural equation modeling was applied to test specific hypotheses. Six main conclusions can be drawn from these analyses about low SES reading acquisition: (1) listening comprehension is at the heart of the reading acquisition process; (2) word reading depends directly on phonemic awareness and indirectly on listening comprehension; (3) decoding depends on word reading; (4) Morphological awareness and vocabulary have an indirect influence on word reading via both listening comprehension and phoneme awareness; (5) the components of morphological awareness assessed by our tasks have independent relationships with listening comprehension; and (6) neither phonemic nor morphological awareness influence vocabulary directly. The implications of these results with regard to early reading acquisition among low SES groups are discussed. PMID:29725313

What Is the Influence of Morphological Knowledge in the Early Stages of Reading Acquisition Among Low SES Children? A Graphical Modeling Approach.

PubMed

Colé, Pascale; Cavalli, Eddy; Duncan, Lynne G; Theurel, Anne; Gentaz, Edouard; Sprenger-Charolles, Liliane; El-Ahmadi, Abdessadek

2018-01-01

Children from low-SES families are known to show delays in aspects of language development which underpin reading acquisition such as vocabulary and listening comprehension. Research on the development of morphological skills in this group is scarce, and no studies exist in French. The present study investigated the involvement of morphological knowledge in the very early stages of reading acquisition (decoding), before reading comprehension can be reliably assessed. We assessed listening comprehension, receptive vocabulary, phoneme awareness, morphological awareness as well as decoding, word reading and non-verbal IQ in 703 French first-graders from low-SES families after 3 months of formal schooling (November). Awareness of derivational morphology was assessed using three oral tasks: Relationship Judgment (e.g., do these words belong to the same family or not? heat-heater … ham-hammer); Lexical Sentence Completion [e.g., Someone who runs is a …? (runner)]; and Non-lexical Sentence Completion [e.g., Someone who lums is a…? (lummer)]. The tasks differ on implicit/explicit demands and also tap different kinds of morphological knowledge. The Judgement task measures the phonological and semantic properties of the morphological relationship and the Sentence Completion tasks measure knowledge of morphological production rules. Data were processed using a graphical modeling approach which offers key information about how skills known to be involved in learning to read are organized in memory. This modeling approach was therefore useful in revealing a potential network which expresses the conditional dependence structure between skills, after which recursive structural equation modeling was applied to test specific hypotheses. Six main conclusions can be drawn from these analyses about low SES reading acquisition: (1) listening comprehension is at the heart of the reading acquisition process; (2) word reading depends directly on phonemic awareness and indirectly on listening comprehension; (3) decoding depends on word reading; (4) Morphological awareness and vocabulary have an indirect influence on word reading via both listening comprehension and phoneme awareness; (5) the components of morphological awareness assessed by our tasks have independent relationships with listening comprehension; and (6) neither phonemic nor morphological awareness influence vocabulary directly. The implications of these results with regard to early reading acquisition among low SES groups are discussed.

Biophysics of cadherin adhesion.

PubMed

Leckband, Deborah; Sivasankar, Sanjeevi

2012-01-01

Since the identification of cadherins and the publication of the first crystal structures, the mechanism of cadherin adhesion, and the underlying structural basis have been studied with a number of different experimental techniques, different classical cadherin subtypes, and cadherin fragments. Earlier studies based on biophysical measurements and structure determinations resulted in seemingly contradictory findings regarding cadherin adhesion. However, recent experimental data increasingly reveal parallels between structures, solution binding data, and adhesion-based biophysical measurements that are beginning to both reconcile apparent differences and generate a more comprehensive model of cadherin-mediated cell adhesion. This chapter summarizes the functional, structural, and biophysical findings relevant to cadherin junction assembly and adhesion. We emphasize emerging parallels between findings obtained with different experimental approaches. Although none of the current models accounts for all of the available experimental and structural data, this chapter discusses possible origins of apparent discrepancies, highlights remaining gaps in current knowledge, and proposes challenges for further study.

Comprehensive Treatment of Women with Postpartum Psychosis across Health Care Systems from Swedish Psychiatrists' Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engqvist, Inger; Ahlin, Arne; Ferszt, Ginette; Nilsson, Kerstin

2011-01-01

Studies concerning the psychiatrist's experiences of treating women with postpartum psychosis (PPP) or how they react to these women are limited in the literature. In this study a qualitative design is used. Data collection includes semi-structured interviews with nine Swedish psychiatrists working in psychiatric hospitals. The audio-taped…

Article Errors in the English Writing of Saudi EFL Preparatory Year Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alhaisoni, Eid; Gaudel, Daya Ram; Al-Zuoud, Khalid M.

2017-01-01

This study aims at providing a comprehensive account of the types of errors produced by Saudi EFL students enrolled in the preparatory year programe in their use of articles, based on the Surface Structure Taxonomies (SST) of errors. The study describes the types, frequency and sources of the definite and indefinite article errors in writing…

Developing General Literacy Ability and Intercultural Sensitivity through English Literacy Instruction: Using Global Literature for Korean EFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bae, Jiyoung

2012-01-01

This study explored L2 literacy ability and intercultural sensitivity of Korean late elementary to early middle school students learning English as a foreign language. This study investigated the latent variable structure of L2 literacy abilities, including fluency, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and writing abilities, and intercultural…

Geological investigation of the Socorro geothermal area. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chapin, C.E.; Sanford, A.R.; White, D.W.

1979-05-01

The results of a comprehensive geological and geochemical study of the Socorro geothermal area are presented. The following are discussed: geologic setting, structural controls, stratigraphic controls, an ancient geothermal system, modern magma bodies, geothermal potential of the Socorro area, and the Socorro transverse shear zone. (MHR)

Blueprints for a Collaborative Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

1997

This book provides guidelines and suggested activities for collaborative learning for elementary grade students with a variety of abilities and disabilities. It is based on experiences at the Developmental Studies Center (Oakland, California). Activities are presented as blueprint formats that provide a comprehensive set of structures which can be…

Using Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship Modeling to Quantitatively Predict the Developmental Toxicity of Halogenated Azole compounds

EPA Science Inventory

Developmental toxicity is a relevant endpoint for the comprehensive assessment of human health risk from chemical exposure. However, animal developmental toxicity studies remain unavailable for many environmental contaminants due to the complexity and cost of these types of analy...

Scholastic Aptitude Test Preparation for the Adolescent Dyslexic.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rothschild, Lois H.

1987-01-01

Scholastic Aptitude Test skills of dyslexics can be enhanced through use of special test administration arrangements and a structured program of vocabulary development, test-taking strategies, and a pattern of analysis to improve reading comprehension. Two case studies illustrate the impact of drill and reinforcement, multimodal imagery…

Are History Textbooks More "Considerate" after 20 Years?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berkeley, Sheri; King-Sears, Margaret E.; Hott, Brittany L.; Bradley-Black, Katherine

2014-01-01

Features of eighth-grade history textbooks were examined through replication of a 20-year-old study that investigated "considerateness" of textbooks. Considerate texts provide clear, coherent information and include features that promote students' comprehension, such as explicit use of organizational structures, a range of question types…

Protecting Teens: Beyond Race, Income and Family Structure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blum, Robert W.; Beuhring, Trisha; Rinehart, Peggy Mann

This monograph discusses how to protect adolescents by addressing health behaviors. Data come from the Add Health Survey, a comprehensive school-based study of adolescents' health-related behaviors. Secondary students answered surveys about their lives, health, friendships, self-esteem, and expectations for the future. School administrators…

The Status and Prospect of Research into Protective Structures of Bridge Piers against Rockfall Impact

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Liang; Zhang, Shan; Zhang, Junfa; Wu, Xiangnan

2017-06-01

Rockfall impact on bridge piers threats severely the mountain bridge structures of lifeline engineering. Intended for mountain bridge pier protection against rockfall impact, the paper conducted comprehensive reviews on the research status of impact effects, anti-collision structure, impact response to rockfall, and protective design at home and abroad, and proposed a new-type protective structure against rockfall impact. In addition, the paper carried out deep studies on such key scientific issues as impact effect calculation, protective materials against rockfall impact, damage mechanism of protective units, and parameter optimization on the system of protective structures against rockfall impact as well, aiming to strength disaster prevention of mountain bridge structures.

Task-dependency and structure-dependency in number interference effects in sentence comprehension

PubMed Central

Franck, Julie; Colonna, Saveria; Rizzi, Luigi

2015-01-01

We report three experiments on French that explore number mismatch effects in intervention configurations in the comprehension of object A’-dependencies, relative clauses and questions. The study capitalizes on the finding of object attraction in sentence production, in which speakers sometimes erroneously produce a verb that agrees in number with a plural object in object relative clauses. Evidence points to the role of three critical constructs from formal syntax: intervention, intermediate traces and c-command (Franck et al., 2010). Experiment 1, using a self-paced reading procedure on these grammatical structures with an agreement error on the verb, shows an enhancing effect of number mismatch in intervention configurations, with faster reading times with plural (mismatching) objects. Experiment 2, using an on-line grammaticality judgment task on the ungrammatical versions of these structures, shows an interference effect in the form of attraction, with slower response times with plural objects. Experiment 3 with a similar grammaticality judgment task shows stronger attraction from c-commanding than from preceding interveners. Overall, the data suggest that syntactic computations in performance refer to the same syntactic representations in production and comprehension, but that different tasks tap into different processes involved in parsing: whereas performance in self-paced reading reflects the intervention of the subject in the process of building an object A’-dependency, performance in grammaticality judgment reflects intervention of the object on the computation of the subject-verb agreement dependency. The latter shows the hallmarks of structure-dependent attraction effects in sentence production, in particular, a sensitivity to specific characteristics of hierarchical representations. PMID:25914652

Reading, Comprehension, and Memory Processes: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," July through September 1977 (Vol. 38 Nos. 1 through 3).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, IL.

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 14 titles deal with the following topics: children's ability to read their own dictated oral language; adjunct structure and reading comprehension; learning and comprehension of simultaneously presented stimuli in children of…

Thematic orders and the comprehension of subject-extracted relative clauses in Mandarin Chinese

PubMed Central

Lin, Chien-Jer Charles

2015-01-01

This study investigates the comprehension of three kinds of subject-extracted relative clauses (SRs) in Mandarin Chinese: standard SRs, relative clauses involving the disposal ba construction (“disposal SRs”), and relative clauses involving the long passive bei constructions (“passive SRs”). In a self-paced reading experiment, the regions before the relativizer (where the sentential fragments are temporarily ambiguous) showed reading patterns consistent with expectation-based incremental processing: standard SRs, with the highest constructional frequency and the least complex syntactic structure, were processed faster than the other two variants. However, in the regions after the relativizer and the head noun where the existence of a relative clause is unambiguously indicated, a top-down global effect of thematic ordering was observed: passive SRs, whose thematic role order conforms to the canonical thematic order of Chinese, were read faster than both the standard SRs and the disposal SRs. Taken together, these results suggest that two expectation-based processing factors are involved in the comprehension of Chinese relative clauses, including both the structural probabilities of pre-relativizer constituents and the overall surface thematic orders in the relative clauses. PMID:26441697

Development and application of a comprehensive simulation model to evaluate impacts of watershed structures and irrigation water use on streamflow and groundwater: The case of Wet Walnut Creek Watershed, Kansas, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ramireddygari, S.R.; Sophocleous, M.A.; Koelliker, J.K.; Perkins, S.P.; Govindaraju, R.S.

2000-01-01

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive modeling study of surface and groundwater systems, including stream-aquifer interactions, for the Wet Walnut Creek Watershed in west-central Kansas. The main objective of this study was to assess the impacts of watershed structures and irrigation water use on streamflow and groundwater levels, which in turn affect availability of water for the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Refuge Management area. The surface-water flow model, POTYLDR, and the groundwater flow model, MODFLOW, were combined into an integrated, watershed-scale, continuous simulation model. Major revisions and enhancements were made to the POTYLDR and MODFLOW models for simulating the detailed hydrologic budget for the Wet Walnut Creek Watershed. The computer simulation model was calibrated and verified using historical streamflow records (at Albert and Nekoma gaging stations), reported irrigation water use, observed water-level elevations in watershed structure pools, and groundwater levels in the alluvial aquifer system. To assess the impact of watershed structures and irrigation water use on streamflow and groundwater levels, a number of hypothetical management scenarios were simulated under various operational criteria for watershed structures and different annual limits on water use for irrigation. A standard 'base case' was defined to allow comparative analysis of the results of different scenarios. The simulated streamflows showed that watershed structures decrease both streamflows and groundwater levels in the watershed. The amount of water used for irrigation has a substantial effect on the total simulated streamflow and groundwater levels, indicating that irrigation is a major budget item for managing water resources in the watershed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.This paper presents the results of a comprehensive modeling study of surface and groundwater systems, including stream-aquifer interactions, for the Wet Walnut Creek Watershed in west-central Kansas. The main objective of this study was to assess the impacts of watershed structures and irrigation water use on streamflow and groundwater levels, which in turn affect availability of water for the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Refuge Management area. The surface-water flow model, POTYLDR, and the groundwater flow model, MODFLOW, were combined into an integrated, watershed-scale, continuous simulation model. Major revisions and enhancements were made to the POTYLDR and MODFLOW models for simulating the detailed hydrologic budget for the Wet Walnut Creek Watershed. The computer simulation model was calibrated and verified using historical streamflow records (at Albert and Nekoma gaging stations), reported irrigation water use, observed water-level elevations in watershed structure pools, and groundwater levels in the alluvial aquifer system. To assess the impact of watershed structures and irrigation water use on streamflow and groundwater levels, a number of hypothetical management scenarios were simulated under various operational criteria for watershed structures and different annual limits on water use for irrigation. A standard `base case' was defined to allow comparative analysis of the results of different scenarios. The simulated streamflows showed that watershed structures decrease both streamflows and groundwater levels in the watershed. The amount of water used for irrigation has a substantial effect on the total simulated streamflow and groundwater levels, indicating that irrigation is a major budget item for managing water resources in the watershed.A comprehensive simulation model that combines the surface water flow model POTYLDR and the groundwater flow model MODFLOW was used to study the impacts of watershed structures (e.g., dams) and irrigation water use (including stream-aquifer interactions) on streamflow and groundwater. The model was revised, enhanced, calibrated, and verified, then applied to evaluate the hydrologic budget for Wet Wal

The Interplay of Reader Goals, Working Memory, and Text Structure During Reading

PubMed Central

Bohn-Gettler, Catherine M.; Kendeou, Panayiota

2014-01-01

In the current study we examined the complex interactions of instructional context, text properties, and reader characteristics during comprehension. College students were tasked with the goal of reading for study versus entertainment (instructional context) while thinking-aloud about four different expository text structures (text properties). Working memory also was assessed (reader characteristics). Reading goals and working memory interacted to influence paraphrasing and non-coherence processes when thinking aloud. Reading goals, working memory, and text structure all interacted to influence text-based inferences. Text structure also influenced knowledge-based inferences. Post-reading recall was highest for those with the instructional goal of reading for study (compared to entertainment), as well as for problem-response and compare-contrast texts (compared to descriptive and chronological texts). Implications of the findings are discussed. PMID:25018581

Synthesis, antimicrobial activity and advances in structure-activity relationships (SARs) of novel tri-substituted thiazole derivatives.

PubMed

Reddy, Guda Mallikarjuna; Garcia, Jarem Raul; Reddy, Vemulapati Hanuman; de Andrade, Ageo Meier; Camilo, Alexandre; Pontes Ribeiro, Renan Augusto; de Lazaro, Sergio Ricardo

2016-11-10

Trisubstituted thiazoles were synthesized and studied for their antimicrobial activity and supported by theoretical calculations. In addition, MIC, MBC and MFC were also tested. Moreover, the present study was analyzed to scrutinize comprehensive structure-activity relationships. In fact, LUMO orbital energy and orbital orientation was reliable to explain their antibacterial and antifungal assay. Amongst the tested compounds, tri-methyl-substituted thiazole compound showed higher antimicrobial activity and low MIC value due to highest LUMO energy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The history of the CATH structural classification of protein domains.

PubMed

Sillitoe, Ian; Dawson, Natalie; Thornton, Janet; Orengo, Christine

2015-12-01

This article presents a historical review of the protein structure classification database CATH. Together with the SCOP database, CATH remains comprehensive and reasonably up-to-date with the now more than 100,000 protein structures in the PDB. We review the expansion of the CATH and SCOP resources to capture predicted domain structures in the genome sequence data and to provide information on the likely functions of proteins mediated by their constituent domains. The establishment of comprehensive function annotation resources has also meant that domain families can be functionally annotated allowing insights into functional divergence and evolution within protein families. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Two Decades of Structure Building

PubMed Central

Gernsbacher, Morton Ann

2014-01-01

During the past decade I have been developing a very simple framework for describing the cognitive processes and mechanisms involved in discourse comprehension. I call this framework the Structure Building Framework, and it is based on evidence provided during the first decade of discourse processing research. According to the Structure Building Framework, the goal of comprehension is to build coherent mental representations or structures. Comprehenders build each structure by first laying a foundation. Comprehenders develop mental structures by mapping on new information when that information coheres or relates to previous information. However, when the incoming information is less related, comprehenders shift and attach a new substructure. The building blocks of mental structures are memory nodes, which are activated by incoming stimuli and controlled by two cognitive mechanisms: suppression and enhancement. In this article, first I review the seminal work on which the Structure Building Framework is based (the first decade of structure building research); then I recount the research I have conducted to test the Structure Building Framework (the second decade of structure building research). PMID:25484476

Comprehensive evaluation of impacts of distributed generation integration in distribution network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Sujiang; Zhou, Erbiao; Ji, Fengkun; Cao, Xinhui; Liu, Lingshuang; Liu, Zifa; Wang, Xuyang; Cai, Xiaoyu

2018-04-01

All Distributed generation (DG) as the supplement to renewable energy centralized utilization, is becoming the focus of development direction of renewable energy utilization. With the increasing proportion of DG in distribution network, the network power structure, power flow distribution, operation plans and protection are affected to some extent. According to the main impacts of DG, a comprehensive evaluation model of distributed network with DG is proposed in this paper. A comprehensive evaluation index system including 7 aspects, along with their corresponding index calculation method is established for quantitative analysis. The indices under different access capacity of DG in distribution network are calculated based on the IEEE RBTS-Bus 6 system and the evaluation result is calculated by analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The proposed model and method are verified effective and validity through case study.

Sensitive and comprehensive analysis of O-glycosylation in biotherapeutics: a case study of novel erythropoiesis stimulating protein.

PubMed

Kim, Unyong; Oh, Myung Jin; Seo, Youngsuk; Jeon, Yinae; Eom, Joon-Ho; An, Hyun Joo

2017-09-01

Glycosylation of recombinant human erythropoietins (rhEPOs) is significantly associated with drug's quality and potency. Thus, comprehensive characterization of glycosylation is vital to assess the biotherapeutic quality and establish the equivalency of biosimilar rhEPOs. However, current glycan analysis mainly focuses on the N-glycans due to the absence of analytical tools to liberate O-glycans with high sensitivity. We developed selective and sensitive method to profile native O-glycans on rhEPOs. O-glycosylation on rhEPO including O-acetylation on a sialic acid was comprehensively characterized. Details such as O-glycan structure and O-acetyl-modification site were obtained from tandem MS. This method may be applied to QC and batch analysis of not only rhEPOs but also other biotherapeutics bearing multiple O-glycosylations.

The Processing of Extraposed Structures in English

PubMed Central

Levy, Roger; Fedorenko, Evelina; Breen, Mara; Gibson, Ted

2012-01-01

In most languages, most of the syntactic dependency relations found in any given sentence are PROJECTIVE: the word-word dependencies in the sentence do not cross each other. Some syntactic dependency relations, however, are NON-PROJECTIVE: some of their word-word dependencies cross each other. Non-projective dependencies are both rarer and more computationally complex than projective dependencies; hence, it is of natural interest to investigate whether there are any processing costs specific to non-projective dependencies, and whether factors known to influence processing of projective dependencies also affect non-projective dependency processing. We report three self-paced reading studies, together with corpus and sentence completion studies, investigating the comprehension difficulty associated with the non-projective dependencies created by the extraposition of relative clauses in English. We find that extraposition over either verbs or prepositional phrases creates comprehension difficulty, and that this difficulty is consistent with probabilistic syntactic expectations estimated from corpora. Furthermore, we find that manipulating the expectation that a given noun will have a postmodifying relative clause can modulate and even neutralize the difficulty associated with extraposition. Our experiments rule out accounts based purely on derivational complexity and/or dependency locality in terms of linear positioning. Our results demonstrate that comprehenders maintain probabilistic syntactic expectations that persist beyond projective-dependency structures, and suggest that it may be possible to explain observed patterns of comprehension difficulty associated with extraposition entirely through probabilistic expectations. PMID:22035959

Contrastive Numerical Investigations on Thermo-Structural Behaviors in Mass Concrete with Various Cements

PubMed Central

Zhou, Wei; Feng, Chuqiao; Liu, Xinghong; Liu, Shuhua; Zhang, Chao; Yuan, Wei

2016-01-01

This work is a contrastive investigation of numerical simulations to improve the comprehension of thermo-structural coupled phenomena of mass concrete structures during construction. The finite element (FE) analysis of thermo-structural behaviors is used to investigate the applicability of supersulfated cement (SSC) in mass concrete structures. A multi-scale framework based on a homogenization scheme is adopted in the parameter studies to describe the nonlinear concrete behaviors. Based on the experimental data of hydration heat evolution rate and quantity of SSC and fly ash Portland cement, the hydration properties of various cements are studied. Simulations are run on a concrete dam section with a conventional method and a chemo-thermo-mechanical coupled method. The results show that SSC is more suitable for mass concrete structures from the standpoint of temperature control and crack prevention. PMID:28773517

Contrastive Numerical Investigations on Thermo-Structural Behaviors in Mass Concrete with Various Cements.

