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In Single Subject preservice programs across the U.S., literacy professors are coping with the demands of preparing their candidates to teach reading and writing across the content areas. The professors are challenged to establish a credible rationale for why teachers in content areas such as physical education, art, and music should be required to take a course in content literacy. While many candidates wonder why they must take a course in reading, many professors wonder how that course can be optimally structured to adequately teach a vast array of literacy-related processes and content literacy methods. In his study of over 100 "reading nightmares" of middle and high school teachers in all content areas, including science, math, social studies, English, and art, Bintz (1997) found that teachers were perplexed by classroom teaching dilemmas such as how to make factual reading more interesting, help students understand what they read, and find time to teach reading skills without compromising subject matter instruction. In this article, the authors present the study initiated by the California State University (CSU) to address the challenge of improving adolescent reading in all content areas. The CSU Chancellor's Office, working through its Center for the Advancement of Reading (CAR), assembled the Single Subject Reading Task Force (SSRTF), a group of 14 members: 12 faculty from various CSU campuses across the state and the two co-directors of CAR, one of whom was also a CSU literacy faculty member. The charge given to the SSRTF was to ensure high quality and consistency across CSU campuses in the reading/language arts methods courses for secondary teacher candidates. (Contains 1 figure.)

BACKGROUND: Almost all of the reported US tick-borne and transfusion-associated Babesia cases have been caused by Babesia microti, which is endemic in the Northeast and upper Midwest. We investigated a case caused by B. duncani (formerly, the WA1-type parasite), in a 59-year-old California resident with sickle cell disease (HbSS) whose only risk factor for infection was receipt of red blood cell transfusions. CASE REPORT: The patient's case was diagnosed in September 2008: intraerythrocytic parasites were noted on a blood smear, after a several-month history of increasing transfusion requirements. Molecular and indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) analyses were negative for B. microti but were positive for B. duncani (IFA titer, 1:1024). The complete 18S ribosomal RNA gene of the parasite was amplified from a blood specimen; the DNA sequence was identical to the sequence for the index WA1 parasite isolated in 1991. The patient's case prompted a transfusion investigation: 34 of 38 pertinent blood donors were evaluated, none of whom tested positive by B. microti IFA. The implicated donor-a 67-year-old California resident-had a B. duncani titer of 1:4096; B. duncani also was isolated by inoculating jirds (Mongolian gerbils) with a blood specimen from March 2009, more than 10 months after his index donation in April 2008. The patient's case was diagnosed more than 4 months after the implicated transfusion in May 2008. CONCLUSIONS: This patient had the third documented transfusion case caused by B. duncani. His case underscores the fact that babesiosis can be caused by agents not detected by molecular or serologic analyses for B. microti. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary objectives: Children with a history of cancer are at increased risk for cognitive impairments, particularly in executive and memory domains. Traditional, in-person cognitive rehabilitation strategies may be unavailable and/or impractical for many of these children given difficulties related to resources and health status. The feasibility and efficacy of implementing a computerized, home-based cognitive rehabilitation curriculum designed to improve executive function skills was examined in these children. Methods: A one-arm open trial pilot study of an original executive function cognitive rehabilitation curriculum was conducted with 23 paediatric cancer survivors aged 7-19. Results: Compliance with the cognitive rehabilitation program was 83%, similar to that of many traditional programs. Following the cognitive intervention, participants showed significantly increased processing speed, cognitive flexibility, verbal and visual declarative memory scores as well as significantly increased pre-frontal cortex activation compared to baseline. Conclusions: These results suggest that a program of computerized cognitive exercises can be successfully implemented at home in young children with cancer. These exercises may be effective for improving executive and memory skills in this group, with concurrent changes in neurobiologic status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents abstracts for the 21st annual meeting of the American College of Toxicology in San Diego, California. Mouse bioassay in pharmaceutical testing; Application of immunohistochemistry for the evaluation of immunosuppressive agents; Design of reproductive toxicology protocol for the study of antiandrogens.

