Community Health Workers and Promotores in California

Provides an overview of, and describes the challenges facing, the emerging workforce of public health professionals who carry out a variety of health promotion, case management, and service delivery activities at the community level

Enabler 1 and 2 engine system design modeling and comparisons

Viewgraphs on Enabler 1 and 2 engine system design modeling and comparisons are presented. The objective of this research was to define a near-term solid-core nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) engine system scaling database. A unified set of performance, weight, and size scaling data are identified and documented. Results should be useful to meet initial mission and concept design study requirements

The Structure, State, and Stream of Mary Consciousness in the Quest for the Knowing Body

The science of consciousness has traditionally situated knowledge creation in the mind, and thus, marginalizes the knowing body. Returning to the body requires a decolonization of consciousness in Euro-Western research paradigms and in our bodies. This research is grounded in the spirituality indigenous to my Latinx matrilineage known as Mary consciousness, which frames the body as an epistemic pillar of knowledge creation. A feminist fleshing of the knowing body displaces the centrality of the mind by elevating indigenous ways of knowing. Material feminist worldviews contribute by expressing the degree to which the body has been marginalized as a valid source of knowledge creation and expanding the binary split of mind over body. The theoretical entanglement of ethics, being, and knowing in the coalescence of matter, spirit, and meaning illustrate that we cannot know where the body ends, and the mind begins. This threefold schema is delineated through the embodied experience of Mary consciousness as a structure, state, and stream of experience. Ultimately, this research reflects an offering of spiritual inquiry into the discursive practices that limit the body in the process of knowledge creation

Nuclear Engine System Simulation (NESS). Volume 1: Program user's guide

A Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) engine system design analysis tool is required to support current and future Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) propulsion and vehicle design studies. Currently available NTP engine design models are those developed during the NERVA program in the 1960's and early 1970's and are highly unique to that design or are modifications of current liquid propulsion system design models. To date, NTP engine-based liquid design models lack integrated design of key NTP engine design features in the areas of reactor, shielding, multi-propellant capability, and multi-redundant pump feed fuel systems. Additionally, since the SEI effort is in the initial development stage, a robust, verified NTP analysis design tool could be of great use to the community. This effort developed an NTP engine system design analysis program (tool), known as the Nuclear Engine System Simulation (NESS) program, to support ongoing and future engine system and stage design study efforts. In this effort, Science Applications International Corporation's (SAIC) NTP version of the Expanded Liquid Engine Simulation (ELES) program was modified extensively to include Westinghouse Electric Corporation's near-term solid-core reactor design model. The ELES program has extensive capability to conduct preliminary system design analysis of liquid rocket systems and vehicles. The program is modular in nature and is versatile in terms of modeling state-of-the-art component and system options as discussed. The Westinghouse reactor design model, which was integrated in the NESS program, is based on the near-term solid-core ENABLER NTP reactor design concept. This program is now capable of accurately modeling (characterizing) a complete near-term solid-core NTP engine system in great detail, for a number of design options, in an efficient manner. The following discussion summarizes the overall analysis methodology, key assumptions, and capabilities associated with the NESS presents an example problem, and compares the results to related NTP engine system designs. Initial installation instructions and program disks are in Volume 2 of the NESS Program User's Guide

Nuclear Engine System Simulation (NESS) version 2.0

The topics are presented in viewgraph form and include the following; nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) engine system analysis program development; nuclear thermal propulsion engine analysis capability requirements; team resources used to support NESS development; expanded liquid engine simulations (ELES) computer model; ELES verification examples; NESS program development evolution; past NTP ELES analysis code modifications and verifications; general NTP engine system features modeled by NESS; representative NTP expander, gas generator, and bleed engine system cycles modeled by NESS; NESS program overview; NESS program flow logic; enabler (NERVA type) nuclear thermal rocket engine; prismatic fuel elements and supports; reactor fuel and support element parameters; reactor parameters as a function of thrust level; internal shield sizing; and reactor thermal model

Association between inflammatory bowel disease and Parkinson's disease: a Mendelian randomization study

Emerging evidence from observational studies suggests an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, to date it is not clear whether a causal relationship exists. To investigate whether IBD is causally related to PD, a two-sample Mendelian randomization study was carried out. Independent genetic instruments from the largest available genome-wide association study (GWAS) for IBD (7045 cases, 456,327 controls) including European participants were used to investigate the association with PD (56,306 cases; 1.4 million controls). The results were validated by using a second IBD sample (12,882 cases; 21,770 controls) including the main subtypes ulcerative colitis (UC; 6968 cases; 20,464 controls) and Crohn’s disease (CD; 5956 cases; 14,927 controls). The radial inverse-variance weighted (IVW) approach was used in the primary analysis, and the robustness of the findings were confirmed in a number of sensitivity analyses. Finally, the recently proposed CAUSE approach was performed. There was no evidence of an association between IBD and PD (OR(IVW) = 0.98; 95% CI: [0.93; 1.04]; P = 0.48). This finding could be validated using a second sample of IBD cases (OR(IVW) = 0.98; 95% CI: [0.95; 1.02]; P = 0.36). Furthermore, MR analyses did not support a causal effect of CD (OR(IVW) = 1.00; 95% CI: [0.98; 1.03]; P = 0.96) or UC (OR(IVW) = 1.02; 95% CI: [0.98; 1.06]; P = 0.45) on PD. The present study suggests that neither IBD nor its subtypes CD and UC causally affect Parkinson’s disease in the European population. Further research is necessary to investigate whether intestinal inflammation impacts the development of PD

