Search

Senegal’s Shi‘i Muslim leaders have been establishing religious centers as ngo s, which bring material and spiritual development to neighborhoods and villages. Obtaining ngo status grants legitimacy and convinces a growing network of followers of the wider benefits of adhering to a minority branch of Islam. This article uses a framework of “development brokerage,” “religious engineering,” and “translation” to examine one Shi‘i ngo’s presentation of self. A promotional video illustrates the Shi‘i development project for Western and Muslim donors and the Senegalese state by appropriating the global discourse of international development. This example is contrasted with a religious ceremony for converts grounded in the universal rhetoric of Islamic salvation and the exclusivity of belonging to a local West African community of Shi‘a. Through employing multiple linguistic registers strategically adapted for distinct audiences, ngo leaders assert authority and cultivate a self-sustaining society of moral and ethical Shi‘a able to contribute to the Senegalese nation.

Rather than generating 1 transplant by directly donating to a candidate on the waitlist, deceased donors (DDs) could achieve additional transplants by donating to a candidate in a kidney paired donation (KPD) pool, thereby, initiating a chain that ends with a living donor (LD) donating to a candidate on the waitlist. We model outcomes arising from various strategies that allow DDs to initiate KPD chains.We base simulations on actual 2016 to 2017 US DD and waitlist data and use simulated KPD pools to model DD-initiated KPD chains. We also consider methods to assess and overcome the primary criticism of this approach, namely the potential to disadvantage blood type O-waitlisted candidates.Compared with shorter DD-initiated KPD chains, longer chains increase the number of KPD transplants by up to 5% and reduce the number of DDs allocated to the KPD pool by 25%. These strategies increase the overall number of blood type O transplants and make LDs available to candidates on the waitlist. Restricting allocation of blood type O DDs to require ending KPD chains with LD blood type O donations to the waitlist markedly reduces the number of KPD transplants achieved.Allocating fewer than 3% of DD to initiate KPD chains could increase the number of kidney transplants by up to 290 annually. Such use of DDs allows additional transplantation of highly sensitized and blood type O KPD candidates. Collectively, patients of each blood type, including blood type O, would benefit from the proposed strategies.

Involuntary thinking occurs when mental states arise without intention. Such thoughts can take different forms, such as involuntary autobiographical memories (IAM), ruminative thoughts, and unexpected thoughts—all of which are popular areas of study, albeit in somewhat disparate literatures. Despite these mental states sharing a common thread of feeling involuntary in nature, it is nevertheless unclear what separates them phenomenologically. We conducted a set of exploratory and confirmatory experiments to elucidate the appraisal dimensions behind these forms of involuntary thought, with a particular interest in understanding the phenomenology behind unexpected thoughts that are predicted to violate expectations of both timing and content. Across two experiments, we found that unexpected thoughts had unique appraisal structures compared to the other two forms of involuntary thought: they were less identifiably cued, more surprising in content and timing, and offered new information (i.e., insight). We discuss how these distinctions support recent theories regarding the nature of unexpected thought and its relation to other forms of involuntary thinking, namely IAM and ruminative thought, which are the more commonly studied forms of involuntary thinking.

Over the past 65 years, kidney transplantation has evolved into the optimal treatment for patients with kidney failure, dramatically reducing suffering through improved survival and quality of life. However, access to transplant is still limited by organ supply, opportunities for transplant are inequitably distributed, and lifelong transplant survival remains elusive. To address these persistent needs, the National Kidney Foundation convened an expert panel to define an agenda for future research. The key priorities identified by the panel center on the needs to develop and evaluate strategies to expand living donation, improve waitlist management and transplant readiness, maximize use of available deceased donor organs, and extend allograft longevity. Strategies targeting the critical goal of decreasing organ discard that warrant research investment include educating patients and clinicians about potential benefits of accepting nonstandard organs, use of novel organ assessment technologies and real-time decision support, and approaches to preserve and resuscitate allografts before implantation. The development of personalized strategies to reduce the burden of lifelong immunosuppression and support "one transplant for life" was also identified as a vital priority. The panel noted the specific goal of improving transplant access and graft survival for children with kidney failure. This ambitious agenda will focus research investment to promote greater equity and efficiency in access to transplantation, and help sustain long-term benefits of the gift of life for more patients in need.

