UNWED FATHERS AND FRAGILE FAMILIES

Nearly a third of all births in the United States today occur to parents who are not legally married. The proportions are even higher among poor and minority populations, 40% among Hispanics, and 70% among blacks (Ventura et al. 1995). Out-of-wedlock childbearing is occurring with increasing frequency in nearly all western industrialized countries. Indeed, the proportion of children born outside marriage is even higher in the Scandinavian countries than it is in the U.S. (McLanahan and Casper 1996). However, the U.S. is somewhat unique with respect to the involvement of unwed fathers in the lives of their children. Whereas in the western European countries, the vast majority of unmarried parents are living together when their child is born, in the U.S. only about 25% of unwed parents are cohabiting (Bumpass and Sweet 1989). At first glance, these figures would seem to suggest that American men who father children outside marriage are less attached to their children than European men. This impression is further reinforced by research which shows that a substantial proportion of never married fathers have virtually no contact with their children (McLanahan and Sandefur 1994).

Expert perceptions on the need and actualisation of CLIL in Finnish municipalities

Abstract. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has emerged as a common bilingual education model in Finland. It integrates content and language, by teaching content through the medium of a foreign language. The demand for bilingual education is rising, as more municipalities begin to offer specialised linguistic education as a part of their educational services. Educators in Finland have looked to various Western bilingual education models to improve existing language teaching practices. The definition for CLIL does not differentiate between different models of bilingual education. CLIL in Finland is largely synonymous with bilingual education. Teachers and educators in Finland must follow the goals listed in the National Core Curriculum (NCC 2014) for Education, which specifies targets for bilingual education. In Finland, and in the NCC, bilingual education is divided into large-scale and small-scale bilingual education, as well as language immersion, all of which CLIL can be used for. In this study, it was our aim to investigate the perception of CLIL in Finland, and to understand how CLIL is implemented across different municipalities. We interviewed five experts in CLIL across three dimensions of influence — the school level, the municipal level, and the national level. All experts have a connection to CLIL or bilingual education in Finland, relevant to the current positions they hold. We employed qualitative research methods to analyse the data collected from these interviews, using inductive coding, thematic content analysis, as well as elements of phenomenography. From our research we have learned that CLIL is synonymous with bilingual education in Finland. That it’s implementation follows the structures of large-scale, small-scale, and immersion. CLIL is an effective method and approach to adding foreign language teaching into content lessons. It is believed that offering CLIL education in a municipality improves competitiveness while catering to local and international needs. While CLIL at times, is described as a buzzword, in these contexts we have learned that CLIL is more than merely a buzzword, and is in fact a popular choice for teachers and educational leaders interested in promoting multilingualism and internationalisation.Asiantuntijoiden käsityksiä CLIL:n tarpeesta ja toteutuksesta suomalaisissa kunnissa. Tiivistelmä. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) on yleinen kaksikielisen opetuksen muoto Suomessa. CLIL:ssä integroidaan sisältö ja kieli opettamalla oppiainesisältöjä vieraan kielen kautta. Kaksikielisen opetuksen kysyntä on nousussa, sillä yhä useampi kunta haluaa tarjota vieraskielistä opetusta osana kunnan koulutuspalvelua. Länsimaissa kehitettyjä kaksikielisen opetuksen malleja ja metodeja on hyödynnetty Suomessa osana opetuksen kehittämistä. CLIL käsitteenä ei erottele eri kaksikielisen opetuksen malleja. CLIL on laajalti synonyyminen kaksikielisen opetuksen kanssa. Opetusalan ammattilaiset seuraavat perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelman (OPS 2014) tavoitteita kaksikieliseen opetukseen liittyen. OPS:ssa eritellään kaksikielinen opetus laajaan ja suppeaan kaksikieliseen opetukseen sekä kielikylpyopetukseen kotimaisilla kielillä. CLIL:iä voidaan hyödyntää kaikissa edellämainituissa kaksikielisen opetuksen kategorioissa tavoitteiden saavuttamiseksi. Tässä tutkimuksessa pyrimme tutkimaan asiantuntijoiden käsityksiä CLIL:stä ja kuinka CLIL:iä tarjotaan ja toteutetaan eri kunnissa. Haastattelimme viittä CLIL-asiantuntijaa kolmelta eri tasolta: koulun, kunnan ja valtion tasoilta. Kaikilla asiantuntijoilla on yhteys CLIL-opetukseen tai kaksikieliseen opetukseen Suomessa ja heidän työskentelevät niiden parissa. Käytimme kvalitatiivisen tutkimuksen metodeja analysoidaksemme haastatteluista saamaamme dataa. Käytimme datan analysoinnissa induktiivisen koodauksen menetelmiä, temaattista sisältöanalyysia sekä fenomenografisen tutkimusotteen elementtejä. Tutkimuksen myötä opimme, että CLIL:iä käytetään synonyymina kaksikielisen opetuksen kanssa. CLIL:n toteutus Suomessa perustuu OPS:ssa eriteltyihin tavoitteisiin, jotka eroavat laajan ja suppeamman kaksikielisen opetuksen sekä kielikylpyopetuksen osalta. CLIL on tehokas metodi ja lähestymistapa, jonka avulla opetetaan kieltä oppiainesisältöjen kautta. CLIL tarjoaa kunnille myös kilpailuedun, sillä sen kautta tarjotaan vastataan paikallisten ja kansainvälisten asukkaiden tarpeisiin. Ajoittain CLIL:iä käytetään pelkkänä muotisanana, mutta tutkimuksemme myötä selvisi, että CLIL on enemmän kuin muotisana ja oikeastaan se on varsin suosittu menetelmä edistää monikielisyyttä ja kansainvälisyyttä

