Evaluation of a Reading Program Tri Valley Central School Grahamsville, New York

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new modified-Joplin-style reading program for intermediate grade students. Under this program, teachers sorted the children into groups by reading level, rather than by age/grade level. The smallest group consisted of seven members and the largest consisted of thirty. Teachers then engaged students in one hour of reading instruction every school day, with an additional half hour allotted to cultivate free reading habits. The program emphasized reading as a fun, leisure activity and focused on entertaining texts. Results for the program were mixed. The research evaluated the program on 41 criteria in five categories, and found that the new reading program either out-performed or was equal to the previous program in each category. However, the researcher also found that the new program had mixed results in improving students’ reading comprehension scores on standardized tests, as well as their tracked progress. Nonetheless, both students and parents expressed positive opinions of the program and its promotion of reading as an enjoyable activity. The researcher concludes that the program is a relative success and makes a number of suggestions to further improve its efficacy at the school

Enabling VLSI processing blocks for MIMO-OFDM Communications

Multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems combined with orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) gained a wide popularity in wireless applications due to the potential of providing increased channel capacity and robustness against multipath fading channels. However these advantages come at the cost of a very high processing complexity and the efficient implementation of MIMO-OFDM receivers is today a major research topic. In this paper, efficient architectures are proposed for the hardware implementation of the main building blocks of a MIMO-OFDM receiver. A sphere decoder architecture flexible to different modulation without any loss in BER performance is presented while the proposed matrix factorization implementation allows to achieve the highest throughput specified in the IEEE 802.11n standard. Finally a novel sphere decoder approach is presented, which allows for the realization of new golden space time trellis coded modulation (GST-TCM) scheme. Implementation cost and offered throughput are provided for the proposed architectures synthesized on a 0.13  CMOS standard cell technology or on advanced FPGA devices

Competencias genéricas en carreras de ingeniería

El desarrollo de la educación por competencias  con base en un enfoque sistémico y complejo es una necesidad impostergable en el desarrollo de la Educación Superior en general y en el caso del ingeniero en particular para los nuevos paradigmas y desafíos del Tercer Milenio con un enfoque de Desarrollo Humano Integral            Este trabajo aborda la educación en ingeniería con un enfoque complejo e indagando a partir de hechos claves acerca de  la formación por competencias, una respuesta a necesidades en  educación, donde es necesario  superar la inteligencia fragmentada con visiones multidimensionales e integradas. En particular se analiza la visión de  los docentes del primer año de ingeniería civil sobre competencias genéricas de alumnos ingresantes

Il sistema pensionistico e la spesa per pensioni

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Bioensaio em Allium cepa para avaliação do potencial citogenotóxico da água de abastecimento do município de Missal/PR

