Dual Frame (Landline and Cell RDD) Estimation in a National Survey of Latinos

Explores the implications of conducting surveys by both landline and cell phones for issues of survey bias and undercoverage of Latinos, among whom the cell phone-only population is growing. Discusses sampling and weighting methods

THE POWER OF THE QUILL: EPISTOLARY TECHNIQUE IN RICHARDSON'S PAMELA

Pamela (1740) de Samuel Richardson, considerada uma das primeiras e mais importantes obras do gênero "romance epistolar", consiste de uma coleção de cartas e entradas em diário escritas por uma serviçal que, ao final do romance, encontra-se em uma posição social elevada. Nesse estudo, procuro ilustrar os procedimentos sutis, mas contundentes, do formato epistolar observado em Pamela, bem como demonstrar como o ato de escrever diários por parte da protagonista alavanca a sua auto-estima e, por conseqüência, seu nível sócio-econômico. Ao escrever em seu diário, Pamela foge temporariamente de suas responsabilidades sócio-familiares a fim de refletir e melhorar seu bem-estar psicológico. E dessa forma que Pamela define e reflete toda a intimidade de sua personalidade. Eu ainda demonstro que a técnica epistolar richardsoniana habilmente sustenta não só a estrutura da narrativa, mas também, de certa forma, a existência frágil da personagem. O ato de escrever cartas ajuda a protagonista a ordenar a sua vida assim como a recordar o passado. As suas correspondências se constituem na única forma de relembrar esse passado. Essa curiosa abordagem da narrativa, no contexto literário de sua época, seria melhor traduzida nas palavras de Nancy Armstrong (1987) como "algo que foge da ficção habitual, um romance que não trilha os padrões vigentes." A magnitude do êxito literário de Richardson deve ser vista como um modelo de como a sua técnica narrativa se propôs a revelar muito mais acerca de sua heroína e sua história do que uma consistência com os padrões narrativos encontrados na Europa do século XVIII

Varying the Abundance of O Antigen in \u3cem\u3eRhizobium etli\u3c/em\u3e and Its Effect on Symbiosis with \u3cem\u3ePhaseolus vulgaris\u3c/em\u3e

Judged by migration of its lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in gel electrophoresis, the O antigen of Rhizobium etli mutant strain CE166 was apparently of normal size. However, its LPS sugar composition and staining of the LPS bands after electrophoresis indicated that the proportion of its LPS molecules that possessed O antigen was only 40% of the wild-type value. Its LPS also differed from the wild type by lacking quinovosamine (2-amino-2,6-dideoxyglucose). Both of these defects were due to a single genetic locus carrying a Tn5 insertion. The deficiency in O-antigen amount, but not the absence of quinovosamine, was suppressed by transferring into this strain recombinant plasmids that shared a 7.8-kb stretch of the R. etli CE3 lps genetic region α, even though this suppressing DNA did not carry the genetic region mutated in strain CE166. Strain CE166 gave rise to pseudonodules on legume host Phaseolus vulgaris, whereas the mutant suppressed by DNA from lps region α elicited nitrogen-fixing nodules. However, the nodules in the latter case developed slowly and were widely dispersed. Two other R. etli mutants that had one-half or less of the normal amount of O antigen also gave rise to pseudonodules on P. vulgaris. The latter strains were mutated in lps region α and could be restored to normal LPS content and normal symbiosis by complementation with wild-type DNA from this region. Hence, the symbiotic role of LPS requires near-normal abundance of O antigen and may require a structural feature conferred by quinovosamin

ROLE OF NUDT21 MEDIATED ALTERNATIVE POLYADENYLATION AND HYALURONAN IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PULMONARY HYPERTENSION

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a progressive disease with serious effects on quality of life and life expectancy of patients. PH is a complex disease that likely develops due to multiple influences, and no curative treatments exist for this disease. It has been shown that alternative polyadenylation (APA) due to depletion of Nudix Hydrolase 21(NUDT21) is involved in several disease states including the chronic lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Additionally, hyaluronan, an extracellular matrix glycosaminoglycan has been associated with PH. The role and mechanism of NUDT21 and hyaluronan have not yet been described in this disease. My results reveal that NUDT21 depletion and APA in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) is associated with phenotypic changes and PH. I I also show that hyaluronan and hyaluronan related genes play important roles in the development of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) and PH associated with IPF and combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema. I also identify 4-methylumbelliferone as an inhibitor of PH in this mechanism. These studies provide new mechanisms for understanding the development of PH and potential therapeutic targets

