bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of Information Technology, Clinical Resource Constraints, and Patient-Centered Practice Characteristics on Quality of Care
Authors: Baek JongDeuk , Seidman Robert L.
Published: February 2015

Objective:

Factors in the practice environment, such as health information technology (IT) infrastructure, availability of other clinical resources, and financial incentives, may influence whether practices are able to successfully implement the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model and realize its benefits. This study investigates the impacts of those PCMH-related elements on primary care physicians’ perception of quality of care.

Methods:

A multiple logistic regression model was estimated using the 2004 to 2005 CTS Physician Survey, a national sample of salaried primary care physicians (n = 1733).

Results:

The patient-centered practice environment and availability of clinical resources increased physicians’ perceived quality of care. Although IT use for clinical information access did enhance physicians’ ability to provide high quality of care, a similar positive impact of IT use was not found for e-prescribing or the exchange of clinical patient information. Lack of resources was negatively associated with physician perception of quality of care.

Conclusion:

Since health IT is an important foundation of PCMH, patient-centered practices are more likely to have health IT in place to support care delivery. However, despite its potential to enhance delivery of primary care, simply making health IT available does not necessarily translate into physicians’ perceptions that it enhances the quality of care they provide. It is critical for health-care managers and policy makers to ensure that primary care physicians fully recognize and embrace the use of new technology to improve both the quality of care provided and the patient outcomes.
Increased risk of thrombosis in FcγRIIA 131RR patients with HIT due to defective control of platelet activation by plasma IgG2
Authors: Rollin Jérôme , Pouplard Claire , Cheng Sung Hsueh , Leroux Dorothée , Saada Armand , Gouilleux-Gruart Valérie , Thibault Gilles , Gruel Yves
Published: February 2015

Key Points

Normal IgG and IgG2 differentially inhibit HIT antibody-dependent platelet activation according to the FcγRIIA H131R polymorphism. This variable effect of IgG and IgG2 probably explains the higher risk of thrombosis in patients homozygous for the FcγRIIA 131R allele.
The Nimrod transmembrane receptor Eater is required for hemocyte attachment to the sessile compartment in Drosophila melanogaster
Authors: Bretscher Andrew J. , Honti Viktor , Binggeli Olivier , Burri Olivier , Poidevin Mickael , Kurucz Éva , Zsámboki János , Andó István , Lemaitre Bruno
Published: February 2015

Eater is an EGF-like repeat transmembrane receptor of the Nimrod family and is expressed in Drosophila hemocytes. Eater was initially identified for its role in phagocytosis of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. We have deleted eater and show that it appears to be required for efficient phagocytosis of Gram-positive but not Gram-negative bacteria. However, the most striking phenotype of eater deficient larvae is the near absence of sessile hemocytes, both plasmatocyte and crystal cell types. The eater deletion is the first loss of function mutation identified that causes absence of the sessile hemocyte state. Our study shows that Eater is required cell-autonomously in plasmatocytes for sessility. However, the presence of crystal cells in the sessile compartment requires Eater in plasmatocytes. We also show that eater deficient hemocytes exhibit a cell adhesion defect. Collectively, our data uncovers a new requirement of Eater in enabling hemocyte attachment at the sessile compartment and points to a possible role of Nimrod family members in hemocyte adhesion.
Transforming Growth Factor β/activin signalling induces epithelial cell flattening during Drosophila oogenesis
Authors: Brigaud Isabelle , Duteyrat Jean-Luc , Chlasta Julien , Le Bail Sandrine , Couderc Jean-Louis , Grammont Muriel
Published: February 2015

Although the regulation of epithelial morphogenesis is essential for the formation of tissues and organs in multicellular organisms, little is known about how signalling pathways control cell shape changes in space and time. In the Drosophila ovarian epithelium, the transition from a cuboidal to a squamous shape is accompanied by a wave of cell flattening and by the ordered remodelling of E-cadherin-based adherens junctions. We show that activation of the TGFβ pathway is crucial to determine the timing, the degree and the dynamic of cell flattening. Within these cells, TGFβ signalling controls cell-autonomously the formation of Actin filament and the localisation of activated Myosin II, indicating that internal forces are generated and used to remodel AJ and to promote cytoskeleton rearrangement. Our results also reveal that TGFβ signalling controls Notch activity and that its functions are partly executed through Notch. Thus, we demonstrate that the cells that undergo the cuboidal-to-squamous transition produce active cell-shaping mechanisms, rather than passively flattening in response to a global force generated by the growth of the underlying cells. Thus, our work on TGFβ signalling provides new insights into the mechanisms through which signal transduction cascades orchestrate cell shape changes to generate proper organ structure.
Changes in organelle position and epithelial architecture associated with loss of CrebA
Authors: Fox Rebecca M. , Andrew Deborah J.
Published: February 2015

