We compared sepsis “time zero” and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) SEP-1 pass rates among 3 abstractors in 3 hospitals. Abstractors agreed on time zero in 29 of 80 (36%) cases. Perceived pass rates ranged from 9 of 80 cases (11%) to 19 of 80 cases (23%). Variability in time zero and perceived pass rates limits the utility of SEP-1 for measuring quality.

This study used a prospective longitudinal design to examine the early developmental pathways that underlie language growth in infants at high risk (n = 50) and low risk (n = 34) for autism spectrum disorder in the first 18 months of life. While motor imitation and responding to joint attention (RJA) have both been found to predict expressive language in children with autism spectrum disorder and those with typical development, the longitudinal relation between these capacities has not yet been identified. As hypothesized, results revealed that 15-month RJA mediated the association between 12-month motor imitation and 18-month expressive vocabulary, even after controlling for earlier levels of RJA and vocabulary. These results provide new information about the developmental sequencing of skills relevant to language growth that may inform future intervention efforts for children at risk for language delay or other developmental challenges.

The solar absorptance αs of nanostructured selective surface (NSS) for solar thermal energy is improved. The NSS are prepared by AC electrochemical impregnation of metal inclusions (MI) into porous anodized aluminum oxide (AAO). The dependence of the NSS performance with composition depth profile and MI is studied by numeric simulations based in a gradient index model and effective medium theory. The results are compared with experimental NSS prepared varying three control parameters and MI (Ni, Cu, Ag). The αs is improved to > 85% (keeping thermal emittance εT relatively low) for Ni MI, mainly by increasing MI content. Increasing AAO thickness or MI molecular weight (for a given experimental composition profile) also improves the performance. For Ag the αs was further improved to 90%.

Habitat loss and fragmentation are among the major threats to wildlife populations in tropical forests. Loss of habitat reduces the carrying capacity of the landscape and fragmentation disrupts biological processes and exposes wildlife populations to the effects of small population size, such as reduction of genetic diversity and increased impact of demographic stochasticity. The Critically Endangered Cross River gorilla Gorilla gorilla diehli is threatened in particular by habitat disturbance because its population is small and it lives in an area where high human population density results in intense exploitation of natural resources. We used remotely-sensed data to assess the extent and distribution of gorilla habitat in the Cross River region and delineated potential dispersal corridors. Our analysis revealed > 8,000 km2 of tropical forest in the study region, 2,500 km2 of which is in or adjacent to areas occupied by gorillas. We surveyed 12 areas of forest identified as potential gorilla habitat, 10 of which yielded new records of gorillas. The new records expand the known range of the Cross River gorilla by > 50%, and support genetic analyses that suggest greater connectivity of the population than previously assumed. These findings demonstrate that considerable connected forest habitat remains and that the area could potentially support a much larger gorilla population if anthropogenic pressures such as hunting could be reduced.

The distribution of phage types was studied among 577 strains of Salmonella typhi from Indonesia. Chemotype, colicinogeny, and tetrathionate reductase activity were also studied for most of these strains. The current phage type formula for Java was determined to be: A, D2, D6, E1a, E2, M1, and 46, but two other large groups of strains were also found, I +IV and degraded Vi + strains. Significant differences in S. typhi strain distributions were noted between two localities on Java with respect to phage type and tetrathionate reductase activity. Comparisons were made with past phage typing studies in Jakarta as well as with more recent studies in other parts of south-east Asia. Phage types A, Dl, D2, and El persisted at a rather steady level in Jakarta for 28 years. Evidence was found for epidemiological links to European and Asian areas. Antibiotic resistance among these Indonesian S. typhi strains was rare.

Nanofocusing, high-resolution X-ray optics demand good surface quality, the absence of tapered sidewalls, and a depth reaching into tens, sometimes hundreds of microns, all requirements that must be satisfied over large areas. In this report, we discuss our motivation for choosing group IV materials (predominantly Si, and C in its diamond form) for nanofocusing and high resolution in the hard X-ray portion of the spectrum. We elaborate on the design and nanofabrication procedures, and detail the etching parameters that offer a path for overcoming obstacles in making better optics. We briefly review tests for the assessing the quality of the optics.

