bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Morphological variation, an expanded description and ethnobotanical evaluation of Cycas seemannii A.Braun (Cycadaceae)
Authors: Keppel Gunnar
Published: December 2009

Cycas seemannii (Cycadaceae) is a widespread and highly variable species. This study investigates morphological variability and ethnobotanical uses throughout the entire range (Torres Strait Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga) of the species. The
morphological characters studied are highly variable among populations and unrelated to genetic differences. Characters are also
more variable than previously assumed and because of this we provide an updated, detailed taxonomic description of Cycas seemannii based on extensive morphometric data, fieldwork and herbarium specimens. The plant is of great cultural importance in Vanuatu, its seeds are utilised as a source of starch and it is a widely cultivated ornamental. Possible consequences of the plant's decreasing cultural importance are discussed.
Composition and structure of the cloud forest on Mt Delaco, Gau, Fiji
Authors: Keppel Gunnar , Thomas Nunia T.
Published: December 2009

The composition and structure of cloud forest on Mt. Delaco (715m), Gau, Fiji Islands, is investigated using a transect following a
ridge. Diameter (dbh), height, epiphyte cover and distance to the nearest neighbour were measured for each plant of 5 or more cm in
dbh. A total of 42 vascular species were identified. The canopy was 3-5m tall, with Alpinia boia reaching 7m in height. The tree fern
Dicksonia brackenridgei dominated the vegetation, accounting for 56% of the total basal area. Rapanea myricifolia, Hedycarya dorstenoides and Ascarina diffusa were other common species. Epiphytes were abundant and epiphyte cover for most trees was more than 50%. The most common epiphytes were Nephrolepis tuberosa and Nephrolepis saligna, Collospermum montanum, Peperomia spp., mosses and filmy ferns (Hymenophyllaceae) were other common species. A species of Freycinetia was the dominant climber. There was a moderately strong correlation between epiphyte richness and dbh of the host species (r = 0.59). The limited literature on cloud forest in the tropical insular Pacific suggests that while many taxa are shared, the species composition may vary considerably on different mountains.
Maximization of poly-β-hydroxy butyrate production by rhizo-bacteria using eco-friendly agri-byproducts
Authors: Kumar Umesh , Sharma Aarti , Sikka Virendra K.
Published: December 2009

Attempts have been made, using rhizobacteria, to develop a protocol for economical polyhydroxybutyrate production using agri-byproducts. The optimum conditions for maximum PHB production were found with modified glucose minimal media. A cost effective media using exclusively readily available agri-byproducts yielding as much as 60 mg/l PHB (which correspond to 53.1% of the biomass) from isolates of rhizobacteria has been developed.
Hybridization kinetics is different inside cells
Authors: Schoen Ingmar , Krammer Hubert , Braun Dieter
Published: December 2009

It is generally expected that the kinetics of reactions inside living cells differs from the situation in bulk solutions. Macromolecular crowding and specific binding interactions could change the diffusion properties and the availability of free molecules. Their impact on reaction kinetics in the relevant context of living cells is still elusive, mainly because the difficulty of capturing fast kinetics in vivo. This article shows spatially resolved measurements of DNA hybridization kinetics in single living cells. HeLa cells were transfected with a FRET-labeled dsDNA probe by lipofection. We characterized the hybridization reaction kinetics with a kinetic range of 10 μs to 1 s by a combination of laser-driven temperature oscillations and stroboscopic fluorescence imaging. The time constant of the hybridization depended on DNA concentration within individual cells and between cells. A quantitative analysis of the concentration dependence revealed several-fold accelerated kinetics as compared with free solution for a 16-bp probe and decelerated kinetics for a 12-bp probe. We did not find significant effects of crowding agents on the hybridization kinetics in vitro. Our results suggest that the reaction rates in vivo are specifically modulated by binding interactions for the two probes, possibly triggered by their different lengths. In general, the presented imaging modality of temperature oscillation optical lock-in microscopy allows to probe biomolecular interactions in different cell compartments in living cells for systems biology.
Red blood cell-mimicking synthetic biomaterial particles
Authors: Doshi Nishit , Zahr Alisar S. , Bhaskar Srijanani , Lahann Joerg , Mitragotri Samir
Published: December 2009

Biomaterials form the basis of current and future biomedical technologies. They are routinely used to design therapeutic carriers, such as nanoparticles, for applications in drug delivery. Current strategies for synthesizing drug delivery carriers are based either on discovery of materials or development of fabrication methods. While synthetic carriers have brought upon numerous advances in drug delivery, they fail to match the sophistication exhibited by innate biological entities. In particular, red blood cells (RBCs), the most ubiquitous cell type in the human blood, constitute highly specialized entities with unique shape, size, mechanical flexibility, and material composition, all of which are optimized for extraordinary biological performance. Inspired by this natural example, we synthesized particles that mimic the key structural and functional features of RBCs. Similar to their natural counterparts, RBC-mimicking particles described here possess the ability to carry oxygen and flow through capillaries smaller than their own diameter. Further, they can also encapsulate drugs and imaging agents. These particles provide a paradigm for the design of drug delivery and imaging carriers, because they combine the functionality of natural RBCs with the broad applicability and versatility of synthetic drug delivery particles.
Direct rod input to cone BCs and direct cone input to rod BCs challenge the traditional view of mammalian BC circuitry
Authors: Pang Ji-Jie , Gao Fan , Lem Janis , Bramblett Debra E. , Paul David L. , Wu Samuel M.
Published: December 2009

