A Proposed Program Of Vocational Agriculture In The Dixie Community, Smith County, Texas

A Proposed Program of Vocational Agriculture for the Dixie Community, in smith county, texas. It has been recognized as a truism that present-day problems resulting from advances due to an ever-increasing technology give rise to a greater need for a program that will fit the need of people with different interests, abilities, ages, and financial levels. This need has not always been accompanied by tangible effect toward complete satisfaction of the individual in the educational process. Vocational agricultural teachers today face one of the greatest problems in human endeavor and that is to build a desirable and functional program in his community

Differences of size and shape of active and inactive X-chromosome domains in human amniotic fluid cell nuclei

It is a widely held belief that the inactive X-chromosome (Xi) in female cell nuclei is strongly condensed as compared to the largely decondensed active X-chromosome (Xa). We have reconsidered this problem and painted X-chromosome domains in nuclei of subconfluent, female and male human amniotic fluid cell cultures (46, XX and 46, XY) by chromosomal in situ suppression (CISS) hybridization with biotinylated human X-chromosome specific library DNA. FITC-conjugated avidin was used for probe detection and nuclei were counterstained with propidium iodide (PI). The shape of these nuclei resembling flat ellipsoids or elliptical cylinders makes them suitable for both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) analyses. 2D analyses of Xi- and Xa-domains were performed in 34 female cell nuclei by outlining of the painted domains using a camera lucida. Identification of the sex chromatin body in DAPI-stained nuclei prior to CISS-hybridization was confirmed by its colocalization with one of the two painted X-domains. In 31 of the 34 nuclei the area AXi for the inactive X-domain was smaller than the area AXa for the active domain (mean ratio AXa/AXi = 1.9 ± 0.8 SD, range 1.0-4.3). The signed rank test showed a highly significant (P r(Xi) demonstrating a generally more elongated structure of Xa. For 3D analysis a confocal scanning laser fluorescence microscope (CSLFM) was used. Ten to 20 light optical sections (PI-image, FITC-image) were registered with equal spacings (approx. 0.4 m). A thresholding procedure was applied to determine the PI-labeled nuclear and FITC-labeled X-domain areas in each section. Estimated slice volumes were used to compute total nuclear and X-domain volumes. In a series of 35 female nuclei most domains extended from the top to the bottom nuclear sections. The larger of the two X-chromosome domains comprised (3.7 ± 1.7 S.D.)% of the nuclear volume. A mean ratio of 1.2 ± 0.2 SD (range 1.1-2.3) was found for the volumes of the larger and the smaller X-domains in these female nuclei. In a series of 27 male amniotic fluid cell nuclei the relative X-chromosome domain volume comprised (4.0 ± 2.6 S.D.)%. These findings indicate that differences in the 3D expansion of active and inactive X-chromosome domains are less pronounced than previously thought. A current model suggests that chromosome domains consist of a compact core surrounded by loosely coiled outer chromatin fiber loops. The latter fraction may be considerably larger in Xa- as compared to Xi-domains. We suggest that the interactive outlining procedure used in the 2D analyses included the loosely structured domain periphery more accurately, while the threshold algorithm applied to light optical sections delineated the more compact core of the domains, leading to smaller and more similar volume estimates of Xa and Xi. Present limitations of nuclear and chromosome domain volume measurements using confocal laser scanning microscopy are discussed

Käsittämätöntä kartoittamassa : psykoottisenkaltaisten kokemusten ulottuvuudet ja niiden kliininen hyöty

