Factor Analytic Study of Spatial Abilities in Second-Grade, English-Speaking Navajo and Non-Navajo Children

This study was conducted to continue the investigation of apparent differences in cognitive ii abilities between Navajo Indian children and non-Navajo children. Subjects were 248 second-grade students, ranging from 7 to 9 years old. The Navajo sample lived in the Shiprock, New Mexico, area of the Navajo Indian Reservation, and the non-Navajo sample lived on the east side of Salt Lake City, Utah. Data were collected using six tests designed to measure spatial abilities in primary grade children. Results indicated that the non-Navajo children scored significantly higher on two individual tests and on the total test score under timed conditions, with no differences between groups when timing was not a factor. Two factors were identified for both groups. Factor loadings were different between the groups. As the scoring moved from timed to extended time, it changed for the nonNavajo children but remained the same for the Navajo group. Discriminate function analysis indicated a moderate ability to predict group membership using these tests. Gender differences were noted as well, with females scoring significantly lower than males on timed but not on extended time. Some race/gender interactions also were recorded. Suggestions were made that differences may be related to varying strategies used by not only different racial groups but by both genders as well. The within-group variability indicated a need for investigation of individual differences as well as group differences. Suggestions included using a greater number of instruments, an exploration of strategies, and using a examiner familiar to the students

Omeprazole- and Esomeprazole-associated Hypomagnesaemia: Data Mining of the Public Version of the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System

Objective: Case reports showing that proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs), omeprazole and esomeprazole, can cause hypomagnesaemia have been accumulating since 2006. In this study, the reports submitted to the Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were evaluated to assess omeprazole and esomeprazole in terms of susceptibility to hypomagnesaemia

Sicherheitspolitische Herausforderungen der Regierung Obama in Asien

"Mit der Amtseinführung von Barack Obama richtet sich die Aufmerksamkeit in Erwartung eines Wandels in der US-Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik auf die gegenwärtigen Konfliktschauplätze im Nahen Osten. Aber auch im Hinblick auf das vielschichtige transpazifisch-asiatische Beziehungsgefüge sieht sich die neue Regierung in Washington mit sicherheitspolitischen Herausforderungen und veränderten Konstellationen konfrontiert. Dabei weicht ihre Konzentration auf den Pazifik zunehmend einer 'multifokalen' Asienpolitik. Sollten sich die Bemühungen der US-Streitkräfte stärker auf Afghanistan konzentrieren, wird es notwendig werden, die regionalpolitischen Interessen der wichtigsten 'Player' sowohl in Südasien als auch in Zentralasien zu berücksichtigen. Expräsident Bush hinterlässt der neuen Regierung eine eng gefasste Verhandlungsagenda zur nuklearen Abrüstung Nordkoreas. Diese wird sich aber unter Obama vermutlich erweitern und eine enge, aber aufgrund der gegenwärtigen Situation sich schwierig gestaltende bündnispolitische Abstimmung mit Japan und Südkorea erfordern. Durch die Wahl von Ma Ying-jeou zum Präsidenten Taiwans findet die Regierung Obama eine günstige Ausgangssituation vor, um die Beziehungen zu China zu vertiefen." (Autorenreferat

Rational design of DNA sequence-specific zinc fingers

AbstractWe developed a rational scheme for designing DNA binding proteins. The scheme was applied for a zinc finger protein and the designed sequences were experimentally characterized with high DNA sequence specificity. Starting with the backbone of a known finger structure, we initially calculated amino acid sequences compatible with the expected structure and the secondary structures of the designed fingers were then experimentally confirmed. The DNA-binding function was added to the designed finger by reconsidering a section of the amino acid sequence and computationally selecting amino acids to have the lowest protein–DNA interaction energy for the target DNA sequences. Among the designed proteins, one had a gap between the lowest and second lowest protein–DNA interaction energies that was sufficient to give DNA sequence-specificity