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Notes that while teachers see the value of reading, they personally prefer to watch television in their leisure time. In addition, they prefer to engage their students in independent activities not necessarily related to reading tasks than to encourage them to read books or listen to books being read. (FL)

This study investigated the effects on reading of matching perceptual strengths of second- and third-grade, below average readers. Experimental groups consisted of 24 predominantly visual and 24 predominantly kinesthetic learners. Gains were significant for experimentals over controls in word recognition and reading comprehension. (Author/BS)

Reports on a study that was designed to develop a critical thinking/reading model based on professional opinion, to create a critical thinking/reading evaluation instrument for grades three through six, and to validate that instrument. (FL)

Within the past few years, the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps have either incorporated or in the process of incorporating physical fitness tests that assess a soldier's fitness capability in a combat environment. In this article, we investigate how the U.S. Air Force Physical Fitness Test (AFPFT) events compare to sister-services' physical fitness test events with respect to their predictability of a proxy for combat fitness. Using linear regression via ordinary least squares, we demonstrate that the AFPFT correlates poorly with an airman's combat fitness. AFPFT scores had minimal predictability (adjusted R² 0.20-0.23). Investigating all of the individual events from the three services tests, we develop a new Air Force fitness to consider and to adopt. The test incorporates a timed 1/2-mile run, 30-1b dumbbell lifts in 2 minutes, and maximum number of push-ups in 1 minute. The adjusted R² for this model was 0.90, an almost 300% improvement over the current test, in terms of predicting combat fitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article assesses the books "The Gentle Craft," by Thomas Deloney, "The Shoemaker's Holiday," by Thomas Dekker and "Henry V," by William Shakespeare. The author states that the books depict common perspectives about the ideological character of human-made material objects. The author also mentions that the books deal with the role played by human-derived material objects in early modern ideology formation.

The spinosyns are a new class of fermentation-derived insect controlagents that are effective against a variety of chewing insect pests.The successful introduction of spinosad into the agricultural marketplace represents an important milestone in the use of natural products for commercial pest control. The development of a natural product presents additional limitations relative to a synthetic material. While the latter affords some degree of control in building appropriate physical attributes such as photostability, a natural product, designed to function in a different environment, is often less suited for traditional spray applications. Despite its intrinsic photolability, spinosad is stable enough to perform under field conditions. In an effort to generate analogs with improved physical characteristics, we have developed a variety of conditions for selectively modifying different portions of the molecule, and we have discovered analogs with greater activity against a broader spectrum of pests. The inability to translate improved greenhouse activity to actual field conditions resulted in a detailed study of the effects of formulations and crystallinity on biological activity. Through this effort, measurably improved field performance of synthetic spinosyn analogs relative to the natural product have now been observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A new bacterium, Saccharopolyspora pogona (NRRL30141) was discovered which produced a series of very potent insecticidal compounds structurally related to the ‘classical’ (i.e., C-21-ethyl) spinosyns. A series of fermentations gave sufficient extract to allow the isolation and characterization of a total of 31 new metabolites. The majority of these compounds contained a but-1-enyl group at C-21 of the macrolide in place of the ethyl group in the ‘classical’ spinosyn series, corresponding to an additional acetate group incorporated during their biosynthesis. Additionally a variety of other new functionality was seen including hydroxylations, several novel forosamine sugar replacements, and a novel 14-membered macrolide ring analog. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]