bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fibroblast growth factor-binding protein and N-deacetylase/N-sulfotransferase-1 expression in type II cells is modulated by heparin and extracellular matrix
Authors: Newman Donna R. , Walsh Eric , Apparao K. B. C. , Sannes Philip L.
Published: September 2007

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) play critical roles in development, maintenance, and repair following injury or disease in the lung. Their activity is modulated by a variety of factors, including FGF-binding protein (FGF-BP; HBp-17) and N-deacetylase/ N-sulfotransferase-1 (NDST-1). Functionally, FGF-BP shuttles FGFs from binding sites in ECMs to cell surfaces and enhances FGF binding and signaling, whereas NDST-1 adds sulfate groups to FGF coreceptor proteoglycans and modulates alveolar type II (ATII) cell maturation and differentiation. Since the sulfated nature of ECMs is a critical determinant of their relationship with FGFs, we predicted that ECMs and their sulfation would modulate the expression of FGF-BP and NDST-1. To examine this question, selected culture conditions of rat ATII cells were manipulated [with and without coculture with rat lung fibroblasts (RLFs)] by treatment with heparin or sodium chlorate (inhibitor of sulfation) for 24–96 h. In addition, ECMs biosynthesized by RLFs for up to 10 days before coculture were used as model intervening barriers to communication between alveolar cells and fibroblasts. FGF-BP expression was enhanced in ATII cells by coculture with RLF cells and least suppressed by desulfated heparin. NDST-1 expression in ATII cells was most sensitive to the amount of sulfation in medium and ECM and enhanced by fully sulfated heparin. Preformed ECM appears to supply factors that modify subsequent treatment effects. These results demonstrate a potentially important modulatory influence of sulfated ECMs and fibroblasts on FGF-BP and NDST-1 at the gene expression level.
The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor, PX-866, is a potent inhibitor of cancer cell motility and growth in three-dimensional cultures
Authors: Howes Amy L. , Chiang Gary G. , Lang Elizabeth S. , Ho Caroline B. , Powis Garth , Vuori Kristiina , Abraham Robert T.
Published: September 2007

The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway is activated in many human tumors and mediates processes such as cell proliferation, survival, adhesion, and motility. The natural product, wortmannin, has been widely used to study the functional consequences of PI3K inhibition in both normal and transformed cells in culture but is not a suitable cancer chemotherapeutic agent due to stability and toxicity issues. PX-866, an improved wortmannin analogue, displays significant antitumor activity in xenograft models. Here, we directly compare PX-866 and wortmannin in human cancer cell lines cultured in monolayer or as three-dimensional spheroids. Both PI3K inhibitors failed to inhibit monolayer cell growth at concentrations up to 100 nmol/L but strongly suppressed spheroid growth at low nanomolar concentrations, with PX-866 showing greater potency than wortmannin. Relative to wortmannin, PX-866 treatment results in a more sustained loss of Akt phosphorylation, suggesting that the increased potency of PX-866 is related to a more durable inhibition of PI3K signaling. PX-866 and wortmannin both inhibit spheroid growth without causing cytotoxicity, similar to known cytostatic agents, such as rapamycin. PX-866 also inhibits cancer cell motility at subnanomolar concentrations. These findings suggest that the antitumor activities of PX-866 stem from prolonged inhibition of the PI3K pathway and inhibition of cell motility. In addition, we propose that the use of three-dimensional tumor models is more predictive of in vivo growth inhibition by PI3K inhibitors in cancer cell lines lacking phosphatase and tensin homologue activity or expression. [Mol Cancer Ther 2007;6(9):2505–14]
A platelet biomarker for assessing phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibition during cancer chemotherapy
Authors: Bowers Rita K. , Marder Philip , Green Lisa J. , Horn Candice L. , Faber Andrew L. , Thomas James E.
Published: September 2007

Thrombin cleavages of selective proteinase-activated receptors (PAR) as well as PAR-activating peptide ligands can initiate the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling cascade in platelets. Downstream to this event, fibrinogen receptors on platelets undergo conformational changes that enhance fibrinogen binding. In our study, we used this phenomenon as a surrogate biomarker for assessing effects on PI3K activity. Our method, using flow cytometric measurement of fluorescent ligand and antibody binding, uncovered a 16- to 45-fold signal window after PAR-induced platelet activation. Pretreatment (in vitro) with the PI3K inhibitors wortmannin and LY294002 resulted in concentration-dependent inhibition at predicted potencies. In addition, platelets taken from mice treated with wortmannin were blocked from PAR-induced ex vivo activation concomitantly with a decrease in phosphorylation of AKT from excised tumor xenografts. This surrogate biomarker assay was successfully tested (in vitro) on blood specimens received from volunteer cancer patients. Our results indicate that measurement of platelet activation could serve as an effective drug activity biomarker during clinical evaluation of putative PI3K inhibitors. [Mol Cancer Ther 2007;6(9):2600–7]
The combination of novel low molecular weight inhibitors of RAF (LBT613) and target of rapamycin (RAD001) decreases glioma proliferation and invasion
Authors: Hjelmeland Anita B. , Lattimore Kathryn P. , Fee Brian E. , Shi Qing , Wickman Sarah , Keir Stephen T. , Hjelmeland Mark D. , Batt David , Bigner Darell D. , Friedman Henry S. , Rich Jeremy N.
Published: September 2007