Bipolar cells are the central neurons of the retina that transmit visual signals from rod and cone photoreceptors to third-order neurons in the inner retina and the brain. A dogma set forth by early anatomical studies is that bipolar cells in mammalian retinas receive segregated rod/cone synaptic inputs (either from rods or from cones), and here, we present evidence that challenges this traditional view. By analyzing light-evoked cation currents from morphologically identified depolarizing bipolar cells (DBCs) in the wild-type and three pathway-specific knockout mice (rod transducin knockout [

Trα
−/−

], connexin36 knockout [

Cx36
−/−

], and transcription factor beta4 knockout [

Bhlhb4
−/−

]), we show that a subpopulation of rod DBCs (DBC
R2
s) receives substantial input directly from cones and a subpopulation of cone DBCs (DBC
C1
s) receives substantial input directly from rods. These results provide evidence of the existence of functional rod-DBC
C
and cone-DBC
R
synaptic pathways in the mouse retina as well as the previously proposed rod hyperpolarizing bipolar-cells pathway. This is grounds for revising the mammalian rod/cone bipolar cell dogma.
Performance level modulates adult age differences in brain activation during spatial working memory
Authors: Nagel Irene E. , Preuschhof Claudia , Li Shu-Chen , Nyberg Lars , Bäckman Lars , Lindenberger Ulman , Heekeren Hauke R.
Published: December 2009

Working memory (WM) shows pronounced age-related decline. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have revealed age differences in task-related brain activation. Evidence based primarily on episodic memory studies suggests that brain activation patterns can be modulated by task difficulty in both younger and older adults. In most fMRI aging studies on WM, however, performance level has not been considered, so that age differences in activation patterns are confounded with age differences in performance level. Here, we address this issue by comparing younger and older low and high performers in an event-related fMRI study. Thirty younger (20–30 years) and 30 older (60–70 years) healthy adults were tested with a spatial WM task with three load levels. A region-of-interest analysis revealed marked differences in the activation patterns between high and low performers in both age groups. Critically, among the older adults, a more “youth-like” load-dependent modulation of the blood oxygen level-dependent signal was associated with higher levels of spatial WM performance. These findings underscore the need of taking performance level into account when studying changes in functional brain activation patterns from early to late adulthood.
Missing and spurious interactions and the reconstruction of complex networks
Authors: Guimerà Roger , Sales-Pardo Marta
Published: December 2009

Network analysis is currently used in a myriad of contexts, from identifying potential drug targets to predicting the spread of epidemics and designing vaccination strategies and from finding friends to uncovering criminal activity. Despite the promise of the network approach, the reliability of network data is a source of great concern in all fields where complex networks are studied. Here, we present a general mathematical and computational framework to deal with the problem of data reliability in complex networks. In particular, we are able to reliably identify both missing and spurious interactions in noisy network observations. Remarkably, our approach also enables us to obtain, from those noisy observations, network reconstructions that yield estimates of the true network properties that are more accurate than those provided by the observations themselves. Our approach has the potential to guide experiments, to better characterize network data sets, and to drive new discoveries.
Cleistogamous flowering in barley arises from the suppression of microRNA-guided
HvAP2
mRNA cleavage
Authors: Nair Sudha K. , Wang Ning , Turuspekov Yerlan , Pourkheirandish Mohammad , Sinsuwongwat Suphawat , Chen Guoxiong , Sameri Mohammad , Tagiri Akemi , Honda Ichiro , Watanabe Yoshiaki , Kanamori Hiroyuki , Wicker Thomas , Stein Nils , Nagamura Yoshiaki , Matsumoto Takashi , Komatsuda Takao
Published: December 2009

The cleistogamous flower sheds its pollen before opening, forcing plants with this habit to be almost entirely autogamous. Cleistogamy also provides a means of escape from cereal head blight infection and minimizes pollen-mediated gene flow. The lodicule in cleistogamous barley is atrophied. We have isolated
cleistogamy 1
(
Cly1
) by positional cloning and show that it encodes a transcription factor containing two AP2 domains and a putative microRNA miR172 targeting site, which is an ortholog of
Arabidopsis thaliana AP2
. The expression of
Cly1
was concentrated within the lodicule primordia. We established a perfect association between a synonymous nucleotide substitution at the miR172 targeting site and cleistogamy. Cleavage of mRNA directed by miR172 was detectable only in a noncleistogamous background. We conclude that the miR172-derived down-regulation of
Cly1
promotes the development of the lodicules, thereby ensuring noncleistogamy, although the single nucleotide change at the miR172 targeting site results in the failure of the lodicules to develop properly, producing the cleistogamous phenotype.
VGLUT2 in dopamine neurons is required for psychostimulant-induced behavioral activation
Authors: Birgner Carolina , Nordenankar Karin , Lundblad Martin , Mendez José Alfredo , Smith Casey , le Grevès Madeleine , Galter Dagmar , Olson Lars , Fredriksson Anders , Trudeau Louis-Eric , Kullander Klas , Wallén-Mackenzie Åsa
Published: December 2009

