Female Labor Force Participation and Voter Turnout: Evidence from the American Presidential Elections

This study investigates a state-level panel dataset for the five most recent U.S. Presidential elections, namely, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016, for which all data needed to reflect all of the variables in the model are available. While the general objective is to shed further insights into identifying factors that in a contemporary setting influence the aggregate voter participation rate in such elections, the emphasis is on the impact of the female labor force participation rate, which is hypothesized, ceteris paribus, to positively affect aggregate voter turnout. Several Cross Section Random Effects estimates are undertaken, each of which supports the hypothesis. Indeed, the semi-log estimate implies that a one unit (one percentage point) higher level for the female labor force participation rate in a state is associated with a 0.61% higher overall voter turnout in the state. Although the nation’s female labor force participation rate in the U.S. has effectively stabilized, there is considerable interstate variation in this variable; thus, candidates for elected office in states with higher female labor force participation rates and/or growing female labor force participation rates would be well advised to be sensitive to the needs of this demographic when campaigning

Diagnosis, treatment and outcome following chronic encircling hobbling wounds in a group of working Donkeys in Morocco

Owners of working equids in Morocco, as in other low and middle-income countries hobble their animals around the pastern using different materials (wire, baling twine and ropes). Resulting wounds are very common and can cause serious damage. Some hobbles even embed into the soft tissue and bony structures of the pastern. Using a retrospective study of The American Fondouk hospital’s clinical records, the diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of embedding hobbling injuries are described. From 2012 to 2020, sixteen donkeys were presented suffering from unilateral severe lameness (4/5 to 5/5 lameness on AAEP scale) associated with hobble wounds. Circumferential wounds and/or fibrosis in the pastern were present in all these cases. Because of the suspicion of the presence of wire or baling twine, radiographs of the pasterns of all animals were routinely taken. Ten out of sixteen showed wire in situ encircling the pastern and the others showed a ghost outline of a baling twine hobble with similar periosteal reactions. All animals were treated by surgical removal of the hobble, wound flushing, systemic antibiotics, and bandaging. The outcome was good to excellent in all cases. In these authors’ knowledge, this is the first report in the literature of the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of embedded hobbles in Equidae

Thriving on Challenge: Examining One Teacher’s View on Sources of Support for Motivation and Well-Being

Alarmingly high rates of teacher attrition exist in contexts designed for students with considerable needs, such as in alternative education programs serving marginalized youth. Research has linked teachers’ levels of motivation and well-being to their effectiveness and retention. Consequently, we explore what distinguishes teachers who thrive in contexts others find taxing. Specifically, we investigate whether and how their motivation and well-being support their teaching effectiveness. As part of a larger case study of an alternative education program for youth who haven’t found success in mainstream schools, this article reports a semi-structured interview asking whether and how one teacher’s perceived autonomy, belonging, and competence support other facets of his motivation (e.g., teaching efficacy) and his well-being (i.e., constructive responses to potentially stressful events.) Plentiful evidence was found to link our researcher-derived constructs from self-determination theory to the teacher’s professional experiences in general, and to his work with youth in particular, indicating that our conceptual framework is an authentic representation of his experience. Implications for theory and research are discussed