PubMed

Zhou, Wei; Feng, Chuqiao; Liu, Xinghong; Liu, Shuhua; Zhang, Chao; Yuan, Wei

2016-05-20

This work is a contrastive investigation of numerical simulations to improve the comprehension of thermo-structural coupled phenomena of mass concrete structures during construction. The finite element (FE) analysis of thermo-structural behaviors is used to investigate the applicability of supersulfated cement (SSC) in mass concrete structures. A multi-scale framework based on a homogenization scheme is adopted in the parameter studies to describe the nonlinear concrete behaviors. Based on the experimental data of hydration heat evolution rate and quantity of SSC and fly ash Portland cement, the hydration properties of various cements are studied. Simulations are run on a concrete dam section with a conventional method and a chemo-thermo-mechanical coupled method. The results show that SSC is more suitable for mass concrete structures from the standpoint of temperature control and crack prevention.

A comprehensive analysis of the Omp85/TpsB protein superfamily structural diversity, taxonomic occurrence, and evolution

PubMed Central

Heinz, Eva; Lithgow, Trevor

2014-01-01

Members of the Omp85/TpsB protein superfamily are ubiquitously distributed in Gram-negative bacteria, and function in protein translocation (e.g., FhaC) or the assembly of outer membrane proteins (e.g., BamA). Several recent findings are suggestive of a further level of variation in the superfamily, including the identification of the novel membrane protein assembly factor TamA and protein translocase PlpD. To investigate the diversity and the causal evolutionary events, we undertook a comprehensive comparative sequence analysis of the Omp85/TpsB proteins. A total of 10 protein subfamilies were apparent, distinguished in their domain structure and sequence signatures. In addition to the proteins FhaC, BamA, and TamA, for which structural and functional information is available, are families of proteins with so far undescribed domain architectures linked to the Omp85 β-barrel domain. This study brings a classification structure to a dynamic protein superfamily of high interest given its essential function for Gram-negative bacteria as well as its diverse domain architecture, and we discuss several scenarios of putative functions of these so far undescribed proteins. PMID:25101071

Supporting shared decision-making and people’s understanding of medicines: An exploration of the acceptability and comprehensibility of patient information

PubMed Central

Booth, Jill L.; McIver, Laura

2017-01-01

Background: Patient information may assist in promoting shared decision-making, however it is imperative that the information presented is comprehensible and acceptable to the target audience. Objective: This study sought to explore the acceptability and comprehensibility of the ‘ Medicines in Scotland: What’s the right treatment for you?’ factsheet to the general public. Methods: Qualitative semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with members of the public. An interview schedule was developed to explore the acceptability and comprehensibility of the factsheet. Participants were recruited by a researcher who distributed information packs to attendees (n=70) of four community pharmacies. Interviews, (12-24 minutes duration), were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a framework approach. Results: Nineteen participants returned a consent form (27.1%), twelve were interviewed. Six themes were identified: formatting of the factsheet and interpretation; prior health knowledge and the factsheet; information contained in the factsheet; impact of the factsheet on behaviour; uses for the factsheet; and revisions to the factsheet. Conclusions: The factsheet was generally perceived as helpful and comprehensive. It was highlighted that reading the leaflet may generate new knowledge and may have a positive impact on behaviour. PMID:29317925

Supporting Girls' Motivation in Science: A Study of Peer- and Self-Assessment in a Girls-Only Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Nadine; Winterbottom, Mark

2011-01-01

This study examines how the use of self- and peer-assessment within a girls-only biology class can support students' motivation. The study took place over 22 weeks in a rural comprehensive school, and the participants were girls between 15 and 16 years of age. Data included questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, notes from lesson observations…

Suppression of Story Character Goals during Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linderholm, Tracy; Gernsbacher, Morton Ann; van den Broek, Paul; Neninde, Lana; Robertson, Rachel R. W.; Sundermier, Brian

2004-01-01

The objective of this study was to determine how readers process narrative texts when the main character has multiple, and changing, goals. Readers must keep track of such goals to understand the causal relations between text events, an important process for comprehension. The structure building framework theory of reading proposes that readers…

Academy of READING®. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2014

2014-01-01

"Academy of READING"® is an online program that aims to improve students' reading skills using a structured and sequential approach to learning in five core areas--phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) identified 38 studies of "Academy of READING"® for adolescent…

The Impact of Hypermedia Instructional Materials on Study Self-Regulation in College Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelms, Keith R.

The metacognition "calibration of comprehension" research paradigm is used to investigate the question of whether the introduction of hypertext and hypermedia into college instruction impacts students' ability to regulate their own learning processes. Presentation technology (paper or computer) and content structure (linear or nonlinear) were…

Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Comprehension of Quantum Mechanical Concepts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Didis, Nilufer; Eryilmaz, Ali; Erkoc, Sakir

2010-01-01

When quantum theory caused a paradigm shift in physics, it introduced difficulties in both learning and teaching of physics. Because of its abstract, counter-intuitive and mathematical structure, students have difficulty in learning this theory, and instructors have difficulty in teaching the concepts of the theory. This case study investigates…

Functional Neuroimaging Studies of Written Sentence Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caplan, David

2004-01-01

Sentences convey relationships between the meanings of words, such as who is accomplishing an action or receiving it. Functional neuroimaging based on positron-emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging has been used to identify areas of the brain involved in structuring sentences and determining aspects of meaning associated…

Improving DHH Students' Grammar through an Individualized Software Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cannon, Joanna E.; Easterbrooks, Susan R.; Gagne, Phill; Beal-Alvarez, Jennifer

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine if the frequent use of a targeted, computer software grammar instruction program, used as an individualized classroom activity, would influence the comprehension of morphosyntax structures (determiners, tense, and complementizers) in deaf/hard-of-hearing (DHH) participants who use American Sign Language…

Using Human Factors Techniques to Design Text Message Reminders for Childhood Immunization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahlers-Schmidt, Carolyn R.; Hart, Traci; Chesser, Amy; Williams, Katherine S.; Yaghmai, Beryl; Shah-Haque, Sapna; Wittler, Robert R.

2012-01-01

This study engaged parents to develop concise, informative, and comprehensible text messages for an immunization reminder system using Human Factors techniques. Fifty parents completed a structured interview including demographics, technology questions, willingness to receive texts from their child's doctor, and health literacy. Each participant…

Urban High School Principals' Promotion of College-and-Career Readiness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malin, Joel R.; Hackmann, Donald

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to ascertain how two urban principals, in high schools that feature comprehensive college-and-career readiness practices, utilize distributed leadership to facilitate their implementation. Design/methodology/approach: This study employed qualitative methods. Drawing upon semi-structured interview data,…

Studies for development of novel quinazolinones: New biomarker for EGFR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aggarwal, Swati; Sinha, Deepa; Tiwari, Anjani Kumar; Pooja, Pooja; Kaul, Ankur; Singh, Gurmeet; Mishra, Anil Kumar

2015-05-01

The binding capabilities of a series of novel quinazolinone molecules were established and stated in a comprehensive computational methodology as well as by in vitro analysis. The main focus of this work was to achieve more insight of the interactions with crystal structure of PDB ID:

Online Organic Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Janowicz, Philip A.

2010-01-01

This is a comprehensive study of the many facets of an entirely online organic chemistry course. Online homework with structure-drawing capabilities was found to be more effective than written homework. Online lecture was found to be just as effective as in-person lecture, and students prefer an online lecture format with shorter Webcasts. Online…

Oral Narrative Intervention for Children with Mixed Reading Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westerveld, Marleen F.; Gillon, Gail T.

2008-01-01

Ten children (aged between 7;11 and 9;2) with mixed reading disability participated in an oral narrative intervention programme that focused on enhancing children's story structure knowledge. The participants had all demonstrated persistent reading and oral narrative comprehension and production difficulties in a two-year longitudinal study prior…

A loading study of older highway bridges in Virginia. Pt. 1, Steel truss bridge in Allegheny County.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1976-01-01

A comprehensive field test was conducted on a highway truss bridge in Allegheny County, Virginia, in July 1974. All typical truss members as well as structural members of the bridge floor system were instrumented and unit strains measured when the st...

Post-Secondary Education and Rural Women Enrolled in Liberal Arts Undergraduate Degrees

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bourgeois, Monique; Kirby, Dale

2012-01-01

The significance of post-secondary education is investigated for rural Newfoundland women enrolled in undergraduate liberal arts degree programs. Data collection for this research involved comprehensive, detailed semi-structured biographical interviews with rural women studying liberal arts disciplines during the 2006-2007 academic year at…

Assessment of the electronic structure and properties of trichothecene toxins using density functional theory

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A comprehensive quantum chemical study was carried out on 34 type A and type B trichothecenes, including selected derivatives and biosynthetic precursors of deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, and T-2 toxin. Quantum parameters, Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) analysis, and molecular properties were calculated on ...

Multilevel Design of School Effectiveness Studies in Sub-Saharan Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelcey, Ben; Shen, Zuchao

2016-01-01

School-based improvement programs represent a core strategy in improving education because they can leverage pre-existing social and organizational structures to promote coordinated and comprehensive change across multiple facets of schooling. School-based programs are generally designed to be implemented by intact schools/districts, frequently…

Unification of Speaker and Meaning in Language Comprehension: An fMRI Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tesink, Cathelijne M. J. Y.; Petersson, Karl Magnus; van Berkum, Jos J. A.; van den Brink, Danielle; Buitelaar, Jan K.; Hagoort, Peter

2009-01-01

When interpreting a message, a listener takes into account several sources of linguistic and extralinguistic information. Here we focused on one particular form of extralinguistic information, certain speaker characteristics as conveyed by the voice. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined the neural structures involved in the…

Understanding the Microstructure and Macrostructure of Passages among Chinese Elementary School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lo, Lap-yan; Ho, Connie Suk-han; Wong, Yau-kai; Chan, David Wai-ock; Chung, Kevin Kien-hoa

2016-01-01

Understanding the microstructure and macrostructure of passages is important for reading comprehension. What cognitive-linguistic skills may contribute to understanding these two levels of structures has rarely been investigated. The present study examined whether some word-level and text-level cognitive-linguistic skills may contribute…

Comprehension Asymmetries in Language Acquisition: A Test for Relativized Minimality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varlokosta, Spyridoula; Nerantzini, Michaela; Papadopoulou, Despina

2015-01-01

Cross-linguistic studies have shown that typically developing children have difficulties comprehending non-canonical structures. These findings have been interpreted within the Relativized Minimality (RM) approach, according to which local relations cannot be established between two terms of a dependency if an intervening element possesses similar…

Three-Dimensional Extension of a Digital Library Service System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xiao, Long

2010-01-01

Purpose: The paper aims to provide an overall methodology and case study for the innovation and extension of a digital library, especially the service system. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the three-dimensional structure theory of the information service industry, this paper combines a comprehensive analysis with the practical experiences…

A Grammar of Northern Mao (Mawes Aas'e)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahland, Michael Bryan

2012-01-01

Northern Mao is an endangered Afroasiatic-Omotic language of western Ethiopia with fewer than 5,000 speakers. This study is a comprehensive grammar of the language, written from a functional/typological perspective which embraces historical change as an explanation for synchronic structure. The grammar introduces the Northern Mao people, aspects…

Comprehensive design of omnidirectional high-performance perovskite solar cells

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yutao; Xuan, Yimin

2016-01-01

The comprehensive design approach is established with coupled optical-electrical simulation for perovskite-based solar cell, which emerged as one of the most promising competitors to silicon solar cell for its low-cost fabrication and high PCE. The selection of structured surface, effect of geometry parameters, incident angle-dependence and polarization-sensitivity are considered in the simulation. The optical modeling is performed via the finite-difference time-domain method whilst the electrical properties are obtained by solving the coupled nonlinear equations of Poisson, continuity, and drift-diffusion equations. The optical and electrical performances of five different structured surfaces are compared to select a best structured surface for perovskite solar cell. The effects of the geometry parameters on the optical and electrical properties of the perovskite cell are analyzed. The results indicate that the light harvesting is obviously enhanced by the structured surface. The electrical performance can be remarkably improved due to the enhanced light harvesting of the designed best structured surface. The angle-dependence for s- and p-polarizations is investigated. The structured surface exhibits omnidirectional behavior and favorable polarization-insensitive feature within a wide incident angle range. Such a comprehensive design approach can highlight the potential of perovskite cell for power conversion in the full daylight. PMID:27405419

Comprehensive design of omnidirectional high-performance perovskite solar cells.

PubMed

Zhang, Yutao; Xuan, Yimin

2016-07-13

The comprehensive design approach is established with coupled optical-electrical simulation for perovskite-based solar cell, which emerged as one of the most promising competitors to silicon solar cell for its low-cost fabrication and high PCE. The selection of structured surface, effect of geometry parameters, incident angle-dependence and polarization-sensitivity are considered in the simulation. The optical modeling is performed via the finite-difference time-domain method whilst the electrical properties are obtained by solving the coupled nonlinear equations of Poisson, continuity, and drift-diffusion equations. The optical and electrical performances of five different structured surfaces are compared to select a best structured surface for perovskite solar cell. The effects of the geometry parameters on the optical and electrical properties of the perovskite cell are analyzed. The results indicate that the light harvesting is obviously enhanced by the structured surface. The electrical performance can be remarkably improved due to the enhanced light harvesting of the designed best structured surface. The angle-dependence for s- and p-polarizations is investigated. The structured surface exhibits omnidirectional behavior and favorable polarization-insensitive feature within a wide incident angle range. Such a comprehensive design approach can highlight the potential of perovskite cell for power conversion in the full daylight.

Structural Priming: A Critical Review

PubMed Central

Pickering, Martin J.; Ferreira, Victor S.

2009-01-01

Repetition is a central phenomenon of behavior, and researchers make extensive use of it to illuminate psychological functioning. In the language sciences, a ubiquitous form of such repetition is structural priming, a tendency to repeat or better process a current sentence because of its structural similarity to a previously experienced (“prime”) sentence (Bock, 1986). The recent explosion of research in structural priming has made it the dominant means of investigating the processes involved in the production (and increasingly, comprehension) of complex expressions such as sentences. This review considers its implications for the representation of syntax and the mechanisms of production, comprehension, and their relationship. It then addresses the potential functions of structural priming, before turning to its implications for first language acquisition, bilingualism, and aphasia We close with theoretical and empirical recommendations for future investigations. PMID:18444704

Structure based comprehensive modelling, spatial fingerprints mapping and ADME screening of curcumin analogues as novel ALR2 inhibitors

PubMed Central

Verma, Sant Kumar

2017-01-01

Aldose reductase (ALR2) inhibition is the most legitimate approach for the management of diabetic complications. The limited triumph in the drug development against ALR2 is mainly because of its close structural similarity with the other members of aldo-keto reductase (AKR) superfamily viz. ALR1, AKR1B10; and lipophilicity problem i.e. poor diffusion of synthetic aldose reductase inhibitors (ARIs) to target tissues. The literature evidenced that naturally occurring curcumin demonstrates relatively specific and non-competitive inhibition towards human recombinant ALR2 over ALR1 and AKR1B10; however β-diketone moiety of curcumin is a specific substrate for liver AKRs and accountable for it’s rapid in vivo metabolism. In the present study, structure based comprehensive modelling studies were used to map the pharmacophoric features/spatial fingerprints of curcumin analogues responsible for their ALR2 specificity along with potency on a data set of synthetic curcumin analogues and naturally occurring curcuminoids. The data set molecules were also screened for drug-likeness or ADME parameters, and the screening data strongly support that curcumin analogues could be proposed as a good drug candidate for the development of ALR2 inhibitors with improved pharmacokinetic profile compared to curcuminoids due to the absence of β-diketone moiety in their structural framework. PMID:28399135

Structures, performance, benefit, cost study. [gas turbine engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Feder, E.

1981-01-01

Aircraft engine structures were studied to identify the advanced structural technologies that would provide the most benefits to future aircraft operations. A series of studies identified engine systems with the greatest potential for improvements. Based on these studies, six advanced generic structural concepts were selected and conceptually designed. The benefits of each concept were quantitatively assessed in terms of thrust specific fuel consumption, weight, cost, maintenance cost, fuel burned and direct operating cost plus interest. The probability of success of each concept was also determined. The concepts were ranked and the three most promising were selected for further study which consisted of identifying and comprehensively outlining the advanced technologies required to develop these concepts for aircraft engine application. Analytic, fabrication, and test technology developments are required. The technology programs outlined emphasize the need to provide basic, fundamental understanding of technology to obtain the benefit goals.

A Comprehensive Model for Developing and Evaluating Study Abroad Programs in Counselor Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santos, Syntia Dinora

2014-01-01

This paper introduces a model to guide the process of designing and evaluating study abroad programs, addressing particular stages and influential factors. The main purpose of the model is to serve as a basic structure for those who want to develop their own program or evaluate previous cultural immersion experiences. The model is based on the…

Extra-linguistic influences on sentence comprehension in Italian-speaking children with and without specific language impairment.

PubMed

Pettenati, P; Benassi, E; Deevy, P; Leonard, L B; Caselli, M C

2015-01-01

Many children with specific language impairment (SLI) in sentence comprehension. These deficits are usually attributed to limitations in the children's understanding of syntax or the lexical items contained in the sentences. This study examines the role that extra-linguistic factors can play in these children's sentence comprehension. Extra-linguistic demands on sentence comprehension are manipulated directly by varying the nature of the materials used. Forty-five Italian-speaking children participated: 15 with SLI (mean age = 4;5), 15 typically developing children matched for age (TD-A, mean age = 4;5), and 15 younger typically developing children matched according to language comprehension test scores (TD-Y, mean age = 3;9). The children responded to sentence comprehension items that varied in their length and/or the number and type of foils that competed with the target picture. The TD-A children were more accurate than the TD-Y children and the children with SLI, but, for all groups, accuracy declined when task demands increased. In particular, sentences containing superfluous adjectives (e.g., Il topo bello copre l'uccello allegro, 'The nice mouse covers the happy bird' where all depicted mice were nice and all birds were happy) yielded higher scores than similar sentences in which each adjective had to be associated with the proper character (e.g., Il cane giallo lava il maiale bianco, 'The yellow dog washes the white pig', where foils included a yellow dog washing a pink pig, and a brown dog washing a white pig). Many errors reflected recency effects, probably influenced by the fact that adjectives modifying the object appear at the end of the sentence in Italian. Differences between conditions were observed even when lexical content, syntactic structure and sentence length were controlled. This finding suggests the need for great care when assessing children's comprehension of sentences. The same syntactic structure and lexical content can vary in difficulty depending on the number and types of foils used in combination with the target picture. © 2014 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Unraveling Difficult Sentences: Strategies to Support Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zipoli, Richard P., Jr.

2017-01-01

The ability to understand sentences contributes to students' reading comprehension. However, many reading programs tend to underemphasize explicit instruction aimed at enhancing students' knowledge of sentence structures. Children with language impairments, students with learning disabilities, and English language learners may particularly benefit…

Retromolar foramen and canal: a comprehensive review on its anatomy and clinical applications.

PubMed

Kumar Potu, B; Jagadeesan, S; Bhat, K M R; Rao Sirasanagandla, S

2013-06-01

The retromolar foramen (RMF) and retromolar canal (RMC) are the anatomical structures of the mandible located in retromolar fossa behind the third molar tooth. This foramen and canal contain neurovascular structures which provide accessory/additional innervation to the mandibular molars and the buccal area. These neurovascular contents of the canal gain more importance in medical and dental practice, because these elements are vulnerable to damage during placement of osteointegrated implants, endodontic treatment and sagittal split osteotomy surgeries and a detailed knowledge of this anatomical variation would be vital in understanding failed inferior alveolar nerve blockage, spread of infection and also metastasis. Although few studies have been conducted in the past showing the incidence and types in different population groups, a lacunae in comprehensive review of this structure is lacking. Though this variation posed challenging situations for the practicing surgeons, it has been quite neglected and the incidence of it is not well presented in all the textbooks. Hence, we made an attempt to provide a consolidated review regarding variations and clinical applications of the RMF and RMC. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Language comprehension in children, adolescents, and adults with Down syndrome.

