[Review of] Robert Elliot Barkan. Asian and Pacific Islander Migration to the United States: A Model of New Global Patterns

Migration in the late 20th century has become increasingly complex. The nature of migration has changed considerably from 1885, when E.G. Ravenstein first enumerated his laws of migration. In contrast to Ravenstein\u27s simple configurations of internal migration, Dr. Barkan likens modern migration to a jungle gym: If one were to picture an elaborate children\u27s outdoor jungle gym, constructed so that it can be made to undulate gently and gyrate, the analogy would come close to the reality of global migration. As the children decide to climb, several choices confront them in terms of direction and destination, although not all may be equally appealing or accessible. The jungle gym is also made to move somewhat (the instability adding to the adventure), and some paths are blocked by obstacles, others crowded by children who got there first, and on some of the bars are friends offering assistance. One can envision different groups of children venturing on, waiting, turning back, climbing onto other bars, or seeking their goals by other directions, all the time adjusting to the uncertain movements of the whole apparatus. The individual children make their own decisions, but there is a definite collaborative aspect to the process taking place. (22) Barkan sets as a first task updating Ravenstein\u27s laws. After describing the state of the migration literature, Barkan enumerates twenty-seven propositions which summarize the factors affecting migration. The propositions are particularly tailored to account for the incredible complexity of the modern migration decision and the institutional framework surrounding it

Methods used in the Lives Saved Tool (LiST)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Choosing an optimum set of child health interventions for maximum mortality impact is important within resource poor policy environments. The Lives Saved Tool (LiST) is a computer model that estimates the mortality and stillbirth impact of scaling up proven maternal and child health interventions. This paper will describe the methods used to estimate the impact of scaling up interventions on neonatal and child mortality.</p> <p>Model structure and assumptions</p> <p>LiST estimates mortality impact via five age bands 0 months, 1-5 months, 6-11 months, 12-23 months and 24 to 59 months. For each of these age bands reductions in cause specific mortality are estimated. Nutrition interventions can impact either nutritional statuses or directly impact mortality. In the former case, LiST acts as a cohort model where current nutritional statuses such as stunting impact the probability of stunting as the cohort ages. LiST links with a demographic projections model (DemProj) to estimate the deaths and deaths averted due to the reductions in mortality rates.</p> <p>Using LiST</p> <p>LiST can be downloaded at <url>http://www.jhsph.edu/dept/ih/IIP/list/</url> where simple instructions are available for installation. LiST includes default values for coverage and effectiveness for many less developed countries obtained from credible sources.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The development of LiST is a continuing process. Via technical inputs from the Child Health Epidemiological Group, effectiveness values are updated, interventions are adopted and new features added.</p

Will SEEK Funding Help Bring Equity in Educational Output to Kentucky\u27s School Districts?

The Constitution of the United States gave the individual states the responsibility of providing an adequate minimum education to their citizens. With this responsibility came the additional responsibility of financing the educational process. I will examine the historical thoughts on funding, emphasizing Kentucky, past and present. An ordinary least squares regression analysis will be used to predict the success of the Support Educational Excellence in Kentucky formula. Success is defined as bringing equity of testbased outputs to all school districts. The model and variables are then examined and conclusions drawn concerning the new funding formula

Inhibitory and oxidative effects of gossypol on MCF7 Breast Cancer cells in vitro

