Comparative Analysis

The development of imitation during the second year of life plays an important role in domains of socio-cognitive development such as language and social learning. Deficits in imitation ability in persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have also been repeatedly documented from toddlerhood into adulthood, raising the possibility that early disruptions in imitation contribute to the onset of ASD and the deficits in language and social interaction that define the disorder. This study prospectively examined the development of imitation between 12 and 24 months of age in 154 infants at familial risk for ASD and 78 typically developing infants who were all later assessed at 36 months for ASD or other developmental delays. The study established a developmental measure of imitation ability, and examined group differences over time, using an analytic Rasch measurement model. Results revealed a unidimensional latent construct of imitation and verified a reliable sequence of imitation skills that was invariant over time for all outcome groups. Results also showed that all groups displayed similar significant linear increases in imitation ability between 12 and 24 months and that these increases were related to individual growth in both expressive language and ratings of social engagement, but not fine motor development. The group of children who developed ASD by age 3 years exhibited delayed imitation development compared to the low-risk typical outcome group across all time-points, but were indistinguishable from other high-risk infants who showed other cognitive delays not related to ASD.

The main objective of this work is the evaluation, by means of the finite element method (FEM) of the mechanical stability and long-term microstructural modifications in bone induced to three different kinds of fractures of the distal femur by three types of implants: the Condyle Plate, the less invasive stabilization system plate (LISS) and the distal femur nail (DFN). The displacement and the stress distributions both in bone and implants and the internal bone remodelling process after fracture and fixation are obtained and analysed by computational simulation. The main conclusions of this work are that distal femoral fractures can be treated correctly with the Condyle Plate, the LISS plate and the DFN. The stresses both in LISS and DFN implant are high especially around the screws. When respect to remodelling, the LISS produces an important resorption in the fractured region, while the other two implants do not strongly modify bone tissue microstructure.

Abstract: The study compares the effectiveness of Focus on Form (FonF) and Focus on FormS (FonFs) approaches in learning new L2 words by 158 high-school learners of English as L2. In phase 1 of the study, the FonF group read a text containing the target words, discussed it in small groups, and answered comprehension questions. The FonFs group studied the target words as discrete items with their meanings and examples of usage. In phase 2 of the study, all learners received the target words with their meanings and studied them for 15 minutes for a quiz. They were tested immediately after each phase, and two weeks later.

This article traces the pictorial lineages of images collected in one of the two Thun-Hohenstein albums through comparative analyses of fight books produced in the German-speaking lands, and considers how the representational strategies deployed in martial treatises inflected the ways that book painters and their audiences visualized the armoured body.

Across the United States, community colleges offer millions of students an open-access, low-cost postsecondary education. However, of the students who enroll in community college hoping to earn a credential or transfer to a four-year institution, only about half achieve their goal within six years. For students who enter college needing developmental (remedial) education in reading, writing, or math, this rate is even lower. Learning communities, in which cohorts of students enroll in two or more linked courses together, are often employed to improve these students' success. In addition to linking courses, learning communities often incorporate other components, such as faculty collaboration, shared assignments and curricula, and connections to student support services.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to analyse how a pre-requisite programme and key performance indicators can be developed within an information management system in order to manage food safety, animal welfare and business performance criteria effectively in the poultry meat supply chain and seek to deliver continuous improvement. Design/methodology/approach -Desk research was carried out in order to develop the research model. Competitive benchmarking with a group of broiler growers was used to determine the most appropriate performance indicators that could differentiate both operational and financial performance. Findings -Supply chain benchmarking is more than a comparative analysis of cost structure, indeed it can be argued that if not effectively implemented, benchmarking techniques can focus too much on historic data rather than identifying and implementing current best practice, knowledge transfer and being able to initiate change within the business cycle. Effective livestock benchmarking requires a detailed understanding of the processes undertaken in order to determine the ideas and information that needs to be shared both vertically and horizontally in the chain which in turn will deliver compliance with stakeholder requirements and drive continuous improvement.

This paper explores the Web 2.0 ethos with respect to the application of pedagogy within 3D online virtual environments. 3D worlds can create a synthetic experience capturing the essence of being in a particular world or context. The AliveX3D platform adopts the Web 2.0 ethos and applies it to online 3D virtual environment forming a Web 2.0/Web3D hybrid that has wider usability than previous alternatives. This combined with the AliveX3D Scene Editor allows learning experiences, which are controlled by the learner, appear authentic and facilitate collaboration conversations to be developed simultaneously. This immersion enables learners to negotiate meaning based on their own personal cognitive, affective and kinaesthetic experiences rather than on the descriptions of others’ experiences. We conclude by suggesting the choices embedded within the worlds allow the learning focus to shift away from isolated pre-designed interactions, to a situation that encourages the learner to control...

