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.
Confocal microscope imaging has become popular in biotechnology labs. Confocal imaging technology utilizes fluorescence optics, where laser light is focused onto a specific spot at a defined depth in the sample. A considerable number of images are produced regularly during the process of research. These images require methods of unbiased quantification to have meaningful analyses. Increasing efforts to tie reimbursement to outcomes will likely increase the need for objective data in analyzing confocal microscope images in the coming years. Utilizing visual quantification methods to quantify confocal images with naked human eyes is an essential but often underreported outcome measure due to the time required for manual counting and e
... Show MoreAs cities across the world grow and the mobility of populations increases, there has also been a corresponding increase in the number of vehicles on roads. The result of this has been a proliferation of challenges for authorities with regard to road traffic management. A consequence of this has been congestion of traffic, more accidents, and pollution. Accidents are a still major cause of death, despite the development of sophisticated systems for traffic management and other technologies linked with vehicles. Hence, it is necessary that a common system for accident management is developed. For instance, traffic congestion in most urban areas can be alleviated by the real-time planning of routes. However, the designing of an efficie
... Show MoreObjective: To measure the effect of the pharmacist-led medication reconciliation service before hospital discharge on preventing potential medication errors. Methods: This behavioral interventional study took place in a public teaching hospital in Iraq between December 2022 and January 2023. It included inpatients who were taking four or more medications upon discharge from the internal medicine ward and the cardiac care unit. The researcher provided the patients with a medication reconciliation form and reconciliation form (including medication regimen and pharmacist instructions) before discharging them home. Any discrepancies between the patients’ understanding and the actual medication recommendations prescribed by the physici
... Show MoreReverse Osmosis (RO) has already proved its worth as an efficient treatment method in chemical and environmental engineering applications. Various successful RO attempts for the rejection of organic and highly toxic pollutants from wastewater can be found in the literature over the last decade. Dimethylphenol is classified as a high-toxic organic compound found ubiquitously in wastewater. It poses a real threat to humans and the environment even at low concentration. In this paper, a model based framework was developed for the simulation and optimisation of RO process for the removal of dimethylphenol from wastewater. We incorporated our earlier developed and validated process model into the Species Conserving Genetic Algorithm (SCG
... Show MoreOlmesartan medoxomil (OM) has low bioavailability and limited solubility. To enhance bioavailability, fast dissolving films (FDF) with mixed micelles of soluplus (SPL) and solutol HS15 (STL H15) were developed using solvent casting. The optimised formula, FM2, used polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and showed high entrapment efficiency, rapid disintegration, and significant improvement in OM bioavailability compared to the market tablet (Olmetec®). FM2 also demonstrated stability and potential for enhanced drug delivery.
The aim of the research is to identify the effect of instructional design according to Kagan structure among the first intermediate school student’s, and how skills could help in generating information in mathematics. In accordance with the research objectives, the researcher has followed the experimental research method by adopting an experimental design with two equivalent groups of post-test to measure skills in generating information. Accordingly, the researcher raised two main null hypotheses: there were no statistically significant differences at the level of significance (0.05) between the average scores of the experimental group who studied the material according to Kagan structure and th
... Show MoreVehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are considered an emerging technology in the industrial and educational fields. This technology is essential in the deployment of the intelligent transportation system, which is targeted to improve safety and efficiency of traffic. The implementation of VANETs can be effectively executed by transmitting data among vehicles with the use of multiple hops. However, the intrinsic characteristics of VANETs, such as its dynamic network topology and intermittent connectivity, limit data delivery. One particular challenge of this network is the possibility that the contributing node may only remain in the network for a limited time. Hence, to prevent data loss from that node, the information must reach the destina
... Show MoreLearning the vocabulary of a language has great impact on acquiring that language. Many scholars in the field of language learning emphasize the importance of vocabulary as part of the learner's communicative competence, considering it the heart of language. One of the best methods of learning vocabulary is to focus on those words of high frequency. The present article is a corpus based approach to the study of vocabulary whereby the research data are analyzed quantitatively using the software program "AntWordprofiler". This program analyses new input research data in terms of already stored reliable corpora. The aim of this article is to find out whether the vocabularies used in the English textbook for Intermediate Schools in Iraq are con
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