The “One neuron-one neurotransmitter” concept has been challenged frequently during the last three decades, and the coexistence of neurotransmitters in individual neurons is now regarded as a common phenomenon. The functional significance of neurotransmitter coexistence is, however, less well understood. Several studies have shown that a subpopulation of dopamine (DA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) expresses the vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2) and has been suggested to use glutamate as a cotransmitter. The VTA dopamine neurons project to limbic structures including the nucleus accumbens, and are involved in mediating the motivational and locomotor activating effects of psychostimulants. To determine the functional role of glutamate cotransmission by these neurons, we deleted VGLUT2 in DA neurons by using a conditional gene-targeting approach in mice. A DAT-Cre/Vglut2Lox mouse line (

Vglut2
f/f;DAT-Cre

mice) was produced and analyzed by in vivo amperometry as well as by several behavioral paradigms. Although basal motor function was normal in the

Vglut2
f/f;DAT-Cre

mice, their risk-taking behavior was altered. Interestingly, in both home-cage and novel environments, the gene targeted mice showed a greatly blunted locomotor response to the psychostimulant amphetamine, which acts via the midbrain DA system. Our results show that VGLUT2 expression in DA neurons is required for normal emotional reactivity as well as for psychostimulant-mediated behavioral activation.
Identification and characterization of
Bph14
, a gene conferring resistance to brown planthopper in rice
Authors: Du Bo , Zhang Weilin , Liu Bingfang , Hu Jing , Wei Zhe , Shi Zhenying , He Ruifeng , Zhu Lili , Chen Rongzhi , Han Bin , He Guangcun
Published: December 2009

Planthoppers are highly destructive pests in crop production worldwide. Brown planthopper (BPH) causes the most serious damage of the rice crop globally among all rice pests. Growing resistant varieties is the most effective and environment-friendly strategy for protecting the crop from BPH. More than 19 BPH-resistance genes have been reported and used to various extents in rice breeding and production. In this study, we cloned
Bph14
, a gene conferring resistance to BPH at seedling and maturity stages of the rice plant, using a map-base cloning approach. We show that
Bph14
encodes a coiled-coil, nucleotide-binding, and leucine-rich repeat (CC-NB-LRR) protein. Sequence comparison indicates that
Bph14
carries a unique LRR domain that might function in recognition of the BPH insect invasion and activating the defense response.
Bph14
is predominantly expressed in vascular bundles, the site of BPH feeding. Expression of
Bph14
activates the salicylic acid signaling pathway and induces callose deposition in phloem cells and trypsin inhibitor production after planthopper infestation, thus reducing the feeding, growth rate, and longevity of the BPH insects. Our work provides insights into the molecular mechanisms of rice defense against insects and facilitates the development of resistant varieties to control this devastating insect.
Allelic diversities in rice starch biosynthesis lead to a diverse array of rice eating and cooking qualities
Authors: Tian Zhixi , Qian Qian , Liu Qiaoquan , Yan Meixian , Liu Xinfang , Yan Changjie , Liu Guifu , Gao Zhenyu , Tang Shuzhu , Zeng Dali , Wang Yonghong , Yu Jianming , Gu Minghong , Li Jiayang
Published: December 2009

More than half of the world's population uses rice as a source of carbon intake every day. Improving grain quality is thus essential to rice consumers. The three main properties that determine rice eating and cooking quality—amylose content, gel consistency, and gelatinization temperature—correlate with one another, but the underlying mechanism of these properties remains unclear. Through an association analysis approach, we found that genes related to starch synthesis cooperate with each other to form a fine regulating network that controls the eating and cooking quality and defines the correlation among these three properties. Genetic transformation results verified the association findings and also suggested the possibility of developing elite cultivars through modification with selected major and/or minor starch synthesis-related genes.
Oscillations in supercoiling drive circadian gene expression in cyanobacteria
Authors: Vijayan Vikram , Zuzow Rick , O'Shea Erin K.
Published: December 2009

