378 research outputs found

    The Surficial Geologic Maps of Connecticut Illustrated by a Field Trip in Central Connecticut

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    Guidebook for field trips in Connecticut and south central Massachusetts: New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference 74th annual meeting, University of Connecticut, Storrs Connecticut , October 2 and 3, 1982: Trip Q-

    Childhood behavioural and developmental disorders - association with maternal alcohol consumption in Cape Town, South Africa

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    Current maternal alcohol consumption, especially binge drinking, is strongly associated with childhood behavioural and/or developmental disorders (BDDs) in a population attending tertiary hospital ambulatory services. BDDs were also associated with maternal alcohol use 6 months before pregnancy. An association with BDDs could not be conclusively demonstrated for drinking during pregnancy, but this may have been influenced by under-reporting and reduced study power due to misclassification of exposure. We cannot rule out the a priori suspicion that some mild BDDs in children in the Western Cape could be undiagnosed fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Nonetheless, the study highlighted the important impact of current maternal alcohol use on behaviour and development of children. Future research on the impact of maternal alcohol use on childhood development should include examination of environmental and social factors contributing to this increased risk. Upstream interventions aimed at reducing alcohol-related harms may also contribute to reducing the burden of BDDs

    'Against the World': Michael Field, female marriage and the aura of amateurism'

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    This article considers the case of Katherine Bradley and Edith Cooper, an aunt and niece who lived and wrote together as ‘Michael Field’ in the fin-de-siècle Aesthetic movement. Bradley’s bold statement that she and Cooper were ‘closer married’ than the Brownings forms the basis for a discussion of their partnership in terms of a ‘female marriage’, a union that is reflected, as I will argue, in the pages of their writings. However, Michael Field’s exclusively collaborative output, though extensive, was no guarantee for success. On the contrary, their case illustrates the notion, valid for most products of co-authorship, that the jointly written work is always surrounded by an aura of amateurism. Since collaboration defied the ingrained notion of the author as the solitary producer of his or her work, critics and readers have time and again attempted to ‘parse’ the collaboration by dissecting the co-authored work into its constituent halves, a treatment that the Fields too failed to escape

    Flood risk insurance, mitigation and commercial property valuation

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    © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand how built environment professionals approach the valuation of flood risk in commercial property markets and whether insurance promotes mitigation in different insurance and risk management regimes, draw common conclusions and highlight opportunities to transfer learning. Design/methodology/approach: An illustrative case study approach involving literature search and 72 interviews with built environment professionals, across five countries in four continents. Findings: Common difficulties arise in availability, reliability and interpretation of risk information, and in evaluating the impact of mitigation. These factors, coupled with the heterogeneous nature of commercial property, lack of transactional data and remote investors, make valuation of risk particularly challenging in the sector. Insurance incentives for risk mitigation are somewhat effective where employed and could be further developed, however, the influence of insurance is hampered by lack of insurance penetration and underinsurance. Research limitations/implications: Further investigation of the means to improve uptake of insurance and to develop insurance incentives for mitigation is recommended. Practical implications: Flood risk is inconsistently reflected in commercial property values leading to lack of mitigation and vulnerability of investments to future flooding. Improvements are needed in: access to adequate risk information; professional skills in valuing risk; guidance on valuation of flood risk; and regulation to ensure adequate consideration of risk and mitigation options. Originality/value: The research addresses a global issue that threatens local, and regional economies through loss of utility, business profitability and commercial property value. It is unique in consulting professionals across international markets

    Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of asthma in ethnically diverse North American populations.

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    Asthma is a common disease with a complex risk architecture including both genetic and environmental factors. We performed a meta-analysis of North American genome-wide association studies of asthma in 5,416 individuals with asthma (cases) including individuals of European American, African American or African Caribbean, and Latino ancestry, with replication in an additional 12,649 individuals from the same ethnic groups. We identified five susceptibility loci. Four were at previously reported loci on 17q21, near IL1RL1, TSLP and IL33, but we report for the first time, to our knowledge, that these loci are associated with asthma risk in three ethnic groups. In addition, we identified a new asthma susceptibility locus at PYHIN1, with the association being specific to individuals of African descent (P = 3.9 × 10(-9)). These results suggest that some asthma susceptibility loci are robust to differences in ancestry when sufficiently large samples sizes are investigated, and that ancestry-specific associations also contribute to the complex genetic architecture of asthma

    Canine and human gastrointestinal stromal tumors display similar mutations in c-KIT exon 11

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are common mesenchymal neoplasms in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and dogs. Little is known about the pathogenesis of these tumors. This study evaluated the role of <it>c-KIT </it>in canine GISTs; specifically, we investigated activating mutations in exons 8, 9, 11, 13, and 17 of <it>c-KIT </it>and exons 12, 14, and 18 of platelet-derived growth factor receptor, alpha polypeptide (<it>PDGFRA</it>), all of which have been implicated in human GISTs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Seventeen canine GISTs all confirmed to be positive for KIT immunostaining were studied. Exons 8, 9, 11, 13 and 17 of <it>c-KIT </it>and exons 12, 14, and 18 of <it>PDGFRA</it>, were amplified from DNA isolated from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of these seventeen cases, six amplicons of exon 11 of <it>c-KIT </it>showed aberrant bands on gel electrophoresis. Sequencing of these amplicons revealed heterozygous in-frame deletions in six cases. The mutations include two different but overlapping six base pair deletions. Exons 8, 9, 13, and 17 of <it>c-KIT </it>and exons 12, 14, and 18 of <it>PDGFRA </it>had no abnormalities detected by electrophoresis and sequencing did not reveal any mutations, other than synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) found in exon 11 of <it>c-KIT </it>and exons 12 and 14 of <it>PDGFRA</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The deletion mutations detected in canine GISTs are similar to those previously found in the juxtamembrane domain of <it>c-KIT </it>in canine cutaneous mast cell tumors in our laboratory as well as to those reported in human GISTs. Interestingly, none of the other <it>c-KIT </it>or <it>PDGFRA </it>exons showed any abnormalities in our cases. This finding underlines the critical importance of <it>c-KIT </it>in the pathophysiology of canine GISTs. The expression of KIT and the identification of these activating mutations in <it>c-KIT </it>implicate KIT in the pathogenesis of these tumors. Our results indicate that mutations in <it>c-KIT </it>may be of prognostic significance and that targeting KIT may be a rational approach to treatment of these malignant tumors. This study further demonstrates that spontaneously occurring canine GISTs share molecular features with human GISTs and are an appropriate model for human GISTs.</p
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