The Health Sciences and Human Services Library: "this is one sweet library"

The opening of the Health Sciences and Human Services Library at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, in April, 1998, was a highly anticipated event. With its unique architecture and stunning interior features, it is a signature building for the university in downtown Baltimore. The building is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, but has a warm, inviting atmosphere making it a focal point for the campus community. Its highly functional, flexible design will serve the staff and users well into the twenty-first century.     

Children's insecure representations of the interparental relationship and their school adjustment: the mediating role of attention difficulties

This study examined the role of attention difficulties as a mediator of associations between children's insecure representations of the interparental relationship and their school adjustment in a sample of two hundred and sixteen 6-year-old children. Consistent with hypotheses, findings from structural equation models indicated that observer ratings of children's insecure representations of interparental relationships in a story completion task predicted computerized task assessments and parent reports of children's attention difficulties 1 year later. Children's attention difficulties, in turn, were associated with concurrent levels of school problems and increases in school problems over a 1-year period as indexed by teacher reports. Attention difficulties accounted for an average of 34% of the association between insecure internal representations and school problems.     

Ontogenetic forgetting of stimulus attributes

The effects of age on the forgetting of stimulus attributes in a differential fear-conditioning paradigm were examined with 18- and 70-day-old rats tested in either the original conditions or shifted stimulating conditions at one of three retention intervals (1, 48, and 120 h). Adults displayed significant shifts at each retention interval, with those tested in the original context displaying greater fear than those tested in the shifted conditions. By contrast, by 48 h the 18-day-olds had forgotten the specific attributes of the training situation and began treating the two stimulating conditions as functionally equivalent (Experiment 1). In Experiment 2, we tracked the ontogenetic emergence of adult-like memory for stimulus attributes and found a dramatic increase in memory capability by 25 days of age. Experiment 3 illustrated that the forgotten memory attributes of infants may be retrieved by administering a 90-sec cuing treatment 10 min prior to the 48-h test. Implications for the phenomenon of infantile amnesia are discussed.     

Attributions,affect, and behavior in abuse-risk mothers: a laboratory study

OBJECTIVE: There were two main aims: first, to assess parental attributions about child behavior in abuse-risk and nonclinic parents. Second, to assess how attributions predict affective and behavioral reactions to child behavior. METHOD: Internal-external attributions relating to the causes of child behavior were compared across mothers at-risk of child abuse (n = 40) and mothers who reported no significant parental or child conduct or behavior problems (n = 20). Mothers' attributions about the causes of the behavior of their own child and an unfamiliar child were recorded in response to the presentation of videotaped excerpts of the behavior. RESULTS: Results highlighted that compared with nonclinic mothers, abuse-risk mothers had a tendency to attribute positive child behavior to more external causes and negative child behavior to more internal causes. Differences were also found between parental cognitions about clearly positive, clearly naughty, and ambiguous child behavior. In the abuse-risk group, positive child behavior predicted coercive parenting when it elicited angry feelings in the mother; ambiguous and naughty child behavior led to coercive parenting through valence ratings of "deviant" and attributions of "internality." Analyses within the abuse-risk group showed that parental attributions are predictive of parental coerciveness for unfamiliar behavior. As behavior becomes more familiar, ratings of its valence and the affect it elicits override attributional activity. CONCLUSIONS: Parental attributions about the causes of child behavior differ according to the valence and familiarity of that behavior, and discriminate between parents at risk for child abuse. Further, attributions are predictive of the affective and behavioral responses the parent makes to the child's behavior for ambiguous or unfamiliar behavior. Evidence was found for the validity of using videotaped stimuli of the behavior of known and unknown children as a method of assessing parental attributions.     

Beware! Uncle Sam has Your DNA: Legal Fallout from its Use and Misuse in the U.S.

Technology has provided state and federal governments with huge collections of DNA samples and identifying profiles stored in databanks. That information can be used to solve crimes by matching samples from convicted felons to unsolved crimes, and has aided law enforcement in investigating and convicting suspects, and exonerating innocent felons, even after lengthy incarceration. Rights surrounding the provision of DNA samples, however, remain unclear in light of the constitutional guarantee against "unreasonable searches and seizures" and privacy concerns. The courts have just begun to consider this issue, and have provided little guidance. It is unclear whether the laws governing protected health information are applicable to the instant situation, and if so, the degree to which they apply. DNA databanks are not uniformly regulated, and it is possible that DNA samples contained in them may be used for purposes unintended by donors of the samples. As people live their lives, they leave bits of their DNA behind. They cannot be assured that these tiny specimens will not be taken or used against their will or without their knowledge for activities such as profiling to measure tendencies such as thrill-seeking, aggressiveness, or crimes with threatening behavior. Existing racial or ethnic discrimination and profiling may also encompass genetic discrimination and profiling, creating societal class distinctions. This article will explore the constitutionality of collecting genetic materials, the ethics of such activities, and balance the social good in solving crime and deterrence against the individual's security, liberty, and privacy.     

浅谈先进生产力认识与区域经济发展

“始终代表中国先进生产力的发展要求”在江泽民“三个代表”的重要思想的理论格局中居于首位,是“三个代表”的基础。于是对“先进生产力”的认识,就当然地成为我们身体力行地实践“三个代表”重要思想过程中,首先应该深刻认识、准确把握的内容。这种理论认识的深入离不开实践     

Active learning not associated with student learning in a random sample of college biology courses

Previous research has suggested that adding active learning to traditional college science lectures substantially improves student learning. However, this research predominantly studied courses taught by science education researchers, who are likely to have exceptional teaching expertise. The present study investigated introductory biology courses randomly selected from a list of prominent colleges and universities to include instructors representing a broader population. We examined the relationship between active learning and student learning in the subject area of natural selection. We found no association between student learning gains and the use of active-learning instruction. Although active learning has the potential to substantially improve student learning, this research suggests that active learning, as used by typical college biology instructors, is not associated with greater learning gains. We contend that most instructors lack the rich and nuanced understanding of teaching and learning that science education researchers have developed. Therefore, active learning as designed and implemented by typical college biology instructors may superficially resemble active learning used by education researchers, but lacks the constructivist elements necessary for improving learning.     

The influence of temporal spacing on time-place discrimination

The conditions under which circadian and interval-timing mechanisms are used in time-place discrimination were investigated. Rats earned the first daily meal by pressing a lever beginning 3.5 h after the start of the session and a second daily meal by pressing another lever. The second meal started 3.5 or 7 h (Experiment 1) or 0.75 or 1.75 h (Experiment 2) after the start of the first meal, using independent groups. In Experiment 1, approximately half of the rats used an interval-timing mechanism, and the other half used a circadian mechanism. In Experiment 2, the rats timed two intervals, one from the start of the session until the first meal and the other from the first to the second meal. A circadian mechanism is relevant to timing intervals in the range of 1.75–3.5 h, and an interval-timing mechanism can be used to time intervals from 0.75–7 h.     

Surveillance of viral contamination of invasive medical instruments in dentistry

Objective： To investigate the viral contamination of invasive medical instruments in dentistry and to provide health administrative institutions with surveillance data. Methods： Sterilized samples were randomly collected from the department of dentistry to detect HBV-DNA, HCV-RNA, HIV-RNA and HBsAg. Results： Of the invasive medical instruments that were sterilized with 2% glutaraldehyde, one of the samples was positive for HBV-DNA, and another sample was positive for HBsAg. Conclusion： Though massive virus contamination of invasive medical instruments in dentistry has been reduced to a low level, the occurrence of contamination still remains.