Glutamate carboxypeptidase activity in human skin biopsies as a pharmacodynamic marker for clinical studies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Glutamate excitotoxicity is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease. One potential source of glutamate is N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate (NAAG) which is hydrolyzed to glutamate and N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) in a reaction catalyzed by glutamate carboxypeptidase (GCP). As a result, GCP inhibition is thought to be beneficial for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases where excess glutamate is presumed pathogenic. Both pharmacological and genetic inhibition of GCP has shown therapeutic utility in preclinical models and this has led to GCP inhibitors being pursued for the treatment of nervous system disorders in human clinical trials. Specifically, GCP inhibitors are currently being developed for peripheral neuropathy and neuropathic pain. The purpose of this study was to develop a pharmacodynamic (PD) marker assay to use in clinical development. The PD marker will determine the effect of GCP inhibitors on GCP enzymatic activity in human skin as measure of inhibition in peripheral nerve and help predict drug doses required to elicit pharmacologic responses.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>GCP activity was first characterized in both human skin and rat paw pads. GCP activity was then monitored in both rodent paw pads and sciatic nerve from the same animals following peripheral administration of various doses of GCP inhibitor. Significant differences among measurements were determined using two-tailed distribution, equal variance student's t test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We describe for the first time, a direct and quantifiable assay to evaluate GCP enzymatic activity in human skin biopsy samples. In addition, we show that GCP activity in skin is responsive to pharmacological manipulation; GCP activity in rodent paws was inhibited in a dose response manner following peripheral administration of a potent and selective GCP inhibitor. Inhibition of GCP activity in rat paw pads was shown to correlate to inhibition of GCP activity in peripheral nerve.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Monitoring GCP activity in human skin after administration of GCP inhibitors could be readily used as PD marker in the clinical development of GCP inhibitors. Enzymatic activity provides a simple and direct measurement of GCP activity from tissue samples easily assessable in human subjects.</p

Building resilience in CTLs: Reflections on practice

What are the qualities of the “now” that make teaching and learning an urgent, if not a moral, imperative? A group of faculty, administrators, and educational developers respond to this question with individual narratives bound together by a common theme of reflective practice in times of crises to help faculty become more resilient in preparing for ongoing upheavals and unexpected crises while pursuing more inclusive communities. Our personal narratives reflect on the subjects of flexibility in the face of crises, technology and ethics, study abroad exposure to ethical challenges, students’ growing anxiety and mental health, modeling metacognition with peers and students, and considerations of pedagogy in uncertain times. Our individual stories of practice will be helpful to teaching and learning center colleagues who work with faculty and to faculty themselves as they operate in times of crises

The next frontier: Fostering innovation by improving health data access and utilization

Beneath most lively policy debates sit dry-as-dust theoretical and methodological discussions. Current disputes over the EU Adaptive Pathways initiative and the proposed US 21st Century Cures Act may ultimately rest on addressing arcane issues of data curation, standardization, and utilization. Improved extraction of inform ation on the safety and effectiveness of drugs-in-use must parallel adjustments in evidence requirements at the time of licensing. To do otherwise may compromise safety and efficacy in the name of fostering innovation

Building Resilience in CTLs: Reflections on Practice

What are the qualities of the “now” that make teaching and learning an urgent, if not a moral, imperative? A group of faculty, administrators, and educational developers respond to this question with individual narratives bound together by a common theme of reflective practice in times of crises to help faculty become more resilient in preparing for ongoing upheavals and unexpected crises while pursuing more inclusive communities. Our personal narratives reflect on the subjects of flexibility in the face of crises, technology and ethics, study abroad exposure to ethical challenges, students’ growing anxiety and mental health, modeling metacognition with peers and students, and considerations of pedagogy in uncertain times. Our individual stories of practice will be helpful to teaching and learning center colleagues who work with faculty and to faculty themselves as they operate in times of crises

The CMS Event Builder

The data acquisition system of the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider will employ an event builder which will combine data from about 500 data sources into full events at an aggregate throughput of 100 GByte/s. Several architectures and switch technologies have been evaluated for the DAQ Technical Design Report by measurements with test benches and by simulation. This paper describes studies of an EVB test-bench based on 64 PCs acting as data sources and data consumers and employing both Gigabit Ethernet and Myrinet technologies as the interconnect. In the case of Ethernet, protocols based on Layer-2 frames and on TCP/IP are evaluated. Results from ongoing studies, including measurements on throughput and scaling are presented. The architecture of the baseline CMS event builder will be outlined. The event builder is organised into two stages with intelligent buffers in between. The first stage contains 64 switches performing a first level of data concentration by building super-fragments from fragments of 8 data sources. The second stage combines the 64 super-fragments into full events. This architecture allows installation of the second stage of the event builder in steps, with the overall throughput scaling linearly with the number of switches in the second stage. Possible implementations of the components of the event builder are discussed and the expected performance of the full event builder is outlined.Comment: Conference CHEP0

