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This bilingual-bicultural reader in Cantonese and English is intended for elementary school children in a bilingual education setting. Pen-and-ink drawings illustrate the story of the traditional dragon boat festival. Each page of the text is written in Chinese characters, Romanized form, and in English. (NCR)

This bilingual-bicultural reader in Cantonese and English is intended for elementary school children in a bilingual education setting. Pen-and-ink drawings illustrate the story of two children involved in the activities of the Chinese New Year. Each page of the text is written in Chinese characters, in Romanized form, and in English. (NCR)

This resource anthology consists of reprinted articles and documents dealing with the Chinese American experience. It is intended for use in secondary school classrooms and is divided into three sections: history, community, and stereotypes. The history of the Chinese in the U.S. is detailed in works describing immigration policies and labor laws, in autobiographical accounts, and in articles on living conditions and social problems among Chinese Americans since the mid-1800's. In the section on community concerns, problems and issues facing the Chinese American community are addressed in articles published within the past decade. Among the issues discussed are Chinese ghetto communities, educational concerns such as bilingualism, and how racial discrimination against Chinese is related to discrimination against other groups. Finally, stereotypes historically and currently attributed to Chinese Americans are examined. These include stereotypes formed from political, racial and linguistic characteristics. Stereotypes of Asian women are also discussed. (GC)

This program listing is a supplement to the Microcomputer Network for Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT). The driver textfile program allows access to major subprograms of the CAT project. The test administration textfile program gives examinees a prescribed set of subtests. The parameter management textfile program establishes a file containing the testing strategies and parameters given to examinees. The test manager textfile program provides file maintenance of tests; allows creation of new tests and editing of test questions; lists tests to file, console, or printer for verification; and writes subtests from the hard disk to a floppy disk. The examinee manager textfile program allows access to and editing of examinee records; lists examinee's test scores; removes or modifies an examinee record; controls examinee access to the CAT system; and lists the status of examinees in the system. The strategy manager textfile program allows access to data structures used by different strategies of CAT methods; currently, only a Bayesian method is implemented. The graphics management program includes the graphics editor driver and main menu graphics procedures. The CAT diagnostic program is a procedure for detecting problems in the CAT system files. The miscellaneous textfiles program initializes and formats files. (DWH)

Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) are globally distributed and concentrate in urban environments, where they live and feed in closer proximity to human populations than most other mammals. Despite the potential role of rats as reservoirs of zoonotic diseases, the microbial diversity present in urban rat populations remains unexplored. In this study, we used targeted molecular assays to detect known bacterial, viral, and protozoan human pathogens and unbiased high-throughput sequencing to identify novel viruses related to agents of human disease in commensal Norway rats in New York City. We found that these rats are infected with bacterial pathogens known to cause acute or mild gastroenteritis in people, including atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Clostridium difficile, and Salmonella enterica, as well as infectious agents that have been associated with undifferentiated febrile illnesses, including Bartonella spp., Streptobacillus moniliformis, Leptospira interrogans, and Seoul hantavirus. We also identified a wide range of known and novel viruses from groups that contain important human pathogens, including sapoviruses, cardioviruses, kobuviruses, parechoviruses, rotaviruses, and hepaciviruses. The two novel hepaciviruses discovered in this study replicate in the liver of Norway rats and may have utility in establishing a small animal model of human hepatitis C virus infection. The results of this study demonstrate the diversity of microbes carried by commensal rodent species and highlight the need for improved pathogen surveillance and disease monitoring in urban environments. Importance: The observation that most emerging infectious diseases of humans originate in animal reservoirs has led to wide-scale microbial surveillance and discovery programs in wildlife, particularly in the developing world. Strikingly, less attention has been focused on commensal animals like rats, despite their abundance in urban centers and close proximity to human populations. T

K13965, an uncharacterized virus, was isolated in 1993 from Anopheles annulipes mosquitoes collectedin the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. Here, we report its genomic sequence, identifyit as a rhabdovirus, and characterize its phylogenetic relationships. The genome comprises a P (C) and SH protein similar to the recently characterized Tupaia and Durham viruses, and shows overlap between G and L genes. Comparison of K13965 genome sequence to other rhabdoviruses identified K13965 as a strain of the unclassified Australian Oak Vale rhabdovirus, whose complete genome sequence we also determined. Phylogenetic analysis of N and L sequences indicated genetic relationship to a recently proposed Sandjima virus clade, although the Oak Vale virus sequences form a branch separate from the African members of that group.

