Assessing terrestrial wildlife populations in the Toronto and Region Area of Concern

Beneficial use impairments (BUIs) under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement identify environmental issues requiring remedial action within the Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs). We conducted this study to support the assessment of the wildlife component of BUI 3: degradation of fish and wildlife populations. We compared bird and amphibian (frogs and toads) data from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s Terrestrial Long-term Monitoring Program in the Toronto and Region AOC to an adjacent, but otherwise similar, reference watershed, Duffins Creek. Twelve of 13 targets were met within the AOC for forest bird, wetland bird, meadow bird and amphibian populations based on averages of mean annual values at sites within the AOC that were within two standard deviations of averages at sites in the Duffins Creek reference watershed between 2008 and 2017. Even though wildlife populations within the AOC were within the normal range of variability expected from a reference watershed, they were often at lower levels than within the Duffins Creek reference watershed. In addition, forest bird and amphibian populations were negatively affected by urbanization within the AOC and meadow bird indices declined. We conclude that while wildlife populations within the AOC currently meet targets for BUI 3, they continue to be negatively impacted by numerous stressors that are primarily related to past and ongoing urbanization. Thus, continued restoration of wildlife habitat and protection of existing habitat within the AOC is highly recommended.     

An examination of exposure control and content balancing restrictions on item selection in CATs using the partial credit model

The purpose of the present investigation was to systematically examine the effectiveness of the Sympson-Hetter technique and rotated content balancing relative to no exposure control and no content rotation conditions in a computerized adaptive testing system (CAT) based on the partial credit model. A series of simulated fixed and variable length CATs were run using two data sets generated to multiple content areas for three sizes of item pools. The 2 (exposure control) X 2 (content rotation) X 2 (test length) X 3 (item pool size) X 2 (data sets) yielded a total of 48 conditions. Results show that while both procedures can be used with no deleterious effect on measurement precision, the gains in exposure control, pool utilization, and item overlap appear quite modest. Difficulties involved with setting the exposure control parameters in small item pools make questionable the utility of the Sympson-Hetter technique with similar item pools.     

Contrasting cognitive deficits in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder versus reading disability.

Compared 2 common and sometimes comorbid developmental disorders, reading disability (RD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in 2 cognitive domains, phonological processes (PPs) and executive functions (EFs). Ss were 70 boys of early school age, studied by means of a 2 (RD vs no RD)?×?2 (ADHD vs no ADHD)?×?2 (domain type) mixed-model design. The 2 RD groups (RD-only and RD plus ADHD) were significantly impaired compared with both the control and ADHD-only groups on a PP composite score but performed normally on the EF composite score. The ADHD-only group had an opposite profile and was significantly different from both RD groups and from controls on the EF composite score. Thus, there was a double-dissociation between the RD-only and ADHD-only groups. The comorbid group resembled the RD-only group, consistent with the hypothesis that their ADHD symptoms are secondary to RD. These results provide evidence for the separability of PPs from EFs, as well as 1 explanation for the comorbidity between RD and ADHD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Responsive Liquid‐Crystal‐Clad Fibers for Advanced Textiles and Wearable Sensors

A simple process to clad conventional monofilament fibers with low‐molecular‐weight liquid crystals (LCs) stabilized by an outer polymer sheath is demonstrated. The fibers retain the responsive properties of the LCs but in a highly flexible/drapable format. The monofilament core makes these fibers much more rugged with a magnified response to external stimuli when compared to previously reported LC‐core fibers produced by electrospinning or airbrushing. The microscopic structure and the optical properties of round and flattened fibers are reported. The sensitivity of the response of individual fibers can be tuned over a broad range by varying the composition of the LCs. Complex fabrics can be easily woven from fibers that respond to different external stimuli, such as temperature variation, chemical concentrations, and pressure. The fabrics can be fashioned into garments that can sense and report the state of health of the wearer or the status of their environment.     