PubMed

Witecy, Bernadette; Penke, Martina

2017-03-01

There is conflicting evidence as to whether receptive language abilities of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) continue to improve into adulthood, reach a plateau in late adolescence, or even start to decline. The study aims to shed light on the question whether receptive syntactic skills change from childhood/adolescence to adulthood and provides a detailed qualitative analysis of the receptive abilities of adults with DS. 58 individuals with DS participated in the study: 31 children/adolescents (aged: 4;6-19;0 years) and 27 adults (aged: 20;8-40;3 years). They completed measures of grammar comprehension, nonverbal cognition, and phonological working memory. There was no significant correlation between comprehension performance and chronological age in the overall sample. Separate correlational analyses for the subgroups of children/adolescents and adults yielded a significant positive result for the former subgroup but not for the latter. We also found significant positive correlations between grammar comprehension scores and nonverbal mental age as well as measures of phonological working memory. Qualitative analyses showed various limitations in the receptive syntactic abilities of adults with DS. Difficulties increase with sentence length and grammatical complexity, but are also apparent in simple sentences. The results suggest that syntactic comprehension abilities of individuals with DS continue to improve through childhood and adolescence and that thereafter a plateau is reached and maintained. Language comprehension in adults with DS is impaired for a variety of grammatical structures and receptive performance seems to be related to nonverbal cognitive abilities, phonological working memory, and grammatical complexity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structural considerations for solar installers : an approach for small, simplified solar installations or retrofits.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Richards, Elizabeth H.; Schindel, Kay; Bosiljevac, Tom

2011-12-01

Structural Considerations for Solar Installers provides a comprehensive outline of structural considerations associated with simplified solar installations and recommends a set of best practices installers can follow when assessing such considerations. Information in the manual comes from engineering and solar experts as well as case studies. The objectives of the manual are to ensure safety and structural durability for rooftop solar installations and to potentially accelerate the permitting process by identifying and remedying structural issues prior to installation. The purpose of this document is to provide tools and guidelines for installers to help ensure that residential photovoltaic (PV) power systemsmore » are properly specified and installed with respect to the continuing structural integrity of the building.« less

Intra- and intermolecular effects on the Compton profile of the ionic liquid 1,3-dimethylimidazolium chloride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Koskelo, J., E-mail: jaakko.koskelo@helsinki.fi; Juurinen, I.; Ruotsalainen, K. O.

2014-12-28

We present a comprehensive simulation study on the solid-liquid phase transition of the ionic liquid 1,3-dimethylimidazolium chloride in terms of the changes in the atomic structure and their effect on the Compton profile. The structures were obtained by using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. Chosen radial distribution functions of the liquid structure are presented and found generally to be in good agreement with previous ab initio molecular dynamics and neutron scattering studies. The main contributions to the predicted difference Compton profile are found to arise from intermolecular changes in the phase transition. This prediction can be used for interpreting futuremore » experiments.« less

A History of Rotorcraft Comprehensive Analyses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Wayne

2013-01-01

A history of the development of rotorcraft comprehensive analyses is presented. Comprehensive analyses are digital computer programs that calculate the aeromechanical behavior of the rotor and aircraft, bringing together the most advanced models of the geometry, structure, dynamics, and aerodynamics available in rotary wing technology. The development of the major codes of the last five decades from industry, government, and universities is described. A number of common themes observed in this history are discussed.

Defect study in ZnO related structures—A multi-spectroscopic approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ling, C. C.; Cheung, C. K.; Gu, Q. L.; Dai, X. M.; Xu, S. J.; Zhu, C. Y.; Luo, J. M.; Zhu, C. Y.; Tam, K. H.; Djurišić, A. B.; Beling, C. D.; Fung, S.; Lu, L. W.; Brauer, G.; Anwand, W.; Skorupa, W.; Ong, H. C.

2008-10-01

ZnO has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years because of its potential applications for fabricating optoelectronic devices. Using a multi-spectroscopic approach including positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS), deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), photoluminescence (PL) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), we have studied the two observed phenomena from ZnO related structures. They namely included the H 2O 2 pre-treatment induced ohmic to rectifying contact conversion on Au/ n-ZnO contact and the p-type doping by nitrogen ion implantation. The aim of the studies was to offering comprehensive views as to how the defects influenced the structures electrical and optical properties of the structures. It was also shown that PAS measurement using the monoenergetic positron beam could offer valuable information of vacancy type defects in the vertical ZnO nanorod array structure.

Robust Nucleus/Cell Detection and Segmentation in Digital Pathology and Microscopy Images: A Comprehensive Review.

PubMed

Xing, Fuyong; Yang, Lin

2016-01-01

Digital pathology and microscopy image analysis is widely used for comprehensive studies of cell morphology or tissue structure. Manual assessment is labor intensive and prone to interobserver variations. Computer-aided methods, which can significantly improve the objectivity and reproducibility, have attracted a great deal of interest in recent literature. Among the pipeline of building a computer-aided diagnosis system, nucleus or cell detection and segmentation play a very important role to describe the molecular morphological information. In the past few decades, many efforts have been devoted to automated nucleus/cell detection and segmentation. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of the recent state-of-the-art nucleus/cell segmentation approaches on different types of microscopy images including bright-field, phase-contrast, differential interference contrast, fluorescence, and electron microscopies. In addition, we discuss the challenges for the current methods and the potential future work of nucleus/cell detection and segmentation.

77 FR 3242 - Comprehensive Centers Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-23

... believe the centers must focus on helping SEAs (1) create sustainable organizational structures and... organizational structures and effective performance management systems, building staff expertise within those... for evaluating and continuously improving organizational structures and processes; c. Draws on the...

Development of advanced structural analysis methodologies for predicting widespread fatigue damage in aircraft structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, Charles E.; Starnes, James H., Jr.; Newman, James C., Jr.

1995-01-01

NASA is developing a 'tool box' that includes a number of advanced structural analysis computer codes which, taken together, represent the comprehensive fracture mechanics capability required to predict the onset of widespread fatigue damage. These structural analysis tools have complementary and specialized capabilities ranging from a finite-element-based stress-analysis code for two- and three-dimensional built-up structures with cracks to a fatigue and fracture analysis code that uses stress-intensity factors and material-property data found in 'look-up' tables or from equations. NASA is conducting critical experiments necessary to verify the predictive capabilities of the codes, and these tests represent a first step in the technology-validation and industry-acceptance processes. NASA has established cooperative programs with aircraft manufacturers to facilitate the comprehensive transfer of this technology by making these advanced structural analysis codes available to industry.

Memory mechanisms supporting syntactic comprehension.

PubMed

Caplan, David; Waters, Gloria

2013-04-01

Efforts to characterize the memory system that supports sentence comprehension have historically drawn extensively on short-term memory as a source of mechanisms that might apply to sentences. The focus of these efforts has changed significantly in the past decade. As a result of changes in models of short-term working memory (ST-WM) and developments in models of sentence comprehension, the effort to relate entire components of an ST-WM system, such as those in the model developed by Baddeley (Nature Reviews Neuroscience 4: 829-839, 2003) to sentence comprehension has largely been replaced by an effort to relate more specific mechanisms found in modern models of ST-WM to memory processes that support one aspect of sentence comprehension--the assignment of syntactic structure (parsing) and its use in determining sentence meaning (interpretation) during sentence comprehension. In this article, we present the historical background to recent studies of the memory mechanisms that support parsing and interpretation and review recent research into this relation. We argue that the results of this research do not converge on a set of mechanisms derived from ST-WM that apply to parsing and interpretation. We argue that the memory mechanisms supporting parsing and interpretation have features that characterize another memory system that has been postulated to account for skilled performance-long-term working memory. We propose a model of the relation of different aspects of parsing and interpretation to ST-WM and long-term working memory.

Adult language use and infant comprehension of English: associations with encoding and generalization across cues at 20 months.

PubMed

Phung, Janice N; Milojevich, Helen M; Lukowski, Angela F

2014-11-01

Adult-provided language shapes event memory in children who are preverbal and in those who are able to discuss the past using language. The research conducted to date, however, has not yet established whether infant language comprehension abilities moderate the extent to which preverbal infants benefit from adult-provided supportive language. The present study was conducted to address this question by examining immediate imitation and 1-week delayed generalization across cues in 20-month-old infants as a function of (a) variability in adult-provided linguistic support at encoding and test, (b) infant language comprehension abilities, and (c) their interaction. The provision of supportive adult language at encoding and test was associated with delayed generalization across cues although supportive adult language at encoding did not influence performance at immediate imitation. Infant language comprehension abilities were associated with performance at immediate imitation and delayed generalization across cues. In addition, infant language comprehension abilities moderated the extent to which infants benefited from adult-provided supportive language at encoding and test. The findings contribute to the literature by demonstrating that adult language use and infant language comprehension are independently and differentially associated with immediate imitation and 1-week delayed generalization across cues but also serve to jointly structure event memory in the second year of life. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Genetic Architecture of Oral Language, Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension: A Twin Study From 7 to 16 Years

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

This study examines the genetic and environmental etiology underlying the development of oral language and reading skills, and the relationship between them, over a long period of developmental time spanning middle childhood and adolescence. It focuses particularly on the differential relationship between language and two different aspects of reading: reading fluency and reading comprehension. Structural equation models were applied to language and reading data at 7, 12, and 16 years from the large-scale TEDS twin study. A series of multivariate twin models show a clear patterning of oral language with reading comprehension, as distinct from reading fluency: significant but moderate genetic overlap between oral language and reading fluency (genetic correlation rg = .46–.58 at 7, 12, and 16) contrasts with very substantial genetic overlap between oral language and reading comprehension (rg = .81–.87, at 12 and 16). This pattern is even clearer in a latent factors model, fit to the data aggregated across ages, in which a single factor representing oral language and reading comprehension is correlated with—but distinct from—a second factor representing reading fluency. A distinction between oral language and reading fluency is also apparent in different developmental trajectories: While the heritability of oral language increases over the period from 7 to 12 to 16 years (from h2 = .27 to .47 to .55), the heritability of reading fluency is high and largely stable over the same period of time (h2 = .73 to .71 to .64). PMID:28541066

The genetic architecture of oral language, reading fluency, and reading comprehension: A twin study from 7 to 16 years.

PubMed

Tosto, Maria G; Hayiou-Thomas, Marianna E; Harlaar, Nicole; Prom-Wormley, Elizabeth; Dale, Philip S; Plomin, Robert

2017-06-01

This study examines the genetic and environmental etiology underlying the development of oral language and reading skills, and the relationship between them, over a long period of developmental time spanning middle childhood and adolescence. It focuses particularly on the differential relationship between language and two different aspects of reading: reading fluency and reading comprehension. Structural equation models were applied to language and reading data at 7, 12, and 16 years from the large-scale TEDS twin study. A series of multivariate twin models show a clear patterning of oral language with reading comprehension, as distinct from reading fluency: significant but moderate genetic overlap between oral language and reading fluency (genetic correlation r g = .46-.58 at 7, 12, and 16) contrasts with very substantial genetic overlap between oral language and reading comprehension (r g = .81-.87, at 12 and 16). This pattern is even clearer in a latent factors model, fit to the data aggregated across ages, in which a single factor representing oral language and reading comprehension is correlated with-but distinct from-a second factor representing reading fluency. A distinction between oral language and reading fluency is also apparent in different developmental trajectories: While the heritability of oral language increases over the period from 7 to 12 to 16 years (from h² = .27 to .47 to .55), the heritability of reading fluency is high and largely stable over the same period of time (h² = .73 to .71 to .64). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Reply to David Kemmerer's "a critique of Mark D. Allen's 'the preservation of verb subcategory knowledge in a spoken language comprehension deficit'".

PubMed

Allen, Mark D; Owens, Tyler E

2008-07-01

Allen [Allen, M. D. (2005). The preservation of verb subcategory knowledge in a spoken language comprehension deficit. Brain and Language, 95, 255-264] presents evidence from a single patient, WBN, to motivate a theory of lexical processing and representation in which syntactic information may be encoded and retrieved independently of semantic information. In his critique, Kemmerer argues that because Allen depended entirely on preposition-based verb subcategory violations to test WBN's knowledge of correct argument structure, his results, at best, address a "strawman" theory. This argument rests on the assumption that preposition subcategory options are superficial syntactic phenomena which are not represented by argument structure proper. We demonstrate that preposition subcategory is in fact treated as semantically determined argument structure in the theories that Allen evaluated, and thus far from irrelevant. In further discussion of grammatically relevant versus irrelevant semantic features, Kemmerer offers a review of his own studies. However, due to an important design shortcoming in these experiments, we remain unconvinced. Reemphasizing the fact the Allen (2005) never claimed to rule out all semantic contributions to syntax, we propose an improvement in Kemmerer's approach that might provide more satisfactory evidence on the distinction between the kinds of relevant versus irrelevant features his studies have addressed.

The multicenter benchmarking study of burn injury: A content analysis of the outcome measures using the international classification of functioning, disability and health.

PubMed

Osborne, Candice L; Petersson, Christina; Graham, James E; Meyer, Walter J; Simeonsson, Rune J; Suman, Oscar E; Ottenbacher, Kenneth J

2016-11-01

To link, classify and describe the content of the Multicenter Benchmarking Study Burn Outcomes Questionnaires (BOQ) using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to determine if the information garnered provides researchers with the data necessary to develop a comprehensive understanding of life after burns. Two ICF linking experts used a standardized linking technique endorsed by the World Health Organization to link all BOQ concepts to the ICF. Linking results were analyzed to determine the comprehensiveness of each of the five measures. The activities and participation component was most frequently addressed followed by the body functions component. Environmental factors are not extensively covered and body structures are not addressed. ICF chapter and category distribution were skewed and varied between assessments. The majority of BOQ items are of the health status perspective. BOQ item composition could be improved with a more even distribution of pertinent ICF topics. Assessment authors may consider addressing the impact of environmental factors on participation. Including body structure concepts would allow investigators to track structural deformation and/or developmental delay. Generally speaking, this data should not be used to examine quality of life outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

GIS modeling of seismic vulnerability of residential fabrics considering geotechnical, structural, social and physical distance indicators in Tehran using multi-criteria decision-making techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rezaie, F.; Panahi, M.

2015-03-01

The main issue in determining seismic vulnerability is having a comprehensive view of all probable damages related to earthquake occurrence. Therefore, taking into account factors such as peak ground acceleration at the time of earthquake occurrence, the type of structures, population distribution among different age groups, level of education and the physical distance to hospitals (or medical care centers) and categorizing them into four indicators of geotechnical, structural, social and physical distance to needed facilities and from dangerous ones will provide us with a better and more exact outcome. To this end, this paper uses the analytic hierarchy process to study the importance of criteria or alternatives and uses the geographical information system to study the vulnerability of Tehran to an earthquake. This study focuses on the fact that Tehran is surrounded by three active and major faults: Mosha, North Tehran and Rey. In order to comprehensively determine the vulnerability, three scenarios are developed. In each scenario, seismic vulnerability of different areas in Tehran is analyzed and classified into four levels: high, medium, low and safe. The results show that, regarding seismic vulnerability, the faults of Mosha, North Tehran and Rey make, respectively, 6, 16 and 10% of Tehran highly vulnerable, while 34, 14 and 27% is safe.

Alterations in zebrafish development induced by simvastatin: Comprehensive morphological and physiological study, focusing on muscle

PubMed Central

Campos, Laise M; Rios, Eduardo A; Guapyassu, Livia; Midlej, Victor; Atella, Georgia C; Herculano-Houzel, Suzana; Benchimol, Marlene; Mermelstein, Claudia

2016-01-01

The cholesterol synthesis inhibitor simvastatin, which is used to treat cardiovascular diseases, has severe collateral effects. We decided to comprehensively study the effects of simvastatin in zebrafish development and in myogenesis, because zebrafish has been used as a model to human diseases, due to its handling easiness, the optical clarity of its embryos, and the availability of physiological and structural methodologies. Furthermore, muscle is an important target of the drug. We used several simvastatin concentrations at different zebrafish developmental stages and studied survival rate, morphology, and physiology of the embryos. Our results show that high levels of simvastatin induce structural damage whereas low doses induce minor structural changes, impaired movements, and reduced heart beating. Morphological alterations include changes in embryo and somite size and septa shape. Physiological changes include movement reduction and slower heartbeat. These effects could be reversed by the addition of exogenous cholesterol. Moreover, we quantified the total cell number during zebrafish development and demonstrated a large reduction in cell number after statin treatment. Since we could classify the alterations induced by simvastatin in three distinct phenotypes, we speculate that simvastatin acts through more than one mechanism and could affect both cell replication and/or cell death and muscle function. Our data can contribute to the understanding of the molecular and cellular basis of the mechanisms of action of simvastatin. PMID:27444151

Alterations in zebrafish development induced by simvastatin: Comprehensive morphological and physiological study, focusing on muscle.

PubMed

Campos, Laise M; Rios, Eduardo A; Guapyassu, Livia; Midlej, Victor; Atella, Georgia C; Herculano-Houzel, Suzana; Benchimol, Marlene; Mermelstein, Claudia; Costa, Manoel L

2016-11-01

The cholesterol synthesis inhibitor simvastatin, which is used to treat cardiovascular diseases, has severe collateral effects. We decided to comprehensively study the effects of simvastatin in zebrafish development and in myogenesis, because zebrafish has been used as a model to human diseases, due to its handling easiness, the optical clarity of its embryos, and the availability of physiological and structural methodologies. Furthermore, muscle is an important target of the drug. We used several simvastatin concentrations at different zebrafish developmental stages and studied survival rate, morphology, and physiology of the embryos. Our results show that high levels of simvastatin induce structural damage whereas low doses induce minor structural changes, impaired movements, and reduced heart beating. Morphological alterations include changes in embryo and somite size and septa shape. Physiological changes include movement reduction and slower heartbeat. These effects could be reversed by the addition of exogenous cholesterol. Moreover, we quantified the total cell number during zebrafish development and demonstrated a large reduction in cell number after statin treatment. Since we could classify the alterations induced by simvastatin in three distinct phenotypes, we speculate that simvastatin acts through more than one mechanism and could affect both cell replication and/or cell death and muscle function. Our data can contribute to the understanding of the molecular and cellular basis of the mechanisms of action of simvastatin. © 2016 by the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine.

Effects of Transfer to Real-World Subject Area Materials from Training in Graphic Organizers and Summarizing on Developmental College Readers' Comprehension of the Compare/Contrast Text Structure in Science Expository Text.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balajthy, Ernest; Weisberg, Renee

To determine whether less able readers could use the strategies they had been taught, a study investigated the transfer effects of training in the use of graphic organizers and summary writing on readers' recognition of the compare/contrast text structure. Subjects, 70 freshmen at a western New York state college of liberal arts and sciences in a…

Polyphenols, their metabolites and derivatives as drug leads.

PubMed

Almeida, Filipa A; Dos Santos, Cláudia Nunes; Ventura, Maria Rita

2018-05-15

In this non-comprehensive review, the potential of natural polyphenols as lead compounds for the design and synthesis of new molecules with potential application in several diseases was highlighted. Organic synthesis has been essential for the development of new analogues of naturally found polyphenols, providing a wide range of structural modifications for structure-activity relationship studies and improving or modulating the biological activity of the promising compounds. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Modelling of Surfaces. Part 1: Monatomic Metallic Surfaces Using Equivalent Crystal Theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bozzolo, Guillermo; Ferrante, John; Rodriguez, Agustin M.

1994-01-01

We present a detailed description of equivalent crystal theory focusing on its application to the study of surface structure. While the emphasis is in the structure of the algorithm and its computational aspects, we also present a comprehensive discussion on the calculation of surface energies of metallic systems with equivalent crystal theory and other approaches. Our results are compared to experiment and other semiempirical as well as first-principles calculations for a variety of fcc and bcc metals.

Vibrational-Rotational Spectroscopy For Planetary Atmospheres, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mumma, M. J. (Editor); Fox, K. (Editor); Hornstein, J. (Editor)

1982-01-01

Comprehensive information on the composition and dynamics of the varied planetary atmospheres is summarized. New observations resulted in new demands for supporting laboratory studies. Spectra observed from spacecraft used to interpret planetary atmospheric structure measurements, to aid in greenhouse and cloud physics calculations, and to plan future experiments are discussed. Current findings and new ideas of physicists, chemists, and planetry astronomers relating to the knowledge of the structure of things large and small, of planets and of molecules are summarized.

Structural damage identification using damping: a compendium of uses and features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, M. S.; Sha, G. G.; Gao, Y. F.; Ostachowicz, W.

2017-04-01

The vibration responses of structures under controlled or ambient excitation can be used to detect structural damage by correlating changes in structural dynamic properties extracted from responses with damage. Typical dynamic properties refer to modal parameters: natural frequencies, mode shapes, and damping. Among these parameters, natural frequencies and mode shapes have been investigated extensively for their use in damage characterization by associating damage with reduction in local stiffness of structures. In contrast, the use of damping as a dynamic property to represent structural damage has not been comprehensively elucidated, primarily due to the complexities of damping measurement and analysis. With advances in measurement technologies and analysis tools, the use of damping to identify damage is becoming a focus of increasing attention in the damage detection community. Recently, a number of studies have demonstrated that damping has greater sensitivity for characterizing damage than natural frequencies and mode shapes in various applications, but damping-based damage identification is still a research direction ‘in progress’ and is not yet well resolved. This situation calls for an overall survey of the state-of-the-art and the state-of-the-practice of using damping to detect structural damage. To this end, this study aims to provide a comprehensive survey of uses and features of applying damping in structural damage detection. First, we present various methods for damping estimation in different domains including the time domain, the frequency domain, and the time-frequency domain. Second, we investigate the features and applications of damping-based damage detection methods on the basis of two predominant infrastructure elements, reinforced concrete structures and fiber-reinforced composites. Third, we clarify the influential factors that can impair the capability of damping to characterize damage. Finally, we recommend future research directions for advancing damping-based damage detection. This work holds the promise of (a) helping researchers identify crucial components in damping-based damage detection theories, methods, and technologies, and (b) leading practitioners to better implement damping-based structural damage identification.