Psychotic diseases are a great burden to both the affected individuals and society at large. Though psychoses are severe mental disorders, similar phenomena appear outside of the diagnosable disorders as psychotic or psychotic-like experiences (PLEs). The PLEs are on a continuum of liability and symptom expression in the population, from the healthy to the pathological, and the diagnosed disorders constitute the extreme of the distribution, rather than a clearly delineated class. Studying the psychosis continuum offers a way of understanding the underlying causes shared across the entire range. The frequent presence of PLEs before the first psychotic episode also helps in identifying a trajectory towards disease. However, the specific PLEs associated with increased psychosis risk or incipient disease require further elucidation. Though experiences similar to the positive symptoms of psychosis primarily hallucinations and delusions have been nominated as the most predictive of psychosis, these are broad categories that may contain subdivisions of varying levels of shared aetiology with psychotic disease, and varying predictive value. In this thesis, the latent dimensions of self-reported PLEs were explored in one sample of 6,611 adolescents and one sample of 31,822 adults from the general population (Studies I and II), as well as in one sample of 71 and one sample of 731 adolescents in psychiatric care (Studies III and IV). Three different PLE questionnaires were employed in the separate studies: the PROD-screen, the 92-item version of the Prodromal Questionnaire, and the positive items of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences. The clinical significance of the identified dimensions was studied via their associations with general mental health, cognitive performance, and their predictive value with respect to psychiatric hospitalization in general or for psychosis specifically. Overall, the results showed a general PLE structure of positive, negative, and disorganized dimensions similar to that of symptoms in non-affective psychotic disorders. The positive dimension further subdivided into dimensions of persecutory ideation, other delusions, and hallucinations and, in one study, depersonalization experiences. These dimensions were correlated with general psychiatric health, as assessed by lifetime depression and anxiety. In contrast, questionnaire items intended to address hypomanic, grandiose, or magical thinking appeared unrelated to psychiatric health. In a smaller sample of adolescents in psychiatric care, the positive, disorganized, and negative dimensions were not associated with cognitive performance, contrary to expectation. However, in a larger sample, especially functional disorganization, that is, impaired role functioning, was associated with later psychiatric hospitalization in general, while the depersonalization experiences dimension was the best predictor of hospitalization with a diagnosis of psychosis. The identified latent dimensions of psychotic-like experiences demonstrate the structural validity of the PLE questionnaires, while the concurrent clinical correlates and predictive value establish criterion validity. In particular, the finding of the empirically derived depersonalization dimension being specifically predictive of psychosis merits attempts at replication. Modern psychometric methods used in the present thesis improve the utility of PLE related rating scales. In future studies a more fine-grained approach to assessing PLEs is recommended, in order to improve the accuracy of psychosis prediction and our understanding of the psychosis continuum.Psykoottiset häiriöt ovat merkittävää ongelma niin yksilöille kuin yhteiskunnalle. Vaikka psykoosit ovat vakavia mielenterveysongelmia, vastaavia kokemuksia ja oireita ilmenee myös diagnosoitavien häiriöiden ulkopuolella psykoottisina tai psykoottisenkaltaisina kokemuksina. Nämä kokemukset muodostavat väestössä jatkumon, jossa diagnosoidut häiriöt ovat jakauman toinen ääripää pikemminkin kuin selvästi rajattavissa olevan ilmiöluokka. Psykoosijatkumoa tutkimalla voidaan selvittää koko jatkumolle yhteisiä selittäviä tekijöitä. Lisäksi psykoottisenkaltaiset kokemukset edeltävät usein ensimmäistä psykoottista sairastumista, joten niiden tutkiminen auttaa tunnistamaan sairauteen johtavia kehityskaaria. Vielä on kuitenkin epäselvää, mitkä tietyt psykoottisenkaltaiset kokemukset ovat yhteydessä kohonneeseen psykoosiriskiin tai alkavaan sairauteen. Aikaisempien tutkimusten perusteella psykoosien positiivisia oireita eli lähinnä harha-aistimuksia ja harhaluuloja muistuttavat kokemukset ennustavat parhaiten psykoosiin sairastumista. Positiivisten oireiden kaltaiset kokemukset on kuitenkin laaja ilmiöluokka, johon kuuluu useita alaluokkia. Niillä kaikilla ei välttämättä ole yhteyttä psykoottisiin häiriöihin eikä niistä ole hyötyä psykoosiin sairastumisen ennustamisessa. Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkittiin itsearviointikyselyillä psykoottisenkaltaisia kokemuksia ja niiden ulottuvuuksia 6611 nuoren ja 31822 aikuisen aineistoissa (osatutkimukset I ja II) sekä 71 ja 731 psykiatrisessa hoidossa olevan nuoren aineistoissa (osatutkimukset III ja IV). Osatutkimuksissa käytettiin kolmea eri kyselymenetelmää: PROD-screen, Prodromal Questionnaire (92 kysymyksen versio), sekä Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (vain positiiviset oireet). Eri ulottuvuuksien kliinistä merkitystä arvioitiin selvittämällä niiden yhteyttä yleiseen psyykkiseen hyvinvointiin, kognitiiviseen suoriutumiseen sekä myöhempään psykiatriseen sairaalahoitoon psykoosin vuoksi tai yleensä. Kaiken kaikkiaan tulokset osoittivat, että psykoottisenkaltaiset kokemukset käsittävät samat kolme ulottuvuutta kuin ei-affektiivisten psykoosien oireet: positiivinen, negatiivinen ja hajanaisuusulottuvuus. Positiivinen ulottuvuus jakautui edelleen alaluokkiin vainoamis¬ajatukset, muut harhaluulot ja hallusinaatiot sekä yhdessä tutkimuksessa depersonalisaatiokokemukset. Nämä ulottuvuudet olivat yhteydessä masennukseen ja yleistyneeseen ahdistuneisuuteen. Sen sijaan kysymykset, joilla arvioitiin hypomaanista, grandioottista tai maagista ajattelua eivät olleet yhteydessä mielenterveyteen. Vastoin oletuksia psykiatrisessa hoidossa olevien nuorten suppeammassa aineistossa ulottuvuudet positiiviset, negatiiviset tai hajanaiset psykoottisenkaltaiset kokemukset eivät olleet yhteydessä kognitiiviseen suoriutumiseen. Sen sijaan laajemmassa aineistossa varsinkin toiminnallinen hajanaisuus ennusti myöhempää psykiatrista sairaalahoitoa yleensä, kun taas depersonalisaatio¬ulottuvuus oli paras ennustaja kun sairaalahoitoon liittyi psykoosidiagnoosi. Tutkimus tuo esiin, että psykoottisenkaltaisten kokemusten taustalla on useita eri ulottuvuuksia ja käytetyillä kyselylomakkeilla on sekä hyvä rakennevaliditeetti että hyvä kriteerivaliditeetti ennustettaessa myöhempää sairaalahoitoa. Erityisen kiinnostava ja toistotutkimuksen ansaitseva tulos oli uusi löydös, jonka mukaan depersonalisaatioulottuvuus ennustaa psykoosiin sairastumista. Tässä väitöskirjassa käytetyt modernit psykometriset menetelmät parantavat siis kyselylomakkeiden käyttöarvoa kun tutkitaan psykoottisenkaltaisia kokemuksia. Myös tulevissa tutkimuksissa psykoottisenkaltaisia kokemuksia tulisi tarkastella tällaisella hieno-jakoisemmalla lähestymistavalla, jotta saisimme tarkempaa tietoa psykoosijatkumon luonteesta ja psykoosiin sairastumisen ennustamis¬tarkkuus paranisi

