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This study analyzed the content of college and university Web site home pages to determine the frequency of marketing messages that might persuade adult learners to enroll at the institution. The findings suggest that colleges and universities in this study do not have adult-oriented marketing messages and are giving scant attention to the decision-making needs of prospective adult learners on their Web sites. The marketing generally appeals to career prospects rather than helping adults make decisions about their futures. The potential of Web marketing to help adults is not being realized. As a result, Web marketing presents the promise of higher education without helping prospective adult learners take the first steps down the pathway. Suggested Web site message improvements include designing messages that appeal to the needs and interests of adult learners; welcoming adult learners through textual content, visual displays, and ease of access to information; demonstrating how an institution will address adult learners' issues and interests; and convincing prospects that they will achieve their goals by completing their education at the institution. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

Characterization of the diversity of filamentous fungi and protists in the Richmond Mine at Iron Mountain, Calif by utilizing both beta-tubulin and 18S rRNA gene sequence phylogenetic analyses is reported. The development of 18S rRNA fungal probes helped in identifying and studying the distribution of lineages of morphologically indistinguishable fungi in environmental samples. Three isolates with 18s rRNA genes that are closely related to the Dothideomycetes clones were obtained and the name 'Acidomyces richmondensis' is suggested for the isolates on the basis of their genus-level phylogenetic divergence and environmental adaptation.

This study analyzed the content of college and university Web site home pages to determine the frequency of marketing messages that might persuade adult learners to enroll at the institution. The findings suggest that colleges and universities in this study do not have adult-oriented marketing messages and are giving scant attention to the decision-making needs of prospective adult learners on their Web sites. The marketing generally appeals to career prospects rather than helping adults make decisions about their futures. The potential of Web marketing to help adults is not being realized. As a result, Web marketing presents the promise of higher education without helping prospective adult learners take the first steps down the pathway. Suggested Web site message improvements include designing messages that appeal to the needs and interests of adult learners; welcoming adult learners through textual content, visual displays, and ease of access to information; demonstrating how an institution will address adult learners' issues and interests; and convincing prospects that they will achieve their goals by completing their education at the institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combined transfer of two renal function quantitative trait loci (QTLs), Rf-1 (rat chromosome 1) and Rf-4 (rat chromosome 14), from the Fawn-hooded hypertensive rat onto the August Copenhagen Irish genetic background significantly increases proteinuria and demonstrates an interaction between these QTLs. Because the original Rf-4 congenic region is 61.9 Mbp, it is necessary to reduce this interval to feasibly search for variants responsible for renal susceptibility in this region. Here, we generated a minimal congenic line (Rf-1a+4_a) to identify a 4.1-Mb region of the Rf-4 QTL that significantly contributes to the severity of proteinuria in the Fawn-hooded hypertensive rat. Rf-1a+4_a animals have an increased glomerular permeability to albumin without significant changes in BP, indicating that at least one genetic element in this refined region directly affects renal function. Sequence analysis revealed no variants predicted to damage protein function, implying that regulatory elements are responsible for the Rf-4 phenotype. Multiple human studies, including recent genome-wide association studies, link the homologous human region with susceptibility to renal disease, suggesting that this congenic line is an important model for studying pathways that contribute to the progression of kidney disease.