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Sample records for comprehensive tnx area

  1. 1998 Comprehensive TNX Area Annual Groundwater and Effectiveness Monitoring Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chase, J.

    1999-06-02

    Shallow groundwater beneath the TNX Area at the Savannah River Site has been contaminated with chlorinated volatile organic compounds such as trichloroethylene and carbon tetrachloride. The Interim Action T-1 Air Stripper System began operation on September 16, 1996. A comprehensive groundwater monitoring program was initiated to measure the effectiveness of the system. The Interim Action is meeting its objectives and is capable of continuing to do so until the final groundwater remedial action is in place.

  2. 1997 Comprehensive TNX Area Annual Groundwater and Effectiveness Monitoring Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chase, J.

    1998-04-01

    Shallow groundwater beneath the TNX Area at the Savannah River Site (SRS) has been contaminated with chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) such as trichloroethylene (TCE) and carbon tetrachloride. In November 1994, an Interim Record of Decision (IROD) was agreed to and signed by the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the South Carolina Department of Health ampersand Environmental Control (SCDHEC). The Interim Record of Decision requires the installation of a hybrid groundwater corrective action (HGCA) to stabilize the plume of groundwater contamination and remove CVOCs dissolved in the groundwater. The hybrid groundwater corrective action included a recovery well network, purge water management facility, air stripper, and an airlift recirculation well. The recirculation well was dropped pursuant to a test that indicated it to be ineffective at the TNX Area. Consequently, the groundwater corrective action was changed from a hybrid to a single action, pump-and-treat approach. The Interim Action (IA) T-1 air stripper system began operation on September 16, 1996. a comprehensive groundwater monitoring program was initiated to measure the effectiveness of the system. As of December 31, 1997, the system has treated 32 million gallons of contaminated groundwater removed 32 pounds of TCE. The recovery well network created a 'capture zone' that stabilized the plume of contaminated groundwater

  3. 1997 Comprehensive TNX Area Annual Groundwater and Effectiveness Monitoring Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chase, J.

    1998-04-01

    Shallow groundwater beneath the TNX Area at the Savannah River Site (SRS) has been contaminated with chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) such as trichloroethylene (TCE) and carbon tetrachloride. In November 1994, an Interim Record of Decision (IROD) was agreed to and signed by the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the South Carolina Department of Health {ampersand} Environmental Control (SCDHEC). The Interim Record of Decision requires the installation of a hybrid groundwater corrective action (HGCA) to stabilize the plume of groundwater contamination and remove CVOCs dissolved in the groundwater. The hybrid groundwater corrective action included a recovery well network, purge water management facility, air stripper, and an airlift recirculation well. The recirculation well was dropped pursuant to a test that indicated it to be ineffective at the TNX Area. Consequently, the groundwater corrective action was changed from a hybrid to a single action, pump-and-treat approach. The Interim Action (IA) T-1 air stripper system began operation on September 16, 1996. a comprehensive groundwater monitoring program was initiated to measure the effectiveness of the system. As of December 31, 1997, the system has treated 32 million gallons of contaminated groundwater removed 32 pounds of TCE. The recovery well network created a `capture zone` that stabilized the plume of contaminated groundwater.

  4. TNX Burying Ground: Environmental information document

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dunaway, J.K.W.; Johnson, W.F.; Kingley, L.E.; Simmons, R.V.; Bledsoe, H.W.

    1987-03-01

    The TNX Burying Ground, located within the TNX Area of the Savannah River Plant (SRP), was originally built to dispose of debris from an experimental evaporator explosion at TNX in 1953. This evaporator contained approximately 590 kg of uranyl nitrate. From 1980 to 1984, much of the waste material buried at TNX was excavated and sent to the SRP Radioactive Waste Burial Grounds for reburial. An estimated 27 kg of uranyl nitrate remains buried at TNX. The TNX Burying Ground consists of three sites known to contain waste and one site suspected of containing waste material. All four sites are located within the TNX security fenceline. Groundwater at the TNX Burying Ground was not evaluated because there are no groundwater monitoring wells installed in the immediate vicinity of this waste site. The closure options considered for the TNX Burying Ground are waste removal and closure, no waste removal and closure, and no action. The predominant pathways for human exposure to chemical and/or radioactive constituents are through surface, subsurface, and atmospheric transport. Modeling calculations were made to determine the risks to human population via these general pathways for the three postulated closure options. An ecological assessment was conducted to predict the environmental impacts on aquatic and terrestrial biota. The relative costs for each of the closure options were estimated

  5. An aerial radiological survey of the Savannah River Site TNX facility and surrounding area, Aiken, South Carolina

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-06-01

    An aerial radiological survey was conducted over a 3.8-square-kilometer (1.5-square-mile) area, centered on the Savannah River Site (SRS) TNX facility. The survey was flown on July 25, 1986, prior to the Steel Creek Corridor survey. Radiological measurements were used to determine the extent of man-made radionuclides in the TNX area. This survey area had been covered during previous site surveys of the Savannah River Floodplain. Higher than typical levels of thorium-232 daughters were detected in the survey area just west of the TNX facility. The natural terrestrial radiation levels were consistent with those measured during prior surveys of this and other SRS areas. 5 refs., 12 figs., 2 tabs

  6. New TNX Seepage Basin: Environmental information document

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dunaway, J.K.W.; Johnson, W.F.; Kingley, L.E.; Simmons, R.V.; Bledsoe, H.W.

    1986-12-01

    The New TNX Seepage Basin has been in operation at the Savannah River Plant (SRP) since 1980 and is located in the southeastern section of the TNX facility. The basin receives waste from pilot scale tests conducted at TNX in support of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) and the plant Separations area. The basin is scheduled for closure after the TNX Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) begins operation. The basin will be closed pursuant to all applicable state and federal regulations. A statistical analysis of monitoring data indicates elevated levels of sodium and zinc in the groundwater at this site. Closure options considered for the New TNX Seepage Basin include waste removal and closure, no waste removal and closure, and no action. The two predominant pathways for human exposure to chemical contaminants are through surface, subsurface, and atmospheric transport. Modeling calculations were made to determine the risks to human population via these general pathways for the three postulated closure options for the New TNX Seepage Basin. Cost estimates for each closure option at the basin have also been prepared. An evaluation of the environmental impacts from the New TNX Seepage Basin indicate that the relative risks to human health and ecosystems for the postulated closure options are low. The transport of six chemical and one radionuclide constituents through the environmental pathways from the basin were modeled. The maximum chemical carcinogenic risk and the noncarcinogenic risk for the groundwater pathways were from exposure to trichloromethane and nitrate

  7. Characterization of shallow groundwater at TNX

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nichols, R.L.

    1993-01-01

    The Savannah River Site (SRS), located on 300 square miles along the Savannah River near Aiken, South Carolina, is owned by the Department of Energy and operated by Westinghouse Savannah River Company. The site''s mission is to support the national security through the production of nuclear weapons material. With the recent reduction of the nation''s nuclear stockpile and the stronger focus on the cleanup of sites where nuclear operations activities have left behind soil and groundwater contamination, identifying and remediating all inactive wastes has become a primary goal.The TNX Area is located adjacent to the Savannah River in the western portion of SRS (Figure 1). The area is a pilot-scale test facility for the Savannah River Technology Center. Pilot-scale testing and evaluation of chemical processes at TNX have included support of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF), Separations Area, and fuel and target manufacturing areas. Wastewater generated during tests was discharged to unlined basins through a network of underground process sewers.A discussion of waste disposal activities for the TNX Area is included in this report to identify the major sources of contaminants that have impacted the groundwater

  8. Interim action record of decision remedial alternative selection: TNX area groundwater operable unit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palmer, E.R.

    1994-10-01

    This document presents the selected interim remedial action for the TNX Area Groundwater Operable Unit at the Savannah River Site (SRS), which was developed in accordance with CERCLA of 1980, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986, and to the extent practicable, the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution contingency Plan (NCP). This decision is based on the Administrative Record File for this specific CERCLA unit

  9. TNX GeoSiphon Cell (TGSC-1) Phase II Minimum Flushing Velocity Deployment/Demonstration Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Phifer, M.A.

    1999-10-25

    The TNX Area is a semi-works facility for the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC), which is located one-quarter mile from the Savannah river at the Savannah River Site. As the result of TNX operation, groundwater contamination has occurred. The predominant contaminants detected in the flood plain downgradient from TNX are trichloroethylene (TCE) and nitrate.Treatability studies into the applicability of a groundwater remediation system combining GeoSiphon Cell and zero-valent iron technologies for treatment of the TCE-contaminated groundwater at TNX have been conducted. These treatability studies have been conducted by SRTC under the sponsorship of the Environmental Restoration Department.

  10. TNX GeoSiphon Cell (TGSC-1) Phase II Minimum Flushing Velocity Deployment/Demonstration Final Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phifer, M.A.

    1999-01-01

    The TNX Area is a semi-works facility for the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC), which is located one-quarter mile from the Savannah river at the Savannah River Site. As the result of TNX operation, groundwater contamination has occurred. The predominant contaminants detected in the flood plain downgradient from TNX are trichloroethylene (TCE) and nitrate.Treatability studies into the applicability of a groundwater remediation system combining GeoSiphon Cell and zero-valent iron technologies for treatment of the TCE-contaminated groundwater at TNX have been conducted. These treatability studies have been conducted by SRTC under the sponsorship of the Environmental Restoration Department

  11. Explanation of significant differences for the TNX groundwater operable unit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palmer, E.R.

    1997-01-01

    This Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) is being issued by the Department of Energy (DOE), the lead agency for the Savannah River Site (SRS), with concurrence by the Environmental Protection Agency-Region IV (EPA) and South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) to announce changes in the interim remediation strategy selected for the TNX Groundwater Operable Unit. The TNX Area is located adjacent to the Savannah River in the southwestern portion of SRS. The remedy selected in the Interim Record of Decision (IROD) to achieve the interim action goals was the Hybrid Groundwater Corrective Action (HGCA). The HGCA consisted of a recirculation well system and an air stripper with a series of groundwater extraction wells. The original remediation strategy needs to be modified because the recirculation well system was determined to be ineffective in this area due to geological factors and the nature of the contamination

  12. First and second quarters 1999 - TNX Area groundwater and effectiveness monitoring strategy data only report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chase, J.

    1999-01-01

    This report presents data of groundwater monitoring conducted during the first and second quarters of 1999 in support of the Interim Remedial Action. The data is from groundwater monitoring wells described in this report as the primary, secondary, and recovery wells of the initial operation of the Effectiveness Monitoring Strategy (EMS) as stipulated in Revision 1.3 (WSRC, 1996), the proposed wells for the full operation of the EMS as described in Revision 1.5 (WSRC, 1999), and general wells pertinent to the report. Also included are data from SRTC projects in the TNX Area that are deemed useful for groundwater characterization

  13. Environmental assessment for the reuse of TNX as a multi-purpose pilot plant campus at the Savannah River Site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-07-01

    The Department of Energy (DOE) prepared this environmental assessment (EA) to analyze the potential environmental and safety impacts of DOE planning to allow asset reuse of the TNX Area at the Savannah River Site (SRS) located near Aiken, South Carolina. The proposed action would include providing for a location for the Centers of Excellence at or adjacent to SRS and entering into a cooperative agreement with a non-profit management and operations (management firm) contractor to operate and market the TNX facilities and equipment. The area (formerly TNX) would be called a Multi-Purpose Pilot Plant Campus (MPPC) and would be used: (1) as location for technology research, development, demonstration, and commercial operations; (2) to establish partnerships with industry to develop applied technologies for commercialization; and (3) serve as administrative headquarters for Centers of Excellence in the program areas of soil remediation, radioecology, groundwater contamination, and municipal solid waste minimization

  14. Technical oversight for installation of TNX piezometers, Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pidcoe, W.W. Jr. [Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Aiken, SC (United States)

    1997-06-05

    Science Applications International Corporation was tasked under subcontract C002025P to provide technical oversight for the drilling of one pilot borehole, and the drilling and installation of five piezometers in the TNX Area Swamp. The work was performed in accordance with the Statement of Work in Task Order Proposal No. ER39-129 dated August 6, 1996. This report describes the activities associated with the performance of the task.

  15. Well Installation and Sampling Report for Monitoring Wells TCM6 TCM7, and TNX 28D - 40D and GeoSiphon Cell TGSC-2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nichols, R.L.

    1999-01-01

    The shallow groundwater and sediments beneath the TNX Area are contaminated with both dissolved and residual chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) such as trichloroethylene (TCE), carbon tetrachloride and perchloroethylene (PCE). The Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) is studying a new technology for remediating CVOCs known as GeoSiphon

  16. Proof-of-Concept of the Phytoimmobilization Technology for TNX Outfall Delta: Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaplan, D.I.

    2001-06-04

    A series of proof-of-principle studies was initiated to evaluate the soil remediation technology, phytoimmobilization, for application at the TNX Outfall Delta (TNX OD) operable unit. Phytoimmobilization involves two steps. The first step is entitled phytoextraction, and it takes place mostly during the spring and summer. During this step the plants extract contaminants from the sediment into the roots and then translocate the contaminants to the aboveground plant parts. The second step is referred to as sequestration and it takes place largely during the autumn and winter when annual plants senesce or deciduous trees drop their leaves. This step involves the immobilization of the contaminant once it leaches form the fallen leaves into a ''geomat,'' a geotextile embedded with mineral sequestering agents. This final report describes the results to date, including those reported in the status report (Kaplan et al. 2000a), those completed since the report was issued, and the preliminary calculations of the phytoimmobilization effectiveness.

  17. Old TNX Seepage Basin: Environmental information document

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dunaway, J.K.; Johnson, W.F.; Kingley, L.E.; Simmons, R.V.; Bledsoe, H.W.; Smith, J.A.

    1986-12-01

    This document provides environmental information on postulated closure options for the Old TNX Seepage Basin at the Savannah River Plant and was developed as background technical documentation for the Department of Energy's proposed Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on waste management activities for groundwater protection at the plant. The results of groundwater and atmospheric pathway analyses, accident analysis, and other environmental assessments discussed in this document are based upon a conservative analysis of all foreseeable scenarios as defined by the National Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR 1500-1508). The scenarios do not necessarily represent actual environmental conditions. This document is not meant to be used as a regulatory closure plan or other regulatory document to comply with required federal or state environmental regulations

  18. Proof-of-Concept of the Phytoimmobilization Technology for TNX Outfall Delta: Final Report; FINAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaplan, D.I.

    2001-01-01

    A series of proof-of-principle studies was initiated to evaluate the soil remediation technology, phytoimmobilization, for application at the TNX Outfall Delta (TNX OD) operable unit. Phytoimmobilization involves two steps. The first step is entitled phytoextraction, and it takes place mostly during the spring and summer. During this step the plants extract contaminants from the sediment into the roots and then translocate the contaminants to the aboveground plant parts. The second step is referred to as sequestration and it takes place largely during the autumn and winter when annual plants senesce or deciduous trees drop their leaves. This step involves the immobilization of the contaminant once it leaches form the fallen leaves into a ''geomat,'' a geotextile embedded with mineral sequestering agents. This final report describes the results to date, including those reported in the status report (Kaplan et al. 2000a), those completed since the report was issued, and the preliminary calculations of the phytoimmobilization effectiveness

  19. In-situ Kd values and geochemical behavior for inorganic and organic constituents of concern at the TNX Outfall Delta

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaplan, D.I.

    2000-01-01

    A series of tests were conducted to provide site-specific Kd values for constituents of concern at the TNX Outfall Delta Operable Unit. These Kd values can be used to calculate contaminant migration within the operable unit and are, at this time considered to be the most defensible values

  20. TNX/HLW Long Shaft Pumps 1995-2000

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    VanPelt, B.

    2002-01-01

    Problems with long shaft pumps are becoming clearer due to increased use, better instrumentation, more analysis, and increased testing activity. The problems are with reliability and not with hydraulic performance. The root cause of reliability problems is usually excessive vibration caused by design. The outlook for satisfactory pumps is improved as understanding of problems increases. Promising developments are emerging such as the tilt pad bearing. Alternative configurations, such as gas filled columns and submerged motor pumps, will require development. Continued development, in general, should be expected due to changing technology and industry changes. This report describes thirteen distinct pump programs starting with leakage of original mixer pumps in the 1980s and ending with the testing of tilt pad bearings now in progress. Eight of the programs occurred from 1996 to 2000. All involve long shaft pumps; all involve testing at TNX; and all involve a problem of some kind. The co mmon technical issue among the activities is vibration and shaft (or rotor) instability due to journal bearings. In every case, excessive shaft vibration is a reasonable and probable explanation for some or all of the problems

  1. Results of toxicity tests and chemical analyses conducted on sediments collected from the TNX Outfall Delta Operable Unit, July 1999

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Specht, W.L.

    2000-01-01

    In order to provide unit specific toxicity data that will be used to address critical uncertainty in the ecological risk assessment (ERA) for the TNX Outfall Delta Operable Unit (TNXOD OU), sediments were collected from eight locations in the Inner Swamp portion of the operable unit and two unit specific background locations. These samples were analyzed for total mercury, total uranium, and sediment toxicity

  2. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF KAOLIN/SAND SLURRY USED DURING SUBMERSIBLE MIXER PUMP TESTS AT TNX

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    HANSEN, ERICH

    2005-01-01

    The purpose of this task is to characterize the physical properties of the kaolin/sand slurries used during the testing of a new submersible mixer pump (SMP) which had undergone performance testing at the TNX Waste Tank mockup facility from July 2004 through May 2005. During this time period, four identical SMPs were subjected to various water tests and four different tests using different batches of kaolin/sand slurries. The physical properties of the kaolin/sand slurries were measured for three of the four tests. In these tests, three different sample locations were used to pull samples, the SMP cooling water exit (CWE), the SMP fluid flow field (FFF), and SMP effective cleaning radius (ECR). The physical properties measured, though not for each sample, included rheology, weight percent total solids (wt% TS), density, kaolin/sand slurry particle size distribution (PSD), weight percent and particles size distribution of material greater than 45 microns

  3. Test Plan for Methanotrophic Bioreactor at Savannah River Site-TNX

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berry, C.J.

    1994-01-01

    The primary purpose of this project is to demonstrate the feasibility and practicality of operating a methanotrophic mobile trickle filter bioreactor (MMB) unit to effectively reduce or eliminate trichloroethylene (TCE) and associated hydrocarbons from contaminated groundwater. The two-column trickle filter system can process 1.67 gallons per minute (gpm) of contaminated groundwater. During this project, the pilot system will evaluate, optimize, and demonstrate methanotrophic treatment technology (MTT). The mobile system will receive a 1--4% methane to air mixture for stimulating the methanotrophic TCE degrading bacteria, thereby increasing the rates of degradation of these contaminants. This project will also evaluate the efficacy of different bacteria for degrading TCE for use in the system at the laboratory-scale sample groundwater monitoring wells at TNX and set up the system for continued operation. The trickle filter system may be used to inexpensively treat other small-scale organic waste streams at SRS after the initial start-up. The MTT was demonstrated as an effective and efficient method of degrading TCE in the laboratory and during a field-scale in situ demonstration for degrading TCE in a groundwater plume at SRS. The methanotrophic bacteria increase significantly in population numbers and in the production of methane monooxygenase (MMO), an extremely powerful oxidizer. MMO was demonstrated as effective in oxidizing TCE and other recalcitrant compounds in laboratory studies. In the presence of MMO, TCE is oxidized to TCE-epoxide, which breaks down spontaneously into simple, easily degraded, daughter compounds. The system will receive a 1--4% methane to air mixture, which will effectively grow and maintain the methanotrophic bacteria that will degrade TCE. This demonstration will have broad applications to bioremediating contaminated groundwater systems where in situ bioremediation is not practical

  4. Kirtland's Warbler Wildlife Management Area Comprehensive Conservation Plan

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of the Interior — The Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for Kirtland’s Warbler Wildlife Management Area (WMA) was signed on September 10, 2009, completing a planning process that...

  5. Analysis of glycerin waste in A-Area sanitary treatment facility material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    TNX has a large supply of 55 gallon drums containing pure glycerin and glycerin with additives. The glycerin drums were procured to simulate the glass stream in a pilot-scale melter process at TNX. Since the glycerin was not used for this process, TNX is looking at disposing the material in a sanitary waste treatment facility onsite. The effect of adding the contents of the drums to sewage bacteria was tested. A drum of pure glycerin and a drum of glycerin mixed with lithium chloride were tested. The test consisted of mixing sanitary sludge material with the glycerin material. The purpose of the test was to determine if the glycerin impacted the aerobic bacterial population. The bacterial densities were determined by taking samples from the sludge/glycerin mixtures and using aerobic plate count methods. The total organic carbon (TOC) levels were measured before and after testing. The results indicate that the cell density of the aerobic bacteria increased with the addition of glycerin and the glycerin mixture and the TOC removal rate was different for all tests. Disposal of glycerin in the wastewater treatment facilities should pose no problems. Additional testing and analysis of the mixed samples should be done before its disposal in a waste water treatment facility

  6. Study on comprehensive planning of rocky desertification in karst area of Chongqing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zang, Yajun

    2017-11-01

    Chongqing is a key area for comprehensive treatment of rocky desertification in karst areas of china. Strengthening the comprehensive management of karst rocky desertification area, for the maintenance of ecological safety of Three Gorges Reservoir area, expanding the karst rocky desertification area people survival and development space, and improving the regional ecological conditions, have important practical significance to the construction of ecological civilization and building a harmonious society. Based on the investigation, analysis and arrangement of the data in the rocky desertification area, the paper puts forward the corresponding measures and phased targets for the treatment of the Rocky Desertification in the karst areas of Chongqing.

  7. Task-modulated activation and functional connectivity of the temporal and frontal areas during speech comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yue, Q; Zhang, L; Xu, G; Shu, H; Li, P

    2013-05-01

    There is general consensus in the literature that a distributed network of temporal and frontal brain areas is involved in speech comprehension. However, how active versus passive tasks modulate the activation and the functional connectivity of the critical brain areas is not clearly understood. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify intelligibility and task-related effects in speech comprehension. Participants performed a semantic judgment task on normal and time-reversed sentences, or passively listened to the sentences without making an overt response. The subtraction analysis demonstrated that passive sentence comprehension mainly engaged brain areas in the left anterior and posterior superior temporal sulcus and middle temporal gyrus (aSTS/MTG and pSTS/MTG), whereas active sentence comprehension recruited bilateral frontal regions in addition to the aSTS/MTG and pSTS/MTG regions. Functional connectivity analysis revealed that during passive sentence comprehension, the left aSTS/MTG was functionally connected with the left Heschl's gyrus (HG) and bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG) but no area was functionally connected with the left pSTS/MTG; during active sentence comprehension, however, both the left aSTS/MTG and pSTS/MTG were functionally connected with bilateral superior temporal and inferior frontal areas. While these results are consistent with the view that the ventral stream of the temporo-frontal network subserves semantic processing, our findings further indicate that both the activation and the functional connectivity of the temporal and frontal areas are modulated by task demands. Copyright © 2013 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Induction of matrix metalloproteinase-2 by tenascin-X deficiency is mediated through the c-Jun N-terminal kinase and protein tyrosine kinase phosphorylation pathway

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumoto, Ken-ichi; Minamitani, Takeharu; Orba, Yasuko; Sato, Mami; Sawa, Hirofumi; Ariga, Hiroyoshi

    2004-01-01

    The results of our previous study showed that tumor invasion and metastasis are promoted in extracellular matrix (ECM) tenascin-X-deficient (TNX-/-) mice via increased expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). However, little is known about the relationship between TNX deficiency and activation of MMP genes. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism by which TNX deficiency activates the MMP-2 gene. We examined the intracellular signaling pathways that regulate gene expression of the proteinase in isolated fibroblasts. Results of gelatin zymography showed that MMP-2 was induced to a greater extent in TNX-/- fibroblasts embedded in type I collagen than in wild-type fibroblasts. RT-PCR analysis revealed that the increased level of MMP-2 expression was caused at the transcription level. Conversely, stable overexpression of TNX in a fibroblast cell line reduced MMP-2 expression and suppressed MMP-2 promoter activity. In addition, treatment of TNX-/- fibroblasts with SP600125, a c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor, and genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, suppressed the increased level of proMMP-2 and increased MMP-2 promoter activity in TNX-/- fibroblasts. Furthermore, increased activation of JNK and tyrosine phosphorylation of certain proteins were observed in TNX-/- fibroblasts. These findings suggest that induction of MMP-2 by TNX deficiency is mediated, at least in part, through the JNK and protein tyrosine kinase phosphorylation pathway

  9. Effects of hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) metabolites on cricket (Acheta domesticus) survival and reproductive success

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang Baohong [Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH), and Department of Environmental Toxicology, Texas Tech University, Box 41163, Lubbock, TX 79409-1163 (United States); Freitag, Christina M. [Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH), and Department of Environmental Toxicology, Texas Tech University, Box 41163, Lubbock, TX 79409-1163 (United States); Canas, Jaclyn E. [Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH), and Department of Environmental Toxicology, Texas Tech University, Box 41163, Lubbock, TX 79409-1163 (United States); Cheng Qiuqiong [Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH), and Department of Environmental Toxicology, Texas Tech University, Box 41163, Lubbock, TX 79409-1163 (United States); Anderson, Todd A. [Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH), and Department of Environmental Toxicology, Texas Tech University, Box 41163, Lubbock, TX 79409-1163 (United States)]. E-mail: todd.anderson@tiehh.ttu.edu

    2006-11-15

    The effect of two major hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) metabolites, hexahydro-1-nitroso-3,5-dinitro-1,3,5-triazine (MNX) and hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitroso-1,3,5-triazine (TNX), on cricket (Acheta domesticus) survival and reproduction was studied. RDX metabolites did not have adverse effects on cricket survival, growth, and egg production. However, MNX and TNX did affect egg hatching. MNX and TNX were more toxic in spiked-sand than in topical tests. TNX was more toxic to egg than MNX. Developmental stage and exposure time affected hatching. After 30 days exposure to MNX or TNX, the EC{sub 2}, EC{sub 5}, and EC{sub 95} were 47, 128, and 247 {mu}g/g for TNX, and 65, 140, and 253 {mu}g/g for MNX in topical tests. The ECs for 20, 50, and 95 were 21, 52, and 99 {mu}g/g for MNX, and 12, 48, and 97 {mu}g/g for TNX in sand. No gross abnormalities in cricket nypmhs were observed in all experiments indicating that neither TNX or MNX is teratogenic in this assay. - RDX metabolites did not have adverse effects on cricket survival, growth, and egg production, but adversely affected egg hatching.

  10. Effects of hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) metabolites on cricket (Acheta domesticus) survival and reproductive success

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Baohong; Freitag, Christina M.; Canas, Jaclyn E.; Cheng Qiuqiong; Anderson, Todd A.

    2006-01-01

    The effect of two major hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) metabolites, hexahydro-1-nitroso-3,5-dinitro-1,3,5-triazine (MNX) and hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitroso-1,3,5-triazine (TNX), on cricket (Acheta domesticus) survival and reproduction was studied. RDX metabolites did not have adverse effects on cricket survival, growth, and egg production. However, MNX and TNX did affect egg hatching. MNX and TNX were more toxic in spiked-sand than in topical tests. TNX was more toxic to egg than MNX. Developmental stage and exposure time affected hatching. After 30 days exposure to MNX or TNX, the EC 2 , EC 5 , and EC 95 were 47, 128, and 247 μg/g for TNX, and 65, 140, and 253 μg/g for MNX in topical tests. The ECs for 20, 50, and 95 were 21, 52, and 99 μg/g for MNX, and 12, 48, and 97 μg/g for TNX in sand. No gross abnormalities in cricket nypmhs were observed in all experiments indicating that neither TNX or MNX is teratogenic in this assay. - RDX metabolites did not have adverse effects on cricket survival, growth, and egg production, but adversely affected egg hatching

  11. Pilot-scale ultrafiltration testing for the F and H area effluent treatment facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kessler, J.L.

    1984-01-01

    An F and H Area Effluent Treatment Facility (F/H ETF) is being designed to treat low activity aqueous effluents which are produced from F and H Area daily operations. The treatment scheme for the F/H ETF will include pretreatment (pH adjustment and filtration) followed by Reverse Osmosis and/or Ion Exchange to remove dissolved species. Several alternative treatment processes are being considered for the F/H ETF. One of the alternatives in the pretreatment step is tubular Ultrafiltration (UF), using a dynamically formed zirconium oxide membrane supported on a porous stainless steel backing. Pilot-scale testing with a single membrane module (13 ft 2 area) and 200-Area effluent simulant has demonstrated that UF is a viable filtration option for the F/H ETF. UF testing at TNX has defined the operating conditions necessary for extended operation and also demonstrated excellent filtration performance (filtrate SDI 2 /day) flux and will provide excellent pretreatment for both reverse osmosis and ion exchange. 2 refs

  12. Semantic brain areas are involved in gesture comprehension: An electrical neuroimaging study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proverbio, Alice Mado; Gabaro, Veronica; Orlandi, Andrea; Zani, Alberto

    2015-08-01

    While the mechanism of sign language comprehension in deaf people has been widely investigated, little is known about the neural underpinnings of spontaneous gesture comprehension in healthy speakers. Bioelectrical responses to 800 pictures of actors showing common Italian gestures (e.g., emblems, deictic or iconic gestures) were recorded in 14 persons. Stimuli were selected from a wider corpus of 1122 gestures. Half of the pictures were preceded by an incongruent description. ERPs were recorded from 128 sites while participants decided whether the stimulus was congruent. Congruent pictures elicited a posterior P300 followed by late positivity, while incongruent gestures elicited an anterior N400 response. N400 generators were investigated with swLORETA reconstruction. Processing of congruent gestures activated face- and body-related visual areas (e.g., BA19, BA37, BA22), the left angular gyrus, mirror fronto/parietal areas. The incongruent-congruent contrast particularly stimulated linguistic and semantic brain areas, such as the left medial and the superior temporal lobe. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Broca's area, sentence comprehension, and working memory: an fMRI study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Corianne Rogalsky

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available The role of Broca's area in sentence processing remains controversial. According to one view, Broca's area is involved in processing a subcomponent of syntactic processing. Another view holds that it contributes to sentence processing via verbal working memory. Sub-regions of Broca's area have been identified that are more active during the processing of complex (object-relative clause sentences compared to simple (subject-relative clause sentences. The present study aimed to determine if this complexity effect can be accounted for in terms of the articulatory rehearsal component of verbal working memory.  In a behavioral experiment, subjects were asked to comprehend sentences during concurrent speech articulation which minimizes articulatory rehearsal as a resource for sentence comprehension. A finger-tapping task was used as a control concurrent task. Only the object-relative clause sentences were more difficult to comprehend during speech articulation than during the manual task, showing that articulatory rehearsal does contribute to sentence processing.  A second experiment used fMRI to document the brain regions underlying this effect.  Subjects judged the plausibility of sentences during speech articulation, a finger-tapping task, or without a concurrent task. In the absence of a secondary task, Broca's area (pars triangularis and pars opercularis demonstrated an increase in activity as a function of syntactic complexity. However, during concurrent speech articulation (but not finger-tapping this complexity effect was eliminated in the pars opercularis suggesting that this region supports sentence comprehension via its role in articulatory rehearsal.  Activity in the pars triangularis was modulated by the finger-tapping task, but not the speech articulation task.

  14. Research on the Competitive Strategy of Cross-Border E-Commerce Comprehensive Pilot Area Based on the Spatial Competition

    OpenAIRE

    Lu, Bo; Wang, Huipo

    2016-01-01

    By now, 13 cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot areas have been approved by the State Council of China; Dalian and Tianjin are two of them. But with the development of the construction of the cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot areas, the competition between those pilot areas is inevitable. Dalian and Tianjin are located in the Bohai Sea and the distance between them is only 800 kilometers. For Dalian and Tianjin they are in thus competitive situations: first they have to compe...

  15. Effect of two major N-nitroso hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) metabolites on earthworm reproductive success

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Baohong; Cox, Stephen B.; McMurry, Scott T.; Jackson, W. Andrew; Cobb, George P.; Anderson, Todd A.

    2008-01-01

    Soil and topical tests were employed to investigate the effect of two N-nitroso metabolites of RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine) on earthworm reproduction. The lowest observed effect concentration (LOEC) for cocoon production and hatching was 50 mg/kg for both hexahydro-1-nitroso-3,5-dinitro-1,3,5-triazine (MNX) and hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitroso-1,3,5-triazine (TNX) in soil. MNX and TNX also significantly affected cocoon hatching in soil (p 20 values for MNX were 8.7 and 8.8 mg/kg for cocoon and juvenile production, respectively, compared to 9.2 and 9.1 mg/kg for TNX, respectively. The EC 20 values for the total number of cocoon hatchlings were 3.1 and 4.7 mg/kg for MNX and TNX, respectively, in soil and 4.5 and 3.1 mg/L in the topical test. Both MNX and TNX inhibited cocoon production and hatching, suggesting that they may have a negative affect on soil ecosystems at contaminated sites. - RDX metabolites affect earthworm cocoon production and hatching

  16. [Strategy of comprehensive control for schistosomiasis and its effect in key areas of Jiangsu Province].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Le-Ping; Tian, Zeng-Xi; Yang, Kun; Hong, Qing-Biao; Gao, Yang; Gao, Yuan; Zhang, Lian-Heng; Yang, Guo-Jing; Min, Jie; Ge, Jun; Wu, Hong-Hui; Huang, Yi-Xin; Liang, You-Sheng

    2011-12-01

    To evaluate the effect of comprehensive control for schistosomiasis in key areas of Jiangsu Province. The basic data and the data of implementation of comprehensive control measures were collected from the key areas of Jiangsu Province, including 30 townships, 87 marshlands and 78 anchor points. A field survey was carried out to investigate the Oncomelania snail status by using the systematic sampling method and schistosomiasis morbidity in humans and animals in the 12 key counties (districts). The changes of snail status and morbidity of humans and animals were statistically analyzed in key counties (districts) where comprehensive control measures was implemented, and the effects of schistosomiasis control before and after the implementation of the comprehensive control were compared. From 2008 to 2010, a total of 84 100 harmless latrines were constructed, 339 600 persons were examined, 2.6938 million people received health education, 112 000 protective creams and 798 000 publicity materials were allocated, 9 085 domestic animals were reared in pens, 11 800 domestic animals were examined, 130 high-risk cattle were eliminated in 30 key townships of 12 countries (districts), Jiangsu Province. A total of 19 640.78 hm2 were controlled with molluscicides, 798 warning tablets were placed, 116.07 hm2 of farmlands were ploughed up and planted, 306.80 hm2 were dug for fish culture, and 506.74 hm2 were planted with trees for snail control in 87 high-risk marshlands. A total of 118.83 million Yuan were invested into the water resources development projects, 39.82 km-long rivers were dredged, 70.04 km-long bank were concreted, 30 culvert gates were re-constructed, and 22 snail sedimentation tanks were built. In the 78 anchor points, 95 harmless public toilets were built, 3 192 stool container were allocated, 28 700 boatmen were examined, 71 600 protective creams and 53 200 publicity materials were allocated, and 46 600 persons received health education. Following the

  17. Research on the Competitive Strategy of Cross-Border E-Commerce Comprehensive Pilot Area Based on the Spatial Competition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bo Lu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available By now, 13 cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot areas have been approved by the State Council of China; Dalian and Tianjin are two of them. But with the development of the construction of the cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot areas, the competition between those pilot areas is inevitable. Dalian and Tianjin are located in the Bohai Sea and the distance between them is only 800 kilometers. For Dalian and Tianjin they are in thus competitive situations: first they have to compete with each other; second since they are located in Bohai Sea (North China, they have to compete with other cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot areas (South China. In this paper, our aim is to build models to provide best price strategies for these two cities. Based on the two-sided market theory and the geographical position, this paper builds two competitive theory models. Through the analyzing of the equilibrium, we get two main results: (1 according to different service area, the cities (Dalian and Tianjin should have different price; (2 the two-sided market characters have an impact on their strategies.

  18. Comprehensive strategy for corrective actions at the Savannah River Site General Separations Area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ebra, M.A.; Lewis, C.M.; Amidon, M.B.; McClain, L.K.

    1991-01-01

    The Savannah River Site (SRS), operated by the Westinghouse Savannah River Company for the United States Department of Energy, contains a number of waste disposal units that are currently in various stages of corrective action investigations, closures, and postclosure corrective actions. Many of these sites are located within a 40-square-kilometer area called the General Separations Area (GSA). The SRS has proposed to the regulatory agencies, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), that groundwater investigations and corrective actions in this area be conducted under a comprehensive plan. The proposed plan would address the continuous nature of the hydrogeologic regime below the GSA and the potential for multiple sources of contamination. This paper describes the proposed approach

  19. Areas activated during naturalistic reading comprehension overlap topological visual, auditory, and somatotomotor maps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sood, Mariam R; Sereno, Martin I

    2016-08-01

    Cortical mapping techniques using fMRI have been instrumental in identifying the boundaries of topological (neighbor-preserving) maps in early sensory areas. The presence of topological maps beyond early sensory areas raises the possibility that they might play a significant role in other cognitive systems, and that topological mapping might help to delineate areas involved in higher cognitive processes. In this study, we combine surface-based visual, auditory, and somatomotor mapping methods with a naturalistic reading comprehension task in the same group of subjects to provide a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the cortical overlap between sensory-motor maps in all major sensory modalities, and reading processing regions. Our results suggest that cortical activation during naturalistic reading comprehension overlaps more extensively with topological sensory-motor maps than has been heretofore appreciated. Reading activation in regions adjacent to occipital lobe and inferior parietal lobe almost completely overlaps visual maps, whereas a significant portion of frontal activation for reading in dorsolateral and ventral prefrontal cortex overlaps both visual and auditory maps. Even classical language regions in superior temporal cortex are partially overlapped by topological visual and auditory maps. By contrast, the main overlap with somatomotor maps is restricted to a small region on the anterior bank of the central sulcus near the border between the face and hand representations of M-I. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2784-2810, 2016. © 2016 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. Recognizing the tenascin-X deficient type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: a cross-sectional study in 17 patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demirdas, S; Dulfer, E; Robert, L; Kempers, M; van Beek, D; Micha, D; van Engelen, B G; Hamel, B; Schalkwijk, J; Loeys, B; Maugeri, A; Voermans, N C

    2017-03-01

    The tenascin-X (TNX) deficient type Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is similar to the classical type of EDS. Because of the limited awareness among geneticists and the challenge of the molecular analysis of the TNXB gene, the TNX-deficient type EDS is probably to be under diagnosed. We therefore performed an observational, cross-sectional study. History and physical examination were performed. Results of serum TNX measurements were collected and mutation analysis was performed by a combination of next-generation sequencing (NGS), Sanger sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). Included were 17 patients of 11 families with autosomal recessive inheritance and childhood onset. All patients had hyperextensible skin without atrophic scarring. Hypermobility of the joints was observed in 16 of 17 patients. Deformities of the hands and feet were observed frequently. TNX serum level was tested and absent in 11 patients (seven families). Genetic testing was performed in all families; 12 different mutations were detected, most of which are suspected to lead to non-sense mRNA mediated decay. In short, patients with the TNX-deficient type EDS typically have generalized joint hypermobility, skin hyperextensibility and easy bruising. In contrast to the classical type, the inheritance pattern is autosomal recessive and atrophic scarring is absent. Molecular analysis of TNXB in a diagnostic setting is challenging. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. [Study on the effectiveness of implementation: the National Demonstration Areas for Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, J; Jin, R R; Li, J J; Li, J L; Su, X W; Deng, G J; Ma, S; Zhao, J; Wang, Y P; Bian, F; Qu, Y M; Shen, Z Z; Jiang, Y; Liu, Y L

    2018-04-10

    Objective: To assess the implementation and impact of programs carried out by the National Demonstration Areas for Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases. Methods: Both sociological and epidemiological methods were used to collect qualitative and quantitative data in November and December, 2016 in order to conduct on process and outcome evaluation of the above mentioned objective. In the meantime, case study was also conducted. Results: All the National Demonstration Areas for Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases were found well implemented across the country, with health education and health promotion, surveillance and safeguard measures in particular. A government-led and inter-sector coordination and communication mechanism had been well established, with more than 16 non-health departments actively involved. 28.7% of the residents living in the National Demonstration Areas for Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases were aware of the key messages related to chronic diseases. Among the residents, 72.1% of them consumed vegetables and 53.6% consumed fruits daily, with another 86.9% walked at least 10 minutes per day. Over 70% of the patients with hypertension or diabetes reported that they were taken care of by the Community Health Centers, and above 50% of them were under standardized management. Residents, living in the National Demonstration Areas under higher ranking of implementation scores, were more likely to be aware of relevant knowledge on chronic disease control and prevention ( OR =6.591, 95% CI : 5.188-8.373), salt reduction ( OR =1.352, 95% CI : 1.151-1.589), oil reduction ( OR =1.477, 95% CI : 1.249-1.746) and recommendation on physical activities ( OR =1.975, 95% CI : 1.623- 2.403). Conclusion: The implementation of programs carried out by the National Demonstration Areas for Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases had served a local

  2. Damage to Broca’s area OR the anterior temporal lobe is implicated in stroke-induced agrammatic comprehension: it depends on the task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Corianne Rogalsky

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The neurobiology of sentence comprehension remains unresolved. Previous large-scale studies of stroke patients have yielded conflicting results regarding sentence comprehension, implicating inferior frontal, anterior temporal and/or posterior temporal regions (Dronkers et al., 2004; Magnusdottir et al., 2013; Thothathiri et al. 2012. Furthermore, only one large-scale lesion study (Magnusdottir et al. 2013 has examined the neural underpinnings of agrammatic comprehension (i.e. substantially worse performance on sentences with noncanonical word orders compared to canonical word order sentences in English, a hallmark of Broca’s aphasia. This one previous study of noncanonical < canonical sentence performance on a sentence picture-matching task implicated damage to the left anterior temporal lobe (ATL and to a lesser degree Broca’s area damage (i.e. < 10% of significant voxels (Magnusdottir et al. 2013. The present study investigated the neurobiology of agrammatic comprehension with two sentence comprehension tasks in the MARC test battery: a sentence-picture matching task (the SOAP Test: a test of syntactic complexity; Love & Oster, 2002 and a sentence plausibility judgment task. Each task contained active, passive, subject-relative and object-relative sentences. Participants included 91 patients with chronic focal cerebral damage. First, we conducted voxel-based lesion symptom mapping (VLSM; Bates et al. 2003 for each sentence type in each task. Consistent with previous studies (Magnusdottir et al. 2013; Thothathiri et al. 2012, the VLSMs identified a significant association between sentence comprehension impairments and damage to a large left temporal-inferior parietal network for all sentences (peak t values were in posterior temporal and inferior parietal voxels; no areas of frontal lobe damage were significant for any sentence type/task. We then conducted VLSMs to identify areas of damage associated specifically with agrammatic

  3. Developing a universal reading comprehension intervention for mainstream primary schools within areas of social deprivation for children with and without language-learning impairment: a feasibility study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCartney, Elspeth; Boyle, James; Ellis, Sue

    2015-01-01

    Some children in areas of social deprivation in Scotland have lower reading attainment than neighbouring children in less deprived areas, and some of these also have lower spoken language comprehension skills than expected by assessment norms. There is a need to develop effective reading comprehension interventions that fit easily into the school curriculum and can benefit all pupils. A feasibility study of reading comprehension strategies with existing evidence of efficacy was undertaken in three mainstream primary schools within an area of social deprivation in west central Scotland, to decide whether further investigation of this intervention was warranted. Aims were to measure comprehension of spoken language and reading via standardised assessments towards the beginning of the school year (T1) in mainstream primary school classrooms within an area of social deprivation; to have teachers introduce previously-validated text comprehension strategies, and to measure change in reading comprehension outcome measures towards the end of the year (T2). A pre- and post-intervention cohort design was used. Reading comprehension strategies were introduced to staff in participating schools and used throughout the school year as part of on-going reading instruction. Spoken language comprehension was measured by TROG-2 at T1, and reading progress by score changes from T1 to T2 on the WIAT-II(UK) -T reading comprehension scale. Forty-seven pupils in five classes in three primary schools took part: 38% had TROG-2 scores below the 10(th) centile. As a group, children made good reading comprehension progress, with a medium effect size of 0.46. Children with TROG-2 scores below the 10(th) centile had lower mean reading scores than others at T1 and T2, although with considerable overlap. However, TROG-2 did not make a unique contribution to reading progress: children below the 10(th) centile made as much progress as other children. The intervention was welcomed by schools, and the

  4. Comprehensive baseline environmental audit of former underground test areas in Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-05-01

    This report documents the results of the Comprehensive Baseline Environmental Audit of Former Underground Test Areas (FUTAS) in the States of Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico. DOE and contractor systems for management of environmental protection activities on the Nevada Test Site (NTS) were not within the scope of the audit. The audit was conducted May 16-May 26, 1994, by the Office of Environmental Audit (EH-24). DOE 5482.1 B, open-quotes Environment, Safety, and Health Appraisal Programclose quotes, establishes the mission of EH-24, which is to provide comprehensive, independent oversight of Department-wide environmental programs on behalf of the Secretary of Energy. The ultimate goal of EH-24 is to enhance environmental protection and minimize risk to public health and the environment. EH-24 accomplishes its mission using systematic and periodic evaluations of DOE's environmental programs within line organizations and supplemental activities that strengthen self-assessment and oversight functions within program, field, and contractor organizations. These evaluations function as a vehicle through which the Secretary and program managers are apprised of the status and vulnerabilities of Departmental environmental activities and environmental management systems. Several types of evaluations are conducted, including: (1) comprehensive baseline environmental audits; (2) routine environmental audits; (3) environmental management assessments; and (4) special issue reviews

  5. Microemulsion-Based Topical Hydrogels of Tenoxicam for Treatment of Arthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goindi, Shishu; Narula, Manleen; Kalra, Atin

    2016-06-01

    Tenoxicam (TNX) is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, backache and pain. However, prolonged oral use of this drug is associated with gastrointestinal adverse events like peptic ulceration, thus necessitating its development as topical formulation that could obviate the adverse effects and improve patient compliance. The present study was aimed at development of microemulsion-based formulations of TNX for topical delivery at the affected site. The pseudoternary phase diagrams were developed and microemulsion formulations were prepared using Captex 300/oleic acid as oil, Tween 80 as surfactant and n-butanol/ethanol as co-surfactant. Optimized microemulsions were characterized for drug content, droplet size, viscosity, pH and zeta potential. The ex vivo permeation studies through Laca mice skin were performed using Franz diffusion cell assembly, and the permeation profile of the microemulsion formulation was compared with aqueous suspension of drug and drug incorporated in conventional cream. Microemulsion formulations of TNX showed significantly higher (p Microemulsion formulations were found to be superior in controlling inflammation as compared to conventional topical dosage forms and showed efficacy equivalent to oral formulation. Results suggest that the developed microemulsion formulations may be used for effective topical delivery of TNX to treat various inflammatory conditions.

  6. Water Quality Assessment for Deep-water Channel area of Guangzhou Port based on the Comprehensive Water Quality Identification Index Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yi

    2018-03-01

    The comprehensive water quality identification index method is able to assess the general water quality situation comprehensively and represent the water quality classification; water environment functional zone achieves pollution level and standard objectively and systematically. This paper selects 3 representative zones along deep-water channel of Guangzhou port and applies comprehensive water quality identification index method to calculate sea water quality monitoring data for different selected zones from year 2006 to 2014, in order to investigate the temporal variation of water quality along deep-water channel of Guangzhou port. The comprehensive water quality level from north to south presents an increased trend, and the water quality of the three zones in 2014 is much better than in 2006. This paper puts forward environmental protection measurements and suggestions for Pearl River Estuary, provides data support and theoretical basis for studied sea area pollution prevention and control.

  7. Effects of early comprehensive interventions on child neurodevelopment in poor rural areas of China: a moderated mediation analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, S; Wang, Z; Zhao, C; Huang, X; Liang, X; Wang, X; Lu, S; Scherpbier, R W

    2018-06-01

    To examine the effects of early comprehensive interventions on home environment and child neurodevelopment among children younger than 3 years in poor rural areas of China, as well as the underlying mediating and moderating mechanisms. Non-randomized intervention study was conducted among 216 children aged 0-3 years in Shanxi province of China. Based on a 2 × 2 factor design, children in Lin and Fenxi County were assigned to an intervention group with duration less than 1 year (n = 26) or an intervention group with duration longer than 1 year (n = 82), while children in Fangshan County served as a control group with duration less than 1 year (n = 30) or a control group with duration longer than 1 year (n = 78). The control group received national public health services (NPHS), while the intervention group received NPHS plus comprehensive interventions covering health, nutrition, early psychosocial stimulation, and child protection. Home environment (Infant-Toddler Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment [HOME]) and child neurodevelopment (Ages and Stages Questionnaire [ASQ]) were measured by observation and interview with mothers after the intervention program. The intervention group showed significantly higher overall HOME, organization, learning materials, and involvement than the control group, only for a duration longer than 1 year. Children in the intervention group performed better in overall ASQ, fine motor, problem-solving, and personal-social than children in the control group. Moderated mediation analyses indicated that there were significantly indirect effects of treatment on overall ASQ through overall HOME, organization, and involvement only when the duration was longer than 1 year. Early comprehensive interventions longer than 1 year improve home environment and promote child neurodevelopment among children younger than 3 years in poor rural areas. What is more, effects of early comprehensive interventions longer than 1 year on

  8. WIPP/SRL Program - characterization of samples for burial in WIPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holtzscheiter, R.C.; Wicks, G.G.

    1984-01-01

    The laboratory studies described in this report characterize the performance and homogeneity of waste glass from a 2-ft-dia glass slice taken from a full-scale 2 ft by 10 ft canister filled with glass at TNX. The leaching performance of glass samples extracted from the slice was determined as a function of radial position and will be used in support of existing programs. The waste glass produced at TNX and used for the burial tests in WIPP was very homogeneous. The extent of glass leaching in brine (using standard MCC-1 leach tests and based on boron extraction) was 15X less than that of leaching in deionized water

  9. Mercury speciation modeling using site specific chemical and redox data from the TNXOD OU

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaplan, D.I.

    2000-01-01

    The objective of this study was to evaluate mercury speciation under reducing conditions expected in sediments at the TNX Outfall Delta Operable Unit. These changes in speciation would then be used to infer whether mercury toxicity and mobility would be expected to be significantly altered under reducing conditions. The results from this work suggest that mercury would likely become more strongly retained by the solid phase under reducing conditions than under oxidizing conditions at the TNX Outfall Delta Site. Considering that experimental results indicate that mercury is extremely tightly bound to the solid phase under oxidizing conditions, little mercury mobility would therefore be expected under reducing conditions

  10. The Wernicke conundrum and the anatomy of language comprehension in primary progressive aphasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mesulam, M-Marsel; Thompson, Cynthia K; Weintraub, Sandra; Rogalski, Emily J

    2015-08-01

    Wernicke's aphasia is characterized by severe word and sentence comprehension impairments. The location of the underlying lesion site, known as Wernicke's area, remains controversial. Questions related to this controversy were addressed in 72 patients with primary progressive aphasia who collectively displayed a wide spectrum of cortical atrophy sites and language impairment patterns. Clinico-anatomical correlations were explored at the individual and group levels. These analyses showed that neuronal loss in temporoparietal areas, traditionally included within Wernicke's area, leave single word comprehension intact and cause inconsistent impairments of sentence comprehension. The most severe sentence comprehension impairments were associated with a heterogeneous set of cortical atrophy sites variably encompassing temporoparietal components of Wernicke's area, Broca's area, and dorsal premotor cortex. Severe comprehension impairments for single words, on the other hand, were invariably associated with peak atrophy sites in the left temporal pole and adjacent anterior temporal cortex, a pattern of atrophy that left sentence comprehension intact. These results show that the neural substrates of word and sentence comprehension are dissociable and that a circumscribed cortical area equally critical for word and sentence comprehension is unlikely to exist anywhere in the cerebral cortex. Reports of combined word and sentence comprehension impairments in Wernicke's aphasia come almost exclusively from patients with cerebrovascular accidents where brain damage extends into subcortical white matter. The syndrome of Wernicke's aphasia is thus likely to reflect damage not only to the cerebral cortex but also to underlying axonal pathways, leading to strategic cortico-cortical disconnections within the language network. The results of this investigation further reinforce the conclusion that the left anterior temporal lobe, a region ignored by classic aphasiology, needs to be

  11. Comprehensive molecular etiology analysis of nonsyndromic hearing impairment from typical areas in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kang Dongyang

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Every year, 30,000 babies are born with congenital hearing impairment in China. The molecular etiology of hearing impairment in the Chinese population has not been investigated thoroughly. To provide appropriate genetic testing and counseling to families, we performed a comprehensive investigation of the molecular etiology of nonsyndromic deafness in two typical areas from northern and southern China. Methods A total of 284 unrelated school children with hearing loss who attended special education schools in China were enrolled in this study, 134 from Chifeng City in Inner Mongolia and the remaining 150 from Nangtong City in JiangSu Province. Screening was performed for GJB2, GJB3, GJB6, SLC26A4, 12S rRNA, and tRNAser(UCN genes in this population. All patients with SLC26A4 mutations or variants were subjected to high-resolution temporal bone CT scan to verify the enlarged vestibular aqueduct. Results Mutations in the GJB2 gene accounted for 18.31% of the patients with nonsyndromic hearing loss, 1555A>G mutation in mitochondrial DNA accounted for 1.76%, and SLC26A4 mutations accounted for 13.73%. Almost 50% of the patients with nonsyndromic hearing loss in these typical Chinese areas carried GJB2 or SLC26A4 mutations. No significant differences in mutation spectrum or prevalence of GJB2 and SLC26A4 were found between the two areas. Conclusion In this Chinese population, 54.93% of cases with hearing loss were related to genetic factors. The GJB2 gene accounted for the etiology in about 18.31% of the patients with hearing loss, SLC26A4 accounted for about 13.73%, and mtDNA 1555A>G mutation accounted for 1.76%. Mutations in GJB3, GJB6, and mtDNA tRNAser(UCN were not common in this Chinese cohort. Conventionally, screening is performed for GJB2, SLC26A4, and mitochondrial 12S rRNA in the Chinese deaf population.

  12. 7 CFR 1944.514 - Comprehensive TSA grant projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 13 2010-01-01 2009-01-01 true Comprehensive TSA grant projects. 1944.514 Section... § 1944.514 Comprehensive TSA grant projects. (a) The rural area to be covered by the TSA project must be...) Consideration of the following items may assist applicants develop TSA projects which meet the needs of low...

  13. Prediction During Natural Language Comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willems, Roel M; Frank, Stefan L; Nijhof, Annabel D; Hagoort, Peter; van den Bosch, Antal

    2016-06-01

    The notion of prediction is studied in cognitive neuroscience with increasing intensity. We investigated the neural basis of 2 distinct aspects of word prediction, derived from information theory, during story comprehension. We assessed the effect of entropy of next-word probability distributions as well as surprisal A computational model determined entropy and surprisal for each word in 3 literary stories. Twenty-four healthy participants listened to the same 3 stories while their brain activation was measured using fMRI. Reversed speech fragments were presented as a control condition. Brain areas sensitive to entropy were left ventral premotor cortex, left middle frontal gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule, and left supplementary motor area. Areas sensitive to surprisal were left inferior temporal sulcus ("visual word form area"), bilateral superior temporal gyrus, right amygdala, bilateral anterior temporal poles, and right inferior frontal sulcus. We conclude that prediction during language comprehension can occur at several levels of processing, including at the level of word form. Our study exemplifies the power of combining computational linguistics with cognitive neuroscience, and additionally underlines the feasibility of studying continuous spoken language materials with fMRI. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. Neuronal basis of speech comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  15. The Customs Regulation of Export-Import Operations in the Context of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between Ukraine and the EU

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuzmin Oleh Ye.

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The article is concerned with the problems of reforming the customs regulation of export-import operations in the context of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between Ukraine and the EU. Both the goods and the territorial structures of Ukraine’s export-import activities with the EU Member States were analyzed. Trends in the cooperation of the foreign economic actors in the Lviv region with the EU counterparts were explored. The key activities carried out in Ukraine in the sphere of customs regulation in the context of implementation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between Ukraine and the EU have been outlined and characterized, in particular: administration of tariff quotas, issuance of certificates by the customs authorities for the transport of EUR 1 goods, granting of the status of authorized exporter to economic entities, launching of an automated system of customs services «One-stop window», transition to electronic declaration, etc. The results, problematic issues and benefits of implementing the above activities in the sphere of customs regulation of the export-import activities of enterprises have been characterized.

  16. Hazards analysis of TNX Large Melter-Off-Gas System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Randall, C.T.

    1982-03-01

    Analysis of the potential safety hazards and an evaluation of the engineered safety features and administrative controls indicate that the LMOG System can be operated without undue hazard to employees or the public, or damage to equipment. The safety features provided in the facility design coupled with the planned procedural and administrative controls make the occurrence of serious accidents very improbable. A set of recommendations evolved during this analysis that was judged potentially capable of further reducing the probability of personnel injury or further mitigating the consequences of potential accidents. These recommendations concerned areas such as formic acid vapor hazards, hazard of feeding water to the melter at an uncontrolled rate, prevention of uncontrolled glass pours due to melter pressure excursions and additional interlocks. These specific suggestions were reviewed with operational and technical personnel and are being incorporated into the process. The safeguards provided by these recommendations are discussed in this report

  17. A comprehensive survey of energy-aware routing protocols in wireless body area sensor networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Effatparvar, Mehdi; Dehghan, Mehdi; Rahmani, Amir Masoud

    2016-09-01

    Wireless body area sensor network is a special purpose wireless sensor network that, employing wireless sensor nodes in, on, or around the human body, makes it possible to measure biological parameters of a person for specific applications. One of the most fundamental concerns in wireless body sensor networks is accurate routing in order to send data promptly and properly, and therefore overcome some of the challenges. Routing protocols for such networks are affected by a large number of factors including energy, topology, temperature, posture, the radio range of sensors, and appropriate quality of service in sensor nodes. Since energy is highly important in wireless body area sensor networks, and increasing the network lifetime results in benefiting greatly from sensor capabilities, improving routing performance with reduced energy consumption presents a major challenge. This paper aims to study wireless body area sensor networks and the related routing methods. It also presents a thorough, comprehensive review of routing methods in wireless body area sensor networks from the perspective of energy. Furthermore, different routing methods affecting the parameter of energy will be classified and compared according to their advantages and disadvantages. In this paper, fundamental concepts of wireless body area sensor networks are provided, and then the advantages and disadvantages of these networks are investigated. Since one of the most fundamental issues in wireless body sensor networks is to perform routing so as to transmit data precisely and promptly, we discuss the same issue. As a result, we propose a classification of the available relevant literature with respect to the key challenge of energy in the routing process. With this end in view, all important papers published between 2000 and 2015 are classified under eight categories including 'Mobility-Aware', 'Thermal-Aware', 'Restriction of Location and Number of Relays', 'Link-aware', 'Cluster- and Tree

  18. Check and evaluation system on heat metering and energy efficiency retrofit of existing residential buildings in northern heating areas of china based on multi-index comprehensive evaluation method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Jing; Wu Yong; Zhu Neng

    2009-01-01

    Heat metering and energy efficiency retrofit of existing residential buildings in northern heating areas of China is organized and implemented in a large scale by local government in 15 provinces of North China with the unified guidance and control of central government. Firstly, this paper introduced the target of energy-saving reformation of existing residential buildings in North China and the importance of check and evaluation on this target, then pointed out the necessity of building up an evaluation system for energy-saving retrofit. According to the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), three-grade evaluation system was built up for heat metering and energy efficiency retrofit of existing residential buildings in northern heating areas of China. Also, based on multi-index comprehensive evaluation method combined with life cycle assessment (LCA) theory, post-evaluation thought and successful degree evaluation method, a mathematical model was established. Finally, a set of scientific method for evaluating heat metering and energy efficiency retrofit of existing residential buildings in northern heating areas of China systematically, scientifically, comprehensively and objectively was created.

  19. From comprehensive planning to the integration of both, territory and landscape: the State and the creation of touristic areas in coastal environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Almir Francisco Reis

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Despite the apparent spontaneity, the transformation of coastal areas influenced by tourism development is also marked by the completion of planning efforts by national or local governments. Since first European interventions in the 1950s, with the provision of infrastructure, equipments and accommodations disconnected from the existing settlements, to the current efforts for qualification of previously developed areas, a great deal was achieved and gradually new variables were incorporated. This paper analyses some of these experiences in order to demonstrate how territory values, environmental issues and distinct urban morphologies have been incorporated intoTerritorial Planning of touristic areas. The sample includes cases of Languedoc Roussillon in France and FONATUR accomplishments in Mexico, examples of comprehensive Stateplanning, as well as planning interventions implemented from the 1990s in Spain, which synthesizes contemporary searches for qualification of touristic settlements developed in last decades.

  20. Using Anticipatory Reading Guides to Improve Elementary Students’ Comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evan Ortlieb

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available One of the greatest challenges of an elementary school teacher is equipping students with comprehension strategies that transfer to all content areas. With stable levels of reading achievement over the last two decades in the United States, it is necessary that further research be conducted on methods of increasing students’ comprehension proficiencies. This experimental research study explores the use of an anticipatory reading guide with third grade struggling readers across multiple subject areas. Findings indicate that the experimental treatment group outperformed the control group by a statistically significant rate on both reading and content area measures, indicating that when struggling readers practice and use strategies to explicitly think what will be asked of them after reading the passage they perform at higher levels.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.…

  2. Comprehensibility and Prosody Ratings for Pronunciation Software Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Warren

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available In the context of a project developing software for pronunciation practice and feedback for Mandarin-speaking learners of English, a key issue is how to decide which features of pronunciation to focus on in giving feedback. We used naïve and experienced native speaker ratings of comprehensibility and nativeness to establish the key features affecting comprehensibility of the utterances of a group of Chinese learners of English. Native speaker raters assessed the comprehensibility of recorded utterances, pinpointed areas of difficulty and then rated for nativeness the same utterances, but after segmental information had been filtered out. The results show that prosodic information is important for comprehensibility, and that there are no significant differences between naïve and experienced raters on either comprehensibility or nativeness judgements. This suggests that naïve judgements are a useful and accessible source of data for identifying the parameters to be used in setting up automated feedback.

  3. Comprehensive dictionary of electrical engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Laplante, Philip A

    1998-01-01

    The Comprehensive Dictionary of Electrical Engineering is a complete lexicon covering all the fields of electrical engineering.Areas examined include:applied electrical engineeringmicrowave engineeringcontrol engineeringpower engineeringdigital systems engineeringdevice electronicsand much more! The book provides workable definitions for practicing engineers, serves as a reference and research tool for students, and offers practical information for scientists and engineers in other disciplines.

  4. Comprehensive Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Comprehensive Care Share this page Facebook Twitter Email Comprehensive Care Understand the importance of comprehensive MS care ... In this article A complex disease requires a comprehensive approach Today multiple sclerosis (MS) is not a ...

  5. Pressure Points in Reading Comprehension: A Quantile Multiple Regression Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Logan, Jessica

    2017-01-01

    The goal of this study was to examine how selected pressure points or areas of vulnerability are related to individual differences in reading comprehension and whether the importance of these pressure points varies as a function of the level of children's reading comprehension. A sample of 245 third-grade children were given an assessment battery…

  6. FY 1999 report on the comprehensive analysis of the geothermal development promotion survey. Forth. No.C-3 Akinomiya area; 1999 nendo chinetsu kaihatsu sokushin chosa sogo kaiseki hokokusho. No. C-3 Akinomiya chiiki (Dai 4 ji)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-01-01

    As part of the geothermal development promotion survey, the comprehensive analysis was made on the survey of the existence amount of geothermal resource in the Akinomiya area, Ogachi town, Akita prefecture, which was conducted in FY 1999. In the evaluation of reservoirs, the following were carried out: comprehensive analysis of various data on the surface survey, well exploration, etc., which were stored in surveys from the primary to the forth, modification/construction of geothermal system models, numerical simulation using 3D models, etc. In the long-term jetting test, production/reduction tests were conducted using N9-AY-3 and N10-AY-8 as production wells and N8-AY-1 and N10-AY-6 as reduction wells. The results of the comprehensive analysis were outlined as follows. The distribution of high temperature zones promising as areas for geothermal development was grasped. The distribution of the main fracture structure underground was grasped. A total amount of 124t/h steam was confirmed by short/long term jetting tests. In the simulation of prediction of production, the result was obtained that there was potential power generation of 30MW in the Akinomiya area alone and 60MW both in the Akinomiya area and the Wasabizawa area. (NEDO)

  7. Classroom Simulation to Prepare Teachers to Use Evidence-Based Comprehension Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ely, Emily; Alves, Kat D.; Dolenc, Nathan R.; Sebolt, Stephanie; Walton, Emily A.

    2018-01-01

    Reading comprehension is an area of weakness for many students, including those with disabilities. Innovative technology methods may play a role in improving teacher readiness to use evidence-based comprehension practices for all students. In this experimental study, researchers examined a classroom simulation (TLE TeachLivE™) to improve…

  8. Compound heterozygous mutations of the TNXB gene cause primary myopathy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Penisson-Besnier, I.; Allamand, V.; Beurrier, P.; Martin, L.; Schalkwijk, J.; Vlijmen-Willems, I. van; Gartioux, C.; Malfait, F.; Syx, D.; Macchi, L.; Marcorelles, P.; Arbeille, B.; Croue, A.; Paepe, A. de; Dubas, F.

    2013-01-01

    Complete deficiency of the extracellular matrix glycoprotein tenascin-X (TNX) leads to recessive forms of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, clinically characterized by hyperextensible skin, easy bruising and joint hypermobility. Clinical and pathological studies, immunoassay, and molecular analyses were

  9. The European Union as a Comprehensive Police Actor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen Anthony Rozée

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The European Union (EU has responded to changing security threats by seeking to increase cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of the Member States, granting further powers to Europol and other intelligence-sharing institutions, and by undertaking police missions beyond EU borders. The literature relating to EU policing is generally focused on the ‘internal’ and ‘external’ dimensions, or on specific aspects of police activity. This tendency to concentrate on narrow or isolated areas of policing has led to a significant gap regarding the broader analysis of the EU as a comprehensive police actor. Important questions about the nature of EU policing as a whole, as well as the contribution of policing activities to the EU’s security agenda, remain unexplored in the literature. This article aims to define what is meant by ‘comprehensive policing’ and to indentify criteria by which the comprehensiveness of EU-level policing may be measured. In addition to this, an integrated actorness/police comprehensiveness framework will be presented as a tool for assessing the EU as a comprehensive police actor.

  10. Helping Students Develop Listening Comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cárdenas Beltrán Melba Libia

    2000-08-01

    Full Text Available Listening practice is often neglected or handled inappropriately in the teachinglearning process. This poses problem because listening is an integral part of conversations. Oral skills without equally welldeveloped listening abilities are of little practical value. In this article, I will take a look at issues related to the area of listening that may be considered when guiding students toward developing listening comprehension.

  11. Getting the Joke: Insight during Humor Comprehension - Evidence from an fMRI Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Fang; Hou, Yuling; Zhu, Wenfeng; Dietrich, Arne; Zhang, Qinglin; Yang, Wenjing; Chen, Qunlin; Sun, Jiangzhou; Jiang, Qiu; Cao, Guikang

    2017-01-01

    As a high-level cognitive activity, humor comprehension requires incongruity detection and incongruity resolution, which then elicits an insight moment. The purpose of the study was to explore the neural basis of humor comprehension, particularly the moment of insight, by using both characters and language-free cartoons in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. The results showed that insight involving jokes elicited greater activation in language and semantic-related brain regions as well as a variety of additional regions, such as the superior frontal gyrus (SFG), the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the middle temporal gyrus (MTG), the superior temporal gyrus (STG), the temporoparietal junctions (TPJ), the hippocampus and visual areas. These findings indicate that the MTG might play a role in incongruity detection, while the SFG, IFG and the TPJ might be involved in incongruity detection. The passive insight event elicited by jokes appears to be mediated by a limited number of brain areas. Our study showed that the brain regions associated with humor comprehension were not affected by the type of stimuli and that humor and insight shared common brain areas. These results indicate that one experiences a feeling of insight during humor comprehension, which contributes to the understanding of humor comprehension.

  12. Comprehensive review of the maritime safety regimes.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    S. Knapp (Sabine); Ph.H.B.F. Franses (Philip Hans)

    2007-01-01

    textabstractThis report presents a comprehensive review of the maritime safety regimes and provides recommendations on how to improve the system. The results show a complex legal framework which generates a high amount of inspections and overlapping of inspection areas where no cross-recognition is

  13. Inclusion of Disaster Resiliency in City/Neighborhood Comprehensive Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-09-01

    phenomena or, in other words, the “impact of our behaviors toward places, thus influencing whether and how we might participate in local planning efforts...why resiliency from natural disasters must be included in all comprehensive plans . To prove the importance of this theory , I used GIS to locate...or pasture.270 Clarke County’s plan supports the theory that hazard mitigation inclusion in comprehensive plans is due to areas with flooding

  14. Market reactions to the ECB's Comprehensive Assessment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sahin, Cenkhan; de Haan, Jakob

    Using an event study approach, we examine financial markets' reactions to the publication of the ECB's Comprehensive Assessment of banks in the euro area. Our results suggest that banks' stock market prices and CDS spreads generally showed no reaction. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Evaluation of Ecological Environmental Quality in a Coal Mining Area by Modelling Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chaodong Yan

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to explore the effective method of the comprehensive evaluation of ecological environmental quality in a coal mining area. Firstly, we analyzed the ecological environmental effect of the coal mining area according to Pigovian Tax theory and, according to the results of the analysis and the demand for the selection of evaluation indices by the comprehensive evaluation, built the corresponding comprehensive evaluation index system. We then used the correlation function method to determine the relative weights of each index. We determined the basic standards of a comprehensive evaluation of ecological environmental quality in a coal mining area according to the actual situation of ecological environmental quality assessments in coal mining areas in our country and the relevant provisions of the government. On this basis, we built the two-level extension comprehensive evaluation model for the evaluation of ecological environmental quality in mining areas. Finally, we chose a certain coal mining area of Yanzhou Coal Mining Company Limited as the specific case. We used the relevant statistic data, technical and economic indices and the extension evaluation model to do the applied research of the comprehensive evaluation and tested the effectiveness of the comprehensive evaluation model.

  16. Development of Comprehensive Nuclear Safety Regulation Plan for 2007-2011

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Young Sung; Kim, Woong Sik; Park, Dong Keuk; Kim, Ho Ki

    2006-01-01

    The Article 8-2 of Atomic Energy Act requires the government to establish Atomic Energy Promotion Plan every five years. It sets out national nuclear energy policies in a systematic and consistent way. The plan presents the goals and basic directions of national nuclear energy policies on the basis of current status and prospects. Both areas of utilization and safety management of nuclear energy are included and various projects and schedules are delineated based on the national policy directions. The safety management area in this plan deals with the overall safety and regulation policy. Its detail projects and schedule should be developed in separate plans by responsible ministries under the mediation of the MOST. As a regulatory authority, MOST is responsible for safety management area and its technical support organization, KINS has developed Comprehensive Nuclear Safety Regulation Plan as an implementation plan of safety area. This paper presents the development process and specific projects contained in the Comprehensive Nuclear Safety Regulation Plan which is under development now

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  18. Ecologic assessment of closure options for Savannah River Plant waste sites: Task 38, AX-681812

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-01-01

    Ecologic assessment of closure options is one of several analyses being documented in the EIDs (along with analysis of relative potential health risks, accident risks, and costs). This information will serve as a basis for choosing the best option for closing a particular waste facility. This report presents the methodology adopted for SRP waste site ecological assessment, and the results of its application. The results of the ecologic assessment indicated that no impacts are expected for any of the closure options at eleven sites. Significant ecologic impacts are possible at the eight waste sites or groups of waste sites including the Radioactive Waste Burial Grounds, Old TNX Seepage Basin, CMP Pits, F-Area Seepage Basins, H-Area Seepage Basins, SRL Seepage Basins, R-Reactor Seepage Basins, and L-Area Oil and Chemical Basin. 104 refs., 22 figs., 241 tabs

  19. Neural correlates and network connectivity underlying narrative production and comprehension: a combined fMRI and PET study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    AbdulSabur, Nuria Y; Xu, Yisheng; Liu, Siyuan; Chow, Ho Ming; Baxter, Miranda; Carson, Jessica; Braun, Allen R

    2014-08-01

    The neural correlates of narrative production and comprehension remain poorly understood. Here, using positron emission tomography (PET), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), contrast and functional network connectivity analyses we comprehensively characterize the neural mechanisms underlying these complex behaviors. Eighteen healthy subjects told and listened to fictional stories during scanning. In addition to traditional language areas (e.g., left inferior frontal and posterior middle temporal gyri), both narrative production and comprehension engaged regions associated with mentalizing and situation model construction (e.g., dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, precuneus and inferior parietal lobules) as well as neocortical premotor areas, such as the pre-supplementary motor area and left dorsal premotor cortex. Narrative comprehension alone showed marked bilaterality, activating right hemisphere homologs of perisylvian language areas. Narrative production remained predominantly left lateralized, uniquely activating executive and motor-related regions essential to language formulation and articulation. Connectivity analyses revealed strong associations between language areas and the superior and middle temporal gyri during both tasks. However, only during storytelling were these same language-related regions connected to cortical and subcortical motor regions. In contrast, during story comprehension alone, they were strongly linked to regions supporting mentalizing. Thus, when employed in a more complex, ecologically-valid context, language production and comprehension show both overlapping and idiosyncratic patterns of activation and functional connectivity. Importantly, in each case the language system is integrated with regions that support other cognitive and sensorimotor domains. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  20. Optimising Comprehensibility in Interlingual Translation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nisbeth Jensen, Matilde

    2015-01-01

    The increasing demand for citizen engagement in areas traditionally belonging exclusively to experts, such as health, law and technology has given rise to the necessity of making expert knowledge available to the general public through genres such as instruction manuals for consumer goods, patien...... the functional text type of Patient Information Leaflet. Finally, the usefulness of applying the principles of Plain Language and intralingual translation for optimising comprehensibility in interlingual translation is discussed....

  1. Muscle characteristics and altered myofascial force transmission in tenascin-X-deficient mice, a mouse model of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huijing, P.A.; Voermans, N.C.; Baan, G.C.; Buse, T.E.; Engelen, B.G.M. van; Haan, A. de

    2010-01-01

    The Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a group of inherited connective tissue disorders caused by defects in collagens or tenascin-X (TNX). Muscle involvement can be expected based on interactions between muscle and extracellular matrix molecules; however, muscle function has not yet been investigated

  2. Setting Priorities for Urban Forest Planning. A Comprehensive Response to Ecological and Social Needs for the Metropolitan Area of Rome (Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giulia Capotorti

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Urban forests represent key elements of green infrastructure and provide essential ecosystem services in both the ecological and social spheres. Therefore, forestation planning plays a decisive role in the sustainable development strategies of metropolitan areas and addresses the challenge of maintaining biodiversity while improving human health and well-being. The aim of this work is to present a methodological approach that can be used to identify priorities in urban forest planning and can provide comprehensive responses to ecological and social needs in any metropolitan context. The approach, which is based on interdisciplinary principles of landscape ecology, ecosystem geography and dynamic plant sociology, has been adopted in the Municipality of Rome (Italy. The first step entails defining an ecological framework for forestation plans by means of the ecological land classification and assessment of landscape conservation status. The second step entails setting forestation priorities according to both ecological and social criteria. The application of the method proved to effectively select limited areas requiring intervention within an extensive metropolitan area. Furthermore, it provided responses to sustainability issues such as long-term maintenance of restored habitats, landscape perspective of planning, greening of urban agriculture, improvement in urban resilience, and cost-effective improvement in ecosystem services provision.

  3. [Study on the overall implementation status of the National Demonstration Areas for Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, J J; Li, J L; Zhang, J; Jin, R R; Ma, S; Deng, G J; Su, X W; Bian, F; Qu, Y M; Hu, L L; Jiang, Y

    2018-04-10

    Objective: To understand the current overall status of implementation on the National Demonstration Areas of Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases. Methods: According to the scheme design of the questionnaires, all the National Demonstration Areas were involved in this study. For each National Demonstration Areas, eight departments were selected to complete a total of 12 questionnaires. Results: Scores related to the implementation of the National Demonstration Areas accounted for 71.8% of the total 170 points. Based on the scores gathered from this study, the 23-items-index-system that represented the status of project implementation was classified into seven categories. Categories with higher percentile scores would include: monitoring (88.0%), safeguard measures (75.0%), health education and health promotion (75.0%). Categories with lower percentile scores would include: the national health lifestyle actions (67.7%), community diagnosis (66.7%), discovery and intervention of high-risk groups (64.7%), and patient management (60.9%). There were significant differences noticed among the eastern, central and western areas on items as safeguard measures, health education/promotion, discovery and intervention of high-risk groups. In all, the implementation programs in the eastern Demonstration Areas seemed better than in the central or western regions. As for the 23 items, five of the highest scores appeared on policy support, mortality surveillance, tumor registration, reporting system on cardiovascular/cerebrovascular events, and on tobacco control, respectively. However, the lowest five scores fell on healthy diet, patient self-management program, oral hygiene, setting up the demonstration units and promotion on basic public health services, respectively. The overall scores in the eastern region was higher than that in the central or the western regions. The scores in the central and western regions showed basically the same. Conclusions

  4. Comprehensive Stuttering Treatment for Adolescents: A Case Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coleman, Craig E

    2018-01-09

    This article will focus on a hypothetical case study to highlight comprehensive assessment and treatment for adolescent children who stutter. Assessment and treatment are laid out with a literature review utilizing the components of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health model. Specific assessment and treatment strategies and approaches are discussed. Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health model can help guide clinicians through the assessment and treatment process to ensure that all areas of stuttering are considered. Comprehensive assessment and treatment helps clinicians address all relevant elements of a stuttering disorder, rather than focusing exclusively on reducing speech disruptions.

  5. Enhancing Basic Governance: Japan's Comprehensive Counterterrorism Assistance to Southeast Asia

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Fouse, David; Sato, Yoichiro

    2006-01-01

    .... Japan's focus has been to develop a comprehensive set of initiatives aimed at enhancing SEA countries' basic governance capabilities in areas such as law enforcement, export control, money laundering...

  6. Comprehensive analysis of transport aircraft flight performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filippone, Antonio

    2008-04-01

    This paper reviews the state-of-the art in comprehensive performance codes for fixed-wing aircraft. The importance of system analysis in flight performance is discussed. The paper highlights the role of aerodynamics, propulsion, flight mechanics, aeroacoustics, flight operation, numerical optimisation, stochastic methods and numerical analysis. The latter discipline is used to investigate the sensitivities of the sub-systems to uncertainties in critical state parameters or functional parameters. The paper discusses critically the data used for performance analysis, and the areas where progress is required. Comprehensive analysis codes can be used for mission fuel planning, envelope exploration, competition analysis, a wide variety of environmental studies, marketing analysis, aircraft certification and conceptual aircraft design. A comprehensive program that uses the multi-disciplinary approach for transport aircraft is presented. The model includes a geometry deck, a separate engine input deck with the main parameters, a database of engine performance from an independent simulation, and an operational deck. The comprehensive code has modules for deriving the geometry from bitmap files, an aerodynamics model for all flight conditions, a flight mechanics model for flight envelopes and mission analysis, an aircraft noise model and engine emissions. The model is validated at different levels. Validation of the aerodynamic model is done against the scale models DLR-F4 and F6. A general model analysis and flight envelope exploration are shown for the Boeing B-777-300 with GE-90 turbofan engines with intermediate passenger capacity (394 passengers in 2 classes). Validation of the flight model is done by sensitivity analysis on the wetted area (or profile drag), on the specific air range, the brake-release gross weight and the aircraft noise. A variety of results is shown, including specific air range charts, take-off weight-altitude charts, payload-range performance

  7. Reading Comprehension II. Bibliographies and Summaries of Selected Articles. Volume 6. Research Review Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacGinitie, Walter H.; And Others

    Summaries of several papers are presented to develop a working theoretical analysis of reading comprehension and an understanding of development in language comprehension based upon empirical studies. Contributions from the areas of assessment, artificial intelligence, cognition (including schema theory), instruction, linguistics, learning…

  8. American Learners' Comprehension of Russian Textual Humor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shardakova, Maria

    2016-01-01

    Over the past decade, second language (L2) humor has attracted scholarly attention as both a means and a goal of L2 development. Much of this research, however, has focused on oral communication, whereas virtually no studies address humor as an aspect of reading comprehension. This exploratory study combines these two areas of inquiry, examining…

  9. Investigation of meta-linguistic and meta-cognitive intervention to improve comprehension of coordinating conjunctions

    OpenAIRE

    O'Shea, Sheila

    2013-01-01

    non-peer-reviewed Background: There is a limited evidence base available in the area of oral language comprehension for children with primary language comprehension difficulties, with existing research which demonstrates treatment effectiveness largely focusing on pre-school or older school age children. Objectives: This pilot study aims to investigate the efficacy of individually-tailored intervention and strategies to improve the oral comprehension skills of a child with primary langu...

  10. China National Scenic Area and Its Planning Characteristics

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Jia; Jianzhong; Deng; Wugong; Li; Caige

    2016-01-01

    Thirty years since the foundation of China’s scenic area system, a comparatively comprehensive structural system, legal system, and management system have been established in this field, which has protected precious landscape resources and made remarkable achievements. The planning of scenic areas has its own attributes and technical characteristics, which attaches great importance to establishing a functional structure that combines the three systems of sightseeing, tourism services, and social management of local residents. Moreover, with the development of scenic areas, the planning will lay more emphasis on the connection between different levels, give full play to the comprehensive function of scenic areas, pay attention to the research on village and town planning within the area, and learn from the experience of national parks in foreign countries.

  11. China National Scenic Area and Its Planning Characteristics

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Jia Jianzhong; Deng Wugong; Li Caige

    2016-01-01

    Thirty years since the foundation of China's scenic area system,a comparatively comprehensive structural system,legal system,and management system have been established in this field,which has protected precious landscape resources and made remarkable achievements.The planning of scenic areas has its own attributes and technical characteristics,which attaches great importance to establishing a functional structure that combines the three systems of sightseeing,tourism services,and social management of local residents.Moreover,with the development of scenic areas,the planning will lay more emphasis on the connection between different levels,give full play to the comprehensive function of scenic areas,pay attention to the research on village and town planning within the area,and learn from the experience of national parks in foreign countries.

  12. Home-Based Comprehensive Assessment of Rural Elderly Persons: The CARE Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cravens, David D.; Mehr, David R.; Campbell, James D.; Armer, Jane; Kruse, Robin L.; Rubenstein, Laurence Z.

    2005-01-01

    Context: Home-based comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) has been effective in urban areas but has had little study in rural areas. CGA involves medical history taking, a physical exam, and evaluation of functional status, mental status, cognitive status, gait and balance, medications, vision, extent of social supports, and home safety. We…

  13. Comprehensive Psychiatric Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Facts for Families Guide Facts for Families - Vietnamese Comprehensive Psychiatric Evaluation No. 52; Updated October 2017 Evaluation ... with serious emotional and behavioral problems need a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation. Comprehensive psychiatric evaluations usually require a ...

  14. Spatial Heterogeneity of Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Its Temporal Course on Arable Land: Combining Field Measurements, Remote Sensing and Simulation in a Comprehensive Data Analysis Approach (CDAA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korres, Wolfgang; Montzka, Carsten; Fiener, Peter; Wilken, Florian; Stadler, Anja; Waldhoff, Guido; Schneider, Karl

    2016-01-01

    The ratio of leaf area to ground area (leaf area index, LAI) is an important state variable in ecosystem studies since it influences fluxes of matter and energy between the land surface and the atmosphere. As a basis for generating temporally continuous and spatially distributed datasets of LAI, the current study contributes an analysis of its spatial variability and spatial structure. Soil-vegetation-atmosphere fluxes of water, carbon and energy are nonlinearly related to LAI. Therefore, its spatial heterogeneity, i.e., the combination of spatial variability and structure, has an effect on simulations of these fluxes. To assess LAI spatial heterogeneity, we apply a Comprehensive Data Analysis Approach that combines data from remote sensing (5 m resolution) and simulation (150 m resolution) with field measurements and a detailed land use map. Test area is the arable land in the fertile loess plain of the Rur catchment on the Germany-Belgium-Netherlands border. LAI from remote sensing and simulation compares well with field measurements. Based on the simulation results, we describe characteristic crop-specific temporal patterns of LAI spatial variability. By means of these patterns, we explain the complex multimodal frequency distributions of LAI in the remote sensing data. In the test area, variability between agricultural fields is higher than within fields. Therefore, spatial resolutions less than the 5 m of the remote sensing scenes are sufficient to infer LAI spatial variability. Frequency distributions from the simulation agree better with the multimodal distributions from remote sensing than normal distributions do. The spatial structure of LAI in the test area is dominated by a short distance referring to field sizes. Longer distances that refer to soil and weather can only be derived from remote sensing data. Therefore, simulations alone are not sufficient to characterize LAI spatial structure. It can be concluded that a comprehensive picture of LAI spatial

  15. Functional anatomy of listening and reading comprehension during development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berl, Madison M; Duke, Elizabeth S; Mayo, Jessica; Rosenberger, Lisa R; Moore, Erin N; VanMeter, John; Ratner, Nan Bernstein; Vaidya, Chandan J; Gaillard, William Davis

    2010-08-01

    Listening and reading comprehension of paragraph-length material are considered higher-order language skills fundamental to social and academic functioning. Using ecologically relevant language stimuli that were matched for difficulty according to developmental level, we analyze the effects of task, age, neuropsychological skills, and post-task performance on fMRI activation and hemispheric laterality. Areas of supramodal language processing are identified, with the most robust region being left-lateralized activation along the superior temporal sulcus. Functionally, this conjunction has a role in semantic and syntactic processing, leading us to refer to this conjunction as "comprehension cortex." Different from adults, supramodal areas for children include less extensive inferior frontal gyrus but more extensive right cerebellum and right temporal pole. Broader neuroanatomical pathways are recruited for reading, reflecting the more active processing and larger set of cognitive demands needed for reading compared to listening to stories. ROI analyses reveal that reading is a less lateralized language task than listening in inferior frontal and superior temporal areas, which likely reflects the difficulty of the task as children in this study are still developing their reading skills. For listening to stories, temporal activation is stable by age four with no correlations with age, neuropsychological skills or post-task performance. In contrast, frontal activation during listening to stories occurs more often in older children, and frontal activation is positively correlated with better performance on comprehension questions, suggesting that the activation of frontal networks may reflect greater integration and depth of story processing. 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Using the Delphi questionnaire technique to create a reading comprehension resource guide for middle school science teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wegner, Molly F.

    As students begin middle school, they are expected to possess and apply a wide array of nonfiction reading strategies if they are to comprehend new concepts from nonfiction texts. Although strategies and resource guides for fiction reading are available, an effective nonfiction reading comprehension resource guide tailored to middle school science teachers is lacking. The conceptual framework guiding this study is based on schema theory that supports the use of prior knowledge as a foundation for learning. The purpose of this project study was to address this local problem by providing middle school science teachers with a user-friendly resource for nonfiction reading comprehension strategies in a science context. The research question examined nonfiction reading comprehension strategies that could supplement middle school science teachers' instructional practices to increase student comprehension in science, as reflected on the results of state standardized tests. This project study consulted science and language arts teachers using a Delphi questionnaire technique to achieve a consensus through multiple iterations of questionnaires. Science teachers identified 7 areas of concern as students read nonfiction texts, and language arts teachers suggested effective reading comprehension strategies to address these areas. Based on the consensus of reading comprehension strategies and review of literature, a resource guide for middle school science teachers was created. By improving reading comprehension in content areas, teachers may not only increase student learning, but also underscore the importance of literacy relating to life-long learning through future occupations, academic endeavors, and society as well.

  17. Children's hypertext comprehension

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Segers, P.C.J.; Segers, E.; Broek, P. van den

    2017-01-01

    The present chapter gives an overview of the literature on hypertext comprehension, children's hypertext comprehension and individual variation therein, ending with a perspective for future research. Hypertext comprehension requires the reader to make bridging inferences between the different parts

  18. Reading Comprehension, Learning Styles, and Seventh Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Judy

    2010-01-01

    Reading is a basic life skill. Unfortunately, in 2007, only 29% of all eighth graders were able to comprehend at or above a proficient reading comprehension level. Sensory learning styles (kinesthetic, tactile, auditory, and visual) affect the way that students prefer to learn and the areas in which they will have difficulty learning. This study…

  19. Modulation of cortical activity during comprehension of familiar and unfamiliar text topics in speed reading and speed listening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchweitz, Augusto; Mason, Robert A; Meschyan, Gayane; Keller, Timothy A; Just, Marcel Adam

    2014-12-01

    Brain activation associated with normal and speeded comprehension of expository texts on familiar and unfamiliar topics was investigated in reading and listening. The goal was to determine how brain activation and the comprehension processes it reflects are modulated by comprehension speed and topic familiarity. Passages on more familiar topics differentially activated a set of areas in the anterior temporal lobe and medial frontal gyrus, areas often associated with text-level integration processes, which we interpret to reflect integration of previous knowledge with the passage content. Passages presented at the faster presentation resulted in more activation of a network of frontal areas associated with strategic and working-memory processes (as well as visual or auditory sensory-related regions), which we interpret to reflect maintenance of local coherence among briefly available passage segments. The implications of this research is that the brain system for text comprehension adapts to varying perceptual and knowledge conditions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Testing of GFL Geosiphon; FINAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steimke, J.L.

    2001-01-01

    A full-scale, transparent replica of a GeoSiphon was constructed in the TFL to test a new concept, using a solar powered vacuum pump to remove accumulated gases from the air chamber. It did not have a treatment cell containing iron filings as do the actual TNX GeoSiphons in the field, but it was accurate in all other respects. The gas generation that is observed in an actual GeoSiphon was simulated by air injection at the inlet of the TFL GeoSiphon. After facility shakedown, three stages of testing were conducted: verification testing, parametric testing and long term testing. In verification testing, the TFL GeoSiphon was used to reproduce a particular test at TNX in which the water flowrate decreased gradually as the result of air accumulation at the crest of a siphon without an air chamber. For this test the vacuum pump was not used and the air chamber was initially filled with air rather than water. Agreement between data from the TNX GeoSiphon and the TFL GeoSiphon was good, which gave confidence that the TFL GeoSiphon was a good hydraulic representation of the TNX GeoSiphon. For the remaining tests, the solar powered vacuum pump and air chamber were used. In parametric testing, steady state runs were made for water flowrates ranging from 1 gpm to 19 gpm, air injection rates ranging from 0 to 77 standard cc/min and outfall line angles ranging from vertical to 60 degrees from vertical. In all cases, the air chamber and vacuum pump removed nearly all of the air and the GeoSiphon operated without problems. In long term testing, the GeoSiphon was allowed to run continuously for 21 days at one set of conditions. During this time the solar cell kept the storage battery fully charged at all times and the control circuit for the vacuum pump operated reliably. The solar panel was observed to have a large excess capacity when used with the vacuum pump. With two changes, the concept of using a solar powered vacuum pump attached to an air chamber should be ready for long

  1. Comprehensive Maintenance of CCTV System at Bangi Complex, Malaysian Nuclear Agency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasif Mohamad; Mohd Hazri Mohd Salleh; Mohd Ghazali Bachol

    2015-01-01

    Control of Closed Circuit Camera (CCTV) is a security monitoring system used to monitor an area using the method of monitoring of video. The use of CCTV allows the operator to monitor the area that has been equipped with CCTV cameras from a control center is provided. CCTV system has proved effective in terms of facilitating the task of monitoring, save costs, and improves safety. Recognizing the high requirements to ensure the system is running without interruption, the PIA has implemented a comprehensive maintenance program on all CCTV complex is located in Bangi, Malaysia Nuclear Agency at a cost of RM 95,000.00 for the year. This paper will report on the implementation of a comprehensive maintenance contract CCTV and discuss the problems faced during the contract period. (author)

  2. Comprehensive Maintenance of CCTV System at Bangi Complex Malaysian Nuclear Agency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasif Mohamad; Mohd Hazri Mohd Salleh; Mohd Ghazali Bachol

    2015-01-01

    Control of Closed Circuit Camera (CCTV) is a security monitoring system used to monitor an area using the method of monitoring of video. The use of CCTV allows the operator to monitor the area that has been equipped with CCTV cameras from a control center is provided. CCTV system has proved effective in terms of facilitating the task of monitoring, save costs, and improves safety. Recognizing the high requirements to ensure the system is running without interruption, the PIA has implemented a comprehensive maintenance program on all CCTV complex is located in Bangi, Malaysia Nuclear Agency at a cost of RM 95,000.00 for the year. This paper will report on the implementation of a comprehensive maintenance contract CCTV and discuss the problems faced during the contract period. (author)

  3. Mapping the brain's orchestration during speech comprehension: task-specific facilitation of regional synchrony in neural networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keil Andreas

    2004-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background How does the brain convert sounds and phonemes into comprehensible speech? In the present magnetoencephalographic study we examined the hypothesis that the coherence of electromagnetic oscillatory activity within and across brain areas indicates neurophysiological processes linked to speech comprehension. Results Amplitude-modulated (sinusoidal 41.5 Hz auditory verbal and nonverbal stimuli served to drive steady-state oscillations in neural networks involved in speech comprehension. Stimuli were presented to 12 subjects in the following conditions (a an incomprehensible string of words, (b the same string of words after being introduced as a comprehensible sentence by proper articulation, and (c nonverbal stimulations that included a 600-Hz tone, a scale, and a melody. Coherence, defined as correlated activation of magnetic steady state fields across brain areas and measured as simultaneous activation of current dipoles in source space (Minimum-Norm-Estimates, increased within left- temporal-posterior areas when the sound string was perceived as a comprehensible sentence. Intra-hemispheric coherence was larger within the left than the right hemisphere for the sentence (condition (b relative to all other conditions, and tended to be larger within the right than the left hemisphere for nonverbal stimuli (condition (c, tone and melody relative to the other conditions, leading to a more pronounced hemispheric asymmetry for nonverbal than verbal material. Conclusions We conclude that coherent neuronal network activity may index encoding of verbal information on the sentence level and can be used as a tool to investigate auditory speech comprehension.

  4. Using Anticipatory Reading Guides to Improve Elementary Students' Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortlieb, Evan

    2013-01-01

    One of the greatest challenges of an elementary school teacher is equipping students with comprehension strategies that transfer to all content areas. With stable levels of reading achievement over the last two decades in the United States, it is necessary that further research be conducted on methods of increasing students' comprehension…

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  6. Impaired reading comprehension in schizophrenia: evidence for underlying phonological processing deficits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnott, Wendy; Sali, Lauren; Copland, David

    2011-05-15

    The present study examined reading ability in high functioning people with schizophrenia. To this end, 16 people with schizophrenia who were living in the community and 12 matched controls completed tests of passage reading (comprehension, accuracy, and rate), word recognition, and phonological processing (phonological awareness, phonological memory and rapid naming) and ratings of reading self-concept and practices. Performance of the participants with schizophrenia was impaired relative to control participants on reading comprehension and rapid naming and relative to the population norms on phonological awareness, and rapid naming. In addition, self-rating data revealed that participants with schizophrenia had poorer perceptions of their reading ability and engaged in reading activities less frequently than their control counterparts. Consistent with earlier research, significant correlations were found between phonological awareness and reading comprehension. These findings expand on previous research in the area to suggest that community-based individuals with schizophrenia experience problems with reading comprehension that may have a phonological basis. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Comprehensive management of project changes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aljaž Stare

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this research was to examine how project changes can be prevented, and how to reduce their negative impact. Theoretical research examined risk management, project control and change management. Based on the study a “Comprehensive Change Management Model” was developed and verified after conducting empirical research in Slovenian enterprises. The research confirmed that risk management identifies possible changes and reduces their impact; project control ensures the timely detection of changes and an efficient response, while formal change management ensures the effective implementation of changes. The combined functioning of all three areas ensures effective project execution.

  8. NRC comprehensive records disposition schedule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1982-07-01

    Effective January 1, 1982, NRC will institute records retention and disposal practices in accordance with the approved Comprehensive Records Disposition Schedule (CRDS). CRDS is comprised of NRC Schedules (NRCS) 1 to 4 which apply to the agency's program or substantive records and General Records Schedules (GRS) 1 to 22 which apply to housekeeping or facilitative records. The schedules are assembled functionally/organizationally to facilitate their use. Preceding the records descriptions and disposition instructions for both NRCS and GRS, there are brief statements on the organizational units which accumulate the records in each functional area, and other information regarding the schedules' applicability

  9. [Management programs on diabetes among Chinese adults in the National Demonstration Areas for Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, R R; Li, J J; Zhang, J; Li, J L; Bian, F; Deng, G J; Ma, S; Su, X W; Zhao, J; Jiang, Y

    2018-04-10

    Objective: To understand the current situation on management of diabetes mellitus patients aged 35 and above in the National Demonstration Areas for Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases, in China. Methods: Local residents, aged 18 years and above were randomly selected by a complex, multistage, probability sampling method. Face-to-face questionnaire survey was carried out between November and December 2016. Rates regarding prevalence, treatment and management of diabetes were calculated, and influencing factors of diabetes were analyzed by using the non-conditional logistic regression model. Results: A total of 3 213 residents aged ≥35 years were included in this study, of which 11.48% (369/3 213) reported that they had ever been informed by a doctor or other health worker that their blood sugar level was high or being diabetic. The rate of self-reported treatment among the diabetic patients was 83.20% (307/369). Rates on overall management and standardized management were 69.92% (258/369) and 53.66% (198/369), respectively. Higher rates were seen in residents aged 55 to 64 years, 76.32% for overall management and 59.65% for standardized management. Through multiple logistic regression analysis, we found that standardized management for diabetes was much higher in the Demonstration Areas located in the eastern areas ( OR =2.942, 95% CI : 1.547-5.594), or patients with characteristics including high implementation score ( OR =3.499, 95% CI : 1.865-6.563), already signed family doctors ( OR =5.661, 95% CI : 3.237-9.899), or without hypertension ( OR =1.717, 95% CI : 1.010- 2.920). Residents who were living in the first and second batch areas of implementation or responding to the NCDs with positive attitude were more likely to accept standardized management. Conclusion: Prevention and management programs on diabetes had met the requirements set for the Demonstration Areas which had promoted the specific implementation and further

  10. Reading Comprehension: A Computerized Intervention with Primary-age Poor Readers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horne, Joanna Kathryn

    2017-05-01

    The current study investigates the effectiveness of a computerized reading comprehension programme on the reading accuracy, reading comprehension and reading rate of primary-age poor readers. There is little published literature relating to computerized reading interventions in UK primary schools, and no previous studies have investigated the Comprehension Booster programme. Thirty-eight children (26 boys and 12 girls; aged 6:7 to 11:0) from two schools in East Yorkshire, UK, took part. Half of the participants (the intervention group) undertook the Comprehension Booster programme for a 6-week period, whilst the other half (the control group) continued with their usual teaching. Significant effects of the intervention were found, with increases in reading accuracy and reading comprehension for the intervention group. It is concluded that computerized reading programmes can be effective in improving reading skills, and these are particularly useful for pupils with reading difficulties in disadvantaged areas, where resources are limited and family support in reading is lower. However, such programmes are not a replacement for good teaching, and regular monitoring of children with reading difficulties is required. Further research is necessary to compare the programme used here to other conventional and computerized intervention programmes, using a larger sample. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  11. Comprehensive bibliographic coverage of the social sciences and humanities in a citation index

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sivertsen, Gunnar; Larsen, Birger

    2012-01-01

    A well-designed and comprehensive citation index for the social sciences and humanities has many potential uses, but has yet to be realised. Significant parts of the scholarly production in these areas are not published in international journals, but in national scholarly journals, in book chapters...... or in monographs. The potential for covering these literatures more comprehensively can now be investigated empirically using a complete publication output data set from the higher education sector of an entire country (Norway). We find that while the international journals in the social sciences and humanities...... are promising for a more comprehensive coverage of the social sciences and humanities....

  12. A comprehensive inventory of radiological and nonradiological contaminants in waste buried or projected to be buried in the subsurface disposal area of the INEL RWMC during the years 1984-2003, Volume 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-05-01

    This is the second volume of this comprehensive report of the inventory of radiological and nonradiological contaminants in waste buried or projected to be buried in the subsurface disposal area of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. Appendix B contains a complete printout of contaminant inventory and other information from the CIDRA Database and is presented in volumes 2 and 3 of the report

  13. Teaching Reading Comprehension to Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Predictors of Teacher Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectancy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Accardo, Amy L.; Finnegan, Elizabeth G.; Gulkus, Steven P.; Papay, Clare K.

    2017-01-01

    Learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit difficulty in the area of reading comprehension. Research connecting the learning needs of individuals with ASD, existing effective practices, teacher training, and teacher perceptions of their own ability to teach reading comprehension is scarce. Quantitative survey methodology and…

  14. Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kruse, Marie; Hochstrasser, Stefan; Zwisler, Ann-Dorthe O

    2006-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: The costs of comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation are established and compared to the corresponding costs of usual care. The effect on health-related quality of life is analyzed. METHODS: An unprecedented and very detailed cost assessment was carried out, as no guidelines existed...... and may be as high as euro 1.877. CONCLUSIONS: Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation is more costly than usual care, and the higher costs are not outweighed by a quality of life gain. Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation is, therefore, not cost-effective....

