Designing and Piloting a Tool for the Measurement of the Use of Pronunciation Learning Strategies

What appears to be indispensable to drive the field forward and ensure that research findings will be comparable across studies and provide a sound basis for feasible pedagogic proposals is to draw up a classification of PLS and design on that basis a valid and reliable data collection tool which could be employed to measure the use of these strategies in different groups of learners, correlate it with individual and contextual variables, and appraise the effects of training programs. In accordance with this rationale, the present paper represents an attempt to propose a tentative categorization of pronunciation learning strategies, adopting as a point of reference the existing taxonomies of strategic devices (i.e. O'Malley and Chamot 1990; Oxford 1990) and the instructional options teachers have at their disposal when dealing with elements of this language subsystem (e.g. Kelly 2000; Goodwin 2001). It also introduces a research instrument designed on the basis of the classification that shares a number of characteristics with Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning but, in contrast to it, includes both Likert-scale and open-ended items. The findings of a pilot study which involved 80 English Department students demonstrate that although the tool requires considerable refinement, it provides a useful point of departure for future research into PLS

Pure hydrogen low-temperature plasma exposure of HOPG and graphene: Graphane formation?

Single- and multilayer graphene and highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) were exposed to a pure hydrogen low-temperature plasma (LTP). Characterizations include various experimental techniques such as photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and scanning probe microscopy. Our photoemission measurement shows that hydrogen LTP exposed HOPG has a diamond-like valence-band structure, which suggests double-sided hydrogenation. With the scanning tunneling microscopy technique, various atomic-scale charge-density patterns were observed, which may be associated with different C-H conformers. Hydrogen-LTP-exposed graphene on SiO₂ has a Raman spectrum in which the D peak to G peak ratio is over 4, associated with hydrogenation on both sides. A very low defect density was observed in the scanning probe microscopy measurements, which enables a reverse transformation to graphene. Hydrogen-LTP-exposed HOPG possesses a high thermal stability, and therefore, this transformation requires annealing at over 1000 °C

AIOCJ: A Choreographic Framework for Safe Adaptive Distributed Applications

We present AIOCJ, a framework for programming distributed adaptive applications. Applications are programmed using AIOC, a choreographic language suited for expressing patterns of interaction from a global point of view. AIOC allows the programmer to specify which parts of the application can be adapted. Adaptation takes place at runtime by means of rules, which can change during the execution to tackle possibly unforeseen adaptation needs. AIOCJ relies on a solid theory that ensures applications to be deadlock-free by construction also after adaptation. We describe the architecture of AIOCJ, the design of the AIOC language, and an empirical validation of the framework.Comment: Technical Repor

Evaluation of radiological and clinical efficacy of ^{90}Y-DOTATATE} therapy in patients with progressive metastatic midgut neuroendocrine carcinomas

Background: To evaluate the radiological and clinical therapeutic effectiveness of ^{90}Y-octreotate [DOTATATE] inpatients with progressive somatostatin receptor-positive midgut neuroendocrine carcinomas (GEPNETs). Material/Methods: The study group: 34 patients, with histological proven extensive non-resectable and progressive midgut GEP-NETs. Radionuclide therapy (^{90}Y-DOTATATE) was given i.v. with a mean activity per administration 3,82 GBq. Initial clinical tumor responses were assessed 6-7 weeks after therapy completion and then once 3-monthly. The objective tumor response was classified according to the RECIST, initially between 4-6 months and then after each of the 6 months interval. Results: At 6 months after treatment completion, radiological tumor response was observed in 6 subjects with PR (19%), 25 presented SD (78%) and single had PD (3%). Overall clinical response to therapy at 6 months follow-up was observed in 23 patients (68%), SD in 5 patients (15%) and PD in 6 (18%). A year after therapy radiological tumour response was seen in 11 patients (44%), SD had 12 subjects (44%) and DP was noted in 2 patients. Two years after completed therapy PR was seen in 6 patients (33%), SD in additional 11 subjects (61%), single patient had PD. Clinical response to treatment in terms of PR and SD were noted in 22 patients (88%) after 1 year and in 14 patients (87%) after 2 years. Median PFS was 20 months, while the median OS was 23 months. In the 6 patients with clinical PD within initial 6 months the median PFS was 6 months and OS 11 months, while in those with SD or PR PFS was 22 months and OS 26 months (P<0.05). Conclusions: Therapy with ^{90}Y-DOTATATE} is effective in terms of clinical response, however the radiological response measured by the RECIST criteria underestimates benefits of this type of therapy in patients with progressive somatostatin receptor-positive midgut neuroendocrine carcinomas

