The State of State Science Standards 2012

American science performance is lagging as the economy becomes increasingly high tech, but our current science standards are doing little to solve the problem. Reviewers evaluated science standards for every state for this report and their findings were deeply troubling: The majority of states earned Ds or Fs for their standards in this crucial subject, with only six jurisdictions receiving As. Explore all the state report cards and see how your state performed

Noninvasive Monitoring of Elevated Intramuscular Pressure in a Model Compartment Syndrome via Quantitative Fascial Motion

Compartment syndromes, conditions of elevated intramuscular pressure (IMP) resulting from trauma or chronic overuse, frequently require invasive IMP monitoring for accurate diagnosis. Our objective was to test a noninvasive ultrasound technique For estimating IMP based on fascial displacement waveforms from arterial blood pressure pulses. IMP was increased in the legs of 23 healthy adult subjects LIP to 80 mmHg Using two blood pressure cuffs covering the region from the knee to the ankle. Receiver operator characteristic curves and recursive partitioning were used to determine the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosing elevated IMP using fascial displacement, For one curve. in which several ultrasonic measurement parameters were used along with subject body mass index and blood pressure, the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing normal IMP (below 30 mmHg) from elevated IMP (30 mm Hg and up) was 0.61 and 0.94, respectively. Recursive partitioning, in which IMP was divided into three ranges (normal \u3c30 \u3emmHg, midrange of 30-40 mmHg, and elevated \u3e= 50 mmHg), resulted in improved diagnostic sensitivity (0.77) with almost no change in specificity (0.93). (C) 2008 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 27:489-494 200

Socio-cultural similarity with host population rather than ecological similarity predicts success and failure of human migrations

Demographers argue that human migration patterns are shaped by people moving to better environments. More recently, however, evolutionary theorists have argued that people move to similar environments to which they are culturally adapted. While previous studies analysing which factors affect migration patterns have focused almost exclusively on successful migrations, here we take advantage of a natural experiment during World War II in which an entire population was forcibly displaced but were then allowed to return home to compare successful with unsuccessful migrations. We test two competing hypotheses: (1) individuals who relocate to environments that are superior to their place of origin will be more likely to remain-The Better Environment Hypothesis or (2) individuals who relocate to environments that are similar to their place of origin will be more likely to remain-The Similar Environment Hypothesis. Using detailed records recording the social, cultural, linguistic and ecological conditions of the origin and destination locations, we find that cultural similarity (e.g. linguistic similarity and marrying within one's own minority ethnic group)-rather than ecological differences-are the best predictors of successful migrations. These results suggest that social relationships, empowered by cultural similarity with the host population, play a critical role in successful migrations and provide limited support for the similar environment hypothesis. Overall, these results demonstrate the importance of comparing unsuccessful with successful migrations in efforts understand the engines of human dispersal and suggest that the primary obstacles to human migrations and successful range expansion are sociocultural rather than ecological.Peer reviewe

Andrew Melville, sacred chronology and world history: the Carmina Danielis 9 and the Antichristus

The accepted view of the ecclesiastical reformer Andrew Melville (1545–1622) as the dynamic leader of the Presbyterian movement in Jacobean Scotland has been severely eroded in recent years, with particular criticism of the actual importance of his contribution to the Kirk and to Scottish higher education. While this reductionism has been necessary, it has resulted in an inversion of the overwhelmingly positive traditional image of Melville, and does not give us a rounded assessment of his life and works. This article attempts to partially redress this balance by looking at a neglected aspect of Melville's Latin writings, which showcase his talents as a humanist intellectual and biblical commentator. It focuses on two long poems that are both commentaries and paraphrases of Daniel and Revelation: the Carmina Danielis and the Antichristus. Through these poems, we see how Melville engaged with two problems exercising reformed theologians across Europe: the dating of key biblical events and the historicised meaning of prophecies within these texts. We also find evidence that Melville read widely among both contemporary and ancient commentators on both these issues

Endovascular Embolization of Head and Neck Tumors

Endovascular tumor embolization as adjunctive therapy for head and neck cancers is evolving and has become an important part of the tools available for their treatment. Careful study of tumor vascular anatomy and adhering to general principles of intra-arterial therapy can prove this approach to be effective and safe. Various embolic materials are available and can be suited for a given tumor and its vascular supply. This article aims to summarize current methods and agents used in endovascular head and neck tumor embolization and discuss important angiographic and treatment characteristics of selected common head and neck tumors

A screen for nuclear transcripts identifies two linked noncoding RNAs associated with SC35 splicing domains

BACKGROUND: Noncoding RNA species play a diverse set of roles in the eukaryotic cell. While much recent attention has focused on smaller RNA species, larger noncoding transcripts are also thought to be highly abundant in mammalian cells. To search for large noncoding RNAs that might control gene expression or mRNA metabolism, we used Affymetrix expression arrays to identify polyadenylated RNA transcripts displaying nuclear enrichment. RESULTS: This screen identified no more than three transcripts; XIST, and two unique noncoding nuclear enriched abundant transcripts (NEAT) RNAs strikingly located less than 70 kb apart on human chromosome 11: NEAT1, a noncoding RNA from the locus encoding for TncRNA, and NEAT2 (also known as MALAT-1). While the two NEAT transcripts share no significant homology with each other, each is conserved within the mammalian lineage, suggesting significant function for these noncoding RNAs. NEAT2 is extraordinarily well conserved for a noncoding RNA, more so than even XIST. Bioinformatic analyses of publicly available mouse transcriptome data support our findings from human cells as they confirm that the murine homologs of these noncoding RNAs are also nuclear enriched. RNA FISH analyses suggest that these noncoding RNAs function in mRNA metabolism as they demonstrate an intimate association of these RNA species with SC35 nuclear speckles in both human and mouse cells. These studies show that one of these transcripts, NEAT1 localizes to the periphery of such domains, whereas the neighboring transcript, NEAT2, is part of the long-sought polyadenylated component of nuclear speckles. CONCLUSION: Our genome-wide screens in two mammalian species reveal no more than three abundant large non-coding polyadenylated RNAs in the nucleus; the canonical large noncoding RNA XIST and NEAT1 and NEAT2. The function of these noncoding RNAs in mRNA metabolism is suggested by their high levels of conservation and their intimate association with SC35 splicing domains in multiple mammalian species

Residential radon-222 exposure and lung cancer: exposure assessment methodology

Although occupational epidemiological studies and animal experimentation provide strong evidence that radon-222 (222Rn) progeny exposure causes lung cancer, residential epidemiological studies have not confirmed this association. Past residential epidemiological studies have yielded contradictory findings. Exposure misclassification has seriously compromised the ability of these studies to detect whether an association exists between 222Rn exposure and lung cancer. Misclassification of 222Rn exposure has arisen primarily from: 1) detector measurement error; 2) failure to consider temporal and spatial 222Rn variations within a home; 3) missing data from previously occupied homes that currently are inaccessible; 4) failure to link 222Rn concentrations with subject mobility; and 5) measuring 222Rn gas concentration as a surrogate for 222Rn progeny exposure. This paper examines these methodological dosimetry problems and addresses how we are accounting for them in an ongoing, population-based, case-control study of 222Rn and lung cancer in Iowa