Drosophila CrebA facilitates high-level secretion by transcriptional upregulation of the protein components of the core secretory machinery. In CrebA mutant embryos, both salivary gland (SG) morphology and epidermal cuticle secretion are abnormal, phenotypes similar to those observed with mutations in core secretory pathway component genes. Here, we examine the cellular defects associated with CrebA loss in the SG epithelium. Apically localized secretory vesicles are smaller and less abundant, consistent with overall reductions in secretion. Unexpectedly, global mislocalization of cellular organelles and excess membrane accumulation in the septate junctions (SJs) are also observed. Whereas mutations in core secretory pathway genes lead to organelle localization defects similar to those of CrebA mutants, they have no effect on SJ-associated membrane. Mutations in tetraspanin genes, which are normally repressed by CrebA, have mild defects in SJ morphology that are rescued by simultaneous CrebA loss. Correspondingly, removal of several tetraspanins gives partial rescue of the CrebA SJ phenotype, supporting a role for tetraspanins in SJ organization.
The Wnt-target gene Dlk-1 is regulated by the Prmt5-associated factor Copr5 during adipogenic conversion
Authors: Paul Conception , Sardet Claude , Fabbrizio Eric
Published: February 2015

Protein arginine methyl transferase 5 (Prmt5) regulates various differentiation processes, including adipogenesis. Here, we investigated adipogenic conversion in cells and mice in which Copr5, a Prmt5- and histone-binding protein, was genetically invalidated. Compared to control littermates, the retroperitoneal white adipose tissue (WAT) of Copr5 KO mice was slightly but significantly reduced between 8 and 16 week/old and contained fewer and larger adipocytes. Moreover, the adipogenic conversion of Copr5 KO embryoid bodies (EB) and of primary embryo fibroblasts (Mefs) was markedly delayed. Differential transcriptomic analysis identified Copr5 as a negative regulator of the Dlk-1 gene, a Wnt target gene involved in the control of adipocyte progenitors cell fate. Dlk-1 expression was upregulated in Copr5 KO Mefs and the Vascular Stromal Fraction (VSF) of Copr5 KO WAT. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) show that the ablation of Copr5 has impaired both the recruitment of Prmt5 and β-catenin at the Dlk-1 promoter. Overall, our data suggest that Copr5 is involved in the transcriptional control exerted by the Wnt pathway on early steps of adipogenesis.
Heterodimeric TALENs induce targeted heritable mutations in the crustacean Daphnia magna
Authors: Naitou Akiko , Kato Yasuhiko , Nakanishi Takashi , Matsuura Tomoaki , Watanabe Hajime
Published: February 2015

Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) are artificial nucleases harboring a customizable DNA-binding domain and a FokI nuclease domain. The high specificity of the DNA-binding domain and the ease of design have enabled researchers to use TALENs for targeted mutagenesis in various organisms. Here, we report the development of TALEN-dependent targeted gene disruption in the crustacean Daphnia magna, the emerging model for ecological and toxicological genomics. First, a reporter transgene DsRed2 (EF1α-1::DsRed2) was targeted. Using the Golden Gate method with a GoldyTALEN scaffold, we constructed homodimeric and heterodimeric TALENs containing wild-type and ELD/KKR FokI domains. mRNAs that coded for either the customized homodimeric or heterodimeric TALENs were injected into one-cell-stage embryos. The high mortality of embryos injected with homodimeric TALEN mRNAs prevented us from detecting mutations. In contrast, embryos injected with heterodimeric TALEN mRNAs survived and 78%–87% of the adults lost DsRed2 fluorescence in a large portion of cells throughout the body. In addition, these adults produced non-fluorescent progenies, all of which carried mutations at the dsRed2 locus. We also tested heterodimeric TALENs targeted for the endogenous eyeless gene and found that biallelic mutations could be transmitted through germ line cells at a rate of up to 22%. Both somatic and heritable mutagenesis efficiencies of TALENs were higher than those of the CRISPR/Cas9 system that we recently developed. These results suggest that the TALEN system may efficiently induce heritable mutations into the target genes, which will further contribute to the progress of functional genomics in D. magna.
Identification of novel radiation-induced p53-dependent transcripts extensively regulated during mouse brain development
Authors: Quintens Roel , Verreet Tine , Janssen Ann , Neefs Mieke , Leysen Liselotte , Michaux Arlette , Verslegers Mieke , Samari Nada , Pani Giuseppe , Verheyde Joris , Baatout Sarah , Benotmane Mohammed A.
Published: February 2015

