Video Composition, Creative Discourse, and Facilitated Freedom: A Teacher\u27s Journey to Reveal Student Potential

This research project was conducted in response to students’ lack of engagement in traditional modes of instruction and composition in a high school English Language Arts course. In order to better understand students as creative composers of knowledge, this research project asked students to engage in the video production process in collaborative groups. The research was conducted over the course of eight class periods in three different sections of Junior-level English Language Arts courses. Analysis of the data from this study reveals three important findings: 1) students respond well to creative and relevant performance assessments; 2) students’ collaborative conversations, or talk, reveal their true potential to compose; and 3) the use of multimodal composing in the high school English classroom offers opportunities for teachers to reposition themselves as facilitators of creative composition, which can invite greater student engagement. These findings have pedagogical implications for educators who wish to increase student engagement through implementation of innovative, creative, multimodal composition assessments in their classrooms

Effects of Viscoelasticity on the Deployment of Bistable Tape Springs

The effects of stowage on the deployment of composite bistable tape springs are studied. A viscoelastic analytical model is used to predict the relaxation and stability of the structure in its coiled state. The time-dependent stability analysis reveals that the structure remains bistable throughout the relaxation process. A dynamic model is then applied to predict the deployment of the structure once it is released. Experimental deployment results match the deployment predictions within 3% for the case where no stowage is applied. It is shown that stowage causes an increase in the deployment time; in this case, experimental deployment times overshoot those predicted by the model. Secondary effects are observed at high stowage temperatures, which are not predicted by the analytical model. These effects include an abrupt change in the deployment dynamics and a large increase in the deployment time (deployment latency). At higher temperatures still, i.e. for stowage at 100°C, the structure fails to deploy and becomes stable at all extended lengths

Three-phase permeabilities and other characteristics of 260-mD fired Berea

A laboratory investigation was conducted to determine relative permeabilities and other characteristics of a 260-mD fired Berea sandstone. The mineralogical and physical characteristics of the sample were characterized by XRD tests, thin section analyses, mercury injection tests, and centrifuge capillary pressure and wettability tests. Two-phase oil/water relative permeabilities were measured under several stress conditions. Resistivity characteristics of the sample were also evaluated during several of the oil/water tests. Oil/gas and gas/water relative permeabilities were measured during steady-state tests. Three-phase steady-state oil/gas/water tests were performed for six DDI saturation trajectories (decreasing brine and oil saturations, increasing gas saturation) in which the sample was not cleaned between saturation trajectories

Effects of Viscoelasticity on the Deployment of Bistable Tape Springs

The effects of stowage on the deployment of composite bistable tape springs are studied. A viscoelastic analytical model is used to predict the relaxation and stability of the structure in its coiled state. The time-dependent stability analysis reveals that the structure remains bistable throughout the relaxation process. A dynamic model is then applied to predict the deployment of the structure once it is released. Experimental deployment results match the deployment predictions within 3% for the case where no stowage is applied. It is shown that stowage causes an increase in the deployment time; in this case, experimental deployment times overshoot those predicted by the model. Secondary effects are observed at high stowage temperatures, which are not predicted by the analytical model. These effects include an abrupt change in the deployment dynamics and a large increase in the deployment time (deployment latency). At higher temperatures still, i.e. for stowage at 100°C, the structure fails to deploy and becomes stable at all extended lengths

Imaging techniques applied to the study of fluids in porous media

A detailed understanding of rock structure and its influence on fluid entrapment, storage capacity, and flow behavior can improve the effective utilization and design of methods to increase the recovery of oil and gas from petroleum reservoirs. The dynamics of fluid flow and trapping phenomena in porous media was investigated. Miscible and immiscible displacement experiments in heterogeneous Berea and Shannon sandstone samples were monitored using X-ray computed tomography (CT scanning) to determine the effect of heterogeneities on fluid flow and trapping. The statistical analysis of pore and pore throat sizes in thin sections cut from these sandstone samples enabled the delineation of small-scale spatial distributions of porosity and permeability. Multiphase displacement experiments were conducted with micromodels constructed using thin slabs of the sandstones. The combination of the CT scanning, thin section, and micromodel techniques enables the investigation of how variations in pore characteristics influence fluid front advancement, fluid distributions, and fluid trapping. Plugs cut from the sandstone samples were investigated using high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance imaging permitting the visualization of oil, water or both within individual pores. The application of these insights will aid in the proper interpretation of relative permeability, capillary pressure, and electrical resistivity data obtained from whole core studies. 7 refs., 14 figs., 2 tabs