DISCONNECTED FROM THE FRONT LINES: LACK OF WARFIGHTER EXPERIENCE IN ACQUISITIONS YIELDS UNACCEPTABLE END STATES

Over the past few decades, the Defense Acquisition System (DAS) has been under constant fire by Congress, taxpayers, and warfighters for unacceptable cost, schedule, and performance outcomes. This plague has been well documented, discussed, and many potential corrective measures implemented over the years with futile results. This leaves the warfighter with delivered capabilities not meeting actual operational needs, routinely late to field, yielding them irrelevant, and coming with unrecoverable cost overruns. One significant area of the acquisition process, the focus of this research, has the most impact on a program’s outcome yet had the least amount of change: who represents the warfighter during requirements generation and management throughout the life cycle. A program’s requirements establish the end cost, schedule, and performance thresholds that, once a program matures, are extremely difficult to change without a sizable penalty. This research documents a correlation between troubled programs and poor requirements support due to an operational knowledge gap caused by a lack of proficient end-user warfighter representatives involved and empowered in the process. Related, due to the inherent differences in views, experience, and expectations between a career acquisition professional and a warfighter, data shows a need for a blended professional within the DAS. The research shows failure to bridge this personnel gap will predictably yield the same unacceptable results.Lieutenant Commander, United States NavyCommander, United States NavyChief Warrant Officer Three, United States NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Solar warming of near-bottom water over a fringing reef

The Kilo Nalu Observatory is located on the foreslope of a fringing reef on the south shore of Oahu, Hawaii. A cabled node at 12-m depth has enabled continuous real-time temperature observations from a thermistor chain extending from 1 to 7 m above bottom. Data from a 27-month deployment in 2007–2009 reveal repeated instances of subsurface temperature inversions. The usual diurnal pattern shows increases in temperature throughout the water column after sunrise, peaking in the early afternoon. Bottom waters typically warm faster than those at mid-depth, driving an inversion in the thermal profile. The onset and evolution of the inversions are consistent with an analytical model of radiation absorption and the contribution to bottom temperature from solar warming of the seafloor. The maximum size, duration and seasonal distribution of the inversions indicate that salinity compensation is a major limiting factor. In the absence of salinity compensation, the implication is that bottom heating destabilizes the water column and convective transport results. In addition, recurring afternoon onshore bottom currents contribute to the termination of inversions. Although radiative heating may exacerbate coral heat stress, radiation-driven thermal convection and exposure to the open ocean modulate temperatures over the reef

Sequential Data-Adaptive Bandwidth Selection by Cross-Validation for Nonparametric Prediction

We consider the problem of bandwidth selection by cross-validation from a sequential point of view in a nonparametric regression model. Having in mind that in applications one often aims at estimation, prediction and change detection simultaneously, we investigate that approach for sequential kernel smoothers in order to base these tasks on a single statistic. We provide uniform weak laws of large numbers and weak consistency results for the cross-validated bandwidth. Extensions to weakly dependent error terms are discussed as well. The errors may be {\alpha}-mixing or L2-near epoch dependent, which guarantees that the uniform convergence of the cross validation sum and the consistency of the cross-validated bandwidth hold true for a large class of time series. The method is illustrated by analyzing photovoltaic data.Comment: 26 page