Ionizing radiation is a potent activator of the tumor suppressor gene p53, which itself regulates the transcription of genes involved in canonical pathways such as the cell cycle, DNA repair and apoptosis as well as other biological processes like metabolism, autophagy, differentiation and development. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis on gene expression data from different in vivo and in vitro experiments to identify a signature of early radiation-responsive genes which were predicted to be predominantly regulated by p53. Moreover, we found that several genes expressed different transcript isoforms after irradiation in a p53-dependent manner. Among this gene signature, we identified novel p53 targets, some of which have not yet been functionally characterized. Surprisingly, in contrast to genes from the canonical p53-regulated pathways, our gene signature was found to be highly enriched during embryonic and post-natal brain development and during in vitro neuronal differentiation. Furthermore, we could show that for a number of genes, radiation-responsive transcript variants were upregulated during development and differentiation, while radiation non-responsive variants were not. This suggests that radiation exposure of the developing brain and immature cortical neurons results in the p53-mediated activation of a neuronal differentiation program. Overall, our results further increase the knowledge of the radiation-induced p53 network of the embryonic brain and provide more evidence concerning the importance of p53 and its transcriptional targets during mouse brain development.
A novel GAA repeat expansion-based mouse model of Friedreich ataxia
Authors: Anjomani Virmouni Sara , Ezzatizadeh Vahid , Sandi Chiranjeevi , Sandi Madhavi , Al-Mahdawi Sahar , Chutake Yogesh , Pook Mark A.
Published: February 2015

Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder caused by a GAA repeat expansion mutation within intron 1 of the FXN gene, resulting in reduced levels of frataxin protein. We have previously reported the generation of human FXN yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) transgenic FRDA mouse models containing 90-190 GAA repeats, but the presence of multiple GAA repeats within these mice is considered suboptimal. We now describe the cellular, molecular and behavioural characterisation of a newly developed YAC transgenic FRDA mouse model, designated YG8sR, which we have shown by DNA sequencing to contain a single pure GAA repeat expansion. The founder YG8sR mouse contained 120 GAA repeats, but due to intergenerational expansion we have now established a colony of YG8sR mice that contain approximately 200 GAA repeats. We show that YG8sR mice have a single copy of the FXN transgene, which is integrated at a single site as confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) analysis of metaphase and interphase chromosomes. We have identified significant behavioural deficits, together with a degree of glucose intolerance and insulin hypersensitivity, in YG8sR FRDA mice compared to Y47R and wild-type (WT) control mice. We have also detected increased somatic GAA repeat instability in the brain and cerebellum of YG8sR mice, together with significantly reduced expression of FXN, FAST-1 and frataxin and reduced aconitase activity compared to Y47R mice. Furthermore, we have confirmed the presence of pathological vacuoles within neurons of the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of YG8sR mice. These novel GAA repeat expansion-based YAC transgenic FRDA mice, which exhibit progressive FRDA-like pathology, represent an excellent model for the investigation of FRDA disease mechanisms and therapy.
Sulf1 has ligand-dependent effects on canonical and non-canonical Wnt signalling
Authors: Fellgett Simon W. , Maguire Richard J. , Pownall Mary Elizabeth
Published: February 2015

Wnt signalling plays essential roles during embryonic development and is known to be mis-regulated in human disease. There are many molecular mechanisms that ensure tight regulation of Wnt activity. One such regulator is the heparan-sulfate-specific 6-O-endosulfatase Sulf1. Sulf1 acts extracellularly to modify the structure of heparan sulfate chains to affect the bio-availability of Wnt ligands. Sulf1 could, therefore, influence the formation of Wnt signalling complexes to modulate the activation of both canonical and non-canonical pathways. In this study, we use well-established assays in Xenopus to investigate the ability of Sulf1 to modify canonical and non-canonical Wnt signalling. In addition, we model the ability of Sulf1 to influence morphogen gradients using fluorescently tagged Wnt ligands in ectodermal explants. We show that Sulf1 overexpression has ligand-specific effects on Wnt signalling: it affects membrane accumulation and extracellular levels of tagged Wnt8a and Wnt11b ligands differently, and inhibits the activity of canonical Wnt8a but enhances the activity of non-canonical Wnt11b.
Laser-Induced Carbonization of Sumanene Derivatives: Exposure-Time Dependence of Time-Resolved Microwave Conductivity
Authors: Inada Yuhi , Amaya Toru , Saeki Akinori , Seki Shu , Hirao Toshikazu
Published: February 2015

Laser-induced carbonization of fullerene C60, sumanene derivatives, and triphenylene was studied from a view point of exposure-time dependence of time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC). Their increased rate of TRMC decreased in the order above.
Photophysical Properties of Chlorophyll Derivatives Linked with Rhenium Bipyridine Complexes
Authors: Kitagawa Yuichi , Ogasawara Shin , Kosumi Daisuke , Hashimoto Hideki , Tamiaki Hitoshi
Published: February 2015

Since photochemical CO2 reduction using long wavelength regions of sunlight is important, we have reported the first photochemical CO2 reduction with red visible light (>650 nm) by using a synthetic chlorophyll derivative covalently linked with a rhenium bipyridine complex. In the reported system, electron/energy transfer from the photoexcited chlorophyll to the catalytic Re complex was not so effective. To accelerate the process for achieving efficient photochemical reduction of CO2, we controlled the redox potential of Re complex and improved the chlorophyll donor by a simple modification. As a result, we achieved strong quenching of the excited states of a 131-deoxochlorophyll derivative with a rhenium bipyridine complex in a molecule.
Phylogeny of the Inuleae (Asteraceae) with special emphasis on the Inuleae‐Plucheinae
Authors: Nylinder Stephan , Anderberg Arne A.
Published: February 2015