What is the role of transnational non-state philanthropic actors in the Kuwaiti humanitarian mission abroad? How does humanitarian aid reinforce and (re)conceptualize Kuwaiti notions of citizenship? A key provider of foreign assistance, this small, at times vulnerable, Gulf country has given generously to other nations as part of a strategic foreign policy. Kuwait’s humanitarian sovereignty involves coordinated efforts at multiple levels of state policy, civil society organizations, and pious individual donors who fund the work of international Islamic charities – which have increasingly become more connected to the state. Exceptional Muslim humanitarians donate their time along with their money, and youth in greater numbers are volunteering with transnational missions. An honorable endeavor—sanctioned by the government—volunteering brings religious rewards and leads to professional development. Bridging state, civil society, and private domains, transnational giving from Kuwait merges religious and national forms of community and shapes moral citizens.

When older adults are asked to recall personal events that occurred at any point in their lives, memories from late adolescence and early adulthood are overrepresented, forming a reminiscence bump. Thematic analyses have indicated that the bump memories that emerge in response to such prompts frequently represent milestone events that are consistent with cultural life scripts. This study employed a novel method that explicitly targeted only memories of events occurring during late adolescence and early adulthood, allowing in-depth exploration of the contents and potential organising principles associated with these memories. Older adults (N = 197) completed an on-line survey in which they described 7 memories of personal events that had occurred at any time between the ages of 19 and 34. Content analyses indicated that memories frequently portrayed landmark events, consistent with cultural life script theory. After completing the memory task, participants who had been married or had their first child between ages 19 and 34 provided their age at the time of these events. Temporal distributions of memory ages centred on participants' ages at the time of their first marriage or childbirth also were consistent with the life script explanation for the reminiscence bump.

This paper presents reflections on educators’ experiences while teaching critical global consciousness and students’ conceptualizations of global citizenship and civic mindedness in an undergraduat...

Background and objectives The aim in kidney paired donation (KPD) is typically to maximize the number of transplants achieved through the exchange of donors in a pool comprising incompatible donor-candidate pairs and non-directed (or altruistic) donors. With many possible options in a KPD pool at any given time, the most appropriate set of exchanges cannot be determined by simple inspection. In practice, computer algorithms are used to determine the optimal set of exchanges to pursue. Here, we present our software application, KPDGUI (Kidney Paired Donation Graphical User Interface), for management and optimization of KPD programs. Methods While proprietary software platforms for managing KPD programs exist to provide solutions to the standard KPD problem, our application implements newly investigated optimization criteria that account for uncertainty regarding the viability of selected transplants and arrange for fallback options in cases where potential exchanges cannot proceed, with intuitive resources for visualizing alternative optimization solutions. Results We illustrate the advantage of accounting for uncertainty and arranging for fallback options in KPD using our application through a case study involving real data from a paired donation program, comparing solutions produced under different optimization criteria and algorithmic priorities. Conclusions KPDGUI is a flexible and powerful tool for offering decision support to clinicians and researchers on possible KPD transplant options to pursue under different user-specified optimization schemes.

Kidney disease is a common, complex, costly, and life-limiting condition. Most kidney disease registries or information systems have been limited to single institutions or regions. A national US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Renal Information System (VA-REINS) was recently developed. We describe its creation and present key initial findings related to chronic kidney disease (CKD) without kidney replacement therapy (KRT). Data from the VA's Corporate Data Warehouse were processed and linked with national Medicare data for patients with CKD receiving KRT. Operational definitions for VA user, CKD, acute kidney injury, and kidney failure were developed. Among 7 million VA users in fiscal year 2014, CKD was identified using either a strict or liberal operational definition in 1.1 million (16.4%) and 2.5 million (36.3%) veterans, respectively. Most were identified using an estimated glomerular filtration rate laboratory phenotype, some through proteinuria assessment, and very few through International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision coding. The VA spent ∼$18 billion for the care of patients with CKD without KRT, most of which was for CKD stage 3, with higher per-patient costs by CKD stage. VA-REINS can be leveraged for disease surveillance, population health management, and improving the quality and value of care, thereby enhancing VA's capacity as a patient-centered learning health system for US veterans.