  15. Advanced complex analysis a comprehensive course in analysis, part 2b

    CERN Document Server

    Simon, Barry

    2015-01-01

    A Comprehensive Course in Analysis by Poincaré Prize winner Barry Simon is a five-volume set that can serve as a graduate-level analysis textbook with a lot of additional bonus information, including hundreds of problems and numerous notes that extend the text and provide important historical background. Depth and breadth of exposition make this set a valuable reference source for almost all areas of classical analysis. Part 2B provides a comprehensive look at a number of subjects of complex analysis not included in Part 2A. Presented in this volume are the theory of conformal metrics (includ

  16. An investigation on comprehensive evaluation and standard of image quality of high voltage chest radiograph

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan Shulin; Li Shuopeng; Zhao Bo; Niu Yantao

    1998-01-01

    Purpose: Based on clinical diagnostic demand, patient irradiation dose and imaging technical parameters, to establish a comprehensive evaluation method and standard in chest radiograph. Methods: (1) From 10 normal chest radiographs, the authors selected the evaluation area on thoracic PA (posteroanterior) radiographs and set up standard for diagnostic demand; (2) Using chest CT scans of 20 males and 20 females, the authors calculated the ratio of lung field to mediastinum; (3) Selecting 100 chest films using 125 kVp, the authors measured the standard density values of each evaluation area; (4) Body surface irradiation doses of 478 normal adults were measured. Results: (1) Based on diagnostic demand, the authors confirmed 7 evaluation areas and 4 physical evaluation factors. At the same time, evaluation standards were obtained; (2) Comprehensive evaluation methods were established; (3) Standard height, weight and body surface irradiation dose of Chinese normal adults were investigated preliminarily. Conclusion: Based on the concept of comprehensive evaluation, investigation on the evaluation methods and standard in chest PA radiograph was carried out which might be taken as the foundation for future approach on nation-wide basis

  17. Comprehensive Training of Engineering Students through Continuing Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Reynoso Flores

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper addresses a priority for student training in general and particularly for future engineers. Although this issue has been frequently addressed in recent years, proposals are still insufficient for engineering students. This paper is aimed at theoretically and empirically demonstrating the potential of continuing education as one of the key areas that engineering schools have for the comprehensive training of students. Preliminary results of a research project commissioned by the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Electrica-FIME of Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico, are presented to respond to the need to improve the learning process of students with a comprehensive approach. The research justification and some of the results obtained in the exploratory phase are also described.

  18. Comprehensive metabolic panel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metabolic panel - comprehensive; Chem-20; SMA20; Sequential multi-channel analysis with computer-20; SMAC20; Metabolic panel 20 ... Chernecky CC, Berger BJ. Comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) - blood. In: ... Tests and Diagnostic Procedures . 6th ed. St Louis, MO: ...

  19. Cognitive Correlates of Listening Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Young-Suk; Phillips, Beth

    2014-01-01

    In an effort to understand cognitive foundations of oral language comprehension (i.e., listening comprehension), we examined how inhibitory control, theory of mind, and comprehension monitoring are uniquely related to listening comprehension over and above vocabulary and age. A total of 156 children in kindergarten and first grade from…

  20. Supplier Development Literature Review and Key Future Research Areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muddassir Ahmed

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to develop a Supplier Development (SD literature framework and identify the main focus areas in SD research. To this end, a comprehensive review of the existing SD academic literature has been undertaken, which includes 62 research papers. These papers are classified according to their research content and the research methodology employed. A comprehensive list of future research areas is also presented. Thus, this paper will also briefly explore proposed future research. The review of the SD literature presented here identifies the following main areas of focus: Supplier Development Activities, Practices and Success Factors; Direct or Indirect Supplier Development; Supplier Development as a Reactive or Strategic Process; Supplier Development in a Lean Six Sigma & SME context.

  1. Comprehensive evaluation of ecological security in mining area based on PSR-ANP-GRAY.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Gang; Yu, Baohua; Li, Shuzhou; Zhu, Yanna

    2017-09-06

    With the large exploitation of mineral resources, a series of problems have appeared in the ecological environment of the mining area. Therefore, evaluating the ecological security of mining area is of great significance to promote its healthy development. In this paper, the evaluation index system of ecological security in mining area was constructed from three dimensions of nature, society and economy, combined with Pressure-State-Response framework model. Then network analytic hierarchy process and GRAY relational analysis method were used to evaluate the ecological security of the region, and the weighted correlation degree of ecological security was calculated through the index data of a coal mine from 2012 to 2016 in China. The results show that the ecological security in the coal mine area is on the rise as a whole, though it alternatively rose and dropped from 2012 to 2016. Among them, the ecological security of the study mining area is at the general security level from 2012 to 2015, and at a relatively safe level in 2016. It shows that the ecological environment of the study mining area can basically meet the requirement of the survival and development of the enterprises.

  2. The comprehensive test ban treaty negotiations: a view from Geneva

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weston, Michael.

    1995-01-01

    The United Kingdom- one of the alliance's three nuclear powers is fully and actively involved in the search for a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) which would play an important role in both non-proliferation and disarmament objectives. This article considers how the negotiations are proceeding and assesses the prospects in a number of key areas. (author)

  3. Regional cerebral blood flow during comprehension and speech (in cerebrally healthy subjects)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lechevalier, B.; Petit, M.C.; Eustache, F.; Lambert, J.; Chapon, F.; Viader, F.

    1989-01-01

    Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured by the xenon-133 inhalation method in 10 cerebrally healthy subjects at rest and during linguistic activation tests. These consisted of a comprehension test (binaural listening to a narrative text) and a speech test (making sentences from a list of words presented orally at 30-s intervals). The comprehension task induced a moderate increase in the mean right CBF and in both inferior parietal areas, whereas the speech test resulted in a diffuse increase in the mean CBF of both hemispheres, predominating regionally in both inferior parietal, left operculary, and right upper motor and premotor areas. It is proposed that the activation pattern induced by linguistic stimulation depends on not only specific factors, such as syntactic and semantic aspects of language, but also the contents of the material proposed and the attention required by the test situation

  4. A Comprehensive Literature Review of 50 Years of Fuzzy Set Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cengiz Kahraman

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available fuzzy sets have a great progress in every scientific research area. it found many application areas in both theoretical and practical studies from engineering area to arts and humanities, from computer science to health sciences, and from life sciences to physical sciences. in this paper, a comprehensive literature review on the fuzzy set theory is realized. in the recent years, ordinary fuzzy sets have been extended to new types and these extensions have been used in many areas such as energy, medicine, material, economics and pharmacology sciences. this literature review also analyzes the chronological development of these extensions. in the last section of the paper, we present our interpretations on the future of fuzzy sets.

  5. Quotient-Comprehension Chains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenta Cho

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Quotients and comprehension are fundamental mathematical constructions that can be described via adjunctions in categorical logic. This paper reveals that quotients and comprehension are related to measurement, not only in quantum logic, but also in probabilistic and classical logic. This relation is presented by a long series of examples, some of them easy, and some also highly non-trivial (esp. for von Neumann algebras. We have not yet identified a unifying theory. Nevertheless, the paper contributes towards such a theory by introducing the new quotient-and-comprehension perspective on measurement instruments, and by describing the examples on which such a theory should be built.

  6. The Comprehension Problems of Children with Poor Reading Comprehension despite Adequate Decoding: A Meta-Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spencer, Mercedes; Wagner, Richard K

    2018-06-01

    The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the comprehension problems of children who have a specific reading comprehension deficit (SCD), which is characterized by poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding. The meta-analysis included 86 studies of children with SCD who were assessed in reading comprehension and oral language (vocabulary, listening comprehension, storytelling ability, and semantic and syntactic knowledge). Results indicated that children with SCD had deficits in oral language ( d = -0.78, 95% CI [-0.89, -0.68], but these deficits were not as severe as their deficit in reading comprehension ( d = -2.78, 95% CI [-3.01, -2.54]). When compared to reading comprehension age-matched normal readers, the oral language skills of the two groups were comparable ( d = 0.32, 95% CI [-0.49, 1.14]), which suggests that the oral language weaknesses of children with SCD represent a developmental delay rather than developmental deviance. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

  7. On the importance of listening comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hogan, Tiffany P; Adlof, Suzanne M; Alonzo, Crystle N

    2014-06-01

    The simple view of reading highlights the importance of two primary components which account for individual differences in reading comprehension across development: word recognition (i.e., decoding) and listening comprehension. While assessments and interventions for decoding have been the focus of pedagogy in the past several decades, the importance of listening comprehension has received less attention. This paper reviews evidence showing that listening comprehension becomes the dominating influence on reading comprehension starting even in the elementary grades. It also highlights a growing number of children who fail to develop adequate reading comprehension skills, primarily due to deficient listening comprehension skills (i.e., poor comprehenders). Finally we discuss key language influences on listening comprehension for consideration during assessment and treatment of reading disabilities.

  8. Follow-up study on reading comprehension in Down's syndrome: the role of reading skills and listening comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roch, Maja; Florit, Elena; Levorato, Chiara

    2011-01-01

    According to the 'Simple View of Reading', reading comprehension requires some abilities such as reading skill and listening comprehension. Individuals with Down's syndrome show relative strengths in reading skills, mainly in word recognition, where they attain a reading age of about 7-8 years. Compared with word recognition, their reading comprehension is usually delayed by at least 6 months. Poor reading comprehension is paralleled by weak listening comprehension. It is claimed that poor listening comprehension might constrain the development of reading comprehension and, therefore, be a cause for the asynchrony between reading skills and reading comprehension. A follow-up study was carried out in order to analyse the improvements in reading skills, listening and reading text comprehension, and to support the hypothesis of a causal relationship between listening and reading comprehension. Ten children and adolescents with Down's syndrome, aged between 11 years 3 months and 19 years 10 months, were assessed twice over a one-year period as to their reading skills, listening and reading text comprehension. Three main findings emerged: (1) reading skills, on the one hand, and comprehension (both listening and reading), on the other hand, are independent; (2) reading comprehension development is determined mainly by listening comprehension, which in the present study proved to be very poor; and (3) an improvement after a one-year period, even though limited, occurred for all examined abilities except for listening comprehension. The results are discussed in the light of the theoretical framework of the 'Simple View of Reading' and of their relevance for practical and educational issues. © 2011 Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists.

  9. Age-related differences in warning symbol comprehension and training effectiveness: effects of familiarity, complexity, and comprehensibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesch, M F; Horrey, W J; Wogalter, M S; Powell, W R

    2011-10-01

    Age-related changes in selective attention, inhibitory efficiency, and the ability to form new associations suggest that older adults may have greater difficulty with more complex and less comprehensible symbols. We examined comprehension of symbols varying in terms of ratings of familiarity, complexity, and comprehensibility, by younger (aged 18-35) and older (aged 55-70) adults. It was found that older adults have greater difficulty than younger adults in comprehending warning symbols and that accident scenario training improves comprehension. Regression analyses indicated that familiarity and comprehensibility were important in determining performance on the pre-training comprehension test by both younger and older adults. However, training eliminated the effects of stimulus characteristics for younger adults, while older adults' comprehension continued to be significantly influenced by comprehensibility. We suggest that symbol design incorporates cues to knowledge to facilitate the linkage between new knowledge (i.e. the warning symbol) and relevant knowledge in long-term memory. Statement of Relevance: Symbol characteristics play an important role in age-related differences in warning symbol comprehension. To optimise comprehension by older adults, symbols should have a clear relationship with areal-world referent. Alternatively, symbol design could incorporate cues to knowledge to facilitate the linkage between new knowledge and relevant knowledge in long-term memory.

  10. Narrative comprehension and production in children with SLI: An eye movement study

    Science.gov (United States)

    ANDREU, LLORENÇ; SANZ-TORRENT, MONICA; OLMOS, JOAN GUÀRDIA; MACWHINNEY, BRIAN

    2014-01-01

    This study investigates narrative comprehension and production in children with specific language impairment (SLI). Twelve children with SLI (mean age 5; 8 years) and 12 typically developing children (mean age 5; 6 years) participated in an eye-tracking experiment designed to investigate online narrative comprehension and production in Catalan- and Spanish-speaking children with SLI. The comprehension task involved the recording of eye movements during the visual exploration of successive scenes in a story, while listening to the associated narrative. With regard to production, the children were asked to retell the story, while once again looking at the scenes, as their eye movements were monitored. During narrative production, children with SLI look at the most semantically relevant areas of the scenes fewer times than their age-matched controls, but no differences were found in narrative comprehension. Moreover, the analyses of speech productions revealed that children with SLI retained less information and made more semantic and syntactic errors during retelling. Implications for theories that characterize SLI are discussed. PMID:21453036

  11. Negative blood oxygen level dependent signals during speech comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez Moreno, Diana; Schiff, Nicholas D; Hirsch, Joy

    2015-05-01

    Speech comprehension studies have generally focused on the isolation and function of regions with positive blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signals with respect to a resting baseline. Although regions with negative BOLD signals in comparison to a resting baseline have been reported in language-related tasks, their relationship to regions of positive signals is not fully appreciated. Based on the emerging notion that the negative signals may represent an active function in language tasks, the authors test the hypothesis that negative BOLD signals during receptive language are more associated with comprehension than content-free versions of the same stimuli. Regions associated with comprehension of speech were isolated by comparing responses to passive listening to natural speech to two incomprehensible versions of the same speech: one that was digitally time reversed and one that was muffled by removal of high frequencies. The signal polarity was determined by comparing the BOLD signal during each speech condition to the BOLD signal during a resting baseline. As expected, stimulation-induced positive signals relative to resting baseline were observed in the canonical language areas with varying signal amplitudes for each condition. Negative BOLD responses relative to resting baseline were observed primarily in frontoparietal regions and were specific to the natural speech condition. However, the BOLD signal remained indistinguishable from baseline for the unintelligible speech conditions. Variations in connectivity between brain regions with positive and negative signals were also specifically related to the comprehension of natural speech. These observations of anticorrelated signals related to speech comprehension are consistent with emerging models of cooperative roles represented by BOLD signals of opposite polarity.

  12. Reading comprehension in Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, Laura L; Rutledge, Stefanie

    2014-05-01

    Although individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) self-report reading problems and experience difficulties in cognitive-linguistic functions that support discourse-level reading, prior research has primarily focused on sentence-level processing and auditory comprehension. Accordingly, the authors investigated the presence and nature of reading comprehension in PD, hypothesizing that (a) individuals with PD would display impaired accuracy and/or speed on reading comprehension tests and (b) reading performances would be correlated with cognitive test results. Eleven adults with PD and 9 age- and education-matched control participants completed tests that evaluated reading comprehension; general language and cognitive abilities; and aspects of attention, memory, and executive functioning. The PD group obtained significantly lower scores on several, but not all, reading comprehension, language, and cognitive measures. Memory, language, and disease severity were significantly correlated with reading comprehension for the PD group. Individuals in the early stages of PD without dementia or broad cognitive deficits can display reading comprehension difficulties, particularly for high- versus basic-level reading tasks. These reading difficulties are most closely related to memory, high-level language, and PD symptom severity status. The findings warrant additional research to delineate further the types and nature of reading comprehension impairments experienced by individuals with PD.

  13. Overlapping genetic and child-specific nonshared environmental influences on listening comprehension, reading motivation, and reading comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schenker, Victoria J; Petrill, Stephen A

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the genetic and environmental influences on observed associations between listening comprehension, reading motivation, and reading comprehension. Univariate and multivariate quantitative genetic models were conducted in a sample of 284 pairs of twins at a mean age of 9.81 years. Genetic and nonshared environmental factors accounted for statistically significant variance in listening and reading comprehension, and nonshared environmental factors accounted for variance in reading motivation. Furthermore, listening comprehension demonstrated unique genetic and nonshared environmental influences but also had overlapping genetic influences with reading comprehension. Reading motivation and reading comprehension each had unique and overlapping nonshared environmental contributions. Therefore, listening comprehension appears to be related to reading primarily due to genetic factors whereas motivation appears to affect reading via child-specific, nonshared environmental effects. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Overlapping Genetic and Child-Specific Nonshared Environmental Influences on Listening Comprehension, Reading Motivation, and Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schenker, Victoria J.; Petrill, Stephen A.

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the genetic and environmental influences on observed associations between listening comprehension, reading motivation, and reading comprehension. Univariate and multivariate quantitative genetic models were conducted in a sample of 284 pairs of twins at a mean age of 9.81 years. Genetic and nonshared environmental factors accounted for statistically significant variance in listening and reading comprehension, and nonshared environmental factors accounted for variance in reading motivation. Furthermore, listening comprehension demonstrated unique genetic and nonshared environmental influences but also had overlapping genetic influences with reading comprehension. Reading motivation and reading comprehension each had unique and overlapping nonshared environmental contributions. Therefore, listening comprehension appears to be related to reading primarily due to genetic factors whereas motivation appears to affect reading via child-specific, nonshared environmental effects. PMID:26321677

  15. Functional Anatomy of Listening and Reading Comprehension during Development

    OpenAIRE

    Berl, Madison M.; Duke, Elizabeth S.; Mayo, Jessica; Rosenberger, Lisa R.; Moore, Erin N.; VanMeter, John; Ratner, Nan Bernstein; Vaidya, Chandan J.; Gaillard, William Davis

    2010-01-01

    Listening and reading comprehension of paragraph-length material are considered higher-order language skills fundamental to social and academic functioning. Using ecologically relevant language stimuli that were matched for difficulty according to developmental level, we analyze the effects of task, age, neuropsychological skills, and post-task performance on fMRI activation and hemispheric laterality. Areas of supramodal language processing are identified, with the most robust region being l...

  16. Annual Report for Los Alamos National Laboratory Technical Area 54, Area G Disposal Facility - Fiscal Year 2016

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Birdsell, Kay Hanson [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Stauffer, Philip H. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Atchley, Adam Lee [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Miller, Elizabeth D. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Chu, Shaoping [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); French, Sean B. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-03-24

    As a condition to the disposal authorization statement issued to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL or the Laboratory) on March 17, 2010, a comprehensive performance assessment and composite analysis (PA/CA) maintenance program must be implemented for the Technical Area 54, Area G disposal facility. Annual determinations of the adequacy of the PA/CA are to be conducted under the maintenance program to ensure that the conclusions reached by those analyses continue to be valid. This report summarizes the results of the fiscal year (FY) 2016 annual review for Area G.

  17. Information Transparency of the Statement of Comprehensive Income: The Reporting Practice of WIG30 and DAX Companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacek Gad

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to identify changes in the form of the statement of comprehensive income in companies in the WIG30 and DAX indices. It also aims to identify and grade components of other comprehensive income, in terms of the information transparency of the presentation options. The article demonstrates also the impact of national cultural dimensions on the form of the statement of comprehensive income. The study found that most of the surveyed companies present their statement of comprehensive income in two statements, with the number of accounting notes regarding comprehensive income presented by companies in their financial statements increasing over the period under study. The study identified four options for the presentation of other comprehensive income components used by the surveyed companies in the years 2012-2014, with the particular option chosen reflecting the different information transparency of the statement of comprehensive income. The results show that the practice of reporting in the area of the statement of comprehensive income of the DAX index companies is ahead of that in the WIG30 index. The research results on information transparency of the statement of comprehensive income correspond to one of the national cultural dimensions.

  18. Fundamental Reform of Payment for Adult Primary Care: Comprehensive Payment for Comprehensive Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berenson, Robert A.; Schoenbaum, Stephen C.; Gardner, Laurence B.

    2007-01-01

    Primary care is essential to the effective and efficient functioning of health care delivery systems, yet there is an impending crisis in the field due in part to a dysfunctional payment system. We present a fundamentally new model of payment for primary care, replacing encounter-based imbursement with comprehensive payment for comprehensive care. Unlike former iterations of primary care capitation (which simply bundled inadequate fee-for-service payments), our comprehensive payment model represents new investment in adult primary care, with substantial increases in payment over current levels. The comprehensive payment is directed to practices to include support for the modern systems and teams essential to the delivery of comprehensive, coordinated care. Income to primary physicians is increased commensurate with the high level of responsibility expected. To ensure optimal allocation of resources and the rewarding of desired outcomes, the comprehensive payment is needs/risk-adjusted and performance-based. Our model establishes a new social contract with the primary care community, substantially increasing payment in return for achieving important societal health system goals, including improved accessibility, quality, safety, and efficiency. Attainment of these goals should help offset and justify the costs of the investment. Field tests of this and other new models of payment for primary care are urgently needed. PMID:17356977

  19. Screening assessment and requirements for a comprehensive assessment: Volume 1, Draft. Columbia River comprehensive impact assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-04-01

    To evaluate the impact to the Columbia River from the Hanford Site-derived contaminants, the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Washington State Department of Ecology initiated a study referred to as the Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment (CRCIA). To address concerns about the scope and direction of CRCIA as well as enhance regulator, tribal, stockholder, and public involvement, the CRCIA Management Team was formed in August 1995. The Team agreed to conduct CRCIA using a phased approach. The initial phase, includes two components: 1) a screening assessment to evaluate the potential impact to the river, resulting from current levels of Hanford-derived contaminants in order to support decisions on Interim Remedial Measures, and 2) a definition of the essential work remaining to provide an acceptable comprehensive river impact assessment. The screening assessment is described in Part I of this report. The essential work remaining is Part II of this report. The objective of the screening assessment is to identify areas where the greatest potential exists for adverse effects on humans or the environment. Part I of this report discusses the scope, technical approach, and results of the screening assessment. Part II defines a new paradigm for predecisional participation by those affected by Hanford cleanup decisions.

  20. Screening assessment and requirements for a comprehensive assessment: Volume 1, Draft. Columbia River comprehensive impact assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-04-01

    To evaluate the impact to the Columbia River from the Hanford Site-derived contaminants, the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Washington State Department of Ecology initiated a study referred to as the Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment (CRCIA). To address concerns about the scope and direction of CRCIA as well as enhance regulator, tribal, stockholder, and public involvement, the CRCIA Management Team was formed in August 1995. The Team agreed to conduct CRCIA using a phased approach. The initial phase, includes two components: 1) a screening assessment to evaluate the potential impact to the river, resulting from current levels of Hanford-derived contaminants in order to support decisions on Interim Remedial Measures, and 2) a definition of the essential work remaining to provide an acceptable comprehensive river impact assessment. The screening assessment is described in Part I of this report. The essential work remaining is Part II of this report. The objective of the screening assessment is to identify areas where the greatest potential exists for adverse effects on humans or the environment. Part I of this report discusses the scope, technical approach, and results of the screening assessment. Part II defines a new paradigm for predecisional participation by those affected by Hanford cleanup decisions

  1. Novel approach to parental permission and child assent for research: improving comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Lonergan, Theresa A; Forster-Harwood, Jeri E

    2011-05-01

    The aim of this research was to test a multimedia permission/assent (P/A) process. The overall hypothesis was that children and their parents exposed to a multimedia P/A process would have better comprehension compared with those exposed to a text-based process. Traditional and multimedia P/A processes were created by using an innovative learning-objective approach. A total of 194 parent-child dyads (children aged 11-14 years) were enrolled: 24 dyads in a prestudy testing P/A components for preference and effect on comprehension and 170 dyads in a randomized trial of a multimedia or paper P/A process for a hypothetical study. Participants were predominantly white and were from a metropolitan area served by a tertiary care pediatric hospital and outpatient facility. Comprehension of 8 essential elements of the P/A process was assessed. The majority of prestudy subjects preferred the video version of the dual-energy radiograph absorptiometry description over the animated and paper versions combined (41 of 48 [85%]; P better overall comprehension compared with the paper P/A process (P = .0009), and there were highly significant differences in understanding of study procedures (P = .0002) and risks (P multimedia group had significantly better overall comprehension (P = .03). Multimedia approaches to the research P/A process may improve overall understanding of research participation for children and parents. Improved understanding of study-specific research components (rather than research rights) may improve overall comprehension.

  2. Spectrum of physics comprehension

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blasiak, W; Godlewska, M; Rosiek, R; Wcislo, D

    2012-01-01

    The paper presents the results of research on the relationship between self-assessed comprehension of physics lectures and final grades of junior high school students (aged 13-15), high school students (aged 16-18) and physics students at the Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland (aged 21). Students' declared level of comprehension was measured during a physics lecture on a prearranged scale of 1-10 with the use of a personal response system designed for the purpose of this experiment. Through the use of this tool, we obtained about 2000 computer records of students' declared comprehension of a 45 min lecture, which we named ‘the spectrum of comprehension’. In this paper, we present and analyse the correlation between students' declared comprehension of the content presented in the lecture and their final learning results. (paper)

  3. U.S. Marine Protected Areas Boundaries: MPA Inventory

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The MPA Inventory is a comprehensive catalog that provides detailed information for existing marine protected areas in the United States. The inventory provides...

  4. Comprehensive analysis of area-specific and time-dependent changes in gene expression in the motor cortex of macaque monkeys during recovery from spinal cord injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higo, Noriyuki; Sato, Akira; Yamamoto, Tatsuya; Oishi, Takao; Nishimura, Yukio; Murata, Yumi; Onoe, Hirotaka; Isa, Tadashi; Kojima, Toshio

    2018-05-01

    The present study aimed to assess the molecular bases of cortical compensatory mechanisms following spinal cord injury in primates. To accomplish this, comprehensive changes in gene expression were investigated in the bilateral primary motor cortex (M1), dorsal premotor cortex (PMd), and ventral premotor cortex (PMv) after a unilateral lesion of the lateral corticospinal tract (l-CST). At 2 weeks after the lesion, a large number of genes exhibited altered expression levels in the contralesional M1, which is directly linked to the lesioned l-CST. Gene ontology and network analyses indicated that these changes in gene expression are involved in the atrophy and plasticity changes observed in neurons. Orchestrated gene expression changes were present when behavioral recovery was attained 3 months after the lesion, particularly among the bilateral premotor areas, and a large number of these genes are involved in plasticity. Moreover, several genes abundantly expressed in M1 of intact monkeys were upregulated in both the PMd and PMv after the l-CST lesion. These area-specific and time-dependent changes in gene expression may underlie the molecular mechanisms of functional recovery following a lesion of the l-CST. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Fostering Fifth Graders’ Reading Comprehension through the use of Intensive Reading in Physical Science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alethia Paola Bogoya González

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Reading comprehension in a content area needs to be seen from both the content and language perspectives. This paper examines the use of intensive reading, a strategy taken from the language teaching field, to help students improve their reading comprehension ability and develop understanding of science concepts. The study was carried out in a fifth grade class at a private bilingual institution of Bogotá. Reading was analyzed using a mixed-method approach that utilizes both qualitative and quantitative methods. The first method was done through students’ interviews, artefacts, and a teacher’s journal, and the second by means of two reading tests, Cloze and CARI, Content Area Reading Inventory Test. The statistical analysis shows that students improved their reading comprehension ability as their scores for the post-test were higher than those of the pre-test; this increment is statistically significant as p ≤ .05 when applying a t-test. The qualitative analysis shows that structured reading practices lead to the development of students’ cognitive processes. Overall, the results indicate that reading in sciences hould be seen as dynamic process that incorporates learners’ strategies in order to develop conceptual understanding.

  6. Field Sampling Plan for Closure of the Central Facilities Area Sewage Treatment Plant Lagoon 3 and Land Application Area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lewis, Michael George

    2016-01-01

    This field sampling plan describes sampling of the soil/liner of Lagoon 3 at the Central Facilities Area Sewage Treatment Plant. The lagoon is to be closed, and samples obtained from the soil/liner will provide information to determine if Lagoon 3 and the land application area can be closed in a manner that renders it safe to human health and the environment. Samples collected under this field sampling plan will be compared to Idaho National Laboratory background soil concentrations. If the concentrations of constituents of concern exceed the background level, they will be compared to Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act preliminary remediation goals and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act levels. If the concentrations of constituents of concern are lower than the background levels, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act levels, or the preliminary remediation goals, then Lagoon 3 and the land application area will be closed. If the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act levels and/or the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act preliminary remediation goals are exceeded, additional sampling and action may be required.

  7. Field Sampling Plan for Closure of the Central Facilities Area Sewage Treatment Plant Lagoon 3 and Land Application Area

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lewis, Michael George [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2016-10-01

    This field sampling plan describes sampling of the soil/liner of Lagoon 3 at the Central Facilities Area Sewage Treatment Plant. The lagoon is to be closed, and samples obtained from the soil/liner will provide information to determine if Lagoon 3 and the land application area can be closed in a manner that renders it safe to human health and the environment. Samples collected under this field sampling plan will be compared to Idaho National Laboratory background soil concentrations. If the concentrations of constituents of concern exceed the background level, they will be compared to Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act preliminary remediation goals and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act levels. If the concentrations of constituents of concern are lower than the background levels, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act levels, or the preliminary remediation goals, then Lagoon 3 and the land application area will be closed. If the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act levels and/or the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act preliminary remediation goals are exceeded, additional sampling and action may be required.

  8. Cultural Knowledge in News Comprehension

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mathieu, David

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents the main lines of the design and the findings of a reception study on news comprehension. This empirical study is a comparison of the comprehension processes of Danes and French Canadians over a set of news texts from both countries. Comprehension is explored from a cultural...... perspective, through the lens of cognition and pragmatics, revealing the role played by cultural knowledge in comprehension and the underlying relationship between a text and its intended audience. It is argued that recipients ‘problematise’ the news texts, a process by which the texts answer questions...

  9. Annual Report for Los Alamos National Laboratory Technical Area 54, Area G Disposal Facility – Fiscal Year 2015

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    French, Sean B. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Stauffer, Philip H. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Birdsell, Kay H. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2016-02-29

    As a condition to the disposal authorization statement issued to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL or the Laboratory) on March 17, 2010, a comprehensive performance assessment and composite analysis maintenance program must be implemented for the Technical Area 54, Area G disposal facility. Annual determinations of the adequacy of the performance assessment and composite analysis (PA/CA) are to be conducted under the maintenance program to ensure that the conclusions reached by those analyses continue to be valid. This report summarizes the results of the fiscal year (FY) 2015 annual review for Area G.

  10. A comprehensive approach to benefit-risk assessment in drug development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sarac, Sinan B; Rasmussen, Christian H; Rasmussen, Morten A.

    2012-01-01

    Major regulatory agencies, for example, FDA and EMA, have started to request comprehensive benefit-risk analyses of pharmaceutical products prior to approval or labelling expansion. The purpose of this study is to develop a generally applicable and reliable data-driven benefit-risk assessment......) discussion and formulation of an overall conclusion. To reduce the impact of subjective judgements, scores are assigned to each criterion on the basis of objective information (data) wherever possible. The proposed benefit-risk evaluation approach offers comprehensive, data-driven assessments that can...... method, where two or more drugs/doses can be compared. Our aim is to formulate an approach that is simple to apply, allows direct comparison of different types of risks and benefits, and is tailored for application in different disease areas both during clinical development and in the marketing approval...

  11. Welding of Armor. Summary of Ballistic Shock Test Results for 1/2, 3/8, 5/16 and 1/4 in. Homogeneous Armor ’H’ Plates Welded with Austenitic Electrodes and Tested at Aberdeen Proving Ground during the Period of 1 April 1943 through 31 March 1944

    Science.gov (United States)

    1945-02-15

    Fitigibbons Boiler Company Jones & Laughlin Carnegie-Illinois Great Lakes Youngstown Harnischfeger Lincoln Electric 3^35 2 Florence Stove...t r- k XX ~1 ot> o rirl H tnx> • • HHO CO OH • • • lOOlO i-tOi^ o s O OlOO • • • • mc\\jc\\j CTN ITM-fX) o • • • » LPir

  12. Hearing and seeing meaning in noise: Alpha, beta, and gamma oscillations predict gestural enhancement of degraded speech comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drijvers, Linda; Özyürek, Asli; Jensen, Ole

    2018-05-01

    During face-to-face communication, listeners integrate speech with gestures. The semantic information conveyed by iconic gestures (e.g., a drinking gesture) can aid speech comprehension in adverse listening conditions. In this magnetoencephalography (MEG) study, we investigated the spatiotemporal neural oscillatory activity associated with gestural enhancement of degraded speech comprehension. Participants watched videos of an actress uttering clear or degraded speech, accompanied by a gesture or not and completed a cued-recall task after watching every video. When gestures semantically disambiguated degraded speech comprehension, an alpha and beta power suppression and a gamma power increase revealed engagement and active processing in the hand-area of the motor cortex, the extended language network (LIFG/pSTS/STG/MTG), medial temporal lobe, and occipital regions. These observed low- and high-frequency oscillatory modulations in these areas support general unification, integration and lexical access processes during online language comprehension, and simulation of and increased visual attention to manual gestures over time. All individual oscillatory power modulations associated with gestural enhancement of degraded speech comprehension predicted a listener's correct disambiguation of the degraded verb after watching the videos. Our results thus go beyond the previously proposed role of oscillatory dynamics in unimodal degraded speech comprehension and provide first evidence for the role of low- and high-frequency oscillations in predicting the integration of auditory and visual information at a semantic level. © 2018 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Effects of an Informational Text Reading Comprehension Intervention for Fifth-Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritchey, Kristen D.; Palombo, Kimberly; Silverman, Rebecca D.; Speece, Deborah L.

    2017-01-01

    Upper elementary school students who have reading problems may have difficulty in one or more areas of reading, each requiring specific types of interventions. This study evaluated a short-term reading intervention for 46 fifth-grade students with poor reading comprehension. Students were randomly assigned to an intervention or no treatment…

  14. Agricultural recovery of a formerly contaminated area: Establishment of a high-resolution quantitative protein map of mature flax seeds harvested from the remediated chernobyl area

    Science.gov (United States)

    In recent years there has been an increasing tendency toward remediation of contaminated areas for agricultural purposes. The study described herein is part of a comprehensive, long-term characterization of crop plants grown in the area formerly contaminated with radioactivity. As a first step, we ...

  15. Effect of Constructivist Teaching Method on Students' Achievement in French Listening Comprehension in Owerri North LGA of Imo State, Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uwalaka, A. J.; Offorma, G. C.

    2015-01-01

    The study investigated the effect of constructivist teaching method on students' achievement in French listening comprehension in Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria. Achievement in French listening comprehension over the years has been discouraging. The conventional method of teaching French Language has not improved the…

  16. Modulation of tenascin Genes expression in pig skin and muscular fibrosis after ionizing radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geffrotin, C.; Tricaud, Y.; Castelli, M.; Crechet, F.; Lefaix, J.L.; Vaiman, M. [Institut National de Recherches Agronomiques (INRA-CEA-DSV-DRR) Laboratoire de Radiologie Appliquee, 78 - Jouy-en-Josas (France)

    1997-03-01

    To study mechanisms leading to radiation-induced fibrosis, a complication which may occur after radiotherapy or radiation accidents, a model of local irradiation of skin in pig has been set up. It is characterized by the development of a cutaneous and muscular fibrosis within 5 months following a single dose of at least 140 Grays at the point of application of a collimated {sup 192}Ir source (2 cm in diameter). Accumulation of myo-fibroblasts, increased synthesis and deposition of components of the extra cellular matrix (ECM), such as collagens, fibronectin and hyaluronan were described in this model. We present here a study of the expression of the tenascin C and X (TN-C and TN-X) molecules which belong to a new family of glycoproteins of the ECM that has never been analysed in this context. A single dose of 160 Grays (0,6 Gy/mn) at the point of application of the {sup 192}Ir source was delivered on the right thigh of 4 Large While pigs. The animals were killed 9 to 11 months after irradiation and samples from unirradiated skin, repaired fibrotic skin and underlying muscular fibrotic tissue were recovered. TN-C and TN-X RNAs were analysed by the RNase protection and Northern blot methods using porcine cDNA probes. Analysis of TN-C protein was performed by Western blot technique using a polyclonal antibody raised against human TN-C. RNAs and proteins were quantified with the PhosphorImager SI and the Imaging Densitometer GS-700 from Biorad respectively. In conclusion, these data confirmed our previous observations about the independence of the regulatory mechanisms involved in the level of TN-X and TN-C mRNAs. As the TN-C gene is highly expressed both at the RNA and the protein levels, its products might play an important role both in the initiation and the chronic extension of radiation-induced fibrosis by modulating mechanism such as adhesion, migration or proliferation of cells. (authors)

  17. Case in Language Comprehension

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bader, Markus; Lamers, Monique

    2012-01-01

    Research on human language comprehension has been heavily influenced by properties of the English language. Since case plays only a minor role in English, its role for language comprehension has only recently become a topic for extensive research on psycholinguistics. In the psycholinguistic

  18. THE EFFECT OF A READING COMPREHENSION SOFTWARE PROGRAM ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David E. Proudfoot

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In an effort to increase student achievement, research was conducted to determine the degree in which a reading comprehension software program effected the reading and math abilities of fourth and fifth grade students. Cognitive and educational studies were examined to select a reading comprehension software program as an intervention that would produce positive results in reading comprehension and possibly transfer positive results to achievement in other academic areas, specifically in math. The effects of the intervention were measured by assigning subjects to an experimental group. The total sample consisted of 39 students who were deficient in reading comprehension, and also exposed a significant weakness with word problem items on mathematical assessments. Four instruments were used to collect data before and after the treatment to measure student achievement. To determine the degree to which the software program effected student achievement, data from the four instruments were analyzed using SPSS software. A paired-samples dependent t test and a Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was computed with ratio level data to test for a correlation between increased math scores and reading comprehension scores. Results yielded statistically significant and positive results in increasing reading comprehension skills that could possibly benefit students in reading and understanding mathematical problems. Results did not conclusively support that the increase of reading-comprehension skills had a collateral effect on students scoring higher with math word problems. The results are conducive to providing insight to educational leaders who plan to implement software as a means for increasing student achievement.

  19. Listening Comprehension in Middle-Aged Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sommers, Mitchell S

    2015-06-01

    The purpose of this summary is to examine changes in listening comprehension across the adult lifespan and to identify factors associated with individual differences in listening comprehension. In this article, the author reports on both cross-sectional and longitudinal changes in listening comprehension. Despite significant declines in both sensory and cognitive abilities, listening comprehension remains relatively unchanged in middle-aged listeners (between the ages of 40 and 60 years) compared with young listeners. These results are discussed with respect to possible compensatory factors that maintain listening comprehension despite impaired hearing and reduced cognitive capacities.

  20. The Role of First-Language Listening Comprehension in Second-Language Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edele, Aileen; Stanat, Petra

    2016-01-01

    Although the simple view of reading and other theories suggest that listening comprehension is an important determinant of reading comprehension, previous research on linguistic transfer has mainly focused on the role of first language (L1) decoding skills in second language (L2) reading. The present study tested the assumption that listening…

  1. Development of a comprehensive source term model for the Subsurface Disposal Area at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-01-01

    The first detailed comprehensive simulation study to evaluate fate and transport of wastes disposed in the Subsurface Disposal Area (SDA), at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC), Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) has recently been conducted. One of the most crucial parts of this modeling was the source term or release model. The current study used information collected over the last five years defining contaminant specific information including: the amount disposed, the waste form (physical and chemical properties) and the type of container used for each contaminant disposed. This information was used to simulate the release of contaminants disposed in the shallow subsurface at the SDA. The DUST-MS model was used to simulate the release. Modifications were made to allow the yearly disposal information to be incorporated. The modeling includes unique container and release rate information for each of the 42 years of disposal. The results from this simulation effort are used for both a groundwater and a biotic uptake evaluation. As part of this modeling exercise, inadequacies in the available data relating to the release of contaminants have been identified. The results from this modeling study have been used to guide additional data collection activities at the SDA for purposes of increasing confidence in the appropriateness of model predictions

  2. Verbal and perceptual analogical reasoning and proportional metaphor comprehension in young children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nippold, M A; Sullivan, M P

    1987-09-01

    In contrast to the common assumption that young children have little or no ability to reason by analogy or to comprehend proportional metaphors, the present study demonstrated that children as young as age 5 years have an emerging ability to solve both verbal and perceptual proportional analogy problems and to detect the meanings of proportional metaphoric sentences. These results were largely because the experimental tasks were designed to minimize the number of factors that would restrict the performance of young children. The results indicated that the years between 5 and 7 mark a steady improvement in analogical reasoning and proportional metaphor comprehension, but that children ages 5, 6, and 7 display a wide-ranging ability in these areas. It was also found that perceptual analogical reasoning was statistically related to verbal analogical reasoning and to proportional metaphor comprehension, and that perceptual analogical reasoning and proportional metaphor comprehension were both statistically related to receptive vocabulary development.

  3. Strategies of moving image comprehension of students in primary and secondary education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Imre Szíjártó

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The research was based on a survey method of enquiry. We were looking for answers to the following questions: What strategies of moving image comprehension do participants use? Are there differences in social status in the level of comprehension of moving images? Are there differences between students whose education consists of the ‘moving image culture and media literacy’ module, and those whose does not? What typical levels of media literacy can be located amongst students? What tasks of development can we identify? According to the literature and our research findings, students’ strategies of moving image comprehension are formed by three components: the socio-cultural environment, the school, and those online social networks, which students frequently access – in classical terms this refers to the influence of peer groups. We have come up with logical connections at the intersection of the three areas, which posed as a vantage point in the development of our survey.

  4. BOLD response to motion verbs in left posterior middle temporal gyrus during story comprehension

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wallentin, Mikkel; Nielsen, Andreas Højlund; Vuust, Peter

    2011-01-01

    A primary focus within neuroimaging research on language comprehension is on the distribution of semantic knowledge in the brain. Studies have shown that the left posterior middle temporal gyrus (LPMT), a region just anterior to area MT/V5, is important for the processing of complex action...... knowledge. It has also been found that motion verbs cause activation in LPMT. In this experiment we investigated whether this effect could be replicated in a setting resembling real life language comprehension, i.e. without any overt behavioral task during passive listening to a story. During f......, clauses containing motion verbs were accompanied by a robust activation of LPMT with no other significant effects, consistent with the hypothesis that this brain region is important for processing motion knowledge, even during naturalistic language comprehension conditions....

  5. Post-'92 Helsinki. Towards an operational institution for comprehensive security

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghebali, V.Y.

    1992-01-01

    Discussing the concept of comprehensive security the author reviews aims of the Forum for Security Cooperation to be held in Vienna in September 1992. They are: 1. To negotiate specific new conventional disarmament measures, provisions harmonizing the obligations assumed under various international instruments in this area; 2. To provide a framework for consultation, cooperation and ongoing dialogue on security questions; 3. To elaborate on the theme of conflict prevention

  6. Critical human-factors issues in nuclear-power regulation and a recommended comprehensive human-factors long-range plan. Critical discussion of human factors areas of concern

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hopkins, C.O.; Snyder, H.L.; Price, H.E.; Hornick, R.J.; Mackie, R.R.; Smillie, R.J.; Sugarman, R.C.

    1982-08-01

    This comprehensive long-range human factors plan for nuclear reactor regulation was developed by a Study Group of the Human Factors Society, Inc. This Study Group was selected by the Executive Council of the Society to provide a balanced, experienced human factors perspective to the applications of human factors scientific and engineering knowledge to nuclear power generation. The report is presented in three volumes. Volume 1 contains an Executive Summary of the 18-month effort and its conclusions. Volume 2 summarizes all known nuclear-related human factors activities, evaluates these activities wherever adequate information is available, and describes the recommended long-range (10-year) plan for human factors in regulation. Volume 3 elaborates upon each of the human factors issues and areas of recommended human factors involvement contained in the plan, and discusses the logic that led to the recommendations

  7. Fiscal year 1991 report on archaeological surveys of the 100 Areas, Hanford Site, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chatters, J.C.; Gard, H.A.; Minthorn, P.E.

    1992-09-01

    In compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and at the request of Westinghouse Hanford Company, the Hanford Cultured Resources Laboratory (HCRL) conducted an archaeological survey during FY 1991 of the 100-Area reactor compounds on the US Department of Energy's Hanford Site. This survey was conducted as part of a comprehensive resources review of 100-Area Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) operable units in support of CERCLA characterization activities. The work included a lite and records review and pedestrian survey of the project area following procedures set forth in the Hanford Cultural Resources Management Plan

  8. Field Deployment for In-situ Metal and Radionuclide Stabilization by Microbial Metabolites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Turick, C. E.; Knox, A. S.; Dixon, K. L.; Roseberry, R. J.; Kritzas, Y. G

    2005-09-26

    from metal contaminated soils at TNX and D areas of SRS. A bacterial culture collection from subsurface studies near P Area of SRS were also evaluated for pyomelanin production. Bacterial densities of pyomelanin producers were determined to be >10{sup 6} cells/g soil at TNX and D areas. In addition, approximately 25% of isolates from P area demonstrated pyomelanin production in the presence of tyrosine. Biogeochemical activity is an ongoing and dynamic process due, in part, to bacterial activity in the subsurface. Bacteria contribute significantly to biotransformation of metals and radionuclides. An understanding and application of the mechanisms of metal and radionuclide reduction offers tremendous potential for development into bioremedial processes and technologies. This report demonstrates the application of recent advances in bacterial physiology and soil ecology for future bioremediation activities involving metal and actinide immobilization.

  9. Investigating reading comprehension through EEG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciane Baretta

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2012n63p69   Experimental studies point that different factors can influence reading comprehension, such as the topic, text type, reading task, and others. The advances in technologies for the past decades have provided researchers with several possibilities to investigate what goes on in one’s brain since their eyes meet the page until comprehension is achieved. Since the mid-80’s, numerous studies have been conducted with the use of the electroencephalogram (EEG to investigate the process of reading, through the analysis of different components – n400, n100 or n1, P2, among others. These components reveal, for example, how the brain integrates the meaning of a specific word in the semantic context of a given sentence.  based on previous studies, which demonstrate that different types of words affect cognitive load, this paper aims at investigating how the brain processes function and content words inserted in expository and narrative texts with suitable / unsuitable conclusions. results showed that the type of text and word influence the cognitive load in different scalp areas (midline, right and left hemispheres. The  n1s were more pronounced to the content words inserted in narrative texts and to the function words inserted in the expository type of texts, corroborating former studies.

  10. Abstract Linguistic Structure Correlates with Temporal Activity during Naturalistic Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brennan, Jonathan R.; Stabler, Edward P.; Van Wagenen, Sarah E.; Luh, Wen-Ming; Hale, John T.

    2016-01-01

    Neurolinguistic accounts of sentence comprehension identify a network of relevant brain regions, but do not detail the information flowing through them. We investigate syntactic information. Does brain activity implicate a computation over hierarchical grammars or does it simply reflect linear order, as in a Markov chain? To address this question, we quantify the cognitive states implied by alternative parsing models. We compare processing-complexity predictions from these states against fMRI timecourses from regions that have been implicated in sentence comprehension. We find that hierarchical grammars independently predict timecourses from left anterior and posterior temporal lobe. Markov models are predictive in these regions and across a broader network that includes the inferior frontal gyrus. These results suggest that while linear effects are wide-spread across the language network, certain areas in the left temporal lobe deal with abstract, hierarchical syntactic representations. PMID:27208858

  11. Comprehensive environment-suitability evaluation model about Carya cathayensis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Da-Sheng, W.; Li-Juan, L.; Qin-Fen, Y.

    2013-01-01

    On the relation between the suitable environment and the distribution areas of Carya cathayensis Sarg., the current studies are mainly committed to qualitative descriptions, but did not consider quantitative models. The objective of this study was to establish a environment-suitability evaluation model which used to predict potential suitable areas of C. cathayensis. Firstly, the 3 factor data of soil type, soil parent material and soil thickness were obtained based on 2-class forest resource survey, and other factor data, which included elevation, slope, aspect, surface curvature, humidity index, and solar radiation index, were extracted from DEM (Digital Elevation Model). Additionally, the key affecting factors were defined by PCA (Principal Component Analysis), the weights of evaluation factors were determined by AHP (Analysis Hierarchy Process) and the quantitative classification of single factor was determined by membership function with fuzzy mathematics. Finally, a comprehensive environment-suitability evaluation model was established and which was also used to predict the potential suitable areas of C. cathayensis in Daoshi Town in the study region. The results showed that 85.6% of actual distribution areas were in the most suitable and more suitable regions and 11.5% in the general suitable regions

  12. Production Practice During Language Learning Improves Comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopman, Elise W M; MacDonald, Maryellen C

    2018-04-01

    Language learners often spend more time comprehending than producing a new language. However, memory research suggests reasons to suspect that production practice might provide a stronger learning experience than comprehension practice. We tested the benefits of production during language learning and the degree to which this learning transfers to comprehension skill. We taught participants an artificial language containing multiple linguistic dependencies. Participants were randomly assigned to either a production- or a comprehension-learning condition, with conditions designed to balance attention demands and other known production-comprehension differences. After training, production-learning participants outperformed comprehension-learning participants on vocabulary comprehension and on comprehension tests of grammatical dependencies, even when we controlled for individual differences in vocabulary learning. This result shows that producing a language during learning can improve subsequent comprehension, which has implications for theories of memory and learning, language representations, and educational practices.

  13. Spectrum of Physics Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blasiak, W.; Godlewska, M.; Rosiek, R.; Wcislo, D.

    2012-01-01

    The paper presents the results of research on the relationship between self-assessed comprehension of physics lectures and final grades of junior high school students (aged 13-15), high school students (aged 16-18) and physics students at the Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland (aged 21). Students' declared level of comprehension was measured…

  14. Preparing for reading comprehension: Fostering text comprehension skills in preschool and early elementary school children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul van den Brook

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available To understand what they read or hear, children and adults must create a coherent mental representation of presented information. Recent research suggests that the ability to do so starts to develop early –well before reading age- and that early individual differences are predictive of later reading-comprehension performance. In this paper, we review this research and discuss potential applications to early intervention. We then present two exploratory studies in which we examine whether it is feasible to design interventions with early readers (3rd grade and even toddlers (2-3 years old. The interventions employed causal questioning techniques as children listen to orally presented, age-appropriate narratives. Afterwards, comprehension was tested through question answering and recall tasks. Results indicate that such interventions are indeed feasible. Moreover, they suggest that for both toddlers and early readers questions during comprehension are more effective than questions after comprehension. Finally, for both groups higher working memory capacity was related to better comprehension.

  15. 16 CFR 1018.43 - Comprehensive review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Comprehensive review. 1018.43 Section 1018.43 Commercial Practices CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION GENERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT Records, Annual Reports and Audits § 1018.43 Comprehensive review. A comprehensive review of all...

  16. The evolution of NATO’s comprehensive approach to crisis management operations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guillem Colom Piella

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The crisis management operations, post-war stabilisation and nation-building that has taken place since the end of the Cold War has all highlighted the extreme need to harmonise multinational and inter-agency cooperation in order to increase the coherence and effectiveness of the operation. That is the basic principle of Comprehensive Approach, which is defined as the coordination of strategies and actions of the participating actors in crisis management and at all levels, stages and planes of same. The NATO has also incorporated these advances into the area of crisis management, as a result of which, since 2006, it has been defining its own concept of Comprehensive Approach for non-Article 5 missions, and as a central theme in its political-military strategy for the present and immediate future.

  17. 200 North Aggregate Area source AAMS report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-06-01

    This report presents the results of an aggregate area management study (AAMS) for the 200 North Aggregate Area in the 200 Areas of the US Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site in Washington State. This scoping level study provides the basis for initiating Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) activities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) or Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Facility Investigations (RFI) and Corrective Measures Studies (CMS) under RCRA. This report also integrates select RCRA treatment, storage, or disposal (TSD) closure activities with CERCLA and RCRA past practice investigations

  18. PUREX source Aggregate Area management study report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-03-01

    This report presents the results of an aggregate area management study (AAMS) for the PUREX Plant Aggregate Area in the 200 Areas of the US Department of Energy (DOE)Hanford Site in Washington State. This scoping level study provides the basis for initiating Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) activities under the comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) or Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Facility Investigations (RFI) and Corrective Measures Studies (CMS) under RCRA. This report also integrates select RCRA treatment, storage, or disposal (TSD) closure activities with CERCLA and RCRA past-practice investigations

  19. 200 North Aggregate Area source AAMS report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1993-06-01

    This report presents the results of an aggregate area management study (AAMS) for the 200 North Aggregate Area in the 200 Areas of the US Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site in Washington State. This scoping level study provides the basis for initiating Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) activities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) or Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Facility Investigations (RFI) and Corrective Measures Studies (CMS) under RCRA. This report also integrates select RCRA treatment, storage, or disposal (TSD) closure activities with CERCLA and RCRA past practice investigations.

  20. Deficit-Lesion Correlations in Syntactic Comprehension in Aphasia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caplan, David; Michaud, Jennifer; Hufford, Rebecca; Makris, Nikos

    2015-01-01

    The effects of lesions on syntactic comprehension were studied in thirty one people with aphasia (PWA). Participants were tested for the ability to parse and interpret four types of syntactic structures and elements -- passives, object extracted relative clauses, reflexives and pronouns – in three tasks – object manipulation, sentence picture matching with full sentence presentation and sentence picture matching with self-paced listening presentation. Accuracy, end-of-sentence RT and self-paced listening times for each word were measured. MR scans were obtained and analyzed for total lesion volume and for lesion size in 48 cortical areas. Lesion size in several areas of the left hemisphere was related to accuracy in particular sentence types in particular tasks and to self-paced listening times for critical words in particular sentence types. The results support a model of brain organization that includes areas that are specialized for the combination of particular syntactic and interpretive operations and the use of the meanings produced by those operations to accomplish task-related operations. PMID:26688433

  1. Deficit-lesion correlations in syntactic comprehension in aphasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caplan, David; Michaud, Jennifer; Hufford, Rebecca; Makris, Nikos

    2016-01-01

    The effects of lesions on syntactic comprehension were studied in thirty-one people with aphasia (PWA). Participants were tested for the ability to parse and interpret four types of syntactic structures and elements - passives, object extracted relative clauses, reflexives and pronouns - in three tasks - object manipulation, sentence picture matching with full sentence presentation and sentence picture matching with self-paced listening presentation. Accuracy, end-of-sentence RT and self-paced listening times for each word were measured. MR scans were obtained and analyzed for total lesion volume and for lesion size in 48 cortical areas. Lesion size in several areas of the left hemisphere was related to accuracy in particular sentence types in particular tasks and to self-paced listening times for critical words in particular sentence types. The results support a model of brain organization that includes areas that are specialized for the combination of particular syntactic and interpretive operations and the use of the meanings produced by those operations to accomplish task-related operations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  3. Area selection for a geological repository of high level radioactive waste in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin Yuanxin; Wang Ju; Chen Weiming; Guo Yonghai; Su Rui; Zhao Honggang; Xu Guoqing

    2012-01-01

    China started research on HLW disposal in 1985 and 6 areas, including Northwest, Southwest, East China, South China, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang area, are selected. The results show that the Northwest area has obvious comprehensive advantages, which can be considered as the first area for site selection, while site characterization and comparison research in the area should be continued. (authors)

  4. Fiscal year 1991 report on archaeological surveys of the 100 Areas, Hanford Site, Washington

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chatters, J.C.; Gard, H.A.; Minthorn, P.E.

    1992-09-01

    In compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and at the request of Westinghouse Hanford Company, the Hanford Cultured Resources Laboratory (HCRL) conducted an archaeological survey during FY 1991 of the 100-Area reactor compounds on the US Department of Energy`s Hanford Site. This survey was conducted as part of a comprehensive resources review of 100-Area Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) operable units in support of CERCLA characterization activities. The work included a lite and records review and pedestrian survey of the project area following procedures set forth in the Hanford Cultural Resources Management Plan.

  5. Fiscal year 1991 report on archaeological surveys of the 100 Areas, Hanford Site, Washington

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chatters, J.C.; Gard, H.A.; Minthorn, P.E.

    1992-09-01

    In compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and at the request of Westinghouse Hanford Company, the Hanford Cultured Resources Laboratory (HCRL) conducted an archaeological survey during FY 1991 of the 100-Area reactor compounds on the US Department of Energy's Hanford Site. This survey was conducted as part of a comprehensive resources review of 100-Area Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) operable units in support of CERCLA characterization activities. The work included a lite and records review and pedestrian survey of the project area following procedures set forth in the Hanford Cultural Resources Management Plan.

  6. Informed consent comprehension in African research settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Afolabi, Muhammed O; Okebe, Joseph U; McGrath, Nuala; Larson, Heidi J; Bojang, Kalifa; Chandramohan, Daniel

    2014-06-01

    Previous reviews on participants' comprehension of informed consent information have focused on developed countries. Experience has shown that ethical standards developed on Western values may not be appropriate for African settings where research concepts are unfamiliar. We undertook this review to describe how informed consent comprehension is defined and measured in African research settings. We conducted a comprehensive search involving five electronic databases: Medline, Embase, Global Health, EthxWeb and Bioethics Literature Database (BELIT). We also examined African Index Medicus and Google Scholar for relevant publications on informed consent comprehension in clinical studies conducted in sub-Saharan Africa. 29 studies satisfied the inclusion criteria; meta-analysis was possible in 21 studies. We further conducted a direct comparison of participants' comprehension on domains of informed consent in all eligible studies. Comprehension of key concepts of informed consent varies considerably from country to country and depends on the nature and complexity of the study. Meta-analysis showed that 47% of a total of 1633 participants across four studies demonstrated comprehension about randomisation (95% CI 13.9-80.9%). Similarly, 48% of 3946 participants in six studies had understanding about placebo (95% CI 19.0-77.5%), while only 30% of 753 participants in five studies understood the concept of therapeutic misconception (95% CI 4.6-66.7%). Measurement tools for informed consent comprehension were developed with little or no validation. Assessment of comprehension was carried out at variable times after disclosure of study information. No uniform definition of informed consent comprehension exists to form the basis for development of an appropriate tool to measure comprehension in African participants. Comprehension of key concepts of informed consent is poor among study participants across Africa. There is a vital need to develop a uniform definition for

  7. The Relationship between Reading Comprehension, Decoding, and Fluency in Greek: A Cross-Sectional Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padeliadu, Susana; Antoniou, Faye

    2014-01-01

    Experts widely consider decoding and fluency as the basis of reading comprehension, while at the same time consistently documenting problems in these areas as major characteristics of students with learning disabilities. However, scholars have developed most of the relevant research within phonologically deep languages, wherein decoding problems…

  8. Comprehension or comprehending? Using Critical Language ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    It is argued that the genre of the school reading comprehension exercise is a prime inculcator of thoughtless and non-interactive reading practices. Doing 'a comprehension' (the word is often nominalised in this manner) and answering the comprehension questions often 'counts as' reading and substitutes for other types of ...

  9. CALPHAD calculation of phase diagrams : a comprehensive guide

    CERN Document Server

    Saunders, N; Miodownik, A P

    1998-01-01

    This monograph acts as a benchmark to current achievements in the field of Computer Coupling of Phase Diagrams and Thermochemistry, often called CALPHAD which is an acronym for Computer CALculation of PHAse Diagrams. It also acts as a guide to both the basic background of the subject area and the cutting edge of the topic, combining comprehensive discussions of the underlying physical principles of the CALPHAD method with detailed descriptions of their application to real complex multi-component materials. Approaches which combine both thermodynamic and kinetic models to interpret non-equilibrium phase transformations are also reviewed.

  10. Draft Hanford Remedial Action Environmental Impact Statement and Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Volume 4 of 4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-08-01

    The US Department of Energy's (DOE) is preparing this ''Hanford Site Comprehensive Land Use Plan'' (Comprehensive Plan), Appendix M to address future land uses for the Hanford Site. The DOE has integrated this land-use planning initiative with the development of the HRA-EIS to facilitate and expedite land-use and remediation decision making, reduce time and cost of remediation, and optimize the usefulness of the planning process. The HRA-EIS is being developed to evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated with remediation, create a remedial baseline for the Environmental Restoration Program, and provide a framework for future uses at the Hanford Site. This Comprehensive Plan identifies current assets and resources related to land-use planning, and provides the analysis and recommendations for future land sues and accompanying restrictions at the Hanford Site over a 50-year period. This Comprehensive Plan relies on the analysis of environmental impacts in the HRA-EIS. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) Record of Decision (ROD) issued for the HRA-EIS will be the decision process for finalization and adoption of this Comprehensive Plan. The HRA-EIS and this Comprehensive Plan will provide a basis for remediation decisions to be identified and contained in site- and area-specific Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 ROD

  11. Individual differences in reading comprehension : A componential approach to eighth graders’ expository text comprehension

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Welie, C.J.M.

    2017-01-01

    Why do secondary school students differ in their text comprehension? This is an important question because many secondary school students are unable to achieve the level of text comprehension required to enable learning from their school book texts. This thesis contributes to answering this question

  12. Idiom Comprehension in Mandarin-Speaking Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Shelley Ching-Yu; Hsu, Chun-Chieh Natalie

    2010-01-01

    This study examines the effect of familiarity, context, and linguistic convention on idiom comprehension in Mandarin speaking children. Two experiments (a comprehension task followed by a comprehension task coupled with a metapragmatic task) were administered to test participants in three age groups (6 and 9-year-olds, and an adult control group).…

  13. Comprehensive Nuclear Test-ban Treaty

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-07-01

    The Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty was adopted by the General Assembly on 10 September 1996 (Res/50/245) and was open for signature by all states on 24 September 1996. It will enter into force 180 days after the date of deposit of the instruments of ratification by all states listed in Annex 2 to the Treaty. This document reproduces the text of the Treaty and the Protocol to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Protocol to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. 4 tabs.

  14. Comprehensive Nuclear Test-ban Treaty

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    The Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty was adopted by the General Assembly on 10 September 1996 (Res/50/245) and was open for signature by all states on 24 September 1996. It will enter into force 180 days after the date of deposit of the instruments of ratification by all states listed in Annex 2 to the Treaty. This document reproduces the text of the Treaty and the Protocol to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Protocol to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty

  15. A summary of the reading comprehension research undertaken with students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luckner, John L; Handley, C Michele

    2008-01-01

    The American Federation of Teachers (1999) has stated that "the most fundamental responsibility of schools is teaching students to read" (p. 7). The central purpose of reading is comprehension--constructing meaning from text. The purpose of the present study was to identify, review, and summarize the research published in professional peer-reviewed journals related to reading comprehension and school-age students who are deaf or hard of hearing between 1963 and 2005. Fifty-two studies were identified and reviewed. The results were summarized in a table and reported descriptively. The most frequently researched reading comprehension teaching strategies were identified and discussed. The need for more research in this critical area was noted.

  16. Women's maternity care needs and related service models in rural areas: A comprehensive systematic review of qualitative evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoang, Ha; Le, Quynh; Ogden, Kathryn

    2014-12-01

    Understanding the needs of rural women in maternity care and service models available to them is significant for the development of effective policies and the sustainability of rural communities. Nevertheless, no systematic review of studies addressing these needs has been conducted. To synthesise the best available evidence on the experiences of women's needs in maternity care and existing service models in rural areas. Literature search of ten electronic databases, digital theses, and reference lists of relevant studies applying inclusion/exclusion criteria was conducted. Selected papers were assessed using standardised critical appraisal instruments from JBI-QARI. Data extracted from these studies were synthesised using thematic synthesis. 12 studies met the inclusion criteria. There were three main themes and several sub-themes identified. A comprehensive set of the maternity care expectations of rural women was reported in this review including safety (7), continuity of care (6) and quality of care (6), and informed choices needs (4). In addition, challenges in accessing maternity services also emerged from the literature such as access (6), risk of travelling (9) and associated cost of travel (9). Four models of maternity care examined in the literature were medically led care (5), GP-led care (4), midwifery-led care (7) and home birth (6). The systematic review demonstrates the importance of including well-conducted qualitative studies in informing the development of evidence-based policies to address women's maternity care needs and inform service models. Synthesising the findings from qualitative studies offers important insight for informing effective public health policy. Copyright © 2014 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. 18 CFR 801.5 - Comprehensive plan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Comprehensive plan. 801... POLICIES § 801.5 Comprehensive plan. (a) The Compact requires that the Commission formulate and adopt a comprehensive plan for the immediate and long-range development and use of the water resources of the basin. (1...

  18. 100 Areas CERCLA ecological investigations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Landeen, D.S.; Sackschewsky, M.R.; Weiss, S.

    1993-09-01

    This document reports the results of the field terrestrial ecological investigations conducted by Westinghouse Hanford Company during fiscal years 1991 and 1992 at operable units 100-FR-3, 100-HR-3, 100-NR-2, 100-KR-4, and 100-BC-5. The tasks reported here are part of the Remedial Investigations conducted in support of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 studies for the 100 Areas. These ecological investigations provide (1) a description of the flora and fauna associated with the 100 Areas operable units, emphasizing potential pathways for contaminants and species that have been given special status under existing state and/or federal laws, and (2) an evaluation of existing concentrations of heavy metals and radionuclides in biota associated with the 100 Areas operable units.

  19. 100 Areas CERCLA ecological investigations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Landeen, D.S.; Sackschewsky, M.R.; Weiss, S.

    1993-09-01

    This document reports the results of the field terrestrial ecological investigations conducted by Westinghouse Hanford Company during fiscal years 1991 and 1992 at operable units 100-FR-3, 100-HR-3, 100-NR-2, 100-KR-4, and 100-BC-5. The tasks reported here are part of the Remedial Investigations conducted in support of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 studies for the 100 Areas. These ecological investigations provide (1) a description of the flora and fauna associated with the 100 Areas operable units, emphasizing potential pathways for contaminants and species that have been given special status under existing state and/or federal laws, and (2) an evaluation of existing concentrations of heavy metals and radionuclides in biota associated with the 100 Areas operable units

  20. Comprehensive monitoring of Bangladesh tree cover inside and outside of forests, 2000-2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potapov, P.; Siddiqui, B. N.; Iqbal, Z.; Aziz, T.; Zzaman, B.; Islam, A.; Pickens, A.; Talero, Y.; Tyukavina, A.; Turubanova, S.; Hansen, M. C.

    2017-10-01

    A novel approach for satellite-based comprehensive national tree cover change assessment was developed and applied in Bangladesh, a country where trees outside of forests play an important role in the national economy and carbon sequestration. Tree cover change area was quantified using the integration of wall-to-wall Landsat-based mapping with a higher spatial resolution sample-based assessment. The total national tree canopy cover area was estimated as 3165 500 ± 186 600 ha in the year 2000, with trees outside forests making up 54% of total canopy cover. Total tree canopy cover increased by 135 700 (± 116 600) ha (4.3%) during the 2000-2014 time interval. Bangladesh exhibits a national tree cover dynamic where net change is rather small, but gross dynamics significant and variable by forest type. Despite the overall gain in tree cover, results revealed the ongoing clearing of natural forests, especially within the Chittagong hill tracts. While forests decreased their tree cover area by 83 600 ha, the trees outside forests (including tree plantations, village woodlots, and agroforestry) increased their canopy area by 219 300 ha. Our results demonstrated method capability to quantify tree canopy cover dynamics within a fine-scale agricultural landscape. Our approach for comprehensive monitoring of tree canopy cover may be recommended for operational implementation in Bangladesh and other countries with significant tree cover outside of forests.

  1. Reading comprehension difficulties in children with rolandic epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Currie, Nicola K; Lew, Adina R; Palmer, Tom M; Basu, Helen; De Goede, Christian; Iyer, Anand; Cain, Kate

    2018-03-01

    Difficulties in reading comprehension can arise from either word reading or listening comprehension difficulties, or a combination of the two. We sought to determine whether children with rolandic epilepsy had poor reading comprehension relative to typically developing comparison children, and whether such difficulties were associated with word reading and/or general language comprehension difficulties. In this cross-sectional study, children with rolandic epilepsy (n=25; 16 males, 9 females; mean age 9y 1mo, SD 1y 7mo) and a comparison group (n=39; 25 males, 14 females; mean age 9y 1mo, SD 1y 3mo) completed assessments of reading comprehension, listening comprehension, word/non-word reading, speech articulation, and Non-verbal IQ. Reading comprehension and word reading were worse in children with rolandic epilepsy (F 1,61 =6.89, p=0.011, ηp2=0.10 and F 1,61 =6.84, p=0.011, ηp2=0.10 respectively), with listening comprehension being marginal (F 1,61 =3.81, p=0.055, ηp2=0.06). Word reading and listening comprehension made large and independent contributions to reading comprehension, explaining 70% of the variance. Children with rolandic epilepsy may be at risk of reading comprehension difficulties. Thorough assessment of individual children is required to ascertain whether the difficulties lie with decoding text, or with general comprehension skills, or both. Children with rolandic epilepsy may be at risk of poor reading comprehension. This was related to poor word reading, poor listening comprehension, or both. Reading comprehension interventions should be tailored to the profile of difficulties. © 2017 Mac Keith Press.

  2. Comprehension and production of idioms in dysphasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bush, P G; Drummond, S S

    1985-10-01

    The comprehension and production of idioms was investigated in 10 dysphasic adults. Two different tasks, one comprehension and the other production, were developed. The production task required the subject to verbally explain 15 idioms. The comprehension task necessitated the selection of the correct figurative representation of the idiom from four illustrations: a literal, a literal variation, a figurative, and an unrelated picture. Results indicated no significant correlation between overall comprehension and production performances. No significant difference was found between the comprehension or the production of idioms when type or severity of dysphasia was considered. A significant difference was found, however, in the type of incorrect response, in that subjects selected the literal depiction more often than other foil representations for the comprehension.

  3. For US Students, L2 Reading Comprehension Is Hard Because L2 Listening Comprehension Is Hard, Too

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sparks, Richard; Patton, Jon; Luebbers, Julie

    2018-01-01

    The Simple View of Reading (SVR) model posits that reading is the product of word decoding and language comprehension and that oral language (listening) comprehension is the best predictor of reading comprehension once word-decoding skill has been established. The SVR model also proposes that there are good readers and three types of poor…

  4. Functional connectivity between face-movement and speech-intelligibility areas during auditory-only speech perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schall, Sonja; von Kriegstein, Katharina

    2014-01-01

    It has been proposed that internal simulation of the talking face of visually-known speakers facilitates auditory speech recognition. One prediction of this view is that brain areas involved in auditory-only speech comprehension interact with visual face-movement sensitive areas, even under auditory-only listening conditions. Here, we test this hypothesis using connectivity analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Participants (17 normal participants, 17 developmental prosopagnosics) first learned six speakers via brief voice-face or voice-occupation training (comprehension. Overall, the present findings indicate that learned visual information is integrated into the analysis of auditory-only speech and that this integration results from the interaction of task-relevant face-movement and auditory speech-sensitive areas.

  5. A case for the sentence in reading comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Cheryl M

    2009-04-01

    This article addresses sentence comprehension as a requirement of reading comprehension within the framework of the narrow view of reading that was advocated in the prologue to this forum. The focus is on the comprehension requirements of complex sentences, which are characteristic of school texts. Topics included in this discussion are (a) evidence linking sentence comprehension and syntax with reading, (b) syntactic properties of sentences that make them difficult to understand, (c) clinical applications for the assessment of sentence comprehension as it relates to reading, and (d) evidence and methods for addressing sentence complexity in treatment. Sentence complexity can create comprehension problems for struggling readers. The contribution of sentence comprehension to successful reading has been overlooked in models that emphasize domain-general comprehension strategies at the text level. The author calls for the evaluation of sentence comprehension within the context of content domains where complex sentences are found.

  6. Listening comprehension across the adult lifespan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sommers, Mitchell S; Hale, Sandra; Myerson, Joel; Rose, Nathan; Tye-Murray, Nancy; Spehar, Brent

    2011-01-01

    Although age-related declines in perceiving spoken language are well established, the primary focus of research has been on perception of phonemes, words, and sentences. In contrast, relatively few investigations have been directed at establishing the effects of age on the comprehension of extended spoken passages. Moreover, most previous work has used extreme-group designs in which the performance of a group of young adults is contrasted with that of a group of older adults and little if any information is available regarding changes in listening comprehension across the adult lifespan. Accordingly, the goals of the current investigation were to determine whether there are age differences in listening comprehension across the adult lifespan and, if so, whether similar trajectories are observed for age-related changes in auditory sensitivity and listening comprehension. This study used a cross-sectional lifespan design in which approximately 60 individuals in each of 7 decades, from age 20 to 89 yr (a total of 433 participants), were tested on three different measures of listening comprehension. In addition, we obtained measures of auditory sensitivity from all participants. Changes in auditory sensitivity across the adult lifespan exhibited the progressive high-frequency loss typical of age-related hearing impairment. Performance on the listening comprehension measures, however, demonstrated a very different pattern, with scores on all measures remaining relatively stable until age 65 to 70 yr, after which significant declines were observed. Follow-up analyses indicated that this same general pattern was observed across three different types of passages (lectures, interviews, and narratives) and three different question types (information, integration, and inference). Multiple regression analyses indicated that low-frequency pure-tone average was the single largest contributor to age-related variance in listening comprehension for individuals older than 65 yr, but

  7. Comprehensive flood mitigation and management in the Chi River Basin, Thailand

    OpenAIRE

    Kunitiyawichai, K.; Schultz, B.; Uhlenbrook, S.; Suryadi, F.X.; Corzo, G.A.

    2011-01-01

    Severe flooding of the flat downstream area of the Chi River Basin occurs frequently. This flooding is causing catastrophic loss of human lives, damage and economic loss. Effective flood management requires a broad and practical approach. Although flood disasters cannot completely be prevented, major part of potential loss of lives and damages can be reduced by comprehensive mitigation measures. In this paper, the effects of river normalisation, reservoir operation, green river (bypass), and ...

  8. Study of secondhand smoke exposure in St. Louis City and County suggests need for comprehensive smoke-free Missouri law adoption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreland-Russell, Sarah; Cyr, Julianne; Benson, Peter; Colditz, Graham; Pulley, Deren; Barnoya, Joaquin

    2012-01-01

    This cross-sectional study provides information about secondhand smoke exposure across the St. Louis metro area and perceptions and attitudes about tobacco and health within the local hospitality industry. Results from this study support the need for passage and implementation of comprehensive smoke-free laws throughout Missouri, particularly in St. Louis City and County where efforts to pass comprehensive smoke-free laws have been unsuccessful.

  9. The 2001 Comprehensive Review

    CERN Multimedia

    Åkesson, T

    A new approach for CERN to monitor the LHC-experiments' technical and scientific progress was introduced last year: The Comprehensive Reviews. A significant fraction of the full LHCC committee is mobilized during two days to review the complete project status. This event took place for ATLAS during 2-3 of July this year. With a rather exhaustive program we presented our status in 39 talks. It was a demanding and close to impossible task for the referees to comprehend the ATLAS status by listening to this massive amount of information, but from the ATLAS point-of-view we judged it important that the referees were exposed to both the progress and the remaining problem areas. The referees were satisfied with our status; probably more so this year than last year. They judged the main critical issues to be: The schedules of the barrel toroid, the end-cap TRT, the LAr barrel and end-cap A, and the MDTs. The procurement of radiation hard electronics was also thought to be a critical issue. They were informed of ...

  10. Isn't it ironic? Neural correlates of irony comprehension in schizophrenia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander M Rapp

    Full Text Available Ironic remarks are frequent in everyday language and represent an important form of social cognition. Increasing evidence indicates a deficit in comprehension in schizophrenia. Several models for defective comprehension have been proposed, including possible roles of the medial prefrontal lobe, default mode network, inferior frontal gyri, mirror neurons, right cerebral hemisphere and a possible mediating role of schizotypal personality traits. We investigated the neural correlates of irony comprehension in schizophrenia by using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI. In a prosody-free reading paradigm, 15 female patients with schizophrenia and 15 healthy female controls silently read ironic and literal text vignettes during fMRI. Each text vignette ended in either an ironic (n = 22 or literal (n = 22 statement. Ironic and literal text vignettes were matched for word frequency, length, grammatical complexity, and syntax. After fMRI, the subjects performed an off-line test to detect error rate. In this test, the subjects indicated by button press whether the target sentence has ironic, literal, or meaningless content. Schizotypal personality traits were assessed using the German version of the schizotypal personality questionnaire (SPQ. Patients with schizophrenia made significantly more errors than did the controls (correct answers, 85.3% vs. 96.3% on a behavioural level. Patients showed attenuated blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD response during irony comprehension mainly in right hemisphere temporal regions (ironic>literal contrast and in posterior medial prefrontal and left anterior insula regions (for ironic>visual baseline, but not for literal>visual baseline. In patients with schizophrenia, the parahippocampal gyrus showed increased activation. Across all subjects, BOLD response in the medial prefrontal area was negatively correlated with the SPQ score. These results highlight the role of the posterior medial

  11. A review of teaching second/ foreign language listening comprehension research(Part 5 Text production and comprehension)

    OpenAIRE

    尹, 松

    2002-01-01

    Among the four skills of the language acquisition, it has been pointed out that listening comprehension is the most difficult skill. The research on effective methods of teaching listening comprehension has been carried out from various viewpoints. After introducing the theory of listening comprehension, this review will describe recent trends in the teach-ing of listening as a second/foreign language. This will be done by focusing primarily on schema activator and strategy-instruction in tea...

  12. Mobile-Based Collaborative Learning in the Fitness Center: A Case Study on the Development of English Listening Comprehension with a Context-Aware Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Gi-Zen; Chen, Jing-Yao; Hwang, Gwo-Jen

    2018-01-01

    Mobile applications on the go have been adopted in many fields and areas. However, there has been little research regarding the development and use of a context-aware application for users to improve their English listening comprehension through collaboration. This research aimed at helping users improve their listening comprehension with a…

  13. 75 FR 13110 - Proposed Waivers for the Comprehensive Centers Program and Funding of Continuation Grants

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-18

    ... schools to close achievement gaps in core content areas and raise student achievement in schools... 1116 of the ESEA. Eligible applicants for Comprehensive Center grants are research organizations... grantees from the account-closing provisions in 31 U.S.C. 1552(a), nor would they extend the availability...

  14. 200 West Groundwater Aggregate Area management study report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-01-01

    This report presents the results of an aggregate area management study (AAMS) for the 200 West Groundwater Aggregate Area in the 200 Areas of the US Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site in Washington State. This scoping level study provides the basis for initiating Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) activities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) or Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Facility Investigations (Rlq) and Corrective Measures Studies (CMS) under RCRA. This report also integrates select RCRA treatment, storage or disposal (TSD) closure activities with CERCLA and RCRA past practice investigations

  15. Pragmatic Comprehension Development through Telecollaboration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rafieyan, Vahid; Sharafi-Nejad, Maryam; Khavari, Zahra; Eng, Lin Siew; Mohamed, Abdul Rashid

    2014-01-01

    Pragmatic comprehension can be ideally developed through contact with target language speakers. This contact can be provided in English as Foreign Language contexts through telecollaboration. To test the actual effect of telecollaboration on the development of pragmatic comprehension, 30 Iranian undergraduates of English as a Foreign Language…

  16. Serial changes of humor comprehension for four-frame comic Manga: an fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osaka, Mariko; Yaoi, Ken; Minamoto, Takehiro; Osaka, Naoyuki

    2014-07-25

    Serial changes of humor comprehension evoked by a well organized four-frame comic Manga were investigated by fMRI in each step of humor comprehension. The neural substrates underlying the amusing effects in response to funny and mixed order manga were compared. In accordance with the time course of the four frames, fMRI activations changed serially. Beginning with the second frame (development scene), activation of the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) was observed, followed by activations in the temporal and frontal areas during viewing of the third frame (turn scene). For the fourth frame (punch line), strong increased activations were confirmed in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and cerebellum. Interestingly, distinguishable activation differences in the cerebellum between funny and non-funny conditions were also found for the fourth frame. These findings suggest that humor comprehension evokes activation that initiates in the TPJ and expands to the MPFC and cerebellum at the convergence level.

  17. Is Word-Problem Solving a Form of Text Comprehension?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuchs, Lynn S.; Fuchs, Douglas; Compton, Donald L.; Hamlett, Carol L.; Wang, Amber Y.

    2015-01-01

    This study’s hypotheses were that (a) word-problem (WP) solving is a form of text comprehension that involves language comprehension processes, working memory, and reasoning, but (b) WP solving differs from other forms of text comprehension by requiring WP-specific language comprehension as well as general language comprehension. At the start of the 2nd grade, children (n = 206; on average, 7 years, 6 months) were assessed on general language comprehension, working memory, nonlinguistic reasoning, processing speed (a control variable), and foundational skill (arithmetic for WPs; word reading for text comprehension). In spring, they were assessed on WP-specific language comprehension, WPs, and text comprehension. Path analytic mediation analysis indicated that effects of general language comprehension on text comprehension were entirely direct, whereas effects of general language comprehension on WPs were partially mediated by WP-specific language. By contrast, effects of working memory and reasoning operated in parallel ways for both outcomes. PMID:25866461

  18. Environmental Scan of the Greater Sacramento Area, 1999.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Los Rios Community Coll. District, Sacramento, CA. Office of Planning and Research.

    This report provides a comprehensive look at the external environment impacting Los Rios Community College District (LRCCD) (California). It summarizes the social, economic, and political changes at the state and national levels, in general, and in the Sacramento-Yolo Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) served by LRCCD, more…

  19. Task-dependent modulation of regions in the left temporal cortex during auditory sentence comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Linjun; Yue, Qiuhai; Zhang, Yang; Shu, Hua; Li, Ping

    2015-01-01

    Numerous studies have revealed the essential role of the left lateral temporal cortex in auditory sentence comprehension along with evidence of the functional specialization of the anterior and posterior temporal sub-areas. However, it is unclear whether task demands (e.g., active vs. passive listening) modulate the functional specificity of these sub-areas. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we addressed this issue by applying both independent component analysis (ICA) and general linear model (GLM) methods. Consistent with previous studies, intelligible sentences elicited greater activity in the left lateral temporal cortex relative to unintelligible sentences. Moreover, responses to intelligibility in the sub-regions were differentially modulated by task demands. While the overall activation patterns of the anterior and posterior superior temporal sulcus and middle temporal gyrus (STS/MTG) were equivalent during both passive and active tasks, a middle portion of the STS/MTG was found to be selectively activated only during the active task under a refined analysis of sub-regional contributions. Our results not only confirm the critical role of the left lateral temporal cortex in auditory sentence comprehension but further demonstrate that task demands modulate functional specialization of the anterior-middle-posterior temporal sub-areas. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Strategy-based listening and pragmatic comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Corsetti, Cristiane Ruzicki

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This article addresses the role of strategy-based listening as an alternative methodological approach to develop pragmatic comprehension in L2 contexts. Pragmatic comprehension refers to the understanding of speech acts and conversational implicatures. Listening comprehension comprises both bottom-up and top-down processes. Strategy-based listening encompasses the activation of pragmatic knowledge through pre-listening activities and the development of specific listening micro-skills. An empirical project which included a classroom project carried out with a group of eight learners preparing for the IELTS examination in 2009 corroborated the following assumptions: in order to achieve listening proficiency, learners need practice in making inferences as semantic and pragmatic inferences are embedded in verbal communication; semantic and pragmatic aspects affecting the meaning of utterances can be highlighted via comprehension activities focusing on specific listening subskills. The results of the classroom project suggested that strategy-based listening is potentially capable of directly enhancing pragmatic comprehension but were inconclusive with regards to pragmatic production

  1. [Current status on prevalence, treatment and management of hypertension among Chinese adults in the National Demonstration Areas for Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, R R; Zhang, J; Li, J L; Li, J J; Ma, S; Bian, F; Deng, G J; Su, X W; Shen, Z Z; Wang, Y P; Jiang, Y

    2018-04-10

    Objective: To investigate the current status of prevalence, treatment, and management on hypertension among Chinese adults from the National Demonstration Areas for Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases. Methods: We selected a total of 4 000 residents aged ≥18 years for this questionnaire-based survey by multi-stage clustering sampling in 10 National Demonstration Areas between November and December, 2016. Results: There were 3 891 effective questionnaires. The self-reported prevalence of hypertension among aged ≥35 years was 31.47% (1 011/3 213). For the past two weeks, the self-reported treatment of hypertension was 86.75%(877/1 011), with the rates of guidance as 56.87% (575/1 011) on physical activity, 40.95% (414/1 011) on diet, 38.33% (385/1 011) on weight management, and 22.75% (228/1 011) on smoking cessation. For the past 12 months, 74.68% (755/1 011) of the residents aged ≥35 years were under the proper management and 62.12% (628/1 011) of them were under the standardized management programs. The follow-up program lasted for 4 ( P(25) - P(75) : 4-12) times per year, with 15 ( P(25) - P(75) : 10-20) minutes per each visit. Hypertensive patients would mainly visit the outpatient clinics (53.51%), followed by home visits (22.91%) and telephone calls (13.64%). Rate of satisfaction on management services was 94.83% (716/755) from the hypertensive patients. Multivariate analysis showed that the rate of self-reported treatment ( OR =1.986, 95% CI : 1.222-3.228) and self-reported standardized management ( OR =2.204, 95% CI : 1.519-3.199) on hypertension were higher in the Demonstration Areas with higher implementation scores of self-reported non-communicable diseases management. Conclusions: Prevention and management on hypertension in the Demonstration Areas had met the requirement set for the Demonstration Areas during the "12th Five-Year Plan" . Projects on setting up the National Non-communicable Diseases Demonstration Areas

  2. Text comprehension strategy instruction with poor readers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van den Bos, K.P.; Aarnoudse, C.C.; Brand-Gruwel, S.

    1998-01-01

    The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of teaching text comprehension strategies to children with decoding and reading comprehension problems and with a poor or normal listening ability. Two experiments are reported. Four text comprehension strategies, viz., question generation,

  3. Developing an Instrument for Iranian EFL Learners’ Listening Comprehension Problems and Listening Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara Noroozi

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available In the body of literature on listening strategies to EFL learners, what seems to be lacking is that the focus is on teaching listening strategies to learners with little attention to their listening comprehension problems. No local research has been conducted on the nature of the Iranian tertiary level students' EFL listening comprehension problems or strategies. Therefore, no instrument is available to investigate these constructs. This paper reports the findings of a study that made an attempt to develop and test an instrument that will aid researchers identify students’ specific listening problems and listening strategy repertoire. The instrument was developed by integrating and validating the available instruments in the related literature. The two developed questionnaires were: the Listening Comprehension Problems Questionnaire (LCPQ and the Listening Strategy Use Questionnaire (LSUQ. Problems related to designing and testing this instrument is shared and the modifications made to it are presented. The instrument is expected to be useful for researchers interested to study the area of EFL listening in a similar setting.

  4. Preparing for reading comprehension: Fostering text comprehension skills in preschool and early elementary school children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul van den BROEK

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available To understand what they read or hear, children and adults must create a coherent mental representation of presented information. Recent research suggests that the ability to do so starts to develop early –well before reading age- and that early individual differences are predictive of later reading-comprehension performance. In this paper, we review this research and discuss potential applications to early intervention. We then present two exploratory studies in which we examine whether it is feasible to design interventions with early readers (3rd grade and even toddlers (2-3 years old. The interventions employed causal questioning techniques as children listen to orally presented,age-appropriate narratives. Afterwards, comprehension was tested through question answering and recall tasks. Results indicate that such interventions are indeed feasible. Moreover, they suggest thatfor both toddlers and early readers questions during comprehension are more effective than questions after comprehension. Finally, for both groups higher working memory capacity was related to bettercomprehension.

  5. Evaluate of environment quality for γ irradiation facilities using fuzzy comprehensive judgment method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ha Yiming

    2002-01-01

    The environment quality of Jining Irradiation Centre new γ radiation facility was evaluated by fuzzy comprehensive judgment method. The result showed that the place of γ radiation facility was well and the measures of radiate shelter and environment protect were effective. The environment quality of its area was not obvious change and the result of environment evaluation was first-rate

  6. Does comprehension of symbolic gestures and corresponding-in-meaning words make use of motor simulation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campione, Giovanna Cristina; De Stefani, Elisa; Innocenti, Alessandro; De Marco, Doriana; Gough, Patricia M; Buccino, Giovanni; Gentilucci, Maurizio

    2014-02-01

    The present study aimed at determining whether or not the comprehension of symbolic gestures, and corresponding-in-meaning words, makes use of cortical circuits involved in movement execution control. Participants were presented with videos of an actress producing meaningful or meaningless gestures, pronouncing corresponding-in-meaning words or pseudo-words; they were required to judge whether the signal was meaningful or meaningless. Single pulse TMS was applied to forearm primary motor cortex area 150-200 ms after the point when the stimulus meaning could be understood. MEPs were significantly greater when processing meaningless signals as compared to a baseline condition presenting a still-and-silent actress. In contrast, this was not the case for meaningful signals whose motor activation did not differ from that for the baseline stimulus. MEPs were significantly greater for meaningless than meaningful signals and no significant difference was found between gesture and speech. On the basis of these results, we hypothesized that the observation-of/listening-to meaningless signals recruits motor areas. In contrast, this did not occur when the signals were meaningful. Overall, the data suggest that the processes related to comprehension of symbolic gestures and communicative words do not involve primary motor area and probably use brain areas involved in semantics. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Towards a comprehensive theory of monadic effects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Filinski, Andrzej

    2011-01-01

    It has been more than 20 years since monads were proposed as a unifying concept for computational effects, in both formal semantics and functional programs. Over that period, there has been substantial incremental progress on several fronts within the ensuing research area, including denotational....... Some stronger-than-expected ties between the research topics mentioned above also instill hope that there is indeed a natural, comprehensive theory of monadic effects, waiting to be fully explicated......., and attempts to assess our collective progress towards the goal of a broad yet coherent theory of monadic effects. We are not quite there yet, but intriguingly, many potential ingredients of such a theory have been repeatedly discovered and developed, with only minor variations, in seemingly unrelated contexts...

  8. Optimizing Visually-Assisted Listening Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kashani, Ahmad Sabouri; Sajjadi, Samad; Sohrabi, Mohammad Reza; Younespour, Shima

    2011-01-01

    The fact that visual aids such as pictures or graphs can lead to greater comprehension by language learners has been well established. Nonetheless, the order of presenting visuals to listeners is left unattended. This study examined listening comprehension from a strategy of introducing visual information, either prior to or during an audio…

  9. Real analysis a comprehensive course in analysis, part 1

    CERN Document Server

    Simon, Barry

    2015-01-01

    A Comprehensive Course in Analysis by Poincaré Prize winner Barry Simon is a five-volume set that can serve as a graduate-level analysis textbook with a lot of additional bonus information, including hundreds of problems and numerous notes that extend the text and provide important historical background. Depth and breadth of exposition make this set a valuable reference source for almost all areas of classical analysis. Part 1 is devoted to real analysis. From one point of view, it presents the infinitesimal calculus of the twentieth century with the ultimate integral calculus (measure theory)

  10. Operator theory a comprehensive course in analysis, part 4

    CERN Document Server

    Simon, Barry

    2015-01-01

    A Comprehensive Course in Analysis by Poincaré Prize winner Barry Simon is a five-volume set that can serve as a graduate-level analysis textbook with a lot of additional bonus information, including hundreds of problems and numerous notes that extend the text and provide important historical background. Depth and breadth of exposition make this set a valuable reference source for almost all areas of classical analysis. Part 4 focuses on operator theory, especially on a Hilbert space. Central topics are the spectral theorem, the theory of trace class and Fredholm determinants, and the study of

  11. Harmonic analysis a comprehensive course in analysis, part 3

    CERN Document Server

    Simon, Barry

    2015-01-01

    A Comprehensive Course in Analysis by Poincaré Prize winner Barry Simon is a five-volume set that can serve as a graduate-level analysis textbook with a lot of additional bonus information, including hundreds of problems and numerous notes that extend the text and provide important historical background. Depth and breadth of exposition make this set a valuable reference source for almost all areas of classical analysis. Part 3 returns to the themes of Part 1 by discussing pointwise limits (going beyond the usual focus on the Hardy-Littlewood maximal function by including ergodic theorems and m

  12. Instability and Nonlinearity in the Euro-area Philips Curve

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    A. Musso; A. Stracca; D.J.C. van Dijk (Dick)

    2009-01-01

    textabstractThis paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the functional form of the euro-area Phillips curve over the past three decades. In particular, compared with previous literature, we analyze the stability of the relationship in detail, especially as regards the possibility of a

  13. Direct and Mediated Effects of Language and Cognitive Skills on Comprehension or Oral Narrative Texts (Listening Comprehension) for Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  14. Classroom Talk for Rigorous Reading Comprehension Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf, Mikyung Kim; Crosson, Amy C.; Resnick, Lauren B.

    2004-01-01

    This study examined the quality of classroom talk and its relation to academic rigor in reading-comprehension lessons. Additionally, the study aimed to characterize effective questions to support rigorous reading comprehension lessons. The data for this study included 21 reading-comprehension lessons in several elementary and middle schools from…

  15. BOLD Response to Motion Verbs in Left Posterior Middle Temporal Gyrus during Story Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallentin, Mikkel; Nielsen, Andreas Hojlund; Vuust, Peter; Dohn, Anders; Roepstorff, Andreas; Lund, Torben Ellegaard

    2011-01-01

    A primary focus within neuroimaging research on language comprehension is on the distribution of semantic knowledge in the brain. Studies have shown that the left posterior middle temporal gyrus (LPMT), a region just anterior to area MT/V5, is important for the processing of complex action knowledge. It has also been found that motion verbs cause…

  16. The Effects of Cooperative Learning on Improving English Pronunciation and Comprehension of Medical Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeinab Sanaee Moghadam

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Acquisition of intelligible English pronunciation and comprehension of medical texts has been considered as an important need for medical students. This can be improved by employing different methods and taking into consideration various learning styles of students. This study is an attempt to reveal the effect of cooperative learning on enhancing pronunciation and reading comprehension in students of medicine in Yasuj University of Medical Sciences. Methods: All 60 students of medicine in Yasuj University of Medical Sciences who enrolled in English for specific purposes 1st Feb 2013 took part in this quasi experimental study and were divided into two groups of thirties, according to the enrollment list. Cooperative learning was implemented with the experimental group dividing them into groups of five randomly, while the control group was taught with traditional method. Phonetic transcriptions were used along with passages taken from their book for the two groups. The data collected from three reading aloud tasks, scores of pretest, and midterm and final written examinations were analyzed using SPSS software, version19. Results: The results of the study showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group significantly (P<0.05 in all areas of reading aloud tests, pronunciation, and comprehension. Conclusion: It is concluded that cooperative learning significantly improves medical students’ pronunciation and comprehension. Teaching pronunciation and comprehension through cooperative learning yields better learning results for university students.

  17. Memory mechanisms supporting syntactic comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  18. A Comprehensive Diagnostic Framework for Evaluating Business Intelligence and Analytics Effectiveness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neil Foshay

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Business intelligence and analytics (BIA initiatives are costly, complex and experience high failure rates. Organizations require effective approaches to evaluate their BIA capabilities in order to develop strategies for their evolution. In this paper, we employ a design science paradigm to develop a comprehensive BIA effectiveness diagnostic (BIAED framework that can be easily operationalized. We propose that a useful BIAED framework must assess the correct factors, should be deployed in the proper process context and acquire the appropriate input from different constituencies within an organization. Drawing on the BIAED framework, we further develop an online diagnostic toolkit that includes a comprehensive survey instrument. We subsequently deploy the diagnostic mechanism within three large organizations in North America (involving over 1500 participants and use the results to inform BIA strategy formulation. Feedback from participating organizations indicates that BIA diagnostic toolkit provides insights that are essential inputs to strategy development. This work addresses a significant research gap in the area of BIA effectiveness assessment.

  19. Is Word-Problem Solving a Form of Text Comprehension?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuchs, Lynn S.; Fuchs, Douglas; Compton, Donald L.; Hamlett, Carol L.; Wang, Amber Y.

    2015-01-01

    This study's hypotheses were that (a) word-problem (WP) solving is a form of text comprehension that involves language comprehension processes, working memory, and reasoning, but (b) WP solving differs from other forms of text comprehension by requiring WP-specific language comprehension as well as general language comprehension. At the start of…

  20. Managing Intellectual Property Rights Protection in the System of Comprehensive Seconday Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vadim Lunyachek

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides the results of the survey conducted among the teachers and principals of comprehensive secondary schools of Kharkiv as to their awareness of how to abide by, draw up and defend intellectual property rights. The paper suggests implementing a system of actions to further the qualifications of educators in this area by introducing relevant special courses, delivering lectures and workshops, or obtaining a second higher education degree.

  1. From language comprehension to action understanding and back again.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tremblay, Pascale; Small, Steven L

    2011-05-01

    A controversial question in cognitive neuroscience is whether comprehension of words and sentences engages brain mechanisms specific for decoding linguistic meaning or whether language comprehension occurs through more domain-general sensorimotor processes. Accumulating behavioral and neuroimaging evidence suggests a role for cortical motor and premotor areas in passive action-related language tasks, regions that are known to be involved in action execution and observation. To examine the involvement of these brain regions in language and nonlanguage tasks, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on a group of 21 healthy adults. During the fMRI session, all participants 1) watched short object-related action movies, 2) looked at pictures of man-made objects, and 3) listened to and produced short sentences describing object-related actions and man-made objects. Our results are among the first to reveal, in the human brain, a functional specialization within the ventral premotor cortex (PMv) for observing actions and for observing objects, and a different organization for processing sentences describing actions and objects. These findings argue against the strongest version of the simulation theory for the processing of action-related language.

  2. Leaching Functions from the Outer Metropolitan Zones (Trade, Services - Increasing Peripherality of Small Towns and Rural Areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krystian Heffner

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Intensive spatial processes taking place around metropolitan areas leads to many economic, structural and social changes in their surroundings. The small towns and rural areas located in the outer zone of metropolitan areas are most affected by this functional changes. In the outer zone of a big urban canters appears a lot of new competing possibilities on the labor market and a comprehensive commercial, service and cultural offer to smaller centres. One of the most competitive advantage of the metropolitan zones becomes modern shopping centres being established in the most accessible places, providing a comprehensive shopping-services and even cultural-recreational offer.

  3. Effects of supported electronic text and explicit instruction on science comprehension by students with autism spectrum disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, Victoria Floyd

    Supported electronic text (eText), or text that has been altered to increase access and provide support to learners, may promote comprehension of science content for students with disabilities. According to CAST, Book Builder(TM) uses supported eText to promote reading for meaning for all students. Although little research has been conducted in the area of supported eText for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), technology (e.g., computer assisted instruction) has been used for over 35 years to instruct students with ASD in academic areas. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a supported eText and explicit instruction on the science vocabulary and comprehension of four middle school students with ASD. Researchers used a multiple probe across participants design to evaluate the Book Builder (TM) program on measures of vocabulary, literal comprehension, and application questions. Results indicated a functional relation between the Book Builder(TM) and explicit instruction (i.e., model-lead-test, examples and non-examples, and referral to the definition) and the number of correct responses on the probe. In addition, students were able to generalize concepts to untrained exemplars. Finally, teachers and students validate the program as practical and useful.

  4. Reading Comprehension Difficulties in Chinese-English Bilingual Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tong, Xiuhong; McBride, Catherine; Shu, Hua; Ho, Connie Suk-Han

    2018-02-01

    The co-occurrence of reading comprehension difficulties for first language (L1) Chinese and second language (L2) English and associated longitudinal cognitive-linguistic correlates in each language were investigated. Sixteen poor comprehenders in English and 16 poor comprehenders in Chinese, 18 poor readers in both, and 18 children with normal performance in both were identified at age 10. The prevalence rate for being poor in both was 52.94%, suggesting that approximately half of children who are at risk for Chinese reading comprehension difficulty are also at risk for English reading comprehension difficulty. Chinese word reading, phonological, and morphological awareness were longitudinal correlates of poor comprehension in Chinese. English word reading and vocabulary were longitudinal correlates of poor comprehension in English. Chinese phonological awareness was an additional correlate of poor comprehension in English. Moreover, poor comprehenders in both Chinese and English showed slower rapid automatized naming scores than the other groups. Findings highlight some factors that might be critical for reading comprehension in L1 Chinese and L2 English; fluency is likely to be a critical part of reading comprehension across languages. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  5. How Do We Motivate Reading Comprehension?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shanahan, Timothy

    1982-01-01

    Considers the nature of motivation and its place in the development of reading comprehension. Uses A. Maslow's hierarchy of motivation as a heuristic for examining the motivational quality of several teaching methods commonly proposed for comprehension instruction. (FL)

  6. A comprehensive assessment of lymphatic filariasis in Sri Lanka six years after cessation of mass drug administration.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramakrishna U Rao

    Full Text Available The Sri Lankan Anti-Filariasis Campaign conducted 5 rounds of mass drug administration (MDA with diethycarbamazine plus albendazole between 2002 and 2006. We now report results of a comprehensive surveillance program that assessed the lymphatic filariasis (LF situation in Sri Lanka 6 years after cessation of MDA.Transmission assessment surveys (TAS were performed per WHO guidelines in primary school children in 11 evaluation units (EUs in all 8 formerly endemic districts. All EUs easily satisfied WHO criteria for stopping MDA. Comprehensive surveillance was performed in 19 Public Health Inspector (PHI areas (subdistrict health administrative units. The surveillance package included cross-sectional community surveys for microfilaremia (Mf and circulating filarial antigenemia (CFA, school surveys for CFA and anti-filarial antibodies, and collection of Culex mosquitoes with gravid traps for detection of filarial DNA (molecular xenomonitoring, MX. Provisional target rates for interruption of LF transmission were community CFA <2%, antibody in school children <2%, and filarial DNA in mosquitoes <0.25%. Community Mf and CFA prevalence rates ranged from 0-0.9% and 0-3.4%, respectively. Infection rates were significantly higher in males and lower in people who denied prior treatment. Antibody rates in school children exceeded 2% in 10 study sites; the area that had the highest community and school CFA rates also had the highest school antibody rate (6.9%. Filarial DNA rates in mosquitoes exceeded 0.25% in 10 PHI areas.Comprehensive surveillance is feasible for some national filariasis elimination programs. Low-level persistence of LF was present in all study sites; several sites failed to meet provisional endpoint criteria for LF elimination, and follow-up testing will be needed in these areas. TAS was not sensitive for detecting low-level persistence of filariasis in Sri Lanka. We recommend use of antibody and MX testing as tools to complement TAS for

  7. Evaluation of use of reading comprehension strategies to improve reading comprehension of adult college students with acquired brain injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, Gina G; Sohlberg, McKay Moore; Kirk, Cecilia; Fickas, Stephen; Biancarosa, Gina

    2016-01-01

    Adults with mild to moderate acquired brain injury (ABI) often pursue post-secondary or professional education after their injuries in order to enter or re-enter the job market. An increasing number of these adults report problems with reading-to-learn. The problem is particularly concerning given the growing population of adult survivors of ABI. Despite the rising need, empirical evaluation of reading comprehension interventions for adults with ABI is scarce. This study used a within-subject design to evaluate whether adult college students with ABI with no more than moderate cognitive impairments benefited from using reading comprehension strategies to improve comprehension of expository text. Integrating empirical support from the cognitive rehabilitation and special education literature, the researchers designed a multi-component reading comprehension strategy package. Participants read chapters from an introductory-level college anthropology textbook in two different conditions: strategy and no-strategy. The results indicated that reading comprehension strategy use was associated with recall of more correct information units in immediate and delayed free recall tasks; more efficient recall in the delayed free recall task; and increased accuracy recognising statements from a sentence verification task designed to reflect the local and global coherence of the text. The findings support further research into using reading comprehension strategies as an intervention approach for the adult ABI population. Future research needs include identifying how to match particular reading comprehension strategies to individuals, examining whether reading comprehension performance improves further through the incorporation of systematic training, and evaluating texts from a range of disciplines and genres.

  8. Comprehensive analysis of information dissemination in disasters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, N.; Huang, H.; Su, Boni

    2016-11-01

    China is a country that experiences a large number of disasters. The number of deaths caused by large-scale disasters and accidents in past 10 years is around 900,000. More than 92.8 percent of these deaths could be avoided if there were an effective pre-warning system deployed. Knowledge of the information dissemination characteristics of different information media taking into consideration governmental assistance (information published by a government) in disasters in urban areas, plays a critical role in increasing response time and reducing the number of deaths and economic losses. In this paper we have developed a comprehensive information dissemination model to optimize efficiency of pre-warning mechanics. This model also can be used for disseminating information for evacuees making real-time evacuation plans. We analyzed every single information dissemination models for pre-warning in disasters by considering 14 media: short message service (SMS), phone, television, radio, news portals, Wechat, microblogs, email, newspapers, loudspeaker vehicles, loudspeakers, oral communication, and passive information acquisition via visual and auditory senses. Since governmental assistance is very useful in a disaster, we calculated the sensitivity of governmental assistance ratio. The results provide useful references for information dissemination during disasters in urban areas.

  9. Induction of truncated form of tenascin-X (XB-S) through dissociation of HDAC1 from SP-1/HDAC1 complex in response to hypoxic conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kato, Akari; Endo, Toshiya; Abiko, Shun; Ariga, Hiroyoshi; Matsumoto, Ken-ichi

    2008-01-01

    ABSTRACT: XB-S is an amino-terminal truncated protein of tenascin-X (TNX) in humans. The levels of the XB-S transcript, but not those of TNX transcripts, were increased upon hypoxia. We identified a critical hypoxia-responsive element (HRE) localized to a GT-rich element positioned from - 1410 to - 1368 in the XB-S promoter. Using an electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), we found that the HRE forms a DNA-protein complex with Sp1 and that GG positioned in - 1379 and - 1378 is essential for the binding of the nuclear complex. Transfection experiments in SL2 cells, an Sp1-deficient model system, with an Sp1 expression vector demonstrated that the region from - 1380 to - 1371, an HRE, is sufficient for efficient activation of the XB-S promoter upon hypoxia. The EMSA and a chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay showed that Sp1 together with the transcriptional repressor histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) binds to the HRE of the XB-S promoter under normoxia and that hypoxia causes dissociation of HDAC1 from the Sp1/HDAC1 complex. The HRE promoter activity was induced in the presence of a histone deacetylase inhibitor, trichostatin A, even under normoxia. Our results indicate that the hypoxia-induced activation of the XB-S promoter is regulated through dissociation of HDAC1 from an Sp1-binding HRE site

  10. Wireless body area networks technology, implementation, and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Yuce, Mehmet R

    2011-01-01

    The book provides a comprehensive overview for the latest WBAN systems, technologies, and applications. The chapters of the book have been written by various specialists who are experts in their areas of research and practice. The book starts with the basic techniques involved in designing and building WBAN systems. It explains the deployment issues and then moves into the application areas of WBAN. The remaining chapters focus on the development of hardware, signal processing algorithms, and wireless communication and network design for wearable and implantable body sensors used in WBAN appli

  11. RCT: Module 2.10, Access Control and Work Area Setup, Course 8776

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hillmer, Kurt T. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-08-11

    This course presents information on radiological work permits (RWPs), various types of postings used in radiological areas, radiological area setups, access controls, and releases of material from radiological areas. All of these are fundamental duties of RCTs. This course will prepare the student with the skills necessary for radiological control technician (RCT) qualification by passing quizzes, tests, and the RCT Comprehensive Phase 1, Unit 2 Examination (TEST 27566) and providing in-thefield skills.

  12. Work plan for the remedial investigation/feasibility study for the groundwater operable units at the Chemical Plant Area and the Ordnance Works Area, Weldon Spring, Missouri

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-08-01

    US Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (CE) are conducting cleanup activities at two properties, the chemical plant area and the ordnance works area, located adjacent to one another in St. Charles County, Missouri. In accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended, DOE and CE are evaluating conditions and potential responses at the chemical plant area and at the ordnance works area, respectively, to address groundwater and surface water contamination. This work plan provides a comprehensive evaluation of areas that are relevant to the (GWOUs) of both the chemical plant and the ordnance works area. Following areas or media are addressed in this work plan: groundwater beneath the chemical plant area (including designated vicinity properties described in Section 5 of the RI for the chemical plant area [DOE 1992d]) and beneath the ordnance works area; surface water and sediment at selected springs, including Burgermeister Spring. The organization of this work plan is as follows: Chapter 1 discusses the objectives for conducting the evaluation, including a summary of relevant site information and overall environmental compliance activities to be undertaken; Chapter 2 presents a history and a description of the site and areas addressed within the GWOUs, along with currently available data; Chapter 3 presents a preliminary evaluation of areas included in the GWOUs, which is based on information given in Section 2, and discusses data requirements; Chapter 4 presents rationale for data collection or characterization activities to be carried out in the remedial investigation (RI) phase, along with brief summaries of supporting documents ancillary to this work plan; Chapter 5 discusses the activities planned for GWOUs under each of the 14 tasks for an remedial (RI/FS); Chapter 6 presents proposed schedules for RI/FS for the GWOUS; and Chapter 7 explains the project management structure.

  13. Work plan for the remedial investigation/feasibility study for the groundwater operable units at the Chemical Plant Area and the Ordnance Works Area, Weldon Spring, Missouri

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-08-01

    US Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (CE) are conducting cleanup activities at two properties, the chemical plant area and the ordnance works area, located adjacent to one another in St. Charles County, Missouri. In accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended, DOE and CE are evaluating conditions and potential responses at the chemical plant area and at the ordnance works area, respectively, to address groundwater and surface water contamination. This work plan provides a comprehensive evaluation of areas that are relevant to the (GWOUs) of both the chemical plant and the ordnance works area. Following areas or media are addressed in this work plan: groundwater beneath the chemical plant area (including designated vicinity properties described in Section 5 of the RI for the chemical plant area [DOE 1992d]) and beneath the ordnance works area; surface water and sediment at selected springs, including Burgermeister Spring. The organization of this work plan is as follows: Chapter 1 discusses the objectives for conducting the evaluation, including a summary of relevant site information and overall environmental compliance activities to be undertaken; Chapter 2 presents a history and a description of the site and areas addressed within the GWOUs, along with currently available data; Chapter 3 presents a preliminary evaluation of areas included in the GWOUs, which is based on information given in Section 2, and discusses data requirements; Chapter 4 presents rationale for data collection or characterization activities to be carried out in the remedial investigation (RI) phase, along with brief summaries of supporting documents ancillary to this work plan; Chapter 5 discusses the activities planned for GWOUs under each of the 14 tasks for an remedial (RI/FS); Chapter 6 presents proposed schedules for RI/FS for the GWOUS; and Chapter 7 explains the project management structure

  14. Quantitative Evaluation of Ecosystem Health in a Karst Area of South China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shengzi Chen

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to propose a GIS-based mechanism for diagnosing karst rocky desertification (KRD ecosystem health. Using the Huajiang Demonstration Area in Guizhou Province as a case study, this research offers a multi-factor indicator system for diagnosing KRD ecosystem health. A set of geologic, environmental, and socio-economic health indicators were developed based on remote sensing images from field-investigation, hydrological, and meteorological monitoring data. With the use of grid GIS technology, this study gives an indicator for diagnosing the spatial expression of desertification at a 5 m × 5 m grid scale. Using spatial overlaying technology based on grid data, the temporal and spatial dynamics of ecosystem health in the Huajiang Demonstration Area were tracked over a 10 year time span. The results of the analysis indicate that ecosystem health in the Huajiang Demonstration Area varies regionally, and has overall improved over time. The proportion of healthy area increased from 3.7% in 2000 to 8.2% in 2010. However, unhealthy and middle-health areas still accounted for 78.7% of the total area by 2010. The most obvious improvement of ecosystem health was in an area where comprehensive control measures for curbing KRD were implemented. These results suggest that comprehensive control of KRD can effectively mitigate ecosystem deterioration and improve ecosystem health in karst regions of South China.

  15. 75 FR 32169 - Comprehensive Centers Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-07

    ... of proposed waivers were supportive of the Comprehensive Centers program and the proposed waivers... Department to continue promoting this shared oversight by involving OSERS leadership in deliberations about... identification of the valuable contribution of OSERS leadership in supporting the Comprehensive Centers program...

  16. Comprehensive geriatric assessment

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2007-09-14

    Sep 14, 2007 ... i.e. difficulty performing simple physical and mental tasks necessary for daily life. ... Definition. Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is a multidimensional .... The formation of a programme of therapy is decided on.

  17. Disaster Metrics: A Comprehensive Framework for Disaster Evaluation Typologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  18. Building the basis for a comprehensive radiation protection program for a multi-program laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Copenhaver, E.D.

    1987-01-01

    An explicit, workplace-specific training has been developed, implemented, and documented for all radiation workers. In addition to the radiation worker personnel located at reactors, accelerators, radiochemical laboratories, and waste treatment areas, we have trained other personnel who work in areas where a lesser potential for radiological/chemical exposure exists. These workforces include construction crews, site restoration crews, contracted special services such as scoping and site characterization teams, and short-term visitors. We are developing a comprehensive, integrated approach to radiation protection training suited for a multi-purpose research laboratory. 9 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab

  19. AEC controlled area safety program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hendricks, D W [Nevada Operations Office, Atomic Energy Commission, Las Vegas, NV (United States)

    1969-07-01

    The detonation of underground nuclear explosives and the subsequent data recovery efforts require a comprehensive pre- and post-detonation safety program for workers within the controlled area. The general personnel monitoring and environmental surveillance program at the Nevada Test Site are presented. Some of the more unusual health-physics aspects involved in the operation of this program are also discussed. The application of experience gained at the Nevada Test Site is illustrated by description of the on-site operational and safety programs established for Project Gasbuggy. (author)

  20. AEC controlled area safety program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hendricks, D.W.

    1969-01-01

    The detonation of underground nuclear explosives and the subsequent data recovery efforts require a comprehensive pre- and post-detonation safety program for workers within the controlled area. The general personnel monitoring and environmental surveillance program at the Nevada Test Site are presented. Some of the more unusual health-physics aspects involved in the operation of this program are also discussed. The application of experience gained at the Nevada Test Site is illustrated by description of the on-site operational and safety programs established for Project Gasbuggy. (author)

  1. How to assess and improve children's reading comprehension?

    OpenAIRE

    Muijselaar, M.M.L.

    2016-01-01

    Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills children have to acquire during the final years of primary education. It is therefore unfortunate that many children have severe problems with a proper understanding of texts. To design methods that foster children’s reading comprehension, more information about the underlying skills and processes that are involved in reading comprehension is needed. Prerequisites for reading comprehension are the accurate and fast reading of single wo...

  2. Comprehensive Statewide Plan for Postsecondary Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nebraska's Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education, 2016

    2016-01-01

    The constitution and statutes of Nebraska assign the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education the responsibility for comprehensive planning for postsecondary education in Nebraska. The purpose of the "Comprehensive Plan for Postsecondary Education" is to provide direction for the future of postsecondary education in Nebraska.…

  3. The Effect of Comprehensible Input and Comprehensible Output on the Accuracy and Complexity of Iranian EFL Learners’ Oral Speech

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    omid tabatabaie

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed at investigating the relative impact of comprehensible input and comprehensible output on the development of grammatical accuracy and syntactic complexity of Iranian EFL learners’ oral production. Participants were 60 female EFL learners selected from a whole population pool of 80 based on the standard test of IELTS. To investigate the research questions, the participants were randomly divided into three groups: Input group, output group, and control group. The study involved two phases: the pre-task phase, and the main-task phase. During the pre-task phase, the input group received comprehensible input. In the same phase, the output group was pushed to be engaged in comprehensible output production. The control group neither received input, nor was engaged in output production. In the main-task phase, all subjects performed monologues that were separately recorded, and later transcribed and coded in terms of accuracy and complexity through Bygate's (2001 standard coding system and finally scored. The statistical analysis of the results revealed that while the output group outperformed the input group in grammatical accuracy, the input group proved to be more rigorous and influential in developing speech complexity. The study supports Swain’s (1985 claim that there are roles for comprehensible output that are different from and independent of comprehensible input, and Skehan & Foster's (2001 theory regarding human beings’ limited attentional capacities that can be devoted to one aspect of oral speech at the expense of the other. Generally, it is implied that the most effective way for improving oral speech, based on the literature and the results obtained from this study, is an eclectic approach which conflates both comprehensible input and comprehensible output.

  4. Characteristics of Heavy Metals Contamination in Lotus Root in the Dongting Lake Area, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LUO Man

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Heavy metal contamination in soils in the Dongting Lake areas has evoked widespread concerns about the excessive heavy metals in aquatic product. Based on the national standards of food contaminant limits and the method of comprehensive pollution index, heavy metals of Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Mn in lotus root were clarified through field investigation in the Dongting Lake area. Results showed that lotus root in the Dongting Lake area was contaminated seriously by heavy metals. Cd and Pb were two main pollutants and the single pollution indices were 5.70 and 8.35 respectively. According to the comprehensive pollution index of heavy metals, lotus root in Yueyanglou District and Yuanjiang City were classified into medium pollution and Junshan District, Huarong County, Nan County, and Datong District were classified into heavy pollution. Principal component analysis showed that planting areas of lotus root were clumped and medium and heavy pollution areas were separated significantly. Habitat contamination by heavy metals and decreasing area of lotus ponds were two main factors for excessive heavy metals in lotus root. Thus, some measurements, such as habit restoration, were proposed for local government to decrease heavy metals in planting areas and to promote the healthy development of lotus root industry in the Dongting Lake area.

  5. Comprehensive Approach for Monitoring and Analyzing the Activity Concentration Level of PET Isotopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osovizky, A.; Paran, J.; Ankry, N.; Vulasky, E.; Ashkenazi, B.; Tal, N.; Dolev, E.; Gonen, E.

    2004-01-01

    A comprehensive approach for measuring and analyzing low concentration levels of positron emitter isotopes is introduced. The solution is based on a Continuous Air Monitoring Sampler (CAMS), Stack Monitoring System (SMS) and software package. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a major tool for both, biochemical research and non-invasive diagnostics for medicine imaging. The PET method utilizes short half life β + radioisotopes that are produced in cyclotron sites built especially for this purpose. The growing need for β + isotopes brought about a commonly wide use of cyclotrons next to populated areas. Isotopes production involves two possible radiation hazards deriving from the activity concentration; one refers to the nearby population by the activity released through the ventilation system and the other refers to the personnel working in the nuclear facility. A comprehensive system providing solution for both radiation hazards is introduced in this work

  6. Comprehensive energy management eco routing & velocity profiles

    CERN Document Server

    Brandstätter, Bernhard

    2017-01-01

    The book discusses the emerging topic of comprehensive energy management in electric vehicles from the viewpoint of academia and from the industrial perspective. It provides a seamless coverage of all relevant systems and control algorithms for comprehensive energy management, their integration on a multi-core system and their reliability assurance (validation and test). Relevant European projects contributing to the evolvement of comprehensive energy management in fully electric vehicles are also included.

  7. Profiling classroom reading comprehension development practices ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Of specific concern is the lack of representation of the sampled South African learners at the PIRLS international benchmarks, revealing a distinct lack of their development of thinking and reasoning abilities for reading comprehension. To shed light on potential reasons for learners' reading comprehension difficulties, this ...

  8. NRC comprehensive records disposition schedule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1983-05-01

    Effective January 1, 1982, NRC will institute records retention and disposal practives in accordance with the approved Comprehensive Records Disposition Schedule (CRDS). CRDS is comprised of NRC Schedules (NRCS) 1 to 4 which apply to the agency's program or substantive records and General Records Schedules (GRS) 1 to 24 which apply to housekeeping or facilitative records. NRCS-I applies to records common to all or most NRC offices; NRCS-II applies to program records as found in the various offices of the Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, and the Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Panel; NRCS-III applies to records accumulated by the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; and NRCS-IV applies to records accumulated in the various NRC offices under the Executive Director for Operations. The schedules are assembled functionally/organizationally to facilitate their use. Preceding the records descriptions and disposition instructions for both NRCS and GRS, there are brief statements on the organizational units which accumulate the records in each functional area, and other information regarding the schedules' applicability

  9. Rorschach Comprehensive System data for a sample of 141 adult nonpatients from Denmark.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivanouw, Jan

    2007-01-01

    A sample (n = 141) of Danish nonpatients 25-50 years of age, never hospitalized with a psychiatric diagnosis and currently employed, was demographically representative of two geographical areas of Copenhagen with different social strain. The sample, as well as 45 persons not currently employed, was tested with the Rorschach (Exner, 1995), MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989), Word Association Test (Ivanouw, 1999b), WAIS Comprehension subtest (Hess, 1974), and SCL-90-R (Olsen, Mortenson, & Bech, 2006). Half of the persons contacted volunteered for the study. There was no difference in rate of volunteering between a standard no-feedback condition and a feedback condition; the latter, however, tended to attract more psychologically resourceful persons. The employed persons tended to appear healthier than the not employed. Response style of the subjects, quality of the Rorschach protocols, reliability of scoring, and the effect of the data being grouped on geographical area and examiner were examined. Form level, color, texture, cooperative movement, and EA were lower than in the Comprehensive System (CS; n = 450) sample, but higher than in nine international nonpatient Rorschach studies. Unique for the Danish sample was a low number of animal movement answers. The Rorschach data showed women to be healthier than men. Differences in Rorschach variables based on educational level were small.

  10. Executive Dysfunction among Children with Reading Comprehension Deficits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Locascio, Gianna; Mahone, E. Mark; Eason, Sarah H.; Cutting, Laurie E.

    2010-01-01

    Emerging research supports the contribution of executive function (EF) to reading comprehension; however, a unique pattern has not been established for children who demonstrate comprehension difficulties despite average word recognition ability (specific reading comprehension deficit; S-RCD). To identify particular EF components on which children…

  11. How To Tutor Students with Reading Comprehension Problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Richard; Hasbrouck, Jan E.; Denton, Carolyn

    2002-01-01

    Suggestions for tutoring students with reading comprehension problems include careful selection of books with readable text segments, use of comprehension strategies such as paraphrasing brief sections, and reading to find specific information. Several reading comprehension strategies for students are summarized. (Contains 7 references.) (DB)

  12. FY 1998 report on the comprehensive analysis in the geothermal development promotion survey. Tertiary. No.C-3 Akinomiya area; 1998 nendo chinetsu kaihatsu sokushin chosa sogo kaiseki hokokusho. No.C-3 Akinomiya chiiki (Dai 3 ji)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2000-01-01

    The geothermal development promotion survey was conducted in the Akinomiya area, Ogachi county, Akita prefecture, and the FY 1998 results were summed up. In the surface survey, geology/electromagnetism/precision gravity survey was made as supplementary survey, and re-analysis of 3D models was made. In the well survey, three wells of N10-AY-6 to N10-AY-8 were drilled to conduct the core examination, temperature/pressure logging, sampler logging, short-term jetting test, etc. Also conducted were the reservoir evaluation, environmental effect survey, etc. by pressure monitoring and water level observation. The results of the comprehensive analysis predict the following. In the Akinomiya area, there exists heat source in deep parts around Mt. Yamabushi-dake and Mt. Takamatsu-dake; Being given heat from this heat source, rocks, ground water and volcanic gas react on each other to form geothermal fluids. It is presumed that high temperature geothermal reservoirs exist in the east of the area. Moreover, the pressure distribution indicates that the Akinomiya reservoir and Wasabizawa reservoir can be a chain hydraulically. On the other hand, the west of the area is the low temperature and heat conductive area, and therefore, there seem to be no high temperature fluids there. (NEDO)

  13. Listening comprehension in preschoolers: the role of memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Florit, Elena; Roch, Maja; Altoè, Gianmarco; Levorato, Maria Chiara

    2009-11-01

    The current study analyzed the relationship between text comprehension and memory skills in preschoolers. We were interested in verifying the hypothesis that memory is a specific contributor to listening comprehension in preschool children after controlling for verbal abilities. We were also interested in analyzing the developmental path of the relationship between memory skills and listening comprehension in the age range considered. Forty-four, 4-year-olds (mean age = 4 years and 6 months, SD = 4 months) and 40, 5-year-olds (mean age = 5 years and 4 months, SD = 5 months) participated in the study. The children were administered measures to evaluate listening comprehension ability (story comprehension), short-term and working memory skills (forward and backward word span), verbal intelligence and receptive vocabulary. Results showed that both short-term and working memory predicted unique and independent variance in listening comprehension after controlling for verbal abilities, with working memory explaining additional variance over and above short-term memory. The predictive power of memory skills was stable in the age range considered. Results also confirm a strong relation between verbal abilities and listening comprehension in 4- and 5-year-old children.

  14. Measurment and Reporting of Comprehensive Income: Search ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Measurment and Reporting of Comprehensive Income: Search, Challenges, ... of periods of stable and unstable economic situation and satisfies varied users' ... Keywords: Historical accounting; comprehensive income; asset valuation model.

  15. Comprehensive Information Retrieval and Model Input Sequence (CIRMIS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Friedrichs, D.R.

    1977-04-01

    The Comprehensive Information Retrieval and Model Input Sequence (CIRMIS) was developed to provide the research scientist with man--machine interactive capabilities in a real-time environment, and thereby produce results more quickly and efficiently. The CIRMIS system was originally developed to increase data storage and retrieval capabilities and ground-water model control for the Hanford site. The overall configuration, however, can be used in other areas. The CIRMIS system provides the user with three major functions: retrieval of well-based data, special application for manipulating surface data or background maps, and the manipulation and control of ground-water models. These programs comprise only a portion of the entire CIRMIS system. A complete description of the CIRMIS system is given in this report. 25 figures, 7 tables

  16. Gestalt Imagery: A Critical Factor in Language Comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Nanci

    1991-01-01

    Lack of gestalt imagery (the ability to create imaged wholes) can contribute to language comprehension disorder characterized by weak reading comprehension, weak oral language comprehension, weak oral language expression, weak written language expression, difficulty following directions, and a weak sense of humor. Sequential stimulation using an…

  17. Z Plant source aggregate area management study report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-10-01

    The US Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site in Washington State is or into numerically designated operational areas including the 100, 200, 300, 400, 600, and 1100 Areas. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in November 1989, included the 200 Areas of the Hanford Site on the National Priorities List (NPL) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980. Inclusion on the NPL initiates the Remedial Investigation (RI) and Feasibility Study (FS) process for characterizing the nature and extent of contamination, assessing risks to human health and the environment, and selection of remedial actions. This report presents the insults of an aggregate area management study (AAMS) for the Z Plant Aggregate Area located m the 200 Areas. The study provides the basis for initiating RIIFS under CERCLA or under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Facility Investigations (RFI) and Corrective Measures Studies (CMS). This report also integrates RCRA treatment, storage, or disposed (TSD) closure activities with CERCLA and RCRA past-practice investigations

  18. Basic complex analysis a comprehensive course in analysis, part 2a

    CERN Document Server

    Simon, Barry

    2015-01-01

    A Comprehensive Course in Analysis by Poincaré Prize winner Barry Simon is a five-volume set that can serve as a graduate-level analysis textbook with a lot of additional bonus information, including hundreds of problems and numerous notes that extend the text and provide important historical background. Depth and breadth of exposition make this set a valuable reference source for almost all areas of classical analysis. Part 2A is devoted to basic complex analysis. It interweaves three analytic threads associated with Cauchy, Riemann, and Weierstrass, respectively. Cauchy's view focuses on th

  19. University Students with Poor Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georgiou, George K.; Das, J. P.

    2015-01-01

    The present study aimed to examine the nature of the working memory and general cognitive ability deficits experienced by university students with a specific reading comprehension deficit. A total of 32 university students with poor reading comprehension but average word-reading skills and 60 age-word-matched controls with no comprehension…

  20. Technology Comprehension - Scaling Making into a National Discipline

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tuhkala, Ari; Nielsen, Nick; Wagner, Marie-Louise

    2018-01-01

    , surveys, and a theme discussion with experienced teachers from the 13 schools. The main takeaways are: First, the teachers did not perceive Technology Comprehension as a distinguished discipline, which calls for more research on how Making is scaled into a national discipline. Second, Technology......We account for the first research results from a government initiated experiment that scales Making to a national discipline. The Ministry of Education, in Denmark, has introduced Technology Comprehension as a new discipline for lower secondary education. Technology Comprehension is first...... Comprehension opens up for interdisciplinary and engaging learning activities, but teachers need scaffolding and support to actualise these opportunities. Third, Technology Comprehension challenges teachers’ existing competencies in relation to the discipline and students’ prerequisites and needs. Teachers need...

  1. Energy technology monitoring - New areas and in-depth investigations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rigassi, R.; Eicher, H.; Steiner, P.; Ott, W.

    2005-01-01

    This comprehensive report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) presents the results of a project that examined long-term trends in the energy technology area in order to provide information that is to form the basis for political action and the distribution of energy research funding in Switzerland. Energy-technology areas examined include variable-speed electrical drives, ventilation systems for low-energy-consumption buildings, membrane technology and the use of plastics in lightweight automobiles. Examples are quoted and the current state of the appropriate technologies and market aspects are examined. Also, the potential and future developments in the areas listed are looked at. The consequences for energy policy and future developments in the technology-monitoring area are considered

  2. Nursing supervision for care comprehensiveness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucieli Dias Pedreschi Chaves

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: To reflect on nursing supervision as a management tool for care comprehensiveness by nurses, considering its potential and limits in the current scenario. Method: A reflective study based on discourse about nursing supervision, presenting theoretical and practical concepts and approaches. Results: Limits on the exercise of supervision are related to the organization of healthcare services based on the functional and clinical model of care, in addition to possible gaps in the nurse training process and work overload. Regarding the potential, researchers emphasize that supervision is a tool for coordinating care and management actions, which may favor care comprehensiveness, and stimulate positive attitudes toward cooperation and contribution within teams, co-responsibility, and educational development at work. Final considerations: Nursing supervision may help enhance care comprehensiveness by implying continuous reflection on including the dynamics of the healthcare work process and user needs in care networks.

  3. Teaching Listening Comprehension: Bottom-Up Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khuziakhmetov, Anvar N.; Porchesku, Galina V.

    2016-01-01

    Improving listening comprehension skills is one of the urgent contemporary educational problems in the field of second language acquisition. Understanding how L2 listening comprehension works can have a serious influence on language pedagogy. The aim of the paper is to discuss the practical and methodological value of the notion of the perception…

  4. Radioactive mineral deposits of the Pembroke-Renfrew area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Masson, S.L.; Gordon, J.B.

    1981-01-01

    This report deals with the geological features of all the reported uranium and thorium occurrences in the Pembroke-Renfrew area of southeastern Ontario. There are 118 radioactive occurrences within the study area of which 102 were examined by the authors during the summers of 1977 and 1978. The report consists of a comprehensive description of the geological association and mineral content of the deposits which were examined. In addition, an attempt has been made to determine their mode of origin in order to assess the potential for discovery of additional deposits and to provide guidelines for exploration

  5. How reading comprehension is embodied and why that matters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arthur M. GLENBERG

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Reading comprehension, much like comprehension of situations and comprehension of oral language, is embodied. In all cases, comprehension is the ability to take effective action on the basis ofaffordances related to the body, the physical world, and personal goals and cultural norms. In language contexts, action-based comprehension arises from simulating the linguistic content usingneural and bodily systems of perception, action, and emotion. Within this framework, a new approach to teaching reading comprehension is described: Teach children how to simulate while reading. TheMoved by Reading intervention teaches simulation in two stages. In the first stage, physical manipulation, children manipulate toys to simulate the content of what they are reading. After success in physically manipulating the toys, the children are taught to manipulate the toys in imagination. Research demonstrates that both physical and imagined manipulation leads to large gains in memory and comprehension.

  6. How reading comprehension is embodied and why that matters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arthur M. Glenberg

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Reading comprehension, much like comprehension of situations and comprehension of oral language, is embodied. In all cases, comprehension is the ability to take effective action on the basis of affordances related to the body, the physical world, and personal goals and cultural norms. In language contexts, action-based comprehension arises from simulating the linguistic content using neural and bodily systems of perception, action, and emotion. Within this framework, a new approach to teaching reading comprehension is described: Teach children how to simulate while reading. The Moved by Reading intervention teaches simulation in two stages. In the first stage, physical manipulation, children manipulate toys to simulate the content of what they are reading. After success in physically manipulating the toys, the children are taught to manipulate the toys in imagination. Research demonstrates that both physical and imagined manipulation leads to large gains in memory and comprehension.

  7. Algorithm for comprehensive care for patients with non melanoma skin cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Victoria Bárzaga, Hector Oscar

    2011-01-01

    Sequence of actions, roles of doctors and paramedical staff, preventive and therapeutic methods, diagnostic and clinical monitoring mode: an algorithm for the comprehensive care of patients with non-melanoma skin cancer including presents. Consensus on the theoretical and practical basis of the algorithm was established by the Delphi expert method variant and health personnel involved were trained in its implementation. Algorithm for making national and international specialized literature on the subject was reviewed; a critical analysis of the methods specified in Cuba for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease was made, and weaknesses were determined in the process of medical care for these patients in the Clinical Surgical Teaching Military Hospital D r. Octavio de la Concepción and Pedraja a nd health areas. The results obtained with the implementation of the algorithm demonstrated its effectiveness in comprehensive care for patients with non-melanoma skin cancer, because the prevention, early diagnosis, appropriate physical examination, the correct treatment ensured notification, monitoring periodic clinical and referral of complicated patients, the occurrence of rare complications. (author)

  8. 34 CFR 303.321 - Comprehensive child find system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Comprehensive child find system. 303.321 Section 303... Services Identification and Evaluation § 303.321 Comprehensive child find system. (a) General. (1) Each system must include a comprehensive child find system that is consistent with part B of the Act (see 34...

  9. Painless reading comprehension

    CERN Document Server

    Jones, EdD, Darolyn "Lyn"

    2016-01-01

    Reading comprehension gets easier as students learn what kind of reader they are, discover how to keep facts in their head, and much more. Bonus Online Component: includes additional games, including Beat the Clock, a line match game, and a word scramble.

  10. Spatial analyses identify the geographic source of patients at a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Shu-Chih; Kanarek, Norma; Fox, Michael G; Guseynova, Alla; Crow, Shirley; Piantadosi, Steven

    2010-02-01

    We examined the geographic distribution of patients to better understand the service area of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, a designated National Cancer Institute (NCI) comprehensive cancer center located in an urban center. Like most NCI cancer centers, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center serves a population beyond city limits. Urban cancer centers are expected to serve their immediate neighborhoods and to address disparities in access to specialty care. Our purpose was to learn the extent and nature of the cancer center service area. Statistical clustering of patient residence in the continental United States was assessed for all patients and by gender, cancer site, and race using SaTScan. Primary clusters detected for all cases and demographically and tumor-defined subpopulations were centered at Baltimore City and consisted of adjacent counties in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey and New York, and the District of Columbia. Primary clusters varied in size by race, gender, and cancer site. Spatial analysis can provide insights into the populations served by urban cancer centers, assess centers' performance relative to their communities, and aid in developing a cancer center business plan that recognizes strengths, regional utility, and referral patterns. Today, 62 NCI cancer centers serve a quarter of the U.S. population in their immediate communities. From the Baltimore experience, we might project that the population served by these centers is actually more extensive and varies by patient characteristics, cancer site, and probably cancer center services offered.

  11. Financial planning on a comprehensive scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mishra, Simita

    2013-04-01

    Hospitals and health systems that wish to explore the shift to comprehensive care management should: Assess the investments in infrastructure necessary to support comprehensive care management, Gauge the financial implications and set quality and financial goals, Monitor performance using metrics such as patient satisfaction, avoidable admissions, out-of-group referrals, and average length of stay.

  12. Comprehensive hard materials

    CERN Document Server

    2014-01-01

    Comprehensive Hard Materials deals with the production, uses and properties of the carbides, nitrides and borides of these metals and those of titanium, as well as tools of ceramics, the superhard boron nitrides and diamond and related compounds. Articles include the technologies of powder production (including their precursor materials), milling, granulation, cold and hot compaction, sintering, hot isostatic pressing, hot-pressing, injection moulding, as well as on the coating technologies for refractory metals, hard metals and hard materials. The characterization, testing, quality assurance and applications are also covered. Comprehensive Hard Materials provides meaningful insights on materials at the leading edge of technology. It aids continued research and development of these materials and as such it is a critical information resource to academics and industry professionals facing the technological challenges of the future. Hard materials operate at the leading edge of technology, and continued res...

  13. The Impact of Texting on Comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jamal K. M. Ali

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a study of the effects of texting on English language comprehension. The authors believe that English used in texting causes a lack of comprehension for English speakers, learners, and texters. Wei, Xian-hai and Jiang (2008:3 declare “In Netspeak, there are some newly-created vocabularies, which people cannot comprehend them either from their partial pronunciation or from their figures.” Crystal (2007:23 claims; “variation causes problems of comprehension and acceptability. If you speak or write differently from the way I do, we may fail to understand each other.”  In this paper, the authors conducted a questionnaire at Aligarh Muslim University to ninety respondents from five different Faculties and four different levels. To measure respondents’ comprehension of English texting, the authors gave the respondents abbreviations used by texters and asked them to write the full forms of the abbreviations. The authors found that many abbreviations were not understood, which suggested that most of the respondents did not understand and did not use these abbreviations.

  14. Comprehensive embryo testing. Experts' opinions regarding future directions: an expert panel study on comprehensive embryo testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hens, Kristien; Dondorp, Wybo J; Geraedts, Joep P M; de Wert, Guido M

    2013-05-01

    What do scientists in the field of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) consider to be the future direction of comprehensive embryo testing? Although there are many biological and technical limitations, as well as uncertainties regarding the meaning of genetic variation, comprehensive embryo testing will impact the IVF/PGD practice and a timely ethical reflection is needed. Comprehensive testing using microarrays is currently being introduced in the context of PGD and PGS, and it is to be expected that whole-genome sequencing will also follow. Current ethical and empirical sociological research on embryo testing focuses on PGD as it is practiced now. However, empirical research and systematic reflection regarding the impact of comprehensive techniques for embryo testing is missing. In order to understand the potential of this technology and to be able to adequately foresee its implications, we held an expert panel with seven pioneers in PGD. We conducted an expert panel in October 2011 with seven PGD pioneers from Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and the UK. Participants expected the use of comprehensive techniques in the context of PGD. However, the introduction of these techniques in embryo testing requires timely ethical reflection as it involves a shift from choosing an embryo without a particular genetic disease (i.e. PGD) or most likely to result in a successful pregnancy (i.e. PGS) to choosing the best embryo based on a much wider set of criteria. Such ethical reflection should take account of current technical and biological limitations and also of current uncertainties with regard to the meaning of genetic variance. However, ethicists should also not be afraid to look into the future. There was a general agreement that embryo testing will be increasingly preceded by comprehensive preconception screening, thus enabling smart combinations of genetic testing. The group was composed of seven participants from

  15. Micro-PNT and Comprehensive PNT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    YANG Yuanxi

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Comprehensive or integrated positioning, navigation and timing is an obvious developing trend following the global navigation satellite system.This paper summarizes the current status of micro-PNT and its developing requirements. The related key technologies are described and the relationship between comprehensive PNT and micro-PNT is analyzed. It is stressed that the comprehensive PNT needs massive infrastructure construction and investment, however, the micro-PNT aims at the integrated applications of high-tech micro sensors. It is different from the current opinions appeared in the literatures, micro-PNT should include multi GNSS integration and micro components of navigation and timing in order to make the PNT outputs refer to a unified coordinate datum and time scale. Micro-PNT focuses on the personalized micro terminal applications. Except for the miniaturization of each PNT component, micro-PNT aims at the deep integration of the micro sensors, adaptive data fusion and self calibration of each component.

  16. The Comprehension Problems for Second-Language Learners with Poor Reading Comprehension Despite Adequate Decoding: A Meta-Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spencer, Mercedes; Wagner, Richard K.

    2017-01-01

    We conducted a meta-analysis of 16 existing studies to examine the nature of the comprehension problems for children who were second-language learners with poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding. Results indicated that these children had deficits in oral language (d = -0.80), but these deficits were not as severe as their reading…

  17. Dichotic listening performance predicts language comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asbjørnsen, Arve E; Helland, Turid

    2006-05-01

    Dichotic listening performance is considered a reliable and valid procedure for the assessment of language lateralisation in the brain. However, the documentation of a relationship between language functions and dichotic listening performance is sparse, although it is accepted that dichotic listening measures language perception. In particular, language comprehension should show close correspondence to perception of language stimuli. In the present study, we tested samples of reading-impaired and normally achieving children between 10 and 13 years of age with tests of reading skills, language comprehension, and dichotic listening to consonant-vowel (CV) syllables. A high correlation between the language scores and the dichotic listening performance was expected. However, since the left ear score is believed to be an error when assessing language laterality, covariation was expected for the right ear scores only. In addition, directing attention to one ear input was believed to reduce the influence of random factors, and thus show a more concise estimate of left hemisphere language capacity. Thus, a stronger correlation between language comprehension skills and the dichotic listening performance when attending to the right ear was expected. The analyses yielded a positive correlation between the right ear score in DL and language comprehension, an effect that was stronger when attending to the right ear. The present results confirm the assumption that dichotic listening with CV syllables measures an aspect of language perception and language skills that is related to general language comprehension.

  18. B Plant source aggregate area management study report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-03-01

    The US Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site in Washington state is organized into numerically designated operational areas including the 100, 200, 300, 400, 600, and 100 Areas (Figure 1--1). The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in November 1989, included the 200 Areas of the Hanford KLSite on the National Priorities List (NPL), included the 200 Areas of the Hanford Site on the National Priorities List (NPL) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of Feasibility Study (FS) process for characterizing the nature and extent of contamination, assessing risks to human health and the environment, and selection of remedial actions. This report presents the results of an aggregate area management study (AIMS) for the B Plant Aggregate Area located in the 200 Areas. The study provides the basis for initiating RI/FS under CERCLA or under the Resource which contain reactor fuel processing and waste management Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Facility Investigations (RFI) and Corrective Measures Studies (CMS). This report also integrates RCRA treatment, storage or disposal (TSD) closure activities with CERCLA and RCRA past-practice investigations

  19. Conceptual Combination During Sentence Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swinney, David; Love, Tracy; Walenski, Matthew; Smith, Edward E.

    2008-01-01

    This experiment examined the time course of integration of modifier-noun (conceptual) combinations during auditory sentence comprehension using cross-modal lexical priming. The study revealed that during ongoing comprehension, there is initial activation of features of the noun prior to activation of (emergent) features of the entire conceptual combination. These results support compositionality in conceptual combination; that is, they indicate that features of the individual words constituting a conceptual combination are activated prior to combination of the words into a new concept. PMID:17576278

  20. Foundations of reading comprehension in children with intellectual disabilities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wingerden-Fontein, E.G. van; Segers, P.C.J.; Balkom, L.J.M. van; Verhoeven, L.T.W.

    2017-01-01

    Background Knowledge about predictors for reading comprehension in children with intellectual disabilities (ID) is still fragmented. Aims This study compared reading comprehension, word decoding, listening comprehension, and reading related linguistic and cognitive precursor measures in children

  1. Lipid Extraction Methods from Microalgae: A Comprehensive Review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ranjith Kumar, Ramanathan [Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, Shree Chandraprabhu Jain College, Chennai (India); Hanumantha Rao, Polur [Department of Microbiology, Madras Christian College, Chennai (India); Arumugam, Muthu, E-mail: arumugam@niist.res.in [Division of Biotechnology, CSIR – National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Trivandrum (India)

    2015-01-08

    Energy security has become a serious global issue and a lot of research is being carried out to look for economically viable and environment-friendly alternatives. The only solution that appears to meet futuristic needs is the use of renewable energy. Although various forms of renewable energy are being currently used, the prospects of producing carbon-neutral biofuels from microalgae appear bright because of their unique features such as suitability of growing in open ponds required for production of a commodity product, high CO{sub 2}-sequestering capability, and ability to grow in wastewater/seawater/brackish water and high-lipid productivity. The major process constraint in microalgal biofuel technology is the cost-effective and efficient extraction of lipids. The objective of this article is to provide a comprehensive review on various methods of lipid extraction from microalgae available, to date, as well as to discuss their advantages and disadvantages. The article covers all areas of lipid extraction procedures including solvent extraction procedures, mechanical approaches, and solvent-free procedures apart from some of the latest extraction technologies. Further research is required in this area for successful implementation of this technology at the production scale.

  2. Lipid Extraction Methods from Microalgae: A Comprehensive Review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ranjith Kumar, Ramanathan; Hanumantha Rao, Polur; Arumugam, Muthu

    2015-01-01

    Energy security has become a serious global issue and a lot of research is being carried out to look for economically viable and environment-friendly alternatives. The only solution that appears to meet futuristic needs is the use of renewable energy. Although various forms of renewable energy are being currently used, the prospects of producing carbon-neutral biofuels from microalgae appear bright because of their unique features such as suitability of growing in open ponds required for production of a commodity product, high CO 2 -sequestering capability, and ability to grow in wastewater/seawater/brackish water and high-lipid productivity. The major process constraint in microalgal biofuel technology is the cost-effective and efficient extraction of lipids. The objective of this article is to provide a comprehensive review on various methods of lipid extraction from microalgae available, to date, as well as to discuss their advantages and disadvantages. The article covers all areas of lipid extraction procedures including solvent extraction procedures, mechanical approaches, and solvent-free procedures apart from some of the latest extraction technologies. Further research is required in this area for successful implementation of this technology at the production scale.

  3. Object orientation affects spatial language comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burigo, Michele; Sacchi, Simona

    2013-01-01

    Typical spatial descriptions, such as "The car is in front of the house," describe the position of a located object (LO; e.g., the car) in space relative to a reference object (RO) whose location is known (e.g., the house). The orientation of the RO affects spatial language comprehension via the reference frame selection process. However, the effects of the LO's orientation on spatial language have not received great attention. This study explores whether the pure geometric information of the LO (e.g., its orientation) affects spatial language comprehension using placing and production tasks. Our results suggest that the orientation of the LO influences spatial language comprehension even in the absence of functional relationships. Copyright © 2013 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  4. Description of recipient areas related to final storage of unreprocessed spent nuclear fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sundblad, B.; Bergstroem, U.

    1983-02-01

    A comprehensive study of recipient areas in Fjaellveden, Voxnan, Gideaa and Kamlungekoelen is accomplished. Besides general conditions in Finnsjoen and Sternoe are discussed. The recipient areas are defined and their climate, hydrology, bedrock, soil, vegetation, land use and yield from arable land are described as well as the yield of fish for the surface water of interest. The potential exposure pathways and model system at the different areas are defined. Long-term variations of geology, climate, hydrology, land-use, acidification and evolution are described. The possible development of the recipient areas is also discussed. (Authors)

  5. Students’ Reading Comprehension Performance with Emotional Literacy-Based Strategy Intervention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusfarina Mohd Yussof

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available An effective reading comprehension process demands a strategy to enhance the cognitive ability to digest text information in the effort to elicit meaning contextually. In addition, the role of emotions also influences the efficacy of this process, especially in narrative text comprehension. This quasi-experimental study aims to observe students’ performance in the Reading Comprehension Test resulting from Emotional Literacy-Based Reading Comprehension Strategy (ELBRCS, which is a combination of cognitive and affective strategies. This study involved 90 students, whereby 45 students were clustered in the Experimental Group and received the ELBRCS intervension. The remaining 45 students were placed in the Control Group and underwent the conventional strategy (prevalent classroom method.The students’ reading comprehension performance was measured using the Reading Comprehension Test (RCT. The findings show that the experimental group received a higher score than the control group for RCT. The intervention has successfully increased student’s Reading Comprehension from literal comprehension to higher levels of comprehension i.e. inferential, evaluative and appreciative levels, as indicated by Barret’s Taxonomy.

  6. Instruction of Research-Based Comprehension Strategies in Basal Reading Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pilonieta, Paola

    2010-01-01

    Research supports using research-based comprehension strategies; however, comprehension strategy instruction is not highly visible in basal reading programs or classroom instruction, resulting in many students who struggle with comprehension. A content analysis examined which research-based comprehension strategies were presented in five…

  7. Neuroimaging Evidence of Comprehension Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda Baker

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to synthesize the emerging neuroimaging literature that reveals how the brain responds when readers and listeners encounter texts that demand monitoring of their ongoing comprehension processes. Much of this research has been undertaken by cognitive scientists who do not frame their work in metacognitive terms, and therefore it is less likely to be familiar to psychologists who study metacognition in educational contexts. The important role of metacognition in the development and use of academic skills is widely recognized. Metacognition is typically defined as the awareness and control of one's own cognitive processes. In the domain of reading, the most important metacognitive skill is comprehension monitoring, the evaluation and regulation of comprehension. Readers who monitor their understanding realize when they have encountered difficulty making sense of the text, and they apply error correction procedures to attempt to resolve the difficulty. Metacognition depends on executive control skills that continue to develop into early adulthood, in parallel with the maturation of the executive control regions of the prefrontal cortex. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI and event-related potentials (ERP have been used for some time to study neural correlates of basic reading processes such as word identification, but it is only within recent years that researchers have turned to the higher-level processes of text comprehension. The article describes illustrative studies that reveal changes in neural activity when adults apply lexical, syntactic, or semantic standards to evaluate their understanding.

  8. How language production shapes language form and comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryellen C MacDonald

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Language production processes can provide insight into how language comprehension works and language typology—why languages tend to have certain characteristics more often than others. Drawing on work in memory retrieval, motor planning, and serial order in action planning, the Production-Distribution-Comprehension (PDC account links work in the fields of language production, typology, and comprehension: 1 faced with substantial computational burdens of planning and producing utterances, language producers implicitly follow three biases in utterance planning that promote word order choices that reduce these burdens, thereby improving production fluency. 2 These choices, repeated over many utterances and individuals, shape the distributions of utterance forms in language. The claim that language form stems in large degree from producers’ attempts to mitigate utterance planning difficulty is contrasted with alternative accounts in which form is driven by language use more broadly, language acquisition processes, or producers’ attempts to create language forms that are easily understood by comprehenders. 3 Language perceivers implicitly learn the statistical regularities in their linguistic input, and they use this prior experience to guide comprehension of subsequent language. In particular, they learn to predict the sequential structure of linguistic signals, based on the statistics of previously-encountered input. Thus key aspects of comprehension behavior are tied to lexico-syntactic statistics in the language, which in turn derive from utterance planning biases promoting production of comparatively easy utterance forms over more difficult ones. This approach contrasts with classic theories in which comprehension behaviors are attributed to innate design features of the language comprehension system and associated working memory. The PDC instead links basic features of comprehension to a different source: production processes that shape

  9. Use of Meta-comprehensive Strategies to Strengthen Reading Comprehension in Second-Cycle Students from a Public School at Bogotá, Colombia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bibian Alexandra Rodríguez Ribero

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This research inquired about the effect of a classroom intervention in metacomprehension strategies, specifically self-questioning, on reading comprehension improvement in third and fourth - graders. Reading comprehension was understood as a process that relates content, text and inferences, and is facilitated by metacomprehension or metacognitive processes applied to reading comprehension. The participants were third- and fourth-grade students: the intervention group (which had an initial assessment, and were submitted to classroom intervention in metacomprehension using self-questioning—implemented by the first three authors—, and had a final assessment, and the control group (which had initial assessment, the usual classroom work with other teachers, and final assessment. The Comprensión Lingüística Progresiva (clp, Alliende, Condemarín & Milicic, 2004—a reading comprehension test—and the students’ metacomprehensive strategies questionnaire were administered to students in both groups, in the initial and final assessments. This information was complemented with interview data from other teachers (different from the authors in order to know their perspective on reading comprehension underlying their reading teaching practices. Results showed a rise in reading comprehension tests scores and diversification in the use of metacomprehensive strategies only in the intervention group, and different conceptions of reading comprehension in other teachers, which had nothing to do with metacomprehension strategies.

  10. The role of phonological awareness in reading comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Silvia Cárnio

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Purpose: to characterize the performance of 4th grade-Elementary School students with and without signs of reading and writing disorders as for phonological awareness and reading comprehension, and also verify possible correlations between them. Methods: 60 children enrolled in the 4th grade of Elementary School from two public schools, whose parents signed the Informed Consent Form, participated in the present study. They were selected and organized in groups, with and without signs of reading and writing disorders. All students were individually assessed regarding their phonological awareness and reading comprehension of sentences and texts through standardized tests. The data underwent statistical analysis. Results: those with signs of reading and writing disorders showed the lowest performance in the reading comprehension of sentences and texts. A correlation was found between phonological awareness and reading comprehension of sentences and texts in both groups. Conclusion: students with no signs of reading and writing disorders had a higher performance in the skills assessed. The correlation found between phonological awareness and reading comprehension of sentences and texts shows not only the importance of metaphonological skills for a proficient reading, but also for a comprehensive one.

  11. Beyond the Story Map: Inferential Comprehension via Character Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    McTigue, Erin; Douglass, April; Wright, Katherine L.; Hodges, Tracey S.; Franks, Amanda D.

    2015-01-01

    Inferential comprehension requires both emotional intelligence and cognitive skills, however instructional comprehension strategies typically underemphasize the emotional contribution. This article documents an intervention used by diverse third grade students which centers on teaching story comprehension through character perspective-taking…

  12. 76 FR 61103 - Medicare Program; Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-03

    ...] Medicare Program; Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services... organizations to participate in the Comprehensive Primary Care initiative (CPC), a multipayer model designed to... the Comprehensive Primary Care initiative or the application process. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I...

  13. Focused feasibility study for surface soil at the main pits and pushout area, J-field toxic burning pits area, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Patton, T.; Benioff, P.; Biang, C.; Butler, J. [and others

    1996-06-01

    The Environmental Management Division of Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Maryland, is conducting a remedial investigation and feasibility study of the J-Field area at APG pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended (CERCLA). J-Field is located within the Edgewood Area of APG in Harford County, Maryland. Since World War II, activities in the Edgewood Area have included the development, manufacture, testing, and destruction of chemical agents and munitions. These materials were destroyed at J-Field by open burning/open detonation. Portions of J-Field continue to be used for the detonation and disposal of unexploded ordnance (UXO) by open burning/open detonation under authority of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

  14. The level of social relations comprehension and its impact on text comprehension in individuals with autistic spectrum disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hana Sotáková

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Background The study was carried out within the research “Reading comprehension – typical development and its risks”. The article contains data from a component study focused on 4th grade students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD who were incorporated into a group of readers with reading comprehension development risks. The main aim was to establish whether variable results in children’s reading and comprehension tests relate to the level of understanding of social relations. Participants and procedure We tested 20 students with ASD in two phases: T1 and T2. Each phase consisted of 2 individual sessions. Under the leadership of a research assistant, during each of these sessions a student would carry out the test focused on general intellectual skills, language skills, reading, and reading comprehension. For students with autistic spectrum disorder the Strange Stories test was added in order to ascertain the level of social relations understanding. Results The results in reading and reading comprehension tests among students with ASD varied significantly. Based on a correlation analysis it was found that the Strange Stories results substantially correlate with tests focused on reading, text comprehension and language skill levels. Conclusions Our research proved the following: the Strange Stories test results show that the level to which an individual is able to understand social relations and social behavior is significantly related to his/her ability to comprehend a text. Consequently, this can influence his/her learning skills as well as the quality of life in society. Cultivation of social abilities, social communication and understanding of social situations and relations is therefore necessary for compensation of autistic spectrum disorder expressions.

