Genetics Analysis Workshop 16 Problem 2: tTe Framingham Heart Study Data

Genetic Analysis Workshop 16 (GAW16) Problem 2 presented data from the Framingham Heart Study (FHS), an observational, prospective study of risk factors for cardiovascular disease begun in 1948. Data have been collected in three generations of family participants in the study and the data presented for GAW16 included phenotype data from all three generations, with four examinations of data collected repeatedly for the first two generations. The trait data consisted of information on blood pressure, hypertension treatment, lipid levels, diabetes and blood glucose, smoking, alcohol consumed, weight, and coronary heart disease incidence. Additionally, genotype data obtained through a genome-wide scan (FHS SHARe) of 550,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms from Affymetrix chips were included with the GAW16 data. The genotype data were also used for GAW16 Problem 3, where simulated phenotypes were generated using the actual FHS genotypes. These data served to provide investigators with a rich resource to study the behavior of genome-wide scans with longitudinally collected family data and to develop and apply new procedures.National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (2 N01-HC-25195-06); National Institutes of Health (National Institute of General Medical Sciences R01 GM031575

A Heart Thing to Hear But You\u27ll Earn: Processing and Learning about Foreign Accent Features Generated by Phonological Rule Misapplications

The present thesis focuses on how native English listeners process phonological rule misapplications in non-native-accented speech. In Experiment 1, we examined whether listeners use information about a speaker’s native language to help them understand that speaker’s accented English. The test case for this scenario was word-final obstruent devoicing in German and German-accented speech. Results showed that participants did not generalize their knowledge cross-linguistically. In Experiment 2, we used a categorization task and an eye-tracking visual world paradigm to investigate listeners’ use of a position-sensitive allophonic alternation, the velarization of /l/, as a word segmentation cue in native English. Participants were able to use velarization as a cue during word segmentation, even though they also showed a later, post-perceptual bias to segment /l/ as word initial. Follow-up experiments will build upon these conclusions using German-accented speech as stimuli, which will have reduced or absent velarization of /l/ in word-final position. In sum, these experiments inform us about the limits of phonological knowledge about foreign-accented speech

Langston University, A History: Education and Programs from 1897-1994

Originally known as the Colored Agricultural and Normal University, Langston University is Oklahoma \u27 s only historically black college and the only institution of higher education in Oklahoma and perhaps in the United States which has both a land grant and urban mission. Founded in 1897 as a result of the Morrill Act of 1890 and Oklahoma Territorial House Bill 151, Langston University has been providing higher education in Oklahoma for almost a century. Originally the University\u27s purpose was to instruct both male and female colored persons in the art of teaching various branches which pertain to a common school education and in such higher education as may be deemed advisable, and in the fundamental laws of the United States in the rights and duties of citizens in the agricultural, mechanical and industrial arts. Now Langston University offers some thirty-six degree programs supportive * of both its original land grant mission and the urban mission assigned by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education in 1978. As the University approaches its centennial it continues to strive toward excellence from Langston to the World. The topic LANGSTON UNIVERSITY, A HISTORY: EDUCATION AND PROGRESS FROM 1897-1994 was selected for this study because of the need of a current working history of the University and its progress. The purpose of this study is to compile a comprehensive up-to-date history of Langston University to serve as a tool of reference for students and interested scholars and readers alike and to assist in preserving the heritage of the historically black institution. The documentary production (videotape) that accompanies the research reflects current technology in the media. Because of poor record keeping, many historical facts relative to activities and accomplishments of Langston University during the early years have not appeared in previous studies. The few written materials are, in this study, supplemented with interviews of persons knowledgeable of the University in its earlier years and of its early history. The value of this thesis and documentary production will be its availability as a research tool produced in the decade preceding the centennial, a study which includes some data omitted from previous studies

The Mistakes of the Infallible: The Internal Conflict of Eastern European Communist Intellectuals

In this thesis, I will explore the reasons why intellectuals, who are thought to be critical of all governmental regimes, historically espoused revolutionary politics and communism. I will also elucidate how the closed system of logic in communist theory compels free-floating intellectuals to adhere to a dogmatic belief in the historical mission of the proletariat and justify revolutionary violence and the violent means used by the Communist Party to transform society. In order to answer these questions, I will examine the literature and autobiographies of two Central European authors-Arthur Koestler and Csezlaw Milosz. First I will show that both authors were in fact free-floating intellectuals, who were not firmly based in a socio-economic class or a single profession. Neither author came from or drew the influence of a single homeland. Each writer spent extensive time outside of his home country and was exposed to a variety of cultures. Finally, neither man had solid interpersonal relationships that inhibited his travels and adventures or anchored him firmly in a location or social circle. This unique social position provided them with no definite class or national interests. Thus, Koestler and Milosz depended on logic and the consensus of intellectual circles to develop their political positions.Theories of communism, which were rational and logical, became their political guide