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso apresentado ao Instituto Latino-Americano de Ciências da Vida e Natureza da Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana, como requisito parcial à obtenção do título de Bacharel em Ciências Biológicas – Ecologia e Biodiversidade.Missal é um município localizado à oeste do estado do Paraná, no Brasil. A característica principal do município é de terrenos predominantemente utilizados para agricultura, sendo esta, a principal atividade exercida pela população, contornando a região central da malha urbana até a divisa de zoneamento com outras pequenas cidades. Entre 2016 e 2017 houve um alto índice de procedimentos oncológicos rea-lizados no município, superando a média da regional da saúde mais próxima, da cidade de Foz do Iguaçu, que possui aproximadamente 23 vezes o número de habitantes de Missal. Dentre os fatores externos que favorecem o desenvolvimento do câncer estão os hábitos de vida e a exposição a raios UV e contaminantes ambientais. O organismo vegetal Allium cepa é utilizado como modelo para testes de avaliação e monitoramento de poluentes ambientais. Para avaliar a possibilidade da presença de contaminantes citogenotóxicos na água da cidade, foram conduzidos bioensaios com A. cepa. As amostras foram coletadas em nove pontos de abastecimento de água de poço artesiano e três de água superficial: duas do Rio São Vicente (P10 e P12) e uma do lago da represa (P11) que banha a fronteira oeste da cidade. Os frascos de vidro usados para a coleta foram padronizados com procedimentos de limpeza e as amostras foram mantidas sob refrigeração. Os bulbos de A. cepa passaram pelo processo de enraizamento durante 72 horas através de exposição em água ultrapura tipo I re-constituída (chamada de “água dura”) e as 12 amostras junto com os controles foram postas em contato com as raízes por 24 e 48 horas. No fim de cada período de exposição, a ponta das raízes foram cortadas e fixadas em etanol: ácido acético [3:1]. As células meristemáticas foram coradas com orceína acética 2% e distribuídas em cima de uma lâmina com a metodologia squash. A leitura foi feita em microscópio óptico de campo claro, com aumento de 40X, sendo contabilizadas 1000 células para cada amostra. Em seguida, foram inferidos os índices mitótico de aberrações cromossômicas. As amostras da central de abastecimento do município, Sanepar (P1), apresentaram efeitos genotóxicos e potencialmente citotóxicos. Houve a presença de efeitos citogenotóxicos para as águas do lago, do rio, do ponto Vista Alegre (P8) e do ponto Portão Ocoí (P9). Efeitos citotóxicos na água do ponto Padre Rick (P3) e genotóxicos para os pontos São João, Dom Armando e da torneira ao lado do lago da represa no ponto da prainha de Vila Natal (P7, P4 e P6). Através da análise dos resultados, su-gere-se haver potencial mutagênico para as águas de abastecimento da cidade, ha-vendo necessidade de novos testes para averiguar a persistência dos efeitos mutagênicos observados em A. cepa e possíveis agentes causadores.Universidade Federal de Integração Latino-americana - UNILA; Departamento de Laboratórios de Ensino - DELABEN; Laboratório de Biologia - UNILA

Gestão de portfólio de produtos inovadores com ênfase ambiental : um modelo quantitativo para priorização de ecoinovações

A mudança de paradigma de consumo para um modelo mais consciente tem impulsionado a busca por respostas inovadoras e mais ecoeficientes, tanto no meio acadêmico quanto no corporativo. Neste cenário, o desenvolvimento de ecoinovações ganha destaque, trazendo vantagem como o atendimento às pressões regulatórias e de mercado. A evolução para um portfólio mais ecoinovador é um processo relacionado tanto à gestão de portfólio de produtos como à gestão de inovação. Apesar do tema gestão de portfólio de produtos e do tema ecoinovação, serem amplamente estudados na literatura, a sua integração ainda é um campo a ser mais explorado, principalmente quando realizado através de modelos quantitativos. Por isso, o objetivo geral dessa dissertação é a adaptação de um modelo de gestão de portfólio de produtos inovadores, com abordagem quantitativa e ênfase ambiental. Para realizar essa adaptação, foi escolhido a partir de revisão da literatura, um modelo de referência em gestão de portfólio de produtos. Em seguida, também a partir de revisão da literatura, foram selecionados critérios de avaliação ambiental para comporem a estrutura quantitativa de priorização de ideias com ênfase em ecoinovações. Diferentes especialistas avaliaram a estrutura adaptada, a qual foi intitulada Matriz de Exequibilidade de Ideias com ênfase em EIs, a qual foi submetida à uma aplicação prática. Posteriormente, o modelo de gestão de portfólio de produtos de referência foi adaptado a partir de conceitos-chave identificados na literatura, relacionados à gestão de inovação em portfólio de produtos, bem como pela inclusão dos critérios de avaliação ambiental selecionados. Esse modelo foi submetido à avaliação de representantes de empresas ambientalmente orientadas. Essa avaliação deu origem ao Modelo de Decisões Estratégicas de Inovação com ênfase em EIs, o Eco-DEIn. A principal contribuição desse estudo foi: (i) a adaptação de um modelo quantitativo de gestão de portfólio de produtos inovadores à ênfase ambiental; e compondo este, (ii) a adaptação de uma estrutura quantitativa de priorização de ideias com ênfase em ecoinovações. O modelo adaptado e suas matrizes permitem uma análise sistêmica quantitativa, embasada em dimensões e critérios relevantes para a gestão de portfólio e gestão da inovação, com ênfase nas questões ambientais. Assim, o planejamento de inovações atual, a partir dos índices gerados, pode servir de base para processos decisórios futuros, evidenciando, quantitativamente, não somente o perfil inovador da empresa, mas o seu posicionamento em relação a ecoinovações.The change in the consumption paradigm to a more conscious model has driven the search for innovative and more eco-efficient responses, both in academia and corporate. In this scenario, eco-innovations' development is highlighted, bringing advantages such as meeting regulatory and market pressures. The evolution towards a more eco-innovative portfolio is related to Product Portfolio Management and Innovation Management. Despite the theme of product portfolio management and the theme of eco-innovation being extensively studied in the literature, their integration is still a field to be further explored, especially when carried out through quantitative models. Therefore, this dissertation's general objective is to adapt an innovative products' portfolio management model with a quantitative approach and environmental emphasis. The adaptation was carried out from a pre-existing reference model in product portfolio management. Then, from a literature review, environmental assessment criteria were selected to compose the quantitative structure for prioritizing ideas with an emphasis on eco-innovations. Different experts evaluated the adapted structure, which was entitled Matrix of Feasibility of Ideas, emphasizing EIs, and has been subjected to practical application. Subsequently, the reference product portfolio management model was adapted from key concepts identified in the literature, related to innovation management in the product portfolio, and the inclusion of the selected environmental assessment criteria. This model was submitted to the evaluation of representatives of environmentally oriented companies. This assessment gave rise to the Strategic Innovation Decision Model with an emphasis on EIs, the Eco-SIMD. This study's main contribution was: (i) the adaptation of a quantitative innovation product portfolio model with an environmental emphasis; and composing this, (ii) adapting a quantitative structure for prioritizing ideas with an emphasis on eco-innovations. The adapted model and its matrices allow a quantitative systemic analysis based on dimensions and relevant criteria for product portfolio management and innovation management, emphasizing environmental issues. Thus, based on the indexes generated, the planning of current innovations can serve as a basis for future decision-making processes, showing, quantitatively, not only the company’s innovative profile but its eco-innovations’ positioning

