U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform

The U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform was created by Congress to assess U.S. immigration policy and make recommendations regarding its implementation and effects. Mandated in the Immigration Act of 1990 to submit an interim report in 1994 and a final report in 1997, the Commission has undertaken public hearings, fact-finding missions, and expert consultations to identify the major immigration-related issues facing the United States today.LBJ School of Public Affair

High-Sensitivity C Reactive Protein: Associations with Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Tracking in Female Adolescents and Young Adults

Objective. We assessed adolescent anthropometry, lipids, insulin, glucose, and blood pressures to identify factors associated with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and its tracking in young adults. Methods. Ten-year prospective study of 589 schoolgirls, 321 black, 268 white. Results. HsCRP did not differ (P > .08) by race or oral contraceptive use. HsCRP tracked from age 16 to 25 (r = 0.77), 16 to 26 (r = 0.50), 24 to 26 (r = 0.66), and 25 to 26 (r = 0.71), all P ≤ .02. By stepwise regression, at age 16, waist circumference accounted for 44.8% of hsCRP variance; BMI accounted for 33.1%, 34.4%, and 31.1% at ages 24, 25, and 26, P < .0001 for all. Changes in cholesterol and BMI were associated with change in hsCRP from age 24–26 (partial R2 = 12.3%  P < .0001, 6.6%  P = .0012). Changes in BMI and triglyceride (partial R2 = 8.5%  P = .0001, 3.3%, P = .0045) were associated with change in hsCRP from age 25 to 26. Conclusions. HsCRP tracks from age 16 to 26, with BMI, waist circumference, and cholesterol as major determinants

Vaginal Practices of HIV-Negative Zimbabwean Women

Background. Vaginal practices (VPs) may increase HIV risk by injuring vaginal epithelium or by increasing risk of bacterial vaginosis, an established risk factor for HIV. Methods. HIV-negative Zimbabwean women (n = 2,185) participating in a prospective study on hormonal contraception and HIV risk completed an ancillary questionnaire capturing detailed VP data at quarterly followup visits for two years. Results. Most participants (84%) reported ever cleansing inside the vagina, and at 40% of visits women reported drying the vagina using cloth or paper. Vaginal tightening using cloth/cotton wool, lemon juice, traditional herbs/powders, or other products was reported at 4% of visits. Women with ≥15 unprotected sex acts monthly had higher odds of cleansing (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 1.17, 95% CI: 1.04–1.32). Women with sexually transmitted infections had higher odds of tightening (aOR: 1.42, 95% CI: 1.08–1.86). Conclusion. Because certain vaginal practices were associated with other HIV risk factors, synergism between VPs and other risk factors should be explored

Asymptotic Expansions for the Conditional Sojourn Time Distribution in the M/M/1M/M/1-PS Queue

We consider the $M/M/1$ queue with processor sharing. We study the conditional sojourn time distribution, conditioned on the customer's service requirement, in various asymptotic limits. These include large time and/or large service request, and heavy traffic, where the arrival rate is only slightly less than the service rate. The asymptotic formulas relate to, and extend, some results of Morrison \cite{MO} and Flatto \cite{FL}.Comment: 30 pages, 3 figures and 1 tabl

DHODH modulates transcriptional elongation in the neural crest and melanoma

Melanoma is a tumour of transformed melanocytes, which are originally derived from the embryonic neural crest. It is unknown to what extent the programs that regulate neural crest development interact with mutations in the BRAF oncogene, which is the most commonly mutated gene in human melanoma1. We have used zebrafish embryos to identify the initiating transcriptional events that occur on activation of human BRAF(V600E) (which encodes an amino acid substitution mutant of BRAF) in the neural crest lineage. Zebrafish embryos that are transgenic for mitfa:BRAF(V600E) and lack p53 (also known as tp53) have a gene signature that is enriched for markers of multipotent neural crest cells, and neural crest progenitors from these embryos fail to terminally differentiate. To determine whether these early transcriptional events are important for melanoma pathogenesis, we performed a chemical genetic screen to identify small-molecule suppressors of the neural crest lineage, which were then tested for their effects on melanoma. One class of compound, inhibitors of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH), for example leflunomide, led to an almost complete abrogation of neural crest development in zebrafish and to a reduction in the self-renewal of mammalian neural crest stem cells. Leflunomide exerts these effects by inhibiting the transcriptional elongation of genes that are required for neural crest development and melanoma growth. When used alone or in combination with a specific inhibitor of the BRAF(V600E) oncogene, DHODH inhibition led to a marked decrease in melanoma growth both in vitro and in mouse xenograft studies. Taken together, these studies highlight developmental pathways in neural crest cells that have a direct bearing on melanoma formation

An Approach to Identify Gene-Environment interactions and Reveal New Biological insight in Complex Traits

There is a long-standing debate about the magnitude of the contribution of gene-environment interactions to phenotypic variations of complex traits owing to the low statistical power and few reported interactions to date. to address this issue, the Gene-Lifestyle Interactions Working Group within the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genetic Epidemiology Consortium has been spearheading efforts to investigate G × E in large and diverse samples through meta-analysis. Here, we present a powerful new approach to screen for interactions across the genome, an approach that shares substantial similarity to the Mendelian randomization framework. We identify and confirm 5 loci (6 independent signals) interacted with either cigarette smoking or alcohol consumption for serum lipids, and empirically demonstrate that interaction and mediation are the major contributors to genetic effect size heterogeneity across populations. The estimated lower bound of the interaction and environmentally mediated heritability is significant (P \u3c 0.02) for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides in Cross-Population data. Our study improves the understanding of the genetic architecture and environmental contributions to complex traits

Bostonia: The Boston University Alumni Magazine. Volume 10

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

Fracture in the Elderly Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation (FEMuR):study protocol for a phase II randomised feasibility study of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation package following hip fracture [ ISRCTN22464643 ]

Background Proximal femoral fracture is a common, major health problem in old age resulting in loss of functional independence and a high-cost burden on society, with estimated health and social care costs of £2.3 billion per year in the UK. Rehabilitation has the potential to maximise functional recovery and maintain independent living, but evidence of effectiveness is lacking. Usual rehabilitation care is delivered by a multi-disciplinary team in the hospital and in the community. An ‘enhanced rehabilitation’ intervention has been developed consisting of a workbook, goal-setting diary and extra therapy sessions, designed to improve self-efficacy and increase the amount and quality of the practice of physical exercise and activities of daily living. Methods/design This paper describes the design of a phase II study comprising an anonymous cohort of all proximal femoral fracture patients admitted to the three acute hospitals in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board over a 6-month period with a randomised feasibility study comparing the enhanced rehabilitation intervention with usual care. These will assess the feasibility of a future definitive randomised controlled trial and concurrent economic evaluation in terms of recruitment, retention, outcome measure completion, compliance with the intervention and fidelity of delivery, health service use data, willingness to be randomised and effect size for a future sample size calculation. Focus groups will provide qualitative data to contribute to the assessment of the acceptability of the intervention amongst patients, carers and rehabilitation professionals and the feasibility of delivering the planned intervention. The primary outcome measure is function assessed by the Barthel Index. Secondary outcomes measure the ability to perform activities of daily living, anxiety and depression, potential mediators of outcomes such as hip pain, self-efficacy and fear of falling, health utility, health service use, objectively assessed physical function and adverse events. Participants’ preference for rehabilitation services will be assessed in a discrete choice experiment. Discussion Phase II studies are an opportunity to not only assess the feasibility of trial methods but also to compare different methods of outcome measurement and novel methods of obtaining health service use data from routinely collected patient information. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN22464643, UKCRN16677