Teaching critical reading in the study skills

It is the author\u27s purpose to review literature on critical reading and apply this knowledge to develop methods or devise techniques which will benefit children experiencing difficulty in mastering the skills program

Quantification of Pulmonary Arterial Wall Distensibility Using Parameters Extracted from Volumetric Micro-CT Images

Stiffening, or loss of distensibility, of arterial vessel walls is among the manifestations of a number of vascular diseases including pulmonary arterial hypertension. We are attempting to quantify the mechanical properties of vessel walls of the pulmonary arterial tree using parameters derived from high-resolution volumetric x-ray CT images of rat lungs. The pulmonary arterial trees of the excised lungs are filled with a contrast agent. The lungs are imaged with arterial pressures spanning the physiological range. Vessel segment diameters are measured from the inlet to the periphery, and distensibilities calculated from diameters as a function of pressure. The method shows promise as an adjunct to other morphometric techniques such as histology and corrosion casting. It possesses the advantages of being nondestructive, characterizing the vascular structures while the lungs are imaged rapidly and in a near-physiological state, and providing the ability to associate mechanical properties with vessel location in the intact tree hierarchy

Some anatomical and morphometric observations in the transverse foramina of the atlas among Kenyans

The transverse foramen, which transmits the vertebral vessels, is the result of special formation of the cervical transverse processes. It is formed by a vestigial costal element fused to the body of the originally true transverse process of the vertebra. In the atlas, where the vertebral artery exits the transverse foramen to enter the cranium, many bony variations have been described, and some are attributable to tortuosity of the vessel, as well as stress forces on the neck. The transverse foramen of the atlas has not been studied in terms of shape, morphometry, presence or absence and bilateral differences. This may shed light on the side differences in neck and vertebra-basilar pathology. A hundred and two atlases obtained from the Osteology Department of National Museums of Kenya were observed for presence, shape and variations of the transverse foramen. Accessory transverse foramina were noted, as well as missing foramina. Anteroposterior and mediolateral diameters of the foramina were taken and the area calculated. Out of the 102 vertebra studied (204 foramina transversaria), 8 incomplete foramina were observed, 6 on the right side and 2 bilateral. There were 4 double transverse foramina observed, 1 on the left and 3 on the right side. All atlases had foramina transversaria. The foramina categorized into types 1 to 5 using a recognized criterion. On the right side, type 4 was predominant (40.2%), while on the left, types 2 and 5 were predominant (39.2% each). Morphometrically, the right and left transverse foramina had mean cross-sectional area of 36.30mm2 and 37.20mm2 respectively. The presence of variations in the foramen transversaria is predominant on the right side. Further, the right foramina have a smaller cross-sectional area. These should be taken into account during posterior cervical approaches, as well as during evaluation of cervicogenic syndromes.Keywords: Atlas vertebrae, transverse foramina, morphometr

Effects of Macroeconomic Factors on Foreign Direct Investment in Kenya

This study examined the effects of macroeconomic factors on foreign direct investment in Kenya (FDI). The study used four macroeconomic variables namely foreign exchange rates, tax rates, inflation rates, interest rates and balance of payment for the period 1970 to 2010. The study used a multiple linear regression analysis with the FDI inflows as the dependent variable and the macroeconomic factors as the independent variables. The study found a positive relationship between FDI and interest rates as well as balance of payments while inflation and tax rate had negative relationship with FDI. The study recommended that the government should promote a stable macroeconomic environment in the country to enhance FDI. Keywords: Interest rate, Inflation rate, Exchange rate, Tax rate, Balance of Payments, Foreign Direct Investment. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-3-0

Micro-CT Image-Derived Metrics Quantify Arterial Wall Distensibility Reduction in a Rat Model of Pulmonary Hypertension

We developed methods to quantify arterial structural and mechanical properties in excised rat lungs and applied them to investigate the distensibility decrease accompanying chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension. Lungs of control and hypertensive (three weeks 11% O2) animals were excised and a contrast agent introduced before micro-CT imaging with a special purpose scanner. For each lung, four 3D image data sets were obtained, each at a different intra-arterial contrast agent pressure. Vessel segment diameters and lengths were measured at all levels in the arterial tree hierarchy, and these data used to generate features sensitive to distensibility changes. Results indicate that measurements obtained from 3D micro-CT images can be used to quantify vessel biomechanical properties in this rat model of pulmonary hypertension and that distensibility is reduced by exposure to chronic hypoxia. Mechanical properties can be assessed in a localized fashion and quantified in a spatially-resolved way or as a single parameter describing the tree as a whole. Micro-CT is a nondestructive way to rapidly assess structural and mechanical properties of arteries in small animal organs maintained in a physiological state. Quantitative features measured by this method may provide valuable insights into the mechanisms causing the elevated pressures in pulmonary hypertension of differing etiologies and should become increasingly valuable tools in the study of complex phenotypes in small-animal models of important diseases such as hypertension

Teachers’ Strategies in Integrating Faith and Learning at Faith-Based Institutions of Higher Education in Asia

Even though the concept of integrating faith and learning in the classroom is not only well-known but highly encouraged in Adventist educational institutions, observation shows that there are teachers who struggle to implement this effectively in their classrooms. One possible reason for the difficulty is the lack of knowledge regarding the various strategies that can be used in this area. As such, this study was conducted to discover practical strategies that teachers used in integrating faith and learning. The findings of this study can be useful to those who may want to know what real-life strategies other teachers used in integrating faith and learning. Purposive sampling was used in this study to ensure that participants would inform the research question. The participants of this study were 14 teachers who taught at four faith-based institutions in Thailand, Myanmar, and Taiwan. The participants’ average length of teaching experience is 11 years. The interview was the main method for generating the data, which were coded. The codes were analyzed through thematic analysis. This study found that participants employed various strategies in integrating faith and learning. The most common ones were illustrative, experiential, and contextual. Conceptual strategies were the least used. Keywords: Faith, Integration, Learning, Faith-based institution of higher education

Pulmonary arterial remodeling revealed by microfocal x-ray tomography

Animal models and micro-CT imaging are useful for understanding the functional consequences of, and identifying the genes involved in, the remodeling of vascular structures that accompanies pulmonary vascular disease. Using a micro-CT scanner to image contrast-enhanced arteries in excised lungs from fawn hooded rats (a strain genetically susceptible to hypoxia induced pulmonary hypertension), we found that portions of the pulmonary arterial tree downstream from a given diameter were morphometrically indistinguishable. This \u27self-consistency\u27 property provided a means for summarizing the pulmonary arterial tree architecture and mechanical properties using a parameter vector obtained from measurements of the contiguous set of vessel segments comprising the longest (principal) pathway and its branches over a range of vascular pressures. This parameter vector was used to characterize the pulmonary vascular remodeling that occurred in rats exposed to a hypoxic (11.5% oxygen) environment and provided the input to a hemodynamic model relating structure to function. The major effect of the remodeling was a longitudinally (pulmonary artery to arterioles) uniform decrease in vessel distensibility that resulted in a 90% increase in arterial resistance. Despite the almost uniform change in vessel distensibility, over 50% of the resistance increase was attributable to vessels with unstressed diameters less than 125 microns

A Measurement Model of Trust in Internet Stores

In this study we theoretically develop and empirically test a measurement model of consumer trust in Internet stores. In particular, we define the notion of trust based on what is commonly agreed on by scholars across disciplines. We treat trust as a second-order construct and measure it using four first-order components: perceived security, privacy, integrity, and transactional accuracy. We conducted controlled experiments using three Internet bookstores and 173 subjects. We applied confirmatory factor analysis to determine the measurement efficacies