The nature and causes of language disorders are research topics familiar to the readership of Applied Psycholinguistics. Current inquiries place these topics in a dynamic and sprawling multidisciplinary context manifested through investigations of linguistic acquisition, cognitive development, genetics, neurocortical processes, cognitive neurolinguistics, behavioral phenotypes, and language intervention. This list is not complete by any means, but it does suggest the wide front of the current search for better knowledge about what causes language disorders and the dimensions of language acquisition that are affected. Although there is considerable momentum underway in current inquiries, the full potential for scientific advancement is hampered by fragmentation in the field, in part attributable to partitioning by diagnostic categories of affectedness. Investigators (and their funding sources) often focus on a particular clinical group, such as specific language impairment (SLI), autism/autism spectrum disorders (ASD), Williams syndrome (WS), Down syndrome (DS), or fragile X syndrome (FXS). Although this is not exclusively the case, it is relatively difficult to carry out comparative studies across the multiple clinical conditions in which language disorders appear and to monitor developments across such a wide front of investigation. The consequence is that findings are distributed across different publication outlets and different groups of scholars, a situation that can limit our appreciation of the ways in which language disorders are manifest, and the identification of common etiological factors.

Language deficits occur in a variety of developmental disorders including autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, specific language impairment, and Williams syndrome. This paper describes the specific pattern of linguistic deficits in each of these disorders in terms of speech production, semantic, and syntactic abilities as well as the relationship between cognitive and linguistic skills and the presence of a deviant or delayed pattern of development. In the spirit of synthesis across diverse literatures, preliminary comparisons among the language profiles of these disorders are made. The full picture, however, is incomplete given the current state of the literature, which tends to focus on the analysis of a narrow range of linguistic phenomena within a single disorder. The field is in need of research that systematically compares these disorders and leads to detailed descriptions of linguistic phenotypes of each disorder.

New radiocarbon calibration curves, IntCal04 and Marine04, have been constructed and internationally ratified to replace the terrestrial and marine components of IntCal98. The new calibration data sets extend an additional 2000 yr, from 0–26 cal kyr BP (Before Present, 0 cal BP = AD 1950), and provide much higher resolution, greater precision, and more detailed structure than IntCal98. For the Marine04 curve, dendrochronologically-dated tree-ring samples, converted with a box diffusion model to marine mixed-layer ages, cover the period from 0–10.5 cal kyr BP. Beyond 10.5 cal kyr BP, high-resolution marine data become available from foraminifera in varved sediments and U/Th-dated corals. The marine records are corrected with site-specific 14C reservoir age information to provide a single global marine mixed-layer calibration from 10.5–26.0 cal kyr BP. A substantial enhancement relative to IntCal98 is the introduction of a random walk model, which takes into account the uncertainty in both the calendar age and the 14C age to calculate the underlying calibration curve (Buck and Blackwell, this issue). The marine data sets and calibration curve for marine samples from the surface mixed layer (Marine04) are discussed here. The tree-ring data sets, sources of uncertainty, and regional offsets are presented in detail in a companion paper by Reimer et al. (this issue).

Crystallization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is accompanied by significant changes in surface topography, easily detected by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Phase imaging by AFM qualitatively indicates contrast in mechanical properties of nanometer scale areas of an annealed PET surface, but cannot provide quantitative data. Using interfacial force microscopy (IFM), we have, for the first time, made quantitative measurements of the elastic moduli of such nm-scale areas on a homopolymer surface. Values of 2.2 GPa, 4.3 GPa, and 11.8 GPa, were found, respectively, for amorphous PET and for phase segregated regions on the surface of an annealed homopolymer PET sample. The method is applicable to any phase segregated surface with nm-sized domains of differing elastic moduli.