Neural mechanisms by which gravitational stimuli and stress affect the secretion of renin and other hormones

The present goal is to determine by the production of discrete lesions the parts of the hypothalamus and brainstem that are involved in serotonin-mediated increases in renin secretion. A variety of stimuli which act in different ways to increase renin stimuli were developed and standardized. The experiments with p-chloroamphetamine (PCA) demonstrated that there is a serotonergic pathway which projects from the dorsal raphe nuclei to the paraventricular nuclei and the vetromedial nuclei of the hypothalamus; that projection from paraventricular nuclei to the brainstem and spinal cord may be oxytocinergic; and that the pathway from the spinal cord to the renin secreting cells is sympathetic. The demonstration that paraventicular lesions lower circulating renin substrate is important because it raises the possibility that substrate secretion is under neural control, either via the pituitary or by direct neural pathways. The discovery that lesions of the ventromedial nuclei appear to abolish the increase in renin secretion produced by many different stimuli without affecting the concentration of renin substrate in the plasma makes the position of the hypothalamus in the regulation of fluid and electrolyte balance more prominent than previously suspected

On and On until All Out : Seeking Silence within the Postmodern Paradigm of Samuel Beckett

In his biography of Samuel Beckett\u27s life, James Knowlson writes that Beckett failed miserably as a teacher; had Beckett not failed, he would have spent his life as a scholar, teaching and writing brilliant essays like his award winning Proust study. The sizable amount of literature on Beckett\u27s creative writing, however, seems to indicate that Beckett\u27s pedagogic failure metamorphosed into a dazzling success for the humanity, which so frequently themes his work, through literature. Yet, some groups, proponents of Christianity in particular, might have preferred for Beckett\u27s influence to have trickled through the one or two schools in which he might have taught rather than to have flooded classrooms from Japan to Midwestern America, simply because the prototypical postmodern world of his work seemingly rejects the fundamental tenets of societies that ingest chicken after church as easily as the equally fatty truths obtained from the pulpit. Beckett\u27s world, as Andrew Kennedy writes, is characterized by the sense of a cosmic run-down, the loss of the human sense of the divine, and the breakdown of language itself , realities diametrically opposed to ideas like Heart for God, mind for truth, friends for life, and service for eternity, the motto of an absolute-abiding liberal arts university in Ohio (Cedarville University Home Page). In light such absolute ideals, it is little wonder that proponents of Christianity find authors like Beckett difficult to swallow. Yet, if any group of beliefs could resonate with a writer like Beckett, it would seem that Christianity, with its emphasis in passages like John 1 and Philippians 2 on form and content, or as Abbot terms them, structure and meaning, two concepts with which Beckett wrestled his entire life would most dynamically speak to his work. And perhaps by critically assessing Beckett\u27s world, Christians and others will find something underneath the muck of postmodernism sufficiently solid to prolong living in Murphy, to support a journey in How it is, and, eventually, to nourish a tree in Waiting for Godot. In each of these works, Beckett presents silence within the temporary postmodern paradigm as humanity\u27s only reprieve from its own condition

Excerpts of correspondence from William F Ganong, 1904-1936

Typed excerpts of letters form William G Ganong containing his observations and notes about Native American language, culture and history in Maine. These were digitized from Box 1, folder 42 of the Fannie Hardy Eckstorm Papers. Documents from this folder that did not relate to Native Americans in Maine were not scanned and are not included in this file.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/eckstorm_papers/1007/thumbnail.jp

Letter from William F Ganong. 1915

A letter from William F Ganong mainly about Native American languages. which was digitized from box 1, folder 43 of the Fannie Hardy Eckstorm Papers. Documents from this folder that did not pertain to Native Americans in Maine were not scanned and are not included in this file.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/eckstorm_papers/1008/thumbnail.jp

A Permutation Test and Estimation Alternatives for the Regression Kink Design

The Regression Kink (RK) design is an increasingly popular empirical method, with more than 20 studies circulated using RK in the last 5 years since the initial circulation of Card, Lee, Pei and Weber (2012). We document empirically that these estimates, which typically use local linear regression, are highly sensitive to curvature in the underlying relationship between the outcome and the assignment variable. As an alternative inference procedure, motivated by randomization inference, we propose that researchers construct a distribution of placebo estimates in regions without a policy kink. We apply our procedure to three empirical RK applications - two administrative UI datasets with true policy kinks and the 1980 Census, which has no policy kinks - and we find that statistical significance based on conventional p-values may be spurious. In contrast, our permutation test reinforces the asymptotic inference results of a recent Regression Discontinuity study and a Difference-in-Difference study. Finally, we propose estimating RK models with a modified cubic splines framework and test the performance of different estimators in a simulation exercise. Cubic specifications - in particular recently proposed robust estimators (Calonico, Cattaneo and Titiunik 2014) - yield short interval lengths with good coverage rates

Research Informed Guidelines for Couple and Relationship Education Programs with Arab American Immigrant Couples

In this paper, we review the characteristics of Arab immigrants and propose guidelines for couple and relationship education (CRE) programs with Arab immigrant couples. Arab immigrants are a heterogeneous group, yet they share common cultural characteristics and family values that are essential to understand when working with them. Generally, CRE programs with immigrated Arabs should be mindful of (1) strongly valued religious beliefs, (2) extended family as a primary source of support and marital problem-solving, (3) the tendency to follow gender-based roles and responsibilities, and (4) Arabic language and communication norms. Family educators and practitioners who work with recently immigrated Arab couples should familiarize themselves with these characteristics to better serve them

Stepparent-Child Relationship Quality and Couple Relationship Quality: Stepfamily Household Type as a Moderating Influence

Stepparent–child relationships and new couple relationships are core pillars of stepfamily functioning and well-being. Although research generally indicates that stepparent–child relationship quality and couple relationship quality are positively associated, questions remain about in which contexts and from whose perspective this association holds. Using reports from parents and stepparents in a sample of 291 stepfamily heterosexual couples, we assess whether stepfamily household type (i.e., mother–stepfather, father–stepmother) moderates the association between stepparent–child relationship quality and couple relationship quality. Results indicate that stepparent–child relationship quality and couple relationship quality are positively associated in both mother–stepfather and father–stepmother families, and from the vantage point of both parents and stepparents. The positive association is significantly larger in mother–stepfather families from the vantage point of stepfathers. Implications for future research and practice with stepfamilies are discussed

Why Has Regional Convergence in the U.S. Stopped?

The past thirty years have seen a dramatic decrease in the rate of income convergence across U.S. states. This decline coincides with a similarly substantial decrease in population flows to wealthy states. We develop a model where labor mobility plays a central role in convergence and can quantitatively account for its disappearance. We then link this decline in directional migration to a large increase in housing prices and housing regulation in high-income areas. The model predicts that these housing market changes generate (1) a divergence in the skill-specific economic returns to living in rich places, (2) a decline in low-skilled migration to rich places and continued low-skilled migration to places with high income net of housing costs, (3) a decline in the rate of human capital convergence and (4) continued income convergence among places with unconstrained housing supply. Using Census data, we find support for the first three hypotheses. To test the fourth hypothesis, we develop a new state-level panel measure of housing supply regulations. Using this measure as an instrument for housing prices, we document the central role of housing prices and building restrictions in the end of income convergence