653 research outputs found
Family structure and children\u27s academic achievement : the role of income and parental control
The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine the relationship between family structure and children\u27s academic achievement, and to assess the roles of income and parental control in this relationship. The present study involves secondary analysis of data from the National Survey of Families and Households (Sweet & Bumpass, 1996) The National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) is a national random sample survey conducted in two waves that covers a wide variety of issues on American family life. This study examines data gathered from the second wave of this data set. The total sample for the present research is 1056. The hypotheses guiding this study are derived from two theoretical perspectives which Bre based on the belief that children in intact, two-parent families exhibit higher levels of well-being than do children in single-parent families.
First, economic-deprivation theory states that it is not family structure, per se, that has an effect on a child\u27s well-being; rather, it is the lack of resources, that often accompanies single-parent status (McLanahan, 1985). Second, father-absence theory suggests that income is not the key factor, but that the lack of motivation, supervision, attention, and role modeling that often occur in one-parent families are to blame for the lower wellbeing of children in single-parent families compared to those in intact, two-parent families (Amato & Keith, 1991).
The objective of the present study was to compare these theories using a group which has been left out of prior analyses-the father-only family. The anticipated relationships between family structure and income were not found. However, results did indicate that parental control had significant effects on children\u27s academic achievement, regardless of family type. These findings have implications both for future research and for child custody arrangements
IL-17C-mediated innate inflammation decreases the response to PD-1 blockade in a model of Kras-driven lung cancer
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with neutrophilic lung infammation
and CD8 T cell exhaustion and is an important risk factor for the development of non-small cell lung
cancer (NSCLC). The clinical response to programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) blockade in NSCLC patients
is variable and likely afected by a coexisting COPD. The pro-infammatory cytokine interleukin-17C
(IL-17C) promotes lung infammation and is present in human lung tumors. Here, we used a Krasdriven lung cancer model to examine the function of IL-17C in infammation-promoted tumor growth.
Genetic ablation of Il-17c resulted in a decreased recruitment of infammatory cells into the tumor
microenvironment, a decreased expression of tumor-promoting cytokines (e.g. interleukin-6 (IL-6)),
and a reduced tumor proliferation in the presence of Haemophilus infuenzae- (NTHi) induced COPD-like
lung infammation. Chronic COPD-like infammation was associated with the expression of PD-1 in CD8
lymphocytes and the membrane expression of the programmed death ligand (PD-L1) independent of
IL-17C. Tumor growth was decreased in Il-17c defcient mice but not in wildtype mice after anti-PD-1
treatment. Our results suggest that strategies targeting innate immune mechanisms, such as blocking
of IL-17C, may improve the response to anti-PD-1 treatment in lung cancer patients
The Mitochondrial Ca(2+) Uniporter: Structure, Function, and Pharmacology.
Mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake is crucial for an array of cellular functions while an imbalance can elicit cell death. In this chapter, we briefly reviewed the various modes of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake and our current understanding of mitochondrial Ca(2+) homeostasis in regards to cell physiology and pathophysiology. Further, this chapter focuses on the molecular identities, intracellular regulators as well as the pharmacology of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uniporter complex
Human-environmental interactions and seismic activity in a Late Bronze to Early Iron Age settlement center in the southeastern Caucasus
Long-term human-environmental interactions in naturally fragile drylands are a
focus of geomorphological and geoarchaeological research. Furthermore,
many dryland societies were also affected by seismic activity. The semi-arid
Shiraki Plain in the tectonically active southeastern Caucasus is currently
covered by steppe and largely devoid of settlements. However, numerous
Late Bronze to Early Iron Age city-type settlements suggest early state
formation between ca. 3.2-2.5 ka that abruptly ended after that time. A
paleolake was postulated for the lowest plain, and nearby pollen records
suggest forest clearcutting of the upper altitudes under a more humid
climate during the Late Bronze/Early Iron Ages. Furthermore, also an impact
of earthquakes on regional Early Iron Age settlements was suggested. However,
regional paleoenvironmental changes and paleoseismicity were not
systematically studied so far. We combined geomorphological,
sedimentological, chronological and paleoecological data with hydrological
modelling to reconstruct regional Holocene paleoenvironmental changes, to
identify natural and human causes and to study possible seismic events during
the Late Bronze/Early Iron Ages. Our results show a balanced to negative Early
to Mid-Holocene water balance probably caused by forested upper slopes.
Hence, no lake but a pellic Vertisol developed in the lowest plain. Following,
Late Bronze/Early Iron Age forest clear-cutting caused lake formation and the
deposition of lacustrine sediments derived from soil erosion. Subsequently,
regional aridification caused slow lake desiccation. Remains of freshwater fishes
indicate that the lake potentially offered valuable ecosystem services for regional prehistoric societies even during the desiccation period. Finally,
colluvial coverage of the lake sediments during the last centuries could have
been linked with hydrological extremes during the Little Ice Age. Our study
demonstrates that the Holocene hydrological balance of the Shiraki Plain was
and is situated near a major hydrological threshold, making the landscape very
sensitive to small-scale human or natural influences with severe consequences
for local societies. Furthermore, seismites in the studied sediments do not
indicate an influence of earthquakes on the main and late phases of Late
Bronze/Early Iron Age settlement. Altogether, our study underlines the high
value of multi-disciplinary approaches to investigate human-environmental
interactions and paleoseismicity in drylands on millennial to centennial time
scales
- …