India health: impact of medical tourism facilities on state health

The following study is an investigation of the impact on the health of local populations spurred by the medical tourism industry. More specifically the study explores a possible increase in life expectancy in areas surrounding medical tourism facilities in India. There are ten Indian states examined in this study; five states are host to a leading location of Apollo Hospitals, and five are not. Despite the small sample size, the chosen states present a good representation of Indian states based on size, wealth, and health indicators. The findings show that the presence of Apollo Hospital Medical Tourism facilities may lead to increased life expectancy of Indian state populations

A systemic gene silencing method suitable for high throughput, reverse genetic analyses of gene function in fern gametophytes

BACKGROUND: Ceratopteris richardii is a useful experimental system for studying gametophyte development and sexual reproduction in plants. However, few tools for cloning mutant genes or disrupting gene function exist for this species. The feasibility of systemic gene silencing as a reverse genetics tool was examined in this study. RESULTS: Several DNA constructs targeting a Ceratopteris protoporphyrin IX magnesium chelatase (CrChlI) gene that is required for chlorophyll biosynthesis were each introduced into young gametophytes by biolistic delivery. Their transient expression in individual cells resulted in a colorless cell phenotype that affected most cells of the mature gametophyte, including the meristem and gametangia. The colorless phenotype was associated with a 7-fold decrease in the abundance of the endogenous transcript. While a construct designed to promote the transient expression of a CrChlI double stranded, potentially hairpin-forming RNA was found to be the most efficient in systemically silencing the endogenous gene, a plasmid containing the CrChlI cDNA insert alone was sufficient to induce silencing. Bombarded, colorless hermaphroditic gametophytes produced colorless embryos following self-fertilization, demonstrating that the silencing signal could be transmitted through gametogenesis and fertilization. Bombardment of young gametophytes with constructs targeting the Ceratopteris filamentous temperature sensitive (CrFtsZ) and uroporphyrin dehydrogenase (CrUrod) genes also produced the expected mutant phenotypes. CONCLUSION: A method that induces the systemic silencing of target genes in the Ceratopteris gametophyte is described. It provides a simple, inexpensive and rapid means to test the functions of genes involved in gametophyte development, especially those involved in cellular processes common to all plants

Due Process Hearing Officers: Characteristics, Needs, and Appointment Criteria

This is the publisher's version, also found here: http://sped.org/Characteristics and training needs of due process hearing officers in North Carolina were surveyed. It was found that current regulations governing appointments of hearing officers are insufficient to ensure appointment of qualified and impartial persons. Criteria were analyzed and suggestions for training and appointments are made

Procedural Due Process: The Two-edged Sword That the Untrained Should Not Unsheath

The issue of procedural due process is examined in this article by first analyzing the associated legal requirements of P.L. 94-142 and then identifying the "triggers" which professionals and parents can use to initiate a due process hearing. Problems and unresolved issues associated with interpreting and applying due process safeguards in terms of initiating, conducting, and governing the hearing and hearing officer are discussed. The concluding section of the article identifies specific training implications and creeds of due process hearing officers

Recruitment Facilitation and Spatial Pattern Formation in Soft-Bottom Mussel Beds

Mussels (Mytilus edulis) build massive, spatially complex, biogenic structures that alter the biotic and abiotic environment and provide a variety of ecosystem services. Unlike rocky shores, where mussels can attach to the primary substrate, soft sediments are unsuitable for mussel attachment. We used a simple lattice model, field sampling, and field and laboratory experiments to examine facilitation of recruitment (i.e., preferential larval, juvenile, and adult attachment to mussel biogenic structure) and its role in the development of power-law spatial patterns observed in Maine, USA, soft-bottom mussel beds. The model demonstrated that recruitment facilitation produces power-law spatial structure similar to that in natural beds. Field results provided strong evidence for facilitation of recruitment to other mussels—they do not simply map onto a hard-substrate template of gravel and shell hash. Mussels were spatially decoupled from non-mussel hard substrates to which they can potentially recruit. Recent larval recruits were positively correlated with adult mussels, but not with other hard substrates. Mussels made byssal thread attachments to other mussels in much higher proportions than to other hard substrates. In a field experiment, mussel recruitment was highest to live mussels, followed by mussel shell hash and gravel, with almost no recruitment to muddy sand. In a laboratory experiment, evenly dispersed mussels rapidly self-organized into power-law clusters similar to those observed in nature. Collectively, the results indicate that facilitation of recruitment to existing mussels plays a major role in soft-bottom spatial pattern development. The interaction between large-scale resource availability (hard substrate) and local-scale recruitment facilitation may be responsible for creating complex power-law spatial structure in soft-bottom mussel beds

The Family Employment Awareness Training (FEAT): A Mixed-method Follow-up

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The original publication is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/JVR-130652.BACKGROUND: Although competitive employment (i.e., employment in community settings among peers without disabilities for minimum wage or higher) is associated with numerous benefits for individuals with disabilities (Johannesen, McGrew, Griss, & Born, 2007), people with disabilities are underrepresented in the competitive workforce (National Disability Rights Network, 2011). OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine the longer-term effectiveness of the Family Employment Awareness Training (FEAT) on the expectations and knowledge of participants who attended the program in 2010-2011. The study also sought to explore the perceptions of families who attended the program. METHODS: We distributed a FEAT Follow-up Survey to 220 participants to evaluate the program’s longer-term influence on participants’ expectations and knowledge and conducted 13 semi-structured interviews using a FEAT Interview Protocol to explore families’ perceptions. RESULTS: Study findings indicated that participants who attended FEAT rated their expectations as average and rated their knowledge above average one to two years after attending FEAT. An analysis of interview data indicated that families described several aspects of FEAT they liked, aspects they disliked, and suggested improvements for the program. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study indicate that FEAT is a promising approach to improving competitive employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities