Very little is known about the processes underlying second language (L2) speakers’ understanding of written metaphors and similes. Moreover, most of the theories on figurative language comprehension do not consider reader-related factors. In the study, we used eye-tracking to examine how native Finnish speakers (N = 63) read written English nominal metaphors (“education is a stairway”) and similes (“education is like a stairway”). Identical topic–vehicle pairs were used in both conditions. After reading, participants evaluated familiarity of each pair. English proficiency was measured using the Bilingual-language Profile Questionnaire and the Lexical Test for Advanced Learners of English. The results showed that readers were more likely to regress within metaphors than within similes, indicating that processing metaphors requires more processing effort than processing similes. The familiarity of a metaphor and L2 English proficiency modulated this effect. The results are discussed in the light of current theories on figurative language processing.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: AA are over-represented on the waitlist for kidney transplant and are often unaware of how waitlist acceptance practices differ across transplant programs and influence access to transplant. We will develop a culturally sensitive transplant program report card to communicate these variations. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) data will be used to identity clinical factors strongly associated with AA access to transplant. Interviews and focus groups with AA kidney transplant candidates and their families will collect feedback on the SRTR report card and inform the development of the culturally sensitive report card. Additional focus groups will evaluate its effect on knowledge and medical decision making. We will collaborate with the stakeholders, including AA transplant candidates and their families, transplant programs, SRTR, and providers, to identify strategies to disseminate the report card in the AA community RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: To date, no investigation has systematically collected feedback on the SRTR transplant program report card from AA candidates to ensure that the tool is accessible and effective in the AA community. We hypothesize that a culturally sensitive report card will improve AA candidates’ knowledge of program factors that impact access to transplant and enable informed decisions about where they pursue a transplant evaluation. The results of this study have the potential to change how AA patients are counselled while seeking transplantation. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: A culturally sensitive report card can reach more AA patients and enable more informed decision making by providing education about differences in transplant programs that may impact their access to transplant. In the future, we will design a trial to evaluate the prototype.

It is important to be able to compare and evaluate different solutions early in development. This paper proposes a method for structuring historical data into a data model that can support the evaluation of new design concepts. The data is contextualized by linking it to a hierarchical decomposition of existing products. Two case studies were conducted to evaluate the value of using historical data when evaluating new concepts. The cases confirm that the proposed method is useful for evaluation of new concepts.

Introduction: In children, acute otitis media (AOM) pain is undertreated. We sought to determine if video discharge instructions were associated with improved symptomatology, functional outcomes, and knowledge compared to a paper handout. Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled superiority trial comparing video discharge instructions (Easy Sketch Pro3TM) on management of pain to a paper handout detailing the same. We included caregivers of children 6 months to 5 years presenting to the emergency department (ED) with a clinical diagnosis of AOM. The primary outcome was symptomatology using the Acute Otitis Media Severity of Symptom (AOM SOS) score between 48 and 72 hours. The 7-item self-report AOM-SOS is scored from 0 to 13 with a higher score indicating more symptomatology. Secondary outcomes included knowledge gain using a 10-item survey, days of daycare/school/work missed, and recidivism. Assuming a minimal clinically important AOM-SOS difference of 2, 90% power, and 5% alpha, 60 individuals/group was needed. Results: 219 caregivers were randomized and 149 completed the 72-hour follow-up (72 paper and 77 video). The median (IQR) AOM-SOS score in the video group (adjusted for pre-intervention AOM-SOS, analgesic and antibiotic use) was significantly lower than paper [8 (7,11) versus 10 (7,13), respectively, p=0.004]. There were no significant differences between video and paper in the mean (SD) knowledge score [9.2 (1.3) versus 8.8 (1.8) correct answers, respectively, p=0.07], mean (SD) number that returned to a health provider [8/77 versus 10/72, respectively, p=0.49), mean (SD) number of daycare/schooldays missed [1.2 (1.5) versus 1.1 (2.1), respectively, p=0.62], and mean (SD) number of workdays missed by caregiver [0.5 (1) versus 0.8 (2), respectively, p=0.05]. Conclusion: Video discharge instructions are associated with less symptomatology compared to a paper handout, are effective for caregiver education in the ED, and should be used routinely.

Archaeological data and research results are essential to addressing such fundamental questions as the origins of human culture; the origin, waxing, and waning of civilizations and cities; the response of societies to long-term climate changes; and the systemic relationships implicated in human-induced changes in the environment. However, we lack the capacity for acquiring, managing, analyzing, and synthesizing the data sets needed to address important questions such as these. We propose investments in computational infrastructure that would transform archaeology’s ability to advance research on the field’s most compelling questions with an evidential base and inferential rigor that have heretofore been impossible. At the same time, new infrastructure would make archaeological data accessible to researchers in other disciplines. We offer recommendations regarding data management and availability, cyberinfrastructure tool building, and social and cultural changes in the discipline. We propose funding synthetic case studies that would demonstrate archaeology’s ability to contribute to transdisciplinary research on long-term social dynamics and serve as a context for developing computational tools and analytical workflows that will be necessary to attack these questions. The case studies would explore how emerging research in computer science could empower this research and would simultaneously provide productive challenges for computer science research.

