Dynamic Assessment of bilingual children’s language at the point of referral

The DAPPLE (Dynamic Assessment of Preschoolers’ Proficiency in Learning English) was developed in response to a clinical need to obtain information about bilingual children’s English language learning ability, particularly in the absence of detailed information regarding their proficiency in their other languages. The assessment looked at children’s responses to opportunities to learn in the areas of vocabulary, sentence structure and phonology (speech sounds). Twelve bilingual children aged between three and five years who had been referred to speech and language therapy were assessed. Their responses across the three areas were explored to derive profiles of strength and weakness across language areas. One of the twelve children was found to possess good language learning abilities across all areas, which may reflect an inappropriate referral. All of the remaining children demonstrated difficulties with learning within one or more areas of the DAPPLE, with one child having difficulties across all areas. The findings indicate that the DAPPLE could be used productively as a pre-diagnostic tool. Future directions for the development of the test are considered

Crystalline phases involved in the hydration of calcium silicate-based cements: Semi-quantitative Rietveld X-ray diffraction analysis

Chemical comparisons of powder and hydrated forms of calcium silicate cements (CSCs) and calculation of alterations in tricalcium silicate (Ca3SiO5) calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) are essential for understanding their hydration processes. This study aimed to evaluate and compare these changes in ProRoot MTA, Biodentine and CEM cement. Powder and hydrated forms of tooth coloured ProRoot MTA, Biodentine and CEM cement were subjected to X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis with Rietveld refinement to semi-quantitatively identify and quantify the main phases involved in their hydration process. Data were reported descriptively. Reduction in Ca3SiO5 and formation of Ca(OH)2 were seen after the hydration of ProRoot MTA and Biodentine; however, in the case of CEM cement, no reduction of Ca3SiO5 and no formation of Ca(OH)2 were detected. The highest percentages of amorphous phases were seen in Biodentine samples. Ettringite was detected in the hydrated forms of ProRoot MTA and CEM cement but not in Biodentine

Valuing stakeholder engagement and sustainability reporting

This conceptual paper sheds light on some of the major intergovernmental benchmarks, guidelines and principles for corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate governance and sustainability reporting. It reports on several governments’ regulatory roles as their societal governance is intrinsically based on interdependent relationships. There are different actors and drivers who are shaping CSR communications and policies in relational frameworks. This paper mentions some of the countries that have already introduced intelligent substantive and reflexive regulations. It also shows how certain businesses are stepping in with their commitment for sustainability issues as they set their own policies and practices for laudable organisational behaviours. Very often, corporate businesses use non-governmental organisations’ regulatory tools such as process and performance-oriented standards. These regulatory instruments focus on issues such as labour standards, human rights, health and safety, environmental protection, corporate governance and the like. Afterwards, this paper discusses about the relationship between governance and sustainability. It makes reference to some of the relevant European Union Expert Group recommendations for non-financial reporting and CSR audits. Relevant academic contributions are indicating that customers are expecting greater disclosures, accountability and transparency in sustainability reports. This contribution contends that the way forward is to have more proactive governments that raise the profile of CSR. It maintains that CSR communications and stakeholder engagement may bring shared value to business and society. Ultimately, it is in the businesses’ interest to implement corporate sustainability and responsibility and to forge fruitful relationships with key stakeholders, including the regulatory ones, in order to address societal, environmental, governance and economic deficits.peer-reviewe

Complete Genome Sequence of Pelosinus fermentans JBW45, a Member of a Remarkably Competitive Group of Negativicutes in the Firmicutes Phylum.

The genome of Pelosinus fermentans JBW45, isolated from a chromium-contaminated site in Hanford, Washington, USA, has been completed with PacBio sequencing. Nine copies of the rRNA gene operon and multiple transposase genes with identical sequences resulted in breaks in the original draft genome and may suggest genomic instability of JBW45

Relativistic quantum theories and neutrino oscillations

Neutrino oscillations are examined under the broad requirements of Poincar\'e-invariant scattering theory in an S-matrix formulation. This approach can be consistently applied to theories with either field or particle degrees of freedom. The goal of this paper is to use this general framework to identify all of the unique physical properties of this problem that lead to a simple oscillation formula. We discuss what is in principle observable, and how many factors that are important in principle end up being negligible in practice.Comment: 21 pages, no figure

Cationic gemini Surfactants based on tartaric acid: Synthesis, aggregation, monolayer behaviour, and interaction with DNA

Contains fulltext : 13999.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Autonomy found: Estimating the local benefit from tourism in SIDS – the Case of Cape Verde

Tourism is an unusually important economic sector for the Small Island Development States (SIDS). Islands are the second most visited destinations after historic cities. The SIDS tourism is usually dependent on foreign investment and in the form of All-Inclusive (AI) system. Few studies have evaluated the economic impact of tourism on the economic development and/or poverty reduction of a SID using macro level data. And little research has used micro/firm level data to investigate the impact of tourism on the local economy of SIDS. This paper aims to evaluate the local benefits made from the development of tourism in SIDS, in particular the contribution of AI accommodation using the case of Cape Verde. It makes two main contributions: it makes the first attempt to use microeconomic data at the company level to examine the contribution of tourism in SIDS; it uses empirical data to examine the impacts of AI accommodation on the local economy. A semi-structured hotel questionnaire was applied to 13 accommodation managers and hotel owners, from small guest-houses to large 500 room All-Inclusive resorts in Sal, Boa Vista, Fogo, and Santo Antão. The results indicate that for destinations at an early stage in their development, large-scale AIs may be the most effective way to achieve the growth of tourism to the point that a critical mass is achieved

Determination of muon momentum in the MicroBooNE LArTPC using an improved model of multiple Coulomb scattering

We discuss a technique for measuring a charged particle's momentum by means of multiple Coulomb scattering (MCS) in the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC). This method does not require the full particle ionization track to be contained inside of the detector volume as other track momentum reconstruction methods do (range-based momentum reconstruction and calorimetric momentum reconstruction). We motivate use of this technique, describe a tuning of the underlying phenomenological formula, quantify its performance on fully contained beam-neutrino-induced muon tracks both in simulation and in data, and quantify its performance on exiting muon tracks in simulation. Using simulation, we have shown that the standard Highland formula should be re-tuned specifically for scattering in liquid argon, which significantly improves the bias and resolution of the momentum measurement. With the tuned formula, we find agreement between data and simulation for contained tracks, with a small bias in the momentum reconstruction and with resolutions that vary as a function of track length, improving from about 10% for the shortest (one meter long) tracks to 5% for longer (several meter) tracks. For simulated exiting muons with at least one meter of track contained, we find a similarly small bias, and a resolution which is less than 15% for muons with momentum below 2 GeV/c. Above 2 GeV/c, results are given as a first estimate of the MCS momentum measurement capabilities of MicroBooNE for high momentum exiting tracks