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The Rybakov Test is a traditional nonverbal spatial ability test for which promising results have been reported in the few validation studies that have been conducted to date. In order to more thoroughly determine the psychometric properties of the test, we subjected it to systematic validation in two samples of 338 participants in total. Our analyses demonstrated that the Rybakov Test is a reliable measure of spatial visualization ability that exhibits convergent associations with other spatial visualization tests (r = .45–.62) and general intelligence tests (r = .43–.44). The Rybakov Figures showed high internal consistency (α = .79–.84) and high retest reliability (rtt = .77) – and even proved to be Rasch scalable. Because of the widely varying item difficulties, the test can be administered even in highly skilled samples without generating ceiling effects.

Recent studies revealed appropriate differentiation of recent thymic emigrant (RTE)-regulatory T cells (Tregs) to be crucial for maintaining healthy pregnancy. Currently, the role of responder T cells (Tresps) is not known.Six-color flow cytometric analysis was used to detect differences in the differentiation of highly proliferative inducible co-stimulatory (ICOS)Healthy pregnancy was characterized by an increased differentiation of ICOSAberrant differentiation of ICOS

The majority of persons serving as school counselors in Belize do not have the formal training proposed by standard setting bodies, such as the U.S. National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) and the American School Counseling Association (ASCA). However, those serving as counselors readily identify responsibilities that parallel those advocated by the ASCA National Model (ASCA 2005). This article identifies characteristics of Belize school counselors, and reviews current school counseling practices and the implications of these for the future of school counseling in that setting. Opportunities for standardization and professional development for school counselors, solidification of a professional identity, and barriers to educational attainment are also explored.

One of the main challenges facing researchers working on unedited Arabic texts is the vocabulary used in their sources. The Arabic lexicon varies considerably in the different text genres: a verb m...

Salt sensitivity and psychological factors are thought to be associated with a higher risk for the development of hypertension but data on the relation between age-related blood pressure increase and salt sensitivity or psychological factors are scarce. A total of 31 healthy young males who were previously classified with respect to salt sensitivity, mental stress reactivity, trait-anxiety, trait-anger, and irritability were followed up 4.8 years later by 24 hr ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABP). Our results showed anxiety and irritability correlated significantly with 24-hr ABP 4.8 years later (p < 0.05). The increase of diastolic blood pressure over 4.8 years was higher in salt-sensitive than salt-resistant subjects (p < 0.07). Heart rate and diastolic blood pressure correlated significantly with systolic and diastolic 24-hr ABP and blood pressure reactivity under mental stress with diastolic 24-hr ABP. A regression analysis that included cardiovascular and psychological factors yielded 34% (systolic ABP, p < 0.009) and 58% (diastolic ABP, p < 0.0001) of variance. We concluded that anxiety and irritability are important predictors of blood pressure increase over time in healthy males.

The majority of our evidence for language change in pre-modern times comes from the written output of scribes. The present volume deals with a variety of aspects of language change and focuses on the role of scribes. The individual articles, which treat different theoretical and empirical issues, reflect a broad cross-linguistic and cross-cultural diversity. The languages that are represented cover a broad spectrum, and the empirical data come from a wide range of sources. This book provides a wealth of new data and new perspectives on old problems, and it raises new questions about the actual mechanisms of language change.

The Genizah letters from the eleventh and thirteenth centuries differ in many points. The opening formulae and the system of dating used in the eleventh century are derived from the Classical Arabic forms, while the thirteenth-century letters indicate the date in a simpler manner and adopt a completely different style of opening. The later letters show orthographical, morphological and syntactical features that differ from the earlier material. This supports the observations made by Goitein concerning the social changes that occurred between the eleventh and the thirteenth centuries. In the eleventh century, the social elite of the country upheld the conventions of Classical Arabic as part of their cultural heritage. To a certain degree, this also permeated the Jewish segment of society. The weakening of the bourgeoisie and the general economic impoverishment of Egypt in the thirteenth century led to the abandoning of Classical Arabic ideals by Muslim writers. Keywords: Classical Arabic forms; Goitein; Hebrew content; Jewish letters; social changes

Salt-sensitive normotensive men exhibit an enhanced pressor response to mental stress. Although an enhanced pressor response is associated with higher affective startle modulation in men, an association between salt sensitivity of blood pressure and affective startle modulation has not been studied so far. We studied reactivity to mental stress and startle modulation in 14 salt-sensitive healthy white male students and 14 salt-resistant control subjects, who were well matched for age, body mass index, physical fitness, and family history of hypertension. Subjects performed a computerized information-processing task under time pressure (manometer test), while heart rate and blood pressure were continuously registered. In a separate session, subjects viewed a series of 42 pictures of the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), varying in pleasure and arousal, while acoustic startle probes were administered randomly, and electromyogram activity of the orbicular eye muscle was continuously recorded. Startle modulation was calculated as the difference between startle responses under negative and positive affective stimuli. In contrast to salt-resistant subjects, salt-sensitive subjects showed significantly enhanced startle amplitudes under negative stimuli and diminished amplitudes under positive stimuli. Thus, salt-sensitive subjects displayed a significantly higher startle modulation than did salt-resistant subjects ( P

Gene amplification is frequently present in human tumors, although specific target genes relevant to many amplified loci remain unidentified. An expression cloning assay enabled identification of a candidate oncogene derived from human chromosome 3p14.1. The cDNA retrieved from morphologically transformed cells contained the full-length protein coding region and detected an abundant transcript in the same cells. Sequence analysis revealed identity with the wild-type sequence of p44S10, a highly conserved subunit of the 26S proteasome that exhibits similarity to the Arabidopsis fus6/cop11 family of signaling molecules. p44S10 gene copy number and mRNA expression were increased in association with segmental 1.8 - 11-fold chromosomal gains in cutaneous malignant melanoma cell lines (5/13; 40%) and tumors (2/40; 5%), and in breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Likewise, malignant progression of human radial growth phase WM35 melanoma cells was associated with amplification and increased expression of endogenous p44S10, and increased expression of p44S10 was sufficient to induce proliferation of WM35 cells in vivo. The results demonstrate segmental copy number gains within chromosome 3p in cutaneous malignant melanoma and suggest that deregulation of a proteasome regulatory particle subunit may contribute to the malignant phenotype.