Asian Americans, European White Americans, and the College Admissions Game Issue Brief

My issue brief investigates publically denied but clearly implicit racial quotas that Asian Americans are subject to in elite private university admissions, particularly in Ivy League schools. Such discrimination not only favors the admission of white applicants, particularly children of alumni, but also is misrepresentative of Asian academic achievement and the cultural and historical heterogeneity of individual Asian ethnic groups

A survey to test the story book knowledge of kindergarten children.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Delivery of drugs, proteins and genes into cells using transferrin as a ligand for receptor-mediated endocytosis

Transferrin, an iron-transporting serum glycoprotein, is efficiently taken up into cells by the process of receptor-mediated endocytosis. Transferrin receptors are found on the surface of most proliferating cells, in elevated numbers on erythroblasts and on many kinds of tumors. The efficient cellular mechanism for uptake of transferrin has been subverted for the delivery of low-molecular-weight drugs, protein toxins, and liposomes by linkage of these agents to transferrin or to anti-transferrin receptor antibodies. Linkage may be via chemical conjugation procedures or by the generation of chimeric fusion proteins. Transferrin conjugated to DNA-binding compounds (e.g. polycations or intercalating agents) has been successfully used for the import of DNA molecules into cells. High-level gene expression is obtained only if endosome-disruptive agents such as influenza hemagglutinin peptides or adenovirus particles are included which release the DNA complex from intracellular vesicles into the cytoplasm

Targeted Toxins in Brain Tumor Therapy

Targeted toxins, also known as immunotoxins or cytotoxins, are recombinant molecules that specifically bind to cell surface receptors that are overexpressed in cancer and the toxin component kills the cell. These recombinant proteins consist of a specific antibody or ligand coupled to a protein toxin. The targeted toxins bind to a surface antigen or receptor overexpressed in tumors, such as the epidermal growth factor receptor or interleukin-13 receptor. The toxin part of the molecule in all clinically used toxins is modified from bacterial or plant toxins, fused to an antibody or carrier ligand. Targeted toxins are very effective against cancer cells resistant to radiation and chemotherapy. They are far more potent than any known chemotherapy drug. Targeted toxins have shown an acceptable profile of toxicity and safety in early clinical studies and have demonstrated evidence of a tumor response. Currently, clinical trials with some targeted toxins are complete and the final results are pending. This review summarizes the characteristics of targeted toxins and the key findings of the important clinical studies with targeted toxins in malignant brain tumor patients. Obstacles to successful treatment of malignant brain tumors include poor penetration into tumor masses, the immune response to the toxin component and cancer heterogeneity. Strategies to overcome these limitations are being pursued in the current generation of targeted toxins

The combined use of hydroxyapatite and bioresorbable plates to repair cranial defects in children

Object. Hydroxyapatite cement (HAC) is used with increasing frequency by craniofacial surgeons for building facial and skull base structures and by neurosurgeons for cranioplasty. Failures of HAC in cranioplasty have been attributed to breakage due to subjacent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pulsations through the dura mater. The authors describe a technique that involves inserting a resorbable MacroPore perforated plate to dampen CSF pulsations and then pouring HAC over the plate to fill a cranial defect and complete skull contouring. Methods. Fifteen children ranging in age from 2 to 9.5 years were included in the study; the size of the skull defects in these patients ranged from 6.25 to 42.5 cm2, with a mean of 20.65 cm2. Patients in whom the combined MacroPore-HAC devices were implanted underwent follow-up examinations that included serial skull radiography and computerized tomography scans. No fractures of the implants were demonstrated. At 6 months postsurgery, small fingerlings of new bone growth appeared in the underside of the HAC plate, probably spanning from the dura through perforations in the MacroPore plate. At intervals ranging from 18 months to 20 years after implantation, the gaps between cranial bone edges and that the HAC began to blur, culminating in the complete bonding of host bone with the margin of the HAC plate. All implants remained radiopaque and maintained size, thickness, and shape. Conclusions. The findings of this study are promising and indicate that the combined use of HAC and a bioresorbable undercarriage that is osteoconductive, such as the MacroPore perforated plate, may produce a versatile and lasting cranioplasty in children.link_to_subscribed_fulltex