Media and policy analysis often depicts African Muslims as pawns in the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, ignoring the wider history of trans-regional connections between Africa, the Middle East and Asia. In examining two prominent Shi‘a Islamic organizations in Tanzania, this chapter demonstrates that Iran is not the only Shi‘i player in town. Within the context of the marginalization of Muslims in this religiously mixed country, indigenous Tanzanian Shi‘a, as minorities within a minority, tap into global ties that lead to opportunities for their empowerment. Comparing the origins, discourses and objectives of Bilal Muslim Mission, funded through the East African Indian Khoja Ithna Asheri community, and Ahl al-Bayt Centre, with connections to Kuwait, highlights the interconnection of diverse local, national and transnational actors in social welfare provision.

The transplant community is divided regarding whether substitution with generic immunosuppressants is appropriate for organ transplant recipients. We estimated the rate of uptake over time of generic immunosuppressants using US Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Event (PDE) and Colorado pharmacy claims (including both Part D and non-Part D) data from 2008 to 2013. Data from 26 070 kidney, 15 548 liver, and 6685 heart recipients from Part D, and 1138 kidney and 389 liver recipients from Colorado were analyzed. The proportions of patients with PDEs or claims for generic and brand-name tacrolimus or mycophenolate mofetil were calculated over time by transplanted organ and drug. Among Part D kidney, liver, and heart beneficiaries, the proportion dispensed generic tacrolimus reached 50%−56% at 1 year after first generic approval and 78%−81% by December 2013. The proportion dispensed generic mycophenolate mofetil reached 70%−73% at 1 year after generic market entry and 88%−90% by December 2013. There was wide interstate variability in generic uptake, with faster uptake in Colorado compared with most other states. Overall, generic substitution for tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil for organ transplant recipients increased rapidly following first availability, and utilization of generic immunosuppressants exceeded that of brand-name products within a year of market entry.

Previous research on parent–child conversations about personal and school events has consistently demonstrated positive relationships between parents’ elaborative questioning and preschool/kindergarten children’s event memory. This study examined whether similarly positive relationships would be evident in school-age children. Kindergarten, 2nd/3rd-grade, and 5th/6th-grade children participated in a classroom science lesson about flight. At home following the lesson, parents talked with their children about this event in any way that seemed natural to them. Children’s memory was assessed both during the parent–child conversation and with a researcher at delays of 3 and 15 days. Expected positive associations between parents’ use of elaborative questioning and children’s memory for novel details during the parent–child conversation were apparent for kindergartners but not for older children. In addition, parents’ use of elaborative questioning techniques, including asking open-ended memory questions, was negatively correlated with older children’s longer-term memory performance. Predicted positive associations were observed between children’s initial recall of novel details and their memory for the lesson after 3 days (all three age groups) and after 15 days (the two older age groups). We discuss possible reasons why relationships between parental conversational styles and children’s event memory change as children advance to formal schooling.

While there has been much emphasis on new types of media for the dissemination of Islamic ideas, this article focuses on the conventional Friday khuṭba. Lebanese Shaykh al-Zayn was trained in Najaf...

On occasion, residential treatment centers for adolescents with severe psychiatric problems may encounter crises that engulf the program as a whole. Standard techniques for addressing serious actin...

Camptothecin (CPT) is a naturally occurring cytotoxic alkaloid having a broad spectrum of antitumor activity. Unfortunately, it has low bioavailability and encapsulation efficiency, limiting its clinical use. We report on our efforts to develop a novel drug delivery prototype composed of a short, star hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (PEG) backbone and hydrophobic CPT (PEG4-CPT). The amphiphilic bio-conjugate self-assembles in water into stable spherical nano-particles with a mean diameter of 200nm and CPT substitution percentage of 27%w/w. CPT is released in a sustained release profile without burst effect. In addition, PEG4-CPT nano-particles are able to load a co-drug, water soluble or non-water soluble doxorubicin and release them simultaneously with the free CPT. The biological evaluation of PEG4-CPT against HeLa cells showed improved cellular uptake and enhanced cytotoxicity compared to free CPT. Thus, in this approach CPT acts in two ways: As the hydrophobic segment that enables self-assembly in water and as a potent anticancer agent. This concept of combining hydrophobic drugs and short star polymers shows great potential for efficient delivery of hydrophobic chemotrophic drugs as well as for drugs with inherent stability and pharmacokinetic barriers.