海洋红球菌分离鉴定及其产油脂和色素的研究

该研究从海洋环境中分离到一株橙黄色细菌,编号TH-22,经形态观察、生理生化特征和16S rRNA基因序列分析鉴定,该菌归属于赤红球菌（Rhodococcus ruber）。通过单因素实验确定菌株TH-22的培养条件,并初步研究其利用多种糖类物质产油脂和色素的潜力。结果表明,在10 g/L葡萄糖作为碳源、培养温度35 ℃、摇床转速150 r/min、初始pH为7.5和NaCl含量为1%的条件下发酵5 d,油脂和色素的产量最高,分别为（2.87±0.15） g/L和（3.89±0.28） mg/L。菌株TH-22能够利用多种糖类物质产油脂和色素,为进一步开发研究红球菌利用木质纤维素等生物质资源提供科学依据。     

Behavioral interventions to increase HPV vaccination acceptability among mothers of young girls.

Objective: To determine the most effective ways to present human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine risk and benefit information to mothers in Hispanic, African American, and White communities, to increase mothers’ intentions to vaccinate their daughters against HPV. Design: The study used a 3 × 2 between-subjects factorial design, involving 3 different risk presentation formats (graphical HPV statistics, nongraphical HPV statistics, or no-statistics control) and the presence or absence of rhetorical questions (RQ). Data were collected from a national sample of 471 mothers of girls ages 11–16. Main Outcome Variables: The primary outcome variable was mothers’ intention to vaccinate their daughters against HPV. Secondary outcomes included mothers’ self-reported message comprehension and perceptions of daughters’ vulnerability to HPV infection, infection severity, vaccine efficacy, and obstacles to immunization. Results and Conclusion: Results showed that both risk presentation format and RQs had an overall positive effect on mothers’ intention to vaccinate their daughters. However, the interventions appear to be more effective when used separately than when used in combination. Each of these interventions is brief and could easily be implemented by health care providers as well as in patient health communication literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High-tech with the human touch: Using telehealth to reach America's children.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 31(2) of Professional Psychology: Research and Practice (see record 2007-17403-001). On page 4, the last sentence of text incorrectly reads, "For additional telehealth project, policy, legal, and funding information, visit OAT's web site at http://www.telehealth.hrsa.gov." The correct web site address is http://telehealth.hrsa.gov.] In the past decade, we have seen new telecommunication and information technologies used to provide health services, health professional and consumer education, and public health and administrative services. The application of these tools to health care, commonly referred to as telehealth, provides an unprecedented opportunity, as we embark on a new millennium, to take services to those in need-to "carry the water to the desert." Telehealth provides both a means to increase access, and to reengineer the processes of care, enhancing the equality and effectiveness of health services. This article illustrates how telehealth has helped children and youth in various health care settings. Many of these projects have been initiated with federal funds from OAT or other federal agencies. Some of the projects use technologies that require special phone lines and expensive equipment ranging from $15,000 to $50,000; others run over regular phone lines and use equipment costing between $500 to $1,000. Psychologists are involved in many of these projects as initiators of services, as members of multidisciplinary teams, and as researchers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to: Can search result summaries enhance the web search efficiency and experiences of the visually impaired users?

There are limited studies that are addressing the challenges of visually impaired (VI) users when viewing search results on a search engine interface by using a screen reader. This study investigates the effect of providing an overview of search results to VI users. We present a novel interactive search engine interface called InteractSE to support VI users during the results exploration stage in order to improve their interactive experience and web search efficiency. An overview of the search results is generated using an unsupervised machine learning approach to present the discovered concepts via a formal concept analysis that is domain-independent. These concepts are arranged in a multi-level tree following a hierarchical order and covering all retrieved documents that share maximal features. The InteractSE interface was evaluated by 16 legally blind users and compared with the Google search engine interface for complex search tasks. The evaluation results were obtained based on both quantitative (as task completion time) and qualitative (as participants’ feedback) measures. These results are promising and indicate that InteractSE enhances the search efficiency and consequently advances user experience. Our observations and analysis of the user interactions and feedback yielded design suggestions to support VI users when exploring and interacting with search results.