Real Trends or Measurement Problems? Disability and Employment Trends from the Survey of Income and Program Participation

This paper addresses important concerns in using statistical data to track outcomes of people with disabilities and provides new evidence of employment trends of people with disabilities using alternative disability conceptualizations from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). This analysis comes at an important time because some researchers have criticized the data and definitions used to measure these trends. At the extreme, some have concluded that such analyses should cease because of major limitations in measuring disability that exists in current surveys (especially the SIPP). Because the SIPP has been used extensively to examine outcomes of people with disabilities, it is important to understand these data criticisms and test whether the trends from the SIPP mirror those in other data sources. We conclude that the different empirical results found by researchers are not caused by "problems" with the data but rather with the assumptions researchers make when using the data. We illustrate the importance of exercising caution when developing disability questions and measuring disability trends in existing data sources. While some measures of limitations may be problematic, we find that the relatively broad measures used in several disability studies provide reasonable estimations of important subgroups of people with disabilities. We also show that the timing and structure of specific questions affects disability prevalence rates and influences observed outcomes. When we use comparable definitions across panels, we consistently find that employment rates of men with disabilities have fallen from 1990 to 1996 and employment rates of women with disabilities have remained flat. The consistency of these findings across a variety of measures illustrates an important and disturbing trend of downward employment rates for people with disabilities. These findings are particularly disturbing because they suggest that the gap in employment rates between those with and without disabilities is growing

School to where? A literature review on economic outcomes of youth with Disabilities

This paper summarizes the recent empirical literature on post-secondary school outcomes of youth with disabilities. Our summary illustrates the variation in characteristics and outcomes that exist in several subpopulations generally defined as youth with disabilities. Unfortunately, a major limitation of this literature, particularly for special education students and SSI recipients, is a lack of information on recent outcomes. Specifically, there were no major data collection efforts, at least at the national level, to track these populations in the mid to late nineties. While upcoming data sources, such as the National Longitudinal Transition Survey2 (NLTS2) and National Survey of Children and Families (NSCF), should fill major gaps in existing knowledge, other data initiatives are necessary to ensure that policy makers continuously have current information. We suggest several types of survey and administrative data initiatives, as well as new research projects using current data, to address current gaps

Are cross-sectional safety climate survey results in operating room staff associated with the surgical site infection rates in Swiss hospitals?

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to investigate the association between surgical site infections (SSIs), a major source of patient harm, and safety and teamwork climate. Prior research has been unclear regarding this relationship. DESIGN Based on the Swiss national SSI surveillance and a survey study assessing (a) safety climate and (b) teamwork climate, associations were analysed for three kinds of surgical procedures. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS SSI surveillance data from 20 434 surgeries for hip and knee arthroplasty from 41 hospitals, 8321 for colorectal procedures from 28 hospitals and 4346 caesarean sections from 11 hospitals and survey responses from Swiss operating room personnel (N=2769) in 54 acute care hospitals. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES The primary endpoint of the study was the 30-day (all types) or 1-year (knee/hip with implants) National Healthcare Safety Network-adjusted SSI rate. Its association with climate level and strength was investigated in regression analyses, accounting for respondents' professional background, managerial role and hospital size as confounding factors. RESULTS Plotting climate levels against infection rates revealed a general trend with SSI rate decreasing as the safety climate increased, but none of the associations were significant (5% level). Linear models for hip and knee arthroplasties showed a negative association between SSI rate and climate perception (p=0.02). For climate strength, there were no consistent patterns, indicating that alignment of perceptions was not associated with lower infection rates. Being in a managerial role and being a physician (vs a nurse) had a positive effect on climate levels regarding SSI in hip and knee arthroplasties, whereas larger hospital size had a negative effect. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests a possible negative correlation between climate level and SSI rate, while for climate strength, no associations were found. Future research should study safety climate more specifically related to infection prevention measures to establish clearer links

Pirt, a Phosphoinositide-Binding Protein, Functions as a Regulatory Subunit of TRPV1

SummaryTransient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) is a molecular sensor of noxious heat and capsaicin. Its channel activity can be modulated by several mechanisms. Here we identify a membrane protein, Pirt, as a regulator of TRPV1. Pirt is expressed in most nociceptive neurons in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) including TRPV1-positive cells. Pirt null mice show impaired responsiveness to noxious heat and capsaicin. Noxious heat- and capsaicin-sensitive currents in Pirt-deficient DRG neurons are significantly attenuated. Heterologous expression of Pirt strongly enhances TRPV1-mediated currents. Furthermore, the C terminus of Pirt binds to TRPV1 and several phosphoinositides, including phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), and can potentiate TRPV1. The PIP2 binding is dependent on the cluster of basic residues in the Pirt C terminus and is crucial for Pirt regulation of TRPV1. Importantly, the enhancement of TRPV1 by PIP2 requires Pirt. Therefore, Pirt is a key component of the TRPV1 complex and positively regulates TRPV1 activity

Förderpläne: Instrument zur Förderung oder „bürokratisches Mittel“? Eine empirische Untersuchung zum Einsatz von Förderplänen

