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Peer educators have a critical role to play in the delivery of a wide variety of important programs on college campuses. Nowhere is this more evident than in learning assistance programs. These programs, typically housed in a learning center or learning assistance office, include tutoring and mentoring and often take the form of individual and group support in study skills, note-taking, writing, and math skills. Starting a new peer education program in learning assistance requires attention to critical program components. It is critical to consider the design principles for peer education and the needed resources before implementing a learning assistance program that utilizes peer educators. This article discusses essential elements to consider when beginning a new program and describes critical components of successful programs. The authors present resources that would be useful to those considering beginning a peer education program in learning assistance.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to validate our previous genetic association findings related to the endoglin (ENG) pathway from an American Caucasian preeclampsia cohort in independent preeclampsia cohorts. We also sought to explore the ENG pathway for new genetic associations in these independent cohorts.Study Design: We used a tagging single nucleotide (tSNP) approach to assess genetic variability across five ENG pathway genes (ENG, TGFβ1, TGFβR1, ALK1, and TGFβR2) in a Caucasian cohort from Norway (n = 77 preeclampsia cases & n = 63 normotensive controls) and a White Hispanic cohort from Southern California (n = 69 preeclampsia cases & n = 106 normotensive controls).Main Outcome Measures: Univariate analyses (Chi Square, Fisher's Exact) and multivariate logistic regression were conducted to evaluate the association between tSNP genotype distributions and pregnancy outcome in each cohort. Logistic regression models were adjusted for maternal age at delivery, infant sex, parity, smoking during pregnancy, and pre-pregnancy BMI.Results: Although we were unable to replicate our previous SNP-specific findings (ENG rs11792480, rs10121110; TGFβR2 rs6550005; p's > 0.05), we found that genetic variation in TGFβR1[ALK5] (rs6478974) and TGFβR2 (rs11129420, rs6802220, rs1155708, rs3773640, rs3773663) was significantly associated with preeclampsia in the Norwegian cohort and genetic variation in ALK1 (rs706819) and TGFβR2 (rs9843942) was significantly associated with preeclampsia in the Latina cohort.Conclusion: Overall, our results provide further support for the involvement and investigation of the endoglin pathway in preeclampsia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes a genetic algorithm (GA) optimization study of pipeline replacement options that San Diego Water Department in California completed for its Alvarado Water Treatment Plant service area. Details of the San Diego water system; Scope of the problem of aging transmission pipelines and distribution mains; Approach used in implementing GA optimization.

The article presents the technical proposal in botany to conserve the name of the plant specie Carex fracta against Carex amplectens (Cyperaceae). The proposal intends to preserve the nomenclature for a common sedge plant in widespread use. It notes that the name of the Californian endemic plant Carex fracta will be replaced by Carex amplectens.