Patterns Among Computer-Mediated Instruction, Student Learning Styles and Student Achievement

This research focused on instruction limited to text and graphics communication, offered through a combination of hypertext media and textbook, to community college students. This study served two purposes: assess the overall effectiveness of instruction that is limited to text and graphics communication; and determine the patterns, if any, between the strength of individual learning modality preferences and achievement. One hundred and twelve students enrolled in an introductory course in probability and statistics volunteered to participate. Instruction on the statistical concept of counting was conveyed by Web-pages and textbook. Communication between students and instructors was conducted by electronic mail. Subjects completed a pre-test and post-test to measure levels of achievement and mastery, the Perceptual Modality Preference Survey to ascertain perceptual modality preferences, and a survey to indicate the approximate amounts of time spent in various learning activities and whether other people or resources were used. Results indicated that overall levels of achievement and mastery were low. Only four subjects had posttest scores that indicated mastery of the content. Only nine subjects attained levels of achievement and mastery that were deemed substantial. No patterns were found in the data that indicated a relationship between perceptual modality preferences and achievement. It was assumed that students with strong preferences for either the print or visual modalities would be advantaged given that instruction was limited to text and graphics. However, subjects with strong preferences for either the print or visual modalities did not have higher levels of achievement than subjects with strong preferences for other perceptual modalities. In v fact, students with strong preferences for the visual modality had lower levels of achievement than subjects with preferences for other perceptual modalities. Implications of this study supported the “media richness” premise asserted by Daft, Lengel and Trevino. Media that enable immediate feedback, use of multiple cues, and use of natural language better allow the conveyance of information that will change understanding. Contrary to other research on learning styles, learning style preferences had little relationship to achievement

Special Issue on Surveillance: Editor’s Introduction

This Editor’s Introduction discusses the interplay of surveillance issues with media and communication research

A global numerical study of radon-222 and lead-210 in the atmosphere using the AES and York University CDT General Circulation Model (AYCG)

The Canadian Climate Center (CCC) GCM has been modified to allow its use for studies in atmospheric chemistry. The initial experiments reported here have been run to test and allow sensitivity studies of the new transport module. The impact of different types of parameterization for the convective mixing have been studied based on the large scale evolution of Rn-222 and Pb-210. Preliminary results have shown that the use of a scheme, which mixes unstable columns over a very short time scale, produces a global distribution of lead that agrees in some aspects with observations. The local impact of different mixing schemes on a short lived tracer like the radon is very important

Essential function of Drosophila Sec6 in apical exocytosis of epithelial photoreceptor cells

Polarized exocytosis plays a major role in development and cell differentiation but the mechanisms that target exocytosis to specific membrane domains in animal cells are still poorly understood. We characterized Drosophila Sec6, a component of the exocyst complex that is believed to tether secretory vesicles to specific plasma membrane sites. sec6 mutations cause cell lethality and disrupt plasma membrane growth. In developing photoreceptor cells (PRCs), Sec6 but not Sec5 or Sec8 shows accumulation at adherens junctions. In late PRCs, Sec6, Sec5, and Sec8 colocalize at the rhabdomere, the light sensing subdomain of the apical membrane. PRCs with reduced Sec6 function accumulate secretory vesicles and fail to transport proteins to the rhabdomere, but show normal localization of proteins to the apical stalk membrane and the basolateral membrane. Furthermore, we show that Rab11 forms a complex with Sec5 and that Sec5 interacts with Sec6 suggesting that the exocyst is a Rab11 effector that facilitates protein transport to the apical rhabdomere in Drosophila PRCs

Regional Extreme Monthly Precipitation Simulated by NARCCAP RCMs

This paper analyzes the ability of the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) ensemble of regional climate models to simulate extreme monthly precipitation and its supporting circulation for regions of North America, comparing 18 years of simulations driven by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)–Department of Energy (DOE) reanalysis with observations. The analysis focuses on the wettest 10% of months during the cold half of the year (October–March), when it is assumed that resolved synoptic circulation governs precipitation. For a coastal California region where the precipitation is largely topographic, the models individually and collectively replicate well the monthly frequency of extremes, the amount of extreme precipitation, and the 500-hPa circulation anomaly associated with the extremes. The models also replicate very well the statistics of the interannual variability of occurrences of extremes. For an interior region containing the upper Mississippi River basin, where precipitation is more dependent on internally generated storms, the models agree with observations in both monthly frequency and magnitude, although not as closely as for coastal California. In addition, simulated circulation anomalies for extreme months are similar to those in observations. Each region has important seasonally varying precipitation processes that govern the occurrence of extremes in the observations, and the models appear to replicate well those variations