The Reed & Kellogg System of Sentence Diagramming and Its Implementation in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coats, Judith Ruth

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to research whether or not the intervention of the Reed & Kellogg System of sentence diagramming would make a significant difference in the acquisition, retention, and comprehension of the basic grammatical skills, including parts of speech, complements, phrases, clauses, and sentence structures, on the higher…

The Acquisition of Ask, Tell and Promise Structures by Arabic Speaking Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aller, Wayne K.; And Others

In a study extending and refining Carol Chomsky's research, 48 Arabic speaking children aged six, eight, and ten were tested for their comprehension of imperatives using the complement-requiring verbs Ask, Tell, and Promise. Clear support for children's overgeneralization of the minimal distance principle was found only with Promise constructions.…

High School Size, Organization, and Content: What Matters for Student Success?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darling-Hammond, Linda; Ross, Peter; Milliken, Michael

2007-01-01

In recent years, the large comprehensive high school has been a subject of growing critique by researchers and reformers. "Factory model" schools have been criticized for their impersonal structures, fragmented curricula, segregated and unequal program options, and inability to respond effectively to student needs. Some studies have found that,…

American High School as a Clan: Dynamics of Organization and Leadership.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owens, Robert G.

Using ethnographic methods of field work and data analysis, this study investigated one example of a comprehensive senior high school to illuminate the nature of its organizational structure and the way in which organizational control and leadership is exercised. Three principal findings emerged from theme analysis of the data. First,…

Cheminformatics and Data Mining Approaches for Exploring the Alternatives Testing Landscsape: Case Studies in ToxCast and Skin Sensitization (BOSC CSS)

EPA Science Inventory

Cheminformatics approaches and structure-based rules are being used to evaluate and explore the ToxCast chemical landscape and associated high-throughput screening (HTS) data. We have shown that the library provides comprehensive coverage of the knowledge domains and target inven...

BEGINNING TAGALOG, A COURSE FOR SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

BOWEN, J. DONALD; AND OTHERS

THE TWO MAJOR GOALS OF THIS COMPREHENSIVE COURSE ARE--FIRST, AN ORAL CONTROL OF TAGALOG AND SUFFICIENT MASTERY OF ITS STRUCTURE TO CONTINUE INDEPENDENT STUDY, AND SECOND, PRESENTATION OF UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SOCIAL CUSTOMS, STANDARDS, VALUES, AND ASPIRATIONS OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE SO THAT THE LANGUAGE LEARNER MAY PARTICIPATE FULLY IN…

Examining the Validity of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Framework for Preservice Chemistry Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deng, Feng; Chai, Ching Sing; So, Hyo-Jeong; Qian, Yangyi; Chen, Lingling

2017-01-01

While various quantitative measures for assessing teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) have developed rapidly, few studies to date have comprehensively validated the structure of TPACK through various criteria of validity especially for content specific areas. In this paper, we examined how the TPACK survey measure is…

Institutionalisation of Internal Quality Assurance: Focusing on Institutional Work and the Significance of Disciplinary Differences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vukasovic, Martina

2014-01-01

The study suggests that institutionalisation of a comprehensive and systematic approach to internal quality assurance of higher education institutions inspired by the Bologna Process has regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive dimensions. It includes development of structures and procedures for quality assurance, as well as boosting of the…

Urban vacant land typology: A tool for managing urban vacant land

Treesearch

Gunwoo Kim; Patrick A. Miller; David J. Nowak

2018-01-01

A typology of urban vacant land was developed, using Roanoke, Virginia, as the study area. A comprehensive literature review, field measurements and observations, including photographs, and quantitative based approach to assessing vacant land forest structure and values (i-Tree Eco sampling) were utilized, along with aerial photo interpretation, and ground-truthing...

Comparison of Taiwanese and Canadian Students' Metacognitive Awareness of Science Reading, Text, and Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Jing-Ru; Chen, Shin-Feng; Fang, I.; Chou, Ching-Ting

2014-01-01

This study used a Chinese-language version of the Index of Science Reading Awareness to explore the science reading metacognition and comprehension of Taiwanese students. Structural equation modelling results confirmed the underlying model comprised three clusters of metacognitive knowledge: beliefs and confidence in science reading, knowledge of…

Fast Mapping Verb Meaning from Argument Structure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Valerie E.

2010-01-01

Purpose: To examine lexical knowledge in children through a fast mapping task. Method: This study compared the performance of 60 African American English-speaking and general American English-speaking children between the ages of 4 and 6 years. They were presented with a comprehension task involving the fast mapping of novel verbs in 4 different…

Investigating Teachers' Understanding of the Salt Dissolution Process: A Multi-Media Approach in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malkoc, Ummuhan

2017-01-01

Animations of molecular structure and dynamics are repeatedly applied to support student comprehension in the theoretical ideas of chemistry. However, students' understanding the dynamics of the phenomena is directly related to the understanding of teachers as instructors. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate how the features of three…

Teacher Education in Bhutan: Highlights and Challenges for Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

VanBalkom, W. Duffie; Sherman, Ann

2010-01-01

Bhutan is embarking on a comprehensive education reform process, with teachers and teacher education at the centre of a number of initiatives. This study describes the current state of affairs based on interviews with key informants and semi-structured focus groups in Bhutan. Several major themes emerged, including issues of quality of students…

Syntactic Structural Assignment in Brazilian Portuguese-Speaking Children with Specific Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fortunato-Tavares, Talita; de Andrade, Claudia R. F.; Befi-Lopes, Debora M.; Hestvik, Arild; Epstein, Baila; Tornyova, Lidiya; Schwartz, Richard G.

2012-01-01

Purpose: In this study, the authors examined the comprehension of sentences with predicates and reflexives that are linked to a nonadjacent noun as a test of the hierarchical ordering deficit (HOD) hypothesis. That hypothesis and more modern versions posit that children with specific language impairment (SLI) have difficulty in establishing…

Secondary Prevention in the Urban School: Implementing the Behavior Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCurdy, Barry L.; Kunsch, Catherine; Reibstein, Sally

2007-01-01

Urban school officials face the challenge of a growing number of students with or at-risk for developing antisocial behavior. The school-wide positive behavior support (PBS) model provides a comprehensive structure for schools to address antisocial behavior more effectively. In this article, the authors document, in case study format, the…

Education for a Digital World: Advice, Guidelines, and Effective Practice from around the Globe

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Commonwealth of Learning, 2008

2008-01-01

"Education for a Digital World" contains a collection of strategies and tools for effective online teaching, based on the principles of learning as a social process. Narrative is supplemented by real-life examples, case studies, and resources to supply comprehensive perspectives about structuring and fostering socially engaging learning…

Access Barriers to Distance Education in Secondary Career and Technical Education Programs in Central Virginia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodwyn, Patrell Vachyi

2010-01-01

The qualitative phenomenological study explored the perceived institutional access barriers to distance education at comprehensive high schools with secondary career and technical education programs in central Virginia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data via email, telephone, and face-to-face. A purposive sample of 24…

Analytical Scheme Leading to Integrated High-Sensitivity Profiling of Glycosphingolipids Together with N- and O-Glycans from One Sample

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benktander, John D.; Gizaw, Solomon T.; Gaunitz, Stefan; Novotny, Milos V.

2018-05-01

Glycoconjugates are directly or indirectly involved in many biological processes. Due to their complex structures, the structural elucidation of glycans and the exploration of their role in biological systems have been challenging. Glycan pools generated through release from glycoprotein or glycolipid mixtures can often be very complex. For the sake of procedural simplicity, many glycan profiling studies choose to concentrate on a single class of glycoconjugates. In this paper, we demonstrate it feasible to cover glycosphingolipids, N-glycans, and O-glycans isolated from the same sample. Small volumes of human blood serum and ascites fluid as well as small mouse brain tissue samples are sufficient to profile sequentially glycans from all three classes of glycoconjugates and even positively identify some mixture components through MALDI-MS and LC-ESI-MS. The results show that comprehensive glycan profiles can be obtained from the equivalent of 500-μg protein starting material or possibly less. These methodological improvements can help accelerating future glycomic comprehensive studies, especially for precious clinical samples.

Reading Test-Sentence Comprehension: An Adapted Version of Lobrot's Lecture 3 Test for Brazilian Portuguese.

PubMed

de Araújo Vilhena, Douglas; Sucena, Ana; Castro, São Luís; Pinheiro, Ângela Maria Vieira

2016-02-01

Our aim was to analyse the linguistic structure of the Lobrot's Lecture 3 (L3) reading test and to describe the procedure for its adaptation to a Brazilian cultural-linguistic context. The resulting adapted version is called the Reading Test-Sentence Comprehension [Teste de Leitura: Compreensão de Sentenças (TELCS)] and was developed using the European Portuguese adaptation of L3 as a reference. The present study was conducted in seven steps: (1) classification of the response alternatives of L3 test; (2) adaptation of the original sentences into Brazilian Portuguese; (3) back-translation; (4) adaptation of the distractors from TELCS; (5) configuration of TELCS; (6) pilot study; and (7) validation and standardization. In comparison with L3, TELCS included new linguistic and structural variables, such as frequency of occurrence of the distractors, gender neutrality and position of the target words. The instrument can be used for a collective screening or individual clinical administration purposes to evaluate the reading ability of second-to-fifth-grade and 7-to-11-year-old students. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Memory Operations and Structures in Sentence Comprehension: Evidence from Ellipsis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Andrea Eyleen

2010-01-01

Natural language often contains dependencies that span words, phrases, or even sentences. Thus, language comprehension relies on recovering recently processed information from memory for subsequent interpretation. This dissertation investigates the memory operations that subserve dependency resolution through the lens of "verb-phrase ellipsis"…

Using comprehension strategies with authentic text in a college chemistry course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cain, Stephen Daniel

College science students learn important topics by reading textbooks, which contain dense technical prose. Comprehension strategies are known to increase learning from reading. One class of comprehension strategies, called elaboration strategies, is intended to link new information with prior knowledge. Elaboration strategies have an appeal in science courses where new information frequently depends on previously learned information. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an elaboration strategy in an authentic college environment. General chemistry students read text about Lewis structures, figures drawn by chemists to depict molecules, while assigned to use either an elaboration strategy, namely elaborative interrogation, or another strategy, rereading, which served as a placebo control. Two texts of equal length were employed in this pretest-posttest experimental design. One was composed by the researcher. The other was an excerpt from a college textbook and contained a procedure for constructing Lewis structures. Students (N = 252) attending a large community college were randomly assigned to one of the two texts and assigned one of the two strategies. The elaborative interrogation strategy was implemented with instructions to answer why-questions posed throughout the reading. Answering why-questions has been hypothesized to activate prior knowledge of a topic, and thus to aid in cognitively connecting new material with prior knowledge. The rereading strategy was implemented with instructions to read text twice. The use of authentic text was one of only a few instances of applying elaborative interrogation with a textbook. In addition, previous studies have generally focused on the learning of facts contained in prose. The application of elaborative interrogation to procedural text has not been previously reported. Results indicated that the more effective strategy was undetermined when reading authentic text in this setting. However, prior knowledge level was identified as a statistically significant factor for learning from authentic text. That is, students with high prior knowledge learned more, regardless of assigned strategy. Another descriptive study was conducted with a separate student sample (N = 34). Previously reported Lewis structure research was replicated. The trend of difficulty for 50 structures in the earlier work was supported.

Physico-chemical study of some areas of fundamental significance to biophysics. Final report, 1974--1977

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McGlynn, S.P.

1977-08-18

The comprehensive report includes a complete list of publications resulting from the work and a review of studies made in the vacuum ultraviolet, photoelectron spectroscopy, excited states and electron structure of inorganic salts, a model for polar molecules, application of abstract mathematics to the genetic code, the orbital approximation in which orbital properties are related to state properties. (JSR)

Long-term research on classical silvicultural approaches in the Acadian Forest: Penobscot Experimental Forest Part I

Treesearch

John C. Brissette; Michael R. Saunders; Laura S. Kenefic; Paul E. Sendak

2006-01-01

The most comprehensive study of stand dynamics in the Acadian Forest Region is an experiment by the USDA Forest Service at the Penobscot Experimental Forest (PEF) in Maine. It was established from 1952-1957 to study changes in structure, composition, and productivity from an array of silvicultural treatments. Ingrowth, accretion, and mortality of individual trees (!Y0....

The Interaction of Knowledge and Text Structure on the Ability to Identify Main Ideas in Texts. Content Knowledge and Reading Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Day, Jeanne D.; Engelhardt, Jean

Two studies examined how the factors of content-relevant knowledge and text organization influence students' abilities to study and to remember text information. The first experiment examined the effect of prior content knowledge on students' ability to identify important information in the text. Forty 7th- and forty 11th-grade students, experts…

A Comprehensive Look into the Instruction of Listening Skill in Academic English Programs: A Case Study of Two State Universities in Iran

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Babaee, Hamidreza

2017-01-01

The study reported here thoroughly investigated the instruction of listening skill in academic English programs. This was researched through a semi-structured interview. In this regard, in order to obtain a picture of listening requirements across the academy, data were collected from two different state universities of Iran. To compile the data,…

Dynamics of Strategies-Based Language Instruction: A Study of Reading Comprehension and Problem Solving Abilities via Structural Equation Modeling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghahari, Shima; Basanjideh, Mahin

2015-01-01

The study aimed at exploring the psychological as well as educational outcomes of strategies awareness and use. We set out to examine the effect of reading strategic investment on language achievement and problem solving ability (PSA). The participating EFL learners were heterogeneous in terms of reading instruction; two of the intact groups had…

Proform-Antecedent Linking in Individuals with Agrammatic Aphasia: A Test of the Intervener Hypothesis.

PubMed

Engel, Samantha; Shapiro, Lewis P; Love, Tracy

2018-02-01

To evaluate processing and comprehension of pronouns and reflexives in individuals with agrammatic (Broca's) aphasia and age-matched control participants. Specifically, we evaluate processing and comprehension patterns in terms of a specific hypothesis -- the Intervener Hypothesis - that posits that the difficulty of individuals with agrammatic (Broca's) aphasia results from similarity-based interference caused by the presence of an intervening NP between two elements of a dependency chain. We used an eye tracking-while-listening paradigm to investigate real-time processing (Experiment 1) and a sentence-picture matching task to investigate final interpretive comprehension (Experiment 2) of sentences containing proforms in complement phrase and subject relative constructions. Individuals with agrammatic aphasia demonstrated a greater proportion of gazes to the correct referent of reflexives relative to pronouns and significantly greater comprehension accuracy of reflexives relative to pronouns. These results provide support for the Intervener Hypothesis, previous support for which comes from studies of Wh- questions and unaccusative verbs, and we argue that this account provides an explanation for the deficits of individuals with agrammatic aphasia across a growing set of sentence constructions. The current study extends this hypothesis beyond filler-gap dependencies to referential dependencies and allows us to refine the hypothesis in terms of the structural constraints that meet the description of the Intervener Hypothesis.

Validation of the Comprehensive ICF Core Set for obstructive pulmonary diseases from the patient's perspective.

PubMed

Marques, Alda; Jácome, Cristina; Gonçalves, Ana; Silva, Sara; Lucas, Carla; Cruz, Joana; Gabriel, Raquel

2014-06-01

This study aimed to validate the Comprehensive International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Set for obstructive pulmonary diseases (OPDs) from the perspective of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A cross-sectional qualitative study was carried out with outpatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using focus groups with an ICF-based approach. Qualitative data were analysed using the meaning condensation procedure by two researchers with expertise in the ICF. Thirty-two participants (37.5% women; 63.8 ± 11.3 years old) were included in six focus groups. A total of 61 (86%) ICF categories of the Comprehensive ICF Core Set for OPD were confirmed. Thirty-nine additional second-level categories not included in the Core Set were identified: 15 from the body functions component, four from the body structures, nine from the activities and participation and 11 from the environmental factors. The majority of the categories included in the Comprehensive ICF Core Set for OPD were confirmed from the patients' perspective. However, additional categories, not included in the Core Set, were also reported. The categories included in the Core Set were not confirmed and the additional categories need to be investigated further to develop an instrument tailored to patients' needs. This will promote patient-centred assessments and rehabilitation interventions.

Modelling and simulation of complex sociotechnical systems: envisioning and analysing work environments

PubMed Central

Hettinger, Lawrence J.; Kirlik, Alex; Goh, Yang Miang; Buckle, Peter

2015-01-01

Accurate comprehension and analysis of complex sociotechnical systems is a daunting task. Empirically examining, or simply envisioning the structure and behaviour of such systems challenges traditional analytic and experimental approaches as well as our everyday cognitive capabilities. Computer-based models and simulations afford potentially useful means of accomplishing sociotechnical system design and analysis objectives. From a design perspective, they can provide a basis for a common mental model among stakeholders, thereby facilitating accurate comprehension of factors impacting system performance and potential effects of system modifications. From a research perspective, models and simulations afford the means to study aspects of sociotechnical system design and operation, including the potential impact of modifications to structural and dynamic system properties, in ways not feasible with traditional experimental approaches. This paper describes issues involved in the design and use of such models and simulations and describes a proposed path forward to their development and implementation. Practitioner Summary: The size and complexity of real-world sociotechnical systems can present significant barriers to their design, comprehension and empirical analysis. This article describes the potential advantages of computer-based models and simulations for understanding factors that impact sociotechnical system design and operation, particularly with respect to process and occupational safety. PMID:25761227

Evaluation Framework for Telemedicine Using the Logical Framework Approach and a Fishbone Diagram

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Objectives Technological advances using telemedicine and telehealth are growing in healthcare fields, but the evaluation framework for them is inconsistent and limited. This paper suggests a comprehensive evaluation framework for telemedicine system implementation and will support related stakeholders' decision-making by promoting general understanding, and resolving arguments and controversies. Methods This study focused on developing a comprehensive evaluation framework by summarizing themes across the range of evaluation techniques and organized foundational evaluation frameworks generally applicable through studies and cases of diverse telemedicine. Evaluation factors related to aspects of information technology; the evaluation of satisfaction of service providers and consumers, cost, quality, and information security are organized using the fishbone diagram. Results It was not easy to develop a monitoring and evaluation framework for telemedicine since evaluation frameworks for telemedicine are very complex with many potential inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and stakeholders. A conceptual framework was developed that incorporates the key dimensions that need to be considered in the evaluation of telehealth implementation for a formal structured approach to the evaluation of a service. The suggested framework consists of six major dimensions and the subsequent branches for each dimension. Conclusions To implement telemedicine and telehealth services, stakeholders should make decisions based on sufficient evidence in quality and safety measured by the comprehensive evaluation framework. Further work would be valuable in applying more comprehensive evaluations to verify and improve the comprehensive framework across a variety of contexts with more factors and participant group dimensions. PMID:26618028

Evaluation Framework for Telemedicine Using the Logical Framework Approach and a Fishbone Diagram.

PubMed

Chang, Hyejung

2015-10-01

Technological advances using telemedicine and telehealth are growing in healthcare fields, but the evaluation framework for them is inconsistent and limited. This paper suggests a comprehensive evaluation framework for telemedicine system implementation and will support related stakeholders' decision-making by promoting general understanding, and resolving arguments and controversies. This study focused on developing a comprehensive evaluation framework by summarizing themes across the range of evaluation techniques and organized foundational evaluation frameworks generally applicable through studies and cases of diverse telemedicine. Evaluation factors related to aspects of information technology; the evaluation of satisfaction of service providers and consumers, cost, quality, and information security are organized using the fishbone diagram. It was not easy to develop a monitoring and evaluation framework for telemedicine since evaluation frameworks for telemedicine are very complex with many potential inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and stakeholders. A conceptual framework was developed that incorporates the key dimensions that need to be considered in the evaluation of telehealth implementation for a formal structured approach to the evaluation of a service. The suggested framework consists of six major dimensions and the subsequent branches for each dimension. To implement telemedicine and telehealth services, stakeholders should make decisions based on sufficient evidence in quality and safety measured by the comprehensive evaluation framework. Further work would be valuable in applying more comprehensive evaluations to verify and improve the comprehensive framework across a variety of contexts with more factors and participant group dimensions.

Changes of Water Hydrogen Bond Network with Different Externalities

PubMed Central

Zhao, Lin; Ma, Kai; Yang, Zi

2015-01-01

It is crucial to uncover the mystery of water cluster and structural motif to have an insight into the abundant anomalies bound to water. In this context, the analysis of influence factors is an alternative way to shed light on the nature of water clusters. Water structure has been tentatively explained within different frameworks of structural models. Based on comprehensive analysis and summary of the studies on the response of water to four externalities (i.e., temperature, pressure, solutes and external fields), the changing trends of water structure and a deduced intrinsic structural motif are put forward in this work. The variations in physicochemical and biological effects of water induced by each externality are also discussed to emphasize the role of water in our daily life. On this basis, the underlying problems that need to be further studied are formulated by pointing out the limitations attached to current study techniques and to outline prominent studies that have come up recently. PMID:25884333

Assessing therapy-relevant cognitive capacities in young people: development and psychometric evaluation of the self-reflection and insight scale for youth.

PubMed

Sauter, Floor M; Heyne, David; Blöte, Anke W; van Widenfelt, Brigit M; Westenberg, P Michiel

2010-05-01

The effectiveness of cognitive-behaviour therapy with young people may be influenced by a young person's capacity for self-reflection and insight. Clinicians who assess clients' proficiencies in these cognitive capacities can better tailor cognitive and behavioural techniques to the client, facilitating engagement and enhancing treatment outcome. It is therefore important that sound instruments for assessing self-reflection and insight in young people are available. The aim of the current study was to translate and adapt the Self-Reflection and Insight Scale (SRIS) for use with a child and adolescent population (Study 1), and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the resulting measure, the Self-Reflection and Insight Scale for Youth (SRIS-Y; Study 2). In Study 1 (n=145), the comprehensibility of the SRIS-Y was assessed in a community sample of children and adolescents. Study 2 (n=215) then explored the reliability and structural, convergent, and divergent validity of the SRIS-Y. The SRIS-Y was found to be comprehensible to young people, and had good reliability and structural validity. It appears that the SRIS-Y is a sound instrument for assessing therapy-relevant cognitive capacities in young people, of potential benefit in both research and clinical contexts. Future research foci include the predictive validity of the instrument.

