Differential photosynthetic adaptation between size-classes of Spruce and Fir juveniles help to explain the co-existence of the two species.

Background/Question/Methods 
_Abies sachalinensis_ (Sakhalin Fir) and _Picea glehnii_ (Glehn’s Spruce) are major components of the sub-boreal forests of Hokkaido, Japan. Similar Spruce-Fir forests can be found in many other places in the northern hemisphere and will probably be impacted by global warming. Therefore, detailed knowledge of these species’ physiology and life-history strategies at different growth stages is important to understand present communities and to support reliable prediction of possible consequences of global climate change. 
Accordingly, the objective of this study was to establish relations between community dynamics, life-history strategies and photosynthetic adaptation of these species, on different developmental stages. 
The study is taking place on a sub-boreal forest plot in north Japan (N 44º 19’, E 142º 15’). Twenty shade-growing individuals of both species were divided into two height classes: seedlings, if height < 50cm; and saplings, if height > 100cm. The canopy coverage over each individual was assessed by analyzing hemispherical photography and average light incidence. Leaf pigments are being analyzed by chromatography. Light response curves and chlorophyll fluorescence are being measured seasonally, except in winter. Results are analyzed through General Linear Models. The study period was from spring 2009 to summer 2010. 
Results/Conclusions 
Results show an inversion of the photosynthetic adaptation between seedlings and saplings, and also between species. _Picea_ seedlings and _Abies_ saplings have greater total chlorophyll content and higher photosynthetic rates than _Picea_ saplings and _Abies_ seedlings. As a consequence, the superior competitor between similar sized individuals of both species appears to change between size-classes, with _Abies_ presenting higher photosynthetic rates at the sapling class and _Picea_ at the seedling class. Nevertheless, no significant growth has been observed in any of the groups until now. Results also disagree with some of the previously reported photosynthetic characteristics of these species, with _Picea_ seedlings displaying more traits usually associated with shade adaptation than _Abies_ seedlings.
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Comparing Audio and Video Data for Rating Communication

Video recording has become increasingly popular in nursing research, adding rich nonverbal, contextual, and behavioral information. However, benefits of video over audio data have not been well established. We compared communication ratings of audio versus video data using the Emotional Tone Rating Scale. Twenty raters watched video clips of nursing care and rated staff communication on 12 descriptors that reflect dimensions of person-centered and controlling communication. Another group rated audio-only versions of the same clips. Interrater consistency was high within each group with ICC (2,1) for audio = .91, and video = .94. Interrater consistency for both groups combined was also high with ICC (2,1) for audio and video = .95. Communication ratings using audio and video data were highly correlated. The value of video being superior to audio recorded data should be evaluated in designing studies evaluating nursing care

Reasoning Exercises in Assisted Living: a cluster randomized trial to improve reasoning and everyday problem solving

© 2014 Williams et al. This work is published by Dove Medical Press Limited, and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License. The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. Permissions beyond the scope of the License are administered by Dove Medical Press Limited. Information on how to request permission may be found at: http://www.dovepress.com/permissions.phpPurpose of the study Assisted living (AL) residents are at risk for cognitive and functional declines that eventually reduce their ability to care for themselves, thereby triggering nursing home placement. In developing a method to slow this decline, the efficacy of Reasoning Exercises in Assisted Living (REAL), a cognitive training intervention that teaches everyday reasoning and problem-solving skills to AL residents, was tested. Design and methods At thirteen randomized Midwestern facilities, AL residents whose Mini Mental State Examination scores ranged from 19–29 either were trained in REAL or a vitamin education attention control program or received no treatment at all. For 3 weeks, treated groups received personal training in their respective programs. Results Scores on the Every Day Problems Test for Cognitively Challenged Elders (EPCCE) and on the Direct Assessment of Functional Status (DAFS) showed significant increases only for the REAL group. For EPCCE, change from baseline immediately postintervention was +3.10 (P<0.01), and there was significant retention at the 3-month follow-up (d=2.71; P<0.01). For DAFS, change from baseline immediately postintervention was +3.52 (P<0.001), although retention was not as strong. Neither the attention nor the no-treatment control groups had significant gains immediately postintervention or at follow-up assessments. Post hoc across-group comparison of baseline change also highlights the benefits of REAL training. For EPCCE, the magnitude of gain was significantly larger in the REAL group versus the no-treatment control group immediately postintervention (d=3.82; P<0.01) and at the 3-month follow-up (d=3.80; P<0.01). For DAFS, gain magnitude immediately postintervention for REAL was significantly greater compared with in the attention control group (d=4.73; P<0.01). Implications REAL improves skills in everyday problem solving, which may allow AL residents to maintain self-care and extend AL residency. This benefit is particularly important given the growing population of AL residents at risk for cognitive and self-care decline

Online Learning From Input Versus Offline Memory Evolution in Adult Word Learning: Effects of Neighborhood Density and Phonologically Related Practice

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The original publication is available at http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=1851189Purpose. This study investigates adult word learning to determine how neighborhood density and practice across phonologically-related training sets influence on-line learning from input during training versus off-line memory evolution during no-training gaps. Method. Sixty-one adults were randomly assigned to learn low or high density nonwords. Within each density condition, participants were trained on one set of words and then were trained on a second set of words, consisting of phonological neighbors of the first set. Learning was measured in a picture-naming test. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling and spline regression. Results. Steep learning during input was observed, with new words from dense neighborhoods and new words that were neighbors of recently learned words (i.e., second set words) being learned better than other words. In terms of memory evolution, large and significant forgetting was observed during 1-week gaps in training. Effects of density and practice during memory evolution were opposite of those during input. Specifically, forgetting was greater for high density and second set words than for low density and first set words. Conclusion. High phonological similarity, regardless of source (i.e., known words or recent training), appears to facilitate on-line learning from input but seems to impede off-line memory evolution