Genome-wide interaction study of early-life smoking exposure on time-to-asthma onset in childhood

Background: Asthma, a heterogeneous disease with variable age of onset, results from the interplay between genetic and environmental factors. Early-life tobacco smoke (ELTS) exposure is a major asthma risk factor. Only a few genetic loci have been reported to interact with ELTS exposure in asthma. Objective: Our aim was to identify new loci interacting with ELTS exposure on time-to-asthma onset (TAO) in childhood.Methods: We conducted genome-wide interaction analyses of ELTS exposure on time-to-asthma onset in childhood in five European-ancestry studies (totaling 8,273 subjects) using Cox proportional-hazard model. The results of all five genome-wide analyses were meta-analyzed.Results: The 13q21 locus showed genome-wide significant interaction with ELTS exposure (P=4.3x10-8 for rs7334050 within KLHL1 with consistent results across the five studies). Suggestive interactions (P<5x10-6) were found at three other loci: 20p12 (rs13037508 within MACROD2; P=4.9x10-7), 14q22 (rs7493885 near NIN; P=2.9x10-6) and 2p22 (rs232542 near CYP1B1; P=4.1x10-6). Functional annotations and the literature showed that the lead SNPs at these four loci influence DNA methylation in the blood and are located nearby CpG sites reported to be associated with exposure to tobacco smoke components, which strongly support our findings.Conclusion and Clinical Relevance: We identified novel candidate genes interacting with ELTS exposure on time-to-asthma onset in childhood. These genes have plausible biological relevance related to tobacco smoke exposure. Further epigenetic and functional studies are needed to confirm these findings and to shed light on the underlying mechanisms

Symposium on Obesity and Asthma-November 2006

L’asthme et l’obésité sont fréquemment associés et l’obésité est considérée comme un facteur impliqué tant dans l’augmentation de la sévérité que dans le développement de l’asthme. Ce document est un compte-rendu des présentations effectuées dans le cadre d’un symposium du Réseau en santé respiratoire du Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec qui a eu lieu à Montréal le 2 novembre 2006, en collaboration avec le McGill University – Strauss Severe Asthma Program, l’Université Laval (Québec) et l’Université de Montréal. Au cours de cette rencontre, divers aspects de la relation entre obésité et asthme ont été abordés, en regard des modèles animaux, des influences génétiques, hormonales et physiologiques, de l’influence des comorbidités (ex : syndrome d’apnée du sommeil), de l’épidémiologie, des aspects cliniques et psychologiques et, enfin, du traitement de l’asthme chez la personne obèse.Asthma and obesity are frequently associated, and obesity has been considered a factor contributing to both an increase in severity of asthma and to its development. The present document summarizes the proceedings of a symposium held in Montreal, Quebec, on November 2, 2006, under the auspices of the Réseau en santé respiratoire du Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec in collaboration with the McGill University - Strauss Severe Asthma Program, Université Laval (Quebec City) and Université de Montréal. It includes an overview of the various aspects of the relationships between asthma and obesity with regard to animal models; genetic, hormonal and physiological determinants; influence of comorbidities (eg, sleep apnea syndrome); epidemiology; clinical and psychological features; and management of asthma in the obese population

Identification of a new locus at 16q12 associated with time-to-asthma onset

International audienceBackground: Asthma is a heterogeneous disease in which age-of-onset plays an important role.Objective: We sought to identify the genetic variants associated with time-to-asthma onset.Methods: We conducted a large-scale meta-analysis of nine genome-wide association studies of time-to-asthma onset (total of 5,462 asthmatics with a broad range of age-of-asthma onset and 8,424 controls of European ancestry) performed using survival analysis techniques.Results: We detected five regions associated with time-to-asthma onset at genome-wide significant level (P<5x10-8). We evidenced a new locus in 16q12 region (near cylindromatosis turban tumor syndrome gene (CYLD)) and confirmed four asthma risk regions: 2q12 (IL1RL1), 6p21 (HLA-DQA1), 9p24 (IL33) and 17q12-q21 (ZPBP2-GSDMA). Conditional analyses identified two distinct signals at 9p24 (both upstream of IL33) and at 17q12-q21 (near ZPBP2 and within GSDMA). These seven distinct loci explained together 6.0% of the variance in time-to-asthma onset. In addition, we showed that genetic variants at 9p24 and 17q12-q21 were strongly associated with an earlier onset of childhood asthma (P≤0.002) whereas 16q12 SNP was associated with a later asthma onset (P=0.04). A high burden of disease risk alleles at these loci was associated with earlier age-of-asthma onset (4 years versus 9-12 years, P=10-4).Conclusion: The new susceptibility region for time-to-asthma onset at 16q12 harbors variants that correlate with the expression of CYLD and NOD2 (nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 2), two strong candidates for asthma. This study demonstrates that incorporating the variability of age-of-asthma onset in asthma modeling is a helpful approach in the search for disease susceptibility genes