Many meta-analyses of comparative outcome studies found a substantial association of researcher allegiance (RA) and relative treatment effects. Therefore, RA is regarded as a biasing factor in comparative outcome research (RA bias hypothesis). However, the RA bias hypothesis has been criticized as causality might be reversed. That is, RA might be a reflection of true efficacy differences between treatments (true efficacy hypothesis). Consequently, the RA-outcome association would not be indicative of bias but an epiphenomenon of true efficacy differences. This meta-analysis tested the validity of the true efficacy hypothesis. This was done by controlling the RA-outcome association for true efficacy differences by restricting analysis to direct comparisons of treatments with equivalent efficacy. We included direct comparisons of different versions of trauma-focused therapy (TFT) in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). RA was measured from the research reports. Relative effect sizes for symptoms of PTSD were calculated. Random effects meta-regression was conducted. Twenty-nine comparisons of TFTs from 20 studies were identified. Initial heterogeneity among relative effect sizes was low. RA was a significant predictor of outcome and explained 12% of the variance in outcomes. The true efficacy hypothesis predicted the RA-outcome association to be zero; however, a substantial association was found. Thus, this study does not support the true efficacy hypothesis. Given findings from psychotherapy research and other fields that support a biasing influence of researcher preferences, RA should be regarded as a causal factor and conceptualized as a threat to the validity of conclusions from comparative outcome studies.

In this study, it was postulated that typically developing (i.e., normally developing without incidence of a speech or language delay or disorder) Spanish/Englishspeaking children ages 4 to 5 years old would show different articulation productions and phonological patterns in both languages. Sixteen participants from Florida were tested with Spanish and English articulation and phonology tests. For articulation, two manner or

Due to CMOS technology scaling, devices are getting smaller, faster, and operating at lower supply voltages. The reduced capacitances and power supply voltages and the increased chip density to perform more functionality result in increasing the soft errors and making them one of the essential design constraints at the same level as delay and power. Even though the impact of process variations on the performance and the power consumption has been investigated by many researchers, its impact on soft errors has not been paid enough attention. This impact is investigated in this paper for 65-nm CMOS technology. The soft error yield is defined in this paper similar to the timing yield and the power yield. This paper shows that the soft error yield of the sense-amplifier based flip flop (SA-FF) is very poor. Therefore, soft error mitigation techniques are required when using this flip-flop topology. The semi-dynamic flip-flop (SD-FF) exhibits the best soft error yield behavior with a very high performance at the expense of large power requirement. Finally, some design insights are proposed to guide flip-flops designers to select the best flip-flop topology that satisfies their specific circuit soft error rate constraints.

The Association of American Medical Colleges has encouraged educators to investigate proper linkage of simulation experiences with medical curricula. The authors aimed to determine if student knowledge and satisfaction differ between participation in web-based and manikin simulations for learning shock physiology and treatment and to determine if a specific training sequencing had a differential effect on learning. All 40 second-year medical students participated in a randomized, counterbalanced study with two interventions: group 1 ( n = 20) participated in a web-based simulation followed by a manikin simulation and group 2 ( n = 20) participated in reverse order. Knowledge and attitudes were documented. Mixed-model ANOVA indicated a significant main effect of time ( F1,38 = 18.6, P < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.33). Group 1 scored significantly higher on quiz 2 (81.5%) than on quiz 1 (74.3%, t19 = 3.9, P = 0.001), for an observed difference of 7.2% (95% confidence interval: 3.3, 11.0). Mean...

Mycoplasma genitalium has been proposed as a suitable model for an in-depth understanding of the biology of a free-living organism. This paper reports that the expression of the aminoglycoside resistance gene aac(69)-aph(20), the only selectable marker hitherto available for M. genitalium genetic studies, correlates with a growth impairment of the resistant strains. In light of this finding, a tetM438 construction based on the tetracycline resistance gene tetM was developed; it can be used efficiently in M. genitalium and confers multiple advantages when compared to aac(69)-aph(20). The use of tetM438 significantly improves transformation efficiency and generates visible colonies faster. Finally, the improvements in the pMTnTetM438 construction made it possible to obtain insertions in genes which have not been previously considered to be dispensable under laboratory growth conditions.

