A Descriptive-Correlational Study Exploring Post-Secondary Student Tracks Chosen by Learners with High Spatial Ability

People that process though using pictures rather than words have difficulty in school. Previous research has shown that characteristics of Spatial Learners, or people that process thought spatially, by thinking in pictures rather than words, have poor spelling, are less likely to graduate high school, have a lower grade average, are likely male, don\u27t read instructions carefully, are late bloomers, have a bedroom that is disorganized, lose track of time and have difficulty memorizing words. Many of history\u27s great problem solvers are believed to be highly spatial people. It is theorized that the majority of highly spatial learners are not as likely to enter post-secondary education as a degree earners but instead as a Career Technical Education (CTE) student because traditional education is not oriented toward their style of learning. The objective of this research was to see if there is a relationship to spatial learners and the learning track they pursue. A survey was developed asking students in general education classes and CTE classes if they have the traits that have been identified as a person with spatial strengths. The student also completed a spatial test to measure their spatial ability. The results indicated little relationship between general education vs. technical and spatial ability. There was also no relationship between spatial ability and the known traits previously associated with highly spatial people. Unfortunately, this leaves the spatial test used in the research questionable and likely not viable. Since little relationship was measured between any of the data, it suggests that the research should be repeated using a different tool to measure spatial ability; perhaps from the Elliot Spatial Test Collection at the University of Akron. Previous research indicated relationships between people with high spatial abilities and certain behaviors that could not be duplicated with this survey. If the spatial evaluation tool cannot show a relationship between the known behaviors of highly spatial people, it brings its validity into question. The question of if there are larger groups of highly spatial learners in different learning tracks remains unanswered by this work

A Search for Understanding Why Male, Long Term High School Dropouts Resist Returning to Complete a Secondary Credential

Much of the resistance for returning to education seems to be related to the same reasons students left school to begin with. The reason for dropping out and resisting to return to school may be a result of too much emphasis on academic preparation and too little emphasis on satisfying the perceived needs for preparing a youth for adulthood. Four themes emerged from the field-note based interviews: (1) all students do not learn the same way, (2) there is a need for more participatory learning, (3) learning should be relevant to life as perceived by the student, and (4) there is a dislike of computer content that is not supported by personal instruction. While these themes are supportive of past research efforts and may not seem remarkable, the solutions offered by the participants to improve these problems are worthy of consideration, and may be of use to both secondary and adult education

A Radar-Based Hail Climatology of Australia

In Australia, hailstorms present considerable public safety and economic risks, where they are considered the most damaging natural hazard in terms of annual insured losses. Despite these impacts, the current climatological distribution of hailfall across the continent is still comparatively poorly understood. This study aims to supplement previous national hail climatologies, such as those based on environmental proxies or satellite radiometer data, with more direct radar-based hail observations. The heterogeneous and incomplete nature of the Australian radar network complicates this task and prompts the introduction of some novel methodological elements. We introduce an empirical correction technique to account for hail reflectivity biases at C-band, derived by comparing overlapping C- and S-band observations. Furthermore, we demonstrate how object-based hail swath analysis may be used to produce resolution-invariant hail frequencies, and describe an interpolation method used to create a spatially continuous hail climatology. The Maximum Estimated Size of Hail (MESH) parameter is then applied to a mixture of over fifty operational radars in the Australian radar archive, resulting in the first nationwide, radar-based hail climatology. The spatiotemporal distribution of hailstorms is examined, including their physical characteristics, seasonal and diurnal frequency, and regional variations of such properties across the continent.Comment: Revision 1 of manuscript submitted to Monthly Weather Revie

Data-driven gating (DDG)-based motion match for improved CTAC registration

Background: Respiratory motion artefacts are a pitfall in thoracic PET/CT imaging. A source of these motion artefacts within PET images is the CT used for attenuation correction of the images. The arbitrary respiratory phase in which the helical CT (CThelical) is acquired often causes misregistration between PET and CT images, leading to inaccurate attenuation correction of the PET image. As a result, errors in tumour delineation or lesion uptake values can occur. To minimise the effect of motion in PET/CT imaging, a data-driven gating (DDG)-based motion match (MM) algorithm has been developed that estimates the phase of the CThelical, and subsequently warps this CT to a given phase of the respiratory cycle, allowing it to be phase-matched to the PET. A set of data was used which had four-dimensional CT (4DCT) acquired alongside PET/CT. The 4DCT allowed ground truth CT phases to be generated and compared to the algorithm-generated motion match CT (MMCT). Measurements of liver and lesion margin positions were taken across CT images to determine any differences and establish how well the algorithm performed concerning warping the CThelicalto a given phase (end-of-expiration, EE). Results: Whilst there was a minor significance in the liver measurement between the 4DCT and MMCT (p=0.045), no significant differences were found between the 4DCT or MMCT for lesion measurements (p=1.0). In all instances, the CThelicalwas found to be significantly different from the 4DCT (p<0.001). Consequently, the 4DCT and MMCT can be considered equivalent with respect to warped CT generation, showing the DDG-based MM algorithm to be successful. Conclusion: The MM algorithm successfully enables the phase-matching of a CThelicalto the EE of a ground truth 4DCT. This would reduce the motion artefacts caused by PET/CT registration without requiring additional patient dose (required for a 4DCT)

Chesapeake Bay Fish–Osprey (\u3ci\u3ePandion Haliaetus\u3c/i\u3e) Food Chain: Evaluation Of Contaminant Exposure And Genetic Damage

From 2011 to 2013, a large-scale ecotoxicological study was conducted in several Chesapeake Bay (USA) tributaries (Susquehanna River and flats, the Back, Baltimore Harbor/Patapsco Rivers, Anacostia/ middle Potomac, Elizabeth and James Rivers) and Poplar Island as a mid-Bay reference site. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) diet and the transfer of contaminants from fish to osprey eggs were evaluated. The most bioaccumulative compounds (biomagnification factor\u3e5) included p,p’-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), total polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and bromodiphenyl ether (BDE) congeners 47, 99, 100, and 154. This analysis suggested that alternative brominated flame retardants and other compounds (methoxytriclosan) are not appreciably biomagnifying. A multivariate analysis of similarity indicated that major differences in patterns among study sites were driven by PCB congeners 105, 128, 156, 170/190, and 189, and PBDE congeners 99 and 209. An integrative redundancy analysis showed that osprey eggs from Baltimore Harbor/Patapsco River and the Elizabeth River had high residues of PCBs and p,p’-DDE, with PBDEs making a substantial contribution to overall halogenated contamination on the Susquehanna and Anacostia/middle Potomac Rivers. The redundancy analysis also suggested a potential relation between PBDE residues in osprey eggs and oxidative DNA damage in nestling blood samples. The results also indicate that there is no longer a discernible relation between halogenated contaminants in osprey eggs and their reproductive success in Chesapeake Bay. Osprey populations are thriving in much of the Chesapeake, with productivity rates exceeding those required to sustain a stable population

New ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs from the European lower cretaceous demonstrate extensive ichthyosaur survival across the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary

Background Ichthyosauria is a diverse clade of marine amniotes that spanned most of the Mesozoic. Until recently, most authors interpreted the fossil record as showing that three major extinction events affected this group during its history: one during the latest Triassic, one at the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary (JCB), and one (resulting in total extinction) at the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary. The JCB was believed to eradicate most of the peculiar morphotypes found in the Late Jurassic, in favor of apparently less specialized forms in the Cretaceous. However, the record of ichthyosaurs from the Berriasian–Barremian interval is extremely limited, and the effects of the end-Jurassic extinction event on ichthyosaurs remains poorly understood. Methodology/Principal Findings Based on new material from the Hauterivian of England and Germany and on abundant material from the Cambridge Greensand Formation, we name a new ophthalmosaurid, Acamptonectes densus gen. et sp. nov. This taxon shares numerous features with Ophthalmosaurus, a genus now restricted to the Callovian–Berriasian interval. Our phylogenetic analysis indicates that Ophthalmosauridae diverged early in its history into two markedly distinct clades, Ophthalmosaurinae and Platypterygiinae, both of which cross the JCB and persist to the late Albian at least. To evaluate the effect of the JCB extinction event on ichthyosaurs, we calculated cladogenesis, extinction, and survival rates for each stage of the Oxfordian–Barremian interval, under different scenarios. The extinction rate during the JCB never surpasses the background extinction rate for the Oxfordian–Barremian interval and the JCB records one of the highest survival rates of the interval. Conclusions/Significance There is currently no evidence that ichthyosaurs were affected by the JCB extinction event, in contrast to many other marine groups. Ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs remained diverse from their rapid radiation in the Middle Jurassic to their total extinction at the beginning of the Late Cretaceous

