Kids in the City: Children's Use and Experiences of Urban Neighbourhoods in Auckland,New Zealand

Cities are largely designed for adults and cars, not children. Auckland City's new ‘children first’ approach signals a shift in policy focus to consider the needs of children. The authors' ‘Kids in the City’ research is helping inform this approach by providing policy-relevant information about children's use and experiences of nine Auckland neighbourhoods, suburban and inner-city, using trip diaries, child-led walk-along interviews and discussion groups. The children were neighbourhood key informants and co-producers of knowledge who reported on their environments, discussed what they liked and disliked, their safety concerns and their limited mobility, and made suggestions for more ‘child-friendly’ neighbourhoods.     

Screening and HPLC methods for carotenoids in sweetpotato, cassava and maize for plant breeding trials

Analytical methods for sweetpotato, cassava and maize were developed. In orange and salmon-fleshed sweetpotatoes, (all-E)-β-carotene predominated and results of spectrophotometric screening and HPLC quantification did not differ significantly. In yellow-fleshed sweetpotato and cassava, however, spectrophotometric screening overestimated the HPLC values because of the presence of several minor carotenoids. Aside from (all-E)-β-carotene, Z-isomers were present in cassava in appreciable amounts. For both crops, extraction with acetone or tetrahydrofuran:methanol (1:1), using a mortar and pestle or a Polytron homogenizer, gave equivalent results. Rehydration of dry maize at room temperature for 30 min or at 85 °C for 5, 10 or 15 min gave equivalent results. Concentrations obtained with the C18 and C30 columns did not differ significantly for zeaxanthin, lutein, β-cryptoxanthin and β-carotene in the all-E-configuration, but their Z-isomers were difficult to locate in the chromatogram obtained with the C30 column. Extraction with tetrahydrofuran:methanol (1:1) gave significantly lower results for zeaxanthin and lutein.     

Induced Chiral Chromonics Confined in Micrometric Droplets

Chirality emergence in biological systems is common but the chiral expression from the molecular to macroscopic level in water-based systems is poorly understood. Among water-based systems, chromonic liquid crystals have recently received a lot of attention due to the spontaneous chirality they show when confined in curved geometries. Confinement of chiral-induced chromonics is not trivial since they are three component systems whose time stability is a delicate thermodynamic balance. In this work, a well-defined periodic Frank–Pryce texture, typical of chiral thermotropic liquid crystals, is observed in microspheres of a chiral induced chromonic embedded in a poly(dimethylsiloxane) matrix. This texture slowly degrades in time and a possible mechanism behind the degradation process is suggested via X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy measurements on thin chromonic films. To stabilize this texture and to control the structure periodicity, cations are added to the three components system in an attempt to tune the non-covalent interactions between molecules and supramolecular stacks. The study of the effects of this addition allows for better insight into the molecular interactions that occur in the chiral induced mesophase. This is a crucial point in view of possible biocompatible technological applications.     

Gender differences in autobiographical memory for childhood emotional experiences.

Research to date has paid remarkably little heed to gender differences in autobiographical memory. To redress this, the author examined memory for childhood events in adult men and women remembering back to childhood, and in children themselves. Five studies were conducted, and results revealed that females consistently recalled more childhood memories than males did and were generally faster in accessing the memories recalled. Furthermore, the gender difference observed was specific to memories of events associated with emotion and was apparent across a diverse range of emotions experienced by both the self and others. The overall pattern of findings obtained is consistent with the proposition that gender-differentiated socialization processes influence the content and complexity of representations of autobiographical emotional events in memory. To some extent, then, autobiographical memory appears to be a socially constructed phenomenon. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Computer-assisted questionnaires may facilitate collection of quality-of-life (QOL) data: At a cost

Quality-of-life (QOL) measurement is becoming increasingly important in oncology clinics. QOL questionnaires were mostly designed for use in clinical trials, and therefore focus on group measurement, inevitably omitting some details or domains that may be relevant to the individual patient. Computers can assist in the delivery of QOL questionnaires by presenting questions and by modifying subsequent questions. This study attempted to evaluate the use of computer-assisted (CA-) questionnaires for collection of QOL data from oncology patients. A total of 88 patients completed a standard questionnaire, the EORTC QLQ-C30, and a computer-assisted version of the standard questionnaire on the same day. Both questionnaires were presented on a portable touchscreen computer. The CA-questionnaire allowed patients to pre-select domains from the standard questionnaire, and omit those which patients felt were irrelevant. Responses from both questionnaires were recorded, as well as exact and global agreement and time taken to complete the questionnaires. Although the time taken on CA-questionnaire was almost half that on the standard questionnaire, the levels of overall and exact agreement were relatively low. In general, patients reported lower levels of functioning and higher levels of symptoms on the standard questionnaire than CA-questionnaire. Computer-assisted questionnaires may provide a brief snapshot of patients’ QOL, however, some accuracy may be lost.     

