The Impact of Children's Social Adjustment on Academic Outcomes

This study tested whether social adjustment added to the prediction of academic outcomes above and beyond prior academic functioning. School records and peer-, teacher-, and self-report measures were collected for 1,255 third grade children in the fall and spring of the school year. Social acceptance by and aggression with peers were included as measures of social adjustment. Academic outcomes included math and reading GPA, classroom behavior, academic self-esteem, and absenteeism. As expected, support for the causal model was found where both forms of social adjustment contributed independently to the prediction of each area of academic adjustment. Gender differences in the patterns of results were present, particularly for the impact of aggression on academic adjustment. Discussion focuses on the implications for social-emotional literacy programs to prevent negative academic outcomes

The hearing of fitness to practice cases by the General Medical Council: Current trends and future research agendas

Over the last three decades a risk-based model of medical regulation has emerged in the United Kingdom. To promote a risk-averse operational culture of transparency and professional accountability the regulatory state has intervened in medical governance and introduced best-evidenced practice frameworks, audit and performance appraisal, Against this background the paper analyses descriptive statistical data pertaining to the General Medical Council’s management of the process by which fitness to practice complaints against doctors are dealt with from initial receipt through to subsequent investigative and adjudication stages. Statistical trends are outlined regarding complaint data in relation to a doctor’s gender and race and ethnicity. The data shows that there has been an increase in rehabilitative and/or punitive action against doctors. In light of its findings the paper considers what the long-term consequences may be, for both patients and doctors, of the increasing use of risk-averse administrative systems to reform medical regulation and ensure professional accountability

Studying Genetic Research Participants: Lessons from the "Learning About Research in North Carolina" Study

Given the prohibitive cost of recruiting large and diverse populations for genetic explorations in cancer research, there has been a call for genetic studies to engage existing cohorts of research participants. This strategy could lead to more efficient recruitment and potentially result in significant advances in the understanding of cancer etiology and treatment. The Learning About Research in North Carolina (LeARN) study responded to the National Human Genome Research Institute interest in research on how study participants from diverse populations who had participated in genetic research perceived the risks and benefits of participating in combined epidemiologic-genetic research, how well they understand the purpose of the research and the uses to which the research results may be put, and how involvement in such research affects perceptions of disease causality. In this paper we give an overview of the LeARN study, summarizing the methods we used, challenges we encountered, and lessons learned about recruiting participants who have previously participated in genetic research

The Role of Public Schools in HIV Prevention: Perspectives from African Americans in the Rural South

Though African American youth in the south are at high risk for HIV infection, abstinence until marriage education continues to be the only option in some public schools. Using community-based participatory research methods, we conducted 11 focus groups with African American adults and youth in a rural community in North Carolina with high rates of HIV infection with marked racial disparities. Focus group discussions explored participant views on contributors to the elevated rates of HIV and resources available to reduce transmission. Participants consistently identified the public schools’ sex education policies and practices as major barriers toward preventing HIV infection among youth in their community. Ideas for decreasing youth’s risk of HIV included public schools providing access to health services and sex education. Policymakers, school administrators, and other stakeholders should consider the public school setting as a place to provide HIV prevention education for youth in rural areas

Plcg2M28L Interacts With High Fat/High Sugar Diet to Accelerate Alzheimer\u27s Disease-Relevant Phenotypes in Mice.

Obesity is recognized as a significant risk factor for Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD). Studies have supported the notion that obesity accelerates AD-related pathophysiology in mouse models of AD. The majority of studies, to date, have focused on the use of early-onset AD models. Here, we evaluate the impact of genetic risk factors on late-onset AD (LOAD) in mice fed with a high fat/high sugar diet (HFD). We focused on three mouse models created through the IU/JAX/PITT MODEL-AD Center. These included a combined risk model wit

The role of maternal age & birth order on the development of unilateral and bilateral retinoblastoma: a multicentre study

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Retinoblastoma is a common childhood intraocular malignancy, the bilateral form of which most commonly results from a de novo germline pathogenic variant in the RB1 gene. Both advanced maternal age and decreasing birth order are known to increase the risk of de novo germline pathogenic variants, while the influence of national wealth is understudied. This cohort study aimed to retrospectively observe whether these factors influence the ratio of bilateral retinoblastoma cases compared to unilateral retinoblastoma, thereby inferring an influence on the development of de novo germline pathogenic variants in RB1. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Data from 688 patients from 11 centres in 10 countries were analysed using a series of statistical methods. RESULTS: No associations were found between advanced maternal age, birth order or GDP per capita and the ratio of bilateral to unilateral retinoblastoma cases (p values = 0.534, 0.201, 0.067, respectively), indicating that these factors do not contribute to the development of a de novo pathogenic variant. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a lack of a definitive control group and genetic testing, this study demonstrates that advanced maternal age, birth order or GDP per capita do not influence the risk of developing a bilateral retinoblastoma

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The English medieval first-floor hall: part 2 – The evidence from the eleventh to early thirteenth century

The concept of the first-floor hall was introduced in 1935, but Blair’s paper of 1993 cast doubt on many of those buildings which had been identified as such. Following the recognition of Scolland’s Hall, Richmond Castle as an example of a hall at first-floor level, the evidence for buildings of this type is reviewed (excluding town houses and halls in the great towers of castles, where other issues apply). While undoubtedly a number of buildings have been mistakenly identified as halls, there is a significant group of structures which there are very strong grounds to classify as first-floor halls. The growth of masonry architecture in elite secular buildings, particularly after the Norman Conquest, allowed halls to be constructed on the first floor. The key features of these are identified and the reasons for constructing the hall at this level – prestige and security – are recognized. The study of these buildings allows two further modifications to the Blair thesis: in some houses, halls and chambers were integrated in a single block at an early date, and the basic idea of the medieval domestic plan was already present by the late eleventh century

Problematizing fit and survival: transforming the law of requisite variety through complexity misalignment

The law of requisite variety is widely employed in management theorizing and is linked with core strategy themes such as contingency and fit. We reflect upon requisite variety as an archetypal borrowed concept. We contrast its premises with insights from the institutional literature and commitment literature, draw propositions that set boundaries to its applicability, and review the ramifications of what we call “complexity misalignment.” In this way we contradict foundational assumptions of the law, problematize adaptation- and survival-centric views of strategizing, and theorize the role of human agency in variously complex regimes