Phylogenetic relationships in the tribe Inuleae (Asteraceae, sunflower family) are elucidated based on a concatenated set of nuclear (ETS, ITS), and chloroplast data (ndhF, trnL‐F, trnH‐psbA), analysed by Bayesian and parsimony methods. Extensive sampling of representatives from both subtribes Inuleae‐Inulinae and Inuleae‐Plucheinae establish their reciprocal monophyly, and result in the first‐ever resolved molecular phylogeny of the Inuleae‐Plucheinae with new insights into the relationships and morphological character distributions between genera and among species. Of the 31 accepted genera in the Inuleae‐Plucheinae, only Pseudoblepharispermum is not represented in this study, 12 monotypic genera are placed in the phylogeny, 13 genera are shown to be monophyletic, and only 5 of the remaining 18 genera are revealed to be polyphyletic. The implications for the nomenclature status of the monotypic and polyphyletic genera are discussed, together with a descriptive review of morphological characters traditionally used to circumscribe the genera in this subtribe.
THE RISKS OF INTRODUCING SYSTEM OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT AND WAYS OF OVERCOMING THEM
Authors: Kulinich Mariya Nikolaevna , Komahidze Manana Givievna , Sergeevna Lukjyanova Аnastasiya
Published: February 2015

Work devoted to the study of risks arising at different stages of implementation of system of electronic document. The implementation of electronic document management system is a complex process whose success depends on several factors, therefore it is necessary in the planning phase of the project to take control of all of its the stages. This article examines the impact of the organizational, administrative, subjective and technological risks at each stage of implementation of the system, and the mechanisms that hinder achievement of goal set by in the automation. The article provides theoretical analysis of the possible consequences of risk events at all stages of implementation and maintenance of electronic document management system. This article describes a theoretical analysis of the possible consequences of risk events at all stages of implementation and maintenance of electronic document management system and the basic principles of risk management to prevent and reduce the possibility of their occurrence.
Cell response of Chlamydomonas actinochloris culture to repeated microwave irradiation
Authors: GRYGORIEVA OLESIA O. , BEREZOVSJKA MARIANNA A. , DACENKO OLEXANDER I.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. Grygorieva OO, Berezovsjka MA, Dacenko OI. 2015. Cell response of Chlamydomonas actinochloris culture to repeated microwave irradiation. Nusantara Bioscience 7: 38-42. Two cultures of Chlamydomonas actinochloris Deason et Bold in the lag-phase were exposed to the microwave irradiation. One of them (culture 1) was not treated beforehand, whereas the other (culture 2) was irradiated by microwaves 2 years earlier. The measurement of cell quantity, as well as measurement of change of intensities and spectra of cultures photoluminescence (PL) in the range of chlorophyll a emission, was regularly conducted during the cell cultures development. Cell concentration of culture 1 exposed to the microwave irradiation for the first time has quickly restored while cell concentration of culture 2 which was irradiated repeatedly has fallen significantly. The following increasing cell concentration of culture 2 is negligible. Cell concentration reaches the steady-state level that is about half of the cell concentration of control culture. Initially, the PL efficiency of cells of both cultures decreases noticeably as a result of irradiation. Then there is the monotonic increase to the values which are significantly higher than the corresponding values in the control cultures. The ratio of the intensities at the maxima of the main emission bands of chlorophyll for control samples of both cultures remained approximately at the same level. At the same time effect of irradiation on the cell, PL spectrum appears as a temporary reduction of this magnitude.
“Doncher be too sure of that!”: Children, Dogs, and Elizabeth Stuart Phelps’s Early Posthumanism
Authors: Harde Roxanne
Published: February 2015

This essay traces posthuman thought in stories about dogs and children by nineteenth-century American author Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. Drawing from the writings of Phelps and her anti-vivisectionist contemporaries and from recent posthuman philosophy, I analyze the ways in which Phelps’ focus on medical experimentation became a way for her to theorize the place of the nonhuman animal in fiction for children.
“What have they done to you now, Tally?”: Post-Posthuman Heroine vs. Transhumanist Scientist in the Young Adult Science Fiction Series Uglies
Authors: Panaou Petros
Published: February 2015