Autocompensating Quantum Cryptography

Quantum cryptographic key distribution (QKD) uses extremely faint light pulses to carry quantum information between two parties (Alice and Bob), allowing them to generate a shared, secret cryptographic key. Autocompensating QKD systems automatically and passively compensate for uncontrolled time dependent variations of the optical fiber properties by coding the information as a differential phase between orthogonally-polarized components of a light pulse sent on a round trip through the fiber, reflected at mid-course using a Faraday mirror. We have built a prototype system based on standard telecom technology that achieves a privacy-amplified bit generation rate of ~1000 bits/s over a 10-km optical fiber link. Quantum cryptography is an example of an application that, by using quantum states of individual particles to represent information, accomplishes a practical task that is impossible using classical means.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, 1 table. Submitted to the New Journal of Physic

Long‐Distance Natal Dispersal Is Relatively Frequent and Correlated with Environmental Factors in a Widespread Raptor

Dispersal is a critical process influencing population dynamics and responses to global change. Long‐distance dispersal (LDD) can be especially important for gene flow and adaptability, although little is known about the factors influencing LDD because studying large‐scale movements is challenging and LDD tends to be observed less frequently than shorter‐distance dispersal (SDD). We sought to understand patterns of natal dispersal at a large scale, specifically aiming to understand the relative frequency of LDD compared to SDD and correlates of dispersal distances. We used bird banding and encounter data for American kestrels (Falco sparverius) to investigate the effects of sex, migration strategy, population density, weather, year and agricultural land cover on LDD frequency, LDD distance and SDD distance in North America from 1961 to 2015. Nearly half of all natal dispersal (48.9%) was LDD (classified as \u3e30 km), and the likelihood of LDD was positively associated with the proportion of agricultural land cover around natal sites. Correlates of distance differed between LDD and SDD movements. LDD distance was positively correlated with latitude, a proxy for migration strategy, suggesting that migratory individuals disperse farther than residents. Distance of LDD in males was positively associated with maximum summer temperature. We did not find sex‐bias or an effect of population density in LDD distance or frequency. Within SDD, females tended to disperse farther than males, and distance was positively correlated with density. Sampling affected all responses, likely because local studies more frequently capture SDD within study areas. Our findings that LDD occurs at a relatively high frequency and is related to different proximate factors from SDD, including a lack of sex‐bias in LDD, suggest that LDD may be more common than previously reported, and LDD and SDD may be distinct processes rather than two outcomes originating from a single dispersal distribution. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence that LDD and SDD may be separate processes in an avian species, and suggests that environmental change may have different outcomes on the two processes

Сomparison of Exams in Terms of Benefits for the Future Engineer

This article describes advantages and disadventages of international exams for students. to motivate students to pass the English exam as soon as possible. Based on our survey, many students have never even heard about language exams and benefits it gives

The evolutionary dynamics of microRNAs in domestic mammals

MiRNAs are crucial regulators of gene expression found across both the plant and animal kingdoms. While the number of annotated miRNAs deposited in miRBase has greatly increased in recent years, few studies provided comparative analyses across sets of related species, or investigated the role of miRNAs in the evolution of gene regulation. We generated small RNA libraries across 5 mammalian species (cow, dog, horse, pig and rabbit) from 4 different tissues (brain, heart, kidney and testis). We identified 1676 miRBase and 413 novel miRNAs by manually curating the set of computational predictions obtained from miRCat and miRDeep2. Our dataset spanning five species has enabled us to investigate the molecular mechanisms and selective pressures driving the evolution of miRNAs in mammals. We highlight the important contributions of intronic sequences (366 orthogroups), duplication events (135 orthogroups) and repetitive elements (37 orthogroups) in the emergence of new miRNA loci. We use this framework to estimate the patterns of gains and losses across the phylogeny, and observe high levels of miRNA turnover. Additionally, the identification of lineage-specific losses enables the characterisation of the selective constraints acting on the associated target sites. Compared to the miRBase subset, novel miRNAs tend to be more tissue specific. 20 percent of novel orthogroups are restricted to the brain, and their target repertoires appear to be enriched for neuron activity and differentiation processes. These findings may reflect an important role for young miRNAs in the evolution of brain expression plasticity. Many seed sequences appear to be specific to either the cow or the dog. Analyses on the associated targets highlight the presence of several genes under artificial positive selection, suggesting an involvement of these miRNAs in the domestication process. Altogether, we provide an overview on the evolutionary mechanisms responsible for miRNA turnover in 5 domestic species, and their possible contribution to the evolution of gene regulation