Laser Diagnostics of Combustion Processes: From Chemical Dynamics to Technical Devices

Laser-based in situ diagnostic techniques with high temporal, spectral, and spatial resolution have become valuable tools to study the molecular dynamics of gas-phase and heterogeneous reactions as well as complex technical combustion processes. Results of recent experiments will be presented in which laser-induced fluorescence, sum-frequency generation surface vibrational spectroscopy, Rayleigh scattering, excimer laser-induced fragmentation fluorescence, and high-resolution tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy were applied to investigate elementary chemical gas-phase and catalytic combustion reactions, internal combustion engine processes, as well as coal combustion and waste incineration.     

Maladaptive development of school-aged, physically abused children: Relationships with the child-rearing context.

Examined the development of school-aged, physically abused children and the relationship of this development to the childrearing beliefs and practices of the abusive parents. The sample consisted of 29 physically abused children (aged 4–11 yrs) and their parents and a comparison group of 29 families matched on age, race, and gender of the child and family SES. A multimethod approach including interviews, standardized tests, Q sorts, parent record-keeping, and structured observation was used to assess the cognitive, social, and physical competence and behavior problems of the children and the childrearing context of the homes. The abused children had poorer cognitive maturity, interpersonal problem-solving skills, and social competence and many more behavior problems than the comparison children. In some instances, aspects of the childrearing context were stronger predictors of the children's development than was abuse group membership. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High-throughput double quantitative competitive polymerase chain reaction for determination of genetically modified organisms

Quantitative competitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR), especially the double competitive PCR methods (DC-PCR), have evolved as reliable approaches to quantification of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in food. However, DC-PCR is a low-throughput method because it requires titration of each sample with various amounts of a competitive internal standard, a protocol that involves several PCRs per sample followed by electrophoresis and densitometry. To address this drawback, we have developed a new method for GMO quantification, namely, a high-throughput double quantitative competitive PCR (HT-DCPCR). In HT-DCPCR, electrophoresis and densitometry are replaced by a rapid, microtiter well-based bioluminometric hybridization assay and there is no need for titration of each sample. The determination of GM soya was chosen as a model. We have constructed internal standards (DNA competitors) both for the 35S promoter sequence and for a plant-specific reference gene (lectin). The competitors have identical size and share the same primer binding sites with the target sequences but differ in a 24-bp internal segment. Each target sequence (35S and lectin) is coamplified with a constant amount (1000 copies) of the respective competitor. The four amplified fragments are hybridized with specific probes and captured on a universal solid phase to achieve simplicity and high throughput. The hybrids are determined by using streptavidin conjugated to the photoprotein aequorin. The ratio of the luminescence values obtained for the target and the competitor is linearly related to the starting amount of target DNA. The limit of quantification for the 35S promoter is 24 copies. The proposed method was evaluated by determining the GMO content of soybean powder certified reference materials. Also HT-DCPCR was compared to real-time PCR in a variety of real samples.     

Individual characteristics and children's learning in large-group and small-group approaches.

Investigated aptitude–treatment interactions (ATI) in 100 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-grade students learning in large-group and small-group teaching approaches. Each of 2 elementary teachers taught a 2-wk fractions unit to 2 classes of randomly assigned Ss. Each class received only 1 approach. Students completed aptitude measures (Raven Progressive Matrices and Sequential Test of Educational Progress, Series II) at the beginning of the study and achievement, attitude, and retention measures (including the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire, the Math Anxiety Scale, and a test of attitudes towards math) at the end. Regression analyses showed significant ATI for preference for approach and for ability. Students who initially preferred small groups actually did worse in that approach than in the large-group approach. High-ability Ss and low-ability Ss did better and had more positive attitudes in the small-group and large-group approaches, respectively. High-ability Ss benefited by "teaching" their peers in the small group. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)