The vocational development of a fifth form work exploration class : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Applied Psychology at Massey University

The development of vocational maturity in a fifth form Work Exploration class was compared to that of a similar group of students who did not belong to the Work Exploration class. Vocational maturity was measured by the Crites Vocational Attitude Test, by subjective assessment in an informal interview situation, and by the Vocational Development Questionnaire which was developed specially for this study. After two school terms the results of the Crites Vocational Attitude Test and the interview showed that the experimental group (the Work Exploration Class) had developed significantly more in vocational maturity than had the control group. The Vocational Development Questionnaire did not show the same trend, therefore in its present state it is not a valid measure of vocational maturity

A stochastic approximation scheme with accelerated convergence properties

Stochastic approximation scheme with accelerated convergence propertie

The mRNA expression of hTERT in human breast carcinomas correlates with VEGF expression

Background Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein enzyme that synthesises telomeres after cell division and maintains chromosomal stability leading to cellular immortalisation. hTERT (human telomerase reverse transcriptase) is the rate-limiting determinant of telomerase reactivation. Telomerase has been associated with negative prognostic indicators in some studies. The present study aims to detect any correlation between hTERT and the negative prognostic indicators VEGF and PCNA by quantitatively measuring the mRNA expression of these genes in human breast cancer and in adjacent non-cancerous tissue (ANCT). Materials and methods RNA was extracted from 38 breast carcinomas and 40 ANCT. hTERT and VEGF165, VEGF189 and PCNA mRNA expressions were estimated by reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) and Taqman methodology. Results The level of expression of VEGF-165 and PCNA was significantly higher in carcinoma tissue than ANCT (p = 0.02). The ratio of VEGF165/189 expression was significantly higher in breast carcinoma than ANCT (p = 0.025). hTERT mRNA expression correlated with VEGF-189 mRNA (p = 0.008) and VEGF165 (p = 0.07). Conclusions hTERT mRNA expression is associated with the expression of the VEGF189 and 165 isoforms. This could explain the poorer prognosis reported in breast tumours expressing high levels of hTERT. The relative expression of the VEGF isoforms is significantly different in breast tumour to ANCT, and this may be important in breast carcinogenesis

There is no correlation between c-Myc mRNA expression and telomerase activity in human breast cancer

Background Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein enzyme that synthesises telomeres after cell division and maintains chromosomal length and stability thus leading to cellular immortalisation. The hTERT (human telomerase reverse transcriptase) subunit seems to be the rate-limiting determinant of telomerase and knowledge of factors controlling hTERT transcription may be useful in therapeutic strategies. The hTERT promoter contains binding sites for c-Myc and there is experimental and in vitro evidence that c-Myc may increase hTERT expression. Materials and methods RNA was extracted from 18 breast carcinomas and c-Myc mRNA expression was estimated by quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) with Taqman methodology. These tumours had already been analysed for ER and PgR status using ligand-binding assays and had had their DNA ploidy and S-phase fractions measured by flow cytometry. Telomerase activity had already been determined by using a modified telomeric repeat and amplification protocol (TRAP) assay. Results Telomerase activity ranged from 0 to 246 units of Total Protein Generated (TPG), where one unit of TPG was equal to 600 molecules of telomerase substrate primers extended by at least three telomeric repeats. Median levels of TPG were 60 and mean levels 81. There was no significant correlation between levels of c-Myc mRNA expression, telomerase activity, S phase fraction or PgR. There was a significant negative correlation with ER status. Conclusion Although the hTERT promoter contains potential binding sites for c-Myc oncoprotein, we have found no correlation between c-Myc mRNA levels and telomerase activity