  15. Solution of the transport equation in stationary state, in one and two dimensions, for BWR assemblies using nodal methods; Solucion de la ecuacion de transporte en estado estacionario, en 1 y 2 dimensiones, para ensambles tipo BWR usando metodos nodales

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xolocostli M, J.V

    2002-07-01

    The main objective of this work is to solve the neutron transport equation in one and two dimensions (slab geometry and X Y geometry, respectively), with no time dependence, for BWR assemblies using nodal methods. In slab geometry, the nodal methods here used are the polynomial continuous (CMPk) and discontinuous (DMPk) families but only the Linear Continuous (also known as Diamond Difference), the Quadratic Continuous (QC), the Cubic Continuous (CC), the Step Discontinuous (also known as Backward Euler), the Linear Discontinuous (LD) and the Quadratic Discontinuous (QD) were considered. In all these schemes the unknown function, the angular neutron flux, is approximated as a sum of basis functions in terms of Legendre polynomials, associated to the values of the neutron flux in the edges (left, right, or both) and the Legendre moments in the cell, depending on the nodal scheme used. All these schemes were implemented in a computer program developed in previous thesis works and known with the name TNX. This program was modified for the purposes of this work. The program discreetizes the domain of concern in one dimension and determines numerically the angular neutron flux for each point of the discretization when the number of energy groups and regions are known starting from an initial approximation for the angular neutron flux being consistent with the boundary condition imposed for a given problem. Although only problems with two-energy groups were studied the computer program does not have limitations regarding the number of energy groups and the number of regions. The two problems analyzed with the program TNX have practically the same characteristics (fuel and water), with the difference that one of them has a control rod. In the part corresponding to two-dimensional problems, the implemented nodal methods were those designated as hybrids that consider not only the edge and cell Legendre moments, but also the values of the neutron flux in the corner points

  16. Comprehension of atypical literary text and scholastic achievement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Božin Aurel A.

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available With the aim of gaining insight into literary text comprehension and the linkage between that comprehension and scholastic achievement during the first years of schooling, a research was conducted on the sample of 152 third and fourth grade pupils from one urban and one rural school. After having read silently a selected atypical excerpt from one literary text, interviewed pupils filled out the questionnaire constructed for the purposes of this research starting from the 11 categories of text comprehension singled out based on the theory of comprehension and interpretation of literary text and the current curriculum. In the first part of the research we applied the Children's orientation scale by Malka Margalit, and school marks were used as a measurement of scholastic achievement. Research results point out that, among other things, inferring on the basis of what has been read poses the greatest difficulty for third and fourth graders, that is, that almost three quarters of them are not capable of determining the meaning of some representative sentences from that text. In the positive sense, it was established that almost three quarters of them perceive beautiful poetic expressions and about 80% of them can at least to a certain extent recognize character descriptions, emotional situations and moods, that is, discover significant facts. Answers to the questions regarding the majority of categories of text comprehension are significantly correlated with scholastic achievement. As expected, the highest correlations between the measures on text comprehension categories are with the marks in native (Serbian language. Partial correlations between the measures on certain categories of text comprehension and measurements of scholastic achievement (excluding the influence of feeling of coherence are not significantly different from bivariate. Based on the obtained data, authors conclude that the utilized system of categories can be a useful tool for

  17. Improving Eighth Grade Students' Reading Comprehension through the Use of the Collision Plus Arts-Integrated Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, Taneka L.

    2016-01-01

    African American and Latino students attending Title I schools in the metropolitan Atlanta area were not reading on grade level. The majority of students are low performing readers and minimally met the reading comprehension requirements. The 2015 average 8th grade reading score for these students was 246 out of 500. This applied dissertation was…

  18. Development of a cumulative risk assessment for the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory's waste area group 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burns, D.E.

    1995-01-01

    In 1989, the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) was added to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Priorities List of Superfund sites. A Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFA/CO) for the INEL was signed by the Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office (DOE-ID), EPA, and the State of Idaho in December 1991. The goal of this agreement is to ensure that potential or actual INEL releases of hazardous substances to the environment are thoroughly investigated in accordance with the National Contingency Plan (NCP) and that appropriate response actions are taken as necessary to protect human health and the environment. The Test Reactor Area (TRA) is included as Waste Area Group (WAG) 2 of ten INEL WAGs identified in the FFA/CO. WAG 2 consists of 13 operable units (OUs) which include pits, tanks, rubble piles, ponds, cooling towers, wells, french drains, perched water and spill areas. OU 2-13 is the Comprehensive Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) for WAG 2. The study presented here is a preliminary evaluation of the comprehensive risk for WAG-2. This investigation will be used as the basis of the WAG-2 comprehensive baseline risk assessment (BRA), and it will serve as a model for other INEL comprehensive risk assessments. The WAG-2 preliminary risk evaluation consisted of two broad phases. These phases were (1) a site and contaminant screening that was intended to support the identification of COPCs and risk assessment data gaps, and (2) an exposure pathway analysis that evaluated the comprehensive human health risks associated with WAG-2. The primary purposes of the investigation were to screen WAG-2 release sites and contaminants, and to identify risk assessment data gaps, so the investigation will be referred to as the WAG-2 Screening and Data Gap Analysis (SDGA) for the remainder of this report

  19. Transportation Problems in Special Education Programs in Rural Areas - A Specific Solution and Some Suggestions for Delivery System Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brody, Z. H.

    The paper describes transportation problems encountered and solutions employed in delivering systems of comprehensive services to handicapped children in Anderson County, Tennessee, a predominantly rural area with considerable mountain area. Detailed are methods of transportation utilized in the four different program areas of the county special…

  20. Final Hanford Comprehensive Land-Use Plan Environmental Impact Statement, Hanford Site, Richland, Washington

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    N/A

    1999-10-01

    This Final ''Hanford Comprehensive Land-Use Plan Environmental Impact Statement'' (HCP EIS) is being used by the Department of Energy (DOE) and its nine cooperating and consulting agencies to develop a comprehensive land-use plan (CLUP) for the Hanford Site. The DOE will use the Final HCP EIS as a basis for a Record of Decision (ROD) on a CLUP for the Hanford Site. While development of the CLUP will be complete with release of the HCP EIS ROD, full implementation of the CLUP is expected to take at least 50 years. Implementation of the CLUP would begin a more detailed planning process for land-use and facility-use decisions at the Hanford Site. The DOE would use the CLUP to screen proposals. Eventually, management of Hanford Site areas would move toward the CLUP land-use goals. This CLUP process could take more than 50 years to fully achieve the land-use goals.

  1. Spatial analysis of the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area and social and environmental management issues

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ribeiro, Gustavo

    2005-01-01

    and infrastructural data. Through these three levels of spatial analysis it is possible to develop and to support a more comprehensible study of urban development of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area. The aim of this study is (a) to develop an alternative spatial analysis leading to a more comprehensive...... understanding of the urban development process and its correlation not just with political-administrative borders but also to ecological systems: (b) to identify the correlations between infrastructure and socio-economical data in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area (c) to evaluate urban development dynamics...... in the period between 1990 and 2000, based on the application of the above-mentioned data to the three spatial levels in question. This paper highlights the role of the hydrographical systems of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area as an important spatial unit of analysis to understand the metropolitan urban...

  2. Application areas of 3D bioprinting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozbolat, Ibrahim T; Peng, Weijie; Ozbolat, Veli

    2016-08-01

    Three dimensional (3D) bioprinting has been a powerful tool in patterning and precisely placing biologics, including living cells, nucleic acids, drug particles, proteins and growth factors, to recapitulate tissue anatomy, biology and physiology. Since the first time of cytoscribing cells demonstrated in 1986, bioprinting has made a substantial leap forward, particularly in the past 10 years, and it has been widely used in fabrication of living tissues for various application areas. The technology has been recently commercialized by several emerging businesses, and bioprinters and bioprinted tissues have gained significant interest in medicine and pharmaceutics. This Keynote review presents the bioprinting technology and covers a first-time comprehensive overview of its application areas from tissue engineering and regenerative medicine to pharmaceutics and cancer research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. U Plant source aggregate area management study report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-09-01

    The US Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site in Washington State is organized into numerically designated operational areas including the 100, 200, 300, 400, 600, and 1100 Areas. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in November 1989, included the 200 Areas of the Hanford Site on the National Priorities List (NPL) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980. Inclusion on the NPL initiates the Remedial Investigation (RI) and Feasibility Study (FS) process for characterizing the nature and extent of contamination, assessing risks to human health and the environment, and selection of remedial actions. This report presents the results of an aggregate area management study (AAMS) for the U Plant Aggregate Area located in the 200 Areas. The study provides the basis for initiating RI/FS under CERCLA or under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Facility Investigations (RFI) and Corrective Measures Studies (CMS). This report also integrates RCRA treatment, storage, or disposal (TSD) closure activities with CERCLA and RCRA past-practice investigations

  4. T Plant source aggregate area management study report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-11-01

    The US Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site in Washington State is organized into numerically designated operational areas including the 100, 200, 300, 400, 600, and 1100 Areas. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in November 1989, included the 200 Areas of the Hanford Site on the National Priorities List (NPL) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980. Inclusion on the NPL initiates the Remedial Investigation (RI) and Feasibility Study (FS) process for characterizing the nature and extent of contamination, assessing risks to human health and the environment, and selection of remedial actions. This report presents the results of an aggregate area management study (AAMS) for the T Plant Aggregate Area located in the 200 Areas. The study provides the basis for initiating RI/FS under CERCLA or under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Facility Investigations (RFI) and Corrective Measures Studies (CMS). This report also integrates RCRA treatment, storage, or disposal (TSD) closure activities with CERCLA and RCRA past-practice investigations

  5. Comprehensive Education Portfolio with a Career Focus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruger, Evonne J.; Holtzman, Diane M.; Dagavarian, Debra A.

    2013-01-01

    There are many types of student portfolios used within academia: the prior learning portfolio, credentialing portfolio, developmental portfolio, capstone portfolio, individual course portfolio, and the comprehensive education portfolio. The comprehensive education portfolio (CEP), as used by the authors, is a student portfolio, developed over…

  6. Building Effective Collaboration in a Comprehensive Approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Essens, P.J.M.D.; Thompson, M.T.; Karrasch, A.; Jermalavičius, J.

    2016-01-01

    The Comprehensive Approach (CA) to crisis management operations is an essential element in NATO’s transformation in modern operations. At the Bucharest Summit in April 2008, Allied leaders endorsed an Action Plan for the development and implementation of NATO’s contribution to a Comprehensive

  7. Teacher's reading comprehension: Implication for teaching practices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana Benevides Soares

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available A question of interest for educational workers is the reading comprehension process, a fundamental ability for progress in more advanced years of schooling, and its effect on pedagogical practices. This is a study that explores this question. A reading comprehension instrument composed by four structural levels of text and a scale of pedagogical practice composed by four sub-scales involving: cognitive practices with linguistic focus, cognitive practices, affective and motor practices, continuous education, was used. The results of 53 children suggest a slight tendency of teacher to prioritize cognitive practices independently of their reading comprehension level.

  8. Developmental relations between reading comprehension and reading strategies

    OpenAIRE

    Muijselaar, M.M.L.; Swart, N.M.; Steenbeek-Planting, E.G.; Droop, W.; Verhoeven, L.T.W.; Jong, P.F. de

    2017-01-01

    We examined the developmental relations between knowledge of reading strategies and reading comprehension in a longitudinal study of 312 Dutch children from the beginning of fourth grade to the end of fifth grade. Measures for reading comprehension, reading strategies, reading fluency, vocabulary, and working memory were administered. A structural equation model was constructed to estimate the unique relations between reading strategies and reading comprehension, while controlling for reading...

  9. Improving reading comprehension skills through the SCRATCH program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erdal Papatga

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to reveal how reading comprehension skills of elementary fourth graders who have problems in reading comprehension can be improved by means of the SCRATCH program. The study was designed as a participant action research. It was carried out within a 15-week process at an elementary school with middle socio-economic level in the Eskisehir province in the fall term of the 2015-2016 school year. The participants of the study were eight fourth graders who had problems in reading comprehension and were selected based on the criterion sampling method. Different data gathering tools were employed in different stages of the study. These were the Informal Reading Inventory, readability assessment rubric, participant selection form and identification forms for developmental level in reading comprehension for the quantitative data, and observation notes, a researcher diary, video recordings, teacher and student observation notes, and the projects the students prepared using the SCRATCH program for the qualitative data. In the study, the analysis of the quantitative data was done with correlation analysis, and Kendall W Test that shows inter-rater reliability. In addition, the identification forms for developmental level in reading comprehension were used to reveal the improvement in reading comprehension skills, and the Informal Reading Inventory was employed to score these forms. On the other hand, the qualitative data were analysed through the thematic analysis method, and MAXQDA was used for the analysis. As a result of the analyses, it was found that the reading level of the eight students who had problems in reading comprehension went up from the anxiety level to the instructional level in some forms, and even to the independent reading level in other forms; in other words, there was an improvement in the reading comprehension skills of all eight students.

  10. Tanzanian lessons in using non-physician clinicians to scale up comprehensive emergency obstetric care in remote and rural areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nyamtema Angelo S

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background With 15-30% met need for comprehensive emergency obstetrical care (CEmOC and a 3% caesarean section rate, Tanzania needs to expand the number of facilities providing these services in more remote areas. Considering severe shortage of human resources for health in the country, currently operating at 32% of the required skilled workforce, an intensive three-month course was developed to train non-physician clinicians for remote health centres. Methods Competency-based curricula for assistant medical officers' (AMOs training in CEmOC, and for nurses, midwives and clinical officers in anaesthesia and operation theatre etiquette were developed and implemented in Ifakara, Tanzania. The required key competencies were identified, taught and objectively assessed. The training involved hands-on sessions, lectures and discussions. Participants were purposely selected in teams from remote health centres where CEmOC services were planned. Monthly supportive supervision after graduation was carried out in the upgraded health centres Results A total of 43 care providers from 12 health centres located in 11 rural districts in Tanzania and 2 from Somalia were trained from June 2009 to April 2010. Of these 14 were AMOs trained in CEmOC and 31 nurse-midwives and clinical officers trained in anaesthesia. During training, participants performed 278 major obstetric surgeries, 141 manual removal of placenta and evacuation of incomplete and septic abortions, and 1161 anaesthetic procedures under supervision. The first 8 months after introduction of CEmOC services in 3 health centres resulted in 179 caesarean sections, a remarkable increase of institutional deliveries by up to 300%, decreased fresh stillbirth rate (OR: 0.4; 95% CI: 0.1-1.7 and reduced obstetric referrals (OR: 0.2; 95% CI: 0.1-0.4. There were two maternal deaths, both arriving in a moribund condition. Conclusions Tanzanian AMOs, clinical officers, and nurse-midwives can be trained as

  11. Mapping the electrical properties of large-area graphene

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bøggild, Peter; Mackenzie, David; Whelan, Patrick Rebsdorf

    2017-01-01

    The significant progress in terms of fabricating large-area graphene films for transparent electrodes, barriers, electronics, telecommunication and other applications has not yet been accompanied by efficient methods for characterizing the electrical properties of large-area graphene. While......, and a high measurement effort per device. In this topical review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the issues that need to be addressed by any large-area characterisation method for electrical key performance indicators, with emphasis on electrical uniformity and on how this can be used to provide...... a more accurate analysis of the graphene film. We review and compare three different, but complementary approaches that rely either on fixed contacts (dry laser lithography), movable contacts (micro four point probes) and non-contact (terahertz time-domain spectroscopy) between the probe and the graphene...

  12. Translating advances in reading comprehension research to educational practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danielle S. McNamara

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The authors review five major findings in reading comprehension and their implications for educational practice. First, research suggests that comprehension skills are separable from decoding processes and important at early ages, suggesting that comprehension skills should be targeted early, even before the child learns to read. Second, there is an important distinction between reading processes and products, as well as their causal relationship: processes lead to certain products. Hence, instructional approaches and strategies focusing on processes are needed to improve students’ reading performance (i.e., product. Third, inferences are a crucial component of skilled comprehension. Hence, children need scaffolding and remediation to learn to generate inferences, even when they know little about the text topic. Fourth, comprehension depends on a complex interaction between the reader, the characteristics of the text, and the instructional task, highlighting the need for careful selection of instructional materials for individual students and specific groups of students. Finally, educators may benefit from heightened awareness of the limitations and inadequacies of standardized reading comprehension assessments, as well as the multidimensionality of comprehension to better understand their students’ particular strengths and weaknesses.

  13. Translating advances in reading comprehension research to educational practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danielle S. McNAMARA

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available The authors review five major findings in reading comprehension and their implications for educational practice. First, research suggests that comprehension skills are separable from decodingprocesses and important at early ages, suggesting that comprehension skills should be targeted early, even before the child learns to read. Second, there is an important distinction between readingprocesses and products, as well as their causal relationship: processes lead to certain products. Hence, instructional approaches and strategies focusing on processes are needed to improve students’reading performance (i.e., product. Third, inferences are a crucial component of skilled comprehension. Hence, children need scaffolding and remediation to learn to generate inferences, even when they know little about the text topic. Fourth, comprehension depends on a complex interaction between the reader, the characteristics of the text, and the instructional task, highlighting the need for careful selection of instructional materials for individual students and specific groups of students. Finally, educators may benefit from heightened awareness of the limitations and inadequacies of standardized reading comprehension assessments, as well as the multidimensionality of comprehension to better understand their students’ particular strengths and weaknesses.

  14. Fault Location Based on Synchronized Measurements: A Comprehensive Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Mohammed, A. H.; Abido, M. A.

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a comprehensive survey on transmission and distribution fault location algorithms that utilize synchronized measurements. Algorithms based on two-end synchronized measurements and fault location algorithms on three-terminal and multiterminal lines are reviewed. Series capacitors equipped with metal oxide varistors (MOVs), when set on a transmission line, create certain problems for line fault locators and, therefore, fault location on series-compensated lines is discussed. The paper reports the work carried out on adaptive fault location algorithms aiming at achieving better fault location accuracy. Work associated with fault location on power system networks, although limited, is also summarized. Additionally, the nonstandard high-frequency-related fault location techniques based on wavelet transform are discussed. Finally, the paper highlights the area for future research. PMID:24701191

  15. Fault Location Based on Synchronized Measurements: A Comprehensive Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. H. Al-Mohammed

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a comprehensive survey on transmission and distribution fault location algorithms that utilize synchronized measurements. Algorithms based on two-end synchronized measurements and fault location algorithms on three-terminal and multiterminal lines are reviewed. Series capacitors equipped with metal oxide varistors (MOVs, when set on a transmission line, create certain problems for line fault locators and, therefore, fault location on series-compensated lines is discussed. The paper reports the work carried out on adaptive fault location algorithms aiming at achieving better fault location accuracy. Work associated with fault location on power system networks, although limited, is also summarized. Additionally, the nonstandard high-frequency-related fault location techniques based on wavelet transform are discussed. Finally, the paper highlights the area for future research.

  16. Comprehension of Idioms in Turkish Aphasic Participants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aydin, Burcu; Barin, Muzaffer; Yagiz, Oktay

    2017-01-01

    Brain damaged participants offer an opportunity to evaluate the cognitive and linguistic processes and make assumptions about how the brain works. Cognitive linguists have been investigating the underlying mechanisms of idiom comprehension to unravel the ongoing debate on hemispheric specialization in figurative language comprehension. The aim of…

  17. Changing Student Teachers' Views of Comprehension Instruction ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    At the same time research shows that little, if any, explicit and continuous strategy instruction takes place in classrooms. Reasons seem ... This article reports on the effect of a reading comprehension instruction course on university student teachers' lesson planning, strategy use and views about comprehension instruction.

  18. Reading Comprehension Instruction Practices in Sierra Leone

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hersbach, S.; Denessen, E.J.P.G.; Droop, W.

    2014-01-01

    Aim: In this study an attempt was made to give insight in the way reading comprehension is taught in Sierra Leone. Attention was paid to the didactical strategies and the materials used during reading comprehension instruction. Methodology: Primary school teachers in Sierra Leone (N=43) were

  19. Executive dysfunction among children with reading comprehension deficits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Locascio, Gianna; Mahone, E Mark; Eason, Sarah H; Cutting, Laurie E

    2010-01-01

    Emerging research supports the contribution of executive function (EF) to reading comprehension; however, a unique pattern has not been established for children who demonstrate comprehension difficulties despite average word recognition ability (specific reading comprehension deficit; S-RCD). To identify particular EF components on which children with S-RCD struggle, a range of EF skills was compared among 86 children, ages 10 to 14, grouped by word reading and comprehension abilities: 24 average readers, 44 with word recognition deficits (WRD), and 18 S-RCD. An exploratory principal components analysis of EF tests identified three latent factors, used in subsequent group comparisons: Planning/ Spatial Working Memory, Verbal Working Memory, and Response Inhibition. The WRD group exhibited deficits (relative to controls) on Verbal Working Memory and Inhibition factors; S-RCD children performed more poorly than controls on the Planning factor. Further analyses suggested the WRD group's poor performance on EF factors was a by-product of core deficits linked to WRD (after controlling for phonological processing, this group no longer showed EF deficits). In contrast, the S-RCD group's poor performance on the planning component remained significant after controlling for phonological processing. Findings suggest reading comprehension difficulties are linked to executive dysfunction; in particular, poor strategic planning/organizing may lead to reading comprehension problems.

  20. Executive Function and Reading Comprehension: A Meta-Analytic Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Follmer, D. Jake

    2018-01-01

    This article presents a meta-analytic review of the relation between executive function and reading comprehension. Results (N = 6,673) supported a moderate positive association between executive function and reading comprehension (r = 0.36). Moderator analyses suggested that correlations between executive function and reading comprehension did not…

  1. Identification of physicians providing comprehensive primary care in Ontario: a retrospective analysis using linked administrative data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schultz, Susan E; Glazier, Richard H

    2017-12-19

    Given the changing landscape of primary care, there may be fewer primary care physicians available to provide a broad range of services to patients of all age groups and health conditions. We sought to identify physicians with comprehensive primary care practices in Ontario using administrative data, investigating how many and what proportion of primary care physicians provided comprehensive primary care and how this changed over time. We identified the pool of active primary care physicians in linked population-based databases for Ontario from 1992/93 to 2014/15. After excluding those who saw patients fewer than 44 days per year, we identified physicians as providing comprehensive care if more than half of their services were for core primary care and if these services fell into at least 7 of 22 activity areas. Physicians with 50% or less of their services for core primary care but with more than 50% in a single location or type of service were identified as being in focused practice. In 2014/15, there were 12 891 physicians in the primary care pool: 1254 (9.7%) worked fewer than 44 days per year, 1619 (12.6%) were in focused practice, and 1009 (7.8%) could not be classified. The proportion in comprehensive practice ranged from 67.5% to 74.9% between 1992/93 and 2014/15, with a peak in 2002/03 and relative stability from 2009/10 to 2014/15. Over this period, there was an increase of 8.8% in population per comprehensive primary care physician. We found that just over two-thirds of primary care physicians provided comprehensive care in 2014/15, which indicates that traditional estimates of the primary care physician workforce may be too high. Although implementation will vary by setting and available data, this approach is likely applicable elsewhere. Copyright 2017, Joule Inc. or its licensors.

  2. Introducing People – Genre Analysis and Oral Comprehension and Oral Production Tasks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keila Rocha Reis de Carvalho

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims at presenting an analysis of the genre introducing people and at suggesting listening comprehension and oral production tasks. This work was developed according to the characterization of the rhetorical organization of situations taken from seventeen films that contain the genre under analysis. Although several studies in the ESP area carried out recently (Andrade, 2003; Cardoso, 2003; Shergue, 2003; Belmonte, 2003; Serafini, 2003 have identified listening comprehension and oral production as the abilities that should be prioritized in an English course, much needs to be done, especially concerning the oral genres that take into account the language the learners of English as a second language need in their target situation. This work is based on Hutchinson & Waters (1987 theoretical background on ESP, Swales’ (1990 genre analysis, Ramos’ (2004 pedagogical proposal, and also on Ellis´ (2003 tasks concept. The familiarization of learners of English as a second language with this genre will provide them with the opportunity to better understand and use the English language in their academic and professional life.

  3. Comprehensive assessment of regional selenium resources in soils based on the analytic hierarchy process: Assessment system construction and case demonstration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Ruoyu; Song, Shuai; Shi, Yajing; Shi, Yajuan; Lu, Yonglong; Zheng, Xiaoqi; Xu, Xiangbo; Wang, Yurong; Han, Xuesong

    2017-12-15

    The redundancy or deficiency of selenium in soils can cause adverse effects on crops and even threaten human health. It was necessary to assess selenium resources with a rigorous scientific appraisal. Previous studies of selenium resource assessment were usually carried out using a single index evaluation. A multi-index evaluation method (analytic hierarchy process) was used in this study to establish a comprehensive assessment system based on consideration of selenium content, soil nutrients and soil environmental quality. The criteria for the comprehensive assessment system were classified by summing critical values in the standards with weights and a Geographical Information System was used to reflect the regional distribution of the assessment results. Boshan, a representative region for developing selenium-rich agriculture, was taken as a case area and classified into Zone I-V, which suggested priority areas for developing selenium-rich agriculture. Most parts of the North and Midlands of Boshan were relatively suitable for development of selenium-rich agriculture. Soils in south fractions were contaminated by Cd, PAHs, HCHs and DDTs, in which it was forbidden to farm. This study was expected to provide the basis for developing selenium-rich agriculture and an example for comprehensive evaluation of relevant resources in a region. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Improving participant comprehension in the informed consent process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohn, Elizabeth; Larson, Elaine

    2007-01-01

    To critically analyze studies published within the past decade about participants' comprehension of informed consent in clinical research and to identify promising intervention strategies. Integrative review of literature. The Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PubMed, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched. Inclusion criteria included studies (a) published between January 1, 1996 and January 1, 2007, (b) designed as descriptive or interventional studies of comprehension of informed consent for clinical research, (c) conducted in nonpsychiatric adult populations who were either patients or volunteer participants, (d) written in English, and (e) published in peer-reviewed journals. Of the 980 studies identified, 319 abstracts were screened, 154 studies were reviewed, and 23 met the inclusion criteria. Thirteen studies (57%) were descriptive, and 10 (43%) were interventional. Interventions tested included simplified written consent documents, multimedia approaches, and the use of a trained professional (consent educator) to assist in the consent process. Collectively, no single intervention strategy was consistently associated with improved comprehension. Studies also varied in regard to the definition of comprehension and the tools used to measure it. Despite increasing regulatory scrutiny, deficiencies still exist in participant comprehension of the research in which they participate, as well as differences in how comprehension is measured and assessed. No single intervention was identified as consistently successful for improving participant comprehension, and results indicated that any successful consent process should at a minimum include various communication modes and is likely to require one-to-one interaction with someone knowledgeable about the study.

  5. Poor Consumer Comprehension and Plan Selection Inconsistencies Under the 2016 Choice Architecture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annabel Z. Wang BA

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: Many health policy experts have endorsed insurance competition as a way to reduce the cost and improve the quality of medical care. In line with this approach, health insurance exchanges, such as HealthCare.gov , allow consumers to compare insurance plans online. Since the 2013 rollout of HealthCare.gov , administrators have added features intended to help consumers better understand and compare insurance plans. Although well-intentioned, changes to exchange websites affect the context in which consumers view plans, or choice architecture, which may impede their ability to choose plans that best fit their needs at the lowest cost. Methods: By simulating the 2016 HealthCare.gov enrollment experience in an online sample of 374 American adults, we examined comprehension and choice of HealthCare.gov plans under its choice architecture. Results: We found room for improvement in plan comprehension, with higher rates of misunderstanding among participants with poor math skills ( P 0.9. Limitations: Participants were drawn from a general population sample. The study does not assess for all possible plan choice influencers, such as provider networks, brand recognition, or help from others. Conclusions: Our findings suggest two areas of improvement for exchanges: first, the remaining gap in consumer plan comprehension and, second, the apparent influence of sorting order—and likely other choice architecture elements—on plan choice. Our findings inform strategies for exchange administrators to help consumers understand and select plans that better fit their needs.

  6. Comprehension Strategy Gloves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, Gayle

    2002-01-01

    Describes the idea of creating a glove for each of the comprehension strategies for use with different text structures. Notes that the gloves serve as a multisensory approach by providing visual clues through icons on each finger and the palm. Discusses three different gloves: the prereading glove, the narrative text structure glove, and the…

  7. Recommendation of federal protected area designation for Sable Island

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2010-04-15

    A report by the Canada - Nova Scotia Sable Island Task Group (TG) and its partners recommends the appropriate federal protected area designation for Sable Island as being either that of a national wildlife area or of a national park, and includes objectives and a synopsis of the analyses of the designation options. It was found that both protected area designations are feasible and would ensure equivalent and comprehensive conservation of the ecology and wildlife on the Island, including the horses, but the TG's preferred recommendation is the designation of Sable Island as a National Park under the Canada National Parks Act. The next steps include consultations and a review of the issues identified during these consultations to facilitate the designation.

  8. Engineering evaluation/cost analysis for 100-N area waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mihalik, L.A.

    1996-08-01

    The 100 Area of the Hanford Site was placed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List (NPL) in November 1989 under the 'Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980.' The 100 Area NPL site includes the 100-N Area, which is in the early stages of the cleanup process. To facilitate the disposal of wastes generated in preparation for cleanup, the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office in cooperation with the Washington State Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has prepared this Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA). The scope of this EE/CA includes wastes from cleanout of the EDB and deactivation facilities. Volumes and costs for disposal of investigation-derived waste are also included

  9. The bioink: A comprehensive review on bioprintable materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hospodiuk, Monika; Dey, Madhuri; Sosnoski, Donna; Ozbolat, Ibrahim T

    This paper discusses "bioink", bioprintable materials used in three dimensional (3D) bioprinting processes, where cells and other biologics are deposited in a spatially controlled pattern to fabricate living tissues and organs. It presents the first comprehensive review of existing bioink types including hydrogels, cell aggregates, microcarriers and decellularized matrix components used in extrusion-, droplet- and laser-based bioprinting processes. A detailed comparison of these bioink materials is conducted in terms of supporting bioprinting modalities and bioprintability, cell viability and proliferation, biomimicry, resolution, affordability, scalability, practicality, mechanical and structural integrity, bioprinting and post-bioprinting maturation times, tissue fusion and formation post-implantation, degradation characteristics, commercial availability, immune-compatibility, and application areas. The paper then discusses current limitations of bioink materials and presents the future prospects to the reader. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. A comprehensive survey of brain interface technology designs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, S G; Bashashati, A; Fatourechi, M; Navarro, K F; Birch, G E

    2007-02-01

    In this work we present the first comprehensive survey of Brain Interface (BI) technology designs published prior to January 2006. Detailed results from this survey, which was based on the Brain Interface Design Framework proposed by Mason and Birch, are presented and discussed to address the following research questions: (1) which BI technologies are directly comparable, (2) what technology designs exist, (3) which application areas (users, activities and environments) have been targeted in these designs, (4) which design approaches have received little or no research and are possible opportunities for new technology, and (5) how well are designs reported. The results of this work demonstrate that meta-analysis of high-level BI design attributes is possible and informative. The survey also produced a valuable, historical cross-reference where BI technology designers can identify what types of technology have been proposed and by whom.

  11. A History of Rotorcraft Comprehensive Analyses

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  12. Comprehensive Teacher Education: A Handbook of Knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Washington, DC.

    Since 1992, AACTE and the DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund have worked in partnership to advance the knowledge base of comprehensive teacher education. The AACTE/DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund's Comprehensive Teacher Education National Demonstration Project is grounded in the mutual belief that preparation of classroom teachers must…

  13. 50 CFR 81.14 - Comprehensive plan alternative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Comprehensive plan alternative. 81.14 Section 81.14 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR... alternative. In the event that the State elects to operate under a comprehensive fish and wildlife resource...

  14. Are There Gender Differences in Emotion Comprehension? Analysis of the Test of Emotion Comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fidalgo, Angel M; Tenenbaum, Harriet R; Aznar, Ana

    2018-01-01

    This article examines whether there are gender differences in understanding the emotions evaluated by the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC). The TEC provides a global index of emotion comprehension in children 3-11 years of age, which is the sum of the nine components that constitute emotion comprehension: (1) recognition of facial expressions, (2) understanding of external causes of emotions, (3) understanding of desire-based emotions, (4) understanding of belief-based emotions, (5) understanding of the influence of a reminder on present emotional states, (6) understanding of the possibility to regulate emotional states, (7) understanding of the possibility of hiding emotional states, (8) understanding of mixed emotions, and (9) understanding of moral emotions. We used the answers to the TEC given by 172 English girls and 181 boys from 3 to 8 years of age. First, the nine components into which the TEC is subdivided were analysed for differential item functioning (DIF), taking gender as the grouping variable. To evaluate DIF, the Mantel-Haenszel method and logistic regression analysis were used applying the Educational Testing Service DIF classification criteria. The results show that the TEC did not display gender DIF. Second, when absence of DIF had been corroborated, it was analysed for differences between boys and girls in the total TEC score and its components controlling for age. Our data are compatible with the hypothesis of independence between gender and level of comprehension in 8 of the 9 components of the TEC. Several hypotheses are discussed that could explain the differences found between boys and girls in the belief component. Given that the Belief component is basically a false belief task, the differences found seem to support findings in the literature indicating that girls perform better on this task.

  15. Subject Comprehension and Critical Thinking: An Intervention for Subject Comprehension and Critical Thinking in Mixed-Academic-Ability University Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellaera, Lauren; Debney, Lauren; Baker, Sara T.

    2016-01-01

    Subject comprehension and critical thinking are both key goals of higher education. However, while the former is, on the whole, successfully cultivated in undergraduate students, the latter is not. Few empirical studies have investigated the relationship between subject comprehension and critical thinking. In the present article we suggest that…

  16. Reading comprehension of deaf students in regular education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luccas, Marcia Regina Zemella; Chiari, Brasília Maria; Goulart, Bárbara Niegia Garcia de

    2012-01-01

    To evaluate and compare the reading comprehension of deaf students included in regular classrooms of public schools with and without specialized educational support. Observational analytic study with 35 students with sensorineural hearing loss, with and without educational support. All subjects were assessed with the Word Reading Competence Test (WRCT), the Picture-Print Matching Test by Choice (PPMT-C), and the Sentence Reading Comprehension Test (SRCT). In the tests regarding comprehension of words (WRCT and PPMT-C), the results showed no difference in the performance of deaf students who attend and do not attend educational support. Regarding reading comprehension of sentences, the application of the SRCT also did not show differences between the groups of deaf students. A significant correlation was found between age and grade, indicating that the older the students and the higher their educational level, the better their performance in reading sentences. The results indicate that deaf students, regardless of attending educational support, read words better than sentences. There is no difference in reading comprehension between deaf students who receive and do not receive specialized pedagogical monitoring.

  17. An updated comprehensive annotated list of the butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) occuring at Sullys Hill National Game Preserve Benson County, North Dakota 1995-1996

    Science.gov (United States)

    Royer, Ron

    1996-01-01

    A project to produce a comprehensive, site-specific butterfly list that could serve as a basis for future monitoring of butterfly populations and as an aid in making management decisions for the area.

  18. Speech comprehension difficulties in chronic tinnitus and its relation to hyperacusis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veronika Vielsmeier

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available AbstractObjectiveMany tinnitus patients complain about difficulties regarding speech comprehension. In spite of the high clinical relevance little is known about underlying mechanisms and predisposing factors. Here, we performed an exploratory investigation in a large sample of tinnitus patients to (1 estimate the prevalence of speech comprehension difficulties among tinnitus patients, to (2 compare subjective reports of speech comprehension difficulties with objective measurements in a standardized speech comprehension test and to (3 explore underlying mechanisms by analyzing the relationship between speech comprehension difficulties and peripheral hearing function (pure tone audiogram, as well as with co-morbid hyperacusis as a central auditory processing disorder. Subjects and MethodsSpeech comprehension was assessed in 361 tinnitus patients presenting between 07/2012 and 08/2014 at the Interdisciplinary Tinnitus Clinic at the University of Regensburg. The assessment included standard audiological assessment (pure tone audiometry, tinnitus pitch and loudness matching, the Goettingen sentence test (in quiet for speech audiometric evaluation, two questions about hyperacusis, and two questions about speech comprehension in quiet and noisy environments (How would you rate your ability to understand speech?; How would you rate your ability to follow a conversation when multiple people are speaking simultaneously?. Results Subjectively reported speech comprehension deficits are frequent among tinnitus patients, especially in noisy environments (cocktail party situation. 74.2% of all investigated patients showed disturbed speech comprehension (indicated by values above 21.5 dB SPL in the Goettingen sentence test. Subjective speech comprehension complaints (both in general and in noisy environment were correlated with hearing level and with audiologically-assessed speech comprehension ability. In contrast, co-morbid hyperacusis was only correlated

  19. Language Skills in Classical Chinese Text Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Kit-ling

    2018-01-01

    This study used both quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the role of lower- and higher-level language skills in classical Chinese (CC) text comprehension. A CC word and sentence translation test, text comprehension test, and questionnaire were administered to 393 Secondary Four students; and 12 of these were randomly selected to…

  20. Cognitive Frailty in China: Results from China Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lina Ma

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available ObjectiveCognitive frailty (CF refers to the co-occurrence of physical frailty (PF and cognitive impairment in persons without dementia. We aimed to explore the prevalence and associated factors of CF in China.MethodData were obtained from the China Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment Study. A total of 5,708 community-dwelling older adults without dementia were included. CF was assessed using the Mini–Mental State Examination for the evaluation of cognitive status and the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment-Frailty Index for the evaluation of PF. Participants with both cognitive impairment and PF were classified as having CF. Sociodemographic and clinical history was also collected. Logistic analysis was used to explore the association between the associated factors and CF.ResultsThe overall crude prevalence of CF was 3.3% [95% confidence interval (CI = 3.0–4.0], and the standard prevalence of CF was 2.7% (95% CI = 2.0–3.0. The prevalence of CF was significantly higher in women than men and higher in residents of rural areas than urban areas. Moreover, the prevalence of CF was found to increase with age. Multiple factor analysis showed that depression (OR = 2.462, 95% CI = 1.066–5.687 and hearing impairment (OR = 2.713, 95% CI = 1.114–6.608 were independent associated factors of CF in elderly individuals with PF.ConclusionOur results provide the first empirical evidence of CF in China. We have identified several associated factors with CF which should be considered while assessing older adults. More studies in Chinese population with CF are demanded to confirm with our findings.

  1. Text comprehension in Czech fourth-grade children with dyslexia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Špačková Klára

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In the Czech Republic, the concept of dyslexia is used as a global term for various developmental deficiencies relating to reading skills. The criteria used for dyslexia are not clear and intervention is solely focused on word reading training. Not much is known about the pattern and level of reading comprehension abilities among Czech readers. The study examines reading comprehension and its component skills (decoding and listening comprehension abilities in 32 Czech fourth-grade children with a formal diagnosis of dyslexia and their classmates (N=126. In decoding tests, the children with dyslexia surprisingly lagged behind most significantly in a task concerning speed and accuracy in context reading. Contrary to expectations, the children with dyslexia also showed inferiority in a listening comprehension task. In reading comprehension measures, in comparison to the typically developing readers, the children with dyslexia achieved the best results in a oral reading comprehension task. The results are discussed with respect to Czech counselling and educational practice and the need for changes in the current support system and terminology is stressed.

  2. EFFICIENCY OF READING COMPREHENSION TRAINING IN PUPILS LIVING IN POVERTY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milena Kosak Babuder

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The results of Slovene and foreign studies reveal the connection between literacy levels and the level of education, employment opportunities and consequent socio-economic status of individuals and families. Reading efficiency relating to reading comprehension is an important element of reading literacy performance. The findings of several authors indicate empirical evidence of the existence of deficits and poor reading comprehension in pupils living in poverty and stress the importance of offsetting deficits and developing reading comprehension. Results of both foreign and Slovene studies indicate that the program of reading comprehension should be implemented in this group of pupils. In the article, we want to present effectiveness of the reading comprehension improvement program in pupils living in poverty. According to the findings of our research, in which we structured and implemented the reading comprehension program for pupils living in poverty with the Metacognitive-intersentential model of reading comprehension, the reading comprehension of the experimental group pupils who participated in the program improved compared to the control group pupils who did not participate in the program. Experimental group pupils also significantly improved correctness of their reading, their vocabulary and skills of verbal expression. When the program ended, we tested its efficiency by applied tests. The results on the manifest variables indicated that the program was good and efficient for pupils who live in poverty and experience reading comprehension problems.

  3. Comprehensive stroke units: a review of comparative evidence and experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Daniel K Y; Cordato, Dennis; O'Rourke, Fintan; Chan, Daniel L; Pollack, Michael; Middleton, Sandy; Levi, Chris

    2013-06-01

    Stroke unit care offers significant benefits in survival and dependency when compared to general medical ward. Most stroke units are either acute or rehabilitation, but comprehensive (combined acute and rehabilitation) model (comprehensive stroke unit) is less common. To examine different levels of evidence of comprehensive stroke unit compared to other organized inpatient stroke care and share local experience of comprehensive stroke units. Cochrane Library and Medline (1980 to December 2010) review of English language articles comparing stroke units to alternative forms of stroke care delivery, different types of stroke unit models, and differences in processes of care within different stroke unit models. Different levels of comparative evidence of comprehensive stroke units to other models of stroke units are collected. There are no randomized controlled trials directly comparing comprehensive stroke units to other stroke unit models (either acute or rehabilitation). Comprehensive stroke units are associated with reduced length of stay and greatest reduction in combined death and dependency in a meta-analysis study when compared to other stroke unit models. Comprehensive stroke units also have better length of stay and functional outcome when compared to acute or rehabilitation stroke unit models in a cross-sectional study, and better length of stay in a 'before-and-after' comparative study. Components of stroke unit care that improve outcome are multifactorial and most probably include early mobilization. A comprehensive stroke unit model has been successfully implemented in metropolitan and rural hospital settings. Comprehensive stroke units are associated with reductions in length of stay and combined death and dependency and improved functional outcomes compared to other stroke unit models. A comprehensive stroke unit model is worth considering as the preferred model of stroke unit care in the planning and delivery of metropolitan and rural stroke services

  4. Understanding and Using the Controller Area Network Communication Protocol Theory and Practice

    CERN Document Server

    Di Natale, Marco; Giusto, Paolo; Ghosal, Arkadeb

    2012-01-01

    This is the first book to offer a hands-on guide to designing, analyzing and debugging a communication infrastructure based on the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus.  Although the CAN bus standard is well established and currently used in most automotive systems, as well as avionics, medical systems and other devices, its features are not fully understood by most developers, who tend to misuse the network. This results in lost opportunities for better efficiency and performance.   This book offers a comprehensive range of architectural solutions and domains of analysis. It also provides formal models and analytical results, with thorough discussion of their applicability, so that it serves as an invaluable reference for researchers and students, as well as practicing engineers.    Offers the first comprehensive guide to bridging the gap between theory and implementation of the widely accepted Controller Area Network (CAN) bus; Provides examples and best practices for design of communication systems, as w...

  5. An investigation into the English reading comprehension of Grade 10 English first additional language learners at a senior secondary school

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chaka Chaka

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Poor levels of English first additional language (EFAL reading comprehension amongst school learners at most public schools in South Africa are a great concern. In fact, for learning to be successful and effective, learners need to be able to read well in EFAL. This is more so as EFAL serves as a language of learning and teaching (LOLT for most learning areas in South Africa’s public schools. Against this background, this study set out in 2012 to investigate the English reading comprehension of Grade 10 EFAL learners at a senior secondary school. Using purposive and voluntary sampling techniques, the study had 17 EFAL learners(M = 10, F–7 as its participants. It employed three reading measures, a recall task, a summary and a comprehension test, which were based on three English extracts, to assess participants’ reading comprehension. It then assessed and scored participants’ responses to the three tasks by using an oral reading rubric and two prepared marking memoranda. One of the findings of this study was that, of the three reading tasks administered, participants did slightly above average in the comprehension test, but performed below average in the two other tasks – the recall and summary tasks.

  6. The comprehension of mathematic problems in primary school

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karel Pérez Ariza

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The paper describes the result of the research project “A study of causes of difficulties in learning comprehension from an interdisciplinary perspective in Camagüey. The main objective of that study is to propose a methodology for the comprehension of mathematic problems in primary school. In designing the methodology, the characteristics of this text variety, basic principle of the theory of reading comprehension and problem solving were taking into account. In this research work several theoretical methods were used —analysis-synthesis, historical-logical, inductive-deductive— to elaborate the theoretical framework, while modeling and system approach in the methodology construction. Additionally, empirical methods were used in order to assess the knowledge about comprehension of mathematic problems; among them observation and analysis of the activity results.

  7. Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation-based disaster risk assessment of desertification in Horqin Sand Land, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yongfang; Zhang, Jiquan; Guo, Enliang; Sun, Zhongyi

    2015-02-03

    Desertification is a typical disaster risk event in which human settlements and living environments are destroyed. Desertification Disaster Risk Assessment can control and prevent the occurrence and development of desertification disasters and reduce their adverse influence on human society. This study presents the methodology and procedure for risk assessment and zoning of desertification disasters in Horqin Sand Land. Based on natural disaster risk theory and the desertification disaster formation mechanism, the Desertification Disaster Risk Index (DDRI) combined hazard, exposure, vulnerability and restorability factors and was developed mainly by using multi-source data and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. The results showed that high risk and middle risk areas account for 28% and 23% of the study area, respectively. They are distributed with an "S" type in the study area. Low risk and very low risk areas account for 21% and 10% of the study area, respectively. They are distributed in the west-central and southwestern parts. Very high risk areas account for 18% of the study area and are distributed in the northeastern parts. The results can be used to know the desertification disaster risk level. It has important theoretical and practical significance to prevention and control of desertification in Horqin Sand Land and even in Northern China.

  8. Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation-Based Disaster Risk Assessment of Desertification in Horqin Sand Land, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yongfang Wang

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Desertification is a typical disaster risk event in which human settlements and living environments are destroyed. Desertification Disaster Risk Assessment can control and prevent the occurrence and development of desertification disasters and reduce their adverse influence on human society. This study presents the methodology and procedure for risk assessment and zoning of desertification disasters in Horqin Sand Land. Based on natural disaster risk theory and the desertification disaster formation mechanism, the Desertification Disaster Risk Index (DDRI combined hazard, exposure, vulnerability and restorability factors and was developed mainly by using multi-source data and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. The results showed that high risk and middle risk areas account for 28% and 23% of the study area, respectively. They are distributed with an “S” type in the study area. Low risk and very low risk areas account for 21% and 10% of the study area, respectively. They are distributed in the west-central and southwestern parts. Very high risk areas account for 18% of the study area and are distributed in the northeastern parts. The results can be used to know the desertification disaster risk level. It has important theoretical and practical significance to prevention and control of desertification in Horqin Sand Land and even in Northern China.

  9. Cues, quantification, and agreement in language comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanner, Darren; Bulkes, Nyssa Z

    2015-12-01

    We investigated factors that affect the comprehension of subject-verb agreement in English, using quantification as a window into the relationship between morphosyntactic processes in language production and comprehension. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants read sentences with grammatical and ungrammatical verbs, in which the plurality of the subject noun phrase was either doubly marked (via overt plural quantification and morphological marking on the noun) or singly marked (via only plural morphology on the noun). Both acceptability judgments and the ERP data showed heightened sensitivity to agreement violations when quantification provided an additional cue to the grammatical number of the subject noun phrase, over and above plural morphology. This is consistent with models of grammatical comprehension that emphasize feature prediction in tandem with cue-based memory retrieval. Our results additionally contrast with those of prior studies that showed no effects of plural quantification on agreement in language production. These findings therefore highlight some nontrivial divergences in the cues and mechanisms supporting morphosyntactic processing in language production and comprehension.

  10. Rurality study of restricted areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio Rivaroli

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Two main perspectives of investigation emerge from the study of a territory’s rurality: a geographical approach and a sociological approach. The research examines the sub-regional study case of ‘Nuovo circondario imolese’. The analysis shows that the combination of traditional institutional criteria with detailed informations about the territory, generates more accurate results which determine a better comprehension of the characteristics of restricted areas’ rurality. Over the period 1991-2001, the study highlights an increase in rural areas. This result could be interpreted as an effect of urban sprawl’s intensification, that increases the competition between non-farm residences and agricultural activities.

  11. Remedial investigation concept plan for the groundwater operable units at the chemical plant area and the ordnance works area, Weldon Spring, Missouri

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-07-15

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of the Army (DA) are conducting cleanup activities at two properties--the DOE chemical plant area and the DA ordnance works area (the latter includes the training area)--located in the Weldon Spring area in St. Charles County, Missouri. These areas are on the National Priorities List (NPL), and cleanup activities at both areas are conducted in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended. DOE and DA are conducting a joint remedial investigation (RI) and baseline risk assessment (BRA) as part of the remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) for the groundwater operable units for the two areas. This joint effort will optimize further data collection and interpretation efforts and facilitate overall remedial decision making since the aquifer of concern is common to both areas. A Work Plan issued jointly in 1995 by DOE and the DA discusses the results of investigations completed at the time of preparation of the report. The investigations were necessary to provide an understanding of the groundwater system beneath the chemical plant area and the ordnance works area. The Work Plan also identifies additional data requirements for verification of the evaluation presented.

  12. Remedial investigation concept plan for the groundwater operable units at the chemical plant area and the ordnance works area, Weldon Spring, Missouri

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of the Army (DA) are conducting cleanup activities at two properties--the DOE chemical plant area and the DA ordnance works area (the latter includes the training area)--located in the Weldon Spring area in St. Charles County, Missouri. These areas are on the National Priorities List (NPL), and cleanup activities at both areas are conducted in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended. DOE and DA are conducting a joint remedial investigation (RI) and baseline risk assessment (BRA) as part of the remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) for the groundwater operable units for the two areas. This joint effort will optimize further data collection and interpretation efforts and facilitate overall remedial decision making since the aquifer of concern is common to both areas. A Work Plan issued jointly in 1995 by DOE and the DA discusses the results of investigations completed at the time of preparation of the report. The investigations were necessary to provide an understanding of the groundwater system beneath the chemical plant area and the ordnance works area. The Work Plan also identifies additional data requirements for verification of the evaluation presented

  13. The effects of linguistic modification on ESL students' comprehension of nursing course test items.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosher, Susan; Bowles, Melissa

    2008-01-01

    Recent research has indicated that language may be a source of construct-irrelevant variance for non-native speakers of English, or English as a second language (ESL) students, when they take exams. As a result, exams may not accurately measure knowledge of nursing content. One accommodation often used to level the playing field for ESL students is linguistic modification, a process by which the reading load of test items is reduced while the content and integrity of the item are maintained. Research on the effects of linguistic modification has been conducted on examinees in the K-12 population, but is just beginning in other areas. This study describes the collaborative process by which items from a pathophysiology exam were linguistically modified and subsequently evaluated for comprehensibility by ESL students. Findings indicate that in a majority of cases, modification improved examinees' comprehension of test items. Implications for test item writing and future research are discussed.