The cyanobacterium
Synechococcus elongatus
PCC 7942 exhibits oscillations in mRNA transcript abundance with 24-h periodicity under continuous light conditions. The mechanism underlying these oscillations remains elusive—neither
cis
nor
trans
-factors controlling circadian gene expression phase have been identified. Here, we show that the topological status of the chromosome is highly correlated with circadian gene expression state. We also demonstrate that DNA sequence characteristics of genes that appear monotonically activated and monotonically repressed by chromosomal relaxation during the circadian cycle are similar to those of supercoiling-responsive genes in
Escherichia coli
. Furthermore, perturbation of superhelical status within the physiological range elicits global changes in gene expression similar to those that occur during the normal circadian cycle.
Diversity and evolution of 11 innate immune genes in
Bos taurus taurus
and
Bos taurus indicus
cattle
Authors: Seabury Christopher M. , Seabury Paul M. , Decker Jared E. , Schnabel Robert D. , Taylor Jeremy F. , Womack James E.
Published: December 2009

The Toll-like receptor (
TLR
) and peptidoglycan recognition protein 1 (
PGLYRP1
) genes play key roles in the innate immune systems of mammals. While the
TLRs
recognize a variety of invading pathogens and induce innate immune responses,
PGLYRP1
is directly microbicidal. We used custom allele-specific assays to genotype and validate 220 diallelic variants, including 54 nonsynonymous SNPs in 11 bovine innate immune genes (
TLR1-TLR10
,
PGLYRP1
) for 37 cattle breeds. Bayesian haplotype reconstructions and median joining networks revealed haplotype sharing between
Bos taurus taurus
and
Bos taurus indicus
breeds at every locus, and we were unable to differentiate between the specialized
B. t. taurus
beef and dairy breeds, despite an average polymorphism density of one locus per 219 bp. Ninety-nine tagSNPs and one tag insertion-deletion polymorphism were sufficient to predict 100% of the variation at all 11 innate immune loci in both subspecies and their hybrids, whereas 58 tagSNPs captured 100% of the variation at 172 loci in
B. t. taurus
. PolyPhen and SIFT analyses of nonsynonymous SNPs encoding amino acid replacements indicated that the majority of these substitutions were benign, but up to 31% were expected to potentially impact protein function. Several diversity-based tests provided support for strong purifying selection acting on
TLR10
in
B. t. taurus
cattle. These results will broadly impact efforts related to bovine translational genomics.
The Real-World Reading Practices of Adults
Authors: Smith M Cecil
Published: December 2009

This study used a diary method to obtain detailed information about the reading practices of a sample of adult readers with diverse educational and occupational experiences. Reading practices were identified in two principal settings, home and work. Participants were found to read periodicals and books at home both to engage in leisure and to perform a variety of functional tasks. They read informational materials, correspondence, and functional texts at work to perform workplace-related tasks. Readers' efforts at and enjoyment of the reading tasks they engaged in varied depending on the texts and purpose for reading. Several strategic actions were reported when adults were reading to learn and remember text information, but most readers relied on activation of prior knowledge, rereading of text, and note taking. The study also examined the role of the social contexts of age, educational attainment, and occupation in contributing to adult reading behavior. A significant three-way interaction was found between reading source, setting, and occupation only. The results support the findings of previous readership studies and further illustrate how specific social context factors account for differences in adults' reading practices.
Gendered Readings of a Traditional “Feminist” Folktale by Sixth-Grade Boys and Girls
Authors: Rice Peggy S.
Published: December 2009

This study investigated the gendered frame of reference of 6th-grade boys and girls by examining the bias in their memories of a “feminist” folktale that included male and female characters with both traditional and nontraditional traits. Written recalls were obtained 15 minutes, 1 week, and 1 month after reading. The final recalls were analyzed on the basis of a template created of sentences in the story that presented characters' traits and actions as traditional male, traditional female, nontraditional male, or nontraditional female. Analysis showed a significant difference between the boys and girls in terms of nontraditional inclusions, with the girls averaging twice as many of these inclusions as the boys. Further analysis indicated the presence of 2 aspects of the discourse of gender relations: physical strength of men and dependence of women on men. Cultural norms for physical appearance were reflected in the transformations of the physical description of the female protagonist. Also, the girls made associations with the female characters' physical superiority. Findings suggest that these boys and girls have not altered an overall dualistic perception of maleness/femaleness; however, there was some movement away from stereotypical gender positioning for the girls.
Critical Issues: Reading and Responding to Literature at the Level of Activity
Authors: Beach Richard
Published: December 2009

Drawing on the sociocultural activity theory of learning, this report defines the components of activity systems shaping readers' responses to literature - the components of object/outcome, tools, rules, roles, and community change. It posits that readers respond within their participation as members of various activity systems - book clubs, classroom, chat rooms, etc. - systems shaped by these components. It also posits that readers ideally learn to frame characters' actions at the level of activity - as part of characters' participation in activity systems portrayed in texts. This framework is applied to responses of “advanced” and “regular” high school students, operating within an ability-grouping system, to a story about a “regular” student going on afield trip with “advanced” students. It is also applied to responses of teachers enrolled in a graduate writing methods course in reaction to a story about a teacher's feedback to an essay; the teachers' responses reflected their participation in the systems of the course itself, their own teaching, and their families.
What is Effective Literature Instruction? a Study of Experienced High School English Teachers in Differing Grade- and Ability-Level Classes
Authors: Agee Jane
Published: December 2009