Global exposure of population and land‐use to meteorological droughts under different warming levels and SSPs: a CORDEX‐based study

Global warming is likely to cause a progressive drought increase in some regions, but how population and natural resources will be affected is still underexplored. This study focuses on global population, forests, croplands and pastures exposure to meteorological drought hazard in the 21st century, expressed as frequency and severity of drought events. As input, we use a large ensemble of climate simulations from the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX), population projections from the NASA-SEDAC dataset and land-use projections from the Land-Use Harmonization 2 project for 1981–2100. The exposure to drought hazard is presented for five Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP1-SSP5) at four Global Warming Levels (GWLs: 1.5°C to 4°C). Results show that considering only Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI; based on precipitation), the SSP3 at GWL4 projects the largest fraction of the global population (14%) to experience an increase in drought frequency and severity (versus 1981–2010), with this value increasing to 60% if temperature is considered (indirectly included in the Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index, SPEI). With SPEI, considering the highest GWL for each SSP, 8 (for SSP2, SSP4, SSP5) and 11 (SSP3) billion people, that is, more than 90%, will be affected by at least one unprecedented drought. For SSP5 at GWL4, approximately 2 × 10$^{6}$ km$^{2}$ of forests and croplands (respectively, 6% and 11%) and 1.5 × 10$^{6}$ km$^{2}$ of pastures (19%) will be exposed to increased drought frequency and severity according to SPI, but for SPEI this extent will rise to 17 × 10$^{6}$ km$^{2}$ of forests (49%), 6 × 10$^{6}$ km$^{2}$ of pastures (78%) and 12 × 10$^{6}$ km$^{2}$ of croplands (67%), being mid-latitudes the most affected. The projected likely increase of drought frequency and severity significantly increases population and land-use exposure to drought, even at low GWLs, thus extensive mitigation and adaptation efforts are needed to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change

Gene Transcription Changes in Asthmatic Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps and Comparison to Those in Atopic Dermatitis

Asthmatic chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (aCRSwNP) is a common disruptive eosinophilic disease without effective medical treatment. Therefore, we sought to identify gene expression changes, particularly those occurring early, in aCRSwNP. To highlight expression changes associated with eosinophilic epithelial inflammation, we further compared the changes in aCRSwNP with those in a second eosinophilic epithelial disease, atopic dermatitis (AD), which is also closely related to asthma.Genome-wide mRNA levels measured by exon array in both nasosinus inflamed mucosa and adjacent polyp from 11 aCRSwNP patients were compared to those in nasosinus tissue from 17 normal or rhinitis subjects without polyps. Differential expression of selected genes was confirmed by qRT-PCR or immunoassay, and transcription changes common to AD were identified. Comparison of aCRSwNP inflamed mucosa and polyp to normal/rhinitis tissue identified 447 differentially transcribed genes at > or = 2 fold-change and adjusted p-value < 0.05. These included increased transcription of chemokines localized to chromosome 17q11.2 (CCL13, CCL2, CCL8, and CCL11) that favor eosinophil and monocyte chemotaxis and chemokines (CCL18, CCL22, and CXCL13) that alternatively-activated monocyte-derived cells have been shown to produce. Additional transcription changes likely associated with Th2-like eosinophilic inflammation were prominent and included increased IL1RL1 (IL33 receptor) and EMR1&3 and decreased CRISP2&3. A down-regulated PDGFB-centric network involving several smooth muscle-associated genes was also implicated. Genes at 17q11.2, genes associated with alternative activation or smooth muscle, and the IL1RL1 gene were also differentially transcribed in AD.Our data implicate several genes or gene sets in aCRSwNP and eosinophilic epithelial inflammation, some that likely act in the earlier stages of inflammation. The identified gene expression changes provide additional diagnostic and therapeutic targets for aCRSwNP and other eosinophilic epithelial diseases