This article explores issues of importance to contemporary and future youths, scientists, and societies, as they are expressed in the first three books of the Uglies series, by Scott Westerfeld. A critical approach to transhumanist thought informs an analysis of the conflict between Dr. Cable, a transhumanist scientist, and Tally, the adolescent protagonist. Both the story and this article deal with a question that is central in identity formation: “What does it mean to be human?” Tally’s story is interpreted through a close reading that follows her posthuman transformations and traces tensions between young/old, human/inhuman, real/manufactured, knowingness/ignorance, and emotion/reason. Knowledge and science, as well as emotion and nature, play a central role in resolving the multiple issues that stem from questions about the human condition. A significant feature of Westerfeld’s narrative is that, through “informed resistance,” the protagonist manages to become a humane posthuman, keeping her superpowers while also regaining her identity and becoming able to feel and empathize again. In this sense, Tally Youngblood is a post-posthuman.
Harry Potter and the (Post)human Animal Body
Authors: Batty Holly
Published: February 2015

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series posits a posthumanist paradigm through Harry’s numerous encounters with creatures like werewolves and merpeople that defy species boundaries and especially through Harry’s own experiences with animal embodiment. When Harry’s body and subjectivity undergo animal metamorphoses, his ontological identity becomes increasingly unstable. Rowling’s novels urge the reader to reconsider the social ordering between human and nonhuman animals within the series and the real world.
Beyond Human: Escaping the Maze of Anthropocentrism in Peter Dickinson’s Eva
Authors: Yarova Aliona , Kokkola Lydia
Published: February 2015

Images of human-animal-machine mergers—“cyborgs” in Donna Haraway’s terminology—are ways of exploring the human/non-human dichotomy and embracing non-human features as empowering: the cyborg supposedly enables humans to achieve their full potential by going beyond anthropocentric boundaries. Alternatively, the cyborg may not result in the empowerment of humans; on the contrary, it may lead to the complete loss of humanity. This article examines the interior conflict of the cyborg-protagonist in Peter Dickinson’s . Eva is subjected to life-saving experimental surgery during which her mind is transplanted into the body of a chimpanzee, and she speaks only by using a keyboard. Eva-the-cyborg explores the limits of human identity. Although she is expected to move beyond her human identity, perspective and body, Eva rejects these assumptions. Drawing on Judith Halberstam’s notion of “queer failure”, this article argues that Eva’s failure to achieve a balance between her human and non-human selves is a creative act which defeats humankind’s daring attempt to control the universe using scientific and technological achievements.
Economic Conditions of Military Families
Authors: Hosek James , MacDermid Wadsworth Shelley
Published: February 2015

For military children and their families, the economic news is mostly good. After a period of steady pay increases, James Hosek and Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth write, service members typically earn more than civilians with a comparable level of education. Moreover, they receive many other benefits that civilians often do not, including housing allowances, subsidized child care, tuition assistance, and top-of-the-line comprehensive health care. Of course, service members tend to work longer hours than civilians do, and they are exposed to hazards that civilians rarely, if ever, face. The extra pay they receive when they are deployed to combat zones helps their families cope financially but cannot alleviate the stress.

Though service members are relatively well paid, the military lifestyle takes a toll on the earnings of their spouses. Chiefly because the military requires service members to move frequently, spouses’ careers are regularly interrupted, and employers are hesitant to offer them jobs that require a large investment in training or a long learning curve. More military spouses than comparable civilian spouses are either unemployed or work fewer hours than they would like, and military spouses overall tend to earn less than their civilian counterparts.

Despite the military’s relatively high pay, some service members and their families—particularly among the junior enlisted ranks—report financial distress, and a handful even qualify for food stamps. Moreover, precisely because military pay tends to be higher than civilian pay, families may see a drop in income when a service member leaves the armed forces. Finally, the pay increases of recent years have slowed, and force cutbacks are coming; both of these factors will alter the financial picture for service members, possibly for the worse.
Child Care and Other Support Programs
Authors: Floyd Major Latosha , Phillips Deborah A.
Published: February 2015

The U.S. military has come to realize that providing reliable, high-quality child care for service members’ children is a key component of combat readiness. As a result, the Department of Defense (DoD) has invested heavily in child care. The DoD now runs what is by far the nation’s largest employer-sponsored child-care system, a sprawling network with nearly 23,000 workers that directly serves or subsidizes care for 200,000 children every day. Child-care options available to civilians typically pale in comparison, and the military’s system, embedded in a broader web of family support services, is widely considered to be a model for the nation.

The military’s child-care success rests on four pillars, write Major Latosha Floyd and Deborah A. Phillips. The first is certification by the military itself, including unannounced inspections to check on safety, sanitation, and general compliance with DoD rules. The second is accreditation by nationally recognized agencies, such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The third is a hiring policy that sets educational and other requirements for child-care workers, and the fourth is a pay scale that not only sets wages high enough to discourage the rapid turnover common in civilian child care but also rewards workers for completing additional training.

