Job displacement among single mothers: effects on children's outcomes in young adulthood.

Given the recent era of economic upheaval, studying the effects of job displacement has seldom been so timely and consequential. Despite a large literature associating displacement with worker well-being, relatively few studies focus on the effects of parental displacement on child well-being, and fewer still focus on implications for children of single-parent households. Moreover, notwithstanding a large literature on the relationship between single motherhood and children's outcomes, research on intergenerational effects of involuntary employment separations among single mothers is limited. Using 30 years of nationally representative panel data and propensity score matching methods, the authors find significant negative effects of job displacement among single mothers on children's educational attainment and social-psychological well-being in young adulthood. Effects are concentrated among older children and children whose mothers had a low likelihood of displacement, suggesting an important role for social stigma and relative deprivation in the effects of socioeconomic shocks on child well-being

Studio della correlazione fra la percentuale di cellule neoplastiche mutate in EGFR e la risposta a farmaci TKI nell'adenocarcinoma polmonare

Il gene EGFR e' un marcatore molecolare fondamentale per determinare la sensibilita' o meno ai farmaci inibitori delle tirosin-chinasi (TKI) in pazienti affetti da adenocarcinoma polmonare. Lo scopo del lavoro e' di determinare se la percentuale di cellule neoplastiche mutate in EGFR correli con la risposta ai farmaci TKI. Sono stati analizzati 18 casi; di ogni caso e' stato analizzato il gene EGFR (esoni 18, 19, 20 e 21) mediante Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). La quantita' di cellule neoplastiche presenti nell'area analizzata e' stata valutata da un patologo, su un vetrino colorato con Ematossilina-Eosina, e tale quantita' e' stata normalizzata alla percentuale di alleli mutati rilevata mediante NGS. E' stata rilevata una correlazione fra la percentuale di cellule neoplastiche mutate in EGFR e la risposta ai TKI, ed e' stato osservato che pazienti con una percentuale di cellule neoplastiche mutate al di sopra del 56% presentano una migliore "overall survival" rispetto ai pazienti con una percentuale inferiore. I dati suggeriscono che, oltre al valore predittivo, la definizione della percentuale di cellule neoplastiche mutate in EGFR potrebbe avere un valore prognostico

A Trinitarian Christology of the Fourth Word from the Cross The Commmunicatio Idiomatum, the Modal Distinction, and the Forsakenness of Christ

The fourth word from the cross, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ is the focus of this work. I exegete the fourth word in the context of the crucifixion narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark and define έγκατέλιπές (forsaken) as left undefended. I describe the Christological doctrine of the communication of idioms and survey its application to the fourth word in Patristic, Scholastic, and Reformed writing, and wider literature up to the nineteenth century. I then argue for a modal distinction between person and nature in the Trinity with a focus on the theology of Thomas Aquinas. The Trinitarian and Christological explorations enable me to construct the following argument to which this thesis is a response. If Christ is forsaken by the Father, through the communication of idioms, God the Son is forsaken. The person of the Son is modally distinct from the divine nature. Therefore, the divine nature is forsaken at the fourth word. In my threefold response to the above argument I argue first that persons experience in and according to natures, and that persons, not natures, relate because divine persons are subsistent relations. Secondly, I argue that the mutual indwelling of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in perichoresis continues unbroken at the fourth word. Thirdly, that according to the unity of the works of God ad extra, the Triune persons are united in will at the fourth word. My argument is chiefly built on arguments from Cyril of Alexandria, Bonaventure, and Aquinas. I defend my thesis in light of the Reformed doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement, against charges of Nestorianism, and against a counterargument from Social Trinitarianisms. My thesis aims to uphold historic orthodoxy in opposition to contemporary trends towards divine passibility

Usage Patterns and Perceptions of the Achievement, Reporting and Innovation System (ARIS)

This report offers the first systematic examination of actual usage of New York City's Achievement Reporting and Innovation System (ARIS). ARIS is a comprehensive data system designed to put student information within easy reach of school administrators and teachers. The findings suggest that ARIS has been used successfully as a school-wide planning tool, but was less valuable as a direct aid to classroom instruction. The Research Alliance will continue its study of ARIS through 2013, including an examination of some of the new components and features that have been developed recently by the Department of Education

Non-technical skills and traits needed to be career-ready graduates as perceived by agribusiness employers and recruiters

The purpose of the study was to determine the skills needed by students of the Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences to secure employment after graduation. The population consisted of 211 agribusiness employers who have attended the College\u27s Biannual Career Fairs. A descriptive research design was used for this study. A major finding of this study was employers rated graduates based on means as somewhat prepared or not prepared in several communication skills, business skills and business abilities. Employers also rated Davis College graduates in general to college graduates in preparation level for entry level employment. There were various skills important to employers for the success of graduates in entry level positions. These skills included, but were not limited to: effective verbal skills, oral communication, listening, following instructions, time management, planning and completing projects, professional behavior, leadership, and professional appearance

