Duquesne University

About: Duquesne University is a education organization based out in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 3615 authors who have published 7169 publications receiving 180066 citations. The organization is also known as: Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit.

An Investigation of Silent versus Aloud Reading Comprehension of Elementary Students Using Maze Assessment Procedures.

Abstract: Many reading comprehension measures require the student to read silently. When students read silently, important information (e.g., consistent reading errors) may not be identified. It may also be difficult to detect a student who is choosing not to read the passage. For this reason, investigating whether there is a significant difference in comprehension under silent and aloud reading conditions is important to determine under what conditions reading comprehension should be measured accurately. This study was designed to investigate possible differences between silent and aloud reading comprehension scores on Maze assessment probes. Pearson product correlations were used to investigate possible relationships between Maze comprehension scores (silent and aloud), WCPM, and the Broad Reading Cluster Score of the Woodcock–Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJ-III ACH). Participants were 89 first- and second-grade students from an elementary school located in the Southeastern United States. Each student was exposed to four assessment conditions, which included WCPM, three tests from the WJ-III ACH, and Maze reading comprehension passages. Significant correlations were found for WCPM, aloud and silent Maze, and the WJ-III ACH Broad Reading Cluster Score. No significant difference was found between aloud and silent reading comprehension, which suggests that reading comprehension can be measured accurately under either reading condition. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A comparison of behavioral and constructivist interventions for increasing math-fact fluency in a second-grade classroom

Abstract: Although basic math skill deficits are commonly encountered across elementary and secondary school students, few empirically validated, group-administered interventions are available for educators attempting to prevent or remedy such problems. This study compared the effectiveness of two theoretically distinct interventions for improving the subtraction-fact fluency of a general education class of second-grade students. An alternating treatments design was used to compare a behavioral intervention, Cover, Copy, and Compare (CCC), to an intervention from a constructivist-oriented resource, Facts That Last (FTL). Results demonstrated that CCC led to increases in math-fact fluency, whereas the classwide response to FTL activities did not differ from the control condition. Two months postintervention, maintenance data revealed that the fluency increases associated with CCC were sustained. Discussion focuses on practical implications of the study as well as possible theoretical explanations for the documented results. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comparison of Terahertz Pulse Imaging and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Rapid, Non-Destructive Analysis of Tablet Coating Thickness and Uniformity

Abstract: In this study, coating thickness and uniformity of production-scale pharmaceutical tablets were investigated using near-infrared (NIR) and terahertz pulse imaging (TPI) spectroscopy. Two coating formulations were considered; samples for each coating formulation were obtained at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5% coating weight. NIR spectra were collected, and regressed with respect to batch percent weight gain. While standard errors of calibration (SEC) less than 0.5% were observed for both formulations, the calibrations were not specifically sensitive to coating thickness. An upper limit for NIR coating thickness analysis was estimated to be ~4- 6% weight gain for this system. The NIR calibrations were used as filters to choose subsets of samples for TPI, and as a secondary method for validation of TPI results. The features in TPS time-domain spectra result when an incident THz plane wave meets a refractive index interface, which may be converted to an absolute distance. Therefore, assuming that a discernible difference in refractive index between coating material and core exists, coating thickness can be determined non-destructively. Coating thickness measurements from TPI and NIR spectroscopy were compared to estimate the lower limit for quantitative TPI coating analysis; a lower limit of ~35 mm was obtained for this system. Optical microscopy was employed on a subset of samples to validate absolute thickness values; reasonable correlations between the three methods were obtained. TPI was considered advantageous relative to the other methods, as similar results were obtained without the need for destructive sampling or empirical calibration development.

Aqueous Solubility Enhancement Through Engineering of Binary Solid Composites: Pharmaceutical Applications

Abstract: Limits to the aqueous solubility of emerging new chemical entities, as well as older drug molecules, represent a barrier to solid oral dosage form development. Numerous techniques are conventionally employed in aqueous solubility enhancement, although a universal strategy has proven elusive. Formation of binary solid composites, such as eutectics or amorphous solid dispersions, offers an alternative to traditional solubility enhancement techniques. The reality of these systems, however, is that very few examples have been made commercially available, ultimately stemming from a lack of understanding regarding structural and thermodynamic stability-indicating phenomena associated with higher-energy solid materials. In the present work, a comprehensive structurally based review of the fundamental solid-state properties of binary composite materials is presented. Specific emphasis is placed on current topics of research in the area of binary composite formation and the relationship to the underutilization of this technology with the pharmaceutical industry.