Improving students’ use of argumentation is front and center in the increasing emphasis on scientific practice in K-12 Science and STEM programs. We explore the construct validity of scenario-based assessments of claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) and the structure of the CER construct with respect to a learning progression framework. We also seek to understand how middle school students progress. Establishing the purpose of an argument is a competency that a majority of middle school students meet, whereas quantitative reasoning is the most difficult, and the Rasch model indicates that the competencies form a unidimensional hierarchy of skills. We also find no evidence of differential item functioning between different scenarios, suggesting that multiple scenarios can be utilized in the context of a multi-level assessment framework for measuring the impacts of learning experiences on students’ argumentation.
In the current worldwide health crisis produced by coronavirus disease (COVID-19), researchers and medical specialists began looking for new ways to tackle the epidemic. According to recent studies, Machine Learning (ML) has been effectively deployed in the health sector. Medical imaging sources (radiography and computed tomography) have aided in the development of artificial intelligence(AI) strategies to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. As a result, a classical machine learning approach for coronavirus detection from Computerized Tomography (CT) images was developed. In this study, the convolutional neural network (CNN) model for feature extraction and support vector machine (SVM) for the classification of axial
... Show MoreIn this study, an improved process was proposed for the synthesis of structure-controlled Cu2O nanoparticles, using a simplified wet chemical method at room temperature. A chemical solution route was established to synthesize Cu2O crystals with various sizes and morphologies. The structure, morphology, and optical properties of Cu2O nanoparticles were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, SEM (scanning electron microscope), and UV-Vis spectroscopy. By adjusting the aqueous mixture solutions of NaOH and NH2OH•HCl, the synthesis of Cu2O crystals with different morphology and size could be realized. Strangely, it was found that the change in the ratio of de-ionized water and NaOH aqueous solution led to the synthesis of Cu2O crystals of differen
... Show MoreThe electrospun nanofibers membranes (ENMs) have gained great attention due to their superior performance. However, the low mechanical strength of ENMs, such as the rigidity and low strength, limits their applications in many aspects which need adequate strength, such as water filtration. This work investigates the impact of electrospinning parameters on the properties of ENMs fabricated from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) solved in N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF). The studied electrospinning parameters were polymer concentration, solution flow rate, collector rotating speed, and the distance between the needle and collector. The fabricated ENMs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to understand the surface morphology and es
... Show MoreTo ascertain the stability or instability of time series, three versions of the model proposed by Dickie-Voller were used in this paper. The aim of this study is to explain the extent of the impact of some economic variables such as the supply of money, gross domestic product, national income, after reaching the stability of these variables. The results show that the variable money supply, the GDP variable, and the exchange rate variable were all stable at the level of the first difference in the time series. This means that the series is an integrated first-class series. Hence, the gross fixed capital formation variable, the variable national income, and the variable interest rate
... Show MoreUrinary stones are one of the most common painful disorders of the urinary system. Four new technologies have transformed the treatment of urinary stones: Electrohydraulic lithotripsy, ultrasonic lithotripsy, extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, and laser lithotripsy.The purpose of this study is to determine whether pulsed holmium laser energy is an effective method for fragmenting urinary tract stones in vitro, and to determine whether stone composition affects the efficacy of holmium laser lithotripsy. Human urinary stones of known composition with different sizes, shapes and colors were used for this study. The weight and the size of each stone were measured. The surgical laser system which used in our study is Ho:YAG laser(2100nm)
... Show MoreThe "Nudge" Theory is considered one of the most recent theories, which is clear in the economic, health, and educational sectors, due to the intensity of studies on it and its applications, but it has not yet been included in crime prevention studies. The use of Nudge theory appears to enrich the theory in the field of crime prevention, and to provide modern, effective, and implementable mechanisms.
The study deals with the "integrative review" approach, which is a distinctive form of research that generates new knowledge on a topic through reviewing, criticizing, and synthesizing representative literature on the topic in an integrated manner so that new frameworks and perspectives are created around it.
The study is bas
... Show MoreIn this work, electron number density calculated using Matlab program code with the writing algorithm of the program. Electron density was calculated using Anisimov model in a vacuum environment. The effect of spatial coordinates on the electron density was investigated in this study. It was found that the Z axis distance direction affects the electron number density (ne). There are many processes such as excitation; ionization and recombination within the plasma that possible affect the density of electrons. The results show that as Z axis distance increases electron number density decreases because of the recombination of electrons and ions at large distances from the target and the loss of thermal energy of the electrons in
... Show MoreANN modeling is used here to predict missing monthly precipitation data in one station of the eight weather stations network in Sulaimani Governorate. Eight models were developed, one for each station as for prediction. The accuracy of prediction obtain is excellent with correlation coefficients between the predicted and the measured values of monthly precipitation ranged from (90% to 97.2%). The eight ANN models are found after many trials for each station and those with the highest correlation coefficient were selected. All the ANN models are found to have a hyperbolic tangent and identity activation functions for the hidden and output layers respectively, with learning rate of (0.4) and momentum term of (0.9), but with different data
... Show MoreIn the present study, advanced oxidation treatment, the TiO2 /UV/H2O2 process was applied to decolorisation of the reactive yellow dyes in aqueous solution. The UV radiation was carried out with a 6 W low-pressure mercury lamp. The rate of color removal was studied by measuring the absorbency at a characteristic wavelength. The effects of H2O2 dosage, dye initial concentration and pH on decolorisation kinetics in the batch photoreactor were investigated. The highest decolorisation rates were observed (98.8) at pH range between 3 and 7. The optimal levels of H2O2 needed for the process were examined. It appears that high levels of H2O2 could reduce decolori
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