Long-term methylphenidate exposure and 24-hours blood pressure and left ventricular mass in adolescents and young adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Blood pressure; Echocardiography; MethylphenidatePresión arterial; Ecocardiografía; MetilfenidatoPressió arterial; Ecocardiografia; MetilfenidatYoung people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are now being treated with psychostimulant medication for longer than was previously the case and are increasingly likely to remain on methylphenidate into adolescence and adulthood. This study was designed to determine whether the long-term use of methylphenidate (MPH, immediate release or extended release) increases blood pressure and left ventricular mass (LVM) identified by echocardiography in adolescents and young adults with ADHD aged 12-25 years. In a five-site cross-sectional design two groups were compared for 24- hour blood pressure and heart rate (HR) registrations and LVM: 1) adolescents and young adults with ADHD who had been treated with MPH for > 2 years (N=162, age mean (SD) 15.6 (3.0)), and 2) adolescents and young adults with ADHD who had never been treated with methylphenidate (N=71, age mean 17.4 (4.2)). The analyses were controlled for propensity scores derived from age, sex, height, weight, and 19 relevant background variables. A blood pressure indicative of hypertension (>95th percentile) was observed in 12.2% (95% confidence interval 7.3 – 18.9%) of the participants in the MPH treated group and in 9.6% (95%CI 3.2 – 21.0%) of the MPH naïve group, with overlapping intervals. The 24-hour recorded systolic blood pressure (SBP) and HR were significantly higher during daytime in medicated individuals with ADHD than in those with unmedicated ADHD, but were similar in both groups during the night. 24-hour diastolic blood pressure (DBP) did not differ between both groups during either daytime or at night. LVM, corrected for body-surface area (LVMBSA), also did not differ between the two groups (p=0.20, controlling for confounders). Further, MPH daily dose and duration of treatment were unrelated to LVMBSA, SBP, and DBP. Long-term MPH use in adolescents and young adults with ADHD is associated with small but significant increases of SBP and HR during daytime. Given the current sample size, the proportions of hypertension do not differ significantly between MPH treated and MPH-naïve individuals with ADHD. Future studies with larger samples, longer treatment duration, and/or with within-subject designs are necessary. The results do, however, further support recommendations that highlight the importance of monitoring blood pressure and HR during MPH treatment.This work was supported by the European Union 7th framework grant “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Drugs Use Chronic Effects” (ADDUCE, grant no. 260576). The funder had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results. Any views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funder

Effects of methylphenidate on executive functioning in children and adolescents with ADHD after long-term use:a randomized, placebo-controlled discontinuation study

BACKGROUND: Methylphenidate may improve executive functioning in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, it is unclear if there are still acute effects of methylphenidate on executive functioning after long-term use. METHODS: In a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled discontinuation study, 94 children and adolescents (ages 8-18 years) who used methylphenidate beyond two years were either assigned to seven weeks of continued treatment with 36 or 54 mg of extended-release methylphenidate or to gradual withdrawal over three weeks to placebo for four weeks. Performance on neuropsychological tasks, measuring working memory, response inhibition, attentional flexibility and psychomotor speed was compared between both groups using mixed models for repeated measures. Additionally, we investigated within the discontinuation group if a deterioration on the investigator-rated Clinical Global Impressions Improvement scale after withdrawing to placebo was related to a worse performance on the neuropsychological tasks. This study was registered in the Netherlands Trial Register (www. Trialregister.nl) with identifier 5252. RESULTS: After withdrawal of methylphenidate, the discontinuation group made more errors on working memory (β = -1.62, SD = 0.56, t = -2.88, p = .01, Cohen's f2 = .14), independent from reaction time compared to baseline, in contrast to the continuation group. We did not find differences in changes in response inhibition, attentional flexibility and psychomotor speed between the two groups. Also, there were no significant differences in task measures between the participants who deteriorated clinically and those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that methylphenidate has a beneficial effect on working memory after two years of use. Future studies should explore whether cognitive outcomes may aid clinical decision-making on the continued use of methylphenidate, given dissociation between cognitive and behavioural effects of stimulant medication