"An Imperfect State of Freedom": Fashioning Racial Order at Savannah, 1790-1830

Conceived primarily as a case study of Savannah, Georgia, this dissertation addresses the evolution of racial ordering practices between the end of the eighteenth century and the mid-antebellum period. The increased perception of danger in the Lowcountry following the Haitian Revolution, the subsequent influx of black and white French refugees into the Lowcountry, and the enlargement of the free black population across the South compelled state and city authorities in Georgia and Savannah to assert greater legal control over free and enslaved blacks. New laws that restricted the entry of slaves and free blacks from outside the state, prohibited manumission, and forced free blacks to obtain white guardians in order to access legal rights expanded public authority into traditionally private spheres in reaction to these new threats towards the stability of the slave population. While recognizing that policing statutes within slave codes were central in the creation and maintenance of the racial hierarchy, this project emphasizes the contributions of other laws. These legal arrangements established tighter, more personalized, and less visible control over free blacks and slaves while they formalized processes that ultimately awarded them status, residency, and even freedom on the basis of reputation. These measures each built upon existing strategies that engaged the community more broadly in policing free and enslaved people of color in the urban environment. At the same time, whites and blacks alike reacted in defiant and unpredictable fashion towards the increasing harshness of laws that asserted greater public authority over institutions previously mediated among individuals within local institutions. In particular, refugees from St. Domingue who arrived following the revolution brought with them distinctive legal practices, customs, and expectations concerning freedom for former slaves that quickly surfaced in their encounters with local courts. Through an examination of county and city court records, newspapers, and state and local government records, I argue that Savannahians often ignored formal rules in favor of their own customary practices in several key instances where state and city authorities at Savannah attempted to assert greater and unprecedented control over slaves and free blacks under the law

Post-Traumatic Right Lumbar Abscess as First Manifestation of Perforated Right Colon Cancer – A Case Report