Monotherapies have proven largely ineffective for the treatment of glioblastomas, suggesting that increased patient benefit may be achieved by combining therapies. Two protumorigenic pathways known to be active in glioblastoma include RAS/RAF/mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT/target of rapamycin (TOR). We investigated the efficacy of a combination of novel low molecular weight inhibitors LBT613 and RAD001 (everolimus), which were designed to target RAF and TOR, respectively. LBT613 decreased phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2, downstream effectors of RAF, in a human glioma cell line. RAD001 resulted in decreased phosphorylation of the TOR effector S6. To determine if targeting RAF and TOR activities could result in decreased protumorigenic glioma cellular behaviors, we evaluated the abilities of LBT613 and RAD001 to affect the proliferation, migration, and invasion of human glioma cells. Treatment with either LBT613 or RAD001 alone significantly decreased the proliferation of multiple human glioma cell lines. Furthermore, LBT613 and RAD001 in combination synergized to decrease glioma cell proliferation in association with G1 cell cycle arrest. Glioma invasion is a critical contributor to tumor malignancy. The combination of LBT613 and RAD001 inhibited the invasion of human glioma cells through Matrigel to a greater degree than treatment with either drug alone. These data suggest that the combination of LBT613 and RAD001 reduces glioma cell proliferation and invasion and support examination of the combination of RAF and TOR inhibitors for the treatment of human glioblastoma patients. [Mol Cancer Ther 2007;6(9):2449–57]
Cutaneous castleman's disease responds to anti–interleukin-6 treatment
Authors: Ahmed Bilal , Tschen Jaime A. , Cohen Philip R. , Zaki Mohamed H. , Rady Peter L. , Tyring Stephen K. , Corringham Robert E. , Kurzrock Razelle
Published: September 2007

Castleman's disease is uncommon, and cutaneous involvement is even rarer. We report a 42-year-old Asian woman with the multicentric plasma cell variant of Castleman's disease limited to her skin. The literature suggests that Castleman's disease is driven by interleukin-6 (IL-6). Based on these data, we hypothesized that suppression of IL-6 would have a salutary effect. Therefore, our patient was treated with CNTO328, a chimeric murine anti-human IL-6 antibody. She has shown a remarkable, ongoing response to this treatment, with almost complete clearing of her skin lesions after six doses. [Mol Cancer Ther 2007;6(9):2386–90]
Prognostic Utility of Lipoprotein-Associated Phospholipase A
2
for Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients With Stable Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Sabatine Marc S. , Morrow David A. , O’Donoghue Michelle , Jablonksi Kathleen A. , Rice Madeline Murguia , Solomon Scott , Rosenberg Yves , Domanski Michael J. , Hsia Judith
Published: September 2007

Objective—

To determine the prognostic utility of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A
2
(Lp-PLA
2
) for specific adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD), independent of traditional risk factors and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP).

Methods and Results—

We measured Lp-PLA
2
in 3766 patients with stable CAD from the PEACE trial. Patients were followed for a median of 4.8 years for adverse cardiovascular events including death, myocardial infarction (MI), coronary revascularization, hospitalization for unstable angina (UA), and stroke. Multivariable Cox regression was used to adjust for traditional cardiovascular risk factors and to conduct multimarker analyses that included hs-CRP. After adjustment for baseline characteristics, patients in higher quartiles of Lp-PLA
2
remained at significantly greater risk for the composite of cardiovascular death, MI, coronary revascularization, UA, or stroke (
P
<0.001 for trend, adj HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.17 to 1.70, for patients in 4th versus 1st quartile). The association was consistent regardless of a patient’s sex, cholesterol levels, or use of lipid-lowering therapy. When analyzed together, both hs-CRP and Lp-PLA
2
were highly significant predictors of acute coronary syndromes (cardiovascular death, MI, or UA) (
P
for trend <0.001 for hs-CRP and 0.005 for Lp-PLA
2
), whereas only Lp-PLA
2
was a significant predictor of coronary revascularization (
P
=0.01 for trend).

Conclusions—

In stable CAD, an elevated level of Lp-PLA
2
was a significant predictor of nonfatal adverse cardiovascular outcomes independent of traditional clinical risk factors and hs-CRP. Further investigation will be needed to establish whether therapies that lower Lp-PLA
2
reduce cardiovascular risk.
Initiating a Hospital-Wide Pediatric Sedation Service Provided by Emergency Physicians
Authors: Yamamoto Loren G.
Published: September 2007

