An Evaluation of the Utility of Reading Curriculum-Based Measurement as Progress Monitoring Tools and Predictors of Comprehension

Many American students struggle with reading, particularly in the area of comprehension. As such, early identification of reading difficulties, use of evidenced-based interventions, and monitoring of student reading progress over time is essential. Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is a technically adequate, efficient tool whose features and design make it a good candidate for early identification and progress monitoring purposes, especially within a response to intervention framework. However, there is still some uncertainty regarding the utility of reading CBM as progress monitoring tools. Specifically, the literature has suggested that variability in the difficulty of CBM materials may influence how well these tools measure student growth over time. The present study aimed to reduce CBM variability by using field-testing and rank-ordering of performance means to create two equivalent second-grade reading CBM passage sets. These sets were derived from larger pools of extant, commercially-available passage sets. One passage set included oral reading fluency and story recall tasks. The second passage set was comprised of Maze tasks. These passage sets were then used to monitor progress in second-grade students who were at-risk for reading problems. Scores from each type of task were also used to determine which was the best predictor of student performance in reading comprehension. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze student growth on CBM measures, as well as predict reading comprehension. Results indicated that only Maze tasks were sensitive to individual student growth over the study, and were the strongest predictors of reading comprehension in this sample compared to oral reading fluency and recall. Implications, limitations, and future directions are also discussed

Master of Science

thesisSince the discovery of carbon nanotubes in the 1950s, scientists and engineers have been working on applications that utilize their unique properties. Carbon nanotubes possess extreme conductivity, strength and stiffness which can be used to provide composite materials with improved properties. Cost effective large-scale production is a major challenge for the widespread adoption of carbon nanotubes. A Utah pilot industrial plant has been built to make industrial grade carbon nanotubes. This work seeks to develop appropriate methods for this testing these industrial grade carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes can be studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), which is an incredibly powerful tool, however, SEM analysis struggles to provide properties that can be attributed to the bulk powder properties due to the small number observed. The carbon nanotube testing protocols developed in this thesis are devoted to bulk powder methods including: bulk, tap and particle density by helium pyncometry, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, BET, surface area, temperature programmed oxidation to determine the oxidation temperatures of different types of carbon and the percentage of impurities after oxidation, bulk heat capacity, Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and viscosity. The results of these analytical methods are provided for various types of industrial carbon materials including carbon nanotubes. The analytical results demonstrate that these bulk analytical methods can be used to differentiate various qualities of carbon nanotubes from other types of carbon. Carbon nanotubes show hybridized sp2 bonds with an open p orbital similar to that of graphene. However, the curvature of the nanotube structure allows an analytical distinction between the two using spectroscopy. This curvature and bonding gives the carbon nanotubes a higher level of structure which results in a higher temperature of oxidation, a larger specific heat capacity, and a higher surface area to volume ratio than other carbon species. Carbon nanotubes have an extremely large aspect ratio, the ratio of their length to their diameter. This will cause a unique distortion in the viscosity measurements at a particular volume fraction

Meaningful measurement: Is fluency a valid and reliable measure of reading progress for struggling adolescent readers? Examining the efficacy of Pearson\u27s AIMSweb for struggling adolescent readers

A growing body of research draws into question the validity and reliability of measurements of fluency as indicators of literacy growth for older, struggling readers (Paris, Carpenter, Paris and Hamilton, 2005; Scammacca, Roberts, Vaughn, Edwards & Torgesen, 2007; Yovanoff, Duesbery, Alonzo & Tindal, 2005). Nevertheless, many high schools utilize such measures. This study examines the validity and reliability of Pearson\u27s AIMSweb as a tool for assessing the literacy development of 17 9th grade students with special education identifications. Evidence from this study draws into question the reliability and validity of AIMSweb measures for this population. Additional research with a larger population of struggling adolescent readers is warranted

Perspective on Freedom

What is Freedom? The answer to this question depends on who you ask. People\u27s perspectives on freedom depend on one\u27s experiences, culture, and environment. Along with differences in perspectives of liberty between locations, there are differing understandings within the continents studied. Some comparisons drawn explore the effect of occupation, class, gender, and color on one\u27s freedom. Explore what freedom means to those individuals in the interactive map we created using Prezi. Travel the world and see how your idea about freedom differs from those of different experiences, culture, and environment.https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/freedom-movement-fall-2017/1002/thumbnail.jp

Fall Prevention Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Community Stakeholders and Older Adults

We assessed knowledge, attitude, and provision of recommended fall prevention (FP) practices by employees of senior-serving organization and participation in FP practices by at-risk elders. The Washington State Department of Health administered structured telephone surveys to 50 employees and 101 elders in Washington State. Only 38% of employees felt “very knowledgeable” about FP, and a majority of their organizations did not regularly offer FP services. Almost half (48%) of seniors sustained a fall within the past 12 months; however, one-third perceived falling to be among their least important health concerns, and most had minimal working knowledge of proven FP practices. Seniors who perceived avoiding falls as important to their well-being were more likely to participate in practices about which they had the least knowledge (risk assessment, medication management). Increased awareness and availability of FP services might help engage older adults in FP practices and reduce the adverse effects of falls

