Key block theory application for rock slope stability analysis in the foundations of medieval castles in Slovakia

This research investigates the stability of rock slopes in the foundations of selected medieval castles in Slovakia. In the first phase, static analysis of the 45 selected medieval castle rock slopes was performed, where more than 12,000 potentially unstable blocks were analyzed and the factor of safety in static condition was calculated using the key block theory implemented in the Kbslope module of PTworkshop software. Based on results of the static stability analysis, a pseudo-static analysis was performed adopting the seismic acceleration in accordance with Slovak Technical Standards – Seismic actions on structures. This was implemented by calculating the vectors of horizontal force acting upon shear failure in the direction of the slope face with a zero vertical component. When non-finite and tapered blocks were ignored, the results proved that 14% of the 12,217 blocks investigated under static conditions could be considered unstable. This number increased to 23% under pseudo-static conditions, when seismic acceleration was implemented in the stability calculations. A detailed stability assessment of the Gymes Castle located in western Slovakia was carried out with delineation of blocks prone to rock sliding and proper stabilization methods, based on joint sets orientation measurements performed on the 3D point cloud generated by laser scanner.     

New Perspectives on the Correlation of SAT Scores, High School Grades, and Socioeconomic Factors

In studies of the SAT, correlations of SAT scores, high school grades, and socioeconomic factors (SES) are usually obtained using a university as the unit of analysis. This approach obscures an important structural aspect of the data: The high school grades received by a given institution come from a large number of high schools, all of which have potentially different grading standards. SAT scores, on the other hand, can be assumed to have the same meaning across high schools. Our analyses of a large national sample show that, when pooled within-high-school analyses are applied, high school grades and class rank have larger correlations with family income and education than is evident in the results of typical analyses, and SAT scores have smaller associations with socioeconomic factors. SAT scores and high school grades, therefore, have more similar associations with SES than they do when only the usual across-high-school correlations are considered .     

Relations among school connectedness,hope, life satisfaction,and bully victimization

This study investigates the role of school connectedness in mediating the relation between students' sense of hope and life satisfaction for three groups: Bullied Victims, Peer Victims, and Nonvictims. Students in grades 5 to 12 (N = 866) completed the California Bully/Victim Scale, School Connectedness Scale, Children's Hope Scale, and Students' Life Satisfaction Scale. Multigroup latent mean analysis revealed significant group mean differences in hope, school connectedness, and life satisfaction, supporting our bullying classification. Multigroup structural model analysis showed differential patterns between hope, school connectedness, and life satisfaction. Specifically, school connectedness partially mediated the relation between hope and life satisfaction for the Nonvictims only. The effect of hope on school connectedness was stronger for the Bullied Victims than the Nonvictims, and the effect of hope on life satisfaction was stronger for the Peer Victims and Bullied Victims than the Nonvictims group. Implications for research and practice are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Microfluidic carbon-blackened polydimethylsiloxane device with reduced ultra violet background fluorescence for simultaneous two-color ultra violet/visible-laser induced fluorescence detection in single cell analysis

In single cell analysis (SCA), individual cell-specific properties and inhomogeneous cellular responses are being investigated that is not subjected to ensemble-averaging or heterogeneous cell population effects. For proteomic single cell analysis, ultra-sensitive and reproducible separation and detection techniques are essential. Microfluidic devices combined with UV laser induced fluorescence (UV-LIF) detection have been proposed to fulfill these requirements. Here, we report on a novel microfluidic chip fabrication procedure that combines straightforward production of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chips with a reduced UV fluorescence background (83%-reduction) by using PDMS droplets with carbon black pigments (CBP) as additives. The CBP-droplet is placed at the point of detection, whereas the rest of the chip remains transparent, ensuring full optical control of the chip. We systematically studied the relation of the UV background fluorescence at CBP to PDMS ratios (varying from 1:10 to 1:1000) for different UV laser powers. Using a CBP/PDMS ratio of 1:20, detection of a 100 nM tryptophan solution (S/N = 3.5) was possible, providing a theoretical limit of detection of 86 nM (with S/N = 3). Via simultaneous two color UV/VIS-LIF detection, we were able to demonstrate the electrophoretic separation of an analyte mixture of 500 nM tryptophan (UV) and 5 nM fluorescein (VIS) within 30 s. As an application, two color LIF detection was also used for the electrophoretic separation of the protein content from a GFP-labeled single Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) insect cell. Thereby just one single peak could be measured in the visible spectral range that could be correlated with one single peak among others in the ultraviolet spectra. This indicates an identification of the labeled protein γ-PKC and envisions a further feasible identification of more than one single protein in the future.     

Development of the California school climate and safety survey‐short form

Planning is essential to creating safe schools and it is required by the Federal No Child Left Behind legislation (U.S. Department of Education, 2004) and implemented via district local education action plans. The implementation of these plans involves continuous monitoring and reevaluation of information pertinent to each campus. As such, this process is facilitated by the availability of measures that are simple to administer, inexpensive, and whose psychometric properties have been evaluated. The California School Climate and Safety Survey (CSCSS), originally developed by M.J. Furlong, R. Morrison, and S. Boles (1991), was specifically developed for these purposes. The CSCSS is a student self‐report questionnaire created to measure general school climate and personal safety‐related experiences. In this article, we present the results of an evaluation of the CSCSS including exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. These analyses reduced the original CSCSS research version from 102 items to 54 items. The psychometric properties of this CSCSS‐SF (Short Form) are presented. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 137–149, 2005.     

Darwinian Dialectics

Science & Education -     

Including fathers in school psychology literature: A review of four school psychology journals

It is well documented that fathers have a significant influence on their children's success in school. To examine the ways in which fathers have been represented in school psychology literature, the authors searched over 1,000 recent articles published in four leading U.S. school psychology journals (Psychology in the Schools, School Psychology Review, School Psychology Quarterly, and the Journal of School Psychology) for content on fathers. Fathers were included substantially in nine articles and were the primary focus of only one other article. Reasons for the lack of information on fathers and suggestions for increasing the focus on fathers in school psychology literature are discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 575–580, 2004.