A comparative study of the dissolution kinetics of galena ore in binary solutions of FeCl 3 /HCl and H 2 O 2 /HCl has been undertaken. The dissolution kinetics of the galena was found to depend on leachant concentration, reaction temperature, stirring speed, solid-to-liquid ratio, and particle diameter. The dissolution rate of galena ore increases with the increase of leachant concentration, reaction temperature, and stirring speed, while it decreases with the increase of solid-to-liquid ratio and particle diameter. The activation energy (E a ) of 26.5 kJ/mol was obtained for galena ore dissolution in 0.3 M FeCl 3 /8.06 M HCl, and it suggests the surface diffusion model for the leaching reaction, while the E a value of 40.6 kJ/mol was obtained for its dissolution in 8.06 M H 2 O 2 /8.06 M HCl, which suggests the surface chemical reaction model for the leaching reaction. Furthermore, the linear relationship between rate constants and the reciprocal of particle radius supports the fact that dissolution is controlled by the surface reaction in the two cases. Finally, the rate of reaction based on the reaction-controlled process has been described by a semiempirical mathematical model. The Arrhenius and reaction constants of 11.023 s −1 , 1.25×10 4 and 3.65×10 2 s −1 , 8.02×10 6 were calculated for the 0.3 M FeCl 3 /8.06 M HCl and 8.06 M H 2 O 2 /8.06 M HCl binary solutions, respectively.

The study of financial stability has become the cornerstone of modern macroeconomic policy particularly for developed countries. The recent global financial crisis has underscored the importance of understanding financial instability especially in the context of managing credit risk with particular emphasis on the banking sector. The key motivation for this paper is to improve our understanding of credit risk modelling at the country level especially under the framework of Basel II capital adequacy standards. The aim of the study is to investigate the interaction between the cyclical implications of aggregate defaults in an economy and the capital stock of a bank. The approach used requires the construction of a macroeconomic credit model that provides the framework to perform scenario analysis. Within this framework, our study forms the basis of a comparative analysis of two countries, a relatively immune economy from the recent crisis-Australia and the worst effected economy-the USA. The key questions posed in the study are which macroeconomic variables are important for both countries in addition we examine the impact of adverse macroeconomic shocks on default rates in both countries. The results indicate that the same set of macroeconomic variables display different default rates for the two counties. Additionally the study finds that compared to Australia, the US economy is much more susceptible to adverse macroeconomic shocks.

Lesson study developed organically in Japan over a period of 140 years, whereas in Indonesia, lesson study was introduced as a top-down initiative. This research explores beyond general cultural differences by illustrating how the daily concerns of teachers and their social interactions differ in Japan and in the case of an Indonesian school, the situation in the latter influencing how the Indonesian teachers engage in lesson study. This paper demonstrates through this comparison of contexts in two countries, how the approaches to teaching and professional development are influenced by sociocultural factors that are embedded in the teachers' lives, which are often beyond the scope of professional development programs. The differences in responsibilities of teachers, the nature of collegiality, and the pedagogic strategies of mathematics teachers are discussed in order to illustrate the engagement and challenges of lesson study in an Indonesian school.

This account of the Tanzanian health 'campaign opens with a brief explanation of how radio forums fit into the mass media' scheme. Then, campaigns, run in other nations are reviewed, with emphasis on aspects pertinent to the Tanzanian experience. The Tanzanian campaign, named Mtu ni Afya ("Mai is Health"), had three aims:,(1) to increase people' awarenessof how they can make their, lives healthier and to encourage both4groups and individuals to take appropriate-action; (2) to provide clear and simple information about the symptoms of specific diseases and their prevention; and 3) to encourage those who had participated in the national literacy campaign to maintain their skillq by reading campaign materials designed especially for the newly literate. In addition to describing this health campaign which was undertakep in 1973, more recent development projects in.Tanzania,are also discussed., Thirty-eight,-references are listed. (LLS)

This study examined the effects of an adventure orientation program on the student development behaviors of incoming first-year students at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. Student development was measured by a condensed version of the Student Development Task Inventory-2 (CSDTI-2; Gass, 1986; Winston, Miller, & Prince, 1979). Data analysis showed overall positive significant gains for adventure orientation program participants on certain measures of developmental tasks (i.e., developing autonomy, developing purpose) and subtasks (i.e., emotional autonomy, instrumental autonomy, appropriate educational plans). Changes in this study differed from those found by Gass (1986) and Hansen (1982) at their respective institutions. The different outcomes highlight that adventure orientation courses' variability in curricular design may have a strong impact on student developmental task and subtask outcomes. This finding demonstrates the importance of selecting program activities and processing techniques based on a program's intent, objectives, philosophy, experiences, and focus.

Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is a hands-on, project-based engineering curriculum for high school and middle school students, which has quadrupled annual enrollment in Texas in five years to over 23,000 students. The diversity of students participating has also increased dramatically. Using six years of longitudinally-linked student data, the academic outcomes of cohorts of PLTW students were compared to matched cohorts of non-PLTW students. Matching was based on Grade 8 state math assessment scores and demographic and program participation variables. Findings show that PLTW students scored significantly higher on the state's Grade 11 mathematics assessment, a higher percentage met the college-ready criterion, a higher percentage enrolled in Texas higher education institutions, and the non-college-bound PLTW students earned higher wages.

Graphical user interfaces design in software development process focuses on maximizing usability and the user's experience, in order to make the interaction for users easy, flexible and efficient. In this paper, we propose an approach for evaluating the usability satisfaction degree of a web-based system. The proposed method has been accomplished in two phases and implemented on an airlines website as a case study. In the first phase, a website usability test is implemented by a number of users, and then the results obtained are translated into charts for a final web-based system evaluation in the second phase. The results achieved were satisfactory, since the places where the weaknesses and gaps in the website are identified and recommended solutions to avoid them are drawn. The authenticity of the results have been confirmed by comparing them with user opinions acquired from a questionnaire, which proves the precision in which the website is rated.

1201 published maize QTLs conferring for 68 traits were collected and imported into local CMap software to construct an integrated QTL map, which can be used for marker-mining, QTL localization, gene cloning and marker-assisted selection. The maize integrated QTL map showed that maize QTLs for various traits usually clustered in all chromosomes. 22 plant height QTLs of maize were co-linear with 64 plant height QTLs of rice, 43 grain yield QTLs of maize were co-liner with 7 grain yield QTLs of rice. 127 plant height QTLs of maize were refined by means of "overview" analysis. At last, 40 "real" QTLs were identifed. A substantial number of candidate quantitative trait genes for plant height of maize were found. These results established an important bioinformatics platform for extracting most of maize QTL information.

This work was aimed to record the concentrations of eight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): (benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, dibenzo[a,h]anthracene, indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene, benzo[g,h,i]perylene and chrysene) in meats and fishes sold in Abobo market in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. The amount of PAHs present in each sample was quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with ultraviolet (UV) detector. PAHs were present in all samples in variable quantity. More over benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) was present in majority of samples, in quantity above the limit fixed by European Union. With regard to cooking processes, smoking produce more PAHs compared to frying or grilled cooking. Concerning the nature of the matrices, no significant differences were found between meat and fish except benzo[g,h,i]perylene. The study declared that PAHs contamination in the tested foods exceeded the acceptable limit. Health risks linked with the consumption of these foods is a real danger that requires further study.

A sample-sequencing strategy combined with slot-blot hybridization and FISH was used to study the composition of the repetitive component of the sunflower genome. One thousand six hundred thirty-eight sequences for a total of 954,517 bp were analyzed. The fraction of sequences that can be classified as repetitive using computational and hybridization approaches amounts to 62% in total. Almost two thirds remain as yet uncharacterized in nature. Of those characterized, most belong to the gypsy superfamily of LTR-retrotransposons. Unlike in other species, where single families can account for large fractions of the genome, it appears that no transposon family has been amplified to very high levels in sunflower. All other known classes of transposable elements were also found. One family of unknown nature (contig 61) was the most repeated in the sunflower genome. The evolution of the repetitive component in the Helianthus genus and in other Asteraceae was studied by comparative analysis of the hybridization of total genomic DNAs from these species to the sunflower smallinsert library and compared to gene-based phylogeny. Very little similarity is observed between Helianthus species and two related Asteraceae species outside of the genus. Most repetitive elements are similar in annual and perennial Helianthus species indicating that sequence amplification largely predates such divergence. Gypsy-like elements are more represented in the annuals than in the perennials, while copia-like elements are similarly represented, attesting a different amplification history of the two superfamilies of LTR-retrotransposons in the Helianthus genus. Sequences from Helianthus annuus randomly sheared genomic DNA library and sequences of genes used for phylogenetic analyses are available at the URL: https://services.appliedgenomics.org/sequencesexport/26-Helianthus/.

