PERCEPTIONS OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED AND ORGANIC FOODS AND PROCESSES: NORTH DAKOTA COLLEGE STUDENTS

Perceptions of genetically modified (GM) and organic food among North Dakota college students were elicited and compared. Participants responded to one of two survey instruments containing identical wording except for reference to genetic modification or organic, after reading a primer defining the term used in their instrument. Participants' indicated their level of agreement with statements in the construct areas of health, environment, ethics, regulation, and risk. Responses were compared among survey instruments and to responses to previous surveys of Americans and of shoppers in North Dakota. Organic food was perceived as a healthier and safer choice. Organic practices were perceived to be more environmentally sound. Respondents expressed a level of concern over the unknown effects GM food could have on the environment and society as a whole. However, participants generally felt that genetic modification could be used effectively and valued some of the associated benefits. Reliability assessment revealed that statements within each construct area are reliable and can be used in future surveys.Genetically Modified, Consumer Perceptions, Organic, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Revised Distribution Records of Some Minnesota Fishes

Recent collections of fishes from Minnesota have resulted in the addition of one species, Fundulus sciadicus (Cyprinodontidae), to the state\u27s inland faunal list. Additional information on the distribution of 12 other species (Notropis topeka, Notropis spilooterus, Ictiobus byprinellus, Carpiodes byprinus, Moxostoma valenciennesi, Notorus flavus, Morone chrysops, Lepomis megalotis, Stizostedion canadense, Percina shumardi, Etheostoma caeruleum, and Cottus bairdi) is presented. These new records are the result of field work in the Missouri River, Red River, and Lake Superior drainage systems of Minnesota

Before You Tie the Knot: Mapping Pedagogy, Learning Outcomes, and Effect Size in Premarital Education

Human services educators are continually seeking ways to make instruction more effective and engaging. This study evaluated the AIAI-FTFD (Attention, Interact, Apply, Invite – Fact, Think, Feel, Do) Start-to-Finish Teaching Model for educators in an ongoing premarital educational program to determine the model’s effectiveness in implementing the concept of “teaching as an intervention” in human services educational programming. The AIAI-FTFD Model is designed to first, assist instructors to engage the audience’s attention, then introduce the information being taught with the purpose to facilitate interaction between the instructor and participants, next elicit application of the material to personal contexts, and finally, offer an invitation to participants to commit to practice the skills learned. This implementation science study assessed the targeted cognitive, emotional, and behavioral learning outcomes generated by using the AIAI-FTFD Model while completing the Before You Tie the Knot (BYTK) premarital education program online. A self-reported quantitative evaluation design was utilized to assess key objectives in the sample (n = 97). Clearly evident effect sizes were found in perceived knowledge and confidence gain in the ability to implement the skills covered in the training. Implications for how the AIAI-FTFD Model can facilitate change and learning in educational settings are discussed

A Framework for Risk Analysis of Earth Dams

This purpose of this thesis is to present in a logical and straightforward manner, the types of probabilistic, deterministic and judgment methods which should be part f a risk analysis process for earth dam planning, design, construction and operation. In doing this, an attempt was made to include all of the elements (components of the risk analysis procedure defined herein) which were considered to be important. Descriptions of these elements as well as how they are used to estimate probabilities for the occurrence of each of three failure conditions (i.e. no failure, partial failure, complete failure) are also presented. Explanations are given as to how these failure probabilities can be used in estimating the consequences resulting from the failure of an earth dam. The potential use of the failure probabilities in conjunction with estimated consequences in decision making related to all phases of a dam project as well as land use planning near the dam are discussed. The possibility of performing a care study using the data base of Soldier Creek Dam, a project of the Water and Power Resources Service, is also presented

Soil-less Agriculture at the Wat Pathumwanaram School: Expansion through an Aeroponic Garden and Educational Material

Working in a multinational team with students from a Thai university, we created an aeroponic garden for the Wat Pathumwanaram School\u27s soil-less agriculture program. Further, we created educational material to teach the practices of soil-less agriculture. These two objectives help the school demonstrate the role of soil-less agriculture as a sustainable technology. To develop the aeroponic garden we used engineering design, guiding us to a feasible solution to meet the needs of the school. In developing the curricular materials, we defined goals and outcomes that were matched to practices already used. This ensured that the changes could be seamlessly integrated into daily practice. Overall, we were able to help demonstrate the potential that technology has to meet the needs of a society

A Spatially Robust ICA Algorithm for Multiple fMRI Data Sets

In this paper we derive an independent-component analysis (ICA) method for analyzing two or more data sets simultaneously. Our model extracts independent components common to all data sets and independent data-set-specific components. We use time-delayed autocorrelations to obtain independent signal components and base our algorithm on prediction analysis. We applied this method to functional brain mapping using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results of our 3-subject analysis demonstrate the robustness of the algorithm to the spatial misalignment intrinsic in multiple-subject fMRI data sets. 1

What's Past is Prologue: The Pharmaceutical Syllabus of 1910

Type: Commentar

What's Past is Prologue: The Pharmaceutical Syllabus of 1910

Type: Commentar

Reproducibility of BOLD-based functional MRI obtained at 4

Abstract: The reproducibility of activation patterns in the whole brain obtained by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments at 4 Tesla was studied with a simple finger-opposition task. Six subjects performed three runs in one session, and each run was analyzed separately with the t-test as a univariate method and Fisher's linear discriminant analysis as a multivariate method. Detrending with a first-and third-order polynomial as well as logarithmic transformation as preprocessing steps for the t-test were tested for their impact on reproducibility. Reproducibility across the whole brain was studied by using scatter plots of statistical values and calculating the correlation coefficient between pairs of activation maps. In order to compare reproducibility of ''activated'' voxels across runs, subjects and models, 2% of all voxels in the brain with the highest statistical values were classified as activated. The analysis of reproducible activated voxels was performed for the whole brain and within regions of interest. We found considerable variability in reproducibility across subjects, regions of interest, and analysis methods. The t-test on the linear detrended data yielded better reproducibility than Fisher's linear discriminant analysis, and therefore seems to be a robust although conservative method. Preliminary data indicate that these modeling results may be reversed by preprocessing to reduce respiratory and cardiac physiological noise effects. The reproducibility of both the position and number of activated voxels in the sensorimotor cortex was highest, while that of the supplementary motor area was much lower, with reproducibility of the cerebellum falling in between the other two areas