WETLANDS, WILDLIFE, AND WATER QUALITY: TARGETING AND TRADE OFFS

Cost-effective targeting of conservation activities has only recently been addressed by economists. Most work to date has focused on finding the best locations to set aside land for the protection of biodiversity. An economic approach to the problem, where biodiversity reserve networks are delineated to maximize the number of species protected subject to a budget constraint, has been shown to be much more cost-effective than the standard approach, where reserve networks are delineated subject to an area constraint, ignoring differences in costs across sites. This paper is among the first to use spatially explicit models of production functions for ecosystem services in an optimization framework for prioritizing sites for wetlands restoration. Tradeoffs between two classes of environmental benefits from wetlands restoration, habitat, and water quality were assessed in the Central Valley of California. Habitat benefits were estimated by a count regression model that relates breeding mallard abundances to the configuration of land use types in the study area, and water quality benefits were estimated by a spatially distributed model of nonpoint source pollution and nutrient attenuation in wetlands. Two decision scenarios were analyzed. In the first scenario the optimal configuration of restoration activity was determined for a small watershed, and in the second scenario sites were selected from those offered for enrollment in an easement program throughout the valley. The results reveal the potential for gains in effectiveness from spatial targeting, and they suggest that there will be substantial tradeoffs between environmental benefits. Maximizing habitat quality in the small watershed yielded a 34% increase in mallard abundance and a 3% decrease in nitrogen loads to the river. In contrast, maximizing water quality resulted in a 25% decrease in nitrogen loads and a 2% increase in mallard abundance. Qualitatively similar results were obtained when sites were selected from a set of offered sites throughout the valley, but the tradeoffs were not as severe. The results also suggest that at traditional funding levels the Wetlands Reserve Program in California could reduce nitrogen loads to rivers by approximately 29,000 kg and increase total mallard abundance in the breeding season by approximately 150 individuals throughout the Central Valley in a given year.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Is telomerase reactivation associated with the down-regulatoin of TGFβ receptor-II expression in human breast cancer?

Background Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein that synthesizes telomeres and plays an important role in chromosomal stability and cellular immortalisation. Telomerase activity is detectable in most human cancers but not in normal somatic cells. TGF beta (transforming growth factor beta) is a member of a family of cytokines that are essential for cell survival and seems to be down-regulated in human cancer. Recent in vitro work using human breast cancer cell lines has suggested that TGF beta down-regulates the expression of hTERT (human telomerase reverse transcriptase) : the catalytic subunit of telomerase. We have therefore hypothesised that telomerase reactivation is associated with reduced immunohisto-chemical expression of TGF beta type II receptor (RII) in human breast cancer. Methods TGF beta RII immunohistochemical expression was determined in 24 infiltrating breast carcinomas with known telomerase activity (17 telomerase-positive and 7 telomerase-negative). Immunohistochemical expression of TGF beta RII was determined by a breast pathologist who was blinded to telomerase data. Results TGF beta RII was detected in all lesions. The percentage of stained cells ranged from 1–100%. The difference in TGF beta RII expression between telomerase positive and negative tumours was not statistically significant (p = 1.0). Conclusion The results of this pilot study suggest that there is no significant association between telomerase reactivation and TGF-beta RII down-regulation in human breast cancer

Passing crisis and emergency risk communications: the effects of communication channel, information type, and repetition.

Three experiments explore several factors which influence information transmission when warning messages are passed from person to person. In Experiment 1, messages were passed down chains of participants using five different modes of communication. Written communication channels resulted in more accurate message transmission than verbal. In addition, some elements of the message endured further down the chain than others. Experiment 2 largely replicated these effects and also demonstrated that simple repetition of a message eliminated differences between written and spoken communication. In a final field experiment, chains of participants passed information however they wanted to, with the proviso that half of the chains could not use telephones. Here, the lack of ability to use a telephone did not affect accuracy, but did slow down the speed of transmission from the recipient of the message to the last person in the chain. Implications of the findings for crisis and emergency risk communication are discussed

Two conversational languages for control theoretical computations in the time sharing mode

Two conversational languages for control theory applications on direct-access time sharing compute

Detection of changes in the characteristics of a Gauss-Markov process

Sequential detection of changes in Gauss-Markov process achieved through probability ratio tes

HAL/S programmer's guide

HAL/S is a programming language developed to satisfy the flight software requirements for the space shuttle program. The user's guide explains pertinent language operating procedures and described the various HAL/S facilities for manipulating integer, scalar, vector, and matrix data types