Advanced diagnostic procedures, imaging studies, and therapeutic procedures have combined to substantially increase the need for pediatric sedation. The objective of this study is to describe the initiation of a hospital-wide (nonemergency department) pediatric deep sedation service provided by pediatric emergency physicians. This article describes a consecutive cohort of pediatric patients undergoing deep sedation provided by a new hospital sedation service (excluding the emergency department). The results of 133 pediatric deep sedations are described. Propofol was used for most sedations. Mean infusion times were 55 minutes for MRI scans and 13 minutes for heme-oncology procedures. The risk of adverse events was low. This case series of pediatric deep sedation patients describes the initiation of a hospital-wide pediatric sedation service utilizing pediatric emergency physicians, which has resulted in improved patient care, and improved financial performance of several hospital units. The risk of adverse events is low if proper precautions are taken.
Prenatal Drug Exposure: Effects on Cognitive Functioning at 5 Years of Age
Authors: Pulsifer Margaret B. , Butz Arlene M. , O'Reilly Foran Megan , Belcher Harolyn M. E.
Published: September 2007

The goal of this cross-sectional study was to compare cognitive functioning at age 5 years in prenatal drug-exposed children with nondrug-exposed children from a comparable inner-city environment. Children with prenatal drug exposure scored significantly lower on measures of language, school readiness skills, impulse control, and visual attention span/sequencing than controls matched for age and socioeconomic status. Intelligence, visual-motor, manual dexterity, and sustained attention scores were not significantly different between groups. The total sample scored significantly below the normative mean on standardized measures of intelligence, language, school readiness, visual-motor skills, impulse control, and sustained attention, with 40% scoring at least 1 standard deviation below the mean (IQ < 85) on a measure of intelligence. Findings suggest that children with prenatal drug exposure are at increased risk for learning and attention problems and are in need of close developmental surveillance and possible intervention to support school success and improve behavioral outcome.
Successes and Barriers for a Youth Weight-Management Program
Authors: Rice Jeffrey , Thombs David , Leach Rick , Rehm Richard
Published: September 2007

A patient recruiting process was developed for a youth weight-management program in a metropolitan area, and the clinical effects of the program on overweight and obese children aged 7 to 17 years old were assessed. During the 12-month effort, 68 overweight children were enrolled. The program included exercise, nutrition coaching, and behavior change counseling. Clinical outcomes were measured. Patient recruiting methods were monitored and included working with physicians and schools and marketing to consumers. Program adherence was 71% attendance, 5% noncompliance, and 5% drop out rates. Clinical outcomes were excellent: 68% of participants lowered their body mass index by an average of 2.5% (mean, 24 weeks). The program was clinically successful, but patient recruitment initiatives were unsuccessful and the program was discontinued. Parents were the largest obstacle to patient recruiting efforts. For children's weight-management programs to be commercially viable, new models of patient recruiting and promotion of parental acceptance are needed.
Psychometric Evaluation of the Mountain Shadows Phonemic Awareness Scale With a Kindergarten Sample
Authors: Nelson Jason M.
Published: September 2007

This study investigated the psychometric properties of a group-administered early literacy measure, the Mountain Shadows Phonemic Awareness Scale (MS-PAS), using a kindergarten sample ( N = 213). The MS-PAS was compared to the Test of Phonological Awareness—Second Edition: Plus (TOPA-2+). Results indicated excellent internal consistency for the MS-PAS, as well as adequate convergent and predictive validity. The MS-PAS was found to be an adequate measure for determining which students are unlikely to need additional instructional services in reading. The MS-PAS and TOPA-2+ had highly similar psychometric properties. Recommendations are provided for using the MS-PAS in a multistep screening process.
The persistent elimination of B cells responding to blood group A carbohydrates by synthetic group A carbohydrates and B-1 cell differentiation blockade: novel concept in preventing antibody-mediated rejection in ABO-incompatible transplantation
Authors: Irei Toshimitsu , Ohdan Hideki , Zhou Wendy , Ishiyama Kohei , Tanaka Yuka , Ide Kentaro , Asahara Toshimasa
Published: September 2007

We demonstrated a novel strategy for specific and persistent inhibition of antibody (Ab) production against blood group A or B carbohydrate determinants necessary for successful ABO-incompatible transplantation. Similar to human blood group O or B individuals, mice have naturally occurring Abs against human blood group A carbohydrates in their sera. B cells with receptors for A carbohydrates in mice belonging to the CD5+CD11b+B-1a subset have phenotypic properties similar to those of human B cells. These cells could be temporarily eliminated by injecting synthetic A carbohydrates (GalNAcα1–3, Fucα1–2Gal) conjugated to bovine serum albumin (A-BSA) and anti-BSA Abs. In mice that received the injection of A-BSA/anti-BSA Abs, the serum levels of anti-A IgM were reduced, but immunization with human A erythrocytes resulted in increased serum levels of anti-A Abs. When combined with cyclosporin A (CsA) treatment, which blocks B-1a cell differentiation, and treatment with A-BSA/anti-BSA Abs, the serum levels of anti-A Abs were persistently undetectable in the mice even after the immunization. B cells with receptors for A carbohydrates were markedly reduced in these mice. These results are consistent with the hypotheses that treatment with A-BSA/anti-BSA Abs temporarily depletes B cells responding to A determinants, and CsA treatment prevents the replenishment of these cells.
BIOSMILE: A semantic role labeling system for biomedical verbs using a maximum-entropy model with automatically generated template features
Authors: Tsai Richard Tzong-Han , Chou Wen-Chi , Su Ying-Shan , Lin Yu-Chun , Sung Cheng-Lung , Dai Hong-Jie , Yeh Irene Tzu-Hsuan , Ku Wei , Sung Ting-Yi , Hsu Wen-Lian
Published: September 2007

