Silent and Oral Reading Comprehension Abilities of Second Grade Students Completing the Second S.T.E.P. Program

This study focused on the silent and oral reading abilities of second grade students completing the Second S.T.E.P. Program. There were approximately seven second-grade students that participated. All 7 of the students are presently attending an elementary school located in western New York. The research questions concentrated on were: 1. Is there a statistically significant difference between the mean score of the pretest and the mean score of the posttest for unprompted memory, unprepared reading? 2. Is there a statistically significant difference between the mean score of the pretest and the mean score of the posttest for prompted memory, unprepared reading? 3. Is there a statistically significant difference between the mean score of the pretest and the mean score of the posttest for unprompted memory, prepared reading? 4. Is there a statistically significant difference between the mean score of the pretest and the mean score of the posttest for prompted memory, prepared reading? Each of the seven participants was administered in a one-on-one setting a pretest and a posttest version of the Bader Reading and Language Inventory in a 30-40 minute period. The pretest and the posttest each contained four sets of scores: unprompted memory (retelling), prompted memory (cued recall) after a unprepared (silent) reading and unprompted memory (retelling), prompted memory (cued recall) after a prepared (silent /oral) reading. The data were tallied and categorized into four sets of scores. Each set of scores was calculated utilizing a t-test of dependent means. The results of the t-test of dependent means indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between the mean pretest and mean posttest scores for all four sets of scores

Silent and Oral Reading Comprehension Abilities of Second Grade Students Completing the Second S.T.E.P. Program

This study focused on the silent and oral reading abilities of second grade students completing the Second S.T.E.P. Program. There were approximately seven second-grade students that participated. All 7 of the students are presently attending an elementary school located in western New York. The research questions concentrated on were: 1. Is there a statistically significant difference between the mean score of the pretest and the mean score of the posttest for unprompted memory, unprepared reading? 2. Is there a statistically significant difference between the mean score of the pretest and the mean score of the posttest for prompted memory, unprepared reading? 3. Is there a statistically significant difference between the mean score of the pretest and the mean score of the posttest for unprompted memory, prepared reading? 4. Is there a statistically significant difference between the mean score of the pretest and the mean score of the posttest for prompted memory, prepared reading? Each of the seven participants was administered in a one-on-one setting a pretest and a posttest version of the Bader Reading and Language Inventory in a 30-40 minute period. The pretest and the posttest each contained four sets of scores: unprompted memory (retelling), prompted memory (cued recall) after a unprepared (silent) reading and unprompted memory (retelling), prompted memory (cued recall) after a prepared (silent /oral) reading. The data were tallied and categorized into four sets of scores. Each set of scores was calculated utilizing a t-test of dependent means. The results of the t-test of dependent means indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between the mean pretest and mean posttest scores for all four sets of scores.SUNY BrockportEducation and Human DevelopmentMaster of Science in Education (MSEd)Education and Human Development Master's These

WD + MS systems as the progenitor of SNe Ia

We show the initial and final parameter space for SNe Ia in a ($\log P^{\rm i}, M_{\rm 2}^{\rm i}$) plane and find that the positions of some famous recurrent novae, as well as a supersoft X-ray source (SSS), RX J0513.9-6951, are well explained by our model. The model can also explain the space velocity and mass of Tycho G, which is now suggested to be the companion star of Tycho's supernova. Our study indicates that the SSS, V Sge, might be the potential progenitor of supernovae like SN 2002ic if the delayed dynamical-instability model due to Han & Podsiadlowski (2006) is appropriate. Following the work of Meng, Chen & Han (2009), we found that the SD model (WD + MS) with an optically thick wind can explain the birth rate of supernovae like SN 2006X and reproduce the distribution of the color excess of SNe Ia. The model also predicts that at least 75% of all SNe Ia may show a polarization signal in their spectra.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Science (Proceeding of the 4th Meeting on Hot Subdwarf Stars and Related Objects, edited by Zhanwen Han, Simon Jeffery & Philipp Podsiadlowski

The carbon dioxide removal potential of Liquid Air Energy Storage: A high-level technical and economic appraisal

Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) is at pilot scale. Air cooling and liquefaction stores energy; reheating revaporises the air at pressure, powering a turbine or engine (Ameel et al., 2013). Liquefaction requires water & CO2 removal, preventing ice fouling. This paper proposes subsequent geological storage of this CO2 - offering a novel Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) by-product, for the energy storage industry. It additionally assesses the scale constraint and economic opportunity offered by imple- menting this CDR approach. Similarly, established Com- pressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) uses air compression and subsequent expansion. CAES could also add CO2scrubbing and subsequent storage, at extra cost. CAES stores fewer joules per kilogram of air than LAES - potentially scrubbing more CO2 per joule stored. Opera- tional LAES/CAES technologies cannot offer full-scale CDR this century (Stocker et al., 2014), yet they could offer around 4% of projected CO2 disposals for LAES and < 25% for current-technology CAES. LAES CDR could reach trillion-dollar scale this century (20 billion USD/year, to first order). A larger, less certain commercial CDR opportunity exists for modified conventional CAES, due to additional equipment requirements. CDR may be commercially critical for LAES/CAES usage growth, and the necessary infrastructure may influence plant scaling and placement. A suggested design for low-pressure CAES theoretically offers global-scale CDR potential within a century (ignoring siting constraints) - but this must be costed against competing CDR and energy storage technologies

Sistem Pengendali Kecepatan Motor Dc Pada Lift Barang Menggunakan Kontroler Pid Berbasis Atmega 2560

Lift barang adalah angkutan transportasi vertikal digunakan untuk memindahkan barang. Lift ini sangat khusus fungsinya untuk barang saja, lift ini hampir sama dengan lift penumpang namun ada sedikit perbedaan dalam sistem keamanannya. Lift barang yang sekarang memang sudah otomatis tetapi hanya pada gedung bertingkat tinggi. Untuk minimarket atau home industry yang memiliki struktur bangunan 2 lantai, banyak dijumpai masih menggunakan pengkatrolan secara manual oleh tenaga manusia untuk memindahkan barang. Hal ini cukup tidak efisien. Pada penelitian ini telah dirancang sistem pengaturan kecepatan motor DC pada lift barang menggunakan kontoler PID dengan kontruksi sistem yang sederhana. Digunakan Kontroler PID untuk mengurangi kesalahan, sehingga putaran motor dapat sesuai dengan kecepatan yang diinginkan. Dengan bantuan kontroler PID maka lift barang mampu bergerak dengan aman dan halus. Pada skripsi ini digunakan metode Ziegler-Nichols tunning 2. Dalam pembuatannya digunakan Arduino Mega 2560, rotary encoder Autonic E40H8 500-6-L-5, limit switch, dan motor DC. Berdasarkan data respons sistem yang diperoleh dari pengujian dengan menggunakan metode kedua Ziegler-Nichols, maka parameter kontroler PID dapat ditentukan dengan gain Kp = 7.71, Ki = 7.035 dan Kd = 2.113.Kata Kunci— Lift barang, Pengendalian Kecepatan, PID, Arduino Mega 2560

Nightly treatment of primary insomnia with prolonged release melatonin for 6 months: a randomized placebo controlled trial on age and endogenous melatonin as predictors of efficacy and safety

&lt;p&gt;Background: Melatonin is extensively used in the USA in a non-regulated manner for sleep disorders. Prolonged release melatonin (PRM) is licensed in Europe and other countries for the short term treatment of primary insomnia in patients aged 55 years and over. However, a clear definition of the target patient population and well-controlled studies of long-term efficacy and safety are lacking. It is known that melatonin production declines with age. Some young insomnia patients also may have low melatonin levels. The study investigated whether older age or low melatonin excretion is a better predictor of response to PRM, whether the efficacy observed in short-term studies is sustained during continued treatment and the long term safety of such treatment.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Methods: Adult outpatients (791, aged 18-80 years) with primary insomnia, were treated with placebo (2 weeks) and then randomized, double-blind to 3 weeks with PRM or placebo nightly. PRM patients continued whereas placebo completers were re-randomized 1:1 to PRM or placebo for 26 weeks with 2 weeks of single-blind placebo run-out. Main outcome measures were sleep latency derived from a sleep diary, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Quality of Life (World Health Organzaton-5) Clinical Global Impression of Improvement (CGI-I) and adverse effects and vital signs recorded at each visit.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Results: On the primary efficacy variable, sleep latency, the effects of PRM (3 weeks) in patients with low endogenous melatonin (6-sulphatoxymelatonin [6-SMT] ≤8 μg/night) regardless of age did not differ from the placebo, whereas PRM significantly reduced sleep latency compared to the placebo in elderly patients regardless of melatonin levels (-19.1 versus -1.7 min; P = 0.002). The effects on sleep latency and additional sleep and daytime parameters that improved with PRM were maintained or enhanced over the 6-month period with no signs of tolerance. Most adverse events were mild in severity with no clinically relevant differences between PRM and placebo for any safety outcome.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Conclusions: The results demonstrate short- and long-term efficacy and safety of PRM in elderly insomnia patients. Low melatonin production regardless of age is not useful in predicting responses to melatonin therapy in insomnia. The age cut-off for response warrants further investigation.&lt;/p&gt

Manus track preservation bias as a key factor for assessing trackmaker identity and quadrupedalism in basal ornithopods.