The Bilingual Language Interaction Network for Comprehension of Speech

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shook, Anthony; Marian, Viorica

2013-01-01

During speech comprehension, bilinguals co-activate both of their languages, resulting in cross-linguistic interaction at various levels of processing. This interaction has important consequences for both the structure of the language system and the mechanisms by which the system processes spoken language. Using computational modeling, we can…

Postmodernism and the Implications for Educational Leadership: National Implications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anthony, Taiwanna D.; Kritsonis, William Allan; Herrington, David E.

2007-01-01

One could argue that postmodernism is the wave of the future. To fully gain a comprehensive understanding of the function of postmodernisn one must first obtain a comprehensive understanding of the structured component of postmodernism. The Epistemological aspect of the postmodernisn leadership paradigm model provides the foundation we as…

Assessment of Language Comprehension of 6-Year-Old Deaf Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geffner, Donna S.; Freeman, Lisa Rothman

1980-01-01

Results show that comprehension of word types (nouns, verbs, etc.) and linguistic structure can be orderly, producing a hierarchy of complexity similar to that found in normally hearing children. However, performance was about three years behind that of normally hearing peers. Journal availability: Elsevier North Holland, Inc., 52 Vanderbilt…

A Board's Guide to Comprehensive Campaigns.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schrum, Jake B., Ed.

2000-01-01

This guide examines the scope and structure of college and university comprehensive fund-raising campaigns. It focuses on the responsibilities of boards and trustees in planning, overseeing, and actively participating in such campaigns, which are defined as institutional fund-raising initiatives which take place over a predetermined time period,…

The Comprehensive Counseling Center Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brunner, Jon; Wallace, David; Keyes, Lee N.; Polychronis, Paul D.

2017-01-01

The authors outline a four-factor model and philosophy for college mental health services that addresses the loss of comprehensiveness in some centers due to changes in organizational structure. Given research on demand for services and retention of those seen in centers, emphasis is placed in particular upon the value of consultation, outreach,…

Twelfth NASTRAN (R) Users' Colloquium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

NASTRAN is a large, comprehensive, nonproprietary, general purpose finite element computer code for structural analysis. The Twelfth Users' Colloquim provides some comprehensive papers on the application of finite element methods in engineering, comparisons with other approaches, unique applications, pre and post processing or auxiliary programs, and new methods of analysis with NASTRAN.

Is comprehension necessary for error detection? A conflict-based account of monitoring in speech production

PubMed Central

Nozari, Nazbanou; Dell, Gary S.; Schwartz, Myrna F.

2011-01-01

Despite the existence of speech errors, verbal communication is successful because speakers can detect (and correct) their errors. The standard theory of speech-error detection, the perceptual-loop account, posits that the comprehension system monitors production output for errors. Such a comprehension-based monitor, however, cannot explain the double dissociation between comprehension and error-detection ability observed in the aphasic patients. We propose a new theory of speech-error detection which is instead based on the production process itself. The theory borrows from studies of forced-choice-response tasks the notion that error detection is accomplished by monitoring response conflict via a frontal brain structure, such as the anterior cingulate cortex. We adapt this idea to the two-step model of word production, and test the model-derived predictions on a sample of aphasic patients. Our results show a strong correlation between patients’ error-detection ability and the model’s characterization of their production skills, and no significant correlation between error detection and comprehension measures, thus supporting a production-based monitor, generally, and the implemented conflict-based monitor in particular. The successful application of the conflict-based theory to error-detection in linguistic, as well as non-linguistic domains points to a domain-general monitoring system. PMID:21652015

Shared Syntax in Language Production and Language Comprehension—An fMRI Study

PubMed Central

Menenti, Laura; Weber, Kirsten; Petersson, Karl Magnus; Hagoort, Peter

2012-01-01

During speaking and listening syntactic processing is a crucial step. It involves specifying syntactic relations between words in a sentence. If the production and comprehension modality share the neuronal substrate for syntactic processing then processing syntax in one modality should lead to adaptation effects in the other modality. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment, participants either overtly produced or heard descriptions of pictures. We looked for brain regions showing adaptation effects to the repetition of syntactic structures. In order to ensure that not just the same brain regions but also the same neuronal populations within these regions are involved in syntactic processing in speaking and listening, we compared syntactic adaptation effects within processing modalities (syntactic production-to-production and comprehension-to-comprehension priming) with syntactic adaptation effects between processing modalities (syntactic comprehension-to-production and production-to-comprehension priming). We found syntactic adaptation effects in left inferior frontal gyrus (Brodmann's area [BA] 45), left middle temporal gyrus (BA 21), and bilateral supplementary motor area (BA 6) which were equally strong within and between processing modalities. Thus, syntactic repetition facilitates syntactic processing in the brain within and across processing modalities to the same extent. We conclude that that the same neurobiological system seems to subserve syntactic processing in speaking and listening. PMID:21934094

Comprehension of presuppositions in school-age Cantonese-speaking children with and without autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Cheung, Candice Chi-Hang; Politzer-Ahles, Stephen; Hwang, Heeju; Chui, Ronald Lung Yat; Leung, Man Tak; Tang, Tempo Po Yi

2017-01-01

While an enormous amount of research has been done on the deficient conversation skills in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), little is known about their performance on presuppositions, a domain of knowledge that is crucial for successful communication. This study investigated the comprehension of four types of presupposition, namely existential, factive, lexical and structural presuppositions, in school-age Cantonese-speaking children with and without ASD. A group of children with ASD (n = 21), mean age 8.8, was compared with a group of typically developing children (n = 106). Knowledge of presuppositions was evaluated based on children's ability to judge whether a given utterance was a correct presupposition of a preceding utterance. Children with ASD were found to show a deficit in the comprehension of presuppositions, even after controlling for differences in general language ability and non-verbal intelligence. The relative difficulty of the four types of presupposition did not differ between the two groups of children. The present findings provide new empirical evidence that children with ASD have a deficit in the comprehension of presuppositions. Future research should explore whether the deficit in the comprehension of presuppositions is related to the development of theory of mind skills in children with ASD.

Damage Arresting Composites for Shaped Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Velicki, Alex

2009-01-01

This report describes the development of a novel structural solution that addresses the demanding fuselage loading requirements for the Hybrid Wing or Blended Wing Body configurations that are described in NASA NRA subtopic A2A.3, "Materials and Structures for Wing Components and Non-Circular Fuselage." The phase I portion of this task includes a comprehensive finite element model-based structural sizing exercise performed using the BWB airplane configuration to generate internal loads and fuselage panel weights for an advanced Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure (PRSEUS) structural concept. An accompanying element-level test program is also described which substantiates the analytical results and calculation methods used in the trade study. The phase II plan for the continuation of this research is also included herein.

Complementary study of molecular dynamics and domain sizes in heterogenous nanocomposites PBT/DA-C{sub 60} and PBT/TCNEO-C{sub 60}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Woźniak-Braszak, A., E-mail: abraszak@amu.edu.pl; Baranowski, M.; Jurga, K.

2014-05-28

A comprehensive study of molecular dynamics and structure in new heterogenous nanocomposites based on poly(butylene terephthalate) and nanoparticles C{sub 60} modified by n-decylamine or tetracyanoethylene oxide has been performed. The domain structure of new nanocomposites has been investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, wide-angle X-ray scattering, and differential scanning calorimetry techniques. Solid-state {sup 1}H NMR techniques were used to study molecular dynamics and domain sizes in new nanocomposites. Information about the electronic properties of these nanocomposites was obtained by means of electron paramagnetic resonance method. It was shown that the structure and molecular dynamics of new nanocomposites were strongly dependentmore » on the properties and concentration of fullerene derivates.« less

Review on Material Synthesis and Characterization of Sodium (Na) Super-Ionic Conductor (NASICON)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kimpa, M. I.; Mayzan, M. Z. H.; Yabagi, J. A.; Nmaya, M. M.; Isah, K. U.; Agam, M. A.

2018-04-01

Sodium (Na) Super Ionic Conductor (NASICON) has general formula Na1+ x Zr2P3- xSi x O12 (0 ≤x ≤ 3) derived from its parent compound, sodium zirconium phosphate NaZr2(PO4)3 (NZP) which belong to a rhombohedral crystal structure. This material consists of three-dimensional structure with interesting features such as low thermal expansion coefficient, thermal stability, gas sensor and nuclear waste immobilization that make it viable for industrial applications. Current study presents comprehensive studies on the synthesis and essential characteristics required to understand the theory behind the mechanism that justifies the study of NASICON structure and its application such as lithium ion rechargeable battery, gas sensor, and nuclear waste immobilization and so on.

Architectural Visualization of C/C++ Source Code for Program Comprehension

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Panas, T; Epperly, T W; Quinlan, D

2006-09-01

Structural and behavioral visualization of large-scale legacy systems to aid program comprehension is still a major challenge. The challenge is even greater when applications are implemented in flexible and expressive languages such as C and C++. In this paper, we consider visualization of static and dynamic aspects of large-scale scientific C/C++ applications. For our investigation, we reuse and integrate specialized analysis and visualization tools. Furthermore, we present a novel layout algorithm that permits a compressive architectural view of a large-scale software system. Our layout is unique in that it allows traditional program visualizations, i.e., graph structures, to be seen inmore » relation to the application's file structure.« less

A comprehensive approach to improving patient flow in our hospitals--the 'left to right, over and under' concept.

PubMed

Ardagh, Michael

2015-08-21

It is essential we manage the capacity of our hospitals so that acute demand can be accommodated without developing queues for care and backlogs of work. This paper presents a comprehensive model for improving patient flow in our hospitals by attending carefully to both the demand and capacity states of the hospital and maximising efficient flow of our acute patient journeys. The model includes attention to the patient journey as the central focus, with an overarching governance structure and an underpinning sophisticated operations structure.

A review of quasi-coherent structures in a numerically simulated turbulent boundary layer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robinson, S. K.; Kline, S. J.; Spalart, P. R.

1989-01-01

Preliminary results of a comprehensive study of the structural aspects of a numerically simulated number turbulent boundary layer are presented. A direct Navier-Stokes simulation of a flat-plate, zero pressure gradient boundary layer at Re0 = 670 was used. Most of the known nonrandom, coherent features of turbulent boundary layers are confirmed in the simulation, and several new aspects of their spatial character are reported. The spatial relationships between many of the various structures are described, forming the basis for a more complete kinematical picture of boundary layer physics than has been previously known. In particular, the importance of vortex structures of various forms to the generation of Reynolds shear stress is investigated.

Modelling engagement in dementia through behaviour. Contribution for socially interactive robotics.

PubMed

Perugia, Giulia; Diaz Doladeras, Marta; Mallofre, Andreu Catala; Rauterberg, Matthias; Barakova, Emilia

2017-07-01

In this paper, we present a novel tool to measure engagement in people with dementia playing board games and interacting with a social robot, Pleo. We carried out two studies to reach a comprehensive inventory of behaviours accounting for engagement in dementia. The first one is an exploratory study aimed at modelling engagement in cognitive board games. The second one is a longitudinal study to investigate how people with dementia express engagement in cognitive games and in interactions with social robots. We adopted a technique coming from Ethology to mould behaviour, the ethogram. Ethogram is founded on low level behaviours, and allows hierarchical structuring. Herein, we present preliminary results consisting in the description of two ethograms and in their structuring obtained through thematic analysis. Such results show that an underlying structure of engagement exists across activities, and that different activities trigger different behavioural displays of engagement that adhere to such a structure.

Comprehensive joint feedback control for standing by functional neuromuscular stimulation-a simulation study.

PubMed

Nataraj, Raviraj; Audu, Musa L; Kirsch, Robert F; Triolo, Ronald J

2010-12-01

Previous investigations of feedback control of standing after spinal cord injury (SCI) using functional neuromuscular stimulation (FNS) have primarily targeted individual joints. This study assesses the potential efficacy of comprehensive (trunk, hips, knees, and ankles) joint feedback control against postural disturbances using a bipedal, 3-D computer model of SCI stance. Proportional-derivative feedback drove an artificial neural network trained to produce muscle excitation patterns consistent with maximal joint stiffness values achievable about neutral stance given typical SCI muscle properties. Feedback gains were optimized to minimize upper extremity (UE) loading required to stabilize against disturbances. Compared to the baseline case of maximum constant muscle excitations used clinically, the controller reduced UE loading by 55% in resisting external force perturbations and by 84% during simulated one-arm functional tasks. Performance was most sensitive to inaccurate measurements of ankle plantar/dorsiflexion position and hip ab/adduction velocity feedback. In conclusion, comprehensive joint feedback demonstrates potential to markedly improve FNS standing function. However, alternative control structures capable of effective performance with fewer sensor-based feedback parameters may better facilitate clinical usage.

Comprehensive Joint Feedback Control for Standing by Functional Neuromuscular Stimulation – a Simulation Study

PubMed Central

Nataraj, Raviraj; Audu, Musa L.; Kirsch, Robert F.; Triolo, Ronald J.

2013-01-01

Previous investigations of feedback control of standing after spinal cord injury (SCI) using functional neuromuscular stimulation (FNS) have primarily targeted individual joints. This study assesses the potential efficacy of comprehensive (trunk, hips, knees, and ankles) joint-feedback control against postural disturbances using a bipedal, three-dimensional computer model of SCI stance. Proportional-derivative feedback drove an artificial neural network trained to produce muscle excitation patterns consistent with maximal joint stiffness values achievable about neutral stance given typical SCI muscle properties. Feedback gains were optimized to minimize upper extremity (UE) loading required to stabilize against disturbances. Compared to the baseline case of maximum constant muscle excitations used clinically, the controller reduced UE loading by 55% in resisting external force perturbations and by 84% during simulated one-arm functional tasks. Performance was most sensitive to inaccurate measurements of ankle plantar/dorsiflexion position and hip ab/adduction velocity feedback. In conclusion, comprehensive joint-feedback demonstrates potential to markedly improve FNS standing function. However, alternative control structures capable of effective performance with fewer sensor-based feedback parameters may better facilitate clinical usage. PMID:20923741

Challenges faced by health volunteers in comprehensive health centers in the southwest of Iran: A qualitative content analysis.

PubMed

Vizeshfar, Fatemeh; Momennasab, Marzieh; Yektatalab, Shahrzad; Iman, Mohamad Taghi

2018-01-01

Introduction: Health volunteers are employed to execute governmental health promotion programs in most countries around the world. The present study aimed to assess the challenges of health volunteers program to provide a better understanding of the present situation. Methods: This study was conducted using a qualitative approach. 14 participants were selected purposively selected from two comprehensive health care centers in the southwest of Iran. The data were collected through 14 semi-structured interviews, 2 observations, and 3 diaries and analyzed using content analysis. Results: Data analysis resulted in emergence four themes, namely role confusion, the inefficiency of volunteers training, the inefficiency of attraction and maintenance of volunteers, and being unknown to people. Unfertilized capacity is the main theme extracted from all themes. Conclusion: Health volunteers' perfect accomplishment of roles will have a positive impact on the provision of primary healthcare services and health objectives. Hence, comprehensive planning based on the needs of health volunteers will change them into a strong arm in the health system. Thus, managerial support and precise planning seem to be necessary for facing these challenges.

Challenges faced by health volunteers in comprehensive health centers in the southwest of Iran: A qualitative content analysis

PubMed Central

Vizeshfar, Fatemeh; Momennasab, Marzieh; Yektatalab, Shahrzad; Iman, Mohamad Taghi

2018-01-01

Introduction:Health volunteers are employed to execute governmental health promotion programs in most countries around the world. The present study aimed to assess the challenges of health volunteers program to provide a better understanding of the present situation. Methods:This study was conducted using a qualitative approach. 14 participants were selected purposively selected from two comprehensive health care centers in the southwest of Iran. The data were collected through 14 semi-structured interviews, 2 observations, and 3 diaries and analyzed using content analysis. Results:Data analysis resulted in emergence four themes, namely role confusion, the inefficiency of volunteers training, the inefficiency of attraction and maintenance of volunteers, and being unknown to people. Unfertilized capacity is the main theme extracted from all themes. Conclusion:Health volunteers’ perfect accomplishment of roles will have a positive impact on the provision of primary healthcare services and health objectives. Hence, comprehensive planning based on the needs of health volunteers will change them into a strong arm in the health system. Thus, managerial support and precise planning seem to be necessary for facing these challenges. PMID:29696067

The dipole moment of membrane proteins: potassium channel protein and beta-subunit.

PubMed

Takashima, S

2001-12-25

The mechanism of ion channel opening is one of the most fascinating problems in membrane biology. Based on phenomenological studies, early researchers suggested that the elementary process of ion channel opening may be the intramembrane charge movement or the orientation of dipolar proteins in the channel. In spite of the far reaching significance of these hypotheses, it has not been possible to formulate a comprehensive molecular theory for the mechanism of channel opening. This is because of the lack of the detailed knowledge on the structure of channel proteins. In recent years, however, the research on the structure of channel proteins made marked advances and, at present, we are beginning to have sufficient information on the structure of some of the channel proteins, e.g. potassium-channel protein and beta-subunits. With these new information, we are now ready to have another look at the old hypothesis, in particular, the dipole moment of channel proteins being the voltage sensor for the opening and closing of ion channels. In this paper, the dipole moments of potassium channel protein and beta-subunit, are calculated using X-ray diffraction data. A large dipole moment was found for beta-subunits while the dipole moment of K-channel protein was found to be considerably smaller than that of beta-subunits. These calculations were conducted as a preliminary study of the comprehensive research on the dipolar structure of channel proteins in excitable membranes, above all, sodium channel proteins.

Cytological techniques to study human female meiotic prophase.

PubMed

Roig, Ignasi; Garcia-Caldés, Montserrat

2009-01-01

Most of the human aneuploidies have a maternal origin. This feature makes the study of human female meiosis a fundamental topic to understand the reasons leading to this important social problem. Unfortunately, due to sample collection difficulties, not many studies have been performed on human female meiotic prophase. In this chapter we present a comprehensive collection of protocols that allows the study of human female meiotic prophase through different technical approaches using both spread and structurally preserved oocytes.

Multicomplex-based pharmacophore-guided 3D-QSAR studies of N-substituted 2'-(aminoaryl)benzothiazoles as Aurora-A inhibitors.

PubMed

He, Gu; Qiu, Minghua; Li, Rui; Ouyang, Liang; Wu, Fengbo; Song, Xiangrong; Cheng, Li; Xiang, Mingli; Yu, Luoting

2012-06-01

Aurora-A has been known as one of the most important targets for cancer therapy, and some Aurora-A inhibitors have entered clinical trails. In this study, combination of the ligand-based and structure-based methods is used to clarify the essential quantitative structure-activity relationship of known Aurora-A inhibitors, and multicomplex-based pharmacophore-guided method has been suggested to generate a comprehensive pharmacophore of Aurora-A kinase based on a collection of crystal structures of Aurora-A-inhibitor complex. This model has been successfully used to identify the bioactive conformation and align 37 structurally diverse N-substituted 2'-(aminoaryl)benzothiazoles derivatives. The quantitative structure-activity relationship analyses have been performed on these Aurora-A inhibitors based on multicomplex-based pharmacophore-guided alignment. These results may provide important information for further design and virtual screening of novel Aurora-A inhibitors. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Katayama, Naoyuki; Onari, Seiichiro; Matsubayashi, Kazuyuki

We report the comprehensive studies between synchrotron X-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility experiments for the iron arsenides Can(n+1)/2(Fe1-xPtx)(2+3n)Ptn(n -1)/2As(n+1)(n+2)/2 for n=2 and 3. Both structures crystallize in the monoclinic space group P21/m (#11) with three-dimensional FeAs structures. The horizontal FeAs layers are bridged by inclined FeAs planes through edge-sharing FeAs5 square pyramids, resulting in triangular tunneling structures rather than the simple layered structures found in conventional iron arsenides. n=3 system shows a sign of superconductivity with a small volume fraction. Our first-principles calculations of these systems clearly indicate that the Fermi surfaces originate from strong Fe-3d characters andmore » the three-dimensional nature of the electric structures for both systems, thus offering the playgrounds to study the effects of dimensionality on high Tc superconductivity.« less

Dissecting the relationship between protein structure and sequence variation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahmoradi, Amir; Wilke, Claus; Wilke Lab Team

2015-03-01

Over the past decade several independent works have shown that some structural properties of proteins are capable of predicting protein evolution. The strength and significance of these structure-sequence relations, however, appear to vary widely among different proteins, with absolute correlation strengths ranging from 0 . 1 to 0 . 8 . Here we present the results from a comprehensive search for the potential biophysical and structural determinants of protein evolution by studying more than 200 structural and evolutionary properties in a dataset of 209 monomeric enzymes. We discuss the main protein characteristics responsible for the general patterns of protein evolution, and identify sequence divergence as the main determinant of the strengths of virtually all structure-evolution relationships, explaining ~ 10 - 30 % of observed variation in sequence-structure relations. In addition to sequence divergence, we identify several protein structural properties that are moderately but significantly coupled with the strength of sequence-structure relations. In particular, proteins with more homogeneous back-bone hydrogen bond energies, large fractions of helical secondary structures and low fraction of beta sheets tend to have the strongest sequence-structure relation. BEACON-NSF center for the study of evolution in action.

