The Omission of Accent Marks Does Not Hinder Word Recognition: Evidence From Spanish

Recent research has found that the omission of accent marks in Spanish does not produce slower word identification times in go/no-go lexical decision and semantic categorization tasks [e.g., cárcel (prison) = carcel], thus suggesting that vowels like á and a are represented by the same orthographic units during word recognition and reading. However, there is a discrepant finding with the yes/no lexical decision task, where the words with the omitted accent mark produced longer response times than the words with the accent mark. In Experiment 1, we examined this discrepant finding by running a yes/no lexical decision experiment comparing the effects for words and non-words. Results showed slower response times for the words with omitted accent mark than for those with the accent mark present (e.g., cárcel < carcel). Critically, we found the opposite pattern for non-words: response times were longer for the non-words with accent marks (e.g., cárdil > cardil), thus suggesting a bias toward a “word” response for accented items in the yes/no lexical decision task. To test this interpretation, Experiment 2 used the same stimuli with a blocked design (i.e., accent mark present vs. omitted in all items) and a go/no-go lexical decision task (i.e., respond only to “words”). Results showed similar response times to words regardless of whether the accent mark was omitted (e.g., cárcel = carcel). This pattern strongly suggests that the longer response times to words with an omitted accent mark in yes/no lexical decision experiments are a task-dependent effect rather than a genuine reading cost.

Multi-layer Budding of Oversized Rubber (Hevea brasiliences) Seedlings: Success and Growth in Different Soil Media

The study on Multi-layer budding of oversized rubber seedling aimed at evaluating the success of multiple budding operation on single seedling of rubber tree species comprising of 4 to 7 budding layers per seedling. The experiment used randomized complete blocked design layout with 3 treatments such as 4, 5 and 7 layer budding in a single seedling replicated 4 times. Results revealed that the highest number of budding layers succeeded significantly higher as compared to 4 and 5 layers. The main survival percentage is about 79.17% for the 7 layers, 76.52% for the 5 layers and only about 55.36% for the 4 layers. Pure garden soil reported to have significant results on sprouting rate, sprout length, stalk diameter and number of leaves. This finding emphasized that budding of rejected oversized rubber seedlings grown in an abandoned nurseries can be reutilized for mass production of budded cuttings through multiple budding of 7 layers per seedlings to maximize planting materials derived from single seedlings.

Block What You Can, Except When You Shouldn’t

Several branches of the potential outcome causal inference literature have discussed the merits of blocking versus complete randomization. Some have concluded it can never hurt the precision of estimates, and some have concluded it can hurt. In this article, we reconcile these apparently conflicting views, give a more thorough discussion of what guarantees no harm, and discuss how other aspects of a blocked design can cost, all in terms of estimator precision. We discuss how the different findings are due to different sampling models and assumptions of how the blocks were formed. We also connect these ideas to common misconceptions; for instance, we show that analyzing a blocked experiment as if it were completely randomized, a seemingly conservative method, can actually backfire in some cases. Overall, we find that blocking can have a price but that this price is usually small and the potential for gain can be large. It is hard to go too far wrong with blocking.

Target-Target Perceptual Similarity Within the Attentional Blink

Three experiments investigated the role of target-target perceptual similarity within the attentional blink (AB). Various geometric shapes were presented in a rapid serial visual presentation task. Targets could have 2, 1, or 0 shared features. Features included shape and size. The second target was presented after five or six different lags after the first target. The task was to detect both targets on each trial. Second-target report accuracy was increased by target-target similarity. This modulation was observed more for mixed-trial design as compared with blocked design. Results are discussed in terms of increased stability of working memory representations and reduced interference for second-target processing.

205 An Adjusted SID-Thr:Lys Ratio Offsets Growth Performance Depressions in Finishing Pigs Fed Moderately High Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS)

Two experiments were conducted to determine the impact of dietary SID Thr:Lys ratio (THR) on the performance of grow-finishing pigs. In Experiment 1, a total of 1,152 pigs (initial BW = 21.0 ± 1.4 kg; 12 pens/treatment; 24 pigs/pen) were used in a randomized complete blocked design, with a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments containing 2 levels of DDGS (0 vs 25%) and 2 levels of THR (Low vs. High, 0.60 vs 0.67). Equal energy and nutrient levels that met or exceeded NRC (2012) requirements were achieved across treatments. A total of 1,056 pigs (initial BW=18.6 ± 1.9 kg; 16 pens/treatment; 22 pig/pen) were used in Experiment 2 with the same experimental design, except for the SID Thr:Lys ratios were formulated to 0.60, 0.60, 0.61, 0.62 and 0.63 in 5 dietary phases for Low THR, and +0.03 for all phases in High THR. The MIXED procedures were employed for statistical analysis. Orthogonal contrasts were applied to evaluate main effects of DDGS, THR, and their interactions. In the results, Experiment 1 showed from 20 to 60 kg of BW 25% DDGS inclusion reduced (P < 0.01) FBW (63.4 vs 61.2 kg), ADG (0.88 vs 0.84 kg/d), and G:F (0.50 vs 0.49). There was an interaction between DDGS and THR on G:F (P < 0.01), where High THR improved G:F in diets containing 25% DDGS. In Experiment 2, reduced ADG (0.88 vs 0.81 kg/d) and G:F (0.53 vs 0.51) were observed for pigs fed 25% DDGS in grower phase (P < 0.01). In the early finisher, increased THR in diets with 25% DDGS improved (P < 0.01) FBW (90.54 vs 94.12 kg), ADG (0.95 vs 1.07 kg/d), and tended to improve G:F (P < 0.10; 0.37 vs 0.41), but not in pigs fed 0% DDGS. In summary, these two studies demonstrated greater SID Thr:Lys ratio may help offset the negative impact of fibrous diets on BW gain and feed efficiency in grow-finishing pigs.