Förderplanung gilt als eine Voraussetzung für die individuelle Förderung von Lernenden in inklusiven und separativen Schulformen und die Erstellung von Förderplänen wird häufig gefordert. Allerdings ist noch wenig bekannt über deren Einsatz. Im vorliegenden Artikel werden erstens bisherige Forschungsergebnisse zu dieser Thematik berichtet. Zweitens wird eine Studie vorgestellt, in der untersucht wurde, ob und wie Regel- und Förderlehrkräfte in inklusiven und separativen Schulformen Förderpläne einsetzen bzw. wie sie damit umgehen. 226 Lehrkräfte aus der Schweiz wurden schriftlich mit einem Onlinefragebogen befragt. 25 dieser Lehrkräfte wurden im Anschluss an einen Unterrichtsbesuch interviewt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Förderpläne dort, wo sie verbindlich eingefordert werden, meistens erstellt werden. Allerdings steht in der Regel die Legitimations- oder Dokumentarfunktion im Zentrum und nicht die Förderung bzw. die Zielvereinbarung und -fokussierung. Auf der Sekundarstufe scheinen Förderpläne nicht verwendet zu werden. Zudem werden Förderpläne nicht für die Unterrichtsplanung genutzt. Die Frage, ob und wie Förderplanung und Unterrichtsplanung miteinander verbunden werden können, ist somit ein wichtiges Thema für die zukünftige Entwicklungs- und Forschungsarbeit

Dispersal-induced social stress prolongs gestation in wild meerkats

In the majority of mammals, gestation length is relatively consistent and seldom varies by more than 3%. In a few species, females can adjust gestation length by delaying the development of the embryo after implantation. Delays in embryonic development allow females to defer the rising energetic costs of gestation when conditions are unfavourable, reducing the risk of embryo loss. Dispersal in mammals that breed cooperatively is a period when food intake is likely to be suppressed and stress levels are likely to be high. Here, we show that pregnant dispersing meerkats (Suricata suricatta), which have been aggressively evicted from their natal group and experience weight loss and extended periods of social stress, prolong their gestation by means of delayed embryonic development. Repeated ultrasound scans of wild, unanaesthetized females throughout their pregnancies showed that pregnancies of dispersers were on average 6.3% longer and more variable in length (52–65 days) than those of residents (54–56 days). The variation in dispersers shows that, unlike most mammals, meerkats can adapt to stress by adjusting their pregnancy length by up to 25%. By doing so, they potentially rearrange the costs of gestation during adverse conditions of dispersal and enhance offspring survival

The PAX5 oncogene is expressed in N-type neuroblastoma cells and increases tumorigenicity of a S-type cell line

Neuroblastoma is a neural crest-derived neoplasm of infancy with poor outcome in patients with advanced disease. The oncogenic transcription factor PAX5 is an important developmental regulator and is implicated in the pathogenesis of several malignancies. Screening of neuroblastoma cell lines revealed PAX5 expression in a malignant subset of neuroblastoma cells, so-called ‘N-type' cells, but not in the more benign ‘S-type' neuroblastoma cells. PAX5 expression was also detected in small cell lung cancer, an aggressive tumor of neural crest origin. Based on this observation we hypothesized that there could be a relationship between PAX5 expression and the more malignant phenotype of N-type cells. Stable PAX5 expression was established in several clones of the S-type cell line CA-2E. A noticeable difference in morphology of these transfectants was observed and there was also a significant increase in the proliferation rate. Moreover, PAX5 expressing clones gained the ability to form colonies in a soft agar assay, a marker of tumorigenicity. Down-regulation of PAX5 in several N-type cell lines and one small cell lung cancer cell line utilizing small interfering RNA resulted in a significant decrease in growth rate. Taken together we propose PAX5 as an important factor for the maintenance of the proliferative and tumorigenic phenotype of neuroblastoma. Our data, together with a recent study on the role of PAX genes in cancer suggest that PAX5 and other PAX transcription factors might be valuable targets for cancer therap

Tax Burden and the Mismeasurement of State Tax Policy

Tax Burden, defined as the ratio of total tax revenues over personal income, is frequently used to measure state tax policy. The authors analyze the empirical relationship between changes in Tax Burden and changes in tax policies from 1987 to 2000 using states’ forecasts of revenue impacts of new tax legislation. Their two major findings have important implications. First, they demonstrate that income-induced, nontax policy changes are a significant determinant of changes in Tax Burden. These income effects are likely to cause misinterpretation when Tax Burden is used as a variable in economic growth regressions. Second, they estimate that approximately half of the total variation in Tax Burden is due to changes in nontax policy factors. This finding quantifies the extent of the “mismeasurement” problem that has been discussed, but not analyzed, in previous literature. In concluding, the authors promote the use of alternative approaches for estimating the economic effects of taxes.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Seguimiento de la coordinación: Evaluación continua del curso 1 del Grado de Telecomunicación de la EPS

La evaluación de las asignaturas en los grados, basados en el EEES, se realiza de forma continua en todas las asignaturas. Desde la puesta en marcha de los grados, la evaluación continua ha sido criticada por la carga de Trabajo que representa tanto para el alumnado como el profesorado. Hace unos años realizamos un proyecto colaborativo para la realización del Calendario de evaluación continua por curso académico. Dicho calendario da una muestra de las evaluaciones y controles que se realizan en las asignaturas de cada curso y cada semestre, sin tener en cuenta las prácticas. Sin embargo, las actividades de evaluación han ido cambiando y en ocasiones no se detallan en la guía docente. Esto no permite realizar un calendario de evaluación real del curso. El objetivo de este proyecto ha sido coordinar todas las evaluaciones, controles, y actividades obligatorias o voluntarias de evaluación en todas las asignaturas del curso 1