Floyd and Phillips sound a few cautionary notes. For one, demand for military child care continues to outstrip the supply. In particular, as National Guard and Reserve members have been activated during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the DoD has sometimes struggled to provide child care for their children. And force reductions and budget cuts are likely to force the military to make difficult choices as it seeks to streamline its child-care services in the years ahead.
Resilience among Military Youth
Authors: Ann Easterbrooks M. , Ginsburg Kenneth , Lerner Richard M.
Published: February 2015

Much research on children in military families has taken a deficit approach—that is, it has portrayed these children as a population susceptible to psychological damage from the hardships of military life, such as frequent moves and separation from their parents during deployment. But M. Ann Easterbrooks, Kenneth Ginsburg, and Richard M. Lerner observe that most military children turn out just fine. They argue that, to better serve military children, we must understand the sources of strength that help them cope with adversity and thrive. In other words, we must understand their resilience.

The authors stress that resilience is not a personal trait but a product of the relationships between children and the people and resources around them. In this sense, military life, along with its hardships, offers many sources for resilience—for example, a strong sense of belonging to a supportive community with a shared mission and values. Similarly, children whose parents are deployed may build their self-confidence by taking on new responsibilities in the family, and moving offers opportunities for adventure and personal growth.

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drew more and more service members into combat, the military and civilian groups alike rolled out dozens of programs aimed at boosting military children’s resilience. Although the authors applaud this effort, they also note that few of these programs have been based on scientific evidence of what works, and few have been rigorously evaluated for their effectiveness. They call for a program of sustained research to boost our understanding of military children’s resilience.
The Demographics of Military Children and Families
Authors: Clever Molly , Segal David R.
Published: February 2015

Since the advent of the all-volunteer force in the 1970s, marriage, parenthood, and family life have become commonplace in the U.S. military among enlisted personnel and officers alike, and military spouses and children now outnumber service members by a ratio of 1.4 to 1. Reviewing data from the government and from academic and nonacademic research, Molly Clever and David R. Segal find several trends that distinguish today’s military families. Compared with civilians, for example, service members marry younger and start families earlier. Because of the requirements of their jobs, they move much more frequently than civilians do, and they are often separated from their families for months at a time. And despite steady increases since the 1970s in the percentage of women who serve, the armed forces are still overwhelmingly male, meaning that the majority of military parents are fathers.

Despite these distinguishing trends, Clever and Segal’s chief finding is that military families cannot be neatly pigeonholed. Instead, they are a strikingly diverse population with diverse needs. Within the military, demographic groups differ in important ways, and the service branches differ from one another as well. Military families themselves come in many forms, including not only the categories familiar from civilian life—two-parent, single-parent, and so on—but also, unique to the military, dual-service families in which both parents are service members. Moreover, military families’ needs change over time as they move through personal and military transitions. Thus the best policies and programs to help military families and children are flexible and adaptable rather than rigidly structured.
Building Communities of Care for Military Children and Families
Authors: Kudler Harold , Porter Colonel Rebecca I.
Published: February 2015

Military children don’t exist in a vacuum; rather, they are embedded in and deeply influenced by their families, neighborhoods, schools, the military itself, and many other interacting systems. To minimize the risks that military children face and maximize their resilience, write Harold Kudler and Colonel Rebecca Porter, we must go beyond clinical models that focus on military children as individuals and develop a public health approach that harnesses the strengths of the communities that surround them. In short, we must build communities of care.

One obstacle to building communities of care is that at many times and in many places, military children and their families are essentially invisible. Most schools, for example, do not routinely assess the military status of new students’ parents. Thus Kudler and Porter’s strongest recommendation is that public and private institutions of all sorts—from schools to clinics to religious institutions to law enforcement—should determine which children and families they serve are connected to the military as a first step toward meeting military children’s unique needs. Next, they say, we need policies that help teachers, doctors, pastors, and others who work with children learn more about military culture and the hardships, such as a parent’s deployment, that military children often face.

Kudler and Porter review a broad spectrum of programs that may help build communities of care, developed by the military, by nonprofits, and by academia. Many of these appear promising, but the authors emphasize that almost none are backed by strong scientific evidence of their effectiveness. They also describe new initiatives at the state and federal levels that aim to break down barriers among agencies and promote collaboration in the service of military children and families.
Parents’ Employment and Children’s Wellbeing
Authors: Heinrich Carolyn J.
Published: February 2015

Since modern welfare reform began in the 1980s, we have seen low-income parents leave the welfare rolls and join the workforce in large numbers. At the same time, the Earned Income Tax Credit has offered a monetary incentive for low-income parents to work. Thus, unlike some of the other two-generation mechanisms discussed in this issue of Future of Children , policies that encourage low-income parents to work are both widespread and well-entrenched in the United States.

But parents’ (and especially mothers’) work, writes Carolyn Heinrich, is not unambiguously beneficial for their children. On the one hand, working parents can be positive role models for their children, and, of course, the income they earn can improve their children’s lives in many ways. On the other hand, work can impair the developing bond between parents and young children, especially when the parents work long hours or evening and night shifts. The stress that parents bring home from their jobs can detract from their parenting skills, undermine the atmosphere in the home, and thereby introduce stress into children’s lives.

