Curriculum renewal and achievement assessment via computer management systems in mathematics

This study was conducted with the purpose of determining the feasibility of bridging from the existing and renewed curriculum of a district to the curriculum and assessment materials based on research by the School Improvement Model (SIM) at Iowa State University\u27s College of Education. The research provides a direction and samples of each sequential step needed to incorporate goals and assessment components between the two curriculums. A bridging document was developed for this purpose. The steps included: (1) the assessment of current status of content and curriculum goals for the target subject, fifth and sixth grade mathematics, (2) staff training to provide a foundation for further curriculum and test development, (3) computerization of all curriculum management activities and assessments, (4) identification of strengths and limitations to the software package adopted for future users, (5) test all aspects of the strands, program goals, taxonomy levels, and learner outcomes, (6) documentation of all the activities and their sequence used through the use of a diary and a log of historical events and, (7) assessment of the effectiveness of the model and make suggestions for revisions;The study presents the steps relevant to the goal of: (1) providing a model of procedures for future use to facilitate the movement towards results-based education, as the term relates to the development of skills, concepts, and mastery learning; (2) providing a rubric useful to nation-wide practitioners in implementing those outcomes; and (3) provide an initiative for implementing mastery teaching and learning. The procedures delineated in this study should prove invaluable as a rubric for future practitioners of curriculum driven assessment with the assistance of a computer management system;This study utilized both case study and feasibility methodology

Effects of improved home heating on asthma in community dwelling children: randomised controlled trial

Objective To assess whether non-polluting, more effective home heating (heat pump, wood pellet burner, flued gas) has a positive effect on the health of children with asthma

The Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) Study of Aging: Methodology and Baseline Characteristics of 1112 Individuals Recruited for a Longitudinal Study of Alzheimer\u27s Disease

Background: The Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) flagship study of aging aimed to recruit 1000 individuals aged over 60 to assist with prospective research into Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD). This paper describes the recruitment of the cohort and gives information about the study methodology, baseline demography, diagnoses, medical comorbidities, medication use, and cognitive function of the participants. Methods: Volunteers underwent a screening interview, had comprehensive cognitive testing, gave 80 ml of blood, and completed health and lifestyle questionnaires. One quarter of the sample also underwent amyloid PET brain imaging with Pittsburgh compound B (PiB PET) and MRI brain imaging, and a subgroup of 10% had ActiGraph activity monitoring and body composition scanning. Results: A total of 1166 volunteers were recruited, 54 of whom were excluded from further study due to comorbid disorders which could affect cognition or because of withdrawal of consent. Participants with AD (211) had neuropsychological profiles which were consistent with AD, and were more impaired than participants with mild cognitive impairment (133) or healthy controls (768), who performed within expected norms for age on neuropsychological testing. PiB PET scans were performed on 287 participants, 100 had DEXA scans and 91 participated in ActiGraph monitoring. Conclusion: The participants comprising the AIBL cohort represent a group of highly motivated and well-characterized individuals who represent a unique resource for the study of AD. They will be reassessed at 18-month intervals in order to determine the predictive utility of various biomarkers, cognitive parameters and lifestyle factors as indicators of AD, and as predictors of future cognitive decline

Origin of acidic surface waters and the evolution of atmospheric chemistry on early Mars

Observations from in situ experiments and planetary orbiters have shown that the sedimentary rocks found at Meridiani Planum, Mars were formed in the presence of acidic surface waters. The water was thought to be brought to the surface by groundwater upwelling, and may represent the last vestiges of the widespread occurrence of liquid water on Mars. However, it is unclear why the surface waters were acidic. Here we use geochemical calculations, constrained by chemical and mineralogical data from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, to show that Fe oxidation and the precipitation of oxidized iron (Fe^(3+)) minerals generate excess acid with respect to the amount of base anions available in the rocks present in outcrop. We suggest that subsurface waters of near-neutral pH and rich in Fe^(2+) were rapidly acidified as iron was oxidized on exposure to O_2 or photo-oxidized by ultraviolet radiation at the martian surface. Temporal variation in surface acidity would have been controlled by the availability of liquid water, and as such, low-pH fluids could be a natural consequence of the aridification of the martian surface. Finally, because iron oxidation at Meridiani would have generated large amounts of gaseous H_2, ultimately derived from the reduction of H_2O, we conclude that surface geochemical processes would have affected the redox state of the early martian atmosphere