Outcomes for transplants from living unrelated donors are of particular interest in kidney paired donation (KPD) programs where exchanges can be arranged between incompatible donor-recipient pairs or chains created from nondirected/altruistic donors.Using Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients data, we analyzed 232,705 recipients of kidney-alone transplants from 1998 to 2012. Graft failure rates were estimated using Cox models for recipients of kidney transplants from living unrelated, living related, and deceased donors. Models were adjusted for year of transplant and donor and recipient characteristics, with particular attention to mismatches in age, sex, human leukocyte antigens (HLA), body size, and weight.The dependence of graft failure on increasing donor age was less pronounced for living-donor than for deceased-donor transplants. Male donor-to-male recipient transplants had lower graft failure, particularly better than female to male (5%-13% lower risk). HLA mismatch was important in all donor types. Obesity of both the recipient (8%-18% higher risk) and donor (5%-11% higher risk) was associated with higher graft loss, as were donor-recipient weight ratios of75%, compared with transplants where both parties were of similar weight (9%-12% higher risk). These models are used to create a calculator of estimated graft survival for living donors.This calculator provides useful information to donors, candidates, and physicians of estimated outcomes and potentially in allowing candidates to choose among several living donors. It may also help inform candidates with compatible donors on the advisability of joining a KPD program.

Publicly available benchmark data and metric evaluation approaches have been instrumental in enabling research to advance state of the art methods for remote sensing applications in urban 3D modeling. Most publicly available benchmark datasets have consisted of high resolution airborne imagery and lidar suitable for 3D modeling on a relatively modest scale. To enable research in larger scale 3D mapping, we have recently released a public benchmark dataset with multi-view commercial satellite imagery and metrics to compare 3D point clouds with lidar ground truth. We now define a more complete metric evaluation pipeline developed as publicly available open source software to assess semantically labeled 3D models of complex urban scenes derived from multi-view commercial satellite imagery. Evaluation metrics in our pipeline include horizontal and vertical accuracy and completeness, volumetric completeness and correctness, perceptual quality, and model simplicity. Sources of ground truth include airborne lidar and overhead imagery, and we demonstrate a semi-automated process for producing accurate ground truth shape files to characterize building footprints. We validate our current metric evaluation pipeline using 3D models produced using open source multi-view stereo methods. Data and software is made publicly available to enable further research and planned benchmarking activities.

Background The association of HLA mismatching with kidney allograft survival has been well established. We examined whether amino acid (AA) mismatches (MMs) at the antigen recognition site of HLA molecules represent independent and incremental risk factors for kidney graft failure (GF) beyond those MMs assessed at the antigenic (2-digit) specificity. Methods Data on 240 024 kidney transplants performed between 1987 and 2009 were obtained from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. We imputed HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 alleles and corresponding AA polymorphisms from antigenic specificity through the application of statistical and population genetics inferences. GF risk was evaluated using Cox proportional-hazards regression models adjusted for covariates including patient and donor risk factors and HLA antigen MMs. Results We show that estimated AA MMs at particular positions in the peptide-binding pockets of HLA-DRB1 molecule account for a significant incremental risk that was independent of the well-known association of HLA antigen MMs with graft survival. A statistically significant linear relationship between the estimated number of AA MMs and risk of GF was observed for HLA-DRB1 in deceased donor and living donor transplants. This relationship was strongest during the first 12 months after transplantation (hazard ratio, 1.30 per 15 DRB1 AA MM; P < 0.0001). Conclusions This study shows that independent of the well-known association of HLA antigen (2-digit specificity) MMs with kidney graft survival, estimated AA MMs at peptide-binding sites of the HLA-DRB1 molecule account for an important incremental risk of GF., In a population of 240 024 kidney transplant recipients using the data of the Scientific Registry of Transplant recipients, the authors demonstrate that, independently of HLA antigen mismatches, estimated amino-acid mismatches at peptide-binding sites of the HLA-DRB1 molecule, accounts for an increased graft failure risk. Supplemental digital content is available in the text.

