Recall of Descriptive Information: The Roles of Presentation Format, Annotation Strategy, and Individual Differences

The benefits of using a comprehensive annotation strategy (employing underlining/circling, making connections, asking questions, and making comments) with knowledge maps (spatial/verbal arrays) and traditional, linear text to improve free recall scores for learners with individual differences in vocabulary and comprehension ability were examined. Types and frequencies of annotations generated were also examined for each stimulus format condition. Multiple regression analyses indicate that the frequency of use of two component annotation strategies, asking questions and making connections, were significant predictors of recall scores, while frequency of underlining/circling and generating elaborations failed to predict recall scores. Text users generated more underlining/circling, while knowledge map users generated more connections between ideas, suggesting that knowledge maps may facilitate the application of more productive annotation strategies. Also examined were the interrelationships between vocabulary ability, comprehension ability, and free recall scores. Copyright 1997Academic Press     

Egg Thiamine Status of Lake Ontario Salmonines 1995–2004 with Emphasis on Lake Trout

Alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus), the major prey fish for Lake Ontario, contain thiaminase. They are associated with development of a thiamine deficiency in salmonines which greatly increases the potential for developing an early mortality syndrome (EMS). To assess the possible effects of thiamine deficiency on salmonine reproduction we measured egg thiamine concentrations for five species of Lake Ontario salmonines. From this we estimated the proportion of families susceptible to EMS based on whether they were below the ED20, the egg thiamine concentration associated with 20% mortality due to EMS. The ED20s were 1.52, 2.63, and 2.99 nmol/g egg for Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), and coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), respectively. Based on the proportion of fish having egg thiamine concentrations falling below the ED20, the risk of developing EMS in Lake Ontario was highest for lake trout, followed by coho (O. kisutch), and Chinook salmon, with the least risk for rainbow trout (O. mykiss). For lake trout from western Lake Ontario, mean egg thiamine concentration showed significant annual variability during 1994 to 2003, when the proportion of lake trout at risk of developing EMS based on ED20 ranged between 77 and 100%. Variation in the annual mean egg thiamine concentration for western Lake Ontario lake trout was positively related (p < 0.001, r² = 0.94) with indices of annual adult alewife biomass. While suggesting the possible involvement of density-dependent changes in alewives, the changes are small relative to egg thiamine concentrations when alewife are not part of the diet and are of insufficient magnitude to allow for natural reproduction by lake trout.     

Myoblast-mediated gene transfer to the joint

Several genetic and acquired pathologic conditions of the musculoskeletal system, such as arthritis and damage to ligament, cartilage, and meniscus, may be amenable to gene therapy. Even though ex vivo gene transfer with synovial cells has been shown to deliver genes encoding for anti-arthritic proteins into the rabbit knee joint, its success has been limited by a transient transgene expression. In this study, data were investigated regarding the use of muscle cells as an alternative gene-delivery vehicle to the joint in newborn rabbit and adult severe combined immunodeficiency mice. We demonstrated that myoblasts were transduced more efficiently than synovial cells with use of the same adenoviral preparation in vitro. After intra-articular injection, the engineered muscle cells adhered to several structures in the joint, including the ligament, capsule, and synovium. In addition, myoblasts fused to form many post-mitotic myotubes and myofibers at different locations of the joint of the newborn rabbit 5 days after the injection. In the knee of the adult mouse, myoblasts fused and expressed the reporter gene for at least 35 days after the injection. The presence of post-mitotic myofibers in the knee joint raises the possibility of long-term expression of the secreted protein. Currently, numerous tissues in the joint (ligament, meniscus, and cartilage) have poor intrinsic healing capacity and frequently need surgical corrections. A stable gene-delivery vehicle to the joint producing proteins that ameliorate these different musculoskeletal conditions may change the clinical implications of these pathologies.     

精品须知

我的工作真悠闲；我只需坐在那里，微笑着看人们把一台台计算机拿来，我可以玩一整天，然后他们还付我报酬。噢，当然，我也不能光高兴，也得写些东西，或者把其他人写的东西看看，编辑一下；也可能要对某个新出现的软件包硬件概念费心琢磨一番，但比四处奔波谋生强多了。在最近从我桌面上通过的无究无尽产品中，确实有一些吸引了我的注意力。     

Viscoelastic behavior of flexible slabstock polyurethane foam as a function of temperature and relative humidity. II. Compressive creep behavior

The compression creep behavior was monitored at constant temperature and/or relative humidity for two slabstock foams with different hard-segment content. The tests were performed by applying a constant load (free falling weight) and then monitoring the strain as a function of time over a 3-h time period. A near linear relationship is obtained for linear strain versus log time after a short induction period for both foams and at most conditions studied (except at temperatures near and above 125°C). The slope of this relationship or the initial creep rate is dependent on the initial strain level, espcially in the range of 10–60% deformation. This dependence is believed to be related to the cellular structs buckling within this range of strain. At deformations greater than 60% and less than 10%, the solid portion of the foam is thought to control the compressive creep behavior in contrast to the cellular texture. Increasing relative humidity does cause a greater amount of creep to occur and is believed to be a result of water acting as a plasticizer. For low humidities increasing the temperature from 30 to 85°C, a decrease in the rate of creep is observed at a 65% initial deformation. At 125°C, an increase in the creep rate is seen and is believed to be related to chemical as well as additional structural changes taking place in the solid portion of the foams. The creep rate is higher for the higher hard-segment foam (34 wt %) than that of the lower (21 wt %) at all of the conditions studied and for the same initial deformation level. This difference is principally attributed to the greater amount of hydrogen bonds available for disruption in the higher hard-segment foam. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Group staffing levels and responses to prospective and new group members.

A group's staffing level can play an important role in its socialization practices. For example, a group that is understaffed should be more open than an overstaffed group to both prospective and new members. To test this prediction, the leaders of nearly 100 student groups on a college campus were interviewed. These interviews yielded qualitative and quantitative data about the staffing levels in the groups and the methods that they used for recruiting prospective members and assimilating new ones. Analyses of the qualitative data clarified issues such as when understaffing and overstaffing are likely to occur, what kinds of problems they produce in groups, and how groups try to solve those problems. Analyses of the quantitative data revealed that our prediction was correct: As their staffing levels decrease, most groups become more open to prospective and new members. Implications of the results are discussed, and some suggestions for future research are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Steps to a successful creation of a corporate threat management plan

One of the problems of computer security is deciding on how much security is necessary for proper control of system and network assets. This gets down to the concept of threat assessment or, more specifically, what do you have and who would want it? While it sounds relatively simple to state, it's not that easy to assess corporate network threats unless you approach things in a structured manner. In this article, the basics of threat assessment are discussed with some thought placed on how to identify who wants to take what you have or hurt you in some way.