The impact of flipping class intervention on reading comprehension: Different approaches and proficiency levels.

Flipped classes can improve English language teaching and learning, especially reading outcomes, by enhancing student engagement and motivation through interactive and captivating educational materials. The goal of this study is to examine the effects of different schema activations in different English flipped class formats in pre-reading activities on the reading comprehension of students with different reading proficiency levels. A quasi-experimental research design was employed involving 30 first-year students from the first university and 28 first-year students from the second university in Surabaya, Indonesia, who were studying English as a general course at an intermediate level. The study used informed consent and two different formats, A and B, where pre-reading tasks were completed in class or asynchronously online, respectively. The study found that using video-based pre-reading activities in flipped class can improve comprehension and schema acquisition. Flipped classes can provide personalized learning experiences, but its effectiveness varies depending on the strategies and delivery methods used. While most students benefit from flipped classes, those who struggle with self-discipline and time management may find it challenging to adapt to the online component and may experience lower performance as a result.

Dung Beetles Increase Greenhouse Gas Fluxes from Dung Pats in a North Temperate Grassland.

Soil fauna plays a critical role in various ecosystem processes, but empirical data measuring its impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from rangelands are limited. We quantified the effects of dung beetles on in situ CO, CH, and NO emissions from simulated cattle dung deposits. Soil in meadows of the semiarid Nebraska Sandhills was treated with three treatments (dung pats with exposure and without exposure to dung beetles, and a no dung control). A closed-chamber method was used to measure GHG fluxes at 0, 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 14, 21, 28, and 56 d after dung placement in the early season (June-August) and late season (July-September) in 2014 and 2015. The greatest dung beetle abundance was 6 ± 2 beetles per quarter pat on Day 7; the abundance decreased to <2 ± 0.6 on Day 14 and 28 and zero on Day 56. Dung beetles increased fluxes of CO by 0.2 g C d m, NO by 0.4 mg N d m (only in late season 2015), and CH by 0.2 mg C d m. These increases were due to beetle-made macropores that facilitated gas transport in wet dung (initial moisture = 4.6 g g on a dry-weight basis) within 7 d after dung placement. Seasonal environmental differences resulted in greater CO, NO, and CH fluxes in the early season than in the late season. This study concluded that dung beetles increased GHG fluxes from early- and late-season dung deposits on meadows of the semiarid Nebraska Sandhills.

Measuring runoff-suspended solids using an improved turbidometer method.

Differences in particle size distribution between runoff standards and unknown samples affect the accuracy of estimation of total suspended solids (TSS) concentration using the nephelometric turbidity (NTU) method. The objective was to quantify the effects of a sucrose solution as suspending medium and contrasting particle size distribution on nephelometric turbidity and accuracy of TSS estimation. Nineteen benchmark soils varying in texture and color were divided into particle size distribution of <250 and <2000 microm. Soils from these two aggregate classes were then made into suspension ranging from 0.2 to 15 g L-1 using distilled deionized water. Runoff suspensions ranging from 0.2 to 21 g L-1 were also collected from different watersheds. Turbidity of soil and runoff suspensions was measured in sucrose solution and in distilled deionized water. The sucrose solution density ranged from 1.10 to 1.30 kg L-1. Increasing sucrose solution density decreased turbidity. The TSS concentration was most sensitive to changes in turbidity with the 1.30 kg L-1 sucrose solution. Using the 1.30 kg L-1 sucrose solution, particle size bias and error of TSS estimates were decreased by at least 20% compared to distilled deionized water. Reduction in refraction index differences between the suspended particles and sucrose solution combined with reduced particle settling and reduced Brownian motion resulted in dampening the effects of particle size distribution. We propose a sucrose solution of 1.30 kg L-1 as a better suspending medium to dampen the effect of particle size distribution and thus improve suspension TSS concentration estimation.

Greenhouse gas emissions and soil indicators four years after manure and compost applications.

Understanding how carbon, nitrogen, and key soil attributes affect gas emissions from soil is crucial for alleviating their undesirable residual effects that can linger for years after termination of manure and compost applications. This study was conducted to evaluate the emission of soil CO2, N2O, and CH4 and soil C and N indicators four years after manure and compost application had stopped. Experimental plots were treated with annual synthetic N fertilizer (FRT), annual and biennial manure (MN1 and MN2, respectively), and compost (CP1 and CP2, respectively) from 1992 to 1995 based on removal of 151 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1) by continuous corn (Zea mays L.). The control (CTL) plots received no input. After 1995, only the FRT plots received N fertilizer in the spring of 1999. In 1999, the emissions of CO2 were similar between control and other treatments. The average annual carbon input in the CTL and FRT plots were similar to soil CO2-C emission (4.4 and 5.1 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1), respectively). Manure and compost resulted in positive C and N balances in the soil four years after application. Fluxes of CH4-C and N2O-N were nearly zero, which indicated that the residual effects of manure and compost four years after application had no negative influence on soil C and N storage and global warming. Residual effects of compost and manure resulted in 20 to 40% higher soil microbial biomass C, 42 to 74% higher potentially mineralizable N, and 0.5 unit higher pH compared with the FRT treatment. Residual effects of manure and compost on CO2, N20, and CH4 emissions were minimal and their benefits on soil C and N indicators were more favorable than that of N fertilizer.