A scientist taught 40 4- to 6-year-old children an interactive science lesson at school. The same day, children talked about the lesson at home with a parent who was naive to the details of what had transpired at school. Six days later, a researcher interviewed children about objects, activities, and concepts that were part of the lesson. Aspects of parents’ conversational style (e.g., open-ended memory questions, descriptive language) predicted how much information children provided in talking with them, which in turn predicted children’s memory performance 6 days later. The findings suggest that elaborative parent–child conversations at home could boost children’s retention of academic information acquired at school even when parents have no specific knowledge of what children have experienced there.

Assumptions that eating disorders are a female or gay disease need to be disputed to relay the reality that eating disorders are nondiscriminatory. The motivation to explore the experiences of men with eating disorders was to promote awareness and a safe path for men to seek treatment. This qualitative phenomenological study included the stories of six men, who provided the research data detailing their experiences of eating disorders. The findings suggest that a Gestalt therapy stance may be of benefit to those in recovery. They also support a phenomenological methodology as a useful approach for revealing content themes and meanings found in participants' stories.

COREQ Guidelines Checklist. This file documents the studyâ s correspondence to the COREQ guidelines. (DOCX 30 kb)

BACKGROUND Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is increasingly used for treatment of antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) after solid organ transplants. There is concern that TPE may increase risk of bleeding, although data are limited. After TPE, clot-based coagulation tests may not accurately represent the levels of coagulation factors due to the effect of citrate. We investigated protein levels of fibrinogen using antigen detection method (FibAg) and correlated results with a clot-based fibrinogen activity test (Fib). STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Nine kidney transplant recipients who received TPE for AMR were investigated. Fib, FibAg, prothrombin time/international normalized ratio (PT/INR), partial thromboplastin time (PTT), coagulation factor X chromogenic activity (CFX), and ionized calcium (iCa) were measured at pre- and post-TPE and 1, 3, 6, 9, 24, and 48 hours after the first TPE. RESULTS Mean Fib/FibAg ratio before TPE was 1.08; therefore, all Fib values were normalized (n) by dividing by 1.08. Overall, the mean normalized Fib (nFib)/FibAg ratio at post-TPE was 0.89 and returned to close to 1.0 at 6 hours after the first TPE. Decreases in nFib, FibAg, and CFX and increases in PT/INR and PTT post-TPE were observed. The lowest Fib, FibAg, CFX, platelet, and iCa levels were still at levels that would be considered sufficient for hemostasis at all time points. CONCLUSION The mean nFib/FibAg ratio after TPE was 0.89 and normalized in 6 hours, which demonstrates a persistent effect of citrate for up to 6 hours. Therefore, similar data observed in clot-based tests of PT/INR and PTT may be falsely elevated up to 6 hours after TPE due to the citrate effect.

Automated semantic labeling of complex urban scenes in remotely sensed 2D and 3D data is one of the most challenging steps in producing realistic 3D scene models and maps. Recent large-scale public benchmark data sets and challenges for semantic labeling with 2D imagery have been instrumental in identifying state of the art methods and enabling new research. 3D data from lidar and multi-view stereo have also been shown to provide valuable additional information to enable improved semantic labeling accuracy. In this work, we describe the development of a new large-scale data set combining public lidar and multi-view satellite imagery with pixel-level truth for ground labels and instance-level truth for building labels. We demonstrate the use of this data set to evaluate methods for ground and building labeling tasks to establish performance expectations and identify areas for improvement. We also discuss initial steps toward further leveraging this data set to enable machine learning for more complex semantic and instance segmentation and 3D reconstruction tasks. All software developed to produce this public data set and to enable metric scoring are also released as open source code.