This study examined how experienced high school English teachers defined and gauged effective literature instruction as well as how their perspectives affected their students' experiences with literature. The research focused on 3 questions: (a) How did these teachers define effective literature instruction? (b) What kinds of evidence did they look for to gauge their effectiveness? and (c) How did their perceptions of effective literature instruction inform their decisions about texts and ways of reading them with students in different grade- and ability-level classes? Profiles of 5 teachers showed that they used differing models for literature instruction against which they gauged their effectiveness. Flexible, student-centered models allowed teachers to address differences among students. Inflexible, teacher-centered models often limited teachers' ability to address student needs effectively. The kinds of models the teachers used determined whether or not they were willing to listen to feedback from students and to use it to make changes in their literature curriculum.
The Test of Phoneme Identities: Predicting Alphabetic Insight in Prealphabetic Readers
Authors: Murray Bruce A. , Smith Kimberly A. , Murray Geralyn G.
Published: December 2009

To test the validity of the Test of Phoneme Identities (TPI), 97 kindergartners were administered the TPI and two other tests of phoneme awareness, measures of alphabet and nursery rhyme knowledge, and a measure of rudimentary decoding ability. The tpi proved reliable (α = .91) and comparable to the other phoneme awareness measures in predicting decoding ability in the full kindergarten sample. Thirty-four kindergartners identified as prealphabetic readers were taught to use the letters S and M as phonetic cues to distinguish rhyming printed words, an indicator of alphabetic insight. The tpi was shown to be more effective than the nursery rhyme and alphabet measures and the other phoneme awareness tests in predicting the number of lessons required for a student to learn to distinguish phonetic cues.
Preservice Teachers in a Literacy Methods Course Consider Issues of Diversity
Authors: Xu Shelley Hong
Published: December 2009

I describe 3 case studies of young, middle-class European American female preservice teachers' experiences of teaching diverse students literacy while enrolled in my field-based literacy methods course. The case studies focus on the teachers' perceptions of self cultural identities and values, perceptions of diverse students and literacy teaching, and developing abilities to connect their understandings of diversity to teaching diverse students. During field experiences, the preservice teachers taught lessons and interviewed and worked with case-study students. During university class sessions, they shared and reflected on their experiences and discussed their attitudes toward differences. The data revealed that the field experiences had a greater impact on 1 preservice teacher than on the other 2 in terms of enhanced capabilities for culturally responsive teaching. The preservice teachers were generally knowledgeable of literacy strategies and children's literature, but there was great variability in their abilities to use skillfully and appropriately strategies and books in teaching. The findings suggest some directions for future research on the education of literacy teachers for diversity.
From Peacemaker to Advocate: A Preservice Teacher's Case Study of an Emergent Reader
Authors: Broaddus Karen
Published: December 2009

This is a case study of a case study. In order to examine the impact of conducting case-study research on preservice teacher Carrie's professional development, I followed her work with emergent reader Beth. Field-based research provided a context for posing meaningful questions and promoted professional reflection for Carrie in two areas: prior beliefs (autobiography, education, professional identity) and contexts for literacy development (child, family, school). Qualitative procedures (prolonged engagement, persistent observation, peer debriefing, examining self-as-instrument, triangulation) emerged as vital sources for focusing research questions and framing reflections. Points that deserve further study include (a) structured discussion uncovered assumptions that written reflection often did not, (b) the role of researcher encouraged Carrie to consider novel ways to negotiate professional relationships, and (c) autobiography proved a factor in case-study selection and research questions.
Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of Using Hypermedia and Video to Examine the Nature of Literacy Instruction
Authors: Hughes Joan E. , Packard Becky Wai-Ling , Pearson P. David
Published: December 2009

We examined students' perceptions of media, specifically videos and a hypermedia learning environment, the Reading Classroom Explorer (rce), when placed in an existing preservice literacy methods course. Participant interviews and course papers indicated that these media (a) enrich classroom learning by providing images of progressive literacy teaching learned in coursework, (b) provide opportunities - unconstrained by school-day hours or geographic location - to observe, reflect on, and analyze practice, and (c) expand students' internship experience by providing multiple approaches to literacy instruction. Students reported that hypermedia (rce) allowed them to easily revisit video and analyze activities across school sites, but they were more comfortable with and liked the context provided by videos. Limitations of the media and future contexts of use are discussed.
Critical Issues: Preparation for New Literacy Researchers in Multi-Epistemological, Multi-Methodological Times
Authors: Duke Nell K. , Mallette Marla H.
Published: December 2009

