Interstate variation in welfare benefits and the migration of the poor: Substantive concerns and symbolic responses

Nearly all states are thinking about reforming their welfare systems, and several states--particularly those that offer high welfare benefits--are taking action. A major concern is that poor people are moving to high- benefit states in order to receive the benefits offered by those states. It is unclear, however, if this "welfare migration" is extensive enough to break the budgets of high-benefit states. Nevertheless, legislators in those states are seeking to stop it, usually through two-tier benefit schedules whereby new arrivals to a state are temporarily paid the welfare benefits they would have received had they remained in their original state. The authors discuss the extent to which two-tier benefit schedules represent substantive reform or symbolic action. In their estimation, current strategies for welfare reform fail to address the causes of poverty and welfare dependency and may only intensify the antagonism many Americans feel toward the poor.

Properties of quasi two-dimensional condensates in highly anisotropic traps

We theoretically investigate some of the observable properties of quasi two-dimensional condensates. Using a variational model based on a Gaussian-parabolic trial wavefunction we calculate chemical potential, condensate size in time-of-flight, release energy and collective excitation spectrum for varying trap geometries and atom numbers and find good agreement with recent published experimental results.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Thermal induced flow oscillations in heat exchangers for supercritical fluids

Analytical model has been developed to predict possible unstable behavior in supercritical heat exchangers. From complete model, greatly simplified stability criterion is derived. As result of this criterion, stability of heat exchanger system can be predicted in advance

Stem cell marker (Nanog) and Stat-3 signaling promote MicroRNA-21 expression and chemoresistance in hyaluronan/CD44-activated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells.

MicroRNAs are often associated with the pathogenesis of many cancers, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In particular, microRNA-21 (miR-21) appears to have a critical role in tumor cell survival, chemoresistance and HNSCC progression. In this study, we investigated matrix hyaluronan (HA)-induced CD44 (a primary HA receptor) interaction with the stem cell markers, Nanog and Stat-3, in HNSCC cells (HSC-3 cells). Our results indicate that HA binding to CD44 promotes Nanog-Stat-3 (also tyrosine phosphorylated Stat-3) complex formation, nuclear translocation and transcriptional activation. Further analyses reveal that miR-21 is controlled by an upstream promoter containing Stat-3 binding site(s), while chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrate that stimulation of miR-21 expression by HA/CD44 signaling is Nanog/Stat-3-dependent in HNSCC cells. This process results in a decrease of a tumor suppressor protein (PDCD4), and an upregulation of i nhibitors of the apoptosis family of proteins (IAPs) as well as chemoresistance in HSC-3 cells. Treatment of HSC-3 cells with Nanog- and/or Stat-3-specific small interfering RNAs effectively blocks HA-mediated Nanog-Stat-3 signaling events, abrogates miR-21 production and increases PDCD4 expression. Subsequently, this Nanog-Stat-3 signaling inhibition causes downregulation of survival protein (IAP) expression and enhancement of chemosensitivity. To further evaluate the role of miR-21 in tumor cell-specific functions, HSC-3 cells were also transfected with a specific anti-miR-21 inhibitor in order to silence miR-21 expression and block its target functions. Our results demonstrate that anti-miR-21 inhibitor not only upregulates PDCD4 expression but also decreases IAP expression and enhances chemosensitivity in HA-treated HNSCC cells. Together, these findings indicate that the HA-induced CD44 interaction with Nanog and Stat-3 has a pivotal role in miR-21 production leading to PDCD4 reduction, IAP upregulation and chemoresistance in HNSCC cells. This novel Nanog/Stat-3 signaling pathway-specific mechanism involved in miR-21 production is significant for the formation of future intervention strategies in the treatment of HA/CD44-activated HNSCC

Rocket ozone sounding network data

During the period December 1976 through February 1977, three regular monthly ozone profiles were measured at Wallops Flight Center, two special soundings were taken at Antigua, West Indies, and at the Churchill Research Range, monthly activities were initiated to establish stratospheric ozone climatology. This report presents the data results and flight profiles for the period covered

Serving Transgender Patrons in Academic Libraries

The Future Voices in Public Services column is a forum for graduate students in library and information science programs to discuss key issues in academic library public services, to envision what they feel librarians in public service have to offer to academia, to tell us their visions for the profession, or to share research being conducted in library schools. We hope to provide fresh perspectives from those entering our field, in both the United States and other countries. Interested faculty of graduate library and information science programs, who would like their students’ ideas represented in these pages, are invited to contact Miriam L. Matteson. Stephen Krueger received a Master of Science in Library Science degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science in May 2017. In this essay, he explores library service to transgender patrons looking first at relevant federal legislation and library policies that support services and then discussing steps library staff can take to provide meaningful support for transgender patrons

Intro to OER for Library Employees

Open educational resources (OER) are materials, such as open textbooks, that are free for anyone to use and share. This session will provide library employees with basic information about OER from a library perspective. Attendees will learn what makes a resource open access, how OER can help students and faculty, and where to find open textbooks and other OER

Efficient Deselection and Other Stories: A Fellowship at UNC Charlotte

This paper will describe the collection development project done by a summer fellow at the J. Murrey Atkins Library at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The project took place over the summer of 2016. The fellow worked with the health sciences librarian and the collection development librarian to assess the health sciences resources held by the library. Elements included compiling acquisition recommendations, surveying faculty and other health sciences librarians, drafting a collection development policy, and recommending titles for deselection. The deselection section also served as a pilot for a larger library-wide project