The article offers information on the Sir Francis Drake Commission established by an act of the California legislature and signed into law in 1973. N. J. W. Thrower was appointed as the president in 1975. Its purpose is to make a suitable celebration of the quadricentennial of Sir Francis Darke's voyage of circumnavigation in California on June 17 to July 23, 1579. The commission comprises of 24 members who represent principal academic institutions and legal and business interest in the state.

The author shares his insights and experiences regarding the use of arguments in developing the critical thinking skills among his students in California. He states that a conversation regarding the student's own experience and arguments in daily living would serve the basis for discovering his rational and emotional development. Moreover, he offers suggestions for teachers on how to get started on arguments including asking students to write a description of one of their best or worst arguments in a journal, log, or letter, and exploring the use of language by asking students to write out the conversations as they remember them.

The article presents information on the map supplement number seven of the journal "Annals of the Association of American Geographers," regarding California population distribution in the year 1960. California was selected for experimentation in demographic cartography because there was unusual interest in population problems in the state because of the spectacular rise in numbers in recent decades and the area offered examples of extremes of concentration and dispersal in distribution. Details of sources used and the methods employed in the compilation of the work are set forth on the map itself. Acknowledgement of the assistance of the principal contributors; both individuals and organizations, also appears in the map.

Background: Despite effective antituberculous medications, the mortality and morbidity remain high in children with tuberculous meningitis (TBM). The traditional clinical staging for TBM developed by Lincoln et al in 1960 has been widely used to predict long term neurologic sequelae (NS). In the current era of critical care medicine and corticosteroid therapy, a new scoring system is needed to predict NS more accurately in children with TBM., Methods: We reviewed all available cases of TBM in San Diego, CA, during 1991-2001 retrospectively, and we developed a novel scoring system to predict NS in children with TBM. We assessed a tuberculous meningitis acute neurologic (TBAN) score at day 0 and on day 3 of hospitalization, to compare children who subsequently developed severe NS with those who did not., Results: Among 20 children with TBM, 7 children developed severe NS and 1 child died during hospitalization. The TBAN score was higher on day 0 in those with severe NS (5.5 versus 2.0, P = 0.09), and the difference became statistically significant by day 3 of hospitalization (5.5 versus 0.0, P = 0.02). Sensitivity and specificity of the TBAN score (> or =4) on day 0 (75 and 92%) and day 3 (88 and 100%) to predict severe NS were superior to the traditional clinical staging system on day 0 (63 and 58%)., Conclusions: The TBAN score is an objective marker for predicting severe NS in children with TBM.

Background and Purpose: MRI-defined infarcts are common in the elderly. We sought to explore incidence, manifestations, and predictors of such infarcts., Methods: The Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) is a population-based, longitudinal study of 5888 people aged > or =65 years. Participants have had extensive baseline and follow-up evaluations; 1433 participants underwent 2 MRI scans separated by 5 years and had no infarcts on initial MRI., Results: On follow-up MRI, 254 participants (17.7%) had 1 or more infarcts. Most were single (75.6%), subcortical (79.9%), and small (3 to 20 mm in 87.0%). Only 11.4% of those with infarcts experienced a documented transient ischemic attack or stroke between the scans. Although participants were similar at initial MRI, those with MRI-defined infarcts on follow-up experienced greater decline than those without infarcts on the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination and Digit-Symbol Substitution test (both P<0.01). Severity of white matter changes on initial MRI was the strongest predictor of incident infarcts. When it was excluded from stepwise multivariable models, predictors were serum creatinine, age, and ankle-arm index., Conclusions: Incident MRI-defined infarcts commonly affect the elderly. Most are small, subcortical, and not associated with acute symptoms recognized as a transient ischemic attack or stroke. Nonetheless, they cannot be considered silent because of their association with subtle cognitive deficits. These covert infarcts are associated with white matter changes, which may share a common pathophysiology. Whether control of vascular risk factors, such as blood pressure, would reduce the risk of developing these infarcts and associated cognitive decline deserves further investigation.