In this Critical Issues, we argue that the preparation of novice literacy researchers should change in response to the growing diversification of epistemologies and methods employed in literacy research. We assert that the preparation of novice literacy researchers should be aimed at developing students who understand and appreciate a broad range of research epistemologies and methods. We suggest ways in which coursework related to research methods and epistemologies, research apprenticeships and mentoring, and the reading and writing of literacy research might intensify and adjust to meet this aim. We contend that whether our field will be characterized by methodological fragmentation or ecological balance will depend in large part on how we prepare future literacy researchers.
The Problem of Syntactic Complexity in Reading and Readability
Authors: von Glasersfeld Ernst
Published: December 2009

The paper examines the concept of syntactic complexity from the point of view of readability and shows that the factors that make for reading difficulty are several and that some of them remain inaccessible to studies that are based on traditional or generative grammars. The measurement of “Syntactic Depth” is adapted to the interpretive processing direction of the reader and the relevance of relational semantics as well as of the “prospective” ambiguity of phrase structures is demonstrated. Some of the features of an interpretive grammar deemed to be useful in readability studies are illustrated by reference to the correlational grammar developed for the automatic interpretation of English sentences by computer.
Correlates of Error Rate in the Pronunciation of WISC Vocabulary Items
Authors: Hafner Lawrence E. , Weaver Wendell W.
Published: December 2009

This investigation utilizing seventy-two fourth graders as subjects was designed to study the relationships of selected physical and semantic characteristics of WISC vocabulary words to error rate in the pronunciation of those words in isolation. It was found that only meaning difficulty entered into a stepwise multiple correlation with error rate in pronunciation.
Literacy Skills as a Barrier to Inservice Training
Authors: Geeslin Robert H. , York Patricia W.
Published: December 2009

This article presents the results of the administration of the Nelson-Denny Reading Test to three populations: (1) two groups of elementary school teachers assigned for inservice training, (2) elementary school teachers who volunteered for inservice training and also volunteered to participate in a research study, and (3) teachers participating in a summer institute. Findings indicate minimum functional literacy skills among some teachers assigned to inservice training, and evidence that even some participants in teacher trainer institutes function at levels barely literate.

These findings indicate the necessity for more strict evaluation of persons completing preservice training, applying for teacher certification, applying for continuing contracts, and serving in the classroom.
Developmental Patterns in Elemental Skills: Knowledge of Upper-Case and Lower-Case Letter Names
Authors: Smythe P. C. , Stennett R. G. , Hardy Madeline , Wilson H. R.
Published: December 2009

Two hundred children in grades K-3 were administered a test designed to assess knowledge of letter names in both upper- and lower-case primary type. Children exhibited better knowledge of upper- than lower-case letter names. Rank order, correlational analyses performed to determine the relationship of letter naming to visual discrimination and letter frequency revealed different patterns for upper- and lower-case letters. A subsequent, factor analytic treatment of the data also suggested differences in upper- and lower-case letter naming. Results are related to reading readiness norms and pedagogical implications are dealt with briefly.
Informal Grapheme-Phoneme Option Inventories
Authors: Smith Edwin H. , Guice Billy M.
Published: December 2009

Realizing that a major task in learning to read is learning the ways that the sounds of English are spelled and that a major task of teachers is to determine the common encoding options with which students had difficulty, the authors present two helpful aids in this diagnostic task.
Visual Perception: A Transfer of “Products” Found in the Key to Learning
Authors: Cowart Harry
Published: December 2009

Research studies in the verbal production of a broad spectrum of subjects indicate that a certain type of verbal behavior (paradigmatic) was present in subjects who had achieved some success in formal schooling, while low achievers displayed a type of verbal response classified as syntagmatic. The author states that the “products” of the intellect requires a mastery of units, relations, classes, systems, transformations, and implication, and describes the implementation of a “product” scale in teaching the visual discrimination of letters.
A Theoretical Analysis of the Effects of Writing System Characteristics on Learning to Read
Authors: Gillooly William B.
Published: December 2009

This paper summarizes the work of those seeking to analyze English orthography as well as the data which bear on the behavioral effects of writing system characteristics. English writing is shown to involve at least two levels of representation. One level is sound-related (phonographic representation) but another, deeper level of representation is meaning-related (orthographic representation). The results of this analysis are combined with verbal learning models in order to explain the experimental data.

Reading is viewed as involving mediation processes which depend, in part, on reading experience. Hence, the effects of increased reading experience involve not only changes in the functional stimuli for reading as Gibson has proposed but also changes in the nature of the responses to those stimuli. The implications of this notion are discussed briefly.
Independence of Abilities in Disabled Readers
Authors: Guthrie John T. , Goldberg Herman K. , Finucci Joan
Published: December 2009

The relationships among many abilities in disabled readers were investigated. Seventeen tests were given to 35 disabled readers with a mean age of 10.15, a mean IQ of 95.81 and a mean reading grade of 3.12. The tests were intercorrelated and factor analyzed. Four factors emerged including: reading, auditory memory, oral vocabulary and visual memory. The conclusions were: (a) the reading levels of disabled readers were not highly related to the levels of performance on the other three factors; and (b) the latter three factors were not highly associated with each other.
Automation and Reading: A Perspective
Authors: Palmatier Robert A.
Published: December 2009