GP perspectives on hospital discharge letters : an interview and focus group study

Background: Written discharge communication following inpatient or outpatient clinic discharge is essential for communicating information to the GP, but GPs’ opinions on discharge communication are seldom sought. Patients are sometimes copied into this communication, but the reasons for this variation, and the resultant effects, remain unclear. Aim: To explore GP perspectives on how discharge letters can be improved in order to enhance patient outcomes. Design & setting: The study used narrative interviews with 26 GPs from 13 GP practices within the West Midlands, England. Method: Interviews were transcribed and data were analysed using corpus linguistics (CL) techniques. Results Elements pivotal to a successful letter were: diagnosis, appropriate follow-up plan, medication changes and reasons, clinical summary, investigations and/or procedures and outcomes, and what information has been given to the patient. GPs supported patients receiving discharge letters and expounded a number of benefits of this practice; for example, increased patient autonomy. Nevertheless, GPs felt that if patients are to receive direct discharge letter copies, modifications such as use of lay language and avoidance of acronyms may be required to increase patient understanding. Conclusion: GPs reported that discharge letters frequently lacked content items they assessed to be important; GPs highlighted that this can have subsequent ramifications on resources and patient experiences. Templates should be devised that put discharge letter elements assessed to be important by GPs to the forefront. Future research needs to consider other perspectives on letter content, particularly those of patients

Curriculum Design: Relationship Among Critical Thinking, Imagination, Verbal, & Visual Thinking

https://fuse.franklin.edu/ss2018/1025/thumbnail.jp

Genetic Locus and Structural Characterization of the Biochemical Defect in the O-Antigenic Polysaccharide of the Symbiotically Deficient \u3cem\u3eRhizobium etli\u3c/em\u3e Mutant, CE166

The O-antigen polysaccharide (OPS) of Rhizobium etli CE3 lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is linked to the core oligosaccharide via an N-acetylquinovosaminosyl (QuiNAc) residue. A mutant of CE3, CE166, produces LPS with reduced amounts of OPS, and a suppressed mutant, CE166α, produces LPS with nearly normal OPS levels. Both mutants are deficient in QuiNAc production. Characterization of OPS from CE166 and CE166α showed that QuiNAc was replaced by its 4-keto derivative, 2-acetamido-2,6-dideoxyhexosyl-4-ulose. The identity of this residue was determined by NMR and mass spectrometry, and by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of its 2-acetamido-4-deutero-2,6-dideoxyhexosyl derivatives produced by reduction of the 4-keto group using borodeuteride. Mass spectrometric and methylation analyses showed that the 2-acetamido-2,6-dideoxyhexosyl-4-ulosyl residue was 3-linked and attached to the core-region external Kdo III residue of the LPS, the same position as that of QuiNAc in the CE3 LPS. DNA sequencing revealed that the transposon insertion in strain CE166 was located in an open reading frame whose predicted translation product, LpsQ, falls within a large family of predicted open reading frames, which includes biochemically characterized members that are sugar epimerases and/or reductases. A hypothesis to be tested in future work is that lpsQ encodes UDP-2-acetamido-2,6-dideoxyhexosyl-4-ulose reductase, the second step in the synthesis of UDP-QuiNAc from UDP-GlcNAc

Workplace Surveillance and Employee Privacy: Implementing an Effective Computer Use Policy

Organizations face growing liability with regard to employee use of electronic resources. To mitigate the risk of liability, companies must develop and implement a computer-use policy outlining proper use of organizational electronic resources. This paper examines critical aspects of computer use policies, including: clearly explaining reasons for the policy, applying the policy to all employees including all levels of the organization, and indicating zero tolerance for offensive, harassing or discriminating communications. Finally, the paper identifies the implications of a computer usage policy