Students have difficulty solving arithmetic word problems containing a relational term that is inconsistent with the required arithmetic operation (e.g., containing the term less, yet requiring addition) rather than consistent. To investigate this consistency effect, students' eye fixations were recorded as they read arithmetic word problems on a computer monitor and stated a solution plan for each problem. As predicted, low-accuracy students made more reversal errors on inconsistent than consistent problems, students took more time for inconsistent than consistent problems, this additional time was localized in the integration/planning stages of problem solving rather than in the initial reading of the problem, these response-time patterns were obtained for high-accuracy but not for low-accuracy students, and high-accuracy students required more rereadings of previously fixated words for inconsistent than for consistent problems.

The ability to quantify lysozyme is demonstrated for a series of aqueous samples with different degrees of scattering. Near-infrared spectra are collected for two sets of lysozyme/scattering solutions. In both sets of samples, the solutions are composed of lysozyme dissolved in acetate buffer with suspended monodisperse latex microspheres of polystyrene. The diameter of the microspheres is 6.4 microm for the first set and 0.6 microm for the second. For each set, the amount of microspheres range from 0.005 to 0.998 wt %, the lysozyme concentrations range from 0.834 to 28.6 mg/mL, and solution compositions are designed to minimize correlations between the concentration of lysozyme and percentage of microspheres. Near-infrared spectra are collected individually for each set of solutions. Single-beam spectra are collected over the combination spectral range (5000-4000 cm(-1), 2.0-2.5 microm) by transmitting the incident radiation through a 1.5-mm-thick sample that is maintained at 21 degrees C. Partial least-squares calibration models are evaluated individually for each data set both with and without wavelength optimization. Results indicate that models from raw, nonmodified, single-beam spectra are incapable of extracting lysozyme concentration from these highly scattering solutions. Accurate concentration measurements are possible, however, by implementing either a multiplicative scatter correction to the single-beam spectra or by taking the ratio of these single-beam spectra to an appropriate reference spectrum. In addition, digital Fourier filtering of these spectra enhances model performance. The best calibration model in the presence of 6.4-microm microspheres is obtained from multiplicative scatter corrected single-beam spectra over the 4550-4190-cm(-1) spectral range. The mean percent error of prediction (MPEP) and standard error of prediction (SEP) for this model are 2.2% and 0.28 mg/mL, respectively. Likewise, the multiplicative scatter corrected spectra with wavelength optimization provided the best calibration model for the 0.6-microm data set. In this case, the MPEP and SEP are 2.3% and 0.44 mg/mL, respectively. In addition, the ability to predict lysozyme concentrations is evaluated for the situation where the degree of scattering is greater in the predication samples compared to the calibration samples. Differences in the prediction ability are noted between the 6.4- and 0.6-microm data sets.

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