  14. Tianmujian caldera. A potential area for locating rich and large uranium deposit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin Ziyu; Xu Jinshan; Chen Mingzhuo; Jiang Jinyuan; Fan Honghai; Cheng Qi

    2001-01-01

    Based on the comprehensive analysis on geologic, remote sensing, gravimetric, magnetic and geochemical data, and the field geologic investigation, the author has preliminarily ascertained the formation and the distribution characteristics of the Tianmujian caldera, and recognized the porphyroclastic lava system which is extensively distributed in the area. The authors suggest that the Tianmujian volcanic basin experienced two evolution stages--the thermal uplifting and the formation of caldera, that large concealed uranium-rich granitic massif occurs in the area, and during the vertical evolution process the uranium showed its concentration in the lower part and depletion in the upper part, and large amount of ore-forming material moved upward along with the magmatic hydrothermals entering the caldera to form uranium deposit. In addition, it is clarified that the NE-NW rhombic-formed basement structural pattern is predominated by the NE-trending fault. At the same time, the important role of the basement faults in controlling the magmatic activities, in the formation of volcanic basins, as well as the formation of uranium mineralization is emphasized. On the basis of the above comprehensive analysis the authors suggest that the Tianmujian caldera is a quite favourable potential area for possessing the basic conditions necessary for the formation of rich and large uranium deposit including uranium 'source, migration, concentration, preservation' and favourable multiple metallogenic information is displayed in the Tianmujian area

  15. The New York State Bird Conservation Area (BCA) Program: A Model for the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    M. F. Burger; D. J. Adams; T. Post; L. Sommers; B. Swift

    2005-01-01

    The New York State Bird Conservation Area (BCA) Program, modeled after the National Audubon Society?s Important Bird Areas Program, is based on legislation signed by Governor Pataki in 1997. New York is the first state in the nation to enact such a program. The BCA Program seeks to provide a comprehensive, ecosystem approach to conserving birds and their habitats on...

  16. Areas of Left Perisylvian Cortex Mediate Auditory-Verbal Short-Term Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koenigs, Michael; Acheson, Daniel J.; Barbey, Aron K.; Solomon, Jeffrey; Postle, Bradley R.; Grafman, Jordan

    2011-01-01

    A contentious issue in memory research is whether verbal short-term memory (STM) depends on a neural system specifically dedicated to the temporary maintenance of information, or instead relies on the same brain areas subserving the comprehension and production of language. In this study, we examined a large sample of adults with acquired brain…

  17. Readability and comprehensibility of informed consent forms for clinical trials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anvita Pandiya

    2010-01-01

    A shortened Informed Consent Form, with information that a reasonable person would want to understand along with specific information that the person wants in particular would be a good option to improve understanding or comprehensibility. Additional informational meetings with a qualified person like a counselor could help in comprehension. Questionnaires designed to test comprehension of patient, peer review, patient writing the salient features could help evaluate the comprehensibility of the Informed Consent Form.

  18. Report for fiscal 1982 on comprehensive survey for nationwide geothermal resources. Preparation of basic map from among maps of nationwide geothermally promising areas (south Kyushu and north Kyushu); 1982 nendo zenkoku chinetsu shigen sogo chosa hokokusho. Zenkoku chinetsu yubo chiikizu no uchi motozu sakusei (Minaikyushu oyobi Kitakyushu)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1983-03-01

    With an objective to prepare the basic map from among maps of geothermally promising areas in the south Kyushu and north Kyushu, comprehensive analysis has been performed from the standpoint of geothermal analysis by combining the data derived from remote sensing with the data obtained by different physical exploration processes. The analysis has used mainly the gravity data, magnetism data, radar lineament, and Landsat lineament, as well as the latest data processing technology and analytical methods. As a result of the analysis, the area around Kirishima in south Kyushu was indicated as the most promising area for the future geothermal development. This area contains a series of new volcanoes, has the fault systems grown widely, and is expected of existence of water permeable reservoirs in deep underground. The Kagoshima bay area and the Sakurajima Island area were also regarded promising. In the north Kyushu area, such promising areas were indicated as the Futagoyama area in which highly magnetized and high-density volcanic rocks are recognized, and moreover, penetration rocks with magnetic anomaly are recognized in wide area, the area with volcanic actions from the Pliocene period to the Quarternary period, and the area at the north latitude of 33 degrees 38 minutes, and the east longitude of 131 degrees 02 minute. (NEDO)

  19. The 300 area waste acid treatment system closure plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luke, S.N.

    1996-01-01

    The 300 Area Waste Acid Treatment System (WATS) is located within operable units 300-FF-2 (source) and 300-FF-5 (groundwater), as designated in the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (Tri-Party Agreement) . Operable units 300-FF-2 and 300-FF-5 are scheduled to be remediated using the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) process. Thus, any remediation of the 300 Area WATS with respect to contaminants not produced by those facilities and soils and groundwater will be deferred to the CERCLA RI/FS process. Final closure activities will be completed in 3 phases and certified in accordance with the 300 Area WATS closure plan by the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It is anticipated that the 300 Area WATS closure would take 2 years to complete

  20. SITE COMPREHENSIVE LISTING (CERCLIS) (Superfund)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Information System (CERCLIS) (Superfund) Public Access Database contains a selected set of...

  1. Comprehensive Oral Health Care to Reduce the Incidence of Severe Early Childhood Caries (s-ECC) in Urban China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Si, Yan; Guo, Yan; Yuan, Chao; Xu, Tao; Zheng, Shu Guo

    2016-03-01

    To explore the effectiveness of comprehensive oral health care to reduce the caries incidence for children with severe early childhood caries (s-ECC) in an urban area in China. A total of 357 children aged 3 to 4 years old and diagnosed with s-ECC were recruited in this randomised controlled, single-blinded clinical trial for 1 year. Children of two different kindergarten classes were enrolled in this study and randomly divided into a test group (205 children) and a control group (152 children). The test group received comprehensive oral health care, which included: oral health examination, oral health education, topical fluoride application and dental treatment, and the children in the control group only received the oral health examination. The evaluation of the oral health questionnaire for parents was also performed. An evaluation was carried out at the time of recruitment and 1 year later to explore the effectiveness of the comprehensive oral health care model. The differences in decayed teeth (dt), decayed tooth surfaces (ds), filled teeth (ft), filled tooth surfaces (fs) and the ratio of ft /(dt + ft) between the two groups were statistically significant (P comprehensive oral health care program reduces and prevents caries amongst children with s-ECC.

  2. An updated comprehensive annotated list of the butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) occurring at Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge Complex Stutsman County, North Dakota 1995-1996

    Science.gov (United States)

    Royer, Ron

    1996-01-01

    A project to produce a comprehensive, site-specific butterfly list that could serve as a basis for future monitoring of butterfly populations and as an aid in making management decisions for the area.

  3. [Comprehensive quality management in hospitals--experience and recommendations].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schubert, H J

    1999-03-01

    Total quality management concepts, increasingly being introduced into hospitals, offer opportunities for integrative leadership concepts because of their multidimensional character viewed from the aspects of results and from the standpoint of organisational design. Customized for leadership and organisation of hospitals in Germany, questions of introduction strategies as well as recommendations for the integration of total quality understanding into the daily practice of management and employees are discussed. The active support of top and middle management and a combination of radical change in selected problem areas and continual incremental improvements on a broad base have been proven as significant factors for the success in the introductory phase. For a lasting integration of the principles of a comprehensive quality management concept in a hospital, it will be necessary to carry out regularly relevant measurements of success. The results become an important part of agreements with management.

  4. A predictive study of reading comprehension in third-grade Spanish students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Escribano, Carmen; Elosúa de Juan, María Rosa; Gómez-Veiga, Isabel; García-Madruga, Juan Antonio

    2013-01-01

    The study of the contribution of language and cognitive skills to reading comprehension is an important goal of current reading research. However, reading comprehension is not easily assessed by a single instrument, as different comprehension tests vary in the type of tasks used and in the cognitive demands required. This study examines the contribution of basic language and cognitive skills (decoding, word recognition, reading speed, verbal and nonverbal intelligence and working memory) to reading comprehension, assessed by two tests utilizing various tasks that require different skill sets in third-grade Spanish-speaking students. Linguistic and cognitive abilities predicted reading comprehension. A measure of reading speed (the reading time of pseudo-words) was the best predictor of reading comprehension when assessed by the PROLEC-R test. However, measures of word recognition (the orthographic choice task) and verbal working memory were the best predictors of reading comprehension when assessed by means of the DARC test. These results show, on the one hand, that reading speed and word recognition are better predictors of Spanish language comprehension than reading accuracy. On the other, the reading comprehension test applied here serves as a critical variable when analyzing and interpreting results regarding this topic.

  5. Palliative Care: Delivering Comprehensive Oncology Nursing Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahlin, Constance

    2015-11-01

    To describe palliative care as part of comprehensive oncology nursing care. A review of the palliative care, oncology, and nursing literature over the past 10 years. Palliative care is mandated as part of comprehensive cancer care. A cancer diagnosis often results in distress in the physical, psychosocial, spiritual, and emotional domains of care. Oncology nurses are essential in providing palliative care from diagnosis to death to patients with cancer. They address the myriad aspects of cancer. With palliative care skills and knowledge, oncology nurses can provide quality cancer care. There are many opportunities in which oncology nurses can promote palliative care. Oncology nurses must obtain knowledge and skills in primary palliative care to provide comprehensive cancer care. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. A comprehensive risk analysis of coastal zones in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Guanghui; Liu, Yijun; Wang, Hongbing; Wang, Xueying

    2014-03-01

    Although coastal zones occupy an important position in the world development, they face high risks and vulnerability to natural disasters because of their special locations and their high population density. In order to estimate their capability for crisis-response, various models have been established. However, those studies mainly focused on natural factors or conditions, which could not reflect the social vulnerability and regional disparities of coastal zones. Drawing lessons from the experiences of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), this paper presents a comprehensive assessment strategy based on the mechanism of Risk Matrix Approach (RMA), which includes two aspects that are further composed of five second-class indicators. The first aspect, the probability phase, consists of indicators of economic conditions, social development, and living standards, while the second one, the severity phase, is comprised of geographic exposure and natural disasters. After weighing all of the above indicators by applying the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Delphi Method, the paper uses the comprehensive assessment strategy to analyze the risk indices of 50 coastal cities in China. The analytical results are presented in ESRI ArcGis10.1, which generates six different risk maps covering the aspects of economy, society, life, environment, disasters, and an overall assessment of the five areas. Furthermore, the study also investigates the spatial pattern of these risk maps, with detailed discussion and analysis of different risks in coastal cities.

  7. Humor comprehension and appreciation: an FMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartolo, Angela; Benuzzi, Francesca; Nocetti, Luca; Baraldi, Patrizia; Nichelli, Paolo

    2006-11-01

    Humor is a unique ability in human beings. Suls [A two-stage model for the appreciation of jokes and cartoons. In P. E. Goldstein & J. H. McGhee (Eds.), The psychology of humour. Theoretical perspectives and empirical issues. New York: Academic Press, 1972, pp. 81-100] proposed a two-stage model of humor: detection and resolution of incongruity. Incongruity is generated when a prediction is not confirmed in the final part of a story. To comprehend humor, it is necessary to revisit the story, transforming an incongruous situation into a funny, congruous one. Patient and neuroimaging studies carried out until now lead to different outcomes. In particular, patient studies found that right brain-lesion patients have difficulties in humor comprehension, whereas neuroimaging studies suggested a major involvement of the left hemisphere in both humor detection and comprehension. To prevent activation of the left hemisphere due to language processing, we devised a nonverbal task comprising cartoon pairs. Our findings demonstrate activation of both the left and the right hemispheres when comparing funny versus nonfunny cartoons. In particular, we found activation of the right inferior frontal gyrus (BA 47), the left superior temporal gyrus (BA 38), the left middle temporal gyrus (BA 21), and the left cerebellum. These areas were also activated in a nonverbal task exploring attribution of intention [Brunet, E., Sarfati, Y., Hardy-Bayle, M. C., & Decety, J. A PET investigation of the attribution of intentions with a nonverbal task. Neuroimage, 11, 157-166, 2000]. We hypothesize that the resolution of incongruity might occur through a process of intention attribution. We also asked subjects to rate the funniness of each cartoon pair. A parametric analysis showed that the left amygdala was activated in relation to subjective amusement. We hypothesize that the amygdala plays a key role in giving humor an emotional dimension.

  8. [Remote sensing analysis of ecological change caused by construction of the new island city: Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone, Fujian Province].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Xiao-le; Lin, Zheng-feng; Tang, Fei

    2015-02-01

    Pingtan Island was officially established as the 'Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone of Fujian' in 2010, and it led to a surge of construction in the island city. Based on the Landsat-5 images for 2007 and the latest Landsat-8 images for 2013, this paper studied the ecological status, the temporal trends of the ecological changes and the reasons for those changes in Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone at its early stage of construction, by using the remote sensing of ecological index (RSEI). The results showed that as an ecologically fragile area, Pingtan Island had a moderate level of overall ecological status. In the early construction period (from 2007 to 2013), the ecological status of the island showed a downward trend, with a 14% drop of RSEI from 0.511 in 2007 down to 0.450 in 2013, and approximately 36.5% of the area of the island faced the degradation of ecological status, which mainly occurred in the central and southwestern parts of the island. The reason for the degradation was mainly due to the large-scale construction which further damaged the scarce vegetation on the island. Therefore, in order to curb the downward trend of the ecological quality of Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone, some effective ecological protection measures must be developed and implemented during the construction.

  9. Comprehensive Baseline Environmental Audit of the Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-06-01

    This report documents the results of the Comprehensive Baseline Environmental Audit conducted at the Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute (ITRI) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The scope of the audit at the ITRI was comprehensive, addressing environmental activities in the technical areas of air; soils, sediments, and biota; surface water/drinking water; groundwater; waste management; toxic and chemical materials; quality assurance; radiation; inactive waste sites; environmental management; and environmental monitoring programs. Specifically assessed was the compliance of ITRI operations and activities with Federal, state, and local regulations; DOE Orders; internal operating standards; and best management practices. Onsite activities included inspection of ITRI facilities and operations; review of site documents; interviews with DOE and contractor personnel, as well as representatives from state regulatory agencies; and reviews of previous appraisals. Using these sources of information, the environmental audit team developed findings, which fell into two general categories: compliance findings and best management practice findings. Each finding also identifies apparent causal factor(s) that contributed to the finding and will assist line management in developing ''root causes'' for implementing corrective actions

  10. Draft Hanford Remedial Action Environmental Impact Statement and Comprehensive Land Use Plan: Summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-08-01

    This document analyzes the potential environmental impacts associated with establishing future land-use objectives for the US Department of Energy's Hanford Site. Impact analysis is performed by examining the consequences (primarily from remediation activities) of the actions determined necessary to achieve a desired future land-use objective. It should be noted that site-specific decisions regarding remediation technologies and remediation activities would not be made by this document, but rather by processes specified in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976. To facilitate the establishment of future land-use objectives, the Hanford Site was divided into four geographic areas: (1) Columbia River; (2) reactors on the river; (3) central plateau; (4) all other areas. The future land-use alternatives considered in detail for each of the geographic areas are as follows: Columbia River--unrestricted and restricted; reactors on the river--unrestricted and restricted; central plateau--exclusive; all other areas--restricted. A No-Action Alternative also is included to provide a baseline against which the potential impacts of the proposed action can be assessed

  11. Improving Listening Comprehension through a Whole-Schema Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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)

  12. Developmental Relations Between Reading Comprehension and Reading Strategies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Muijselaar, M.; Swart, N.M.; Steenbeek-Planting, E.G,.; Droop, M.; Verhoeven, L.; de Jong, P.F.

    2017-01-01

    We examined the developmental relations between knowledge of reading strategies and reading comprehension in a longitudinal study of 312 Dutch children from the beginning of fourth grade to the end of fifth grade. Measures for reading comprehension, reading strategies, reading fluency, vocabulary,

  13. 45 CFR 1306.30 - Provisions of comprehensive child development services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Provisions of comprehensive child development... Start Program Options § 1306.30 Provisions of comprehensive child development services. (a) All Head Start grantees must provide comprehensive child development services, as defined in the Head Start...

  14. IQ and Reading Comprehension in Translation Quality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohsen Askari

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Having a deeper understanding of determining factors in the quality of translation is in the interest of almost all scholars of translation studies. Students’ intelligence is being measured constantly in order to determine their aptitude for entering into different programs. However, in translation studies, the variable of intelligence quotient (IQ has been curiously ignored among researchers. This study aimed to explore the strength of both IQ and reading comprehension in predicting translation quality among Iranian translation students.  A sample of forty-six translation students from Alborz University of Qazvin participated in this study. Data were collected using three tests including Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices, Colina’s (2008 componential translation quality rating scheme and the reading comprehension test of IELTS. The results show IQ test scores and reading comprehension significantly predict translation quality assessment. Surprisingly, the most significant finding is that IQ score is by far a better predictor of translation quality than reading comprehension. Overall, it is concluded that translation quality assessment is more of a deeper cognitive function than solely language process, which could lead to more research on cognitive aspects of translation.

  15. A comprehensive psychiatric service

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, A G

    1984-01-01

    A comprehensive psychiatric service was established in 1969 in the Faroe Islands. This service was created as a department of a general hospital. The spheres covered by this department, operating in the midst of the community were: acute and chronic patients, a liaison-psychiatric service...

  16. Big words, halved brains and small worlds: complex brain networks of figurative language comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arzouan, Yossi; Solomon, Sorin; Faust, Miriam; Goldstein, Abraham

    2011-04-27

    Language comprehension is a complex task that involves a wide network of brain regions. We used topological measures to qualify and quantify the functional connectivity of the networks used under various comprehension conditions. To that aim we developed a technique to represent functional networks based on EEG recordings, taking advantage of their excellent time resolution in order to capture the fast processes that occur during language comprehension. Networks were created by searching for a specific causal relation between areas, the negative feedback loop, which is ubiquitous in many systems. This method is a simple way to construct directed graphs using event-related activity, which can then be analyzed topologically. Brain activity was recorded while subjects read expressions of various types and indicated whether they found them meaningful. Slightly different functional networks were obtained for event-related activity evoked by each expression type. The differences reflect the special contribution of specific regions in each condition and the balance of hemispheric activity involved in comprehending different types of expressions and are consistent with the literature in the field. Our results indicate that representing event-related brain activity as a network using a simple temporal relation, such as the negative feedback loop, to indicate directional connectivity is a viable option for investigation which also derives new information about aspects not reflected in the classical methods for investigating brain activity.

  17. Wideband and UWB Antennas for Wireless Applications: A Comprehensive Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renato Cicchetti

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available A comprehensive review concerning the geometry, the manufacturing technologies, the materials, and the numerical techniques, adopted for the analysis and design of wideband and ultrawideband (UWB antennas for wireless applications, is presented. Planar, printed, dielectric, and wearable antennas, achievable on laminate (rigid and flexible, and textile dielectric substrates are taken into account. The performances of small, low-profile, and dielectric resonator antennas are illustrated paying particular attention to the application areas concerning portable devices (mobile phones, tablets, glasses, laptops, wearable computers, etc. and radio base stations. This information provides a guidance to the selection of the different antenna geometries in terms of bandwidth, gain, field polarization, time-domain response, dimensions, and materials useful for their realization and integration in modern communication systems.

  18. Justice foundations for the Comprehensive Law Movement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewhurst, Dale

    2010-01-01

    Authors examining the developing dispute resolution alternatives to the adversarial system have identified nine converging "vectors" or alternatives in what has been termed the Comprehensive Law Movement. These authors have sought to understand how the developing vectors can remain separate and vibrant movements while sharing common ground. Some analyze these developments as being within law and legal practice, others see them as alternative approaches to law, and still others take a combined approach. It will be impossible to understand how these vectors have meaningful differences from law and legal practice if the search is limited to looking within law and legal practice. It will be impossible to understand how these vectors have meaningful commonalities with law and legal practice if the search is limited to looking external to law and legal practice. Instead of comparing the vectors with the adversarial system, higher order criteria are required. What is needed is a comprehensive and internally consistent super-system of norms; one that can be used to evaluate the adversarial system and the evolving vectors on an equal footing. An Aristotelian natural law virtue theory of justice can: (a) provide a functional guiding definition of justice; (b) serve as a comprehensive and internally consistent super-system of norms; and (c) provide the theoretical and evaluative foundation required to clarify the relationships among the adversarial system and the developing vectors. Finally, it will become clear why the Comprehensive Law Movement might be more appropriately conceptualized as the Comprehensive Justice Movement. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Students' Metacomprehension Knowledge: Components That Predict Comprehension Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zabrucky, Karen M.; Moore, DeWayne; Agler, Lin-Miao Lin; Cummings, Andrea M.

    2015-01-01

    In the present study, we assessed students' metacomprehension knowledge and examined the components of knowledge most related to comprehension of expository texts. We used the Revised Metacomprehension Scale (RMCS) to investigate the relations between students' metacomprehension knowledge and comprehension performance. Students who evaluated and…

  20. How to assess and improve children's reading comprehension?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Muijselaar, M.M.L.

    2016-01-01

    Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills children have to acquire during the final years of primary education. It is therefore unfortunate that many children have severe problems with a proper understanding of texts. To design methods that foster children’s reading comprehension,

  1. The Influence of Working Memory on Listening Comprehension

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    张军

    2008-01-01

    @@ We many notice that in listening classroom, what proficient students complain most is that they can get every word in the listening material but the most difficult thing for them is to keep in mind what they have heard. Although listening comprehension is now widely considered to be of great importance in second language learning and is extensively studied, there has not been enough research on listening comprehensionfrom the language processing perspective. And there is not too much studies involving the concept of memory in listening comprehension,especially the relationship between working memory capacity and listening comprehension.

  2. Reading comprehension skills of young adults with childhood diagnoses of dyslexia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ransby, Marilyn J; Swanson, H Lee

    2003-01-01

    This study explores the contribution of cognitive processes to comprehension skills in adults who suffered from childhood developmental dyslexia (CD). The performance of adults with CD (ages 17 to 23), chronological age-matched (CA) adults, and reading level-matched (RL) children was compared on measures of phonological processing, naming speed, working memory (WM), general knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension. The results showed that adults with CD scored lower on measures of phonological processing, naming speed, WM, general knowledge, and vocabulary when compared to CA readers but were comparable to RL children on the majority of process measures. Phonological processing, naming speed, vocabulary, general knowledge, and listening comprehension contributed independent variance to reading comprehension accuracy, whereas WM, intelligence, phonological processing, and listening comprehension contributed independent variance to comprehension fluency. Adults with CD scored lower than CA adults and higher than RL children on measures of lexical processing, WM, and listening comprehension when word recognition and intelligence were partialed from the analysis. In summary, constraints in phonological processing and naming speed mediate only some of the influence of high-order processes on reading comprehension. Furthermore, adults with CD experience difficulties in WM, listening comprehension, and vocabulary independently of their word recognition problems and intellectual ability.

  3. Sentence comprehension following moderate closed head injury in adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leikin, Mark; Ibrahim, Raphiq; Aharon-Peretz, Judith

    2012-09-01

    The current study explores sentence comprehension impairments among adults following moderate closed head injury. It was hypothesized that if the factor of syntactic complexity significantly affects sentence comprehension in these patients, it would testify to the existence of syntactic processing deficit along with working-memory problems. Thirty-six adults (18 closed head injury patients and 18 healthy controls matched in age, gender, and IQ) participated in the study. A picture-sentence matching task together with various tests for memory, language, and reading abilities were used to explore whether sentence comprehension impairments exist as a result of a deficit in syntactic processing or of working-memory dysfunction. Results indicate significant impairment in sentence comprehension among adults with closed head injury compared with their non-head-injured peers. Results also reveal that closed head injury patients demonstrate considerable decline in working memory, short-term memory, and semantic knowledge. Analysis of the results shows that memory impairment and syntactic complexity contribute significantly to sentence comprehension difficulties in closed head injury patients. At the same time, the presentation mode (spoken or written language) was found to have no effect on comprehension among adults with closed head injury, and their reading abilities appear to be relatively intact.

  4. When nature frowns: A comprehensive impact assessment of the 2012 Babessi floods on people’s livelihoods in rural Cameroon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roland A. Balgah

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Floods are the most common natural disasters worldwide. Much of the growing literature on the impact of floods, especially in developed countries, and to a lesser extent in rural areas of developing countries, concentrates on economic rather than a comprehensive assessment of combined effects on people’s livelihoods. Holistic floods impact assessments are often done long after the shock, raising problems of data reliability following long recall periods, although post-disaster needs assessments when carried out earlier can facilitate appropriate disaster recovery, relief and reconstruction activities. We applied the sustainable livelihoods framework as a comprehensive approach to assess the impacts of the Babessi floods in 2012 on livelihoods in rural (north western region of Cameroon 6 weeks after the floods. Using a structured questionnaire, data was collected from victims before and after the floods, using recall methods. A matched sample of nonvictims randomly selected from the same village as the victims was used to assess vulnerability to the floods by household type. Floods were found to have serious economic, social, human and food security impacts on victims. Both government and nongovernmental support were jointly crucial for household recovery. Comparatively observed high levels of recovery were attributed to the low loss of human lives. The article concludes with the need for comprehensive approaches to floods impact assessments. The need for combining formal and informal instruments in post-disaster management in rural areas is also emphasised.

  5. Comprehensive Environmental Management Process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hjeresen, D.L.; Roybal, S.L.

    1994-01-01

    This report contains information about Los Alamos National Laboratory's Comprehensive Environmental Management Plan. The topics covered include: waste minimization, waste generation, environmental concerns, public relations of the laboratory, and how this plan will help to answer to the demands of the laboratory as their mission changes

  6. Do comprehensive schools reduce social mobility?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boliver, Vikki; Swift, Adam

    2011-03-01

    This paper investigates the claim that the shift from a selective to a comprehensive school system had a deleterious effect on social mobility in Great Britain. Using data from the National Child Development Study, we compare the chances, for both class and income mobility, of those who attended different kinds of school. Where media attention focuses exclusively on the chances for upward mobility of those children from lowly origins who were (or would have been) judged worthy of selection into a grammar school, we offer more rounded analyses. We match respondents in a way that helps us to distinguish those inequalities in mobility chances that are due to differences between children from those due to differences between the schools they attended; we look at the effects of the school system on the mobility chances of all children, not merely those from less advantaged origins; and we compare comprehensive- and selective-system schools, not merely comprehensive and grammar schools. After matching, we find, first, that going to a grammar school rather than a comprehensive does not make low-origin children more likely to be upwardly mobile but it helps them move further if they are; second, that grammar schools do not benefit working-class children, in terms of class mobility, more than they benefit service-class children, but, in terms of income mobility, such schools benefit low-income children somewhat more than they benefit higher-income children - that benefit relating only to rather modest and limited movements within the income distribution. Finally, however, the selective system as a whole yields no mobility advantage of any kind to children from any particular origins: any assistance to low-origin children provided by grammar schools is cancelled out by the hindrance suffered by those who attended secondary moderns. Overall, our findings suggest that comprehensive schools were as good for mobility as the selective schools they replaced. © London School of

  7. 42 CFR 441.106 - Comprehensive mental health program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... health and public welfare resources; including— (i) Community mental health centers; (ii) Nursing homes... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Comprehensive mental health program. 441.106... Comprehensive mental health program. (a) If the plan includes services in public institutions for mental...

  8. Reading comprehension of deaf children with cochlear implants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vermeulen, A.M.; Bon, W.H.J. van; Schreuder, R.; Knoors, H.E.T.; Snik, A.F.M.

    2007-01-01

    The reading comprehension and visual word recognition in 50 deaf children and adolescents with at least 3 years of cochlear implant (0) use were evaluated. Their skills were contrasted with reference data of 500 deaf children without CIs. The reading comprehension level in children with CIs was

  9. Predicting Second Grade Listening Comprehension Using Prekindergarten Measures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alonzo, Crystle N.; Yeomans-Maldonado, Gloria; Murphy, Kimberly A.; Bevens, Beau

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine prekindergarten predictors of listening comprehension in second grade. Methods: Within a large, 5-year longitudinal study, children progressing from prekindergarten to second grade were administered a comprehensive set of prekindergarten measures of foundational language skills (vocabulary and…

  10. Second Language Listening Comprehension: A Schema-Theoretic Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Donna Reseigh

    1989-01-01

    Enormous potential exists for the transfer of listening comprehension theory to second language listening research. The need for such research is highlighted through an exploration of recurring themes in the literature on background knowledge and through application of these themes to second language listening comprehension. (CB)

  11. Listening to factually incorrect sentences activates classical language areas and thalamus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Tao; Lang, Simone; Birbaumer, Niels; Kotchoubey, Boris

    2011-12-07

    Neurophysiological underpinnings of the integration of information during sentence comprehension have been studied since 1980. However, little is known about integrative processes in sentences containing a word that is semantically congruent, but factually incompatible with the context. In this study, we aimed at investigating the differences between the brain regions involved in responses to factually correct and incorrect sentences. Eighteen healthy volunteers underwent functional MRI while listening passively to 40 correct and 40 incorrect sentences. The contrast between factually correct and incorrect sentence endings revealed large activation areas in the left inferior frontal gyrus, the left middle/superior temporal gyrus, and smaller activations of these areas' homologs in the right hemisphere, in the thalamus, and Brodmann area 6.

  12. Mental juggling: when does multitasking impair reading comprehension?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Kit W; Altarriba, Jeanette; Popiel, Maximilian

    2015-01-01

    The present study investigated the conditions under which multitasking impairs reading comprehension. Participants read prose passages (the primary task), some of which required them to perform a secondary task. In Experiment 1, we compared two different types of secondary tasks (answering trivia questions and solving math problems). Reading comprehension was assessed using a multiple-choice test that measured both factual and conceptual knowledge. The results showed no observable detrimental effects associated with multitasking. In Experiment 2, the secondary task was a cognitive load task that required participants to remember a string of numbers while reading the passages. Performance on the reading comprehension test was lower in the cognitive load conditions relative to the no-load condition. The present study delineates the conditions under which multitasking can impair or have no effect on reading comprehension. These results further our understanding of our capacity to multitask and have practical implications in our technologically advanced society in which multitasking has become commonplace.

  13. Cognitive and linguistic predictors of reading comprehension in children with intellectual disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Wingerden, Evelien; Segers, Eliane; van Balkom, Hans; Verhoeven, Ludo

    2014-11-01

    A considerable number of children with intellectual disabilities (ID) are able to acquire basic word reading skills. However, not much is known about their achievements in more advanced reading comprehension skills. In the present study, a group of 49 children with ID and a control group of 21 typically developing children with word decoding skills in the normal ranges of first grade were compared in lower level (explicit meaning) and higher level (implicit meaning) reading comprehension abilities. Moreover, in the group of children with ID it was examined to what extent their levels of lower level and higher level reading comprehension could be predicted from their linguistic skills (word decoding, vocabulary, language comprehension) and cognitive skill (nonverbal reasoning). It was found that children with ID were weaker than typically developing children in higher level reading comprehension but not in lower level reading comprehension. Children with ID also performed below the control group on nonverbal reasoning and language comprehension. After controlling for nonverbal reasoning, linguistic skills predicted lower level reading comprehension but not higher level reading comprehension. It can be concluded that children with ID who have basic decoding skill do reasonably well on lower level reading comprehension but continue to have problems with higher level reading comprehension. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. A research on comprehension differences between print and screen reading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Szu-Yuan Sun

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Since the 1980s, extensive research has been conducted comparing reading comprehension from printed text and computer screens. The conclusions, however, are not very consistent. As reading from computer screens requires a certain degree of individual technical skill, such variables should be objectively taken into consideration when conducting an experiment regarding the comparison between print and screen reading. This study analyses the difference in the level of understanding of the two presentational formats (text on printed pages and hypertext on computer screens for people between 45-54 years of age (i.e. “middleaged” adults. In our experimental findings there were no significant differences between the levels of comprehension for print and screen presentations. With regard to individual differences in gender, age group and educational level, the findings are as follows: gender and education effects on print reading comprehension performance were significant, while those on screen reading comprehension performance were not. For middle-aged computer learners, the main effect of age group on both print and screen reading comprehension performance was insignificant. In contrast, linear texts of traditional paper-based material are better for middle-aged readers’ literal text comprehension, while hypertext is beneficial to their inferential text comprehension. It is also suggested that hypermedia could be used as a cognitive tool for improving middle-aged adults’ inferential abilities on reading comprehension, provided that they were trained adequately to use available computers.

  15. [Comprehension of hazard pictograms of chemical products among cleaning workers].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martí Fernández, Francesc; van der Haar, Rudolf; López López, Juan Carlos; Portell, Mariona; Torner Solé, Anna

    2015-01-01

    To assess the comprehension among cleaning workers of the hazard pictograms as defined by the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of the United Nations, concerning the classification, labeling and packaging of substances and mixtures. A sample of 118 workers was surveyed on their perception of the GHS hazard pictograms. Comprehensibility was measured by the percentage of correct answers and the degree to which they reflected International Organization for Standardization and American National Standards Institute standards for minimum level of comprehension. The influence of different variables to predict comprehension capacity was assessed using a logistic regression model. Three groups of pictograms could be distinguished which were statistically differentiated by their comprehensibility. Pictograms reflecting "acute toxicity" and "flammable", were described correctly by 94% and 95% of the surveyed population, respectively. For pictograms reflecting "systemic toxicity", "corrosive", "warning", "environment" and "explosive" the frequency of correct answers ranged from 48% to 64%, whereas those for pictograms "oxidizing" and "compressed gas" were interpreted correctly by only 7% of respondents. Prognostic factors for poor comprehension included: not being familiar with the pictograms, not having received training on safe use of chemical products, being an immigrant and being 54 years of age or older. Only two pictograms exceeded minimum standards for comprehension. Training, a tool proven to be effective to improve the correct interpretation of danger symbols, should be encouraged, especially in those groups with greater comprehension difficulties. Copyright belongs to the Societat Catalana de Salut Laboral.

  16. CDC Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs - 2007

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs. Funding. CDC's Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco...

  17. CDC Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs - 2014

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs. Funding. CDC's Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco...

  18. Semi-Automatic Evaluation of Intrasubject Variability and Inter-session of Cerebral Activation Areas by Neuro functional Magnetic Resonance (FMRI)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rascovsky, Simon; Delgado, Jorge Andres; Sanz, Alexander

    2008-01-01

    To verify the reproducibility of word generation, text comprehension, antonyms generation and motor/somatosensory RMF protocols in a test-retest evaluation through a semiautomatic stereotaxical localization method for activation comparison. Methods: Word generation, text comprehension, antonyms generation and motor/somatosensory FMRI paradigms were applied on 8 healthy subjects on two separate sessions, performing the evaluation of inter-session activations through conjunction and cluster analysis. Results: Activations according to Brodmann areas were reproducible in 50%, 62.5% and 75% for word generation, text comprehension and antonyms generation respectively. For the motor paradigms, right motor conjoined activations were found in 86% of subjects and in 100% of subjects for left conjoined activations. Conclusions: The semi-automatic method of determining inter-session areas of common activation allows its use for functional cytoarchitectonic localization of fMRI activations with minimal intervention, and can be used as a quality control measure of the different paradigms used in RMF, minimizing observer bias.

  19. Action Memorandum for Decommissioning of TAN-607 Hot Shop Area

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    M. A. Pinzel

    2007-05-01

    The Department of Energy is documenting the selection of an alternative for the TAN-607 Hot Shop Area using a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act non-time-critical removal action (NTCRA). The scope of the removal action is limited to TAN-607 Hot Shop Area. An engineering evaluation/cost analysis (EE/CA) has assisted the Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office in identifuomg the most effective method for performing the decommissioning of this structure whose mission has ended. TAN-607 Hot Shop Area is located at Test Area North Technical Support Facility within the Idaho National Laboratory Site. The selected alternative consists of demolishing the TAN-607 aboveground structures and components, removing belowground noninert components (e.g. wood products), and removing the radiologically contaminated debris that does not meet remedial action objectives (RAOs), as defined in the Record of Decision Amendment for the V-Tanks and Explanation of Significant Differences for the PM-2A Tanks at Test Area North, Operable Unit 1-10.

  20. Smart Strategy to Boost Students' Reading Comprehension

    OpenAIRE

    Sfafi'i, Muhammad Lukman

    2015-01-01

    Reading as one of language skills plays significant roles in the teaching English as a foreign language. Since the teacher still uses the conventional way to teach reading, students‘ ability in reading comprehension seems still unsatisfactory yet. So, teacher should explore and develop new strategies. One of strategies in reading comprehension that can trigger our students to attain that purpose is SMART (Self Monitoring Approach for Reading and Thinking) strategy. ...

  1. KEMAMPUAN MAHASISWA DALAM MEMBUAT COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pudiyono Pudiyono

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The aims of the research were to find out (a the level of the students’ ability in making comprehension questions, (b the students’ map of problems in making comprehension questions. The population of the research was all students joining Reading 4 academic year 2016, totaling to 30 students, while the sample was taken from all students. The result of data analysis showed that the average ability of the students, with score more than 70 reached 66.66%. In details, only 4 of the samples (13.33% got no wrong answers or an A. Those who got good achievement (B, considered as majority, amounted to 16 students (53.33%. The participants achieving enough grades (C reached 7 students or 23.33%. The last level achieved in this research was D with the number reaching 3 (10%. The map of problems laid on their inability in identifying between yes/no and WH questions, inverted sentence, choosing the right auxiliary and verbs and their spelling ability. Keyword: comprehension, questions, inversion, problem map, ability

  2. Using Comprehensive Feature Lists to Bias Medical Diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulatunga-Moruzi, Chan; Brooks, Lee R.; Norman, Geoffrey R.

    2004-01-01

    Clinicians routinely report fewer features in a case than they subsequently agree are present. The authors report studies that assess the effect of considering a more comprehensive description than physicians usually offer. These comprehensive descriptions were generated from photographs of dermatology and internal medicine and were complete and…

  3. 34 CFR 303.165 - Comprehensive child find system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Comprehensive child find system. 303.165 Section 303.165 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education (Continued) OFFICE OF SPECIAL... Requirements § 303.165 Comprehensive child find system. Each application must include— (a) The policies and...

  4. Summability calculus a comprehensive theory of fractional finite sums

    CERN Document Server

    Alabdulmohsin, Ibrahim M

    2018-01-01

    This book develops the foundations of "summability calculus", which is a comprehensive theory of fractional finite sums. It fills an important gap in the literature by unifying and extending disparate historical results. It also presents new material that has not been published before. Importantly, it shows how the study of fractional finite sums benefits from and contributes to many areas of mathematics, such as divergent series, numerical integration, approximation theory, asymptotic methods, special functions, series acceleration, Fourier analysis, the calculus of finite differences, and information theory. As such, it appeals to a wide audience of mathematicians whose interests include the study of special functions, summability theory, analytic number theory, series and sequences, approximation theory, asymptotic expansions, or numerical methods. Richly illustrated, it features chapter summaries, and includes numerous examples and exercises. The content is mostly developed from scratch using only undergr...

  5. Unmet needs for comprehensive services in outpatient addiction treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pringle, Janice L; Emptage, Nicholas P; Hubbard, Robert L

    2006-04-01

    Many addiction treatment patients suffer from health and psychosocial problems in addition to substance misuse at the time of their treatment entry. Outpatient treatment programs have attempted to address these problems by providing or facilitating access to comprehensive health and social services. Nevertheless, previous research have suggested high levels of unmet needs for these services in the addiction treatment population. Using data from a large study on community-based outpatient addiction treatment, this article provides additional information on levels of unmet service needs and the relationship between need and receipt of services during treatment. Our results suggest extremely high levels of unmet needs for a wide variety of health and psychosocial services. Specifically, the data suggest that unmet service needs may be far more prevalent than previous estimates and that addiction treatment populations in rural areas may be particularly disadvantaged.

  6. Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented the Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) program to measure improper payments in the Medicare...

  7. IMPROVING STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION THROUGH IINTERACTIVE READ-ALOUD TECHNIQUE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edi Santoso

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: The present study, entitled Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension through Interactive Read-Aloud, attempts to unlock problems found in teaching and reading comprehension through interactive read-aloud in a Senior High School of Sport (SMAN Olah Raga Lampung, in Metro. The findings revealed that students’ reading comprehension improved through interactive read-aloud. The improvement can be seen from the increase of test results, meaning construction, and motivation. The process of reading activities showed that the teacher’s gesture and body language, 20 questions, explain and guess activities were proven to help the students construct meaning from the given texts. In addition, interactive read-aloud is effective to boost students’ motivation to comprehend the texts.   Key words: Reading comprehension, interactive read-aloud.

  8. A framework for developing an evidence-based, comprehensive tobacco control program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shacham Galia

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Tobacco control is an area where the translation of evidence into policy would seem to be straightforward, given the wealth of epidemiological, behavioural and other types of research available. Yet, even here challenges exist. These include information overload, concealment of key (industry-funded evidence, contextualization, assessment of population impact, and the changing nature of the threat. Methods In the context of Israel's health targeting initiative, Healthy Israel 2020, we describe the steps taken to develop a comprehensive tobacco control strategy. We elaborate on the following: a scientific issues influencing the choice of tobacco control strategies; b organization of existing evidence of effectiveness of interventions into a manageable form, and c consideration of relevant philosophical and political issues. We propose a framework for developing a plan and illustrate this process with a case study in Israel. Results Broad consensus exists regarding the effectiveness of most interventions, but current recommendations differ in the emphasis they place on different strategies. Scientific challenges include integration of complex and sometimes conflicting information from authoritative sources, and lack of estimates of population impact of interventions. Philosophical and political challenges include the use of evidence-based versus innovative policymaking, the importance of individual versus governmental responsibility, and whether and how interventions should be prioritized. The proposed framework includes: 1 compilation of a list of potential interventions 2 modification of that list based on local needs and political constraints; 3 streamlining the list by categorizing interventions into broad groupings of related interventions; together these groupings form the basis of a comprehensive plan; and 4 refinement of the plan by comparing it to existing comprehensive plans. Conclusions Development of a comprehensive

  9. A framework for developing an evidence-based, comprehensive tobacco control program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosen, Laura; Rosenberg, Elliot; McKee, Martin; Gan-Noy, Shosh; Levin, Diane; Mayshar, Elana; Shacham, Galia; Borowski, John; Nun, Gabi Bin; Lev, Boaz

    2010-05-27

    Tobacco control is an area where the translation of evidence into policy would seem to be straightforward, given the wealth of epidemiological, behavioural and other types of research available. Yet, even here challenges exist. These include information overload, concealment of key (industry-funded) evidence, contextualization, assessment of population impact, and the changing nature of the threat. In the context of Israel's health targeting initiative, Healthy Israel 2020, we describe the steps taken to develop a comprehensive tobacco control strategy. We elaborate on the following: a) scientific issues influencing the choice of tobacco control strategies; b) organization of existing evidence of effectiveness of interventions into a manageable form, and c) consideration of relevant philosophical and political issues. We propose a framework for developing a plan and illustrate this process with a case study in Israel. Broad consensus exists regarding the effectiveness of most interventions, but current recommendations differ in the emphasis they place on different strategies. Scientific challenges include integration of complex and sometimes conflicting information from authoritative sources, and lack of estimates of population impact of interventions. Philosophical and political challenges include the use of evidence-based versus innovative policymaking, the importance of individual versus governmental responsibility, and whether and how interventions should be prioritized.The proposed framework includes: 1) compilation of a list of potential interventions 2) modification of that list based on local needs and political constraints; 3) streamlining the list by categorizing interventions into broad groupings of related interventions; together these groupings form the basis of a comprehensive plan; and 4) refinement of the plan by comparing it to existing comprehensive plans. Development of a comprehensive tobacco control plan is a complex endeavour, involving

  10. Reading and listening comprehension and their relation to inattention and hyperactivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cain, Kate; Bignell, Simon

    2014-03-01

    Children with diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently have reading problems. To date, it is not clear whether poor reading is associated with both inattention and hyperactivity and also whether poor reading comprehension is the result of poor word reading skills or more general language comprehension weaknesses. We report two studies to examine how reading and listening comprehension skills are related to inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. Separate groups of 7- to 11-year-olds participated in each study. In both studies, we used teacher ratings of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity to identify three groups at risk of ADHD: poor attention, high hyperactivity, poor attention and high hyperactivity, and also same-age controls. In Study 1, we explored how inattention and hyperactivity predicted reading after controlling for non-verbal IQ and vocabulary. In Study 2, we compared listening and reading comprehension in these groups. Poor attention was related to poor reading comprehension, although the relation was partially mediated by word reading skill (Study 1). Groups with high hyperactivity had weak listening comprehension relative to reading comprehension (Study 2). These results indicate that the reading comprehension problems of children with attention difficulties are related to poor word reading and that listening comprehension is particularly vulnerable in children at risk of ADHD. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

  11. 300 Area Process Trenches Modified Closure/Postclosure Plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-09-01

    This chapter provides a brief summary of the contents of each chapter of this plan for the closure of the 300 Area Process Trenches (300 APT) treatment, storage, and/or disposal unit. It also provides background information for this unit and discusses how its closure will be integrated with the remedial action for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 300- FF-1 Operable Unit. The 300 APT is located within the 300 Area of the Hanford Site. This area contained reactor fuel fabrication facilities and research and development laboratories. The 300 APT was constructed and began operations in 1975 as the 316-5 Process Trenches. Effluent was discharged to the trenches by way of the 300 Area process sewer system, which has been the sole source of effluent for the 300 APT. The 316-5 Process Trenches gained Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) interim status as the 300 APT TSD unit on November 11, 1985. The unit has been administratively closed to discharges of dangerous waste since 1985

  12. Improving reading comprehension through Reciprocal Teaching Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Endang Komariah

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available This study is aimed at discovering the benefits of the Reciprocal Teaching Method (RTM in the reading classroom, finding out the achievements of students after four comprehension training sessions of using RTM, and exploring the perceptions of students on the use of RTM. This method uses four comprehension strategies: predicting, questioning, clarifying, and summarizing, to help learners monitor their development of reading comprehension by themselves. Students work in groups of four or five and the members are divided into five roles which are the leader, predictor, clarifier, questioner, and summarizer. The subjects were 24 students from the twelfth grade at a high school in Banda Aceh. Observations, tests, documents and interviews were collected to get the data. The results showed that the students were more active and productive in the reading classroom after RTM sessions and their reading proficiency improved. They learnt how to apply several of the strategies from RTM while reading. The results also showed that they preferred this method for teaching-learning reading compared to the conventional one. Therefore, teachers are suggested to consider using this method for teaching reading that instils the students on how to apply the four comprehension strategies used in reading.

  13. Measuring Speech Comprehensibility in Students with Down Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoder, Paul J.; Woynaroski, Tiffany; Camarata, Stephen

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: There is an ongoing need to develop assessments of spontaneous speech that focus on whether the child's utterances are comprehensible to listeners. This study sought to identify the attributes of a stable ratings-based measure of speech comprehensibility, which enabled examining the criterion-related validity of an orthography-based…

  14. The effect of listening comprehension skills on students ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper presents the report of a study that investigated the effects of listening comprehension skill training on students' performance in Oral English Test. To investigate the effects that the teaching of listening comprehension skills would have on the performance in Oral English test, 82 Senior Secondary School 2 ...

  15. A Comprehensive Model of Municipal Housing Stock Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muczyński Andrzej

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In many European countries there are still substantial housing needs which social landlords have to fulfill. Especially in countries with a shortage of affordable housing for underprivileged households, the effective and efficient management of the existing social housing stock, which includes technical, social, financial and tenure management activities on the strategic, tactical and operational level, is very important. The paper presents a comprehensive model of municipal housing stock management in the context of Polish conditions. This model was built by adapting the multidimensional concept of real estate management originally developed for commercial real estate portfolio management. It shows an integrative view of municipal housing stock management in Poland and contributes to the better organization and coordination of management activities and tasks in this area. The prepared model may be of interest to other countries where the functions of social landlords are mostly carried out directly by municipalities and their organizational units.

  16. A comprehensive special educational diagnostic assessment of five-year-old children with developmental coordination disorder (case studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tjasa Filipcic

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Developmental coordination disorder (DCD is a neurodevelopmental disorder which affects different areas of an individual's everyday living and learning. Children with DCD are often diagnosed late, at school age, when difficulties with writing, organization and executive functions arise, even though one could have seen signs of probable DCD very early in childhood. The aim of this study was to further assess five-year-old, preschool children recognized as children with DCD, and develop a model for a comprehensive special educational diagnostic assessment of abilities and skills in five-year-old children with DCD. The comprehensive diagnostic assessment comprised observations and assessments of children’s everyday skills in their kindergartens. It also included semi-structured interviews with children, their parents and their preschool teachers. Further, children’s skills and abilities in all developmental domains (sensory and motor skills, cognitive abilities, social and emotional development, speech and language development, including emerging literacy skills, and early maths skills were assessed. A qualitative analysis was undertaken to compare individual children’s comprehensive assessments. The developed model included both the strengths and weaknesses of the assessed children.

  17. The Impact of Note Taking On the Improvement of Listening Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

    OpenAIRE

    Mohammad Zohrabi; Farzaneh Esfandyari

    2014-01-01

    Note taking is a popular and operative strategy which increases the students? ability to remember, comprehend, and keep the material in mind. Nowadays, it is very common for teachers to use the note taking strategy in EFL listening classes due to the fact that taking notes can help students catch the main points easily and in turn promote their listening comprehension effectively. However, it creates areas of concerns for some researchers about whether taking notes is effective for students t...

  18. Public parks and wellbeing in urban areas of the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lincoln R. Larson; Viniece Jennings; Scott A. Cloutier

    2016-01-01

    Sustainable development efforts in urban areas often focus on understanding and managing factors that influence all aspects of health and wellbeing. Research has shown that public parks and green space provide a variety of physical, psychological, and social benefits to urban residents, but few studies have examined the influence of parks on comprehensive measures of...

  19. Proverb and idiom comprehension in Alzheimer disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kempler, D; Van Lancker, D; Read, S

    1988-01-01

    Twenty-nine patients diagnosed with Probable Alzheimer Disease were administered tests of word, familiar phrases (idioms and proverbs), and novel phrase comprehension. From the early stage of the disease, patients performed worse at understanding familiar phrases than single words or novel phrases. The results uphold common observations that AD patients have difficulty interpreting abstract meanings. Cognitive variables responsible for poor idiom/proverb comprehension and the clinical implications of this new protocol are discussed.

  20. A review of the studies on listening comprehension in the second language

    OpenAIRE

    Fukuda, Michiko

    2003-01-01

    Few studies have been done on the listening comprehension processing, especially in second language. However, recent studies show that listening comprehension is considered as an active and cognitive process. This paper overviews studies on listening comprehension in the second language by presenting some models of listening comprehension processing. Then, listening comprehension was studied from cognitive psychology and educational point of view. Finally, the direction of future researches o...