Background

Bioinformatics tools for automatic processing of biomedical literature are invaluable for both the design and interpretation of large-scale experiments. Many information extraction (IE) systems that incorporate natural language processing (NLP) techniques have thus been developed for use in the biomedical field. A key IE task in this field is the extraction of biomedical relations, such as protein-protein and gene-disease interactions. However, most biomedical relation extraction systems usually ignore adverbial and prepositional phrases and words identifying location, manner, timing, and condition, which are essential for describing biomedical relations. Semantic role labeling (SRL) is a natural language processing technique that identifies the semantic roles of these words or phrases in sentences and expresses them as predicate-argument structures. We construct a biomedical SRL system called BIOSMILE that uses a maximum entropy (ME) machine-learning model to extract biomedical relations. BIOSMILE is trained on BioProp, our semi-automatic, annotated biomedical proposition bank. Currently, we are focusing on 30 biomedical verbs that are frequently used or considered important for describing molecular events.

Results

To evaluate the performance of BIOSMILE, we conducted two experiments to (1) compare the performance of SRL systems trained on newswire and biomedical corpora; and (2) examine the effects of using biomedical-specific features. The experimental results show that using BioProp improves the F-score of the SRL system by 21.45% over an SRL system that uses a newswire corpus. It is noteworthy that adding automatically generated template features improves the overall F-score by a further 0.52%. Specifically, ArgM-LOC, ArgM-MNR, and Arg2 achieve statistically significant performance improvements of 3.33%, 2.27%, and 1.44%, respectively.

Conclusion

We demonstrate the necessity of using a biomedical proposition bank for training SRL systems in the biomedical domain. Besides the different characteristics of biomedical and newswire sentences, factors such as cross-domain framesets and verb usage variations also influence the performance of SRL systems. For argument classification, we find that NE (named entity) features indicating if the target node matches with NEs are not effective, since NEs may match with a node of the parsing tree that does not have semantic role labels in the training set. We therefore incorporate templates composed of specific words, NE types, and POS tags into the SRL system. As a result, the classification accuracy for adjunct arguments, which is especially important for biomedical SRL, is improved significantly.
Previously described sequence variant in CDK5RAP2gene in a Pakistani family with autosomal recessive primary microcephaly
Authors: Hassan Muhammad Jawad , Khurshid Maryam , Azeem Zahid , John Peter , Ali Ghazanfar , Chishti Muhammad Salman , Ahmad Wasim
Published: September 2007

Background

Autosomal Recessive Primary Microcephaly (MCPH) is a disorder of neurogenic mitosis. MCPH leads to reduced cerebral cortical volume and hence, reduced head circumference associated with mental retardation of variable degree. Genetic heterogeneity is well documented in patients with MCPH with six loci known, while pathogenic sequence variants in four respective genes have been identified so far. Mutations in CDK5RAP2 gene at MCPH3 locus have been least involved in causing MCPH phenotype.

Methods

All coding exons and exon/intron splice junctions of CDK5RAP2 gene were sequenced in affected and normal individuals of Pakistani MCPH family of Kashmiri origin, which showed linkage to MCPH3 locus on chromosome 9q33.2.

Results

A previously described nonsense mutation [243 T>A (S81X)] in exon 4 of CDK5RAP2 gene has been identified in the Pakistani family, presented here, with MCPH Phenotype. Genomic and cDNA sequence comparison revealed that the exact nomenclature for this mutation is 246 T>A (Y82X).

Conclusion

Recurrent observation of Y82X mutation in CDK5RAP2 gene in this Pakistani family may be a sign of confinement of a rare ancestral haplotype carrying this pathogenic variant within Northern Pakistani population, as this has not been reported in any other population.
Meta-analysis of the literature on diagnostic accuracy of SPECT in parkinsonian syndromes
Authors: Vlaar Annemarie MM , van Kroonenburgh Marinus JPG , Kessels Alfons GH , Weber Wim EJ
Published: September 2007

Background

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. One of the most widely used techniques to diagnose PD is a Single Photon Emission Computer Tomography (SPECT) scan to visualise the integrity of the dopaminergic pathways in the brain. Despite this there remains some discussion on the value of SPECT in the differential diagnosis of PD. We did a meta-analysis of all the existing literature on the diagnostic accuracy of both pre- and post-synaptic SPECT imaging in the differential diagnosis of PD.

Methods

Relevant studies were searched in Medline, EMBASE and Cochrane databases with back-searching of their reference lists. We limited our analysis to studies with a clinically relevant methodology: i.e. when they assessed the ability of the SPECT to provide 1. diagnosis of PD in an early phase vs. normalcy; 2 diagnostic differentiation between PD and essential tremor (ET); 3. distinguishing between PD and vascular parkinsonism (VP); 4. delineation of PD from atypical parkinsonian syndromes (APS). Gold standard was, dependent on the study type, clinical examination at initial visit or follow-up, and/or response to dopaminergic agents.