Expression of Sindbis virus structural proteins via recombinant vaccinia virus: synthesis, processing, and incorporation into mature Sindbis virions

We have obtained a vaccinia virus recombinant which contains a complete cDNA copy of the 26S RNA of Sindbis virus within the thymidine kinase gene of the vaccinia virus genome. This recombinant constitutively transcribed the Sindbis sequences throughout the infectious cycle, reflecting the dual early-late vaccinia promoter used in this construction. The Sindbis-derived transcripts were translationally active, giving rise to both precursor and mature structural proteins of Sindbis virus, including the capsid protein (C), the precursor of glycoprotein E2 (PE2), and the two mature envelope glycoproteins (E1 and E2). These are the same products translated from the 26S mRNA during Sindbis infection, and thus these proteins were apparently cleaved, glycosylated, and transported in a manner analogous to that seen during authentic Sindbis infections. By using epitope-specific antibodies, it was possible to demonstrate that recombinant-derived proteins were incorporated into Sindbis virions during coinfections with monoclonal antibody-resistant Sindbis variants. These results suggest that all the information necessary to specify the proper biogenesis of Sindbis virus structural proteins resides within the 26S sequences and that vaccinia may provide an appropriate system for using DNA molecular genetic manipulations to unravel a variety of questions pertinent to RNA virus replication

The Effects of Mergers: An International Comparison

This paper analyzes the effects of mergers around the world over the past 15 years. We utilize a large panel of data on mergers to test several hypotheses about mergers. The effects of the mergers are examined by comparing the performance of the merging firms with control groups of nonmerging firms. The comparisons are made on profitability and sales. The results show that mergers on average do result in significant increases in profits, but reduce the sales of the merging firms. Interestingly, these post merger patterns look similar across countries. We also did not find dramatic differences between mergers in the manufacturing and the service sectors, and between domestic and cross-border mergers. Conglomerate mergers decrease sales more than horizontal mergers. By separating mergers into those that increase profits and those that reduce them and by then examining the patterns of sales changes following the mergers, we determine the effects of mergers on efficiency and market power. Our results suggest that those mergers that decrease profits and efficiency account for a large proportion. However, we can also identify mergers that increase profits by either increasing market power or by increasing efficiency. The first conclusion seems to be a more likely explanation for large companies, whereas the latter is likely to be true for small firms. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG - (Die Effekte von Fusionen: Ein internationaler Vergleich) Dieser Artikel analysiert die Effekte von Fusionen, die weltweit über die letzten 15 Jahre stattgefunden haben. Wir vergleichen die Gewinn- und Umsatzentwicklung von fusionierenden Firmen mit der Entwicklung von nicht-fusionierenden Firmen. Die Resultate zeigen, dass Fusionen im Durchschnitt zu signifikant höheren Profiten führen, aber dass die Umsätze im Vergleich zur Kontrollgruppe zurückbleiben. Interessanterweise sind diese Effekte bei Vergleichen zwischen den verschiedenen Ländern, bei einem Vergleich zwischen Industriesektor und Dienstleistungssektor bzw. zwischen nationalen und grenzüberschreitenden Fusionen ziemlich ähnlich. Konglomerate Fusionen reduzieren die Umsätze mehr als horizontale Fusionen. Um die Effekte der Fusionen auf die Marktmacht bzw. die Effizienz zu analysieren, teilen wir zuerst die Fusionen in gewinnsteigernde und gewinnreduzierende Fusionen, um dann die Umsatzentwicklung zu betrachten. Unsere Resultate zeigen, dass ein großer Prozentsatz der Fusionen die Gewinne und die Effizienz reduzieren. Wir können jedoch auch Fusionen identifizieren, die die Gewinne entweder durch Marktmacht- oder Effizienzsteigerungen erhöhen. Die erste Erklärung ist wahrscheinlicher für große Firmen, die zweite für kleine Firmen.Mergers, Acquisitions, International Comparison

Neomycin resistance as a dominant selectable marker for selection and isolation of vaccinia virus recombinants

The antibiotic G418 was shown to be an effective inhibitor of vaccinia virus replication when an appropriate concentration of it was added to cell monolayers 48 h before infection. Genetic engineering techniques were used in concert with DNA transfection protocols to construct vaccinia virus recombinants containing the neomycin resistance gene (neo) from transposon Tn5. These recombinants contained the neo gene linked in either the correct or incorrect orientation relative to the vaccinia virus 7.5-kilodalton gene promoter which is expressed constitutively throughout the course of infection. The vaccinia virus recombinant containing the chimeric neo gene in the proper orientation was able to grow and form plaques in the presence of G418, whereas both the wild-type and the recombinant virus with the neo gene in the opposite polarity were inhibited by more than 98%. The effect of G418 on virus growth may be mediated at least in part by selective inhibition of the synthesis of a subset of late viral proteins. These results are discussed with reference to using this system, the conferral of resistance to G418 with neo as a positive selectable marker, to facilitate constructing vaccinia virus recombinants which contain foreign genes of interest