The CHARGE study: an epidemiologic investigation of genetic and environmental factors contributing to autism.

Causes and contributing factors for autism are poorly understood. Evidence suggests that prevalence is rising, but the extent to which diagnostic changes and improvements in ascertainment contribute to this increase is unclear. Both genetic and environmental factors are likely to contribute etiologically. Evidence from twin, family, and genetic studies supports a role for an inherited predisposition to the development of autism. Nonetheless, clinical, neuroanatomic, neurophysiologic, and epidemiologic studies suggest that gene penetrance and expression may be influenced, in some cases strongly, by the prenatal and early postnatal environmental milieu. Sporadic studies link autism to xenobiotic chemicals and/or viruses, but few methodologically rigorous investigations have been undertaken. In light of major gaps in understanding of autism, a large case-control investigation of underlying environmental and genetic causes for autism and triggers of regression has been launched. The CHARGE (Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and Environment) study will address a wide spectrum of chemical and biologic exposures, susceptibility factors, and their interactions. Phenotypic variation among children with autism will be explored, as will similarities and differences with developmental delay. The CHARGE study infrastructure includes detailed developmental assessments, medical information, questionnaire data, and biologic specimens. The CHARGE study is linked to University of California-Davis Center for Children's Environmental Health laboratories in immunology, xenobiotic measurement, cell signaling, genomics, and proteomics. The goals, study design, and data collection protocols are described, as well as preliminary demographic data on study participants and on diagnoses of those recruited through the California Department of Developmental Services Regional Center System

Shot noise in coupled dots and the "fractional charges"

We consider the problem of shot noise in resonant tunneling through double quantum dots in the case of interacting particles. Using a many-body quantum mechanical description we evaluate the energy dependent transmission probability, the total average current and the shot noise spectrum. Our results show that the obtained reduction of the noise spectrum, due to Coulomb interaction, can be interpret in terms of non--interacting particles with fractional charge like behavior.Comment: some clarifications added, to appear in Phys. Lett.

Some Examples in the Realization of Symmetry

I briefly discuss three phenomena arising in recent work where the realization of symmetries in quantum mechanics is unusual. The first of these is, I believe, the very simplest realization of non-trivial confinement by a mechanism of charge-flux frustration. It arises in models having several coupled abelian Chern-Simons gauge symmetries, which closely resemble effective theories used for the quantum Hall effect. The second is symmetry obstruction by non-abelian flux, which has implications for 2+1 dimensional supergravity. Third is the possibility of new varieties of quantum statistics: non-abelian and projective.Comment: LaTeX, 7 Page

Building the Big House: American Institutions and the Rise of Mass Incarceration, 1970-1990

This dissertation argues that mass incarceration in the United States occurred through a process of fragmented state-building. Institutional fragmentation both spurred the political will and critically enabled the bureaucratic capacity to imprison at a mass scale. By fragmentation, I mean both federalism (the division of authority among levels of government) and the separation of powers (the provision of independent political bases for different actors within a single level of government). The argument has three major parts. First, the local arena played a critical role in the rise of law-and-order politics, as fragmentation carved up the American polity in ways that amplified punitive impulses and muffled competing voices. Second, institutional fragmentation created a type of moral hazard by allowing actors with an interest in ramping up punishment to do so with little or no regard to the problem of prison crowding. When the crowding problem did become salient, it was in a crisis context that biased politicians toward underwriting mass imprisonment by building more cells. Third, prosecutors played a critical role in this fragmented state-building by out-organizing and out-lobbying rival actors in the criminal-justice system. Using archival documents and news accounts, the dissertation offers a detailed case study of these dynamics at work in Pennsylvania. It also examines the federal politics of criminal justice during the Reagan administration and the emergence of professional associations of prosecutors. Advisors: Adam Sheingate and Steven Teles Secondary readers: Angus Burgin, Meredith Greif, Robert Lieberman, Katrina McDonal

Innovaciones del código respecto de instrumentos públicos y privados

El artículo 291 del CCCN elimina toda mención a las personas jurídicas con lo cual estas quedan fuera de la prohibición. Encuentra fundamento en la interpretación armónica con el artículo 143 que otorga personalidad diferenciada a las personas jurídicas reconociéndole patrimonios diferentes ente sus miembros y la persona jurídica.Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociale

Ischemic cardiovascular disease in workers occupationally exposed to urban air pollution – A systematic review

Introduction. Cardiovascular disease is the first cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Among several known risk factors, researchers also focus their attention on the chronic exposure to air pollution. There is much evidence that exposure to air pollution, especially to ultrafine particles, can damage the endothelium and can favour cardiovascular diseases in the general population. Occupational exposition could be an additive risk factor for the cardiovascular system. This article presents a scientific review of the linkage between occupational exposure to air pollution and ischemic heart disease. Materials and method. A scientific review was undertaken, followed by PRISMA Statements. Observational studies were selected from several scientific databases, likesuch as Pubmed, Google Scholar, Nioshtic-2 and Reserchgate, searching for selected key words: police workers, professional drivers, mail carriers, filling station attendants, road cleaners, garage workers, motor vehicles and engine maintenance. All the key words were combined with “Boolean Operators” with the following words: cardiovascular (or cardiac) disease, cardiovascular function, cardiovascular system, ischemic heart disease, coronary disease, myocardial infarction. During the systematic research, the focus was on retrospective and prospective studies from January 1990 – December 2014. Results. Both the retrospective and prospective studies showed an increased risk of ischemic heart disease in occupationally occupied people exposed to air pollution. Only one study presented a ly minor risk. Conclusions. The findings of this systematic review suggest a possible linkage between occupational exposure to urban air pollution, especially to motor exhaust and particulate, and ischemic heart disease