In this article, the author seeks to describe and evaluate the effectiveness of automated instruction by stressing the need for education to take a new look at technology. Following a definition of instructional technology, the author discusses the problem of reading and automation as one of perspective. Additional research evidence is presented and definition and utilization problems are discussed as support for consideration of automation as part of our educational program.
An Exploratory Study of Word Acquisition among First-Graders at Midyear in a Language-Experience Approach
Authors: Henderson Edmund H. , Estes Thomas H. , Stonecash Susan
Published: December 2009

A sample of one week's creative writing and acquired sight words to date was drawn in January for 594 pupils in twenty-one first-grade classrooms participating in a language-experience reading curriculum. Mean number of sight words was 85.4; number of stories per week, 2.3; and running words per story 54.0. From a random sub-sample of 25 pupils a comparison of sight words with the Lorge-Thorndike Word List showed that 45% fell within the first thousand high frequency category. It was concluded that rate of word acquisition found here compared favorably with that planned for typical basal readers but that word holdings were richer in orthographic information. An informal analysis of misspellings suggested that pupils were using systematic strategies for word production.
An Evaluation of Four Methods of Reading Instruction as a Function of Time of Testing
Authors: Jensen Philip K. , Mills James W. , Hershkowitz Martin
Published: December 2009

Which test offers the best estimate of the improvement of a student in reading training: a test administered immediately after a training session or a test administered at the beginning of the next training session? The problem of the best time to test students for a meaningful evaluation of gains in reading scores is closely involved in any comparison of different methods of teaching developmental reading. An analysis of 276 periods of instruction which used four different methods was run on data from a college population. The results show: (1) the timing of the evaluation test substantially affects the obtained results; and (2) the methods produce significantly different patterns across speed and comprehension. Each reading center should develop its own norms for differing methods if its reading program is to be adapted to the needs of the individual student.
Disadvantaged Students in the Traditional University Reading Improvement Program
Authors: Zaccaria Lucy , Creaser James , Jacobs Mitchell , Carsello Carmen
Published: December 2009

The differential effectiveness of a traditionally-oriented college reading improvement program was assessed for culturally disadvantaged and typical students by means of the Nelson Denny Reading Test. Although the, disadvantaged group improved significantly in vocabulary and rate, no measurable gain was demonstrated in comprehension. The failure of the disadvantaged students to make as much progress as the regular enrollees appears to be partially attributable to differences in scholastic aptitude and initial reading proficiency. The findings indicate that traditional reading instruction does not meet the special educational needs and problems of disadvantaged college students.
Comprehending What we Read: An Outsider Looks in
Authors: Levin Joel R.
Published: December 2009

Research dealing with experimenter-provided and subject-generated organizational strategies is reviewed, and related to operations in reading comprehension. Comprehension differences between good and poor readers are assumed to arise from the different ways they organize intra- and inter-sentence elements. Visual imagery is singled out as an effective organizational strategy. Implications of this research are considered in the context of individual differences and their interaction with treatments.
Development and Evaluation of Job Reading Task Tests
Authors: Sticht Thomas G. , Caylor John S.
Published: December 2009

This paper describes research to develop the Job Reading Task Tests (JRTT) for three military jobs having civilian counterparts: cook, automative repairman and supply clerk. Relationships of general reading ability to performance on JRTT are described for men in three groups: an unselected sample, a group selected for special aptitude in a JRTT area, and a group both selected and trained in the JRTT area. Results indicate that, while general reading arid JRTT performance are positively correlated, the JRTT are sensitive to selection and training, and hence are measures of special reading abilities as well as of general reading abilities.
An Investigation of the Effectiveness of a Programmed Graphemic Option Approach to Teaching Reading to Disadvantaged Children
Authors: Briggs Barbara C.
Published: December 2009

How effective is a programmed linguistically-based graphemic option reading approach compared to an eclectic approach with rural disadvantaged children in grades one and two? That is the question this investigator sought to answer with this study.

The experimental subjects worked with The Sound Reading Program, a programmed linguistically-based reading approach offering a largely self-instructional program for teaching the basic decoding and processing skills for one hour each school day over a three-month period. The control group continued in the regular ongoing reading program which can best be described as eclectic. The control group did not receive other linguistically-based reading materials or programmed reading materials.