COBRA: A prospective multimodal imaging study of dopamine, brain structure and function, and cognition.

PubMed

Nevalainen, N; Riklund, K; Andersson, M; Axelsson, J; Ögren, M; Lövdén, M; Lindenberger, U; Bäckman, L; Nyberg, L

2015-07-01

Cognitive decline is a characteristic feature of normal human aging. Previous work has demonstrated marked interindividual variability in onset and rate of decline. Such variability has been linked to factors such as maintenance of functional and structural brain integrity, genetics, and lifestyle. Still, few, if any, studies have combined a longitudinal design with repeated multimodal imaging and a comprehensive assessment of cognition as well as genetic and lifestyle factors. The present paper introduces the Cognition, Brain, and Aging (COBRA) study, in which cognitive performance and brain structure and function are measured in a cohort of 181 older adults aged 64 to 68 years at baseline. Participants will be followed longitudinally over a 10-year period, resulting in a total of three equally spaced measurement occasions. The measurement protocol at each occasion comprises a comprehensive set of behavioral and imaging measures. Cognitive performance is evaluated via computerized testing of working memory, episodic memory, perceptual speed, motor speed, implicit sequence learning, and vocabulary. Brain imaging is performed using positron emission tomography with [(11)C]-raclopride to assess dopamine D2/D3 receptor availability. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used for assessment of white and gray-matter integrity and cerebrovascular perfusion, and functional MRI maps brain activation during rest and active task conditions. Lifestyle descriptives are collected, and blood samples are obtained and stored for future evaluation. Here, we present selected results from the baseline assessment along with a discussion of sample characteristics and methodological considerations that determined the design of the study. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Memory & Aging. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Research strategies for design and development of NSAIDs: clue to balance potency and toxicity of acetanilide compounds.

PubMed

Pal, A K; Sen, S; Ghosh, S; Bera, A K; Bhattacharya, S; Chakraborty, S; Banerjee, A

2001-08-01

Despite the fact that many modern drug therapies are based on the concept of enzyme inhibition, inhibition of several enzymes leads to pathological disorders. Clinically used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) bind to the active site of the membrane protein, cyclooxygenase (COX) and inhibit the synthesis of prostaglandins, the mediators for causing inflammation. At the same time, inhibition of hepatic cysteine proteases by some NSAID metabolites like NAPQI is implicated in the pathogenesis of hepatotoxicity. As a part of our efforts to develop new effective NSAIDs, a comprehensive investigation starting from synthesis to the study of the final metabolism of acetanilide group of compound has been envisaged with appropriate feedback from kinetic studies to enhance our knowledge and technical competency to feed the know-how to the medicinal chemist to screen out and design new acetanilide derivatives of high potency and low toxicity. Structure-function relationship based on the interaction of acetanilide with its cognate enzyme, cyclooxygenase has been studied critically with adequate comparison with several other available crystal structures of COX-NSAID complexes. Furthermore, to make the receptor based drug design strategy a novel and comprehensive one, both the mechanism of metabolism of acetanilide and structural basis of inhibition of cysteine proteases by the reactive metabolite (NAPQI) formed by cytochrome P450 oxidation of acetanilide have been incorporated in the study. It is hoped that this synergistic approach and the results obtained from such consorted structural investigation at atomic level may guide to dictate synthetic modification with judicious balance between cyclooxygenase inhibition and hepatic cysteine protease inhibition to enhance the potential of such molecular medicine to relieve inflammation on one hand and low hepatic toxicity on the other.

ClassyFire: automated chemical classification with a comprehensive, computable taxonomy.

PubMed

Djoumbou Feunang, Yannick; Eisner, Roman; Knox, Craig; Chepelev, Leonid; Hastings, Janna; Owen, Gareth; Fahy, Eoin; Steinbeck, Christoph; Subramanian, Shankar; Bolton, Evan; Greiner, Russell; Wishart, David S

2016-01-01

Scientists have long been driven by the desire to describe, organize, classify, and compare objects using taxonomies and/or ontologies. In contrast to biology, geology, and many other scientific disciplines, the world of chemistry still lacks a standardized chemical ontology or taxonomy. Several attempts at chemical classification have been made; but they have mostly been limited to either manual, or semi-automated proof-of-principle applications. This is regrettable as comprehensive chemical classification and description tools could not only improve our understanding of chemistry but also improve the linkage between chemistry and many other fields. For instance, the chemical classification of a compound could help predict its metabolic fate in humans, its druggability or potential hazards associated with it, among others. However, the sheer number (tens of millions of compounds) and complexity of chemical structures is such that any manual classification effort would prove to be near impossible. We have developed a comprehensive, flexible, and computable, purely structure-based chemical taxonomy (ChemOnt), along with a computer program (ClassyFire) that uses only chemical structures and structural features to automatically assign all known chemical compounds to a taxonomy consisting of >4800 different categories. This new chemical taxonomy consists of up to 11 different levels (Kingdom, SuperClass, Class, SubClass, etc.) with each of the categories defined by unambiguous, computable structural rules. Furthermore each category is named using a consensus-based nomenclature and described (in English) based on the characteristic common structural properties of the compounds it contains. The ClassyFire webserver is freely accessible at http://classyfire.wishartlab.com/. Moreover, a Ruby API version is available at https://bitbucket.org/wishartlab/classyfire_api, which provides programmatic access to the ClassyFire server and database. ClassyFire has been used to annotate over 77 million compounds and has already been integrated into other software packages to automatically generate textual descriptions for, and/or infer biological properties of over 100,000 compounds. Additional examples and applications are provided in this paper. ClassyFire, in combination with ChemOnt (ClassyFire's comprehensive chemical taxonomy), now allows chemists and cheminformaticians to perform large-scale, rapid and automated chemical classification. Moreover, a freely accessible API allows easy access to more than 77 million "ClassyFire" classified compounds. The results can be used to help annotate well studied, as well as lesser-known compounds. In addition, these chemical classifications can be used as input for data integration, and many other cheminformatics-related tasks.

Assessment of HIV/AIDS comprehensive correct knowledge among Sudanese university: a cross-sectional analytic study 2014.

PubMed

Elbadawi, Abdulateef; Mirghani, Hyder

2016-01-01

Comprehensive correct HIV/AIDS knowledge (CCAK) is defined as correctly identify the two major ways of preventing the sexual transmission of HIV, and reject the most common misconceptions about HIV transmission. There are limited studies on this topic in Sudan. In this study we investigated the Comprehensive correct HIV/AIDS knowledge among Universities students. A cross-sectional analytic study was conducted among 556 students from two universities in 2014. Data were collected by using the self-administered pre-tested structured questionnaire. Chi-square was used for testing the significance and P. Value of ≥ 0.05 is considered as statistically significant. The majority (97.1%) of study subjects have heard about a disease called HIV/AIDS, while only 28.6% of them knew anyone who is infected with AIDS in the local community. Minority (13.8%) of students had CCAK however, males showed a better level of CCAK than females (OR = 2.77) with high significant statistical differences (P. Value = 0.001). Poor rate of CCAK among university students is noticed, especially among females. Almost half of students did not know preventive measures of HIV, nearly two thirds had misconception, about one third did not know the mode of transmission of HIV.

National Forest Health Monitoring Program Maryland and Massachusetts Street Tree Monitoring Pilot Projects

Treesearch

Buckelew Cumming Anne; Daniel Twardus; William Smith

2006-01-01

Urban forests have many components: park trees, small woodlands, riparian buffers, street trees, and others. While some communities conduct city-wide inventories of street tree populations, there has been no comprehensive, statewide sampling to characterize the structure, health, and function of street tree populations. A statewide Street Tree Monitoring pilot study...

Structure and Strategies in Children's Educational Television: The Roles of Program Type and Learning Strategies in Children's Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linebarger, Deborah L.; Piotrowski, Jessica Taylor

2010-01-01

Educational TV has been consistently linked to children's learning. In this research, educational TV characteristics were identified, coded, and tested for their influence on children's program-specific comprehension and vocabulary outcomes. Study 1 details a content analysis of TV features including a program's macrostructure (i.e., narrative or…

Locatum Structures and the Acquisition of Telicity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodgson, Miren

2010-01-01

This article presents a study of a between-subjects design experiment on the comprehension of telicity in simple telic predicates (e.g., "John filled the bucket") and locatum predicates (e.g., "the water filled the bucket") in L1 Spanish. Weist, Wysocka, and Lyytinen (1991) for English and Finnish, and Van Hout (1997, 1998b) for English and Dutch…

Understanding Learner Strengths and Weaknesses: Assessing Performance on an Integrated Writing Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sawaki, Yasuyo; Quinlan, Thomas; Lee, Yong-Won

2013-01-01

The present study examined the factor structures across features of 446 examinees' responses to a writing task that integrates reading and listening modalities as well as reading and listening comprehension items of the TOEFL iBT[R] (Internet-based test). Both human and automated scores obtained for the integrated essays were utilized. Based on a…

Construct Validation of the Louisiana School Analysis Model (SAM) Instructional Staff Questionnaire

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bray-Clark, Nikki; Bates, Reid

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to validate the Louisiana SAM Instructional Staff Questionnaire, a key component of the Louisiana School Analysis Model. The model was designed as a comprehensive evaluation tool for schools. Principle axis factoring with oblique rotation was used to uncover the underlying structure of the SISQ. (Contains 1 table.)

An Investigation of Concept Mapping to Improve the Reading Comprehension of Science Texts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliver, Kevin

2009-01-01

This study investigated how well 74 6th-grade science students represented text structures from a 900-word textbook chapter on soil conservation, given a concept map template with four superordinate terms and 24 unsorted concepts. Findings suggest students were more successful at classifying pre-selected terms under given superordinate categories…

Proficiency as a Variable in Gulf EFL Students' Employment of Reading Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Endley, Martin J.

2016-01-01

This paper reports a study of the reading strategies used by twelve Arabic-speaking undergraduates at a major Gulf university when reading texts in English. The procedure employed was a think-aloud protocol followed by a semi-structured interview. Three research questions were addressed: (a) What are the primary comprehension problems encountered…

Psychosocial Dimensions of Exceptional Longevity: A Qualitative Exploration of Centenarians' Experiences, Personality, and Life Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darviri, Christina; Demakakos, Panayotes; Tigani, Xanthi; Charizani, Fotini; Tsiou, Chrysoula; Tsagkari, Christina; Chliaoutakis, Joannes; Monos, Dimitrios

2009-01-01

This qualitative study provides a comprehensive account of the social and life experiences and strategies and personality attributes that characterize exceptional longevity (living to 100 or over). It is based on nine semi-structured interviews of relatively healthy and functional Greek centenarians of both sexes. The analytic approach was…

Assessing Traumatic Event Exposure: Comparing the Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire to the Structured Clinical Interview for "DSM-IV"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peirce, Jessica M.; Burke, Christopher K.; Stoller, Kenneth B.; Neufeld, Karin J.; Brooner, Robert K.

2009-01-01

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis requires first identifying a traumatic event, but very few studies have evaluated methods of potential traumatic event assessment and their impact on PTSD diagnosis. The authors compared a behaviorally specific comprehensive multiple-item traumatic event measure with a single-item measure to…

The Evolution of the Krebs Cycle: A Promising Subject for Meaningful Learning of Biochemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

da Costa, Caetano; Galembeck, Eduardo

2016-01-01

Evolution has been recognized as a key concept for biologists. To enhance comprehension and motivate biology undergraduates for the contents of central energetic metabolism, we addressed the Krebs cycle structure and functions in an evolutionary view. To this end, we created a study guide that contextualizes the emergence of the cyclic pathway, in…

The Effects of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition Cognitive Abilities on Math Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parkin, Jason R.; Beaujean, A. Alexander

2012-01-01

This study used structural equation modeling to examine the effect of Stratum III (i.e., general intelligence) and Stratum II (i.e., Comprehension-Knowledge, Fluid Reasoning, Short-Term Memory, Processing Speed, and Visual Processing) factors of the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) cognitive abilities, as operationalized by the Wechsler Intelligence…

A Neurocomputational Model of the N400 and the P600 in Language Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brouwer, Harm; Crocker, Matthew W.; Venhuizen, Noortje J.; Hoeks, John C. J.

2017-01-01

Ten years ago, researchers using event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to study language comprehension were puzzled by what looked like a "Semantic Illusion": Semantically anomalous, but structurally well-formed sentences did not affect the N400 component--traditionally taken to reflect semantic integration--but instead produced a P600…

A survey of the St. Louis River estuary with emphasis on non-indigenous species and habitat structure

EPA Science Inventory

As part of a larger study to develop a monitoring network for aquatic non-indigenous species (NIS), a comprehensive multi-gear survey of larval fish and macroinvertebrates in the St. Louis River estuary was conducted during summer 2012. A total of 139 larval fish samples and 118...

Bimodal Bilinguals Co-Activate Both Languages during Spoken Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shook, Anthony; Marian, Viorica

2012-01-01

Bilinguals have been shown to activate their two languages in parallel, and this process can often be attributed to overlap in input between the two languages. The present study examines whether two languages that do not overlap in input structure, and that have distinct phonological systems, such as American Sign Language (ASL) and English, are…

The Development of Reading Ability in First and Second Grade. Technical Report No. 516.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Linda A.; And Others

This study determined how children develop reading ability in first and second grade. Subjects, approximately 315 children from 3 school districts in the midwest, were given a series of standardized and customized measures of reading comprehension. Linear structural models were developed at both grade levels using LISREL to explain variance in…

Sentence and Discourse Processes in Skilled Comprehension. Resource Publication Series 4 No. 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Townsend, David J.

This research disproves the hypothesis that less-skilled comprehenders are less able to take advantage of constraints at all levels of structure. Five studies used self-paced reading, meaning probe judgment, recall, and sentence and word recognition tasks to examine the effect of supportive discourse contexts on sentence processing in skilled and…

Who is "Daddy" Revisited: The Status of Two-Year-Olds' Over-Extended Words in Use and Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomson, Jean R.; Chapman, Robin S.

1977-01-01

Diary observations of two-year-olds' over-extended word use have been interpreted as arising from the word's underlying semantic feature structure. This interpretation was rejected after a study of five children. The need to construct models of early word meaning reflecting certain early language development patterns is discussed. (CHK)

Understanding the Microstructure and Macrostructure of Passages Among Chinese Elementary School Children.

PubMed

Lo, Lap-Yan; Ho, Connie Suk-Han; Wong, Yau-Kai; Chan, David Wai-Ock; Chung, Kevin Kien-Hoa

2016-12-01

Understanding the microstructure and macrostructure of passages is important for reading comprehension. What cognitive-linguistic skills may contribute to understanding these two levels of structures has rarely been investigated. The present study examined whether some word-level and text-level cognitive-linguistic skills may contribute differently to the understanding of microstructure and macrostructure respectively. Seventy-nine Chinese elementary school children were tested on some cognitive-linguistic skills and literacy skills. It was found that word reading fluency and syntactic skills predicted significantly the understanding of microstructure of passages after controlling for age and IQ; while morphological awareness, syntactic skills, and discourse skills contributed significantly to understanding of macrostructure. These findings suggest that syntactic skills facilitate children's access of meaning from grammatical structures, which is a fundamental process in gaining text meaning at any level of reading comprehension. Discourse skills also allow readers to understand the cohesive interlinks within and between sentences and is important for a macro level of passage understanding.

No Association of Coronary Artery Disease with X-Chromosomal Variants in Comprehensive International Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Loley, Christina; Alver, Maris; Assimes, Themistocles L; Bjonnes, Andrew; Goel, Anuj; Gustafsson, Stefan; Hernesniemi, Jussi; Hopewell, Jemma C; Kanoni, Stavroula; Kleber, Marcus E; Lau, King Wai; Lu, Yingchang; Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka; Nelson, Christopher P; Nikpay, Majid; Qu, Liming; Salfati, Elias; Scholz, Markus; Tukiainen, Taru; Willenborg, Christina; Won, Hong-Hee; Zeng, Lingyao; Zhang, Weihua; Anand, Sonia S; Beutner, Frank; Bottinger, Erwin P; Clarke, Robert; Dedoussis, George; Do, Ron; Esko, Tõnu; Eskola, Markku; Farrall, Martin; Gauguier, Dominique; Giedraitis, Vilmantas; Granger, Christopher B; Hall, Alistair S; Hamsten, Anders; Hazen, Stanley L; Huang, Jie; Kähönen, Mika; Kyriakou, Theodosios; Laaksonen, Reijo; Lind, Lars; Lindgren, Cecilia; Magnusson, Patrik K E; Marouli, Eirini; Mihailov, Evelin; Morris, Andrew P; Nikus, Kjell; Pedersen, Nancy; Rallidis, Loukianos; Salomaa, Veikko; Shah, Svati H; Stewart, Alexandre F R; Thompson, John R; Zalloua, Pierre A; Chambers, John C; Collins, Rory; Ingelsson, Erik; Iribarren, Carlos; Karhunen, Pekka J; Kooner, Jaspal S; Lehtimäki, Terho; Loos, Ruth J F; März, Winfried; McPherson, Ruth; Metspalu, Andres; Reilly, Muredach P; Ripatti, Samuli; Sanghera, Dharambir K; Thiery, Joachim; Watkins, Hugh; Deloukas, Panos; Kathiresan, Sekar; Samani, Nilesh J; Schunkert, Heribert; Erdmann, Jeanette; König, Inke R

2016-10-12

In recent years, genome-wide association studies have identified 58 independent risk loci for coronary artery disease (CAD) on the autosome. However, due to the sex-specific data structure of the X chromosome, it has been excluded from most of these analyses. While females have 2 copies of chromosome X, males have only one. Also, one of the female X chromosomes may be inactivated. Therefore, special test statistics and quality control procedures are required. Thus, little is known about the role of X-chromosomal variants in CAD. To fill this gap, we conducted a comprehensive X-chromosome-wide meta-analysis including more than 43,000 CAD cases and 58,000 controls from 35 international study cohorts. For quality control, sex-specific filters were used to adequately take the special structure of X-chromosomal data into account. For single study analyses, several logistic regression models were calculated allowing for inactivation of one female X-chromosome, adjusting for sex and investigating interactions between sex and genetic variants. Then, meta-analyses including all 35 studies were conducted using random effects models. None of the investigated models revealed genome-wide significant associations for any variant. Although we analyzed the largest-to-date sample, currently available methods were not able to detect any associations of X-chromosomal variants with CAD.

Correlations in Scattered X-Ray Laser Pulses Reveal Nanoscale Structural Features of Viruses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurta, Ruslan P.; Donatelli, Jeffrey J.; Yoon, Chun Hong; Berntsen, Peter; Bielecki, Johan; Daurer, Benedikt J.; DeMirci, Hasan; Fromme, Petra; Hantke, Max Felix; Maia, Filipe R. N. C.; Munke, Anna; Nettelblad, Carl; Pande, Kanupriya; Reddy, Hemanth K. N.; Sellberg, Jonas A.; Sierra, Raymond G.; Svenda, Martin; van der Schot, Gijs; Vartanyants, Ivan A.; Williams, Garth J.; Xavier, P. Lourdu; Aquila, Andrew; Zwart, Peter H.; Mancuso, Adrian P.

2017-10-01

We use extremely bright and ultrashort pulses from an x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) to measure correlations in x rays scattered from individual bioparticles. This allows us to go beyond the traditional crystallography and single-particle imaging approaches for structure investigations. We employ angular correlations to recover the three-dimensional (3D) structure of nanoscale viruses from x-ray diffraction data measured at the Linac Coherent Light Source. Correlations provide us with a comprehensive structural fingerprint of a 3D virus, which we use both for model-based and ab initio structure recovery. The analyses reveal a clear indication that the structure of the viruses deviates from the expected perfect icosahedral symmetry. Our results anticipate exciting opportunities for XFEL studies of the structure and dynamics of nanoscale objects by means of angular correlations.

Verbal Semantics Drives Early Anticipatory Eye Movements during the Comprehension of Verb-Initial Sentences.

PubMed

Sauppe, Sebastian

2016-01-01

Studies on anticipatory processes during sentence comprehension often focus on the prediction of postverbal direct objects. In subject-initial languages (the target of most studies so far), however, the position in the sentence, the syntactic function, and the semantic role of arguments are often conflated. For example, in the sentence "The frog will eat the fly" the syntactic object ("fly") is at the same time also the last word and the patient argument of the verb. It is therefore not apparent which kind of information listeners orient to for predictive processing during sentence comprehension. A visual world eye tracking study on the verb-initial language Tagalog (Austronesian) tested what kind of information listeners use to anticipate upcoming postverbal linguistic input. The grammatical structure of Tagalog allows to test whether listeners' anticipatory gaze behavior is guided by predictions of the linear order of words, by syntactic functions (e.g., subject/object), or by semantic roles (agent/patient). Participants heard sentences of the type "Eat frog fly" or "Eat fly frog" (both meaning "The frog will eat the fly") while looking at displays containing an agent referent ("frog"), a patient referent ("fly") and a distractor. The verb carried morphological marking that allowed the order and syntactic function of agent and patient to be inferred. After having heard the verb, listeners fixated on the agent irrespective of its syntactic function or position in the sentence. While hearing the first-mentioned argument, listeners fixated on the corresponding referent in the display accordingly and then initiated saccades to the last-mentioned referent before it was encountered. The results indicate that listeners used verbal semantics to identify referents and their semantic roles early; information about word order or syntactic functions did not influence anticipatory gaze behavior directly after the verb was heard. In this verb-initial language, event semantics takes early precedence during the comprehension of sentences, while arguments are anticipated temporally more local to when they are encountered. The current experiment thus helps to better understand anticipation during language processing by employing linguistic structures not available in previously studied subject-initial languages.