The population growth of endangered whooping cranes (Grus americana) is not consistent with species recovery goals, and the impact of parasite infection on whooping crane populations is largely unknown. Disease ecology and epidemiology research of endangered species is often hindered by limited ability to conduct invasive sampling on the target taxa. Accordingly, we hypothesized that sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) would be a useful surrogate species to investigate the health impacts of Haemosporida infection in whooping cranes. Our goal was to compare the prevalence and diversity of Haemosporida infection between whooping cranes and sandhill cranes. We detected an overall infection prevalence of 83·6% (n = 61) in whooping cranes and 59·6% (n = 47) and 63·6 (n = 22) in two sympatric sandhill crane populations captured in Texas. Prevalence was significantly lower in allopatric sandhill cranes captured in New Mexico (12·1%, n = 33). Haemoproteus antigonis was the most abundant haemoparasite in cranes, present in 57·4% of whooping cranes and 39·2% of sandhill cranes; Plasmodium and Leucocytozoon were present at significantly lower levels. The high prevalence of Haemosporida in whooping cranes and sympatric sandhill cranes, with shared parasite lineages between the two species, supports sandhill cranes as a surrogate species for understanding health threats to endangered whooping cranes.

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy remains common in many countries. Exposure to even low amounts of alcohol (i.e. ethanol) in pregnancy can lead to the heterogeneous fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), while heavy alcohol consumption can result in the fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). FAS is characterized by cerebral dysfunction, growth restriction and craniofacial malformations. However, the effects of lower doses of alcohol during pregnancy, such as those that lead to FASD, are less well understood. In this article, we discuss the findings of recent studies performed in our laboratories on the effects of fetal alcohol exposure using sheep, in which we investigated the effects of late gestational alcohol exposure on the developing brain, arteries, kidneys, heart and lungs. Our studies indicate that alcohol exposure in late gestation can (1) affect cerebral white matter development and increase the risk of hemorrhage in the fetal brain, (2) cause left ventricular hypertrophy with evidence of altered cardiomyocyte maturation, (3) lead to a decrease in nephron number in the kidney, (4) cause altered arterial wall stiffness and endothelial and smooth muscle function and (5) result in altered surfactant protein mRNA expression, surfactant phospholipid composition and pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA expression in the lung. These findings suggest that fetal alcohol exposure in late gestation can affect multiple organs, potentially increasing the risk of disease and organ dysfunction in later life.

If the rotamak is regarded as a spherical field-reversed mirror then, according to conventional ideal MHD analysis, it should be unstable to co-interchange modes localized near the vortex point of the magnetic field. It is shown that to study these instabilities in a typical rotamak plasma, the Hall term in Ohm's law cannot be ignored. The effect of the Hall term on the ideal MHD analysis of co-interchange modes is investigated and a stability criterion is derived.

The method of generating steady azimuthal currents in a cylindrical plasma column by means of a rotating magnetic field is investigated numerically and analytically for the case where an external steady azimuthal magnetic field is applied to the plasma. For a plasma of low resistivity, the effect of imposing a strong azimuthal field is a substantial reduction in the amount of current that can be driven. For a resistive plasma the effect is more complicated. In some cases the azimuthal field enhances current drive as has been observed in recent experiments.

An equilibrium model for a spherical field reversed configuration in the presence of a transverse rotating magnetic field is presented. It is shown that this quasi-static equilibrium is an exact solution of the time-dependent ideal magneto-hydrodynamic equations.

ZnO as a direct wide-band-semiconductor with its band gap of 3.3 eV at room temperature is a promising optoelectronic material. The main obstacle in the ZnO system is its lack of achieving reproducible p-type conductivity. The main reasons for this are the high residual intrinsic and extrinsic defect concentrations which are still not completely understood.

Homoepitaxial growth of ZnO and thus minimization of intrinsic defects due to lattice mismatch and incorporation of residual substrate species could be a solution to overcome these problems. Despite the availability of ZnO bulk single crystals reports regarding ZnO homoepitaxy are still quite rare. In this paper we report on a successful homoepitaxial growth of ZnO thin films by chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

Atomic force microscopy shows that two-dimensional epitaxial growth was achieved without any additional buffer layer. With a rocking curve full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 17 arcsec the deposited films show a superior crystalline quality compared to its substrate. The optical quality of the epitaxial films has been characterized laterally by cathodoluminescence and spectrally by photoluminescence. Excitonic emissions at 4K are as narrow as 110 μeV. A dependence of the appearance of excitonic emissions from the growth polarity can be shown which is attributed to different incorporation rates of extrinsic defects.