Objective This study examined whether kidney transplant recipients’ post-transplant goals and expectations align with those as perceived by their healthcare providers. Methods Post-transplant goals and expectations across four domains were assessed via a descriptive survey of healthcare providers (N=72) and kidney transplant recipients (N=476) at the University of Michigan from March 23 - October 1, 2015. Demographic and transplant-related data were collected via a retrospective review of medical records, and survey responses were compared using Chi-square tests, Wilcoxon two-sample tests, and logistic regression. Results Patients expressed higher quality of life (mean Neuro-QOL T-score 60.2 vs. 52.7), were less likely to report that they were currently experiencing complications (11% vs. 24%), and anticipated their transplants to last longer (median 25 vs. 15 years) and to live longer (median 80 vs. 71 years) than providers expected for their typical patient. However, provider perceptions of patients’ future ability to feel well, perform daily activities and work were significantly higher than those expressed by patients (all p Conclusion Kidney transplant patient and provider expectations differ in significant ways. Practice implications Identified areas of discordance may provide opportunities for patients and providers to better evaluate treatment option tradeoffs in post-transplant clinical interactions.

The Republican machine, the mayor of Philadelphia, and the head of public safety all had input with regard to the enforcement of Prohibition in Philadelphia in 1924–25. W. Freeland Kendrick, a member of the Philadelphia machine, had won the mayoralty overwhelmingly in 1923 because he was the choice of machine head William S. Vare. The Republican machine did not support Prohibition and Vare expected Kendrick to turn a blind eye to the Prohibition laws. Kendrick, however, decided to appoint a Marine brigadier general, Smedley D. Butler, as the head of the Department of Public Safety. It was Butler's belief that all laws had to be upheld, including the Prohibition laws. Butler's methods of Prohibition enforcement were not popular with either the machine or the populace. Kendrick found himself between Vare and Butler. The result was that Kendrick fired Butler, and the machine destroyed Kendrick's future in politics.

BACKGROUND Little is known about living kidney donors' satisfaction with life (SWL) after donation. We compared donors' SWL to previously reported general population samples and investigated predictors of donors' SWL. METHODS Three transplant centers mailed questionnaires to assess SWL, physical health, optimism, retrospective evaluation of the donation experience, and demographic characteristics to living kidney donors' homes between 2010 and 2012. Two thousand four hundred fifty-five donors who were between 5 and 48 years from the time of their donor surgery completed the questionnaire. RESULTS Eighty-four percent of donors were satisfied with their lives (scores ≥ 20 on the Satisfaction With Life Scale). Donors were at least as satisfied with their lives as previously reported general population samples. After adjusting for physical health, optimism, and demographics, donors' SWL was significantly associated with donors' recalled experience of donation. Social support and positive effects of the donation on relationships predicted greater SWL. Financial difficulties associated with donation and longer recovery times predicted lower SWL. Recipient outcomes were not significantly related to donor SWL. DISCUSSION Limitations include the lack of predonation SWL data, potential bias in postdonation SWL because of the situational context of the questionnaire, and a sample that is not representative of all U.S. living kidney donors. Nonetheless, strategies focused on improving the donation experience, particularly related to recovery time, financial issues, and social support, may result in greater SWL after donation.

Background Donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) to HLA antigens can cause acute antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) after kidney transplantation (Txp). Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) has been used for AMR treatment; however, DSA reduction rates are inconsistent. We investigated DSA reduction rates by HLA specificity and clinical outcome. Study Design and Methods Sixty-four courses of TPE for 56 kidney Txp recipients with high DSA were investigated. Dates of TPE procedures and Txp, patients' age, sex, race, creatinine (Cr), and mean fluorescent intensity (MFI) of DSA were retrieved. MFI reduction rate after one to three TPE and four to six TPE procedures were calculated by HLA DSA specificity in each patient, and the mean reduction rates were compared. The relationship of TPE treatment, MFI or Cr improvement rate, and graft age was also investigated. Results Patients received a mean 6.0 TPE procedures. Most received intravenous immunoglobulin after TPE and immunosuppressives. Forty-two cases (65.6%) had DSA to HLA Class I and 54 cases (84.4%) to Class II, including 32 cases (50.0%) to both. Mean MFI reduction rates after one to three TPE and four to six TPE procedures were 25.7 and 37.1% in HLA Class I, 25.1 and 34.2% in Class II, and 14.3 and 19.9% in DR51-53. The mean Cr improvements at the end of TPE and 3 and 6 months after TPE were 3.41, −0.37, and −0.72%, respectively. Conclusion Six TPE procedures decreased DSA more than three TPE procedures, but reduction rate was lower by the second three TPE procedures than the first three TPE procedures. Although the mean Cr improvement was minimal, the treatment has good potential to stop further deterioration of kidney function. Better Cr improvement rate is correlated with the graft age.

