Zero to Six: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers

Presents the findings of a national study of more than 1,000 parents of children ages six months through six years, conducted from April 11 to June 9, 2003. Includes the impact of TV on reading, and parent's views on the educational value of media

Urban regeneration through transit-oriented development: an initial perspective from the global South

As cities age and change, certain areas begin to physically decay and suffer from the flight of both its residents, as well as socioeconomic activities. The means by which these areas are regenerated remains an issue for many cities, who are unable to reconnect these places with opportunities needed to thrive. In response to this challenge, transit-oriented developments have become a more recent, sustainable form of urban growth that allow people to navigate a city's socioeconomic activities and opportunities through well-established modes of transportation. This has the potential to create cities in which people are able to have a 'live, work, play' lifestyle, supported by various modes of public transportation that also connects them to the broader urban context. The case study method is used to determine the viability of utilising transit-oriented developments as a path for enabling urban regeneration and to examine a space in need of regeneration that is also well-connected to various modes of urban transportation. Bellville Central provides an example of attempts to address urban decay through various efforts of regeneration, with the insights of the users of the space became invaluable resources for the study. The users found that safety, walkability, and transportation were of the utmost importance and should be improved to help regenerate the area, while other data suggested a need for more diverse socioeconomic activities. The results of the study reveal many overlapping principles such as notions of liveability, that, while aimed at different goals, use methods that are often complementary or even identical to each other, thus regenerative interventions should include additional theories (like transit-oriented development) and broader, inclusive impacts

Investigation of the geologic controls on rockfall hazard potential in Tennessee

Rockfall from roadcuts are a major hazard and pose problems for transportation agencies across the country. In the context of rockfall hazard management, however, no consensus exists about the role of geology in assessing rockfall hazard. This study investigates the role of geology through two approaches: (1) Eighty roadcuts in central and eastern Tennessee were evaluated with the geologic character component of the Tennessee Rockfall Hazard Rating System (RHRS), which is a revision of the geologic component of the National Highway Institute (NHI) RHRS. Scores for both RHRS\u27s were compared to evaluate improved reproducibility, accuracy, and sensitivity of scoring for the Tennessee RHRS. (2) Collecting additional geologic attribute data beyond the RHRS system to determine if the geologic attributes correlate to rockfall type, potential abundance, and block size as identified with the RHRS. Logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate potential relationships between geologic attributes and rockfall type, block size, and rockfall mode abundance. Results indicate the revised geologic component of the RHRS is more informative and permits description of a wider spectrum of geologic conditions than the NHI version. Logistic regression analysis indicates rockfall type is predicted by lithologic variation and the number of discontinuity sets; and block size is predicted by structurally controlled rockfall, lithologic variation, mechanical layering thickness, and the number discontinuity sets. Consequently, roadcuts containing potential rockfall modes with two or more discontinuity sets, no lithologic variation, and mechanical thicknesses that exceed 1.0 m are expected to have greater geologic character scores. Additionally, nearly half of all potential rockfall modes are expected to have low block size scores

Effects of Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) vapor inhalation in Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rats.

An inhalation system based on e-cigarette technology produces hypothermic and antinociceptive effects of Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in rats. Indirect comparison of some prior investigations suggested differential impact of inhaled THC between Wistar (WI) and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats; thus, this study was conducted to directly compare the strains across inhaled and injected routes of administration. Groups (N = 8 per strain) of age-matched male SD and WI rats were prepared with radiotelemetry devices to measure temperature and then exposed to vapor from the propylene glycol (PG) vehicle or THC (25-200 mg/mL of PG) for 30 or 40 min. Additional studies evaluated effects of THC inhalation on plasma THC (50-200 mg/mL) and nociception (100-200 mg/mL) as well as the thermoregulatory effect of intraperitoneal injection of THC (5-30 mg/kg). Hypothermic effects of THC were more pronounced in SD rats, where plasma levels of THC were identical across strains, under either fixed inhalation conditions or injection of a mg/kg equivalent dose. Strain differences in hypothermia were largest after i.p. injection of THC, with SD rats exhibiting dose-dependent temperature reduction after 5 or 10 mg/kg, i.p. and the WI rats only exhibiting significant hypothermia after 20 mg/kg, i.p. The antinociceptive effects of inhaled THC (100, 200 mg/mL) did not differ significantly across the strains. These studies confirm an insensitivity of WI rats, compared with SD rats, to hypothermia induced by THC following inhalation conditions that produced identical plasma THC and antinociception. Thus, quantitative, albeit not qualitative, strain differences may be obtained when studying thermoregulatory effects of THC. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Aerobiology of Juniperus Pollen in Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico

Pollen from members of the Cupressaceae are major aeroallergens in many parts of the world. In the south central and southwest United States, Juniperus pollen is the most important member of this family with J. ashei (JA) responsible for severe winter allergy symptoms in Texas and Oklahoma. In New Mexico, pollen from J. monosperma (JM) and other Juniperus species are important contributors to spring allergies, while J. pinchotii (JP) pollinates in the fall affecting sensitive individuals in west Texas, southwest Oklahoma and eastern New Mexico. Throughout this region, JA, JM, and JP occur in dense woodland populations. Generally monitoring for airborne allergens is conducted in urban areas, although the source for tree pollen may be forested areas distant from the sampling sites. Improved pollen forecasts require a better understanding of pollen production at the source. The current study was undertaken to examine the aerobiology of several Juniperus species at their source areas for the development of new pollen forecasting initiatives

Bostonia: The Boston University Alumni Magazine. Volume 33

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

An adaptive genetic algorithm for selection of blood-based biomarkers for prediction of Alzheimer's disease progression

Background: Alzheimer's disease is a multifactorial disorder that may be diagnosed earlier using a combination of tests rather than any single test. Search algorithms and optimization techniques in combination with model evaluation techniques have been used previously to perform the selection of suitable feature sets. Previously we successfully applied GA with LR to neuropsychological data contained within the The Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) study of aging, to select cognitive tests for prediction of progression of AD. This research addresses an Adaptive Genetic Algorithm (AGA) in combination with LR for identifying the best biomarker combination for prediction of the progression to AD. Results: The model has been explored in terms of parameter optimization to predict conversion from healthy stage to AD with high accuracy. Several feature sets were selected - the resulting prediction moddels showed higher area under the ROC values (0.83-0.89). The results has shown consistency with some of the medical research reported in literature. Conclusion: The AGA has proven useful in selecting the best combination of biomarkers for prediction of AD progression. The algorithm presented here is generic and can be extended to other data sets generated in projects that seek to identify combination of biomarkers or other features that are predictive of disease onset or progression

Economic Well-Being and Children's Social Adjustment: The Role of Family Process in an Ethnically Diverse Low-Income Sample

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65861/1/1467-8624.00448.pd

Reappearance of an Embryonic Pattern of Fibronectin Splicing during Wound Healing in the Adult Rat

The adhesive extracellular matrix glycoprotein fibronectin (FN) is thought to play an important role in the cell migration associated with wound healing. Immunolocalization studies show abundant FN in healing wounds; however, these studies cannot define the cellular site(s) of FN synthesis, nor do they distinguish the different and potentially functionally distinct forms of FN that can arise from alternative splicing of the primary gene transcript. To examine these questions of FN synthesis and splicing during wound healing, we have performed in situ hybridization with segment-specific probes on healing wounds in adult rat skin. We find that the FN gene is expressed at increased levels after wounding both in the cells at the base of the wound and in subjacent muscle and dermis lateral to the wound. Interestingly, however, the pattern of splicing of FN mRNA was different in these areas. In adjacent dermis and muscle, the splicing pattern remains identical with that seen in normal adult rat skin, with two of the three spliced segments (EIIIA and EIIIB) excluded from FN mRNA. In contrast, these two segments are included in the FN mRNA present in the cells at the base of the wound. As a result, the mRNA in this region is spliced in a pattern identical with that found during early embryogenesis. The finding that the pattern of FN splicing during wound healing resembles an embryonic pattern suggests that alternative splicing may be used during wound healing as a mechanism to generate forms of FN that may be functionally more appropriate for the cell migration and proliferation associated with tissue repair