How Hearing Impairment Affects Sentence Comprehension: Using Eye Fixations to Investigate the Duration of Speech Processing

The main objective of this study was to investigate the extent to which hearing impairment influences the duration of sentence processing. An eye-tracking paradigm is introduced that provides an online measure of how hearing impairment prolongs processing of linguistically complex sentences; this measure uses eye fixations recorded while the participant listens to a sentence. Eye fixations toward a target picture (which matches the aurally presented sentence) were measured in the presence of a competitor picture. Based on the recorded eye fixations, the single target detection amplitude, which reflects the tendency of the participant to fixate the target picture, was used as a metric to estimate the duration of sentence processing. The single target detection amplitude was calculated for sentence structures with different levels of linguistic complexity and for different listening conditions: in quiet and in two different noise conditions. Participants with hearing impairment spent more time processing sentences, even at high levels of speech intelligibility. In addition, the relationship between the proposed online measure and listener-specific factors, such as hearing aid use and cognitive abilities, was investigated. Longer processing durations were measured for participants with hearing impairment who were not accustomed to using a hearing aid. Moreover, significant correlations were found between sentence processing duration and individual cognitive abilities (such as working memory capacity or susceptibility to interference). These findings are discussed with respect to audiological applications

BMP is an important regulator of proepicardial identity in the chick embryo

AbstractThe proepicardium (PE) is a transient structure formed by pericardial coelomic mesothelium at the venous pole of the embryonic heart and gives rise to several cell types of the mature heart. In order to study PE development in chick embryos, we have analyzed the expression pattern of the marker genes Tbx18, Wt1, and Cfc. During PE induction, the three marker genes displayed a left–right asymmetric expression pattern. In each case, expression on the right side was stronger than on the left side. The left–right asymmetric gene expression observed here is in accord with the asymmetric formation of the proepicardium in the chick embryo. While initially the marker genes were expressed in the primitive sinus horn, subsequently, expression became confined to the PE mesothelium. In order to search for signaling factors involved in PE development, we studied Bmp2 and Bmp4 expression. Bmp2 was bilaterally expressed in the sinus venosus. In contrast, Bmp4 expression was initially expressed unilaterally in the right sinus horn and subsequently in the PE. In order to assess its functional role, BMP signaling was experimentally modulated by supplying exogenous BMP2 and by inhibiting endogenous BMP signaling through the addition of Noggin. Both supplying BMP and blocking BMP signaling resulted in a loss of PE marker gene expression. Surprisingly, both experimental situations lead to cardiac myocyte formation in the PE cultures. Careful titration experiments with exogenously added BMP2 or Noggin revealed that PE-specific marker gene expression depends on a low level of BMP signaling. Implantation of BMP2-secreting cells or beads filled with Noggin protein into the right sinus horn of HH stage 11 embryos resulted in downregulation of Tbx18 expression, corresponding to the results of the explant assay. Thus, a distinct level of BMP signaling is required for PE formation in the chick embryo

Rapid evolution of chemosensory receptor genes in a pair of sibling species of orchid bees (Apidae: Euglossini).

BackgroundInsects rely more on chemical signals (semiochemicals) than on any other sensory modality to find, identify, and choose mates. In most insects, pheromone production is typically regulated through biosynthetic pathways, whereas pheromone sensory detection is controlled by the olfactory system. Orchid bees are exceptional in that their semiochemicals are not produced metabolically, but instead male bees collect odoriferous compounds (perfumes) from the environment and store them in specialized hind-leg pockets to subsequently expose during courtship display. Thus, the olfactory sensory system of orchid bees simultaneously controls male perfume traits (sender components) and female preferences (receiver components). This functional linkage increases the opportunities for parallel evolution of male traits and female preferences, particularly in response to genetic changes of chemosensory detection (e.g. Odorant Receptor genes). To identify whether shifts in pheromone composition among related lineages of orchid bees are associated with divergence in chemosensory genes of the olfactory periphery, we searched for patterns of divergent selection across the antennal transcriptomes of two recently diverged sibling species Euglossa dilemma and E. viridissima.ResultsWe identified 3185 orthologous genes including 94 chemosensory loci from five different gene families (Odorant Receptors, Ionotropic Receptors, Gustatory Receptors, Odorant Binding Proteins, and Chemosensory Proteins). Our results revealed that orthologs with signatures of divergent selection between E. dilemma and E. viridissima were significantly enriched for chemosensory genes. Notably, elevated signals of divergent selection were almost exclusively observed among chemosensory receptors (i.e. Odorant Receptors).ConclusionsOur results suggest that rapid changes in the chemosensory gene family occurred among closely related species of orchid bees. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that strong divergent selection acting on chemosensory receptor genes plays an important role in the evolution and diversification of insect pheromone systems