Women\u27s Work Attitudes, Aspirations, and Workforce Participation Before and After Relocation from Public Housing

For the past decade or so, public housing policies have focused on moving residents from concentrated housing developments into newly designed mixed-income developments or, through housing choice vouchers, into neighborhoods with lower concentrations of poor. These newer programs are driven by research that suggests public housing residents will have greater opportunity for financial self-sufficiency and, although not openly discussed, will better appreciate the importance of work when they live among higher income working residents. Using panel data collected from public housing residents relocated following the closure of a public housing development, this study explores the relationship between individual characteristics, neighborhood characteristics, and work attitudes, aspirations, and actions. The findings reveal that public housing residents are no different from the non-poor in their attitudes about work, but that when residents move into high income neighborhoods, their dreams ofsatisfying careers become more soli

Texas charter school legislation and the evolution of open-enrollment charter schools.

This article chronicles the evolution of legislation for Texas open-enrollment charter schools to their implementation by demonstrating how these schools have (or have not) used their freedom from state-mandated requirements to develop innovative learning environments as well as to bring innovative curricula into the classroom. The investigative focus was on an analysis of Texas open-enrollment charter school legislation, from 1995 (74th legislative session) to the 77th legislative session in 2001, and the characteristics of the state's 159 open-enrollment charter schools that were in operation during the 2001-2002 academic year. The authors found that charter school legislation has changed in response to concerns of all involved, and focuses on the need for balance between choice, innovation, and public accountability. Although charter schools are free from most state regulations, legislators were clearly interested in ensuring that this freedom does not impede charter schools' ability to provide a quality education to all students who attend them. The currently operating open-enrollment charter schools in Texas are more racially and economically segregated than other public schools in the state, and charter schools that targeted students most at risk for dropping out of school (and returning students who had previously dropped out) differ from other schools in their stated teaching methods. Teacher turnover remains significantly greater than that for other public schools in the state. However, it does not appear to be specifically associated with schools that target disadvantaged students or minority students. The schools' mission statements suggest that innovative school environments are a factor in school design. Texas is poised to continue along the public education choice model. Charter school legislation provides a framework upon which charter schools may build to meet the educational needs of the students who choose to attend them, including the freedom to be creative in meeting students' unique needs. Questions remain about how and why charter schools exist and the contributions they make to the overall public school system, including whether charters are making a difference in what and how much children are learning

Anti-parasitic benzoxaboroles are ineffective against Theileria parva in vitro

East Coast Fever (ECF) is a disease affecting cattle in sub-Saharan Africa, caused by the tick-borne Apicomplexan pathogen Theileria parva. The disease is a major problem for cattle farmers in affected regions and there are few methods of control, including a complex infection and treatment vaccine, expensive chemotherapy, and the more widespread tick control through acaricides. New intervention strategies are, therefore, sorely needed. Benzoxaboroles are a versatile class of boron-heterocyclic compounds with demonstrable pharmacological activity against a diverse group of pathogens, including those related to T. parva. In this study, the in vitro efficacy of three benzoxaboroles against the intracellular schizont stage of T. parva was investigated using a flow cytometry approach. Of the benzoxaboroles tested, only one showed any potency, albeit only at high concentrations, even though there is high protein sequence similarity in the CPSF3 protein target compared to other protozoan pathogen species. This finding suggests that benzoxaboroles currently of interest for the treatment of African animal trypanosomiasis, toxoplasmosis, cryptosporidiosis and malaria may not be suitable for the treatment of ECF. We conclude that testing of further benzoxaborole compounds is needed to fully determine whether any lead compounds can be identified to target T. parva

Correspondence to Elizabeth ( Bessie ) McCaw Boggs Taylor, September 7, 1879 - May 22, 1887

Correspondence to Elizabeth ( Bessie ) McCaw Boggs Taylor, September 7, 1879 - May 22, 1887. Box 2, Folder 4.https://digitalcommons.wofford.edu/littlejohnboggs/1014/thumbnail.jp

The Private Life of Environmental Treaties

The gravitational pull of environmental treaties is felt not only by states. Yet international lawyers almost exclusively focus on states to explain treaty compliance, measure treaty implementation, and assess treaty effectiveness. This essay draws attention to a phenomenon that falls outside traditional boundaries of treaty analysis: the efforts of private corporations that aim at complying with environmental treaties. Existing models of treaty implementation are inadequate to explain these direct interactions between corporations and treaties. The dominant grammar of treaty “compliance” equally fails to fit. Using a little-studied example - the UNESCO World Heritage Convention - this essay highlights the phenomenon of corporations’ aspiring to conform their behavior to environmental treaty requirements

Evidence for Geographical and Racial Variation in Serum Sex Steroid Levels in Older Men.

