Review of The achievement test desk reference: A guide to learning disability identification, second edition.

Reviews the book, The achievement test desk reference: A guide to learning disability identification, second edition by Dawn P. Flanagan, Samuel O. Ortiz, Vincent C. Alfonso, and Jennifer T. Mascolo (2006). The Second Edition of the Achievement test desk reference comes only four years after its first edition. Its content echoes the first edition, with the chapters now re-organized and updated. However, this edition is also timely; its significant contributions are its theoretical and practical model for defining and assessing learning disabilities (LD) and its update of practical information for interpreting many of the new standardized achievement tests. The goal for this edition was to provide an integrated and systematic framework for achievement testing within the framework of the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of human cognitive abilities and the Response to Intervention (RTI) movement. Part 1 of provides an update of the theories, definitions, assessment, interpretation, and identification of LD. Part 2 describes and reviews the psychometric, theoretical, and qualitative features of achievement tests published between 1996 and 2006 and normed on people from the United States. Part 3 provides a comprehensive, step-by-step process for assessing learning disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004). This volume guides practitioners to choose the best achievement tests to use. It shows how to get the most efficient and effective evaluations of students' academic skills that could account for their difficulties and possible learning disabilities. This book will be essential reference material for effective LD assessments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hydrogenation of soybean oil with copper catalysts containing small amounts of nickel catalysts

Reaction rates, linolenate/linoleate reaction selectivity,trans formation, and conjugated diene formation were determined for mixed commerical catalysts containing 0.5, 1, 2, 10, and 20 parts nickel catalyst (25% nickel) per 1000 parts copper chromite catalyst (ppt) and at catalyst concentrations in the oil of 1.0, 0.5, and 0.25%. The rate of hydrogenation increased as the amount of nickel increased. Addition of 0.5, 1, and 2 ppt nickel catalyst to copper chomite catalyst resulted in a small decrease in selectivity compared with straight copper chromite. When soybean oil was hydrogenated with these mixed catalysts sufficiently to reduce linolenate to 0, iodine values were 102–108 compared to 109–112 for straight copper chromite and to less than 80 for straight nickel. Presented at the AOCS Meeting, New Orleans April 1973. ARS, USDA.     

Continuous removal of metallic ions from soybean oil

Removal of metallic ions like copper, nickel and sodium from vegetable oils is important to edible oil processors. Continuous washing of soybean oil with acidic water, followed by ion exchange treatment of the aqueous solution to remove metallic cations and permit reuse of the water, is an effective and economical method for metal removal. Several types of washing apparatus were studied: A Podbielniak countercurrent centrifugal contactor, a rotating disc countercurrent contactor and a contactor-centrifuge system. Equipment for the third system is already available for the continuous washing of refined oil in modern refineries. With a contactor-centrifuge ion-exchange system, copper in soybean oil was reduced by washing from 1.5 to 0.03 ppm; nickel, from 0.4 to 0.04 ppm; sodium, from 20 to <1 ppm. The effects of pH and type of acid (anion) were studied. The cost of washing soybean oil by this method is estimated to be about 0.06 cent/lb, and there is no loss of oil. One of 28 papers presented at the Symposium, “Metal-Catalyzed Lipid Oxidation,” ISF-AOCS World Congress, Chicago, September 1970. No. Utiliz. Res. Dev. Div., ARS, USDA.     

Production of linolenic acid from linseed oil

Linolenic acid of more than 95% purity was produced by liquid-liquid extraction of linseed oil fatty acids with wet furfural and hexane in a Podbielniak centrifugal extractor. The minimum ratio of furfural to linseed acids to obtain this purity was 10 to 1. There was no significant change in product purity for solvent ratios between 10 and 15, operating temperatures from 90° to 110°F., and furfural moisture contents between 1.0 and 2.8%. When the solvent ratio is reduced to 8 or the furfural moisture to 0.2%, purity decreases. Oxidation of linseed acids before extraction also results in decreased separation. An estimate based on pilotplant data indicates a “cost to make” (excluding administrative and selling expenses, profit, income taxes, and interest on investment) of 18.0 cents per pound of 97% linolenic acid for a process which includes hydrolyzing linseed oil, separating the fatty acids by liquid-liquid extraction, recovering solvents by distillation, and distilling the fatty acid products. Potential uses for linolenic acid are reviewed.     

Composable continuous-space programs for robotic swarms

Programmability is an increasingly important barrier to the deployment of multi-robot systems, as no prior approach allows routine composition and reuse of general aggregate behaviors. The Proto spatial computing language, however, already provides this sort of aggregate behavior programming for non-mobile systems using an abstraction of the network as a continuous-space-filling device. We extend this abstraction to mobile systems and show that Proto can be applied to multi-robot systems with an actuator that turns a vector field into device motion. Proto programs operate on fields of values over an abstract device called the amorphous medium and can be joined together using functional composition. These programs are then automatically transformed for execution by individual devices, producing an approximation of the specified continuous-space behavior. We are thus able to build up a library of simple swarm behaviors, and to compose them together into highly succinct programs that predictably produce the desired complex swarm behaviors, as demonstrated in simulation and on a group of 40 iRobot SwarmBots.     

Investigating the Financial Implications and Viability of Diversified Water Supply Systems in an Urban Water Supply Zone

Water Resources Management - Diversified water supply schemes can reduce both peak demand and overall demand in the urban water supply network. Consequently, they provide benefits to both the water...     

Effect of increasing the salience of message ambiguities on kindergartners' evaluations of communicative success and message adequacy.

Previous research has shown that kindergarten children often appear uncertain or confused when they try to execute inadequate instructions but then go on to indicate that they had succeeded in doing what the instructor intended and that the instructions had been adequate. The present study was conducted with 72 kindergartners to test this research. Results confirm these findings and demonstrate that Ss' positive evaluations of inadequate messages were not due to forgetting their initial uncertainty. Extra emphasis on the ambiguous nature of the instructions helped Ss realize that they might not have succeeded in doing what the instructor intended them to, but it did not help them realize that the instructions had been inadequate. In contrast, emphasizing exactly what they were to achieve did not help them recognize either their possible failure in the task or the inadequacy of the instructions. Ss' performance resulted from a poor understanding of message quality and the role it plays in determining the success or failure of a communication. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Process optimization for PA12/MWCNT nanocomposite manufacturing by selective laser sintering

Nanocomposites produced through the addition of carbon nanotubes to a polymeric matrix can improve the material properties. The mobility of the polymer chains is usually affected, and this is also related to the properties. Parts produced with the free-form fabrication process using the selective laser sintering (SLS) technique can be used in different high-performance applications as they do not require expensive tools for their manufacture. A specific field of interest is the aerospace industry which is characterized by a low production volume and the need for materials with a high performance to weight ratio. In this study, the free-form fabrication by SLS of parts made from nanocomposites comprised of polyamide 12 and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was investigated. Specimens were manufactured by SLS to identify the appropriate processing parameters to achieve high mechanical properties for aerospace applications. Laser energy density was adjusted to improve the material density, flexural modulus, and stress at 10 % elongation. Design of experiments was used to identify and quantify the effects of various factors on the mechanical properties. The results obtained showed that there was a limit to the amount of MWCNTs which could be mixed with the polyamide powder to improve the mechanical properties since a higher content affected the laser sintering process.