Quantitative magnetisation transfer imaging in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Myelin-sensitive MRI such as magnetization transfer imaging has been widely used in multiple sclerosis. The influence of methodology and differences in disease subtype on imaging findings is, however, not well established. Here, we systematically review magnetization transfer brain imaging findings in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. We examine how methodological differences, disease effects and their interaction influence magnetization transfer imaging measures. Articles published before 06/01/2021 were retrieved from online databases (PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science) with search terms including ‘magnetization transfer’ and ‘brain’ for systematic review, according to a pre-defined protocol. Only studies that used human in vivo quantitative magnetization transfer imaging in adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (with or without healthy controls) were included. Additional data from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis subjects acquired in other studies comprising mixed disease subtypes were included in meta-analyses. Data including sample size, MRI acquisition protocol parameters, treatments and clinical findings were extracted and qualitatively synthesized. Where possible, effect sizes were calculated for meta-analyses to determine magnetization transfer (i) differences between patients and healthy controls; (ii) longitudinal change and (iii) relationships with clinical disability in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Eighty-six studies met inclusion criteria. MRI acquisition parameters varied widely, and were also underreported. The majority of studies examined the magnetization transfer ratio in white matter, but magnetization transfer metrics, brain regions examined and results were heterogeneous. The analysis demonstrated a risk of bias due to selective reporting and small sample sizes. The pooled random-effects meta-analysis across all brain compartments revealed magnetization transfer ratio was 1.17 per cent units (95% CI −1.42 to −0.91) lower in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis than healthy controls (z-value: −8.99, P < 0.001, 46 studies). Linear mixed-model analysis did not show a significant longitudinal change in magnetization transfer ratio across all brain regions [β = 0.12 (−0.56 to 0.80), t-value = 0.35, P = 0.724, 14 studies] or normal-appearing white matter alone [β = 0.037 (−0.14 to 0.22), t-value = 0.41, P = 0.68, eight studies]. There was a significant negative association between the magnetization transfer ratio and clinical disability, as assessed by the Expanded Disability Status Scale [r = −0.32 (95% CI −0.46 to −0.17); z-value = −4.33, P < 0.001, 13 studies]. Evidence suggests that magnetization transfer imaging metrics are sensitive to pathological brain changes in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, although effect sizes were small in comparison to inter-study variability. Recommendations include: better harmonized magnetization transfer acquisition protocols with detailed methodological reporting standards; larger, well-phenotyped cohorts, including healthy controls; and, further exploration of techniques such as magnetization transfer saturation or inhomogeneous magnetization transfer ratio

Is the observed high-frequency radio luminosity distribution of QSOs bimodal?

The distribution of QSO radio luminosities has long been debated in the literature. Some argue that it is a bimodal distribution, implying that there are two separate QSO populations (normally referred to as 'radio-loud' and 'radio-quiet'), while others claim it forms a more continuous distribution characteristic of a single population. We use deep observations at 20 GHz to investigate whether the distribution is bimodal at high radio frequencies. Carrying out this study at high radio frequencies has an advantage over previous studies as the radio emission comes predominantly from the core of the AGN, hence probes the most recent activity. Studies carried out at lower frequencies are dominated by the large scale lobes where the emission is built up over longer timescales (10^7-10^8 yrs), thereby confusing the sample. Our sample comprises 874 X-ray selected QSOs that were observed as part of the 6dF Galaxy Survey. Of these, 40% were detected down to a 3 sigma detection limit of 0.2-0.5 mJy. No evidence of bimodality is seen in either the 20 GHz luminosity distribution or in the distribution of the R_20 parameter: the ratio of the radio to optical luminosities traditionally used to classify objects as being either radio-loud or radio-quiet. Previous results have claimed that at low radio luminosities, star formation processes can dominate the radio emission observed in QSOs. We attempt to investigate these claims by stacking the undetected sources at 20 GHz and discuss the limitations in carrying out this analysis. However, if the radio emission was solely due to star formation processes, we calculate that this corresponds to star formation rates ranging from ~10 solar masses/yr to ~2300 solar masses/yr.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

The Sloan Bright Arcs Survey : Six Strongly Lensed Galaxies at z=0.4-1.4

We present new results of our program to systematically search for strongly lensed galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) imaging data. In this study six strong lens systems are presented which we have confirmed with follow-up spectroscopy and imaging using the 3.5m telescope at the Apache Point Observatory. Preliminary mass models indicate that the lenses are group-scale systems with velocity dispersions ranging from 466-878 km s^{-1} at z=0.17-0.45 which are strongly lensing source galaxies at z=0.4-1.4. Galaxy groups are a relatively new mass scale just beginning to be probed with strong lensing. Our sample of lenses roughly doubles the confirmed number of group-scale lenses in the SDSS and complements ongoing strong lens searches in other imaging surveys such as the CFHTLS (Cabanac et al 2007). As our arcs were discovered in the SDSS imaging data they are all bright ($r\lesssim22$), making them ideally suited for detailed follow-up studies.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, submitted to ApJL, the Sloan Bright Arcs page is located here: http://home.fnal.gov/~kubo/brightarcs.htm

A missense mutation in PKD1 attenuates the severity of renal disease

Mutations of PKD1 and PKD2 account for most cases of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Compared with PKD2, patients with PKD1 typically have more severe renal disease. Here, we report a follow-up study of a unique multigeneration family with bilineal ADPKD (NFL10) in which a PKD1 disease haplotype and a PKD2 (L736X) mutation co-segregated with 18 and 14 affected individuals, respectively. In our updated genotype–phenotype analysis of the family, we found that PKD1-affected individuals had uniformly mild renal disease similar to the PKD2-affected individuals. By sequencing all the exons and splice junctions of PKD1, we identified two missense mutations (Y528C and R1942H) from a PKD1-affected individual. Although both variants were predicted to be damaging to the mutant protein, only Y528C co-segregated with all of the PKD1-affected individuals in NFL10. Studies in MDCK cells stably expressing wild-type and mutant forms of PKD found that cell lines expressing the Y528C variant formed cysts in culture and displayed increased rates of growth and apoptosis. Thus, Y528C functions as a hypomorphic PKD1 allele. These findings have important implications for pathogenic mechanisms and molecular diagnostics of ADPKD