Can Fluted Pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis) Hook.f. Serve as Supplement for Production of Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus floridanus) Singer?

Supplement in mushroom production boosts yield. Fluted pumpkin parts were assessed as an alternative to wheat bran as supplement in mushroom production. Sawdust, lime and wheat bran or fluted pumpkin (Pod, seed, stem) were mixed in ratio 180: 1: 30. There were 10 replicates for each treatment. The design was completely randomized blocked design. The results showed that supplemented sawdust with wheat bran had higher value for the dry weight with significant difference from treatments with pumpkin parts in some flushes and none in other flushes Supplemented sawdust with mixture of all supplements was highest in Ash (14.30%) and moisture (24.75%). Protein and lipids values were highest for supplemented sawdust with wheat bran and significantly different (p<0.05) from other treatments. Sawdust supplemented with fluted pumpkin stem (28.06%) had highest value for carbohydrates while that supplemented with pod had (21.16%), the highest for fiber. For minerals, K (794.50 mg/kg), Ca (349.75 mg/kg), and Na (379.50 mg/kg) were highest for Fluted Pumpkin Seed Supplement, Fluted Pumpkin Pod Supplement and No Supplement respectively. In conclusion, Fluted pumpkin pod and stem compares very well with wheat bran supplement, and can serve as supplement in the production of oyster mushroom.

A Blocked-CAT Procedure for CD-CAT

This article introduces a blocked-design procedure for cognitive diagnosis computerized adaptive testing (CD-CAT), which allows examinees to review items and change their answers during test administration. Four blocking versions of the new procedure were proposed. In addition, the impact of several factors, namely, item quality, generating model, block size, and test length, on the classification rates was investigated. Three popular item selection indices in CD-CAT were used and their efficiency compared using the new procedure. An additional study was carried out to examine the potential benefit of item review. The results showed that the new procedure is promising in that allowing item review resulted only in a small loss in attribute classification accuracy under some conditions. Moreover, using a blocked-design CD-CAT is beneficial to the extent that it alleviates the negative impact of test anxiety on examinees’ true performance.

Pengaruh Aplikasi Pupuk Hayati, Vermikompos Dan Pupuk Anorganik Terhadap Kandungan N, Populasi Azotobacter sp. Dan Hasil Kedelai Edamame (Glycine max (L.) Merill) Pada Inceptisols Jatinangor.

In Indonesia, Inceptisols is the largest soil order on which intensive agriculture is done. The fertility of this soil order is low, so that it is necessary to improve the soil fertility by using biofertilizers and organic matter. The objectives of this experiment were to determine the effect of a biofertilizer that contains microbe Azotobacter sp., Vermicompost and N, P, K Fertilizer on N content, the population of Azotobacter sp., and the yield of the Edamame soybeans at Inceptisols Jatinangor. A Field experiment was conducted by using Randomized Blocked Design consisted of 10 treatments and three replication. The combinations of these treatments consisted of: control (no treatment), the dose recommendation Urea 100 kg ha-1 + SP36 150 kg ha-1 + KCl 125 kg ha-1, 5 ton ha-1 vermicompost + ½ recommendation ha-1 N, P, K, 5 ton ha-1 vermicompost + 1 recommendation ha-1 N, P, K, 5 ton ha-1 vermicompost + 1½ recommendation ha-1 N, P, K, 10 ton ha-1 vermicompost + ½ recommendation ha-1 N, P, K, 10 ton ha-1 vermicompost + 1 recommendation ha-1 N, P, K, 10 ton ha-1 vermicompost + 1½ recommendation ha-1 N, P, K, 5 ton ha-1 vermicompost + ½ recommendation ha-1 N, P, K + liquid biofertilizers 5 L ha-1, 10 ton ha-1 Vermicompost + ½ recommendation ha-1 N, P, K + liquid biofertilizers 5 L ha-1. The experimental results showed that the combined treatment of liquid biofertilizer, Vermicompost and N, P, K fertilizer enhanced the population of Azotobacter sp. and weight of soybean but did not significantly influence N uptake.

ANALISIS HUBUNGAN AKTIVITAS DAN KARAKTERISTIK FISIK TERHADAP WAKTU REAKSI

Waktu reaksi merupakan salah satu hal yang sebaiknya dipertimbangkan dalam pemilihan seorang pekerja untuk suatu posisi tertentu. Penelitian ini mempertimbangkan tiga faktor utama yang diyakini berdampak pada melemahnya reaksi seseorang, yakni faktor usia, faktor tingkat pencahayaan dan faktor jenis kelamin. Penelitian ini dilakukan pada dua kondisi berbeda yakni saat responden dalam kondisi sebelum dan sesudah aktivitas fisik sederhana. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui apakah aktivitas fisik sederhana akan melambatkan (karena lelah) atau mempercepat reaksi (karena tubuh lebih bugar) seseorang. Dengan menggunakan alat ukur waktu reaksi, percobaan dilakukan dengan menggunakan desain eksperiman Randomized Complete Blocked Design yang dilengkapi uji ANOVA dan uji Tukey sebagai Post Hoc Test. Uji T berpasangan dilakukan untuk melihat pengaruh aktivitas fisik pada seseorang. Hasil analisis menyatakan bahwa faktor yang secara signifikan mempengaruhi adalah faktor umur dan tingkat penglihatan. Aktivitas fisik sederhana berdampak melambatkan waktu reaksi. Pada kedua kondisi ini umur muda dan tingkat pencahayaan terang menghasilkan waktu reaksi terbaik., namun efeknya berbeda untuk tiap level umur maupun tingkat pencahayaan. Kata Kunci: Waktu reaksi, Randomized Complete Blocked Design, Aktivitas Fisik