Unfortunately, it is low-income parents who are most likely to work in stressful, low-quality jobs that feature low pay, little autonomy, inflexible hours, and few or no benefits. And low-income children whose parents are working are more likely to be placed in inadequate child care or to go unsupervised. Two-generation approaches, Heinrich writes, could maximize the benefits and minimize the detriments of parents’ work by expanding workplace flexibility, and especially by mandating enough paid leave so that mothers can breastfeed and form close bonds with their infants; by helping parents place their children in high-quality child care; and by helping low-income parents train for, find, and keep a well-paying job with benefits.
Two-Generation Programs in the Twenty-First Century
Authors: Chase-Lansdale P. Lindsay , Brooks-Gunn Jeanne
Published: February 2015

Most of the authors in this issue of Future of Children focus on a single strategy for helping both adults and children that could become a component of two-generation programs. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, on the other hand, look at actual programs with an explicit two-generation focus that have been tried in the past or are currently under way.

These explicitly two-generation programs have sought to build human capital across generations by combining education or job training for adults with early childhood education for their children. Chase-Lansdale and Brooks-Gunn explain the theories behind these programs and review the evidence for their efficacy. A first wave of such programs in the 1980s and 1990s produced mostly disappointing results, but the evaluations they left behind pointed to promising new directions. More recently, a second wave of two-generation programs—the authors dub them “Two-Generation 2.0”—has sought to rectify the flaws of earlier efforts, largely by building strong connections between components for children and adults, by ensuring that children and adults receive services of equal duration and intensity, and by incorporating advances in both education and workforce development. These Two-Generation 2.0 programs are still in their infancy, and we have yet to see clear evidence that they can achieve their goals or be implemented cost-effectively at scale. Nonetheless, Chase-Lansdale and Brooks-Gunn write, the theoretical justification for these programs is strong, their early results are promising, and the time is ripe for innovation, experimentation, and further study.
Stress and Child Development
Authors: Thompson Ross A.
Published: February 2015

Children’s early social experiences shape their developing neurological and biological systems for good or for ill, writes Ross Thompson, and the kinds of stressful experiences that are endemic to families living in poverty can alter children’s neurobiology in ways that undermine their health, their social competence, and their ability to succeed in school and in life. For example, when children are born into a world where resources are scarce and violence is a constant possibility, neurobiological changes may make them wary and vigilant, and they are likely to have a hard time controlling their emotions, focusing on tasks, and forming healthy relationships. Unfortunately, these adaptive responses to chronic stress serve them poorly in situations, such as school and work, where they must concentrate and cooperate to do well.

But thanks to the plasticity of the developing brain and other biological systems, the neurobiological response to chronic stress can be buffered and even reversed, Thompson writes, especially when we intervene early in children’s lives. In particular, warm and nurturing relationships between children and adults can serve as a powerful bulwark against the neurobiological changes that accompany stress, and interventions that help build such relationships have shown particular promise. These programs have targeted biological parents, of course, but also foster parents, teachers and other caregivers, and more distant relatives, such as grandparents. For this reason, Thompson suggests that the concept of two-generation programs may need to be expanded, and that we should consider a “multigenerational” approach to helping children living in poverty cope and thrive in the face of chronic stress.
Intergenerational Payoffs of Education
Authors: Kaushal Neeraj
Published: February 2015

Better-educated parents generally have children who are themselves better educated, healthier, wealthier, and better off in almost every way than the children of the less educated. But this simple correlation does not prove that the relationship is causal. Neeraj Kaushal sifts through the evidence from economics and public policy and reviews large national and international studies to conclude that, indeed, education has large intergenerational payoffs in many areas of children’s lives, and that these payoffs persist over time.

Kaushal shows that, if anything, traditional measures of returns to education—which focus on income and productivity—almost certainly underestimate the beneficial effects that parents’ education has on their children. She reports causal positive effects not only on children’s test scores, health, and behavior, but also on mothers’ behaviors that can affect their children’s wellbeing, such as teenage childbearing and substance use. Her findings suggest that, as a component of two-generation programs, helping parents extend their education could go a long way toward reducing inequality across generations and promoting children’s healthy development.