Aprendizaje basado en proyectos y el desarrollo epistemológico en Licenciatura

This paper is part of a bigger research that aims to understand how professional education delivered through Project-Based Learning (PBL) affects self-authorship development on undergraduate students. This part of the project aims to evaluate self-authorship development of undergraduate students enrolled on PBL during four to five years. The method used was qualitative, transversal, with biographical-narrative approach. In deep interviews were the instrument for data construction. Nine students of different semesters voluntarily participate on the interviews. Data analysis were based on categories validated on previous research, using the software Atlas.ti as a tool. Results found that practical experience during professional education would exert different effects on students depending on their self-authorship position. In addition, found that PBL on its own is not sufficient to generate movement to more sophisticated self-authorship positions, but it can support incipient movement underway.Esta investigación tiene el objetivo de comprender qué efectos tendrá un programa de licenciatura, basado en el ABP, sobre el desarrollo de la auto-autoría de los estudiantes. Para tanto, se realizó un estudio cualitativo de enfoque biográfico-narrativo. El instrumento de construcción de la información fue entrevista a profundidad individual de duración aproximada de una hora o más. Las nueve participantes, voluntarias, son estudiantes de una licenciatura que aplica el método ABP en toda la formación. La información fue analizada a partir de las categorías preexistentes en la investigación anterior sobre desarrollo de auto-autoría, utilizando el Atlas.ti, como herramienta. Como resultados, se encontró que la experiencia práctica durante la formación profesional va a tener diferentes efectos en los jóvenes dependiendo de la posición de auto-autoría en que se encuentran. También se concluye que, por sí solo, el método ABP no genera movimiento a posiciones más sofisticadas, pero puede apoyar el movimiento ya incipiente

Evaluation of photosensitive films for light measurements in the fruiting zone of grapevine canopies

The potential influence of fruit exposure and canopy manipulations on grape berry composition is well recognized. However, a simple and low cost method for quantifying the amount of light reaching the fruiting zone is lacking. The objective of the present study was to test the application of a commercial system of photosensitive azo-dye coated plastic films for characterizing light conditions within grapevine canopies. The fading rates of three films of differing light sensitivity were initially monitored in a fully exposed position, and these all showed a linear or near linear relationship with radiation measured by an adjacent global solar radiation sensor. When mounted in the fruiting zone of a vertically trained cool climate 'Riesling' vineyard for two periods following early and late leaf removal treatments, the films were able to quantify the change in light exposure within the fruiting zone. Total radiation values calculated using an on-site calibration or manufacturer´s equation were comparable. While some consideration is needed with regard to the choice of film sensitivity and positioning within the canopy, these initial evaluations suggest these light sensitive films can provide a simple and accurate method for characterizing light conditions and quantifying cumulative radiation within the fruiting zone

Aprendizaje basado en proyectos y el desarrollo epistemológico en Licenciatura

This paper is part of a bigger research that aims to understand how professional education delivered through Project-Based Learning (PBL) affects self-authorship development on undergraduate students. This part of the project aims to evaluate self-authorship development of undergraduate students enrolled on PBL during four to five years. The method used was qualitative, transversal, with biographical-narrative approach. In deep interviews were the instrument for data construction. Nine students of different semesters voluntarily participate on the interviews. Data analysis were based on categories validated on previous research, using the software Atlas.ti as a tool. Results found that practical experience during professional education would exert different effects on students depending on their self-authorship position. In addition, found that PBL on its own is not sufficient to generate movement to more sophisticated self-authorship positions, but it can support incipient movement underway.Esta investigación tiene el objetivo de comprender qué efectos tendrá un programa de licenciatura, basado en el ABP, sobre el desarrollo de la auto-autoría de los estudiantes. Para tanto, se realizó un estudio cualitativo de enfoque biográfico-narrativo. El instrumento de construcción de la información fue entrevista a profundidad individual de duración aproximada de una hora o más. Las nueve participantes, voluntarias, son estudiantes de una licenciatura que aplica el método ABP en toda la formación. La información fue analizada a partir de las categorías preexistentes en la investigación anterior sobre desarrollo de auto-autoría, utilizando el Atlas.ti, como herramienta. Como resultados, se encontró que la experiencia práctica durante la formación profesional va a tener diferentes efectos en los jóvenes dependiendo de la posición de auto-autoría en que se encuentran. También se concluye que, por sí solo, el método ABP no genera movimiento a posiciones más sofisticadas, pero puede apoyar el movimiento ya incipiente

Abdominal pain and hypertension in the third trimester of pregnancy. Is pre-eclampsia the only explanation?

n/

Dual Task Costs of Oral Reading for Young versus Older Adults

A digital pursuit rotor was used to monitor oral reading costs by time-locking tracking performance to the auditory wave form produced as young and older adults were reading out short paragraphs. Multilevel modeling was used to determine how paragraph-level predictors of length, grammatical complexity, and readability and person-level predictors such as speaker age or working memory capacity predicted reading and tracking performance. In addition, sentence-by-sentence variation in tracking performance was examined during the production of individual sentences and during the pauses before upcoming sentences. The results suggest that dual tasking has a greater impact on older adults’ reading comprehension and tracking performance. At the level of individual sentences, young and older adults adopt different strategies to deal with grammatically complex and propositionally dense sentences