Non-Invasive In Vivo Imaging of Tumor-Associated CD133/Prominin

detection of cancer stem cells is of great importance. detection of CD133/prominin, a cancer stem cell surface marker for a variety of tumor entities. The CD133-specific monoclonal antibody AC133.1 was used for quantitative fluorescence-based optical imaging of mouse xenograft models based on isogenic pairs of CD133 positive and negative cell lines. A first set consisted of wild-type U251 glioblastoma cells, which do not express CD133, and lentivirally transduced CD133-overexpressing U251 cells. A second set made use of HCT116 colon carcinoma cells, which uniformly express CD133 at levels comparable to primary glioblastoma stem cells, and a CD133-negative HCT116 derivative. Not surprisingly, visualization and quantification of CD133 in overexpressing U251 xenografts was successful; more importantly, however, significant differences were also found in matched HCT116 xenograft pairs, despite the lower CD133 expression levels. The binding of i.v.-injected AC133.1 antibodies to CD133 positive, but not negative, tumor cells isolated from xenografts was confirmed by flow cytometry. imaging of tumor-associated CD133 is feasible and that CD133 antibody-based tumor targeting is efficient. This should facilitate developing clinically applicable cancer stem cell imaging methods and CD133 antibody-based therapeutics

A New Computational Fluid Dynamics Code I: Fyris Alpha

A new hydrodynamics code aimed at astrophysical applications has been developed. The new code and algorithms are presented along with a comprehensive suite of test problems in one, two, and three dimensions. The new code is shown to be robust and accurate, equalling or improving upon a set of comparison codes. Fyris Alpha will be made freely available to the scientific community.Comment: 59 pages, 27 figures For associated code see http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/fyri

Through a Glass, Darkly:The CIA and Oral History

This article broaches the thorny issue of how we may study the history of the CIA by utilizing oral history interviews. This article argues that while oral history interviews impose particular demands upon the researcher, they are particularly pronounced in relation to studying the history of intelligence services. This article, nevertheless, also argues that while intelligence history and oral history each harbour their own epistemological perils and biases, pitfalls which may in fact be pronounced when they are conjoined, the relationship between them may nevertheless be a productive one. Indeed, each field may enrich the other provided we have thought carefully about the linkages between them: this article's point of departure. The first part of this article outlines some of the problems encountered in studying the CIA by relating them to the author's own work. This involved researching the CIA's role in US foreign policy towards Afghanistan since a landmark year in the history of the late Cold War, 1979 (i.e. the year the Soviet Union invaded that country). The second part of this article then considers some of the issues historians must confront when applying oral history to the study of the CIA. To bring this within the sphere of cognition of the reader the author recounts some of his own experiences interviewing CIA officers in and around Washington DC. The third part then looks at some of the contributions oral history in particular can make towards a better understanding of the history of intelligence services and the CIA

Fifteen years of the Australian imaging, biomarkers and lifestyle (AIBL) study: Progress and observations from 2,359 older adults spanning the spectrum from cognitive normality to Alzheimer\u27s disease

Background: The Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) Study commenced in 2006 as a prospective study of 1,112 individuals (768 cognitively normal (CN), 133 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 211 with Alzheimer\u27s disease dementia (AD)) as an \u27Inception cohort\u27 who underwent detailed ssessments every 18 months. Over the past decade, an additional 1247 subjects have been added as an \u27Enrichment cohort\u27 (as of 10 April 2019). Objective: Here we provide an overview of these Inception and Enrichment cohorts of more than 8,500 person-years of investigation. Methods: Participants underwent reassessment every 18 months including comprehensive cognitive testing, neuroimaging (magnetic resonance imaging, MRI; positron emission tomography, PET), biofluid biomarkers and lifestyle evaluations. Results: AIBL has made major contributions to the understanding of the natural history of AD, with cognitive and biological definitions of its three major stages: preclinical, prodromal and clinical. Early deployment of Aβ-amyloid and tau molecular PET imaging and the development of more sensitive and specific blood tests have facilitated the assessment of genetic and environmental factors which affect age at onset and rates of progression. Conclusion: This fifteen-year study provides a large database of highly characterized individuals with longitudinal cognitive, imaging and lifestyle data and biofluid collections, to aid in the development of interventions to delay onset, prevent or treat AD. Harmonization with similar large longitudinal cohort studies is underway to further these aims