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The current understanding of tornado climatology centers on the Storm Prediction Center's tornado database (ONETOR) which dates back to 1950. To understand tornado climatology before this date, a secondary database (STORGIS) of digitized tornado records over the period 1880-1989 are used. Here, the ONETOR database and STORGIS data set are compared for individual tornadoes and outbreaks with six or more F2+ tornadoes during the overlapping years of 1950 to 1989. For the study period, there are more individual tornado reports in the ONETOR database relative to the STORGIS data set. While both databases suggest a similar broad-scale understanding of tornado climatology spatially and by decade, month, and year, there is a statistically significant difference between the two databases with regards to the total number of reports over the study period. For the study period, there are more tornado outbreaks in the ONETOR database relative to the STORGIS data set. In total, more than 94% of the missing outbreaks in the STORGIS data set are weaker outbreaks with ten or less tornadoes. While the general spatial and temporal patterns of the number and size of tornado outbreaks is similar between the STORGIS data set and ONETOR database, there is a statistically significant difference in the total number and average number of tornado outbreaks between each database. These results herein indicate that while the STORGIS data set is representative of large-scale patterns of F2+ tornado behavior in the United States, it cannot be used synonymously with the ONETOR database without additional statistical methods or context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies conducted in the United States indicate that people associate numbers with gender, such that odd numbers are more likely to be considered male and even numbers considered female. It has been argued that this number gendering phenomenon is acquired through social learning and conditioning, and that male-odd/female-even associations reflect a general, cross-cultural human consensus on gender roles relating to agency and communion. However, the incidence and pattern of number gendering in cultures outside the United States remains to be established. Against this background, the purpose of this study was to determine whether people from a culture and country very different from the United States (specifically, native Arabic citizens living in the Arabic culture of the United Arab Emirates) also associate numbers with gender, and, if they do, whether the pattern of these associations is the male-odd/female-even associations previously observed. To investigate this issue, we adopted the Implicit Association Test used frequently in previous research, where associations between numbers (odd and even) and gender (male and female faces) were examined using male and female Arabic participants native to, and resident in, the United Arab Emirates. The findings indicated that the association of numbers with gender does occur in Arabic culture. But while Arabic females associated odd numbers with male faces and even numbers with female faces (the pattern of previous findings in the United States), Arabic males showed the reversed pattern of gender associations, associating even numbers with male faces and odd numbers with female faces. These findings support the view that number gendering is indeed a cross-cultural phenomenon and show that the phenomenon occurs across very different countries and cultures. But the findings also suggest that the pattern with which numbers are associated with gender is not universal and, instead, reflects culture-specific views on gender roles which may change across cultures and gender. Further implications for understanding the association of numbers with gender across human societies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the different appearances of vascular changes in macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel) and to describe their possible progression, the vascular patterns in different retinal layers were analyzed with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) and the findings were correlated with a spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) disease severity scale based on the extent of ellipsoid zone (EZ) loss. Methods: Participants from the MacTel Study Group in Muenster and a healthy cohort were investigated with OCT-A using RTVue XR Avanti. After segmentation of the superficial capillary network, the deep capillary network, and the outer retina (OR), flow density was analyzed using Optovue software. Then, the images were exported using the software Fiji (National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA) and analyzed with the automated MATLAB program (Mathworks, Version R2014b). Four parameters (total vessel length, number of vessel branches, number of vessel segments, and fractal dimension) were examined on the vascular skeletons (temporal, foveal, nasal, and total fields of the ETDRS grid). In addition, linear and area measurements of EZ loss were performed on SD-OCT volume scans. Progression characteristics and correlation between linear and area measurements were analyzed using linear mixed effects models. Results: Twenty eyes of healthy probands (20 OCT-A and 20 SD-OCT scans) and 122 eyes of 61 MacTel patients were included. In order to classify the severity of the disease, MacTel eyes were assigned to a SD-OCT "disease severity scale" (grade 1 = no EZ loss; grade 2 = EZ loss temporal to the fovea; grade 3 = EZ loss including the fovea and the region nasal to the fovea). Flow density and total vessel length showed only limited differences between healthy eyes and different grades of MacTel, but particularly the numbers of branches and vessel segments, as well as the fractal dimension values, demonstrated significant and progressive reduction in the superficial and deep capillary networks of the temporal, nasal, and total ETDRS fields. Moreover, the outer retina showed a progressive presence of hyperreflective material in SD-OCT grades 2 and 3 eyes with associated vascular patterns in the OR on OCT-A. Conclusions: In SD-OCT, the severity of MacTel is characterized by progressive EZ loss, which may be used as a simple clinical "disease severity scale". In addition, OCT-A enables visualization and quantification of vascular patterns with mathematical methods. The morphological progression of the disease correlated significantly with progressive vascular changes, especially in respect of the numbers of branches and vessel segments as well as fractal dimension. This suggests that the severity of neurodegenerative and neurovascular changes develops in parallel and that the analysis and quantification of the vascular changes in the superficial and deep capillary networks may become an additional parameter for future treatment trials. Moreover, the significant association between hyperreflective material progressively visible on SD-OCT in the OR, which most often contains vessels in OCT-A, and advancing SD-OCT severity grades, as well as vascular changes in OCT-A, supports the concept of retinal neovascularization in the OR in patients with advanced MacTel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how teachers should integrate patterns with basic facts in math education in the U.S. The authors present research from fourth grade students in Florida on their ability to recall multiplication and division facts, following the Florida Mathematics Standards and the U.S. Common Core State Standards Initiative. According to the article, the study allowed children to develop a better understanding of odd and even numbers, perfect squares, and mathematical connections.

The article focuses on patterns in the development of emergent literacy and math, the need for a stimulating environment, and the use of music in the classroom in early childhood education in the U.S. The authors suggest that beat, rhythm, and melody in music can help children learn math through the repetition of patterns and promote positive attitudes towards math. Musical teaching activities support the development of early patterning and everyday learning experiences, while learning through play in early childhood education promotes math concepts.