A Salmonid EST Genomic Study: Genes, Duplications, Phylogeny and Microarrays

Background: Salmonids are of interest because of their relatively recent genome duplication, and their extensive usein wild fisheries and aquaculture. A comprehensive gene list and a comparison of genes in some of the different speciesprovide valuable genomic information for one of the most widely studied groups of fish.Results: 298,304 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from Atlantic salmon (69% of the total), 11,664 chinook, 10,813sockeye, 10,051 brook trout, 10,975 grayling, 8,630 lake whitefish, and 3,624 northern pike ESTs were obtained in thisstudy and have been deposited into the public databases. Contigs were built and putative full-length Atlantic salmonclones have been identified. A database containing ESTs, assemblies, consensus sequences, open reading frames, genepredictions and putative annotation is available. The overall similarity between Atlantic salmon ESTs and those of rainbowtrout, chinook, sockeye, brook trout, grayling, lake whitefish, northern pike and rainbow smelt is 93.4, 94.2, 94.6, 94.4,92.5, 91.7, 89.6, and 86.2% respectively. An analysis of 78 transcript sets show Salmo as a sister group to Oncorhynchusand Salvelinus within Salmoninae, and Thymallinae as a sister group to Salmoninae and Coregoninae within Salmonidae.Extensive gene duplication is consistent with a genome duplication in the common ancestor of salmonids. Using all of theavailable EST data, a new expanded salmonid cDNA microarray of 32,000 features was created. Cross-specieshybridizations to this cDNA microarray indicate that this resource will be useful for studies of all 68 salmonid species.Conclusion: An extensive collection and analysis of salmonid RNA putative transcripts indicate that Pacific salmon,Atlantic salmon and charr are 94–96% similar while the more distant whitefish, grayling, pike and smelt are 93, 92, 89 and86% similar to salmon. The salmonid transcriptome reveals a complex history of gene duplication that is consistent withan ancestral salmonid genome duplication hypothesis. Genome resources, including a new 32 K microarray, providevaluable new tools to study salmonids

Purification and functional characterisation of rhiminopeptidase A, a novel aminopeptidase from the venom of Bitis gabonica rhinoceros

This study describes the discovery and characterisation of a novel aminopeptidase A from the venom of B. g. rhinoceros and highlights its potential biological importance. Similar to mammalian aminopeptidases, rhiminopeptidase A might be capable of playing roles in altering the blood pressure and brain function of victims. Furthermore, it could have additional effects on the biological functions of other host proteins by cleaving their N-terminal amino acids. This study points towards the importance of complete analysis of individual components of snake venom in order to develop effective therapies for snake bites

Chesapeake Bay Fish–Osprey (\u3ci\u3ePandion Haliaetus\u3c/i\u3e) Food Chain: Evaluation Of Contaminant Exposure And Genetic Damage

From 2011 to 2013, a large-scale ecotoxicological study was conducted in several Chesapeake Bay (USA) tributaries (Susquehanna River and flats, the Back, Baltimore Harbor/Patapsco Rivers, Anacostia/ middle Potomac, Elizabeth and James Rivers) and Poplar Island as a mid-Bay reference site. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) diet and the transfer of contaminants from fish to osprey eggs were evaluated. The most bioaccumulative compounds (biomagnification factor\u3e5) included p,p’-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), total polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and bromodiphenyl ether (BDE) congeners 47, 99, 100, and 154. This analysis suggested that alternative brominated flame retardants and other compounds (methoxytriclosan) are not appreciably biomagnifying. A multivariate analysis of similarity indicated that major differences in patterns among study sites were driven by PCB congeners 105, 128, 156, 170/190, and 189, and PBDE congeners 99 and 209. An integrative redundancy analysis showed that osprey eggs from Baltimore Harbor/Patapsco River and the Elizabeth River had high residues of PCBs and p,p’-DDE, with PBDEs making a substantial contribution to overall halogenated contamination on the Susquehanna and Anacostia/middle Potomac Rivers. The redundancy analysis also suggested a potential relation between PBDE residues in osprey eggs and oxidative DNA damage in nestling blood samples. The results also indicate that there is no longer a discernible relation between halogenated contaminants in osprey eggs and their reproductive success in Chesapeake Bay. Osprey populations are thriving in much of the Chesapeake, with productivity rates exceeding those required to sustain a stable population

De novo mutations in SMCHD1 cause Bosma arhinia microphthalmia syndrome and abrogate nasal development

Bosma arhinia microphthalmia syndrome (BAMS) is an extremely rare and striking condition characterized by complete absence of the nose with or without ocular defects. We report here that missense mutations in the epigenetic regulator SMCHD1 mapping to the extended ATPase domain of the encoded protein cause BAMS in all 14 cases studied. All mutations were de novo where parental DNA was available. Biochemical tests and in vivo assays in Xenopus laevis embryos suggest that these mutations may behave as gain-of-function alleles. This finding is in contrast to the loss-of-function mutations in SMCHD1 that have been associated with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) type 2. Our results establish SMCHD1 as a key player in nasal development and provide biochemical insight into its enzymatic function that may be exploited for development of therapeutics for FSHD