Development in the depiction of depth

This thesis contains an investigation of the way in which children and adults depict depth when drawing a table. Research on development in depiction is reviewed (Chapters 1 and 2), with particular reference to the use of pictorial depth cues and projection systems. A series of studies on the use of projection systems in the drawing of a table is reported (Chapters 3 to 5) which shows that development in the depiction of depth is not directly related to development in the use of projection systems. It is also shown that the use of projection systems 1s task dependent, and is not closely related to the subject's formal understanding of them. A formal system of classification of table drawings is introduced (Chapter 6), which demonstrates clear developmental trends in the way in which depth is depicted in the drawing of a table, and connects these trends with development in the use of pictorial depth cues. The roots of development in the depiction of depth are examined more closely by further experimental work (Chapters 7 to 9). It is shown that subjects have a very strong preference for oblique projection, and that inaccuracy in the copying of line drawings is largely dependent upon the knowledge of what these drawings represent. It is concluded that the results give support to an information processing view of development, in which the majority of subjects appear to work from a form of canonical model of a table which has implicit depth and is best depicted by oblique projection (Chapter 10). It is also suggested that development in the depiction of depth is linked to the increasing use of pictorial depth cues. These conclusions are presented more explicitly in the form of a possible process model of the way in which we depict depth (Chapter 11)

Older siblings as positive role models in the development of at-risk children

The purpose of the present study is to explore the sibling relationships in low-income families. This study utilized a subsample of a larger longitudinal study and included 35 Head Start and 45 kindergarten children who had older siblings. All subjects were low income. Among the kindergarten children, 29 had attended Head Start. Children were interviewed about their relationships with their older siblings. When a child had more than one older sibling, random sampling was used to select the older sibling on whom to focus the interview. There were no significant differences between Head Start and kindergarten children in their descriptions of sibling relationships. Compensatory and congruous patterns of sibling relationships were investigated in low income families. The quality of sibling relationships was related to social skills of younger siblings. In families who experienced stress, the quality of sibling relationships related to social skills of the younger siblings. In families who perceived no stress, the quality of sibling relationships was related to both cognitive and social skills of the younger siblings. Therefore, parents may influence children\u27s academic skills better than siblings; siblings may influence children\u27s social skills. Several findings on the relationships between family constellation variables (siblings\u27 sexes, ages, and age intervals) and the quality of sibling relationships were consistent with other findings of sibling studies conducted with middle-class families. Only younger siblings\u27 rather than both older and younger siblings\u27 perceptions were used to assess the sibling relationship. In addition, only the interview method was used to assess the sibling relationship. These factors may limit the generalizability of the study

A multi-method approach to delineate and validate migratory corridors

Context: Managers are faced with numerous methods for delineating wildlife movement corridors, and often must make decisions with limited data. Delineated corridors should be robust to different data and models. Objectives: We present a multi-method approach for delineating and validating wildlife corridors using multiple data sources, which can be used conserve landscape connectivity. We used this approach to delineate and validate migration corridors for wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) in the Tarangire Ecosystem of northern Tanzania. Methods: We used two types of locational data (distance sampling detections and GPS collar locations), and three modeling methods (negative binomial regression, logistic regression, and Maxent), to generate resource selection functions (RSFs) and define resistance surfaces. We compared two corridor detection algorithms (cost-distance and circuit theory), to delineate corridors. We validated corridors by comparing random and wildebeest locations that fell within corridors, and cross-validated by data type. Results: Both data types produced similar RSFs. Wildebeest consistently selected migration habitat in flatter terrain farther from human settlements. Validation indicated three of the combinations of data type, modeling, and corridor detection algorithms (detection data with Maxent modeling, GPS collar data with logistic regression modeling, and GPS collar data with Maxent modeling, all using cost-distance) far outperformed the other seven. We merged the predictive corridors from these three data-method combinations to reveal habitat with highest probability of use. Conclusions: The use of multiple methods ensures that planning is able to prioritize conservation of migration corridors based on all available information