Although there was no evidence found in this particular experiment to indicate that the treatment was effective for grade one, this study supports the treatment effect for grade two in both comprehension and word recognition. Furthermore, black subjects in the grade two experimental group were superior to white subjects, while in the control group the results were reversed. Finally, in the grade two experimental group the reading achievement of the boys was equal to the reading achievement of the girls.
Skimming and Scanning Improvement: The Needs, Assumptions and Knowledge Base
Authors: Maxwell Martha J.
Published: December 2009

The best way, and perhaps the only way, for today's student to cope with the effects of the information explosion on college reading lists is to become a competent and confident skimmer and scanner. Despite this obvious “need,” it is difficult to get students to skim and scan because of the negative attitudinal biases of both students and teachers. As a result, these skills are either ignored or not taught effectively. Failure to teach skimming and scanning skills is postulated as the reason many reading programs fail to produce flexible readers. Evidence is presented that skimming and scanning skills can be taught effectively. The results of a series of studies conducted in the process of developing and field-testing a skimming and scanning improvement program are described and their implications discussed.
Meaning and Structure
Authors: Rystrom Richard
Published: December 2009

Reading teachers and researchers have frequently assumed there is Some relationship between the syntactic structure of language and the reading acquisition process. Indeed, most methods for teaching reading are implicitly built upon assumptions about the interactions between language and reading behaviors. Often the findings of linguists can be used to suggest the nature of the relationship described above. Illustrated in this paper are different sentences which can be transformed in such a way that each has the same surface structure (typographic appearance) as the others, but which do not have the same meanings (deep structure). The paper illustrates why sentences which have various different meanings implicit in their syntactic structure would be difficult for beginning readers to understand.
Phonological Organization in the Vocabularies of Preschool Children
Authors: Hecker E. P.
Published: December 2009

The major purpose was to study the degree to which the vocabularies of preschool children are organized phonologically. Forty isolated sounds of English were presented to four- and five-year-old children, and they were asked to give several words containing the sounds. The 40 sounds were ranked according to the number of appropriate examples given to each. The appropriate examples given to each sound were also ranked.
Four-Year College Reading Improvement Programs and Grades: An Annotated Review, 1945–1971
Authors: Tillman Chester E.
Published: December 2009

Four-year college reading program outcome studies which were reported in the literature from 1945 through 1971 were annotated. Only reports of programs which emphasized reading improvement and used grade point average as a criterion were included. Community college programs and compensatory programs were not included. Studies were identified on the basis of type of training, testing, and statistical procedure used in measuring change in pre- and posttest scores. Although 23 of the 31 studies found that statistically significant gain in grade-point average was associated with participation in a reading program, grade gains tended to be practically small. It was recommended that grades be viewed as only one of the important factors in evaluating reading programs.
Readability of Community College Textbooks and the Reading Ability of the Students Who Use Them
Authors: Cline Terry A.
Published: December 2009

Using Nelson-Denny test scores of 279 students (80 percent of the freshman class) of a mid-Missouri community college and matching them against the Dale-Chall readability levels of seventeen textbooks used in classes by those students, the author found that eleven of the seventeen textbooks were written above the reading levels of 50 percent of the students.

Perhaps the most significant finding of the study was that 52 percent of the students in all the classes had a reading ability below the textbooks used in the respective classes.

He recommends that community college faculties place textbook readability high among the criteria in textbook selection; that where a wide range of reading abilities exists, two or three texts written at different levels of difficulty be adopted; that faculties look to nonprint materials to augment and clarify textual material; and that community colleges without them seek to establish reading and study skills programs.
The Effectiveness of Tracing for Good and Poor Decoders
Authors: Vandever Thomas R. , Neville Donald D.
Published: December 2009

The effect of visual, auditory and tracing cues on learning was determined for good and poor decoders. Twenty first graders scoring above the median on a test of word knowledge and twenty scoring below were assigned to four instructional groups of ten each. Two words in each of six sessions were presented by stressing visual cues, two by stressing auditory cues, and two by stressing tracing cues. Analysis of variance indicated that poor decoders learned more words when visual cues and auditory cues were stressed than when tracing cues were emphasized (p .05). It may not be appropriate to stress tracing cues for first graders having decoding difficulty. The need for longitudinal research is indicated.
Empirical Examination of Critical Reading and Critical Thinking-Overview
Authors: Follman John , Lowe A. J.
Published: December 2009

This paper summarizes the results of a psychometric research program of two parallel series of fifth and twelfth grade statistical analyses of critical reading, critical thinking, reading, scholastic aptitude and scholastic achievement, test and subtest scores. Correlational and factor analysis, item analysis, reliability estimation, first and second order partial correlation, canonical correlation, and multiple regression and part correlation were used. It was concluded that critical reading and critical thinking have little or no unique variances; that both critical reading and critical thinking can be accounted for almost in entirety by language ability, particularly vocabulary; that critical reading and critical thinking, in so far as they exist, overlap slightly, sharing variance which is not clear but probably is common verbal ability variance.
The Theory of Neurological Organization in Historical Perspective
Authors: Hartman Nancy C. , Hartman Robert K.
Published: December 2009

The treatment program for speech and reading disorders employed by the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential is discussed and relevant research and opinion cited. Questions related to the viability of the theoretical formulations and efficacy of the treatment procedures are raised. The authors conclude that the theory of neurological organization and the remedial principles based on that theory are scientifically unsubstantiated.