Beam Constants by High Speed Computer

Civil Engineerin

Psychotic-like experiences of young adults in the general population predict mental disorders

Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) have been identified as risk markers for psychotic disorders and may indicate an individual's susceptibility to mental disorders in general. We examined whether 23 PLEs (assessed with MCIDI questionnaire) reported in young adulthood (n = 1313) predict subsequent psychotic or any mental disorders in the general population. We also investigated whether these possible associations are explained by general psychological distress assessed with the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). The register follow-up period spanned 10-12 years. In Cox regression models, PLEs predicted subsequent psychotic disorders (n = 12) when the effects of age, sex, education, and marital status were adjusted for, but not when general psychological distress was added to the model. Having any mental disorders during follow-up (n = 91) was predicted by PLEs reported at a younger age, when controlling for age, sex, education, marital status, and general psychological distress. In line with earlier results in other age groups, PLEs can be seen as a sign of vulnerability to not just psychotic but all mental disorders during the following years also among young adults in the general population. PLEs were a predictive marker of general psychopathology independently from general psychological distress.Peer reviewe

THE STUDIO GLASS MOVEMENT: Selections from the Esterling-Wake Collection

Foreword and Acknowledgments -- Jorge Daniel Veneciano Celebrating the Studio Glass Movement -- Sharon Kennedy The Language of Glass: Material, Method, Meaning -- Therman Statom Selections from the Esterling-Wake Collection -- Sharon Kennedy A Conversation with Steve Wake -- Gregory Nosan Checklist of the Exhibition Compiled by Ashley Hussman Selected Bibliography and Notes Contributors Copyright Upon visiting the glass collection housed in the Esterling-Wake home, I began to imagine these remarkable works on display in Sheldon’s Great Hall. I pictured them in translucent splendor, imbibing the natural light that sweeps through the space daily. Few works in our collection can withstand the light from the cathedral-high windows at each end of the museum’s nave. These exceptional objects, however, hold their own against the daylight and harness its energy in the service of their own visual beauty