BACKGROUND: The Las Cerradicas site (Tithonian-Berriasian), Teruel, Spain, preserves at least seventeen dinosaur trackways, some of them formerly attributed to quadrupedal ornithopods, sauropods and theropods. The exposure of new track evidence allows a more detailed interpretation of the controversial tridactyl trackways as well as the modes of locomotion and taxonomic affinities of the trackmakers. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Detailed stratigraphic analysis reveals four different levels where footprints have been preserved in different modes. Within the tridactyl trackways, manus tracks are mainly present in a specific horizon relative to surface tracks. The presence of manus tracks is interpreted as evidence of an ornithopod trackmaker. Cross-sections produced from photogrammetric digital models show different depths of the pes and manus, suggesting covariance in loading between the forelimbs and the hindlimbs. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Several features (digital pads, length/width ratio, claw marks) of some ornithopod pes tracks from Las Cerradicas are reminiscent of theropod pedal morphology. This morphological convergence, combined with the shallow nature of the manus tracks, which reduces preservation potential, opens a new window into the interpretation of these tridactyl tracks. Thus, trackmaker assignations during the Jurassic-Cretaceous interval of purported theropod trackways may potentially represent ornithopods. Moreover, the Las Cerradicas trackways are further evidence for quadrupedalism among some basal small- to medium-sized ornithopods from this time interval

Safety and acceptability of an organic light-emitting diode sleep mask as a potential therapy for retinal disease

Purpose The purpose of the study was to study the effect of an organic light-emitting diode sleep mask on daytime alertness, wellbeing, and retinal structure/function in healthy volunteers and in diabetic macular oedema (DMO). Patients and methods Healthy volunteers in two groups, 18–30 yrs (A), 50–70 yrs (B) and people with DMO (C) wore masks (504 nm wavelength; 80 cd/m2 luminance; ≤8 h) nightly for 3 months followed by a 1-month recovery period. Changes from baseline were measured for (means): psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) (number of lapses (NL), response time (RT)), sleep, depression, psychological wellbeing (PW), visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, colour, electrophysiology, microperimetry, and retinal thickness on OCT. Results Of 60 participants, 16 (27%) withdrew, 8 (13%) before month 1, due to sleep disturbances and mask intolerance. About 36/55 (65%) who continued beyond month 1 reported ≥1 adverse event. At month 3 mean PVT worsened in Group A (RT (7.65%, P<0.001), NL (43.3%, P=0.005)) and mean PW worsened in all groups (A 28.0%, P=0.01, B 21.2%, P=0.03, C 12.8%, P<0.05). No other clinically significant safety signal was detected. Cysts reduced/resolved in the OCT subfield of maximal pathology in 67% Group C eyes. Thinning was greater at 3 and 4 months for greater baseline thickness (central subfield P<0.001, maximal P<0.05). Conclusion Sleep masks showed no major safety signal apart from a small impairment of daytime alertness and a moderate effect on wellbeing. Masks were acceptable apart from in some healthy participants. Preliminary data suggest a beneficial effect on retinal thickness in DMO. This novel therapeutic approach is ready for large clinical trials

A new large-bodied oviraptorosaurian theropod dinosaur from the Latest Cretaceous of Western North America

The oviraptorosaurian theropod dinosaur clade Caenagnathidae has long been enigmatic due to the incomplete nature of nearly all described fossils. Here we describe Anzu wyliei gen. et sp. nov., a new taxon of large-bodied caenagnathid based primarily on three well-preserved partial skeletons. The specimens were recovered from the uppermost Cretaceous (upper Maastrichtian) Hell Creek Formation of North and South Dakota, and are therefore among the stratigraphically youngest known oviraptorosaurian remains. Collectively, the fossils include elements from most regions of the skeleton, providing a wealth of information on the osteology and evolutionary relationships of Caenagnathidae. Phylogenetic analysis reaffirms caenagnathid monophyly, and indicates that Anzu is most closely related to Caenagnathus collinsi, a taxon that is definitively known only from a mandible from the Campanian Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta. The problematic oviraptorosaurs Microvenator and Gigantoraptor are recovered as basal caenagnathids, as has previously been suggested. Anzu and other caenagnathids may have favored well-watered floodplain settings over channel margins, and were probably ecological generalists that fed upon vegetation, small animals, and perhaps eggs