Catalysis of iron core formation in Pyrococcus furiosus ferritin

The hollow sphere-shaped 24-meric ferritin can store large amounts of iron as a ferrihydrite-like mineral core. In all subunits of homomeric ferritins and in catalytically active subunits of heteromeric ferritins a diiron binding site is found that is commonly addressed as the ferroxidase center (FC). The FC is involved in the catalytic Fe(II) oxidation by the protein; however, structural differences among different ferritins may be linked to different mechanisms of iron oxidation. Non-heme ferritins are generally believed to operate by the so-called substrate FC model in which the FC cycles by filling with Fe(II), oxidizing the iron, and donating labile Fe(III)–O–Fe(III) units to the cavity. In contrast, the heme-containing bacterial ferritin from Escherichia coli has been proposed to carry a stable FC that indirectly catalyzes Fe(II) oxidation by electron transfer from a core that oxidizes Fe(II). Here, we put forth yet another mechanism for the non-heme archaeal 24-meric ferritin from Pyrococcus furiosus in which a stable iron-containing FC acts as a catalytic center for the oxidation of Fe(II), which is subsequently transferred to a core that is not involved in Fe(II)-oxidation catalysis. The proposal is based on optical spectroscopy and steady-state kinetic measurements of iron oxidation and dioxygen consumption by apoferritin and by ferritin preloaded with different amounts of iron. Oxidation of the first 48 Fe(II) added to apoferritin is spectrally and kinetically different from subsequent iron oxidation and this is interpreted to reflect FC building followed by FC-catalyzed core formation

Operational Research in Education

Operational Research (OR) techniques have been applied, from the early stages of the discipline, to a wide variety of issues in education. At the government level, these include questions of what resources should be allocated to education as a whole and how these should be divided amongst the individual sectors of education and the institutions within the sectors. Another pertinent issue concerns the efficient operation of institutions, how to measure it, and whether resource allocation can be used to incentivise efficiency savings. Local governments, as well as being concerned with issues of resource allocation, may also need to make decisions regarding, for example, the creation and location of new institutions or closure of existing ones, as well as the day-to-day logistics of getting pupils to schools. Issues of concern for managers within schools and colleges include allocating the budgets, scheduling lessons and the assignment of students to courses. This survey provides an overview of the diverse problems faced by government, managers and consumers of education, and the OR techniques which have typically been applied in an effort to improve operations and provide solutions

Inflammatory and Coagulation Biomarkers and Mortality in Patients with HIV Infection

Analyzing biomarker data from participants in a previous randomized controlled trial of continuous versus interrupted HIV treatment (the SMART trial), James Neaton and colleagues find that mortality was related to IL-6 and fibrin D-dimers

