Liberal NIMBY: American Jews and Civil Rights [post-print]

So far as black civil rights are concerned, most Jews behaved as liberals politically but as white people in their personal lives. Their experience reflects the dilemma of many white liberals in a nation where race has been inextricably tied not only to discrimination but therefore also to opportunity. To many, “white flight” connoted white racism. Yet for some who left, more than racism affected their decision. They recognized that black majority neighborhoods received fewer social services and generally had lower property values and poorer schools. Even if one endorsed civil rights, the reality of integration levied significant costs to those who remained. Liberal Jewish organizations studied the residential and business choices made by Jews as they pertained to integration. Examining a few studies in detail reveals some of the tensions between integration as political action and integration as lived experience in a quintessentially liberal white community

Black-Jewish Relations: Why Should Americans Care?

Celebrating 15 Years of Judaic Studies at Fairfield University… Dr. Cheryl Greenberg, Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor, Trinity College & author of Troubling the Waters: Black-Jewish Relations In the American Century.https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/bennettcenter-posters/1268/thumbnail.jp

A critical review of research on memory interventions for the elderly

As the number of older adults engaged in learning increases, it is incumbent upon educators and psychologists to examine both age-related changes in learning and methods of remediating deficits in learning processes. Researchers have looked at deficits in the memory performance of older persons and at interventions meant to minimize or remediate memory changes. However, until this dissertation, no comprehensive review of the intervention literature had been conducted

Does Specialist Physician Supply Affect Pediatric Asthma Health Outcomes?

Background Pediatrician and pediatric subspecialist density varies substantially among the various Canadian provinces, as well as among various states in the US. It is unknown whether this variability impacts health outcomes. To study this knowledge gap, we evaluated pediatric asthma admission rates within the 2 Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, which have similarly sized pediatric populations and substantially different physician densities. Methods This was a retrospective cross-sectional cohort study. Health regions defined by the provincial governments, have, in turn, been classified into “peer groups” by Statistics Canada, on the basis of common socio-economic characteristics and socio-demographic determinants of health. To study the relationship between the distribution of the pediatric workforce and health outcomes in Canadian children, asthma admission rates within comparable peer group regions in both provinces were examined by combining multiple national and provincial health databases. We generated physician density maps for general practitioners, and general pediatricians practicing in Manitoba and Saskatchewan in 2011. Results At the provincial level, Manitoba had 48.6 pediatricians/100,000 child population, compared to 23.5/100,000 in Saskatchewan. There were 3.1 pediatric asthma specialists/100,000 child population in Manitoba and 1.4/100,000 in Saskatchewan. Among peer-group A, the differences were even more striking. A significantly higher number of patients were admitted in Saskatchewan (590.3/100,000 children) compared to Manitoba (309.3/100,000, p \u3c 0.0001). Conclusions Saskatchewan, which has a lower pediatrician and pediatric asthma specialist supply, had a higher asthma admission rate than Manitoba. Our data suggest that there is an inverse relationship between asthma admissions and pediatrician and asthma specialist supply

Where Have All the Scientific Data Gone? LIS Perspective on the Data-At-Risk Predicament

Scientists produce vast amounts of data that often are not preserved properly or do not have inventories, placing them at risk. As part of an effort to more fully understand the data-at-risk predicament, researchers who were engaged in the DARI project at UNC’s Metadata Research Center surveyed information custodians working in a range of settings. The survey collected information on the data characteristics and preservation plans. Forty-three information custodians completed the survey. The results indicate that at-risk data include a variety of formats, subject areas, and ownership status, as well as compliance with a variety of standards. Although a majority of respondents agree that data preservation is important, they caution that time is the greatest barrier to sharing these data. The study has implications for data rescue and for training information custodians

Late gadolinium enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance in genotyped hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with normal phenotype

A 35 year-old asymptomatic Caucasian female with a family history of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) was referred for cardiologic evaluation. The electrocardiogram and transthoracic echocardiogram were normal. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) was performed for further assessment of myocardial function and presence of myocardial scar. CMR showed normal left ventricular systolic size, measurements and function. However, there was extensive, diffuse late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) throughout the left ventricle. This finding was consistent with extensive myocardial scarring and was highly suggestive of advanced, non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. Genotyping showed a heterozygous mis-sense mutation (275G>A) in the cardiac troponin T (TNNT2) gene, which is causally associated with HCM. There have been no previous reports of such extensive, atypical pattern of myocardial scarring despite an otherwise structurally and functionally normal left ventricle in an asymptomatic individual with HCM. This finding has important implications for phenotype screening in HCM

Isolated sulfite oxidase deficiency: a founder mutation.

Isolated sulfite oxidase deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive inborn error of sulfur metabolism. Clinical features generally include devastating neurologic dysfunction, ectopia lentis, and increased urinary excretion of sulfite, thiosulfate, an

The C677T methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase variant and third trimester obstetrical complications in women with unexplained elevations of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein

INTRODUCTION: The C677T MTHFR variant has been associated with the same third trimester pregnancy complications as seen in women who have elevations of maternal serum α-fetoprotein (MSAFP). We hypothesized that these women with third trimester pregnancy complications and MSAFP elevations would have an increased frequency of the variant compared to an abnormal study control group (women with MSAFP elevations without pregnancy complications) as well as to normal population controls. METHODS: Women who had unexplained elevations of MSAFP in pregnancy were ascertained retrospectively. The frequency of the C677T MTHFR variant among those women with unexplained elevations of MSAFP who had experienced later pregnancy complications was compared to that of women with unexplained elevations of MSAFP without complications as well as to that of the previously established Manitoba frequency. RESULTS: Women who had complications of pregnancy and an unexplained MSAFP elevation had a higher allele frequency for the C677T MTHFR variant (q = 0.36,) compared to women with MSAFP elevations and normal pregnancy outcomes (q = 0.25, OR 1.73 95% CI 1.25–2.37, p = 0.03). The frequency was also higher than that of the population controls (q= 0.25, OR 1.70 95% CI 1.11–2.60, p = 0.007). The frequency in women with MSAFP elevations without pregnancy complications was not significantly different from that of the population controls (p = 0.41). CONCLUSION: Women with unexplained elevations of MSAFP and who experience complications in later pregnancy are more likely to have one or two alleles of the C677T MTHFR variant