Returning children from public care

Research Briefing 4

Commission on the Future of Worker-Management Relations To Meet

Press_Release_DOL_011494.pdf: 77 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Dunlop Commission to Focus on the Foreign Experience With Worker-Management Relations

Press_Release_DOL_031594.pdf: 88 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Worker-Management Commission To Issue Fact Finding Report in May

Press_Release_DOL_021094.pdf: 79 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Kathryn Turner Appointed To Commission On The Future of Worker-Management Relations

Press_Release_DOL_110493.pdf: 160 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Measures of sun exposure and sun protection practices for behavioural and epidemiological research

Objective: To develop, in a collaborative project, core measures of sun exposure and sun protection habits, since the lack of standard outcome measures hampers comparison of population surveys and interventions used in skin cancer prevention research. Design: A work group of investigators evaluated available questionnaire measures of sun exposure and protection. Their deliberations led to a proposed set of core questionnaire items for adults, adolescents aged 11 to 17 years, and children 10 years or younger. These core items were used in cognitive testing by the investigators. Cross-site summaries of methods, response samples, and descriptive data were prepared. Setting: Nine locations across the United States. Participants: The study population comprised 81 individuals. Results: No unusual response patterns were detected in any of the respondent groups or for any specific question. Some revisions to the survey items resulted from the need for clarification or emphasis of frames of reference such as adding or underlining key phrases in a question. Conclusions: The combination of expert review followed by cognitive interviewing yielded standardized core survey items with good clarity and applicability for measuring sun exposure and sun protection behaviors across a broad range of populations. They are appropriate for studies tracking morbidity and/or mortality and evaluating prevention program effects

School Choice Vouchers and Special Education in Indiana Catholic Diocesan Schools

Catholic schools are now located at a crossroads of school choice voucher programs and special education services. With enrollment in Catholic schools declining over the past several decades, voucher programs that allow parents to use public funds for tuition at private schools – including tuition for students with disabilities – could possibly help to steady or even reverse this decline. This study examined the impact of Indiana’s statewide voucher program on Catholic schools, student enrollment, and special education services in three large diocesan school systems. The findings address issues related to enrollment growth, changing student population characteristics, special education services, and the professional development needs of teachers in these schools. The authors discuss the implications of the voucher program for the enrollment and education of students with disabilities in Catholic schools. Los cupones para escuelas de elección y la educación especial en las escuelas de la diócesis católica de Indiana Las escuelas católicas se encuentran en una encrucijada entre los programas de cupones para escuelas de elección y los servicios de educación especial. Al disminuir las matrículas en las escuelas católicas en las últimas décadas, los programas de cupones que permiten que los padres utilicen fondos públicos para matrículas de escuelas privadas, incluyendo matrículas para estudiantes con discapacidades, pueden quizás ayudar a mantener, o incluso revertir, el declive. El presente estudio examina el impacto a nivel estatal en Indiana del programa de cupones en escuelas católicas, las matrículas de estudiantes y los servicios de educación especial en los sistemas escolares de tres diócesis grandes. Los resultados abordan problemas relacionados con el aumento de las matrículas, el cambio de las características de la población estudiantil, los servicios de educación especial y las necesidades de desarrollo profesional del profesorado de estas escuelas. Los autores discuten las implicaciones del programa de cupones en la matrícula y la educación de los estudiantes con discapacidades en las escuelas católicas. Palabras clave: escuela de elección, cupones, escuelas católicas, educación especial Chèques-éducation pour le choix de l\u27école et éducation spécialisée dans les écoles catholiques diocésaines en Indiana Les écoles catholiques sont maintenant au coeur des programmes de chèques-éducation pour le choix de l\u27école et des services d\u27éducation spécialisée. Étant donné que les inscriptions dans les écoles catholiques ont diminué au cours des dernières décennies, les programmes de chéques-éducation qui permettent aux parents d\u27utiliser des fonds publics pour les frais de scolarité d\u27écoles privées - y compris la scolarité des élèves handicapés - pourraient aider ou même inverser ce déclin. Cette étude examine l\u27impact du programme de chèques-éducation sur les écoles catholiques dans l\u27ensemble de l\u27État de l\u27Indiana, les inscriptions des élèves et l\u27éducation spécialisée dans trois vastes systèmes d\u27écoles catholiques diocésaines. Les constatations traitent des problèmes liés à l\u27augmentation des inscriptions, aux changements dans la population des élèves, aux services d\u27éducation spécialisée et aux besoins en développement professionnel des enseignants de ces écoles. Les auteurs présentent les conséquences du programme de chèques-éducation sur les inscriptions et l\u27enseignement aux élèves handicapés dans les écoles catholiques. Mots-clés : Choix de l\u27école, chèques-éducation, écoles catholiques, éducation spécialisé

Novel ocular antihypertensive compounds in clinical trials

June Chen1, Stephen A Runyan1, Michael R Robinson21Department of Biological Sciences, 2Ophthalmology Clinical Research, Allergan, Inc, Irvine, CA, USAIntroduction: Glaucoma is a multifactorial disease characterized by progressive optic nerve injury and visual field defects. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the most widely recognized risk factor for the onset and progression of open-angle glaucoma, and IOP-lowering medications comprise the primary treatment strategy. IOP elevation in glaucoma is associated with diminished or obstructed aqueous humor outflow. Pharmacotherapy reduces IOP by suppressing aqueous inflow and/or increasing aqueous outflow.Purpose: This review focuses on novel non-FDA approved ocular antihypertensive compounds being investigated for IOP reduction in ocular hypertensive and glaucoma patients in active clinical trials within approximately the past 2 years.Methods: The mode of IOP reduction, pharmacology, efficacy, and safety of these new agents were assessed. Relevant drug efficacy and safety trials were identified from searches of various scientific literature databases and clinical trial registries. Compounds with no specified drug class, insufficient background information, reformulations, and fixed-combinations of marketed drugs were not considered.Results: The investigational agents identified comprise those that act on the same targets of established drug classes approved by the FDA (ie, prostaglandin analogs and β-adrenergic blockers) as well as agents belonging to novel drug classes with unique mechanisms of action. Novel targets and compounds evaluated in clinical trials include an actin polymerization inhibitor (ie, latrunculin), Rho-associated protein kinase inhibitors, adenosine receptor analogs, an angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist, cannabinoid receptor agonists, and a serotonin receptor antagonist.Conclusion: The clinical value of novel compounds for the treatment of glaucoma will depend ultimately on demonstrating favorable efficacy and benefit-to-risk ratios relative to currently approved prostaglandin analogs and β-blockers and/or having complementary modes of action.Keywords: intraocular pressure, glaucoma progression, clinical trials, drug development, aqueous humor dynamics, antihypertensiv

New Approaches to Melanoma Prevention

Skin cancer is a major public health concern, and tanning remains a modifiable risk factor. Multidimensional influences, including psychosocial, individual, environmental, and policy-related factors, create the milieu for individuals to engage in tanning. Parents and physicians can modify the behavior of teens and young adults using strategies based on harm reduction. Environmental and policy-related factors similar to those used to limit smoking by restricting access of minors to cigarettes in the United States in the 20th century need to be created. Federal regulations can restrict direct advertising and the excise tax can be increased to a prohibitive amount. Social networking may assist with affect regulation