Thus the rationale for two-generation programs that boost parents’ education is compelling. However, Kaushal cautions, the U.S. education system reinforces socioeconomic inequality across generations by spending more money on educating richer children than on educating poorer children. By themselves, then, two-generation programs will not necessarily ameliorate the structural factors that perpetuate inequality in this country.
Childhood Food Insecurity in the U.S.: Trends, Causes, and Policy Options
Authors: Gundersen Craig , Ziliak James P.
Published: February 2015

In 2012, nearly 16 million U.S. children, or over one in five, lived in households that were food-insecure, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture defines as “a household-level economic and social condition of limited access to food.” Even when we control for the effects of other factors correlated with poverty, these children are more likely than others to face a host of health problems, including but not limited to anemia, lower nutrient intake, cognitive problems, higher levels of aggression and anxiety, poorer general health, poorer oral health, and a higher risk of being hospitalized, having asthma, having some birth defects, or experiencing behavioral problems. Many government programs aim explicitly to reduce food insecurity, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), the School Breakfast Program (SBP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). (Other social safety-net programs—for example, the Earned Income Tax Credit—can also help alleviate food insecurity by increasing household income.) The fact that food insecurity remains so high even though the government spent over $100 billion on the various federal food-assistance programs in fiscal year 2012 poses a significant policy challenge. Food insecurity rates remain stubbornly high for a number of reasons. One is that we don’t fully understand what causes food insecurity or how food assistance and other programs can help alleviate it. Food insecurity has been researched extensively, and this research has helped policy makers and program administrators better address the problem. However, relatively little research has looked at what causes food insecurity among children in the first place, or the effectiveness of public policies, especially on more severe forms of food hardship. In this policy report, we highlight new research that seeks to fill this gap. Much of this work comes from the Research Program on Childhood Hunger at the University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research, which was underwritten by the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Boosting Family Income to Promote Child Development
Authors: Duncan Greg J. , Magnuson Katherine , Votruba-Drzal Elizabeth
Published: February 2015

Families who live in poverty face disadvantages that can hinder their children’s development in many ways, write Greg Duncan, Katherine Magnuson, and Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal. As they struggle to get by economically, and as they cope with substandard housing, unsafe neighborhoods, and inadequate schools, poor families experience more stress in their daily lives than more affluent families do, with a host of psychological and developmental consequences. Poor families also lack the resources to invest in things like high-quality child care and enriched learning experiences that give more affluent children a leg up. Often, poor parents also lack the time that wealthier parents have to invest in their children, because poor parents are more likely to be raising children alone or to work nonstandard hours and have inflexible work schedules.

Can increasing poor parents’ incomes, independent of any other sort of assistance, help their children succeed in school and in life? The theoretical case is strong, and Duncan, Magnuson, and Votruba-Drzal find solid evidence that the answer is yes—children from poor families that see a boost in income do better in school and complete more years of schooling, for example. But if boosting poor parents’ incomes can help their children, a crucial question remains: Does it matter when in a child’s life the additional income appears? Developmental neurobiology strongly suggests that increased income should have the greatest effect during children’s early years, when their brains and other systems are developing rapidly, though we need more evidence to prove this conclusively.

The authors offer examples of how policy makers could incorporate the findings they present to create more effective programs for families living in poverty. And they conclude with a warning: if a boost in income can help poor children, then a drop in income—for example, through cuts to social safety net programs like food stamps—can surely harm them.
Labor Rights, Material Interests, and Moral Entrepreneurship
Authors: Mosley Layna , Tello Lindsay
Published: February 2015

This article explores the role of moral entrepreneurship—activism by normatively focused groups, often acting nationally as well as transnationally—in labor rights activism. We focus specifically on activism related to US preferential trade agreements (PTAs). We explore how labor-related provisions have made their way into these agreements and how their inclusion has changed over time. Our main focus is on the efforts of interest groups to lobby US policymakers regarding various US PTAs. We discuss whether these lobbying efforts are cast in material or moral terms. In considering several PTAs during the 1990s and 2000s, we find that most efforts are based on material claims, or on a combination of material and moral concerns. We rarely observe lobbying activities that are cast purely in terms of the normative goal of protecting workers’ rights.
The Rise and Fall of Human Rights?: Searching for a Narrative from the Cold War to the 9/11 Era
Authors: Hitchcock William I.
Published: February 2015

Surveying recent scholarship, this article argues that human rights have succeeded in our time because powerful states have called them into being and endowed them with substantial force. Rather than seeing human rights as an epiphenomenon of the global politics of the 1970s, this essay places human rights in a longer historical trajectory and gives special attention to the era of the 1940s. Now that human rights have become ensconced in our politics, the challenge has been to implement human rights protections. Some commentators worry that human rights “interventions” simply hide neo-imperial ambitions and agendas of regime change. This essay argues by contrast that this “responsibility to protect” emerged directly from the historical evolution of the human rights idea since 1945.
How Draconian Are the Changes to US Asylum Law?: A Monthly Time Series Analysis (1990–2010)
Authors: Keith Linda Camp , Miller Banks P. , Holmes Jennifer S.
Published: February 2015

How have recent changes to US asylum law altered who gets asylum? We investigate whether the changes wrought by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) and the Real ID Act changed the decision making of immigration judges in asylum cases. We find, contrary to much of the commentary surrounding both IIRIRA and Real ID, that immigration judges became more likely to grant applicants asylum. Furthermore, we find that those applicants who are most at-risk of persecution in the countries they are fleeing are also the applicants most likely to be granted relief—a fact that became increasingly true with the implementation of IIRIRA and Real ID.