Results

The search gave 185 hits, of which we deemed 32 suitable for our analysis. From these we recalculated the diagnostic odds ratio of SPECT for the clinical questions above. The pooled odds ratio (with 95%CI) for presynaptic SPECT scan's ability to distinguish between early PD and normalcy was 60 (13 – 277). For the ability to differentiate between PD and ET this ratio was 210 (79–562). The ratio for presynaptic SPECT's ability to delineate PD from VP was 105 (32 – 348). The mean odds ratio for the presynaptic SPECT scans to differentiate between PD and the two APS was 2 (1 – 4), and for the postsynaptic SPECT imaging this was 19 (9–36).

Conclusion

SPECT with presynaptic radiotracers is relatively accurate to differentiate patients with PD in an early phase from normalcy, patients with PD from those with ET, and PD from VP.

The accuracy of SPECT with both presynaptic and postsynaptic tracers to differentiate between PD and APS is relatively low.
Uncompleted Emergency Department Care: Patients Who Leave against Medical Advice
Authors: Ding Ru , Jung Julianna J. , Kirsch Thomas D. , Levy Frederick , McCarthy Melissa L.
Published: September 2007

Objectives: To compare the patient characteristics, clinical conditions, and short‐term recidivism rates of emergency department (ED) patients who leave against medical advice (AMA) with those who leave without being seen (LWBS) or complete their ED care.

Methods: All eligible patients who visited the ED between July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2005 (N= 31,252) were classified into one of four groups: 1) AMA (n= 857), 2) LWBS (n= 2,767), 3) admitted (n= 8,894), or 4) discharged (n= 18,734). The patient characteristics, primary diagnosis, and 30‐day rates of emergent hospitalizations, nonemergent hospitalizations, and ED discharge visits were compared between patients who left AMA and each of the other study groups. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to examine the influence of study group status on the risk of emergent hospitalization, adjusted for patient characteristics.

Results: Patients who left AMA were significantly more likely to be uninsured or covered by Medicaid compared with those admitted or discharged (p < 0.001). The AMA visit rates were highest for nausea and vomiting (9.7%), abdominal pain (7.9%), and nonspecific chest pain (7.6%). During the 30‐day follow‐up period, patients who left AMA had significantly higher emergent hospitalization and ED discharge visit rates compared with each of the other study groups (p < 0.001). Insurance status, male gender, and higher acuity level were also associated with a significantly higher emergent hospitalization rate.

Conclusions: Patients who leave AMA may do so prematurely, as evidenced by higher emergent hospitalization rates compared with those who LWBS or complete their care.
How do marital status, work effort, and wage rates interact?
Authors: Ahituv Avner , Lerman Robert I.
Published: September 2007

How marital status interacts with men’s earnings is an important analytic and policy issue, especially in the context of debates in the United States over programs that encourage healthy marriage. This paper generates new findings about the earnings-marriage relationship by estimating the linkages among flows into and out of marriage, work effort, and wage rates. The estimates are based on National Longitudinal Survey of Youth panel data, covering 23 years of marital and labor market outcomes, and control for unobserved heterogeneity. We estimate marriage effects on hours worked (our proxy for work effort) and on wage rates for all men and for black and low-skilled men separately. The estimates reveal that entering marriage raises hours worked quickly and substantially but that marriage’s effect on wage rates takes place more slowly while men continue in marriage. Together, the stimulus to hours worked and wage rates generates an 18%–19% increase in earnings, with about one-third to one-half of the marriage earnings premium attributable to higher work effort. At the same time, higher wage rates and hours worked encourage men to marry and to stay married. Thus, being married and having high earnings reinforce each other over time.
Self-selection and earnings assimilation: Immigrants from the former Soviet Union in Israel and the United States
Authors: Cohen Yinon , Haberfeld Yitchak
Published: September 2007

Drawing on U.S. decennial census data and on Israeli census and longitudinal data, we compare the educational levels and earnings assimilation of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU) in the United States and Israel during 1968–2000. Because the doors to both countries were practically open to FSU immigrants between 1968 and 1989, when FSU immigrants were entitled to refugee visas in the United States, the comparison can be viewed as a natural experiment in immigrants’ destination choices. The results suggest that FSU immigrants to the United States are of significantly higher educational level and experience significantly faster rates of earnings assimilation in their new destination than their counterparts who immigrated to Israel. We present evidence that patterns of self-selection in immigration to Israel and the United States—on both measured and unmeasured productivity-related traits—is the main reason for these results. When the immigration regulations in the United States changed in 1989, and FSU Jewish immigrants to the United States had to rely on family reunification for obtaining immigrant visas, the adverse effects of the policy change on the type of FSU immigrants coming to the United States were minor and short-lived. As early as 1992, the gaps in the educational levels between FSU immigrants coming to Israel and to the United States returned to their pre-1989 levels, and the differences in earnings assimilation of post-1989 immigrants in the United States and Israel are similar to the differences detected in the 1980s.
The political ecology of disaster: An analysis of factors influencing U.S. tornado fatalities and injuries, 1998–2000
Authors: Donner William R.
Published: September 2007