The Cost of Education Index (CEI) is the mechanism that Texas uses to adjust its school finance formula to compensate for uncontrollable variations in labor cost. The CEI increases the amount of state aid received by school districts in high cost areas and reduces the amount of local revenue redistributed among districts through recapture. 1 It affects not only the basic allocation to districts under Tier I of the Foundation School Program, but also the calculation of weighted average daily attendance (WADA) for Tier

The Web is revolutionizing the entire scholarly communication process and changing the way that researchers exchange information. In this paper, we analyze two views of information production and use in computer-related research based on citation analysis of PDF and Postcript formatted publications on the Web using autonomous citation indexing (ACI), and a parallel citation analysis of the journal literature indexed by the Institute for Scienti®c Information (ISI) in SCISEARCH. Our goal is to establish a baseline pro®le of computer science``literature'' as it appears in the published journals and as it appears on the publicly available Web. From this starting point, we hope to identify additional research areas dealing with information dissemination and citation practices in computer science and the utility of autonomous citation indexing on the Web as an adjunct to commercial indexing Ó

This study examines the female postsecondary advantage in matriculation among Hispanic and white youth with the goal of exploring whether social capital, in addition to academic performance and orientation, function similarly to help explain females' higher likelihood of college attendance for each group. Utilizing data from the Texas Higher Education Opportunity Project (THEOP), results indicate that girls' higher academic performance in high school is an important factor behind their subsequent gender advantage in 4-year college attendance, particularly for Hispanic students. Additionally, compared to their co-ethnic male peers, Hispanic and white girls have greater levels of social capital, such as more academically-focused friendship groups in high school, that are associated with higher rates of college attendance. However, girls' greater frequency of discussion with high school counselors about college appears to contribute to the female advantage in matriculation only for Hispanic students. For both groups, the analyses suggest that all of the factors considered explain substantially less of the female advantage in 2-year college matriculation than they do for the female advantage in 4-year matriculation. In general, the results underscore the need for more research considering the complex processes through which gender and race/ethnicity intersect in shaping individuals' paths to college.

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) introduces a model for weights determination maximizing efficiency of the decision-making units. The primary focus of the DEA model is to compare decision-making units (alternatives) in terms of their efficiency in converting inputs into outputs. The multicriteria decision making (MCDM) method VIKOR uses a common set of weights expressing a decision maker's preferences. In contrast, the CCR model of DEA does not provide a common set of weights that could express the preferences of a decision maker. The weights in MCDM do not have a clear economic significance, but their use provides the opportunity to model the real aspects of decision making, such as the preference structure. A comparison of DEA and MCDM shows that DEA resembles MCDM, but the results differ. In spite of these differences, DEA could be used as a supplement for screening alternatives within MCDM. An application of DEA and MCDM is illustrated by an example of hydropower system planning.

Progression of Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) is associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. Previous studies have shown that there was no difference between RA and OA patients regarding the percentages of the different lymphocytes subsets reflecting the abnormalities in T cells and its subsets that may contribute to the pathogenesis of OA as in RA. Therefore, the present study was aimed to analyze that whether disease activity of OA is able to affect a few serological and biochemical parameters in the same way as RA does or differently. The study was done on 36 asymptomatic controls (25 women), 28 patients with OA (20 women), 36 patients with RA (22 women). Patients with OA were screened according to radiological and clinical finding of Kellgren and Lawrence grade and ACR criteria and assessed by VAS and WOMAC score. Patients with RA were selected who were fulfilling 4/5 symptoms of ACR criteria, and their DAS28-CRP, VAS score, and RF positivity were evaluated. Participants of the groups were matched for sex, age, weight, and height (body mass index). The BMI of all three groups was also found to be the same (P > 0.05). The mean level of LDL, Cholesterol, MDA, CRP, and Triglyceride was significantly (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) higher in both OA and RA as compared to control. The mean level of total lipid, cholesterol, MDA, CRP, and triglyceride was found to be significantly (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) higher in RA as compared to OA. The pre-treatment CRP level of both groups of patients showed significant and direct relation with total lipid (r = 0.27, P < 0.05) and cholesterol (r = 0.66, P < 0.01). Inverse relation was observed between Uric acid and Creatinine (r = −0.26, P < 0.05) and cholesterol and HDL (r = −0.34, P < 0.01). Our study shows the similar trend in lipid profile and other parameters studied in both patients with OA and patients with RA with more pronounced changes in RA.