Viruses from several recognized arthropod-borne virus families are regularly isolated in Australia. Many of these are important human and animal pathogens, and the emergence of novel or exotic arboviral pathogens pose additional threats. In Western Australia, arbovirus activity is monitored by the Arbovirus Surveillance and Research Laboratory. Viruses are isolated in cell culture from pools of mosquitoes, and their identification is then performed using a panel of monoclonal antibodies raised against medically important viruses belonging to the Alphavirus and Flavivirus genera in an enzyme immunoassay. A collection of arbovirus cultures that had evaded serological identification were further screened using molecular methods. A series of RT-PCR assays using primer sets targeting alphaviruses, flaviviruses and orbiviruses enabled identification of many of these cultures. The identity of the remaining isolates was subsequently determined using unbiased high-throughput sequencing. Novel members of the Rhabdoviridae (Oak Vale-like virus) and Reoviridae (Stretch Lagoon orbivirus) were identified. Viruses belonging to the Mapputta virus group of the Orthobunyaviridae family were also identified, as well as a single isolate of a novel reassortant virus, whose genome consists of a bunyamwera virus-like L segment and Batai virus-like M and S segments. The identification and characterisation of these viruses has informed subsequent molecular screening activities. These findings emphasise the importance of employing combinations of laboratory-based diagnostic and detection methods for comprehensive arbovirus surveillance.

Bats are reservoirs for emerging zoonotic viruses that can have a profound impact on human and animal health, including lyssaviruses, filoviruses, paramyxoviruses, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses (SARS-CoVs). In the course of a project focused on pathogen discovery in contexts where human-bat contact might facilitate more efficient interspecies transmission of viruses, we surveyed gastrointestinal tissue obtained from bats collected in caves in Nigeria that are frequented by humans. Coronavirus consensus PCR and unbiased high-throughput pyrosequencing revealed the presence of coronavirus sequences related to those of SARS-CoV in a Commerson's leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros commersoni). Additional genomic sequencing indicated that this virus, unlike subgroup 2b CoVs, which includes SARS-CoV, is unique, comprising three overlapping open reading frames between the M and N genes and two conserved stem-loop II motifs. Phylogenetic analyses in conjunction with these features suggest that this virus represents a new subgroup within group 2 CoVs.

Encephalitis is a major cause of death worldwide. Although >100 pathogens have been identified as causative agents, the pathogen is not determined for up to 75% of cases. This diagnostic failure impedes effective treatment and underscores the need for better tools and new approaches for detecting novel pathogens or determining new manifestations of known pathogens. Although astroviruses are commonly associated with gastroenteritis, they have not been associated with central nervous system disease. Using unbiased pyrosequencing, we detected an astrovirus as the causative agent for encephalitis in a 15-year-old boy with agammaglobulinemia; several laboratories had failed to identify the agent. Our findings expand the spectrum of causative agents associated with encephalitis and highlight unbiased molecular technology as a valuable tool for differential diagnosis of unexplained disease.

Discussion is presented of the use of finite element techniques to study the structural interaction between the refractory brick lining and the cylindrical steel shell in converters, anode furnaces and similar Ni and Cu smelting vessels. Factors affecting analysis include loading effects, refractory practice and refractory properties. Computers have been used for modelling using 3-dimensional solid elements (nodes) and the behaviour of gap elements and other non-linearities. Benefits to be gained from modelling include reduced shell thickness and hence a saving in initial fabrication costs and an awareness of the relationship between the brick properties, bricking practices and the stress conditions in both the shell and the refractory lining., Discussion is presented of the use of finite element techniques to study the structural interaction between the refractory brick lining and the cylindrical steel shell in converters, anode furnaces and similar Ni and Cu smelting vessels. Factors affecting analysis include loading effects, refractory practice and refractory properties. Computers have been used for modelling using 3-dimensional solid elements (nodes) and the behaviour of gap elements and other non-linearities. Benefits to be gained from modelling include reduced shell thickness and hence a saving in initial fabrication costs and an awareness of the relationship between the brick properties, bricking practices and the stress conditions in both the shell and the refractory lining.