Structural stiffness identification of bridge superstructures : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-01-01

Accurate measures of bridge stiffness are important when determining structural integrity. This information should be an integral part of any comprehensive bridge maintenance program, especially considering the nation's aging infrastructure. Informed...

Energy Landscapes of Folding Chromosomes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Bin

The genome, the blueprint of life, contains nearly all the information needed to build and maintain an entire organism. A comprehensive understanding of the genome is of paramount interest to human health and will advance progress in many areas, including life sciences, medicine, and biotechnology. The overarching goal of my research is to understand the structure-dynamics-function relationships of the human genome. In this talk, I will be presenting our efforts in moving towards that goal, with a particular emphasis on studying the three-dimensional organization, the structure of the genome with multi-scale approaches. Specifically, I will discuss the reconstruction of genome structures at both interphase and metaphase by making use of data from chromosome conformation capture experiments. Computationally modeling of chromatin fiber at atomistic level from first principles will also be presented as our effort for studying the genome structure from bottom up.

Voltage-Gated Potassium Channels: A Structural Examination of Selectivity and Gating

PubMed Central

Kim, Dorothy M.; Nimigean, Crina M.

2016-01-01

Voltage-gated potassium channels play a fundamental role in the generation and propagation of the action potential. The discovery of these channels began with predictions made by early pioneers, and has culminated in their extensive functional and structural characterization by electrophysiological, spectroscopic, and crystallographic studies. With the aid of a variety of crystal structures of these channels, a highly detailed picture emerges of how the voltage-sensing domain reports changes in the membrane electric field and couples this to conformational changes in the activation gate. In addition, high-resolution structural and functional studies of K+ channel pores, such as KcsA and MthK, offer a comprehensive picture on how selectivity is achieved in K+ channels. Here, we illustrate the remarkable features of voltage-gated potassium channels and explain the mechanisms used by these machines with experimental data. PMID:27141052

Race to the Top and Leave the Children behind

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tanner, Daniel

2013-01-01

The USA was the first nation to attain universal secondary education through the creation of a unitary school structure capped by the uniquely American institution, the comprehensive or cosmopolitan high school. Other leading democratic nations adopted the comprehensive model, but not until well after mid-twentieth century. The modern movement for…

Improving TV Program Comprehensibility: Developmental Effects of Visual and Verbal Production Features.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calvert, Sandra L.; And Others

Preplays (critical material presented before a televised program) were inserted before three sections of a televised story to determine if they would improve children's attention and comprehension by providing overall plot structure for selecting and integrating important story events. The preplays varied on two orthogonal dimensions: presence or…

The Development of a Comprehensive and Coherent Theory of Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Illeris, Knud

2015-01-01

This article is an account of how the author developed a comprehensive understanding of human learning over a period of almost 50 years. The learning theory includes the structure of learning, different types of learning, barriers of learning as well as how individual dispositions, age, the learning environment and general social and societal…

Perceptual Organization of Visual Structure Requires a Flexible Learning Mechanism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aslin, Richard N.

2011-01-01

Bhatt and Quinn (2011) provide a compelling and comprehensive review of empirical evidence that supports the operation of principles of perceptual organization in young infants. They also have provided a comprehensive list of experiences that could serve to trigger the learning of at least some of these principles of perceptual organization, and…

Selecting Effective Treatments: A Comprehensive, Systematic Guide to Treating Mental Disorders. Revised Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seligman, Linda

This book presents an overview of the major types of mental disorders, accompanied by treatment models that are structured, comprehensive, grounded in research, and likely to be effective. Chapter topics are: (1) "Introduction to Effective Treatment Planning"; (2) "Mental Disorders in Infants, Children, and Adolescents"; (3) "Situationally…

Comprehension Research: New Directions and Ideas for LD Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clary, Linda Mixon; Sheppo, Karen G.

Research on teaching methods is reviewed for improving the reading comprehension of learning disabled (LD) students. Among the approaches noted are the structured overview, in which the teacher and/or students arrange important concepts and terms in a graphic design for introduction and discussion before reading; use of story grammars to outline…

Syntactic Priming in Comprehension: Parallelism Effects with and without Coordination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sturt, Patrick; Keller, Frank; Dubey, Amit

2010-01-01

Although previous research has shown a processing facilitation for conjoined phrases that share the same structure, it is currently not clear whether this parallelism advantage is specific to particular syntactic environments such as coordination, or whether it is an example of more general effect in sentence comprehension. Here, we report three…

Predicting Item Difficulty in a Reading Comprehension Test with an Artificial Neural Network.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perkins, Kyle; And Others

1995-01-01

This article reports the results of using a three-layer back propagation artificial neural network to predict item difficulty in a reading comprehension test. Three classes of variables were examined: text structure, propositional analysis, and cognitive demand. Results demonstrate that the networks can consistently predict item difficulty. (JL)

Syntactic Priming in Comprehension: The Role of Argument Order and Animacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carminati, Maria Nella; van Gompel, Roger P. G.; Scheepers, Christoph; Arai, Manabu

2008-01-01

Two visual-world eye-movement experiments investigated the nature of syntactic priming during comprehension--specifically, whether the priming effects in ditransitive prepositional object (PO) and double object (DO) structures (e.g., "The wizard will send the poison to the prince/the prince the poison") are due to anticipation of structural…

Verb Comprehension and Use in Children and Adults with Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michael, Sarah E.; Ratner, Nan Bernstein; Newman, Rochelle

2012-01-01

Purpose: Expressive syntax is a particular area of difficulty for individuals with Down syndrome (DS). In order to better understand the basis for sentence formulation deficits often observed in children and adults with DS, the authors explored the use and comprehension of verbs differing in argument structure. Method: The authors examined verb…

The Effects of Surface Structure Variables on Performance in Reading Comprehension Tests.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drum, Priscilla; And Others

1981-01-01

Concludes that reading comprehension tests that are valid for beginning readers should incorporate different factors than tests appropriate for upper elementary readers, since word recognition and word meaning are prime sources of difficulty for younger readers while content density depresses the performance of readers in upper elementary grades.…

An e-Learning System for Extracting Text Comprehension and Learning Style Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samarakou, Maria; Tsaganou, Grammatiki; Papadakis, Andreas

2018-01-01

Technology-mediated learning is very actively and widely researched, with numerous e-learning environments designed for different educational purposes developed during the past few decades. Still, their organization and texts are not structured according to any theory of educational comprehension. Modern education is even more flexible and, thus,…

Scaling up Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Nigeria: From National Policy to Nationwide Application

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huaynoca, Silvia; Chandra-Mouli, Venkatraman; Yaqub, Nuhu, Jr.; Denno, Donna Marie

2014-01-01

Nigeria is one of few countries that reports having translated national policies on school-based comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) into near-nationwide implementation. We analysed data using the World Health Organization-ExpandNet framework, which provides a systematic structure for planning and managing the scaling up of health innovations.…

Rapid and Programmable Protein Mutagenesis Using Plasmid Recombineering.

PubMed

Higgins, Sean A; Ouonkap, Sorel V Y; Savage, David F

2017-10-20

Comprehensive and programmable protein mutagenesis is critical for understanding structure-function relationships and improving protein function. There is thus a need for robust and unbiased molecular biological approaches for the construction of the requisite comprehensive protein libraries. Here we demonstrate that plasmid recombineering is a simple and robust in vivo method for the generation of protein mutants for both comprehensive library generation as well as programmable targeting of sequence space. Using the fluorescent protein iLOV as a model target, we build a complete mutagenesis library and find it to be specific and comprehensive, detecting 99.8% of our intended mutations. We then develop a thermostability screen and utilize our comprehensive mutation data to rapidly construct a targeted and multiplexed library that identifies significantly improved variants, thus demonstrating rapid protein engineering in a simple protocol.

What do parents know about their children's comprehension of emotions? accuracy of parental estimates in a community sample of pre-schoolers.

PubMed

Kårstad, S B; Kvello, O; Wichstrøm, L; Berg-Nielsen, T S

2014-05-01

Parents' ability to correctly perceive their child's skills has implications for how the child develops. In some studies, parents have shown to overestimate their child's abilities in areas such as IQ, memory and language. Emotion Comprehension (EC) is a skill central to children's emotion regulation, initially learned from their parents. In this cross-sectional study we first tested children's EC and then asked parents to estimate the child's performance. Thus, a measure of accuracy between child performance and parents' estimates was obtained. Subsequently, we obtained information on child and parent factors that might predict parents' accuracy in estimating their child's EC. Child EC and parental accuracy of estimation was tested by studying a community sample of 882 4-year-olds who completed the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC). The parents were instructed to guess their children's responses on the TEC. Predictors of parental accuracy of estimation were child actual performance on the TEC, child language comprehension, observed parent-child interaction, the education level of the parent, and child mental health. Ninety-one per cent of the parents overestimated their children's EC. On average, parents estimated that their 4-year-old children would display the level of EC corresponding to a 7-year-old. Accuracy of parental estimation was predicted by child high performance on the TEC, child advanced language comprehension, and more optimal parent-child interaction. Parents' ability to estimate the level of their child's EC was characterized by a substantial overestimation. The more competent the child, and the more sensitive and structuring the parent was interacting with the child, the more accurate the parent was in the estimation of their child's EC. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Faulds, James

We conducted a comprehensive analysis of the structural controls of geothermal systems within the Great Basin and adjacent regions. Our main objectives were to: 1) Produce a catalogue of favorable structural environments and models for geothermal systems. 2) Improve site-specific targeting of geothermal resources through detailed studies of representative sites, which included innovative techniques of slip tendency analysis of faults and 3D modeling. 3) Compare and contrast the structural controls and models in different tectonic settings. 4) Synthesize data and develop methodologies for enhancement of exploration strategies for conventional and EGS systems, reduction in the risk of drilling non-productive wells,more » and selecting the best EGS sites.« less

Discovery and Structure-Activity Relationships of the Neoseptins: A New Class of Toll-like Receptor-4 (TLR4) Agonists.

PubMed

Morin, Matthew D; Wang, Ying; Jones, Brian T; Su, Lijing; Surakattula, Murali M R P; Berger, Michael; Huang, Hua; Beutler, Elliot K; Zhang, Hong; Beutler, Bruce; Boger, Dale L

2016-05-26

Herein, we report studies leading to the discovery of the neoseptins and a comprehensive examination of the structure-activity relationships (SARs) of this new class of small-molecule mouse Toll-like receptor 4 (mTLR4) agonists. The compounds in this class, which emerged from screening an α-helix mimetic library, stimulate the immune response, act by a well-defined mechanism (mouse TLR4 agonist), are easy to produce and structurally manipulate, exhibit exquisite SARs, are nontoxic, and elicit improved and qualitatively different responses compared to lipopolysaccharide, even though they share the same receptor.

Applications of Structural Mass Spectrometry to Metabolomics: Clarifying Bond Specific Spectral Signatures with Isotope Edited Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorlova, Olga; Wolke, Conrad T.; Fournier, Joseph; Colvin, Sean; Johnson, Mark; Miller, Scott

2015-06-01

Comprehensive FTIR, MS/MS and NMR of pharmaceuticals are generally readily available but characterization of their metabolites has been an obstacle. Atorvastatin is a statin drug responsible for the maintenance of cholesterol in the body. Diovan is an angiostensin receptor antagonist used to treat high blood pressure and congestive heart failure. The field of metabolomics, however, is struggling to obtain the identity of their structures. We implement mass spectrometry with cryogenic ion spectroscopy to study gaseous ions of the desired metabolites which, in combination, not only identify the mass of the metabolite but also elucidate their structures through isotope-specific infrared spectroscopy.

Reusable LH2 tank technology demonstration through ground test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bianca, C.; Greenberg, H. S.; Johnson, S. E.

1995-01-01

The paper presents the project plan to demonstrate, by March 1997, the reusability of an integrated composite LH2 tank structure, cryogenic insulation, and thermal protection system (TPS). The plan includes establishment of design requirements and a comprehensive trade study to select the most suitable Reusable Hydrogen Composite Tank system (RHCTS) within the most suitable of 4 candidate structural configurations. The 4 vehicles are winged body with the capability to deliver 25,000 lbs of payload to a circular 220 nm, 51.6 degree inclined orbit (also 40,000 lbs to a 28.5 inclined 150 nm orbit). A prototype design of the selected RHCTS is established to identify the construction, fabrication, and stress simulation and test requirements necessary in an 8 foot diameter tank structure/insulation/TPS test article. A comprehensive development test program supports the 8 foot test article development and involves the composite tank itself, cryogenic insulation, and integrated tank/insulation/TPS designs. The 8 foot diameter tank will contain the integrated cryogenic insulation and TPS designs resulting from this development and that of the concurrent lightweight durable TPS program. Tank ground testing will include 330 cycles of LH2 filling, pressurization, body loading, depressurization, draining, and entry heating.

Structure Shapes Dynamics and Directionality in Diverse Brain Networks: Mathematical Principles and Empirical Confirmation in Three Species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moon, Joon-Young; Kim, Junhyeok; Ko, Tae-Wook; Kim, Minkyung; Iturria-Medina, Yasser; Choi, Jee-Hyun; Lee, Joseph; Mashour, George A.; Lee, Uncheol

2017-04-01

Identifying how spatially distributed information becomes integrated in the brain is essential to understanding higher cognitive functions. Previous computational and empirical studies suggest a significant influence of brain network structure on brain network function. However, there have been few analytical approaches to explain the role of network structure in shaping regional activities and directionality patterns. In this study, analytical methods are applied to a coupled oscillator model implemented in inhomogeneous networks. We first derive a mathematical principle that explains the emergence of directionality from the underlying brain network structure. We then apply the analytical methods to the anatomical brain networks of human, macaque, and mouse, successfully predicting simulation and empirical electroencephalographic data. The results demonstrate that the global directionality patterns in resting state brain networks can be predicted solely by their unique network structures. This study forms a foundation for a more comprehensive understanding of how neural information is directed and integrated in complex brain networks.

Chinese College Test Takers' Individual Differences and Reading Test Performance: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

PubMed

Zhang, Limei

2016-06-01

This study reports on the relationships between test takers' individual differences and their performance on a reading comprehension test. A total of 518 Chinese college students (252 women and 256 men; M age = 19.26 year, SD = 0.98) answered a questionnaire and sit for a reading comprehension test. The study found that test takers' L2 language proficiency was closely linked to their test performance. Test takers' employment of strategies was significantly and positively associated with their performance on the test. Test takers' motivation was found to be significantly associated with reading test performance. Test anxiety was negatively related to their use of reading strategies and test performance. The results of the study lent support to the threshold hypothesis of language proficiency. The implications for classroom teaching were provided. © The Author(s) 2016.

Generation and structural validation of a library of diverse xyloglucan-derived oligosaccharides, including an update on xyloglucan nomenclature.

PubMed

Tuomivaara, Sami T; Yaoi, Katsuro; O'Neill, Malcolm A; York, William S

2015-01-30

Xyloglucans are structurally complex plant cell wall polysaccharides that are involved in cell growth and expansion, energy metabolism, and signaling. Determining the structure-function relationships of xyloglucans would benefit from the availability of a comprehensive and structurally diverse collection of rigorously characterized xyloglucan oligosaccharides. Here, we present a workflow for the semi-preparative scale generation and purification of neutral and acidic xyloglucan oligosaccharides using a combination of enzymatic and chemical treatments and size-exclusion chromatography. Twenty-six of these oligosaccharides were purified to near homogeneity and their structures validated using a combination of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry, high-performance anion exchange chromatography, and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Mass spectrometry and analytical chromatography were compared as methods for xyloglucan oligosaccharide quantification. 1H chemical shifts were assigned using two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy. A comprehensive update of the nomenclature describing xyloglucan side-chain structures is provided for reference. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of technical condition of concrete pavement by the example of district road

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linek, M.; Nita, P.; Żebrowski, W.; Wolka, P.

2018-05-01

The article presents the comprehensive assessment of concrete pavement condition. Analyses included the district road located in the swietokrzyskie province, used for 11 years. Comparative analyses were conducted twice. The first analysis was carried out after 9 years of pavement operation, in 2015. In order to assess the extent of pavement degradation, the tests were repeated in 2017. Within the scope of field research, the traffic intensity within the analysed road section was determined. Visual assessment of pavement condition was conducted, according to the guidelines included in SOSN-B. Visual assessment can be extended by ground-penetrating radar measurements which allow to provide comprehensive assessment of the occurred structure changes within its entire thickness and length. The assessment included also performance parameters, i.e. pavement regularity, surface roughness and texture. Extension of test results by the assessment of changes in internal structure of concrete composite and structure observations by means of Scanning Electron Microscope allow for the assessment of parameters of internal structure of hardened concrete. Supplementing the observations of internal structure by means of computed tomography scan provides comprehensive information of possible discontinuities and composite structure. According to the analysis of the obtained results, conclusions concerning the analysed pavement condition were reached. It was determined that the pavement is distinguished by high performance parameters, its condition is good and it does not require any repairs. Maintenance treatment was suggested in order to extend the period of proper operation of the analysed pavement.

ANDERS: future of concrete bridge deck evaluation and rehabilitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gucunski, Nenad; Moon, Franklin

2011-04-01

The Automated Nondestructive Evaluation and Rehabilitation System (ANDERS) aims to provide a uniquely comprehensive tool that will transform the manner in which bridge decks are assessed and rehabilitated. It is going to be achieved through: 1) much higher evaluation detail and comprehensiveness of detection at an early stage deterioration, 2) comprehensive condition and structural assessment at all stages of deterioration, and 3) integrated assessment and rehabilitation that will be minimally invasive, rapid and cost effective. ANDERS is composed of four systems. that merge novel imaging and NDE techniques, together with novel intervention approaches to arrest the deterioration processes. These technologies are incorporated within a series of human-operated and robotic vehicles. To perform assessments, ANDERS will be equipped with two complimentary nondestructive approaches. The first, Multi-Modal Nondestructive Evaluation (MM-NDE) System aims to identify and characterize localized deterioration with a high degree of resolution. The second, Global Structural Assessment (GSA) System aims to capture global structural characteristics and identify any appreciable effects of deterioration on a bridge structure. Output from these two approaches will be merged through a novel Automated Structural Identification (Auto St-Id) approach that will construct, calibrate, and utilize simulation models to assess overall structural vulnerability and capacity. These three systems comprise the assessment suite of ANDERS and will directly inform the Nondestructive Rehabilitation (NDR) System. The NDR System leverages robotics for the precision and rapid delivery of novel materials capable of halting the early-stage deterioration identified.

Raman spectroscopic study of the Chromobacterium violaceum pigment violacein using multiwavelength excitation and DFT calculations.

PubMed

Jehlička, Jan; Edwards, Howell G M; Němec, Ivan; Oren, Aharon

2015-01-01

Violacein is a bisindole pigment occurring as a biosynthetic product of Chromobacterium violaceum and Janthinobacterium lividum. It has some structural similarities to the cyanobacterial UV-protective pigment scytonemin, which has been the subject of comprehensive spectroscopic and structural studies. A detailed experimental Raman spectroscopic study with visible and near-infrared excitation of violacein produced by C. violaceum has been undertaken and supported using theoretical DFT calculations. Raman spectra with 514 and 785 nm excitation of cultivated cells as well as extracts and Gaussian (B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p)) calculations with proposed molecular vibrational assignments are reported here. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A description of the ABCD organizational structure and communication framework.

PubMed

Auchter, Allison M; Hernandez Mejia, Margie; Heyser, Charles J; Shilling, Paul D; Jernigan, Terry L; Brown, Sandra A; Tapert, Susan F; Dowling, Gayathri J

2018-04-16

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study is designed to be the largest study of brain development and child health in the United States, performing comprehensive assessments of 11,500 children repeatedly for 10 years. An endeavor of this magnitude requires an organized framework of governance and communication that promotes collaborative decision-making and dissemination of information. The ABCD consortium structure, built upon the Matrix Management approach of organizational theory, facilitates the integration of input from all institutions, numerous internal workgroups and committees, federal partners, and external advisory groups to make use of a broad range of expertise to ensure the study's success. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of catalyst pore structure and acid properties on the dehydration of glycerol.

PubMed

Choi, Youngbo; Park, Hongseok; Yun, Yang Sik; Yi, Jongheop

2015-03-01

Hierarchical porous catalysts have recently attracted increasing interest because of the enhanced accessibility to active sites on such materials. In this context, previously reported hierarchically mesoporous ASN and ASPN materials are evaluated by applying them to the dehydration of glycerol, and demonstrate excellent catalytic performance. In addition, a comprehensive understanding of the effects of pore structures and the acid properties on the reaction through comparative studies with microporous HZSM-5 and mesoporous AlMCM-41 is provided. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

R-matrix calculations for electron-impact excitation of C(+), N(2+), and O(3+) including fine structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luo, D.; Pradhan, A. K.