We examine the equivalence of two construct-a-concept-map techniques: construct-a-map with created linking phrases (C), and construct-a-map with selected linking phrases (S). The former places few constraints on the respondent and has been considered the gold standard; the latter is cost and time efficient. Both their products and processes are compared quantitatively and qualitatively as to total accuracy score, individual proposition scores, proposition choice, map structure complexity, proposition generation rate, and proposition generation procedures. We conclude that the two mapping techniques are not equivalent: The C technique is better than the S technique in capturing students' partial knowledge, even though the S can be scored more efficiently than C. Based on their characteristics, if used as an assessment tool, the C technique is more suitable for formative assessment while the S technique is a better fit for largescale assessments. ß

, namely BIC-aiNet, capable of clustering rows and columns of a data matrix simultaneously. The usefulness and performance of the methodology are reported in the literature. Now, the authors carry out more rigorous comparative experiments with BIC-aiNet and other techniques found in the literature, as well as evaluate the scalability of the algorithm in several datasets of different sizes. The results indicate that our proposal is able to provide useful recommendations for the users, outperforming other methodologies for CF.

The purpose of this paper is to present a comparative analysis of the business education programs offered by Auburn University's College of Business, Alabama, U.S.A. and Faculty of Business Administration, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest Romania. This comparative analysis is conceived in a larger perspective of the two different cultures and traditions in developing business education programs. The analysis is performed taking into consideration several dimensions, from the curriculum structure to the academic work with honesty and integrity.

Activity-based costing (ABC) and the theory of constraints (TOC) represent alternative paradigms for evaluating the economic consequences of production-related decisions. However, their application can lead to contradictory productmix decisions. To resolve this con#ict, it is frequently suggested that the TOC is appropriate for the short run, while ABC is appropriate for the longer term. This paper models the selection of a product mix with the TOC and an ABC model integrating activity-based cost with the capacity of production-related activities. The paper demonstrates that management's discretionary power over labor and overhead resources determines when the TOC and ABC lead to optimal product-mix decision. Equally important, it demonstrates that both the TOC and ABC may lead to a suboptimal product mix across a wide range of economic conditions. The paper develops a more general model of the product-mix decision and demonstrates that the TOC and ABC are special cases of this model. Finally, the paper discusses how the general model may be used to supplement information provided by the TOC and ABC.

The numerical knowledge of children from low-income backgrounds trails behind that of peers from middle-income backgrounds even before the children enter school. This gap may reflect differing prior experience with informal numerical activities, such as numerical board games. Experiment 1 indicated that the numerical magnitude knowledge of preschoolers from low-income families lagged behind that of peers from more affluent backgrounds. Experiment 2 indicated that playing a simple numerical board game for four 15-minute sessions eliminated the differences in numerical estimation proficiency. Playing games that substituted colors for numbers did not have this effect. Thus, playing numerical board games offers an inexpensive means for reducing the gap in numerical knowledge that separates less and more affluent children when they begin school.

In this study, a comprehensive comparative analysis of different evaluation methods of Elispot plates was performed. Three investigators using three different evaluation approaches read 50 randomly selected wells at three different time points. The methods were: (1) manual evaluation using a stereomicroscope, (2) automated evaluation using an image analysis reader system with reading parameters established by each investigator, and (3) automated evaluation using a reader system with preset reading parameters using assay-specific controls. We demonstrate that manual evaluation had the highest variability both within the same method and when comparing all methods, followed by automated evaluation with investigator-dependent parameters. The variability was low only when all investigators used the same parameters established using assay-specific controls. This variability was independent of operator or spot number per well. Based on this study, recommendations for standardization and validation procedures of Elispot assay performance and evaluation procedures are presented. D

This study investigated whether there are any significant differences between EFL and ESL readers in metacognitive reading strategies when they are reading academic texts in English. One hundred and ninety undergraduate students (96 Iranians and 93 Indians) completed an instrument designed to measure the students’ metacognitive awareness of reading strategies after performing a reading comprehension test. The result of this study indicated that the subjects in both groups reported a similar pattern of strategy awareness while reading academic texts although the two student groups had been schooled in significantly different socio-cultural environments. Regarding the difference existing among both groups, Indians reported more awareness and use of global support and total metacognitive reading strategies. Iranian students reported no significant difference in using problem-solving reading strategies. These findings explain some of the differences and similarities between EFL and ESL ...