Software Tools for Empowering Instructional Developers

In response to the perceived need of many organizations to increase the quantity, quality, and timeliness of training, their shortage of experienced instructional developers, and constrained training budgets, software systems are being created to assist both novice and expert instructional technologists. The underlying philosophies and goals of such “ID automation” tools and their potential effects upon the organizations who adopt them as well as upon the human performance technology profession must be examined so that they will help to empower rather than hinder their users.     

The digit naming speed test: Its power and incremental validity in identifying children with specific reading disabilities

This paper presents two studies, both of which address the question of whether a test that measures the automaticity with which digits can be named could be useful as part of a diagnostic battery to assess reading disabilities. In the first study, the Digit Naming Speed Test significantly differentiated elementary-school boys who were disabled readers from age-matched boys reading at appropriate grade levels, correctly classifying 83.3% of the children. In the second study, the Digit Naming Speed Test accounted for a significant portion of the word recognition variance of nondisabled readers over and above that portion accounted for by general intelligence as measured by the WISC-R. Taken together, these studies indicate that the Digit Naming Speed Test has the potential to contribute significantly to the diagnostic process.     

Differential performance on the expressive one-word picture vocabulary test

The Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (EOWPVT) is a screening instrument used to derive an estimate of general verbal intelligence. The purpose of this paper is to present five clinical case studies of children with depressed performance on the EOWPVT to illustrate differential performance outcomes that are not attributable to a single causal factor (i.e., general verbal intelligence). It is proposed that the utility of the EOWPVT, from a qualitative and analytic perspective, may provide more than just a measure of general verbal intelligence.     

Impact of age on host responses to diet-induced obesity:Development of joint damage and metabolic set points

Background:Osteoarthritis is one of the leading causes of pain and disability worldwide,and a large percentage of patients with osteoarthritis are individuals who are also obese.In recent years,a series of animal models have demonstrated that obesity-inducing diets can result in synovial joint damage(both with and without the superimposition of trauma),which may be related to changes in percentage of body fat and a series of low-level systemic inflammatory mediators.Of note,there is a disparity between whether the dietary challenges commence at weaning,representing a weanling onset,or at skeletal maturity,representing an adult onset of obesity.We wished to evaluate the effect ofthe dietary exposure time and the age at which animals are exposed to a high-fat and high-sucrose(HFS) diet to determine whether these factors may result in disparate outcomes,as there is evidence suggesting that these factors result in differential metabolic disturbances.Based on dietary exposure time,we hypothesized that rats fed an HFS diet for 14 weeks from weaning(HFS Weanling) would demonstrate an increase in knee joint damage scores,whereas rats exposed to the HFS diet for 4 weeks,starting at 12 weeks of age(HFS Adult) and rats exposed to a standard chow diet(Chow)would not display an increase in knee joint damage scores.Methods:Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either an HFS diet for 14 weeks from weaning(HFS Weanling) or an HFS diet for 4 weeks,starting at 12 weeks of age(HFS Adult).At sacrifice,joints were scored using the modified Mankin Criteria,and serum was analyzed for a defined subset of inflammatory markers(Interleukin-6,leptin,monocyte chemoattractant protein-1,and tumor necrosis factorα).Results:When the HFS Weanling and HFS Adult groups were compared,both groups had a similar percent of body fat,although the HFS Weanling group had a significantly greater body mass than the HFS Adult group.The HFS Weanling and HFS Adult animals had a significant increase in body mass and percentage of body fat when compared to the Chow group.Although knee joint damage scores were low in all 3 groups,we found,contrary to our hypothesis,that the HFS Adult group had statistically significant greater knee joint damage scores than the Chow and HFS Weanling groups.Furthermore,we observed that the HFS Weanling group did not have significant differences in knee joint damage scores relative to the Chow group.Conclusion:These findings indicate that the HFS Weanling animals were better able to cope with the dietary challenge of an HFS diet than the HFS Adult group.Interestingly,when assessing various serum proinflammatory markers,no significant differences were detected between the HTS Adult and HFS Weanling groups.Although details regarding the mechanisms underlying an increase in knee joint damage scores in the HFS Adult group remain to be elucidated,these findings indicate that dietary exposure time maybe less important than the age at which an HFS diet is introduced.Moreover,increases in serum proinflammatory mediators do not appear to be directly linked to knee joint damage scores in the HFS Weanling group animals but may be partially responsible for the observed knee joint damage in the adults over the very short time of exposure to the HFS diet.     

超高含水原油混合流动及初始沉积特性

使用自行设计的实验装置,对超高含水原油的流动特性和初始沉积过程进行探究。系统研究实验温度、混合流速和体积含水率对超高含水原油初始沉积过程的影响,分析不同温度下原油的运动形态和初始沉积方式。初始沉积过程可分为蔓延沉积过程和粘连沉积过程,根据沉积特点和压降曲线的变化趋势将初始沉积过程分为3个阶段：沉积诱导期、快速沉积期和沉积动态平衡期。通过对沉积物碳数分布的分析,得知超高含水原油初始沉积过程中,同时存在剪切剥离作用、胶凝作用和分子扩散作用。实验温度和体积含水率主要通过改变胶凝作用和分子扩散来影响初始沉积过程,混合流速通过改变剪切剥离强度来影响初始沉积过程。     

一种在轨海上多运动舰船目标检测和跟踪方法

传统遥感卫星图像处理采用在地面进行目标检测和跟踪处理的模式,卫星将拍摄到的图像数据下传至地面数据处理中心,由地面数据处理系统对接收到的遥感图像数据进行目标检测和跟踪。然而,随着遥感图像分辨率的不断提高,需要下传的数据量增大,导致星地数据传输的时间大大增加,最终造成目标检测和跟踪的时效性降低。针对上述问题,提出一种基于多特征量判别的Canny边缘检测和联合概率数据关联的在轨海上多运动舰船目标检测和跟踪方法。将该方法利用中国科学院微小卫星创新研究院的高分微纳卫星实测数据在模拟星载的嵌入式开发平台上进行验证,结果表明该方法能够在轨对海上多运动舰船目标进行快速、准确的检测和跟踪。