This study examines casualties from tornadoes in the United States between the years 1998 and 2000. A political model of human ecology (POET) was used to explore how the environment, technology, and social inequality influence rates of fatalities and injuries in two models. Data were drawn from four sources: John Hart’s Severe Plot v2.0, National Weather Service (NWS) Warning Verification data, Storm Prediction Center (SPC) watch data, and tract-level census data. Negative binomial regression was used to analyze the causes of tornado fatalities and injuries. Independent variables (following POET) are classified in the following manner: population, organization, environment, and technology. Rural population, population density, and household size correspond to population; racial minorities and deprivation represent social organization; tornado area represents environment; and tornado watches and warnings, as well as mobile homes, correspond to technology. Findings suggest a strong relationship between the size of a tornado path and both fatalities and injuries, whereas other measures related to technology, population, and organization produce significant yet mixed results. Census tracts having larger populations of rural residents was, of the nonenvironmental factors, the most conclusive regarding its effects across the two models. The outcomes of analysis, although not entirely supportive of the model presented in this study, suggest to some degree that demographic and social factors play a role in vulnerability to tornadoes.
Chronic conditions and the decline in late-life disability
Authors: Freedman Vicki A. , Schoeni Robert F. , Martin Linda G. , Cornman Jennifer C.
Published: September 2007

Using data from the 1997–2004 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), we examine the role of chronic conditions in recent declines in late-life disability prevalence. Building upon prior studies, we decompose disability declines into changes in the prevalence of chronic conditions and in the risk of disability given a condition. In doing so, we extend Kitigawa’s (1955) classical decomposition technique to take advantage of the annual data points in the NHIS. Then we use respondents’ reports of conditions causing their disability to repartition these traditional decomposition components. We find a general pattern of increasing prevalence of chronic conditions accompanied by declines in the percentage reporting disability among those with a given condition. We also find declines in heart and circulatory conditions, vision impairments, and possibly arthritis and increases in obesity as reported causes of disability. Based on decomposition analyses, we conclude that heart and circulatory conditions as well as vision limitations played a major role in recent declines in late-life disability prevalence and that arthritis may also be a contributing factor. We discuss these findings in light of improvements in treatments and changes in the environments of older adults.
A fixed-effects multilevel analysis of how community family structure affects individual mortality in Norway
Authors: Kravdal Øystein
Published: September 2007

By using register data for the entire Norwegian population aged 50–89 in the period 1980–1999, during which there were about 720,000 deaths, I estimate how the proportions of persons who were divorced or never married in the municipality affected all-cause mortality, net of individual marital status. The data include individual histories of changes in marital status and places of residence, providing a rare opportunity to enter municipality fixed effects into the model, thereby capturing the time-invariant unobserved factors at that level. The positive health externality of marriage that is suggested in the literature is supported by some of the estimates for women. Other estimates—especially those for men—point in the opposite direction. One possible interpretation of these findings is that social cohesion is perhaps not as beneficial for people’s health as often claimed, at least not for both sexes. Alternatively, the results may reflect that marriage perhaps undermines rather than strengthens social cohesion, or that other mechanisms are involved—for example, those that are related to people’s perceptions of their health relative to the health of others. Estimates from models without such municipality fixed effects are markedly different, but these also shed doubt on the notion that a high proportion of unmarried persons generally increases individual mortality.
National estimates of racial segregation in rural and small-town America
Authors: Lichter Daniel T. , Parisi Domenico , Grice Steven Michael , Taquino Michael C.
Published: September 2007

The objective of this paper is to provide, for the first time, comparative estimates of racial residential segregation of blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan places in 1990 and 2000. Analyses are based on block data from the 1990 and 2000 U.S. decennial censuses. The results reveal a singularly important and perhaps surprising central conclusion: levels and trends in recent patterns of racial segregation in America’s small towns are remarkably similar to patterns observed in larger metropolitan cities. Like their big-city counterparts, nonmetropolitan blacks are America’s most highly segregated racial minority—roughly 30% to 40% higher than the indices observed for Hispanics and Native Americans. Finally, baseline ecological models of spatial patterns of rural segregation reveal estimates that largely support the conclusions reached in previous metropolitan studies. Racial residential segregation in rural places increases with growing minority percentage shares and is typically lower in “new” places (as measured by growth in the housing stock), while racially selective annexation and the implied “racial threat” at the periphery exacerbate racial segregation in rural places. Our study reinforces the need to broaden the spatial scale of segregation beyond its traditional focus on metropolitan cities or suburban places, especially as America’s population shifts down the urban hierarchy into exurban places and small towns.
Race and the spatial segregation of jobless men in urban America
Authors: Wagmiller Robert L.
Published: September 2007

