School starters’ early structure sense

Low and high achieving children’s competences regarding pattern and structure at the beginning of formal schooling are comparatively analyzed in order to evaluate the range of school starters’ early structure sense. The results suggest overall high pre-instructional competences which, however, differ strongly between the mathematical high and low achievers. Cognitive milestones for the development of a sound early structure sense are named

Positive and negative regulation of angiogenesis by soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)-1 exists in different forms, derived from alternative splicing of the same gene. In addition to the transmembrane form, endothelial cells produce a soluble VEGFR-1 (sVEGFR-1) isoform, whereas non-endothelial cells produce both sVEGFR-1 and a different soluble molecule, known as soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase (sFlt)1-14. By binding members of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family, the soluble forms reduce the amounts of VEGFs available for the interaction with their transmembrane receptors, thereby negatively regulating VEGFR-mediated signaling. In agreement with this activity, high levels of circulating sVEGFR-1 or sFlt1-14 are associated with different pathological conditions involving vascular dysfunction. Moreover, sVEGFR-1 and sFlt1-14 have an additional role in angiogenesis: they are deposited in the endothelial cell and pericyte extracellular matrix, and interact with cell membrane components. Interaction of sVEGFR-1 with α5β1 integrin on endothelial cell membranes regulates vessel growth, triggering a dynamic, pro-angiogenic phenotype. Interaction of sVEGFR-1/sFlt1-14 with cell membrane glycosphingolipids in lipid rafts controls kidney cell morphology and glomerular barrier functions. These cell-matrix contacts represent attractive novel targets for pharmacological intervention in addition to those addressing interactions between VEGFs and their receptors

The evolving maintenance of certification process: update on the financial status of the medical boards

Medical board organizations have accumulated large asset balances, in part due to the monetization of physician board recertification, as well as capital gains in positive investment conditions. Physicians across the country have raised concerns regarding the effectiveness and efficiency of existing recertification processes, to which the American Board of Medical Specialties and independent accreditation boards have responded with newly instituted changes. The present article analyzes the publicly available F990 tax forms of the medical boards in an effort to provide data to the ongoing debate. Although some boards have begun to mobilize assets in recent years, many continue to accumulate wealth. It remains to be seen whether the new recertification programs will bring about change or perpetuate organizational wealth

After-School Programs and Academic Impact: A Study of Chicago's After School Matters

What impact can after-school programs have on the educational achievement of high school students? A new study of Chicago's After School Matters (ASM) program -- which offers paid internships in the arts, technology, sports, and communications to teenagers in some of the city's most underserved schools -- finds a relationship between participating in after-school activities and higher class attendance, lower course failures and higher graduation rates.Even after taking into account student demographic characteristics and prior attendance records, students who participate in ASM miss fewer days of school than their classmates. Similarly, students who participated at the highest levels in the after-school program tended to fail fewer core academic courses (English, Math, Science, and Social Studies). Furthermore, over the course of their time in high school, students who were enrolled in ASM for three or more semesters and those who participated at the highest levels had higher rates of graduation and lower dropout rates than similar students who did not participate in the program.The findings in this report highlight the importance of further research into what leads students to participate in after-school programs and the factors that lead to higher engagement and retention once they are enrolled. A better understanding is crucial for improving enrollment in after-school programs such as ASM. Moreover, accounting for student factors that lead to a greater engagement in the program will lead to a clearer understanding of ASM's contribution to the positive outcomes -- independent of hard-to-observe student characteristics such as enthusiasm or dedication

The Economic Effects of a Russia-EU FTA

The paper examines the effects of Russia joining the WTO taking into account energy sector reform and the impact of a future Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the enlarged EU and Russia. The paper uses Computable General Equilibrium Modelling techniques for quantifying the different possible scenarios. The scenarios include a standard assessment of the removal of tariff barriers including agriculture, services and removal of non-tariffbarriers. The results suggest that a potential FTA would be beneficial for Russia only if it would incorporate not only reduction in industrial tariffs but also in agriculture and liberalisation in services

Preference Utilisation and Tariff Reduction in EU Imports from ACP Countries

Despite the long relationship between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries aimed at encouraging their exports while stimulating growth and investment, the ACP states still face difficulties in integrating into the world economy. This paper examines the non-least developed ACP countries preferential trade with the EU. The objective is to explain the determinants of preferential exports of ACP countries towards the EU and to assess the impact of preferences on trade volumes. We also investigate the existence of a threshold in the offered duty reduction under which traders have no incentives to ask for preferences

Ad Infinitum: The Bourgeois Construction of an American Lady

This thesis explores the emergence of the Bourgeois culture in Antebellum America during the transition of nineteenth century America into what we refer to as “modern-day America.” This period is crucial in American history as ideological concepts developed as the nation industrialized, thus creating the nation’s identity. In doing so, gender roles were voraciously prescribed with a focus on women’s sexuality as a focal point for Victorian discourse. Unlike prior to the Revolution, which gender roles were previously assumed, by the mid-nineteenth century, modes of surveillance are apparent in sermons, medical treatises, Victorian periodicals and literature, in which ideological productions such as the “cult of true womanhood,” entrenched in Evangelical Christianity became essential to nationalism. This thesis explores the mechanisms of power used to control women, while simultaneously extracting the psychological reasons behind such ideological productions constructed, that elevated women’s role in society as discourse on women’s sexuality and their roles in society became ad infinitum