Preliminary study of relationships between hypnotic susceptibility and personality disorder functioning styles in healthy volunteers and personality disorder patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hypnotic susceptibility is one of the stable characteristics of individuals, but not closely related to the personality traits such as those measured by the five-factor model in the general population. Whether it is related to the personality disorder functioning styles remains unanswered.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In 77 patients with personality disorders and 154 healthy volunteers, we administered the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale: Form C (SHSSC) and the Parker Personality Measure (PERM) tests.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients with personality disorders showed higher passing rates on SHSSC Dream and Posthypnotic Amnesia items. No significant correlation was found in healthy volunteers. In the patients however, SHSSC Taste hallucination (β = 0.26) and Anosmia to Ammonia (β = -0.23) were significantly correlated with the PERM Borderline style; SHSSC Posthypnotic Amnesia was correlated with the PERM Schizoid style (β = 0.25) but negatively the PERM Narcissistic style (β = -0.23).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results provide limited evidence that could help to understand the abnormal cognitions in personality disorders, such as their hallucination and memory distortions.</p

Inhibition and stimulation of formation of the ferroxidase center and the iron core in Pyrococcus furiosus ferritin

Ferritin is a ubiquitous iron-storage protein that has 24 subunits. Each subunit of ferritins that exhibit high Fe(II) oxidation rates has a diiron binding site, the so-called ferroxidase center (FC). The role of the FC appears to be essential for the iron-oxidation catalysis of ferritins. Studies of the iron oxidation by mammalian, bacterial, and archaeal ferritin have indicated different mechanisms are operative for Fe(II) oxidation, and for inhibition of the Fe(II) oxidation by Zn(II). These differences are presumably related to the variations in the amino acid residues of the FC and/or transport channels. We have used a combination of UV–vis spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and isothermal titration calorimetry to study the inhibiting action of Zn(II) ions on the iron-oxidation process by apoferritin and by ferritin aerobically preloaded with 48 Fe(II) per 24-meric protein, and to study a possible role of phosphate in initial iron mineralization by Pyrococcus furiosus ferritin (PfFtn). Although the empty FC can accommodate two zinc ions, binding of one zinc ion to the FC suffices to essentially abolish iron-oxidation activity. Zn(II) no longer binds to the FC nor does it inhibit iron core formation once the FC is filled with two Fe(III). Phosphate and vanadate facilitate iron oxidation only after formation of a stable FC, whereupon they become an integral part of the core. These results corroborate our previous proposal that the FC in PfFtn is a stable prosthetic group, and they suggest that its formation is essential for iron-oxidation catalysis by the protein

Cardioembolic Stroke in Atrial Fibrillation-Rationale for Preventive Closure of the Left Atrial Appendage

Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmias, and a major cause of morbidity and mortality due to cardioembolic stroke. The left atrial appendage is the major site of thrombus formation in non-valvular atrial fibrillation. Loss of atrial systole in atrial fibrillation and increased relative risk of associated stroke point strongly toward a role for stasis of blood in left atrial thrombosis, although thrombus formation is multifactorial, and much more than blood flow irregularities are implicated. Oral anticoagulation with vitamin-K-antagonists is currently the most effective prophylaxis for stroke in atrial fibrillation. Unfortunately, this treatment is often contraindicated, particularly in the elderly, in whom risk of stroke is high. Moreover, given the risk of major bleeding, there is reason to be skeptical of the net benefit when warfarin is used in those patients. This work reviews the pathophysiology of cardioembolic stroke and critically spotlights the current status of preventive anticoagulation therapy. Various techniques to exclude the left atrial appendage from circulation were discussed as a considerable alternative for stroke prophylaxis

Realizing General Education: Reconsidering Conceptions and Renewing Practice

General Education is widely touted as an enduring distinctive of higher education in the United States (Association of American Colleges and Universities, [11]; Boyer, [37]; Gaston, [86]; Zakaria, [202]). The notion that undergraduate education demands wide‐ranging knowledge is a hallmark of U.S. college graduates that international educators emulate (Blumenstyk, [25]; Rhodes, [158]; Tsui, [181]). The veracity of this distinct educational vision is supported by the fact that approximately one third of the typically 120 credits required for the bachelor\u27s degree in the United States consist of general education courses (Lattuca & Stark, [120]). Realizing a general education has been understood to be central to achieving higher education\u27s larger purposes, making it a particularly salient concern