Changes in U.S. metropolitan areas over the past 30 years are thought to have concentrated jobless men in low-income, predominantly minority neighborhoods clustered near the center of the city. Using tract-level data from the Neighborhood Change Database for 1970–2000, I examine how the residential segregation of jobless from employed men has changed over the past three decades. I find that jobless men in U.S. metropolitan areas have become less uniformly distributed throughout the metropolis and more isolated, concentrated, and clustered since 1970; but they have also become less centralized. Racial and ethnic group differences in the spatial segregation of jobless men are large. Jobless black men occupy a uniquely disadvantaged ecological position in the metropolis: in comparison with other jobless men, they are much less uniformly distributed throughout the metropolis and much more isolated from employed men, they are concentrated in a smaller amount of physical space, and their neighborhoods are more clustered and are located closer to the center of the city. The dimensions of segregation strongly overlap for black jobless men, producing a multidimensional layering of segregation not encountered by other jobless men. Multivariate models reveal that the uniquely disadvantaged ecological position of jobless black men is less a reflection of different patterns of regional concentration and metropolitan settlement or of differences in group-status characteristics than it is an inevitable consequence of extreme levels of racial residential segregation in the United States.
The association of childhood socioeconomic conditions with healthy longevity at the oldest-old ages in China
Authors: Yi Zeng , Gu Danan , Land Kenneth C.
Published: September 2007

Based on unique data from the largest-ever sample of the Chinese oldest-old aged 80 and older, our multivariate logistic regression analyses show that either receiving adequate medical service during sickness in childhood or never/rarely suffering from serious illness during childhood significantly reduces the risk of being ADL (activities of daily living) impaired, being cognitively impaired, and self-reporting poor health by 18%–33% at the oldest-old ages. Estimates of effects for five other indicators of childhood conditions are similarly positive but mostly not statistically significant. Multivariate survival analysis shows that better childhood socioeconomic conditions in general tend to reduce the four-year period mortality risk among the oldest-old. But after additional controls for 14 covariates are put into the model, the effects are not statistically significant, thus suggesting that most of the effects of childhood conditions on oldest-old mortality are indirect—at least to the point of affecting current health status at the oldest-old ages, which itself is strongly associated with mortality. While acknowledging limitations of the present analyses due to a lack of information on childhood illness, the oldest-olds’ recollection errors, and other data problems, we conclude, based on this and other studies, that policies that enhance childhood health care and children’s socioeconomic wellbeing can have large and long-lasting benefits up to the oldest-old ages.
Sex-Specific Genetic Admixture of Mestizos, Amerindian Kichwas, and Afro-Ecuadorans from Ecuador
Authors: González-Andrade Fabricio , Sánchez Dora , González-Solórzano Jorge , Gascón Santiago , Martínez-Jarreta Begoña
Published: September 2007

Three main ethnic groups live in the South American country of Ecuador: Mestizos, Amerindian natives, and African-derived populations, or Afro-Ecuadorans. Mestizos and Afro-Ecuadorans can be considered trihybrid populations containing genes originating in the Americas, Europe, and Africa, as is the case with equivalent populations in other Latin American countries. The proportion and the dynamics of the admixture process remain unknown. However, a certain sex asymmetry of the admixture process can be expected for historical reasons. We typed 11 Y-chromosome short tandem repeats (STRs) in these three ethnic groups to provide adequate allele and haplotype frequencies for forensic genetic purposes and to quantify admixture proportions in male lineages. In addition, a data set of 15 autosomal STRs in the same samples were reanalyzed for the same purpose. Contributions to Mestizo Y chromosomes were estimated to be 70% European, 28% Amerindian, and 2% African, whereas in autosomes the contributions were 19%, 73%, and 8%, respectively, which underlines the sexual asymmetry in mating, with Europeans contributing mostly males. European Y-chromosome haplotypes in Mestizos were similar to those in Spain. Moreover, about 10% of European Y chromosomes were found in the Amerindian Kichwa. As for Afro-Ecuadorans, their contributions to the male line are 44% African, 31% European, and 15% Native American; the last value is the highest percentage reported so far for an African-derived American group. Autosomal admixture was estimated as 56% African, 16% European, and 28% Amerindian.
Richard II from Donkey to Royal Martyr: Perceptions of Eustache Deschamps and Contemporary French Writers
Authors: Cropp Glynnis M , Hanham Alison
Published: September 2007

The transition of Richard II from lethargic English monarch to royal martyr, as viewed by various French commentators and chroniclers, is examined in three significant aspects: the political prophecy, the interlacing of marriage and peace-making, and the tragedy of deposition and death, on which rests Richard's posthumous reputation as a literary exemplum. Relevant writings of Eustache Deschamps and Philippe de Mézières are examined in greater detail than previously, with the added testimony of other contemporaries. These writers' reactions to Richard's fate varied, but they largely blamed his people for causing his death by foul play.
Emotional Expression in Malory's Elaine of Ascolat
Authors: Holbrook Sue Ellen
Published: September 2007