  1. Specific Reading Comprehension Disability: Major Problem, Myth, or Misnomer?

    OpenAIRE

    Spencer, Mercedes; Quinn, Jamie M.; Wagner, Richard K.

    2014-01-01

    The goal of the present study was to test three competing hypotheses about the nature of comprehension problems of students who are poor in reading comprehension. Participants in the study were first, second, and third graders, totaling 9 cohorts and over 425,000 participants in all. The pattern of results was consistent across all cohorts: Less than one percent of first- through third-grade students who scored as poor in reading comprehension were adequate in both decoding and vocabulary. Al...

  2. A comprehensive inventory of ship traffic exhaust emissions in the European sea areas in 2011

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.-P. Jalkanen

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Emissions originating from ship traffic in European sea areas were modelled using the Ship Traffic Emission Assessment Model (STEAM, which uses Automatic Identification System data to describe ship traffic activity. We have estimated the emissions from ship traffic in the whole of Europe in 2011. We report the emission totals, the seasonal variation, the geographical distribution of emissions, and their disaggregation between various ship types and flag states. The total ship emissions of CO2, NOx, SOx, CO, and PM2.5 in Europe for year 2011 were estimated to be 121, 3.0, 1.2, 0.2, and 0.2 million tons, respectively. The emissions of CO2 from the Baltic Sea were evaluated to be more than a half (55 % of the emissions of the North Sea shipping; the combined contribution of these two sea regions was almost as high (88 % as the total emissions from ships in the Mediterranean. As expected, the shipping emissions of SOx were significantly lower in the SOx Emission Control Areas, compared with the corresponding values in the Mediterranean. Shipping in the Mediterranean Sea is responsible for 40 and 49 % of the European ship emitted CO2 and SOx emissions, respectively. In particular, this study reported significantly smaller emissions of NOx, SOx, and CO for shipping in the Mediterranean than the EMEP inventory; however, the reported PM2.5 emissions were in a fairly good agreement with the corresponding values reported by EMEP. The vessels registered to all EU member states are responsible for 55 % of the total CO2 emitted by ships in the study area. The vessels under the flags of convenience were responsible for 25 % of the total CO2 emissions.

  3. Listening Comprehension Strategies: A Review of the Literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berne, Jane E.

    2004-01-01

    Numerous studies related to listening comprehension strategies have been published in the past two decades. The present study seeks to build upon two previous reviews of listening comprehension strategies research. Of particular interest in this review are studies dealing with the types of cues used by listeners, the sequence of listening,…

  4. Mining Student Behavior Patterns in Reading Comprehension Tasks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peckham, Terry; McCalla, Gord

    2012-01-01

    Reading comprehension is critical in life-long learning as well as in the workplace. In this paper, we describe how multidimensional k-means clustering combined with Bloom's Taxonomy can be used to determine positive and negative cognitive skill sets with respect to reading comprehension tasks. This information could be used to inform environments…

  5. Rereading Comprehension Pedagogies: Toward a Dialogic Teaching Ethic That Honors Student Sensemaking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aukerman, Maren

    2013-01-01

    This conceptual essay critiques reading comprehension pedagogies that are part of the current educational landscape. I argue that comprehension pedagogy generally reflects one of three differing orientations, each with its own assumptions about what comprehension is: comprehension-as-outcome pedagogies, which emphasize getting textual meaning…

  6. Electromagnetics of body area networks antennas, propagation, and RF systems

    CERN Document Server

    Werner, Douglas H

    2016-01-01

    The book is a comprehensive treatment of the field, covering fundamental theoretical principles and new technological advancements, state-of-the-art device design, and reviewing examples encompassing a wide range of related sub-areas. In particular, the first area focuses on the recent development of novel wearable and implantable antenna concepts and designs including metamaterial-based wearable antennas, microwave circuit integrated wearable filtering antennas, and textile and/or fabric material enabled wearable antennas. The second set of topics covers advanced wireless propagation and the associated statistical models for on-body, in-body, and off-body modes. Other sub-areas such as efficient numerical human body modeling techniques, artificial phantom synthesis and fabrication, as well as low-power RF integrated circuits and related sensor technology are also discussed. These topics have been carefully selected for their transformational impact on the next generation of body-area network systems and beyo...

  7. Assessing children's inference generation: what do tests of reading comprehension measure?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowyer-Crane, Claudine; Snowling, Margaret J

    2005-06-01

    Previous research suggests that children with specific comprehension difficulties have problems with the generation of inferences. This raises important questions as to whether poor comprehenders have poor comprehension skills generally, or whether their problems are confined to specific inference types. The main aims of the study were (a) using two commonly used tests of reading comprehension to classify the questions requiring the generation of inferences, and (b) to investigate the relative performance of skilled and less-skilled comprehenders on questions tapping different inference types. The performance of 10 poor comprehenders (mean age 110.06 months) was compared with the performance of 10 normal readers (mean age 112.78 months) on two tests of reading comprehension. A qualitative analysis of the NARA II (form 1) and the WORD comprehension subtest was carried out. Participants were then administered the NARA II, WORD comprehension subtest and a test of non-word reading. The NARA II was heavily reliant on the generation of knowledge-based inferences, while the WORD comprehension subtest was biased towards the retention of literal information. Children identified by the NARA II as having comprehension difficulties performed in the normal range on the WORD comprehension subtests. Further, children with comprehension difficulties performed poorly on questions requiring the generation of knowledge-based and elaborative inferences. However, they were able to answer questions requiring attention to literal information or use of cohesive devices at a level comparable to normal readers. Different reading tests tap different types of inferencing skills. Lessskilled comprehenders have particular difficulty applying real-world knowledge to a text during reading, and this has implications for the formulation of effective intervention strategies.

  8. A comprehensive review on droplet-based bioprinting: Past, present and future.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gudapati, Hemanth; Dey, Madhuri; Ozbolat, Ibrahim

    2016-09-01

    Droplet-based bioprinting (DBB) offers greater advantages due to its simplicity and agility with precise control on deposition of biologics including cells, growth factors, genes, drugs and biomaterials, and has been a prominent technology in the bioprinting community. Due to its immense versatility, DBB technology has been adopted by various application areas, including but not limited to, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, transplantation and clinics, pharmaceutics and high-throughput screening, and cancer research. Despite the great benefits, the technology currently faces several challenges such as a narrow range of available bioink materials, bioprinting-induced cell damage at substantial levels, limited mechanical and structural integrity of bioprinted constructs, and restrictions on the size of constructs due to lack of vascularization and porosity. This paper presents a first-time review of DBB and comprehensively covers the existing DBB modalities including inkjet, electrohydrodynamic, acoustic, and micro-valve bioprinting. The recent notable studies are highlighted, the relevant bioink biomaterials and bioprinters are expounded, the application areas are presented, and the future prospects are provided to the reader. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Comprehensive numerical modelling of tokamaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cohen, R.H.; Cohen, B.I.; Dubois, P.F.

    1991-01-01

    We outline a plan for the development of a comprehensive numerical model of tokamaks. The model would consist of a suite of independent, communicating packages describing the various aspects of tokamak performance (core and edge transport coefficients and profiles, heating, fueling, magnetic configuration, etc.) as well as extensive diagnostics. These codes, which may run on different computers, would be flexibly linked by a user-friendly shell which would allow run-time specification of packages and generation of pre- and post-processing functions, including workstation-based visualization of output. One package in particular, the calculation of core transport coefficients via gyrokinetic particle simulation, will become practical on the scale required for comprehensive modelling only with the advent of teraFLOP computers. Incremental effort at LLNL would be focused on gyrokinetic simulation and development of the shell

  10. Working memory contributions to reading comprehension components in middle childhood children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chrysochoou, Elisavet; Bablekou, Zoe; Tsigilis, Nikolaos

    2011-01-01

    This study examined working memory contributions to reading comprehension subskills in Greek children (mean age 9 years, 1 month). The phonological loop of the Baddeley and Hitch working memory model was assessed with 3 recall tasks (words, nonwords, and digits) and a word list matching task. The central executive (CE) was assessed with 3 tasks (listening, counting, and backward digit recall). Participants were also given a receptive vocabulary task, a reading fluency task, and written stories accompanied by comprehension questions. Canonical correlation analyses showed that the comprehension variables were related to the CE rather than the phonological loop measures. CE functions were more strongly associated with elaborative inference generation (involving significant offline processing) and comprehension control (involving metacognitive monitoring). Smaller yet significant associations were observed between the CE and the necessary inference and literal comprehension measures, whereas a moderate relationship was found in the case of the simile comprehension variable. Among the CE variables, listening recall demonstrated the highest loading on the canonical function, followed by moderate yet significant counting and backward digit recall loadings. Vocabulary was found to fully mediate several associations between working memory and comprehension measures; however, the relationship between listening recall and elaborative inferences was partly mediated. Reading fluency and, on several occasions, Greek vocabulary knowledge did not mediate the relationships between CE measures and comprehension skills assessed. This study demonstrates the usefulness of CE measures for identifying young children's possible difficulties in carrying out specific reading comprehension processes.

  11. Late Washing efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morrissey, M.F.

    1992-01-01

    Interim Waste Technology has demonstrated the Late Washing concept on the Experimental Laboratory Filter (ELF) at TNX. In two tests, washing reduced the [NO 2 - ] from 0.08 M to approximately 0.01 M on slurries with 2 year equivalent radiation exposures and 9.5 wt. % solids. For both washes, the [NO 2 - ] decreased at rates near theoretical for a constant volume stirred vessel, indicating approximately l00% washing efficiency. Permeate flux was greater than 0.05 gpm/ft 2 for both washes at a transmembrane pressure of 50 psi and flow velocity of 9 ft/sec

  12. Comprehensive benefit analysis of regional water resources based on multi-objective evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chi, Yixia; Xue, Lianqing; Zhang, Hui

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of the water resources comprehensive benefits analysis is to maximize the comprehensive benefits on the aspects of social, economic and ecological environment. Aiming at the defects of the traditional analytic hierarchy process in the evaluation of water resources, it proposed a comprehensive benefit evaluation of social, economic and environmental benefits index from the perspective of water resources comprehensive benefit in the social system, economic system and environmental system; determined the index weight by the improved fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP), calculated the relative index of water resources comprehensive benefit and analyzed the comprehensive benefit of water resources in Xiangshui County by the multi-objective evaluation model. Based on the water resources data in Xiangshui County, 20 main comprehensive benefit assessment factors of 5 districts belonged to Xiangshui County were evaluated. The results showed that the comprehensive benefit of Xiangshui County was 0.7317, meanwhile the social economy has a further development space in the current situation of water resources.

  13. Older Adults' Comprehension of Transformational and Deactivation Negation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margolin, Sara J.

    2015-01-01

    The present research aimed to examine young and older adults' comprehension of negated text to determine the locus of older adults' difficulty in understanding this text construction. Participants were asked to read short passages at their own pace, complete a lexical decision task, and answer a comprehension question about what they had read.…

  14. 7 CFR 4290.320 - Contents of comprehensive business plan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Contents of comprehensive business plan. 4290.320... comprehensive business plan. (a) Plan for Developmental Venture Capital investing. The Applicant must describe... of the Applicant's business plan. ...

  15. Improving 4th Grade Primary School Students' Reading Comprehension Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulut, Aydin

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to carry out action research to investigate reading comprehension skills when using the SQ3R reading comprehension strategy. To that end, this strategy was used for improving the reading comprehension skills of 7 primary school 4th grade students who had problems with these skills. An action plan was prepared for 3hours a…

  16. Semiworks source aggregate area management study report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-05-01

    This report presents the results of an aggregate area management study (AAMS) for the Semi-Works Aggregate Area in the 200 Areas of the US Department of Energy (DOE) . Hanford Site in Washington State. This scoping level study provides the basis for initiating Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) activities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) or Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Facility Investigations WD and Corrective Measures Studies (CMS) under RCRA. This report also integrates select RCRA treatment storage, or disposal (TSD) closure activities with CERCLA and RCRA past-practice investigations. This approach is described and justified in The Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order Change Package. This strategy provides new concepts for: accelerating decision-malting by maximizing the use of existing data consistent with data quality objectives (DQOs); and undertaking expedited response actions (ERAS) and/or interim remedial measures (IRMs), as appropriate, to either remove threats to human health and welfare and the environment, or to reduce risk by reducing toxicity, mobility, or volume of contaminants

  17. An Approach to Evaluate Comprehensive Plan and Identify Priority Lands for Future Land Use Development to Conserve More Ecological Values

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Long Zhou

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Urbanization has significant impacts on the regional environmental quality through altering natural lands, converting them to urban built-up areas. One common strategy applied by urban planners to manage urbanization and preserve natural resources is to make a comprehensive plan and concentrate future land use in certain areas. However, in practice, planners used to make future land use planning mainly based on their subjective interpretations with limited ecological supporting evidence and analysis. Here, we propose a new approach composed of ecological modelling and land use zoning in the spatial matrix to evaluate the comprehensive plan and identify priority lands for sustainable land use planning. We use the city of Corvallis, OR, as the test bed to demonstrate this new approach. The results indicate that the Corvallis Comprehensive Plan 1998–2020 featured with compact development is not performing efficiently in conserving ecological values, and the land use plan featured with mixed-use spreading development generated by the proposed approach meets the city’s land demands for urban growth, and conserves 103% more ecological value of retaining storm water nitrogen, 270% more ecological value of retaining storm water phosphorus and 19% more ecological value in storing carbon in the whole watershed. This study indicates that if planned with scientific analysis and evidence, spreading urban development does not necessarily result in less sustainable urban environment than the compact development recommended in smart growth.

  18. Ecological mechanisms linking protected areas to surrounding lands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansen, Andrew J; DeFries, Ruth

    2007-06-01

    Land use is expanding and intensifying in the unprotected lands surrounding many of the world's protected areas. The influence of this land use change on ecological processes is poorly understood. The goal of this paper is to draw on ecological theory to provide a synthetic framework for understanding how land use change around protected areas may alter ecological processes and biodiversity within protected areas and to provide a basis for identifying scientifically based management alternatives. We first present a conceptual model of protected areas embedded within larger ecosystems that often include surrounding human land use. Drawing on case studies in this Invited Feature, we then explore a comprehensive set of ecological mechanisms by which land use on surrounding lands may influence ecological processes and biodiversity within reserves. These mechanisms involve changes in ecosystem size, with implications for minimum dynamic area, species-area effect, and trophic structure; altered flows of materials and disturbances into and out of reserves; effects on crucial habitats for seasonal and migration movements and population source/sink dynamics; and exposure to humans through hunting, poaching, exotics species, and disease. These ecological mechanisms provide a basis for assessing the vulnerability of protected areas to land use. They also suggest criteria for designing regional management to sustain protected areas in the context of surrounding human land use. These design criteria include maximizing the area of functional habitats, identifying and maintaining ecological process zones, maintaining key migration and source habitats, and managing human proximity and edge effects.

  19. Revisiting Sticht: The Changing Nature of the Relationship between Listening Comprehension and Reading Comprehension among Upper Elementary and Middle School Students over the Last 50 Years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verlaan, Wolfram; Pearce, Daniel L.; Zeng, Guang

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between listening comprehension and reading comprehension to determine if environmental factors might be contributing to a possible change in the equalization age for these two comprehension modalities from what was theorized by Thomas Sticht. The study employed a counterbalanced design to measure the…

  20. THE NATURE OF COMPREHENSION.

    Science.gov (United States)

    CLELAND, DONALD L.

    THE NATURE OF COMPREHENSION IS DEFINED AND CLARIFIED. THE LITERATURE IS SURVEYED TO SHOW THAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONCEPTS IS IMPORTANT IN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITIES. IT IS POINTED OUT THAT CONCEPTS ARE BUILT FROM PERCEPTS, IMAGES, SENSATION, AND MEMORIES, AND THAT THE STEPS WHICH ARE EMPLOYED AS CONCEPTS ARE BUILT AND REFINED AND INCLUDE PERCEIVING,…

  1. Improving Reading Comprehension Skills through the SCRATCH Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papatga, Erdal; Ersoy, Ali

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to reveal how reading comprehension skills of elementary fourth graders who have problems in reading comprehension can be improved by means of the SCRATCH program. The study was designed as a participant action research. It was carried out within a 15- week process at an elementary school with middle socio-economic level…

  2. Gender Agreement Attraction in Russian: Production and Comprehension Evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slioussar, Natalia; Malko, Anton

    2016-01-01

    Agreement attraction errors (such as the number error in the example "The key to the cabinets are rusty") have been the object of many studies in the last 20 years. So far, almost all production experiments and all comprehension experiments looked at binary features (primarily at number in Germanic, Romance, and some other languages, in several cases at gender in Romance languages). Among other things, it was noted that both in production and in comprehension, attraction effects are much stronger for some feature combinations than for the others: they can be observed in the sentences with singular heads and plural dependent nouns (e.g.,"The key to the cabinets…"), but not in the sentences with plural heads and singular dependent nouns (e.g., "The keys to the cabinet…"). Almost all proposed explanations of this asymmetry appeal to feature markedness, but existing findings do not allow teasing different approaches to markedness apart. We report the results of four experiments (one on production and three on comprehension) studying subject-verb gender agreement in Russian, a language with three genders. Firstly, we found attraction effects both in production and in comprehension, but, unlike in the case of number agreement, they were not parallel (in production, feminine gender triggered strongest effects, while neuter triggered weakest effects, while in comprehension, masculine triggered weakest effects). Secondly, in the comprehension experiments attraction was observed for all dependent noun genders, but only for a subset of head noun genders. This goes against the traditional assumption that the features of the dependent noun are crucial for attraction, showing the features of the head are more important. We demonstrate that this approach can be extended to previous findings on attraction and that there exists other evidence for it. In total, these findings let us reconsider the question which properties of features are crucial for agreement attraction in

  3. Hand Specific Representations in Language Comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claire eMoody-Triantis

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Theories of embodied cognition argue that language comprehension involves sensory-motor re-enactments of the actions described. However, the degree of specificity of these re-enactments as well as the relationship between action and language remains a matter of debate. Here we investigate these issues by examining how hand-specific information (left or right hand is recruited in language comprehension and action execution. An fMRI study tested right-handed participants in two separate tasks that were designed to be as similar as possible to increase sensitivity of the comparison across task: an action execution go/no-go task where participants performed right or left hand actions, and a language task where participants read sentences describing the same left or right handed actions as in the execution task. We found that language-induced activity did not match the hand-specific patterns of activity found for action execution in primary somatosensory and motor cortex, but it overlapped with pre-motor and parietal regions associated with action planning. Within these pre-motor regions, both right hand actions and sentences elicited stronger activity than left hand actions and sentences - a dominant hand effect -. Importantly, both dorsal and ventral sections of the left pre-central gyrus were recruited by both tasks, suggesting different action features being recruited. These results suggest that (a language comprehension elicits motor representations that are hand-specific and akin to multimodal action plans, rather than full action re-enactments; and (b language comprehension and action execution share schematic hand-specific representations that are richer for the dominant hand, and thus linked to previous motor experience.

  4. Hand specific representations in language comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moody-Triantis, Claire; Humphreys, Gina F; Gennari, Silvia P

    2014-01-01

    Theories of embodied cognition argue that language comprehension involves sensory-motor re-enactments of the actions described. However, the degree of specificity of these re-enactments as well as the relationship between action and language remains a matter of debate. Here we investigate these issues by examining how hand-specific information (left or right hand) is recruited in language comprehension and action execution. An fMRI study tested self-reported right-handed participants in two separate tasks that were designed to be as similar as possible to increase sensitivity of the comparison across task: an action execution go/no-go task where participants performed right or left hand actions, and a language task where participants read sentences describing the same left or right handed actions as in the execution task. We found that language-induced activity did not match the hand-specific patterns of activity found for action execution in primary somatosensory and motor cortex, but it overlapped with pre-motor and parietal regions associated with action planning. Within these pre-motor regions, both right hand actions and sentences elicited stronger activity than left hand actions and sentences-a dominant hand effect. Importantly, both dorsal and ventral sections of the left pre-central gyrus were recruited by both tasks, suggesting different action features being recruited. These results suggest that (a) language comprehension elicits motor representations that are hand-specific and akin to multimodal action plans, rather than full action re-enactments; and (b) language comprehension and action execution share schematic hand-specific representations that are richer for the dominant hand, and thus linked to previous motor experience.

  5. Lesion localization of speech comprehension deficits in chronic aphasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pillay, Sara B; Binder, Jeffrey R; Humphries, Colin; Gross, William L; Book, Diane S

    2017-03-07

    Voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) was used to localize impairments specific to multiword (phrase and sentence) spoken language comprehension. Participants were 51 right-handed patients with chronic left hemisphere stroke. They performed an auditory description naming (ADN) task requiring comprehension of a verbal description, an auditory sentence comprehension (ASC) task, and a picture naming (PN) task. Lesions were mapped using high-resolution MRI. VLSM analyses identified the lesion correlates of ADN and ASC impairment, first with no control measures, then adding PN impairment as a covariate to control for cognitive and language processes not specific to spoken language. ADN and ASC deficits were associated with lesions in a distributed frontal-temporal parietal language network. When PN impairment was included as a covariate, both ADN and ASC deficits were specifically correlated with damage localized to the mid-to-posterior portion of the middle temporal gyrus (MTG). Damage to the mid-to-posterior MTG is associated with an inability to integrate multiword utterances during comprehension of spoken language. Impairment of this integration process likely underlies the speech comprehension deficits characteristic of Wernicke aphasia. © 2017 American Academy of Neurology.

  6. Effectiveness of the Area-wide Pest Management Program to Control Asian Tiger Mosquito in New Jersey: Evidence from a Household Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Households’ behaviors can both mitigate and measure the spread of urban mosquitos. Beginning in 2009, a comprehensive area-wide pest management (AWPM) project to control Aedes albopictus was implemented in 4 areas in Monmouth and Mercer Counties, New Jersey. Including other activities, the project f...

  7. A comprehensive inventory of radiological and nonradiological contaminants in waste buried or projected to be buried in the subsurface disposal area of the INEL RWMC during the years 1984-2003, Volume 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-05-01

    This report presents a comprehensive inventory of the radiological and nonradiological contaminants in waste buried or projected to be buried from 1984 through 2003 in the Subsurface Disposal Area (SDA) at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. The project to compile the inventory is referred to as the recent and projected data task. The inventory was compiled primarily for use in a baseline risk assessment under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. The compiled information may also be useful for environmental remediation activities that might be necessary at the RWMC. The information that was compiled has been entered into a database termed CIDRA-the Contaminant Inventory Database for Risk Assessment. The inventory information was organized according to waste generator and divided into waste streams for each generator. The inventory is based on waste information that was available in facility operating records, technical and programmatic reports, shipping records, and waste generator forecasts. Additional information was obtained by reviewing the plant operations that originally generated the waste, by interviewing personnel formerly employed as operators, and by performing nuclear physics and engineering calculations. In addition to contaminant inventories, information was compiled on the physical and chemical characteristics and the packaging of the 99 waste streams. The inventory information for waste projected to be buried at the SDA in the future was obtained from waste generator forecasts. The completeness of the contaminant inventories was confirmed by comparing them against inventories in previous reports and in other databases, and against the list of contaminants detected in environmental monitoring performed at the RWMC

  8. Key Concept Identification: A Comprehensive Analysis of Frequency and Topical Graph-Based Approaches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Aman

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Automatic key concept extraction from text is the main challenging task in information extraction, information retrieval and digital libraries, ontology learning, and text analysis. The statistical frequency and topical graph-based ranking are the two kinds of potentially powerful and leading unsupervised approaches in this area, devised to address the problem. To utilize the potential of these approaches and improve key concept identification, a comprehensive performance analysis of these approaches on datasets from different domains is needed. The objective of the study presented in this paper is to perform a comprehensive empirical analysis of selected frequency and topical graph-based algorithms for key concept extraction on three different datasets, to identify the major sources of error in these approaches. For experimental analysis, we have selected TF-IDF, KP-Miner and TopicRank. Three major sources of error, i.e., frequency errors, syntactical errors and semantical errors, and the factors that contribute to these errors are identified. Analysis of the results reveals that performance of the selected approaches is significantly degraded by these errors. These findings can help us develop an intelligent solution for key concept extraction in the future.

  9. Comprehensive treatment of generalized parodontitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mdinaradze, N

    2006-06-01

    The complexity of pathogenesis of periodontitis makes the use of comprehensive treatment necessary. We observed 60 patients, 20 women and 40 men among them aged from 20 to 50. In the course of parodontitis, we determined the intensity of inflammatory-destructive changes (Pi) in the course of periodontitis, the degree of fang denudation, the depth of gum and parodontal recesses, degree of the teeth becoming loose; we conducted the microbiological study of the oral cavity microflora and drew up an antibiotic graph. We included laser therapy in the comprehensive treatment course of generalized parodontitis. We divided the patients into two groups. The patients of the first group were treated in two stages. We used peridex, composed of chlorhexidine for antiseptic treatment of oral cavity. We used a combined solution of sage, eucalyptus, camomile and calendula to irrigate the oral cavity. At the second stage we used ointment applications with the composition of 3% indometacin, heparin, vitamins, sea-buckthorn oil and antibiotics. In the course of comprehensive treatment of the patients of the II group we included laser therapy. Our interest in the laser beam, as in the means of parodontitis treatment was stimulated by a number of properties of the laser beam and namely, its anti-inflammatory, desensitizing and antibacterial action promotes intensifying the reparation processes and does not entail any complications. The mentioned method has produced the best therapeutic results and has resulted in the reduced treatment period.

  10. A comprehensive nuclear test ban

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1985-01-01

    The conclusion of a comprehensive nuclear test ban is of critical importance for the future of arms limitation and disarmament. As the 1980 report of the Secretary-General concluded, a comprehensive nuclear test ban is regarded as the first and most urgent step towards the cessation of the nuclear arms race and, in particular, of its qualitative aspects. It could serve as an important measure for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, both vertical and horizontal. It would have a major arms limitation impact in that it would make it difficult, if not impossible, to develop new designs of nuclear weapons and would also place constraints on the modification of existing weapon designs. The permanent cessation of all nuclear-weapon tests has long been sought by the world community and its achievement would be an event of great international significance

  11. fMRI brain response during sentence reading comprehension in children with benign epilepsy with centro-temporal spikes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malfait, D; Tucholka, A; Mendizabal, S; Tremblay, J; Poulin, C; Oskoui, M; Srour, M; Carmant, L; Major, P; Lippé, S

    2015-11-01

    Children with benign epilepsy with centro-temporal spikes (BECTS) often have language problems. Abnormal epileptic activity is found in central and temporal brain regions, which are involved in reading and semantic and syntactic comprehension. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined reading networks in BECTS children with a new sentence reading comprehension task involving semantic and syntactic processing. Fifteen children with BECTS (age=11y 1m ± 16 m; 12 boys) and 18 healthy controls (age=11 y 8m ± 20 m; 11 boys) performed an fMRI reading comprehension task in which they read a pair of syntactically complex sentences and decided whether the target sentence (the second sentence in the pair) was true or false with respect to the first sentence. All children also underwent an exhaustive neuropsychological assessment. We demonstrated weaknesses in several cognitive domains in BECTS children. During the sentence reading fMRI task, left inferior frontal regions and bilateral temporal areas were activated in BECTS children and healthy controls. However, additional brain regions such as the left hippocampus and precuneus were activated in BECTS children. Moreover, specific activation was found in the left caudate and putamen in BECTS children but not in healthy controls. Cognitive results and accuracy during the fMRI task were associated with specific brain activation patterns. BECTS children recruited a wider network to perform the fMRI sentence reading comprehension task, with specific activation in the left dorsal striatum. BECTS cognitive performance differently predicted functional activation in frontal and temporal regions compared to controls, suggesting differences in brain network organisation that contribute to reading comprehension. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Implications of urban structure on carbon consumption in metropolitan areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heinonen, Jukka; Junnila, Seppo

    2011-01-01

    Urban structure influences directly or indirectly the majority of all green house gas (GHG) emissions in cities. The prevailing belief is that dense metropolitan areas produce less carbon emissions on a per capita basis than less dense surrounding rural areas. Consequently, density targets have a major role in low-carbon urban developments. However, based on the results of this study, the connection seems unclear or even nonexistent when comprehensive evaluation is made. In this letter, we propose a hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) method for calculating the consumption-based carbon footprints in metropolitan areas, i.e. carbon consumption, with the emphasis on urban structures. The method is input-output-based hybrid LCA, which operates with the existing data from the region. The study is conducted by performing an analysis of the carbon consumption in two metropolitan areas in Finland, including 11 cities. Both areas consist of a dense city core and a less dense surrounding suburban area. The paper will illustrate that the influence of urban density on carbon emissions is insignificant in the selected metropolitan areas. In addition, the utilized consumption-based method links the climate effects of city-level development to the global production of emissions.

  13. Effects of Psychological Attention on Pronoun Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Jennifer E.; Lao, Shin-Yi C.

    2015-01-01

    Pronoun comprehension is facilitated for referents that are focused in the discourse context. Discourse focus has been described as a function of attention, especially shared attention, but few studies have explicitly tested this idea. Two experiments used an exogenous capture cue paradigm to demonstrate that listeners’ visual attention at the onset of a story influences their preferences during pronoun resolution later in the story. In both experiments trial-initial attention modulated listeners’ transitory biases while considering referents for the pronoun, whether it was in response to the capture cue or not. These biases even had a small influence on listeners’ final interpretation of the pronoun. These results provide independently-motivated evidence that the listener’s attention influences the on-line processes of pronoun comprehension. Trial-initial attentional shifts were made on the basis of non-shared, private information, demonstrating that attentional effects on pronoun comprehension are not restricted to shared attention among interlocutors. PMID:26191533

  14. Defence in Depth: Assessment of Comprehensiveness and Further Strengthening of the Concept

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Misak, J., E-mail: Jozef.Misak@ujv.cz

    2014-10-15

    Full text: Defence in depth concept based on multiple levels of protection of the workers, public and the environment against radiation harm is and should remain an essential strategy for ensuring safety of nuclear power plants. This strategy should be comprehensively implemented through all stages of the plant lifetime, from the siting through construction and operation up to decommissioning. First part of the presentation will introduce a screening method developed by the IAEA as a tool facilitating the assessment of the comprehensiveness of defence in depth and will indicate further possibilities for using and updating the approach by taking into account recent lessons learned. Although it is clear that it is not possible for any industrial facility including nuclear power plants to fully eliminate the risk, further strengthening the defence in depth in particular at level 4 dealing with design extension conditions gives very high confidence in prevention and effective mitigation of severe accidents so that they are either practically eliminated or their consequences are limited in area and time. Second part of the presentation will discuss several issues associated with current efforts for strengthening the defence in depth, including the issues of practical elimination, independence and diversity of safety provisions at different levels of defence. (author)

  15. Improving Students' Reading Comprehension in Descriptive Text Through Anticipation Guide

    OpenAIRE

    Nasution, Maya Puspita

    2014-01-01

    This study concerrns with improving students' reading comprehension in descriptive text through anticipation guide.The objective was to investigate improvement of students' reading comprehension by applying anticipation guide. This research was conducted by using action research method. The subject of the study was grade VII students of SMP SWASTA TAMAN HARAPAN MEDAN totalling to 30 students. They were taught reading comprehension by anticipation guide. The instruments for collecting data wer...

  16. Solution of the transport equation in stationary state, in one and two dimensions, for BWR assemblies using nodal methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xolocostli M, J.V.

    2002-01-01

    The main objective of this work is to solve the neutron transport equation in one and two dimensions (slab geometry and X Y geometry, respectively), with no time dependence, for BWR assemblies using nodal methods. In slab geometry, the nodal methods here used are the polynomial continuous (CMPk) and discontinuous (DMPk) families but only the Linear Continuous (also known as Diamond Difference), the Quadratic Continuous (QC), the Cubic Continuous (CC), the Step Discontinuous (also known as Backward Euler), the Linear Discontinuous (LD) and the Quadratic Discontinuous (QD) were considered. In all these schemes the unknown function, the angular neutron flux, is approximated as a sum of basis functions in terms of Legendre polynomials, associated to the values of the neutron flux in the edges (left, right, or both) and the Legendre moments in the cell, depending on the nodal scheme used. All these schemes were implemented in a computer program developed in previous thesis works and known with the name TNX. This program was modified for the purposes of this work. The program discreetizes the domain of concern in one dimension and determines numerically the angular neutron flux for each point of the discretization when the number of energy groups and regions are known starting from an initial approximation for the angular neutron flux being consistent with the boundary condition imposed for a given problem. Although only problems with two-energy groups were studied the computer program does not have limitations regarding the number of energy groups and the number of regions. The two problems analyzed with the program TNX have practically the same characteristics (fuel and water), with the difference that one of them has a control rod. In the part corresponding to two-dimensional problems, the implemented nodal methods were those designated as hybrids that consider not only the edge and cell Legendre moments, but also the values of the neutron flux in the corner points

  17. Solution of the transport equation in stationary state, in one and two dimensions, for BWR assemblies using nodal methods; Solucion de la ecuacion de transporte en estado estacionario, en 1 y 2 dimensiones, para ensambles tipo BWR usando metodos nodales

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xolocostli M, J V

    2002-07-01

    The main objective of this work is to solve the neutron transport equation in one and two dimensions (slab geometry and X Y geometry, respectively), with no time dependence, for BWR assemblies using nodal methods. In slab geometry, the nodal methods here used are the polynomial continuous (CMPk) and discontinuous (DMPk) families but only the Linear Continuous (also known as Diamond Difference), the Quadratic Continuous (QC), the Cubic Continuous (CC), the Step Discontinuous (also known as Backward Euler), the Linear Discontinuous (LD) and the Quadratic Discontinuous (QD) were considered. In all these schemes the unknown function, the angular neutron flux, is approximated as a sum of basis functions in terms of Legendre polynomials, associated to the values of the neutron flux in the edges (left, right, or both) and the Legendre moments in the cell, depending on the nodal scheme used. All these schemes were implemented in a computer program developed in previous thesis works and known with the name TNX. This program was modified for the purposes of this work. The program discreetizes the domain of concern in one dimension and determines numerically the angular neutron flux for each point of the discretization when the number of energy groups and regions are known starting from an initial approximation for the angular neutron flux being consistent with the boundary condition imposed for a given problem. Although only problems with two-energy groups were studied the computer program does not have limitations regarding the number of energy groups and the number of regions. The two problems analyzed with the program TNX have practically the same characteristics (fuel and water), with the difference that one of them has a control rod. In the part corresponding to two-dimensional problems, the implemented nodal methods were those designated as hybrids that consider not only the edge and cell Legendre moments, but also the values of the neutron flux in the corner points

  18. Improving text comprehension strategies in reading and listening settings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brand-Gruwel, S; Aarnoutse, CAJ; van den Bos, KP

    Traditional intervention programs for children with decoding and reading comprehension problems often focus on remediation of the decoding ability. The goal of this study was to determine whether it is possible to teach these children text comprehension strategies. The subjects were fourth-grade

  19. Deployment Area Selection and Land Withdrawal/Acquisition. M-X/MPS (M-X/Multiple Protective Shelter) Environmental Technical Report. Volume 2. Protected Species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1981-10-02

    of natural desert acuatic habitats and by development of a continuing and comprehensive public education program. 8. Mitigation measures must squarely...vegetation zones within the study area. Transect lines have been designated and are synonomous with station locations for all acuatic biological...ecological literature reported for aquatic insects by Merritt and Cummins (1978) supports this statement. No comprehensive information on invertebrate

  20. K-Area Acid/Caustic Basin groundwater monitoring report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thompson, C.Y.

    1992-09-01

    During second quarter 1992, samples from the seven older KAC monitoring wells at the K-Area Acid/Caustic Basin were analyzed for herbicides, indicator parameters, major ions, pesticides, radionuclides, turbidity, and other constituents. New wells FAC 8 and 9 received the first of four quarters of comprehensive analyses and GC/MS VOA (gas chromatograph/ mass spectrometer volatile organic analyses). Monitoring results that exceeded the US Environmental Protection Agency's Primary Drinking Water Standards (PDWS) or the Savannah River Site (SRS) flagging criteria or turbidity standards during the quarter are discussed in this report

  1. Learning to Estimate Slide Comprehension in Classrooms with Support Vector Machines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pattanasri, N.; Mukunoki, M.; Minoh, M.

    2012-01-01

    Comprehension assessment is an essential tool in classroom learning. However, the judgment often relies on experience of an instructor who makes observation of students' behavior during the lessons. We argue that students should report their own comprehension explicitly in a classroom. With students' comprehension made available at the slide…

  2. Promoting the Comprehension of Teachers and Students Using Young Adult Literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henderson, Shannon C.; Buskist, Connie

    2011-01-01

    Adolescents who struggle with reading most often encounter problems with comprehension, rather than the ability to read words. Comprehension is a dynamic process that requires the reader to use multiple strategies as meaning is constructed. To improve the reading comprehension of their students, teachers must be knowledgeable about what…

  3. Proactive and reactive effects of vigorous exercise on learning and vocabulary comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salis, Andrea S

    2013-06-01

    College students (N = 90) were randomly assigned to participate in vigorous, moderate or no physical exercise and vocabulary recall and comprehension learning activities under varying conditions to assess whether or not increased intensities of exercise, performed either before a vocabulary recall and comprehension learning activity (i.e., proactive effect) or after a vocabulary recall and comprehension learning activity (i.e., reactive effect), would improve vocabulary recall and comprehension. The results demonstrated that performing exercise at a vigorous intensity before or after rehearsing for a vocabulary comprehension test improved test results.

  4. EMC² = comprehension: A reading strategy instruction framework for all teachers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nanda M Klapwijk

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Comprehension is a critical part of the reading process, and yet learners continue to struggle with it and teachers continue to neglect it in their teaching. Many reasons exist for the lack of focus on reading comprehension instruction, but for the most part, teachers simply do not seem to view comprehension as part of the reading process, are not able to teach the concept, and are seemingly not taught to do so during their teacher training years. In addition to this, comprehension continues to be viewed as part of 'language teaching', and is therefore viewed as the so-called 'language teacher's' domain. In support of effective comprehension instruction in the unique, multilingual South African education environment, this article proposes a framework for reading strategy instruction, aimed specifically at teachers. The framework was developed from a research study, and refined through subsequent application in a university course as well as a further study. The framework acknowledges that reading is a multifaceted and complex process, and accordingly, provides sufficient structure for teachers. It further addresses the issue of comprehension instruction through the use of selected reading strategies, designed to be applied by all teachers in all subjects in a flexible and easy manner.

  5. Cellular communications a comprehensive and practical guide

    CERN Document Server

    Tripathi, Nishith

    2014-01-01

    Even as newer cellular technologies and standards emerge, many of the fundamental principles and the components of the cellular network remain the same. Presenting a simple yet comprehensive view of cellular communications technologies, Cellular Communications provides an end-to-end perspective of cellular operations, ranging from physical layer details to call set-up and from the radio network to the core network. This self-contained source forpractitioners and students represents a comprehensive survey of the fundamentals of cellular communications and the landscape of commercially deployed

  6. Echoic Memory Interference and Comprehension in a Foreign Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenberg, Seth N.; Roscoe, Suzanne

    1988-01-01

    Study of echoic memory interference among students in college introductory Spanish and German courses revealed that students with weaker listening comprehension skills depended more upon vulnerable sensory codes in echoic memory, while students with stronger comprehension relied on stable higher-order codes. (Author/CB)

  7. The Assessment of Reading Comprehension Difficulties for Reading Intervention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woolley, Gary

    2008-01-01

    There are many environmental and personal factors that contribute to reading success. Reading comprehension is a complex interaction of language, sensory perception, memory, and motivational aspects. However, most existing assessment tools have not adequately reflected the complex nature of reading comprehension. Good assessment requires a…

  8. Cognitive Style and EFL Learners’ Listening Comprehension Ability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mandana Yousefi

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract     The current study aimed to investigate whether, and to what extent, there is a relationship between field independence / dependence cognitive styles and Iranian EFL learners' listening comprehension ability. For this purpose, a sample population of 131 Subjects was randomly selected.  A battery of tests including: a the Group Embedded Figures Test (1971, b the TOFEL listening test (1995, c the listening task preference questionnaire, and d the Michigan ECPE test (1996 were administered. The data analysis showed that the correlation between the TOFEL and the GEFT scores for FD learners (both males and females was significant(r =0.70, and higher scores on the GEFT led to an increase in the FD learners TOFEL scores. Conducting one-way and two-way ANOVAs, it was suggested that while there was a relationship between cognitive style and listening comprehension (F= 18.02 and also no relationship between sex and listening comprehension (F=0.267, the interactional effect was significant (f = 7.03. Therefore, sex can be regarded as a source of performance difference in listening comprehension but not by itself and it seems that the interaction of sex and cognitive style can have a stronger effect on this skill. Regarding the learners’ preference toward the different parts of the TOEFL listening section, most  learners favored the short conversations, informal assessment, and one item/one conversation, however, the FI ones did better on the longer conversations of the second and the third parts of the TOEFL listening test. Keywords: Cognitive style, Field dependence, Field independence, Listening comprehension.

  9. Transitioning from Targeted to Comprehensive Mass Spectrometry Using Genetic Algorithms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaffe, Jacob D; Feeney, Caitlin M; Patel, Jinal; Lu, Xiaodong; Mani, D R

    2016-11-01

    Targeted proteomic assays are becoming increasingly popular because of their robust quantitative applications enabled by internal standardization, and they can be routinely executed on high performance mass spectrometry instrumentation. However, these assays are typically limited to 100s of analytes per experiment. Considerable time and effort are often expended in obtaining and preparing samples prior to targeted analyses. It would be highly desirable to detect and quantify 1000s of analytes in such samples using comprehensive mass spectrometry techniques (e.g., SWATH and DIA) while retaining a high degree of quantitative rigor for analytes with matched internal standards. Experimentally, it is facile to port a targeted assay to a comprehensive data acquisition technique. However, data analysis challenges arise from this strategy concerning agreement of results from the targeted and comprehensive approaches. Here, we present the use of genetic algorithms to overcome these challenges in order to configure hybrid targeted/comprehensive MS assays. The genetic algorithms are used to select precursor-to-fragment transitions that maximize the agreement in quantification between the targeted and the comprehensive methods. We find that the algorithm we used provided across-the-board improvement in the quantitative agreement between the targeted assay data and the hybrid comprehensive/targeted assay that we developed, as measured by parameters of linear models fitted to the results. We also found that the algorithm could perform at least as well as an independently-trained mass spectrometrist in accomplishing this task. We hope that this approach will be a useful tool in the development of quantitative approaches for comprehensive proteomics techniques. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

  10. The Effect of the Reader's Background on Reading Comprehension Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bushra Saadoon Mohammed Al-Noori

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This study aims at measuring the amount of the effect of the reader's background knowledge on performance in reading comprehension tests through the assessment of information gained in reading comprehension (RC tests across-four testing techniques, short answer questions ,true-false items , multiple - choice items , and cloze test and re-test. This technique involves the examinees in two types of tasks, i.e. pre-reading and post -reading task. Two hypotheses have been proposed to achieve the aims of this study. They are  1-There are no significant differences between the pre-reading and post-reading performances of examinees on reading comprehension(RC. 2-There are no significant differences in information gain scores across the different techniques of testing reading comprehension (RC in EFL. To verify the validity of these two hypotheses, a number of statistical procedures have been used such as arithmetical mean, t-test for correlated and independent samples to analyze the performance of third and fourth year College students studying at the Department of English at University of Baghdad /Ibn Rushd College of Education for Humanities on two reading passages taken from TOEFL practice tests (2011. The analysis of the data has shown the following results: 1-The background knowledge has an effect on the performance on reading comprehension (RC. 2-There is a significant difference in students' performance on reading comprehension (RC. 3-The effect of background knowledge is investable on reading comprehension (RC tests, but it can be identified or neutralized. Based on these conclusions, the researcher presented a number of recommendations.

  11. The Effect of User-Friendly Texts vs. Impersonal and Hybrid Texts on the Reading Comprehension Ability of Iranian EFL Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esmail Faghih

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available This study focuses on the effect of user-friendly, impersonal, and hybrid texts on the reading comprehension ability of Iranian foreign language learners. Forty-five students of AlzahraUniversity were selected on the basis of their performance in a recent TOEFL. They were given three different texts (each group of 15 students was given one type describing the same area of English usage, which were all followed by a reading comprehension test. Also, a questionnaire containing two questions was given to the participants in order to tap their own personal feelings. Series of one-way ANOVA displayed that the mean differences among the three groups were significant at 0.05 level and the user-friendly group outperformed the other ones.

  12. Relationship between Vocabulary Size and Reading Comprehension Levels of Malaysian Tertiary Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angelina Wan Lin Tan

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the relationship between vocabulary size and reading comprehension performance among students in a tertiary institution in a Malaysian context and examined the vocabulary size required for students to achieve reading comprehension at various levels of proficiency. The research questions that guided this study were: 1 What is the vocabulary size of second year diploma students studying Mass Communication?; 2 What is the reading comprehension proficiency of second year diploma students studying Mass Communication?; and 3 What vocabulary size is required for different levels of reading comprehension proficiency? This study used the quantitative approach. The participants were 53 Malaysian second-year students at a private university college in Malaysia who were reading for their Diploma in Mass Communication. The instruments used were the Vocabulary Size Test and the IELTS Reading Test (Academic Module. The findings showed that the average vocabulary size of the students was just over 6000 word families and this vocabulary size was generally insufficient for adequate reading comprehension. Students needed an average vocabulary size of about 8000 word families to achieve adequate reading comprehension and about 10000 word families to achieve proficient reading comprehension. Based on the individual student’s performance, this study did not find a linear relationship between vocabulary size and reading comprehension performance, nor was there a threshold vocabulary size for adequate reading comprehension.

  13. Assessment of the dynamics of urbanized areas by remote sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeprintsev, S. A.; Klevtsova, M. A.; Lepeshkina, L. A.; Shekoyan, S. V.; Voronin, A. A.

    2018-01-01

    This research looks at the results of a study of spatial ecological zoning of urban territories using the NDVI-analysis of actual multi-channel satellite images from Landsat-7 and Landsat-8 in the Voronezh region for the period 2001 to 2016. The results obtained in the course of interpretation of space images and processing of statistical information compiled in the GIS environment “Ecology of cities Voronezh region” on the basis of which carried out a comprehensive ecological zoning of the studied urbanized areas. The obtained data on the spatial classification of urban and suburban areas, the peculiarities of the dynamics of weakly and strongly anthropogenically territories, hydrological features and vegetation.

  14. Comprehensive assessment of coastal eutrophication in Taiwan and its implications for management strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Ta-Kang; Chen, Ping; Chen, Hou-Yu

    2015-08-15

    Due to the rapid population growth, anthropogenic activities result in agricultural, industrial, and urban diffuse runoffs that elevate the level of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in coastal waters. Currently there is no integrated analysis for coastal eutrophication in Taiwan. A comprehensive analysis of the coastal eutrophic status was performed in this study based on decade-long coastal water quality monitoring data from Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration. A 3-tiered monitoring strategy is recommended based on the severity of the current eutrophication state. Results indicate that the most problematic area of coastal eutrophication is located in the estuary of the Donggang River (DGR) and its adjacent coastal waters, i.e., the Kao-Ping mouth (KPM) and Dapeng Bay (DPB) in south-western Taiwan. With a worsening eutrophic status, these areas demand intensive monitoring and research with higher spatial and temporal resolutions to evaluate the stresses of nutrient forcing and predict possible future responses. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Prediction during natural language comprehension

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Willems, R.M.; Frank, S.L.; Nijhof, A.D.; Hagoort, P.; Bosch, A.P.J. van den

    2016-01-01

    The notion of prediction is studied in cognitive neuroscience with increasing intensity. We investigated the neural basis of 2 distinct aspects of word prediction, derived from information theory, during story comprehension. We assessed the effect of entropy of next-word probability distributions as

  16. Constraint Programming for Context Comprehension

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Henning

    2014-01-01

    A close similarity is demonstrated between context comprehension, such as discourse analysis, and constraint programming. The constraint store takes the role of a growing knowledge base learned throughout the discourse, and a suitable con- straint solver does the job of incorporating new pieces...

  17. Emergency preparedness: a comprehensive plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilson, R.H.

    1975-01-01

    The Atlantic Richfield Hanford Company (ARHCO) has developed comprehensive plans for coping with emergencies ranging from criticality to civil disturbance. A unique notification system provides for immediate contact with key personnel by using a central communications center, crash alarm warning networks, and a continuing telephone cascade notification system. There is also the capability of immediately contacting other contractor key personnel. Certain jobs have been predetermined as necessary for coping with an emergency. An emergency staff consisting of responsible management, with alternates, has been preselected to automatically fill these jobs when notified. Control centers for headquarters and ''field'' are established with telephone and radio communication capabilities and are also supplied with some source materials to assist initiating plans for containing an emergency for recovery. A comprehensive emergency procedures manual has been developed, which contains information of company-wide application and procedures for specific facilities covering almost all accident situations

  18. Comprehensive Review in Current Developments of Benzimidazole-Based Medicinal Chemistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keri, Rangappa S; Hiremathad, Asha; Budagumpi, Srinivasa; Nagaraja, Bhari Mallanna

    2015-07-01

    The properties of benzimidazole and its derivatives have been studied over more than one hundred years. Benzimidazole derivatives are useful intermediates/subunits for the development of molecules of pharmaceutical or biological interest. Substituted benzimidazole derivatives have found applications in diverse therapeutic areas such as antiulcer, anticancer agents, and anthelmintic species to name just a few. This work systematically gives a comprehensive review in current developments of benzimidazole-based compounds in the whole range of medicinal chemistry as anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, analgesic agents, anti-HIV, antioxidant, anticonvulsant, antitubercular, antidiabetic, antileishmanial, antihistaminic, antimalarial agents, and other medicinal agents. This review will further be helpful for the researcher on the basis of substitution pattern around the nucleus with an aim to help medicinal chemists for developing an SAR on benzimidazole drugs/compounds. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  19. Vocabulary and syntactic knowledge factors in 5th grade students’ reading comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kouider Mokhtari

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we examined 5th grade students’ levels of vocabulary knowledge and syntactic awareness relative to their reading comprehension performance. The aim was to explore the contributions of vocabulary and syntactic awareness as potential sources of reading comprehension difficulty for these readers. Overall, we found that both vocabulary knowledge and syntactic awareness contributed in significant yet unique ways to students’ reading comprehension performance. Students who showed weaknesses in vocabulary and syntax also performed poorly on measures of reading comprehension. Additionally, we found that syntactic awareness explained a small amount of additional variance in reading comprehension beyond what was explained by vocabulary. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of research and practice addressing the relationships among syntax, vocabulary, and reading comprehension for more and less skilled readers.

  20. Phase I Focused Corrective Measures Study/Feasibility Study for the L-Area Oil and Chemical Basin (904-83G)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Palmer, E. [Westinghouse Savannah River Company, AIKEN, SC (United States)

    1997-02-01

    This report presents the completed Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Focused Corrective Measures Study/Feasibility Study (CMS/FS) for the L-Area Oil and Chemical Basin (LAOCB)/L-Area Acid Caustic Basin (9LAACB) Solid Waste Management Unit/Operable Unit (SWMU/OU) at the Savannah River Site (SRS).