America\u27s Learning about Foreign Places through the eyes of Missionaries: Writings in the Friends\u27 Missionary Advocate, 1885-1933

Missionaries were among the travelers who supplied American adults and children with information about foreign places. Because they enjoyed a high status and respect with their home congregations and because they lived among peoples in foreign, often exotic, lands, missionaries and their writings enjoyed a wide and attentive audience. Materials in The Friends\u27 Missionary Advocate between 1885 and 1933 report that information on foreign regions reached American audiences through presentations at monthly and quarterly meetings and at yearly conferences. Articles, letters, reports, maps, and pictures were also a medium for influencing Americans\u27 impressions of the world

Changes in Proopiomelanocortin Primary Transcript Levels in the Anterior Pituitary Accompany Increased Adrenocorticotropin Secretion During the Diurnal Surge

Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) gene transcription in the anterior pituitary varies during stress and glucocorticoid feedback. These changes appear to parallel alterations in peptide release. The diurnal rhythm of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis also involves the periodic excursion of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) levels in plasma, but it is not clear whether the diurnal release is accompanied by changes at the transcriptional level. In the present study, we have initially characterized the heteronuclear species of POMC (hnPOMC) RNA found in the anterior pituitary by a Northern blot analysis and subsequently used this method to quantitate relative changes in the levels of heteronuclear transcript during diurnal stimulation. Two species of RNA migrating at 6.0 kb and 4.1 kb were found in the nuclear fraction of the anterior pituitary. Successive probing by various POMC cRNAs indicated that the 6.0 kb fragment was the primary transcript and the 4.1 kb fragment corresponded to the intron A-containing processing intermediate of POMC. The nuclear species were quantitated after acute swim stress and during the diurnal ACTH secretion. Acute swim increased plasma ACTH levels by 243% after 30 min. This was paralleled by a 214% increase in the primary transcript RNA levels. Endogenous circadian stimulation in the evening produced a smaller rise of plasma ACTH (79%), and was accompanied by a 34% increase in POMC hnRNA levels. Nuclear processing intermediate (4.1 kb) and the mRNA levels did not vary during the evening. These results suggest that the diurnal mechanism transiently increases ACTH release as well as POMC gene transcription in the anterior pituitary. Release and transcription appear to be tightly coupled during circadian activation as well as during stress.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75121/1/j.1365-2826.1992.tb00340.x.pd

Justifying and Explaining Disproportionality 1968—2008: A Critique of Underlying Views of Culture

This is the publisher's version, also found here: http://cec.metapress.com/content/e7835w1374x7g141/?p=0ee3fcac0688484aacb1d3c83c9c469c&pi=2Special education has made considerable advances in research, policy, and practice in its short history. However, students from historically underserved groups continue to be disproportionately identified as requiring special education. Support for color-blind practices and policies can justify racial disproportionality in special education and signal a retrenchment to deficit views about students from historically underserved groups. We respond to these emerging concerns through an analysis of arguments that justify disproportionality. We also identify explanations of the problem and critique the views of culture that underlie these explanations. We conclude with a brief discussion of implications and future directions

Letters to the Editor Regarding NASW Press Censorship Issue

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR REGARDING NASW PRESS CENSORSHIP Marcia B. Cohen, Co-editor, Journal of Progressive Human Services Richard Hoefer, Editor, Journal of Policy Practice Tony Tripodi, Former Editor of Social Work Research Former Co-editor of Journal of Social Work Research and Evaluation Stanley L. Witkin, Former Editor-in-Chief, Social Work Elizabeth J. Clark, Executive Director, National Association of Social Workers (NASW

Oxidation of TaSi2-Containing ZrB2-SiC Ultra-High Temperature Materials

Hot pressed coupons of composition ZrB2-20 v% SiC-5 v% TaSi2 and ZrB2-20 v% SiC-20 v% TaSi2 were oxidized in stagnant air at temperatures of 1627 and 1927C for one, five and ten 10-minute cycles. The oxidation reactions were characterized by weight change kinetics, x-ray diffraction, and SEM/EDS. Detailed WDS/microprobe quantitative analyses of the oxidation products were conducted for the ZrB2-20 v% SiC-20 v% TaSi2 sample oxidized for five 10-minute cycles at 1927C. Oxidation kinetics and product formation were compared to ZrB2-20 v% SiC with no TaSi2 additions. It was found that the 20 v% TaSi2 composition exhibited improved oxidation resistance relative to the material with no TaSi2 additions at 1627C. However, for exposures at 1927C less oxidation resistance and extensive liquid phase formation were observed compared to the material with no TaSi2 additions. Attempts to limit the liquid phase formation by reducing the TaSi2 content to 5 v% were unsuccessful. In addition, the enhanced oxidation resistance at 1627C due to 20 v% TaSi2 additions was not achieved at the 5 v% addition level. The observed oxidation product evolution is discussed in terms of thermodynamics and phase equilibria for the TaSi2-containing ZrB2-SiC material system. TaSi2-additions to ZrB2-SiC at any level are not recommended for ultra-high temperature (>1900C) applications due to excessive liquid phase formation

Provider-initiated symptom screening for tuberculosis in Zimbabwe: diagnostic value and the effect of HIV status.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the diagnostic value of provider-initiated symptom screening for tuberculosis (TB) and how HIV status affects it. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of randomly selected participants in a community-based TB-HIV prevalence survey in Harare, Zimbabwe. All completed a five-symptom questionnaire and underwent sputum TB culture and HIV testing. We calculated the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of various symptoms and used regression analysis to investigate the relationship between symptoms and TB disease. FINDINGS: We found one or more symptoms of TB in 21.2% of 1858 HIV-positive (HIV+) and 9.9% of 7121 HIV-negative (HIV-) participants (P or = 2 weeks' duration, any symptom and a positive sputum culture had sensitivities of 48%, 81% and 65%, respectively; in HIV- participants, the sensitivities were 45%, 71% and 74%, respectively. Symptoms had a similar sensitivity and specificity in HIV+ and HIV- participants, but in HIV+ participants they had a higher positive and a lower negative predictive value. CONCLUSION: Even smear-positive TB may be missed by provider-initiated symptom screening, especially in HIV+ individuals. Symptom screening is useful for ruling out TB, but better TB diagnostics are urgently needed for resource-poor settings

The Sensitivity and Psychometric Properties of a Brief Computer-Based Cognitive Screening Battery in a Depression Clinic

At present, there is poor accuracy in assessing cognitive and vegetative symptoms in depression using clinician or self-rated measures, suggesting the need for development of standardized tasks to assess these functions. The current study assessed the psychometric properties and diagnostic specificity of a brief neuropsychological screening battery designed to assess core signs of depression; psychomotor retardation, attention and executive functioning difficulties, and impaired emotion perception within an outpatient psychiatry setting. Three hundred eighty-four patients with mood disorders and 77 healthy volunteers participated. A large percentage of patients met diagnostic criteria for Major Depressive Disorder alone (49%) or with another comorbid psychiatric disorder (24%). A brief, 25-min battery of computer-based tests was administered to control participants and patients measuring the constructs of inhibitory control, attention, visual perception, and both executive and visual processing speed. The patient groups performed significantly worse than the control group regardless of diagnosis on visual perception and attention accuracy and processing speed factors. Surprisingly, the anxiety disorder group performed better than several other psychiatric disorder groups in inhibitory control accuracy. Developing valid and reliable measures of cognitive signs in mood disorders creates excellent opportunities for tracking cognitive status prior to initiation of treatment, and allows for reliable retest following treatment