1990-01-01

The new R-matrix package for comprehensive close-coupling calculations for electron scattering with the first three ions in the boron isoelectronic sequence, the astrophysically significant C(+), N(2+), and O(3+), is presented. The collision strengths are calculated in the LS coupling approximation, as well as in pair-coupling scheme, for the transitions among the fine-structure sublevels. Calculations are carried out at a large number of energies in order to study the detailed effects of autoionizing resonances.

Changes in intrinsic local connectivity after reading intervention in children with autism.

PubMed

Maximo, Jose O; Murdaugh, Donna L; O'Kelley, Sarah; Kana, Rajesh K

2017-12-01

Most of the existing behavioral and cognitive intervention programs in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have not been tested at the neurobiological level, thus falling short of finding quantifiable neurobiological changes underlying behavioral improvement. The current study takes a translational neuroimaging approach to test the impact of a structured visual imagery-based reading intervention on improving reading comprehension and assessing its underlying local neural circuitry. Behavioral and resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data were collected from children with ASD who were randomly assigned to an Experimental group (ASD-EXP; n=14) and a Wait-list control group (ASD-WLC; n=14). Participants went through an established reading intervention training program (Visualizing and Verbalizing for language comprehension and thinking or V/V; 4-h per day, 10-weeks, 200h of face-to-face instruction). Local functional connectivity was examined using a connection density approach from graph theory focusing on brain areas considered part of the Reading Network. The main results are as follows: (I) the ASD-EXP group showed significant improvement, compared to the ASD-WLC group, in their reading comprehension ability evidenced from change in comprehension scores; (II) the ASD-EXP group showed increased local brain connectivity in Reading Network regions compared to the ASD-WLC group post-intervention; (III) intervention-related changes in local brain connectivity were observed in the ASD-EXP from pre to post-intervention; and (IV) improvement in language comprehension significantly predicted changes in local connectivity. The findings of this study provide novel insights into brain plasticity in children with developmental disorders using targeted intervention programs. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Evaluating Treatment and Generalization Patterns of Two Theoretically Motivated Sentence Comprehension Therapies.

PubMed

Des Roches, Carrie A; Vallila-Rohter, Sofia; Villard, Sarah; Tripodis, Yorghos; Caplan, David; Kiran, Swathi

2016-12-01

The current study examined treatment outcomes and generalization patterns following 2 sentence comprehension therapies: object manipulation (OM) and sentence-to-picture matching (SPM). Findings were interpreted within the framework of specific deficit and resource reduction accounts, which were extended in order to examine the nature of generalization following treatment of sentence comprehension deficits in aphasia. Forty-eight individuals with aphasia were enrolled in 1 of 8 potential treatment assignments that varied by task (OM, SPM), complexity of trained sentences (complex, simple), and syntactic movement (noun phrase, wh-movement). Comprehension of trained and untrained sentences was probed before and after treatment using stimuli that differed from the treatment stimuli. Linear mixed-model analyses demonstrated that, although both OM and SPM treatments were effective, OM resulted in greater improvement than SPM. Analyses of covariance revealed main effects of complexity in generalization; generalization from complex to simple linguistically related sentences was observed both across task and across movement. Results are consistent with the complexity account of treatment efficacy, as generalization effects were consistently observed from complex to simpler structures. Furthermore, results provide support for resource reduction accounts that suggest that generalization can extend across linguistic boundaries, such as across movement type.

Eye movements during listening reveal spontaneous grammatical processing.

PubMed

Huette, Stephanie; Winter, Bodo; Matlock, Teenie; Ardell, David H; Spivey, Michael

2014-01-01

Recent research using eye-tracking typically relies on constrained visual contexts in particular goal-oriented contexts, viewing a small array of objects on a computer screen and performing some overt decision or identification. Eyetracking paradigms that use pictures as a measure of word or sentence comprehension are sometimes touted as ecologically invalid because pictures and explicit tasks are not always present during language comprehension. This study compared the comprehension of sentences with two different grammatical forms: the past progressive (e.g., was walking), which emphasizes the ongoing nature of actions, and the simple past (e.g., walked), which emphasizes the end-state of an action. The results showed that the distribution and timing of eye movements mirrors the underlying conceptual structure of this linguistic difference in the absence of any visual stimuli or task constraint: Fixations were shorter and saccades were more dispersed across the screen, as if thinking about more dynamic events when listening to the past progressive stories. Thus, eye movement data suggest that visual inputs or an explicit task are unnecessary to solicit analog representations of features such as movement, that could be a key perceptual component to grammatical comprehension.

Insight into Evolution, Processing and Performance of Multi-length-scale Structures in Planar Heterojunction Perovskite Solar Cells.

PubMed

Huang, Yu-Ching; Tsao, Cheng-Si; Cho, Yi-Ju; Chen, Kuan-Chen; Chiang, Kai-Ming; Hsiao, Sheng-Yi; Chen, Chang-Wen; Su, Chun-Jen; Jeng, U-Ser; Lin, Hao-Wu

2015-09-04

The structural characterization correlated to the processing control of hierarchical structure of planar heterojunction perovskite layer is still incomplete due to the limitations of conventional microscopy and X-ray diffraction. This present study performed the simultaneously grazing-incidence small-angle scattering and wide-angle scattering (GISAXS/GIWAXS) techniques to quantitatively probe the hierarchical structure of the planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells. The result is complementary to the currently microscopic study. Correlation between the crystallization behavior, crystal orientation, nano- and meso-scale internal structure and surface morphology of perovskite film as functions of various processing control parameters is reported for the first time. The structural transition from the fractal pore network to the surface fractal can be tuned by the chloride percentage. The GISAXS/GIWAXS measurement provides the comprehensive understanding of concurrent evolution of the film morphology and crystallization correlated to the high performance. The result can provide the insight into formation mechanism and rational synthesis design.

Insight into Evolution, Processing and Performance of Multi-length-scale Structures in Planar Heterojunction Perovskite Solar Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Yu-Ching; Tsao, Cheng-Si; Cho, Yi-Ju; Chen, Kuan-Chen; Chiang, Kai-Ming; Hsiao, Sheng-Yi; Chen, Chang-Wen; Su, Chun-Jen; Jeng, U.-Ser; Lin, Hao-Wu

2015-09-01

The structural characterization correlated to the processing control of hierarchical structure of planar heterojunction perovskite layer is still incomplete due to the limitations of conventional microscopy and X-ray diffraction. This present study performed the simultaneously grazing-incidence small-angle scattering and wide-angle scattering (GISAXS/GIWAXS) techniques to quantitatively probe the hierarchical structure of the planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells. The result is complementary to the currently microscopic study. Correlation between the crystallization behavior, crystal orientation, nano- and meso-scale internal structure and surface morphology of perovskite film as functions of various processing control parameters is reported for the first time. The structural transition from the fractal pore network to the surface fractal can be tuned by the chloride percentage. The GISAXS/GIWAXS measurement provides the comprehensive understanding of concurrent evolution of the film morphology and crystallization correlated to the high performance. The result can provide the insight into formation mechanism and rational synthesis design.

Structural Analysis and Design of PCC Shoulders

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1982-04-01

A structural evaluation of PCC highway shoulders has been conducted and a comprehensive design procedure for plain jointed concrete shoulders developed. The procedure can be used to provide PCC shoulders either for rehabilitation of existing pavement...

Elucidation of the structure of retroviral proteases: a reminiscence.

PubMed

Jaskolski, Mariusz; Miller, Maria; Mohana Rao, J K; Gustchina, Alla; Wlodawer, Alexander

2015-11-01

Determinations of only a very few protein structures had consequences comparable to the impact exerted by the structure of the protease encoded by HIV-1, published just over 25 years ago. The structure of this relatively small protein and its cousins from other retroviruses provided a clear target for a spectacularly successful structure-assisted drug design effort that offered new hope for controlling the then-escalating AIDS epidemic. This reminiscence is limited primarily to work conducted at the National Cancer Institute, and is not meant to be a comprehensive history of the field, but is rather an attempt to provide a very personal account of how the structures of this most thoroughly studied crystallographic target were determined. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Successful communication does not drive language development: Evidence from adult homesign.

PubMed

Carrigan, Emily M; Coppola, Marie

2017-01-01

Constructivist accounts of language acquisition maintain that the language learner aims to match a target provided by mature users. Communicative problem solving in the context of social interaction and matching a linguistic target or model are presented as primary mechanisms driving the language development process. However, research on the development of homesign gesture systems by deaf individuals who have no access to a linguistic model suggests that aspects of language can develop even when typical input is unavailable. In four studies, we examined the role of communication in the genesis of homesign systems by assessing how well homesigners' family members comprehend homesign productions. In Study 1, homesigners' mothers showed poorer comprehension of homesign descriptions produced by their now-adult deaf child than of spoken Spanish descriptions of the same events produced by one of their adult hearing children. Study 2 found that the younger a family member was when they first interacted with their deaf relative, the better they understood the homesigner. Despite this, no family member comprehended homesign productions at levels that would be expected if family members co-generated homesign systems with their deaf relative via communicative interactions. Study 3 found that mothers' poor or incomplete comprehension of homesign was not a result of incomplete homesign descriptions. In Study 4 we demonstrated that Deaf native users of American Sign Language, who had no previous experience with the homesigners or their homesign systems, nevertheless comprehended homesign productions out of context better than the homesigners' mothers. This suggests that homesign has comprehensible structure, to which mothers and other family members are not fully sensitive. Taken together, these studies show that communicative problem solving is not responsible for the development of structure in homesign systems. The role of this mechanism must therefore be re-evaluated in constructivist theories of language development. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Morphological Awareness in Literacy Acquisition of Chinese Second Graders: A Path Analysis.

PubMed

Zhang, Haomin

2016-02-01

The present study tested a path diagram regarding the contribution of morphological awareness (MA) to early literacy acquisition among Chinese-speaking second graders ([Formula: see text]). Three facets of MA were addressed, namely derivational awareness, compound awareness and compound structure awareness. The model aimed to test a theory of causal order among measures of MA and literacy outcomes. Drawing upon multivariate path analysis, direct and indirect effects of MA were analyzed to identify their role in literacy performance among young children. Results revealed that all three facets of MA made significant contributions to lexical inference ability. In addition, compound awareness showed a unique and significant contribution to vocabulary knowledge. It was also observed that lexical inference ability had a mediating effect predictive of both vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Moreover, vocabulary knowledge mediated the effect of MA on reading comprehension. However, no significant contribution of MA to reading comprehension was found after controlling for lexical inference ability and vocabulary knowledge.

Robust Nucleus/Cell Detection and Segmentation in Digital Pathology and Microscopy Images: A Comprehensive Review

PubMed Central

Xing, Fuyong; Yang, Lin

2016-01-01

Digital pathology and microscopy image analysis is widely used for comprehensive studies of cell morphology or tissue structure. Manual assessment is labor intensive and prone to inter-observer variations. Computer-aided methods, which can significantly improve the objectivity and reproducibility, have attracted a great deal of interest in recent literatures. Among the pipeline of building a computer-aided diagnosis system, nucleus or cell detection and segmentation play a very important role to describe the molecular morphological information. In the past few decades, many efforts have been devoted to automated nucleus/cell detection and segmentation. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of the recent state-of-the-art nucleus/cell segmentation approaches on different types of microscopy images including bright-field, phase-contrast, differential interference contrast (DIC), fluorescence, and electron microscopies. In addition, we discuss the challenges for the current methods and the potential future work of nucleus/cell detection and segmentation. PMID:26742143

Microenterprise Development Interventions for Sexual Risk Reduction: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Lee, Ramon; Thirumurthy, Harsha; Muessig, Kathryn E.; Tucker, Joseph D.

2013-01-01

Comprehensive interventions that address both individual and structural determinants associated with HIV/STI risk are gaining increasing attention over the past decade. Microenterprise development offers an appealing model for HIV prevention by addressing poverty and gender equality. This study systematically reviewed the effects of microenterprise development interventions on HIV/STI incidence and sexual risk behaviors. Microenterprise development was defined as developing small business capacity among individuals to alleviate poverty. Seven eligible research studies representing five interventions were identified and included in this review. All of the studies targeted women, and three focused on sex workers. None measured biomarker outcomes. All three sex worker studies showed significant reduction in sexual risk behaviors when compared to the control group. Non-sex worker studies showed limited changes in sexual risk behavior. This review indicates the potential utility of microenterprise development in HIV risk reduction programs. More research is needed to determine how microenterprise development can be effectively incorporated in comprehensive HIV control strategies. PMID:23963497

Microenterprise development interventions for sexual risk reduction: a systematic review.

PubMed

Cui, Rosa R; Lee, Ramon; Thirumurthy, Harsha; Muessig, Kathryn E; Tucker, Joseph D

2013-11-01

Comprehensive interventions that address both individual and structural determinants associated with HIV/STI risk are gaining increasing attention over the past decade. Microenterprise development offers an appealing model for HIV prevention by addressing poverty and gender equality. This study systematically reviewed the effects of microenterprise development interventions on HIV/STI incidence and sexual risk behaviors. Microenterprise development was defined as developing small business capacity among individuals to alleviate poverty. Seven eligible research studies representing five interventions were identified and included in this review. All of the studies targeted women, and three focused on sex workers. None measured biomarker outcomes. All three sex worker studies showed significant reduction in sexual risk behaviors when compared to the control group. Non-sex worker studies showed limited changes in sexual risk behavior. This review indicates the potential utility of microenterprise development in HIV risk reduction programs. More research is needed to determine how microenterprise development can be effectively incorporated in comprehensive HIV control strategies.

Adapting Structuration Theory as a Comprehensive Theory for Distance Education: The ASTIDE Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aktaruzzaman, Md; Plunkett, Margaret

2016-01-01

Distance Education (DE) theorists have argued about the requirement for a theory to be comprehensive in a way that can explicate many of the activities associated with DE. Currently, Transactional Distance Theory (TDT) (Moore, 1993) and the Theory of Instructional Dialogue (IDT) (Caspi & Gorsky, 2006) are the most prominent theories, yet they…

On the Factor Structure of a Reading Comprehension Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salehi, Mohammad

2011-01-01

To investigate the construct validly of a section of a high stakes test, an exploratory factor analysis using principal components analysis was employed. The rotation used was varimax with the suppression level of 0.30. Eleven factors were extracted out of 35 reading comprehension items. The fact that these factors emerged speak to the construct…

Examining the Structure of Reading Comprehension: Do Literal, Inferential, and Evaluative Comprehension Truly Exist?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basaraba, Deni; Yovanoff, Paul; Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

2013-01-01

Although the recent identification of the five critical components of early literacy has been a catalyst for modifications to the content of materials used to provide reading instruction and the tools used to examine student's acquisition of early literacy skills, these skills have not received equal attention from test developers and publishers.…

A Comprehensive Orientation to the World of Work Through Industrial Arts and Vocational Education (Grades 1-12).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, E. F.; And Others

In response to the philosophy of vocational education outlined by the National Advisory Council, the Greenwood Public School Administration drew up this proposal for a new educational structure. Designed to prepare students for the world of work through a comprehensive orientation process involving practical arts, vocational education, and…

Text Signals Influence Second Language Expository Text Comprehension: Knowledge Structure Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Kyung; Clariana, Roy B.

2017-01-01

This quasi-experimental investigation describes the influence of text signals on second language expository science text comprehension. In two course sections, mixed proficiency Korean English language learners (n = 88) read one of two print-based English expository text passage versions. Participants in one section (n = 44) were given a version…

Comprehension of Ambiguous and Other Polysemous Utterances: Presented in Written Mode.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brause, Rita S.

Designed to assess comprehension of written ambiguous and polysemous structures, this instrument is a series of written statements that include varying degrees and types of ambiguity. In the first part of the test students are asked to identify (from a choice of three) semantically acceptable paraphrases for an initial sentence. Then students must…

How Consciousness-Raising Affects Intonation and Facilitates Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shariati, Mohammad

2007-01-01

This paper reports on an investigation about the relation between a student's conscious awareness of the structure of a sentence and the degree of his/her intonation accuracy as well as his/her reading comprehension. The research was done based on the hypothesis that: "if the students are made conscious of the infrastructure of lengthy…

Greater Than the Sum: Professionals in a Comprehensive Services Model. Teacher Education Monograph No. 17.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levin, Rebekah A., Ed.

This book provides a picture of comprehensive children's services from a global, theoretical perspective, as well as a more practical guide to the potential roles for participating service providers and the structuring of such programs. Following an introduction, the volume is organized into 14 chapters: (1) "Moving from Cooperation to…

An Analysis and Allocation System for Library Collections Budgets: The Comprehensive Allocation Process (CAP)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyons, Lucy Eleonore; Blosser, John

2012-01-01

The "Comprehensive Allocation Process" (CAP) is a reproducible decision-making structure for the allocation of new collections funds, for the reallocation of funds within stagnant budgets, and for budget cuts in the face of reduced funding levels. This system was designed to overcome common shortcomings of current methods. Its philosophical…

Instructional Effectiveness of a Computer-Supported Program for Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ponce, Hector R.; Lopez, Mario J.; Mayer, Richard E.

2012-01-01

This article examines the effectiveness of a computer-based instructional program (e-PELS) aimed at direct instruction in a collection of reading comprehension strategies. In e-PELS, students learn to highlight and outline expository passages based on various types of text structures (such as comparison or cause-and-effect) as well as to…

Examining the Role of Concentration, Vocabulary and Self-Concept in Listening and Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolfgramm, Christine; Suter, Nicole; Göksel, Eva

2016-01-01

Listening is regarded as a key requirement for successful communication and is fundamentally linked to other language skills. Unlike reading, it requires both hearing and processing information in real-time. We therefore propose that the ability to concentrate is a strong predictor of listening comprehension. Using structural equation modeling,…

Psychological Assessment through Performance-Based Techniques and Self-Reports: A Case Study of a Sexually Abused Girl at Preschool Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khalily, Muhammad Tahir; Hallahan, Brian

2011-01-01

We investigated the implicit psychological and behavioral consequences of sexual abuse in an adolescent girl who suffered child sexual abuse at preschool age in this case report. We report the manifestations of this abuse on her personality and psychological functioning using a structured clinical interview and a comprehensive psychological…

What Makes Koreans Happy?: Exploration on the Structure of Happy Life among Korean Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Myoung So; Kim, Hye Won; Cha, Kyeong Ho; Lim, Jeeyoung

2007-01-01

The current study explored the perceptions of Korean people about what can make them happy and constructed a comprehensive measurement of happiness of Korean. A total of 61 Korean adults participated in Focused Group Interview (FGI), where they were asked three questions (e.g., What makes you happy? What could make you happier than now? In…

The Chosen Few: Latinas and the New Technologies. JSRI Occasional Paper No. 65. Latino Studies Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ingle, Yolanda Rodriguez

If higher education is serious about attracting and retaining Latinas to the faculty rank and giving them significant roles in the academic arena, more understanding and comprehensive organizational change are needed. When minority individuals are brought in one at a time, they are less likely to integrate effectively into the social structure,…

The processing of materials in outer space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gelles, S. H.; Colling, E. W.

1977-01-01

Zero-gravity environment may lead to fabrication of new and improved materials. According to comprehensive study of application of this promising technology to superconducting and electrical contact materials, outer space processing could improve microstructure and homogeneity of many single and multicomponent systems formed from solidification of fluid phases. New structures that are impossible to form terrestrially may also be accessible in space environment.

Learning To See: American Sign Language as a Second Language. Language in Education: Theory and Practice 76.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilcox, Sherman; Wilcox, Phyllis

During the last decade, the study of American Sign Language (ASL) as a second language has become enormously popular. More and more schools and universities recognize the important role that ASL can play in foreign language education. This monograph provides a comprehensive introduction to the history and structure of ASL, to the Deaf community…

Modelo empirico integral de una plantacion de Eucalyptus grandis en Concordia, Entre Rios

Treesearch

Jorge Frangi; Carolina Perez; Juan Goya; Natalia Teson; Marcelo Barrera; Marcelo Arturi

2016-01-01

The Argentinian Mesopotamia is the core of fast-growing tree species plantations of the country. Eucalyptus grandis plantations constitute 90 % of the forested area with Eucalyptus spp. in NE Entre Rios. Based on previous studies on structural and functional features, a comprehensive model is here proposed on emergence of new properties linked to matter and ecosystem...

"Teacher Talk": The Problems, Perspectives and Possibilities of Developing a Comprehensive Sexual Health Education Curriculum for Australian Muslim Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanjakdar, Fida

2009-01-01

This paper reports on a study that examines how a group of teachers at a Victorian Islamic College deliberated on how to develop an appropriate sexual health education curriculum for their Muslim students. Teachers found themselves challenged by the current restrictive curriculum structures, policies and practices at their school. They also found…

Memorizing the Words of God: Special Reference to 'Abdul Rahman Ibn Khaldun (D. 1406 A.D.)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bensaid, Benaouda; Machouche, Salah ben Tahar

2017-01-01

This study explores the position of the tradition of Qur'an memorization in the structure of Muslim primary education and intellectual hierarchy while drawing on the Khaldunian perspective regarding the problem of memorization versus comprehension of the Qur'an. This article concludes that the practice of Qur'an memorization is what shapes the…

How to Use the Science of Snow to Engage Middle School Students in an Interdisciplinary Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lange, Catherine; Huff, Kenneth L.; Silverman, Scott; Wallace, Karen

2012-01-01

In this interdisciplinary and field-based activity, grade 5 to 9 students engage in a comprehensive scientific study of snow. Through a series of in-class and out-of-class structured interdisciplinary and team-teaching lesson progressions, students will collect data to be able to analyze and apply knowledge about weather, the physical properties…