Shrieks and complaints, accompanied by body language, contribute markedly to Malory's representation of Elaine of Ascolat's emotionality. Elaine's two shrieks echo Lancelot's and indicate change from sorrow for a wounded beloved to heartbreak when he rejects her. When Elaine is compared with speakers in love lyrics, allegories, and romances, the thoughts in her unarticulated complaints after the pained second shriek may be understood and related to her defence of complaint and perseverance in love despite rejection. Similarly, Elaine's complaint letter, including its overlooked moan to ladies, reflects a state of tranquility and brings about a just resolution.
Between Women: Desire and its Object in Malory's 'Alexander the Orphan'
Authors: Kaufman Amy S
Published: September 2007

Malory's tale 'Alysaundir the Orphan' is usually considered a failure because its titular character never avenges the death of his father; instead, he falls in love. Readings of the tale, however, and of Malory's Morte Darthur in general, are often influenced by the view of Malory as a misogynistic writer, rendering plots that do not live up to 'masculinist' knightly expectations unintelligible. Reading for gynosocial rather than patriarchal definitions of success and power in this tale can help us to rethink both the gendering of desire and the power structure of courtship in medieval romance.
Place and Movement in the Old French Chanson de Toile
Authors: Léglu Catherine
Published: September 2007

Old French chansons de toile make repeated use of the motif of an enclosed woman dreaming of her escape into a love-match. By examining twelfth- and thirteenth-century theories of place and movement, notably the developments on the concept of the receptacle and of the void, it is possible to suggest new ways of reading these songs as lively explorations of a hackneyed motif. This approach in turn allows the songs to be studied for their reflection of learned culture, rather than as more or less authentic representations of a thirteenth-century court version of women's song.
Beyond Abjection: The Problem with Grendel's Mother Again
Authors: Trilling Renée Rebecca
Published: September 2007

Traditional critical paradigms have generally failed to come to grips with the character of Grendel's mother in Beowulf. As a monster in the heroic order, and as a female in a masculine world, she confounds simple definitions and crosses the boundaries that define the limits of agency. Grendel's mother functions as a nexus for the representation of the many dialectical tensions – male/female, human/monster, hall/wilderness, feud/peace, symbolic/semiotic – that both underwrite and critique the poem's symbolic order. As a result, the character offers insight into the symbolic process and the ways in which readers approach the distant world of the medieval text.
'Naked as she was bore': Naked Disenchantment in Lybeaus Desconus
Authors: Weldon James
Published: September 2007

The central disenchantment scene in Lybeaus Desconus raises two significant medieval concerns, the nature of women and marital consent. The enchantment casts the Lady of Sinadoun into the form of a serpent/dragon-woman with its implications of original sin and female blame. Her disenchantment removes this symbolic covering, and in her naked innocence the Lady offers herself in marriage to Lybeaus in language reminiscent of medieval legal terminology for female marital consent. Other marriages depicted in the text, including the Lady's own marriage to Lybeaus, evoke the constraints medieval marriages placed on women – paternal authority, male coercion, and the loss of legal status for women. The disenchantment scene, however momentarily, inscribes female freedom within this marital context.
The Sexual Politics of Microscopy in Brobdingnag
Authors: Armintor Deborah Needleman
Published: September 2007

This article builds on Marjorie Nicolson's well-known argument about Lemuel Gulliver as microscopic specimen in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. It contends that Swift inflects Gulliver in Brobdingnag more specifically as a pocket-sized instrument in the hands of enormous female consumers, not unlike the fashionable "pocket-microscopes" of his day. "The Sexual Politics of Microscopy in Brobdingnag" shows that Swift's portrayal of an English adventurer turned objectified "little man" underscores the emasculating effects of the commodification and perceived feminization of Enlightenment science in the new bourgeois culture.
Clashing Masculinities in Aphra Behn's The Dutch Lover
Authors: Gabbard D. Christopher
Published: September 2007

Aphra Behn's 1673 comedy The Dutch Lover illustrates Pierre Bourdieu's contention that manliness "is an eminently relational notion, constructed in front of and for other men." Triangulating national stereotypes of manhood (Dutchmen, Spaniards, and Cavaliers), the play delineates not a monolithic masculine practice but various masculinities coexisting on a spectrum bounded by the terms warlike and effeminate. Satirizing warlike Spanish machismo and effeminate Dutch expediency as illustrating masculinities in extremis, the text privileges its Cavalier hero Alonzo as instantiating a man of honor but one who also exhibits protean qualities, marking him as a man of wit and spirit.
Linking Family History in Obstetric and Pediatric Care: Assessing Risk for Genetic Disease and Birth Defects
Authors: Dolan Siobhan M. , Moore Cynthia
Published: September 2007

Family history captures the collective influence of shared genetic susceptibility, shared environmental factors, and common behaviors within families. Throughout the reproductive continuum, pediatricians, obstetricians, family practitioners, genetic counselors, and other clinicians can work with families to elicit relevant family history information and factor it into risk-assessment calculations and, when appropriate, decision-making. Current screening tools have focused on understanding the risk for single-gene disorders, chromosomal conditions, and teratogen exposures during the preconception, prenatal, and interconception periods. More research and data are needed to understand how family history influences risk for a wide variety of complex birth outcomes such as preterm birth, stillbirth, and many birth defects. With a better understanding of the impact of family history on many adverse birth outcomes, tools for the collection of a broader set of pertinent family history information must be developed.