Background: Despite considerable racial and geographical differences in human phenotypes and in the incidence of diseases that may be associated with sex steroid action, there are few data concerning variation in sex steroid levels among populations. We designed an international study to determine the degree to which geography and race influence sex steroid levels in older men. Methods: Using mass spectrometry, concentrations of serum androgens, estrogens, and sex steroid precursors/metabolites were measured in 5003 older men from five countries. SHBG levels were assessed using radioimmunoassay. Results: There was substantial geographical variation in the levels of sex steroids, precursors, and metabolites, as well as SHBG. For instance, Asian men in Hong Kong and Japan, but not in the United States, had levels of total testosterone approximately 20% higher than in other groups. Even greater variation was present in levels of estradiol, SHBG, and dihydrotestosterone. Group differences in body mass index did not explain most geographical differences. In addition, body mass index-independent racial differences were present; Black men had higher levels of estrogens (estradiol, estrone), and Asian men had lower levels of glucuronidated androgen metabolites. Conclusions: On a global scale, there are important geographical and racial differences in the concentrations of serum sex steroids and SHBG in older men

Divergent metabolism between Trypanosoma congolense and Trypanosoma brucei results in differential sensitivity to metabolic inhibition

Animal African Trypanosomiasis (AAT) is a debilitating livestock disease prevalent across sub-Saharan Africa, a main cause of which is the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma congolense. In comparison to the well-studied T. brucei, there is a major paucity of knowledge regarding the biology of T. congolense. Here, we use a combination of omics technologies and novel genetic tools to characterise core metabolism in T. congolense mammalian-infective bloodstream-form parasites, and test whether metabolic differences compared to T. brucei impact upon sensitivity to metabolic inhibition. Like the bloodstream stage of T. brucei, glycolysis plays a major part in T. congolense energy metabolism. However, the rate of glucose uptake is significantly lower in bloodstream stage T. congolense, with cells remaining viable when cultured in concentrations as low as 2 mM. Instead of pyruvate, the primary glycolytic endpoints are succinate, malate and acetate. Transcriptomics analysis showed higher levels of transcripts associated with the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, acetate generation, and the glycosomal succinate shunt in T. congolense, compared to T. brucei. Stable-isotope labelling of glucose enabled the comparison of carbon usage between T. brucei and T. congolense, highlighting differences in nucleotide and saturated fatty acid metabolism. To validate the metabolic similarities and differences, both species were treated with metabolic inhibitors, confirming that electron transport chain activity is not essential in T. congolense. However, the parasite exhibits increased sensitivity to inhibition of mitochondrial pyruvate import, compared to T. brucei. Strikingly, T. congolense exhibited significant resistance to inhibitors of fatty acid synthesis, including a 780-fold higher EC50 for the lipase and fatty acid synthase inhibitor Orlistat, compared to T. brucei. These data highlight that bloodstream form T. congolense diverges from T. brucei in key areas of metabolism, with several features that are intermediate between bloodstream- and insect-stage T. brucei. These results have implications for drug development, mechanisms of drug resistance and host-pathogen interactions

Genetic Polymorphisms in the Hypothalamic Pathway in Relation to Subsequent Weight Change – The DiOGenes Study

BACKGROUND: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes encoding the components involved in the hypothalamic pathway may influence weight gain and dietary factors may modify their effects. AIM: We conducted a case-cohort study to investigate the associations of SNPs in candidate genes with weight change during an average of 6.8 years of follow-up and to examine the potential effect modification by glycemic index (GI) and protein intake. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Participants, aged 20-60 years at baseline, came from five European countries. Cases ('weight gainers') were selected from the total eligible cohort (n = 50,293) as those with the greatest unexplained annual weight gain (n = 5,584). A random subcohort (n = 6,566) was drawn with the intention to obtain an equal number of cases and noncases (n = 5,507). We genotyped 134 SNPs that captured all common genetic variation across the 15 candidate genes; 123 met the quality control criteria. Each SNP was tested for association with the risk of being a 'weight gainer' (logistic regression models) in the case-noncase data and with weight gain (linear regression models) in the random subcohort data. After accounting for multiple testing, none of the SNPs was significantly associated with weight change. Furthermore, we observed no significant effect modification by dietary factors, except for SNP rs7180849 in the neuromedin β gene (NMB). Carriers of the minor allele had a more pronounced weight gain at a higher GI (P = 2 x 10⁻⁷). CONCLUSIONS: We found no evidence of association between SNPs in the studied hypothalamic genes with weight change. The interaction between GI and NMB SNP rs7180849 needs further confirmation

Dietary factors impact on the association between CTSS variants and obesity related traits.

Cathepsin S, a protein coded by the CTSS gene, is implicated in adipose tissue biology--this protein enhances adipose tissue development. Our hypothesis is that common variants in CTSS play a role in body weight regulation and in the development of obesity and that these effects are influenced by dietary factors--increased by high protein, glycemic index and energy diets