Besides most common signs and symptoms suggesting a colic cancer, sometimes the clinical presentation can be difficult. Extra-abdominal abscess as a first sign of perforated colon carcinoma is a very unusual finding. We report a case of an old male patient, in bad general condition, with a post-traumatic finding of right lumbar abscess. After the percutaneous drainage with discharge of fecal material and a postponed explorative laparotomy, we discovered a perforated right colon carcinoma with a covered perforation affecting the duodenum wall and spreading to the hepatic bedand over to the back lumbar muscular wall. Because of the diffusion of the tumor, the patient was treated with palliative surgery with duodenum suture, right colon segment resection and subsequent ileocolic anastomosis with an uneventful postoperative course. The patient died 2 months later because of neoplastic cachexia

Controlling suction by vapour equilibrium technique at different temperatures, application to the determination of the water retention properties of MX80 clay

Problems related to unsaturated soils are frequently encountered in geotechnical or environmental engineering works. In most cases, for the purpose of simplicity, the problems are studied by considering the suction effects on volume change or shear strength under isothermal conditions. Under isothermal condition, very often, a temperature independent water retention curve is considered in the analysis, which is obviously a simplification. When the temperature changes are too significant to be neglected, it is necessary to account for the thermal effects. In this paper, a method for controlling suction using the vapour equilibrium technique at different temperatures is presented. First, calibration of various saturated saline solutions was carried out from temperature of 20 degrees C to 60 degrees C. A mirror psychrometer was used for the measurement of relative humidity generated by saturated saline solutions at different temperatures. The results obtained are in good agreement with the data from the literature. This information was then used to determine the water retention properties of MX80 clay, which showed that the retention curve is shifting down with increasing of temperature

VALIDATION AND REFINEMENT OF CHEMICAL STABILIZATION PROCEDURES FOR PAVEMENT SUBGRADE SOILS IN OKLAHOMA – VOLUME II (FHWA-OK-11-02(2))

For projects involving a chemically stabilized layer as a part of the structural design of the pavement, it is typical to conduct a mix design to assess the additive content needed to achieve a certain unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and to determine the resilient modulus (MR) of the stabilized soil. However, there is considerable uncertainty regarding whether the strength and resilient modulus of the field stabilized soil are consistent with design values determined in the laboratory. A purpose of this study was to compare results of field tests and laboratory tests on chemically stabilized soil at different curing times to assess whether a relationship exists between field and laboratory measurements. The goal was to determine if a field testing method could be used to assess whether the strength and stiffness in the field are consistent with laboratory measurements used for design. In addition, numerous other physical and chemical tests were conducted on the soils with an aim to enhance interpretation of UCS and MR and comparisons to field tests. Field testing included three devices that are portable, quick, and easy to use. These devices include: the Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP), the PANDA penetrometer, and the Portable Falling Weight Deflectometer (PFWD). Laboratory testing was conducted to determine the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and resilient modulus (MR) of laboratory specimens prepared using additive contents that were similar to samples taken from field test locations. To estimate the additive contents in the field samples, a mineralogical test method known as “whole rock analysis” using x-ray fluorescence (XRF) was investigated. Samples mixed in the laboratory were tested to determine the UCS and MR after curing times of 1, 3, 7, 14, & 28 days. Field tests were conducted at each of the five test sites after curing times that fell within the 1 to 28 day time frame; however, because of construction logistics and weather conditions it was not always possible to match the curing times of laboratory tests or conduct field tests over the full 28 days at every site. Nevertheless, sufficient field data was collected to make meaningful comparisons with laboratory test data. Mineralogical, electrical, chemical, physical and index property testing (Atterberg Limits, linear shrinkage, Total Specific Surface Area (SSA), etc.) was conducted on the natural soils and the stabilized cured samples to observe the relationship of these properties to stabilized soil strength and stiffness. The effect of curing temperature on stabilized strength gain of soils was also examined. The UCS samples were cured at both room temperature (68°F) and at 40°F, which is the minimum ambient temperature specified for chemical stabilization of subgrades. Correlations were examined and involved basic soil measurements (mineralogical, electrical, chemical and index properties) and mechanical properties (UCS and MR), and field test results (DCP, PANDA, and PFWD). Some of the various correlations developed show promise as methods for predicting UCS and MR based on more simply measured soil properties. Relationships between field and laboratory tests also show promise as a means to evaluate strength and stiffness gains in field stabilized soils. Additionally, lower curing temperatures were observed to have an adverse affect on more reactive clayey soils.Final Report, October 2007-December 2010N