Human cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States and breast cancer is responsible for the second highest number of deaths in women with cancer worldwide. Today, cancer is becoming more and more resistant to current chemotherapeutic agents. In an effort to decrease this resistance, natural products like gossypol are being tested for efficacy as a natural chemotherapeutic agent with anti-cancer properties. Current literature demonstrates that gossypol is indeed an effective drug against breast cancer when used alone and when combined with other chemotherapeutic agents [1-5]. The majority of current literature focuses on the ability of gossypol to antagonize anti-apoptotic proteins like BCL-XL and induce apoptosis [6, 7]. This study helps understand previous data and goes beyond the current knowledge base and explores not only apoptosis induction, but also on other important effects like: oxidative stress, other possible avenues of cell death, growth and development, and cell cycle progression. Combining physiological, genotypic, flow cytometric and biochemical assays, a more complete understanding of gossypol's efficacy and mechanism of action can be ascertained. In past studies, the focus of gossypol's efficacy has been too narrow and currently the study of gene regulators like microRNAs (miRNAs) has not been incorporated. This study reveals evidence that miRNA may play an important role and that gossypol's efficacy is in fact a multi-component system that is interconnected in its overall mechanism of action.  M.S

A study of the effects of personality, subculture and place of residence on college student recreation participation

The problem of this investigation was to determine whether knowledge of student personality, subculture, or place of residence could predict university student recreation participation for men and women. Factors of age, marital status, class in college, and Greek affiliation were also examined for any relationship to recreation participation of university men and women

Special Student Project: Developments under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) is one of the most significant enactments ever to affect the coal mining industry. In pervasive fashion, it is intended to control virtually every environmental aspect of surface mining as well as all surface effects of underground coal mining. The responsibility for establishing a regulatory program to refine and implement the Act is vested in the United States Department of the Interior. However, as individual regulatory plans are submitted by the states and approved by the Secretary of the Interior, the Act provides for an assumption by the states of primary regulatory authority over mining activities conducted within their borders. As of mid-1980, no state except Texas had assumed primary regulatory authority. Proposed amendments to the SMCRA, changes and uncertainties in the model regulatory program as promulgated by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), and challenges to OSM\u27s authority to regulate certain aspects of coal mining have all contributed to the delay in the states\u27 assumption of primary regulatory authority. This Project is intended to note the significant changes and challenges to the SMCRA and to the regulations promulgated thereunder over the period beginning with the issuance of the permanent regulatory program until the present time

Methylmercury cycling in sediments on the continental shelf of southern New England

Author Posting. © The Authors, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 70 (2006): 918-930, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2005.10.020.Exposure of humans to monomethylmercury (MMHg) occurs primarily through consumption of marine fish, yet there is limited understanding concerning the bioaccumulation and biogeochemistry of MMHg in the biologically productive coastal ocean. We examined the cycling of MMHg in sediments at three locations on the continental shelf of southern New England in September 2003. MMHg in surface sediments is related positively to inorganic Hg (Hg(II)=total Hg-MMHg), the geographical distribution of which is influenced by organic material. Organic matter also largely controls the sediment-water partitioning of Hg species and governs the availability of dissolved Hg(II) for methylation. Potential gross rates of MMHg production, assayed by experimental addition of 200Hg to intact sediment cores, are correlated inversely with the distribution coefficient (KD) of Hg(II) and positively with the concentration of Hg(II), most probably as HgS0, in 0.2-µm filtered pore water of these low-sulfide deposits. Moreover, the efflux of dissolved MMHg to overlying water (i.e., net production at steady state) is correlated with the gross potential rate of MMHg production in surface sediments. These results suggest that the production and efflux of MMHg from coastal marine sediments is limited by Hg(II), loadings of which presumably are principally from atmospheric deposition to this region of the continental shelf. The estimated diffusive flux of MMHg from the shelf sediments averages 9 pmol m-2 d-1. This flux is comparable to that required to sustain the current rate of MMHg accumulation by marine fish, and may be enhanced by the efflux of MMHg from near-shore deposits contaminated more substantially with anthropogenic Hg. Hence, production and subsequent mobilization of MMHg from sediments in the coastal zone may be a major source of MMHg to the ocean and marine biota, including fishes consumed by humans.This research was supported by a STAR student fellowship (U91591801) and grant (R827635) from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a graduate student fellowship and grant from the Hudson River Foundation for Environmental Research, and the Postdoctoral Scholar Program at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, with funding provided by the Doherty Foundation