Eighty-seven mothers and their four-year-old children from Eastern Turkey (N = 32 pairs), Western Turkey (N = 30 pairs) and the USA (N = 25 pairs) participated in a study of mother-child memory talk as a reflection of mothers' self construal, in view of differences in the function of memory talk across cultures. Mother-child pairs were audio-recorded while talking about shared past and anticipated future events. Mothers completed the Balanced Integration-Differentiation questionnaire measure of self-construal and were scored as high or low on individuation and relatedness orientations. Mothers' memory and future talk showed similar patterns of cultural differences: American mothers provided the most voluminous, descriptive and elaborative talk, while Eastern Turkish mothers showed the highest level of repetitiveness, and Western Turkish mothers' talk fell in between. Children's memory talk was similar across cultures. In all cultures, mothers who scored high on both individuation and relatedness (balanced self-construal subtype) engaged in more voluminous and contexted memory talk, and individuation was associated with more elaborative talk about future events. Results are discussed in light of literature on cultural differences in self-construal and memory function.

Receipt of a liver transplant requires referral to a transplant center, evaluation of suitability for transplantation, registration on the liver transplant waiting list, and survival until allocated a suitable donor liver. For several years, the U.S. liver transplant waiting list has remained stable. Approximately 13,000 to 15,000 candidates are wait-listed at any given time, and approximately 6,000 patients receive a liver transplant and 2,000 patients die waiting (1). However, this view of transplant access is limited because many patients are never wait-listed. An important goal in achieving equity in the care of patients with liver disease is assuring fair access to the liver transplant waiting list. Becoming a wait-listed liver transplant candidate is a critical step in the transplant process but is not well studied (2–4), primarily related to a lack of comprehensive national data on patients with CLF in the United States. (5, 6). African Americans were significantly less likely to be referred for liver transplantation, despite having similar disease burden as their white counterparts in the U.S. Veterans Administration medical system (7). State-based data demonstrate racial and sex-based inequities in transplant evaluation and wait-listing rates (8). The lack of consistent referral, evaluation, and listing practices undermines the ethical obligations of the transplant community and may withhold care from those who could derive benefit from liver transplantation. We aimed to determine the extent of demographic and geographic variation in access to the liver transplant waiting list using national data. Comprehensive data are not available on all transplant-eligible patients to calculate absolute waiting list registration rates. We created an empirical measure of relative waiting list access termed the liver wait-listing ratio (LWR). This metric captures the rate of wait-listing for a given group relative to those potentially eligible for transplant, namely, those who died from liver disease and those who were listed, less those already transplanted. Intuitively, transplant providers understand that not all patients who die from liver disease are transplant-eligible. We set the “transplant-eligible” denominator on liver disease mortality because U.S. decedent data are comprehensive, available, epidemiologically explicable, and is applied in a variety of public health and policy contexts. The actual ratios are not as pertinent as their relative differences for comparison purposes, and we present this analysis to better understand disparities in the liver transplant process.

Senegalese “conversion” to Shi‘i Islam resulted from cosmopolitan interactions with West Africa’s resident Lebanese population and Iranian revolutionary ideologies. Shi‘i advocates spread their religious convictions through teaching, conferences, holiday celebrations, and media publicity. Key to their success are libraries full of Arabic and French texts from Iran and Lebanon. Inherent in Islamic education is the authority bestowed on those who are knowledgeable, and with the spread of religious knowledge through books, media, and the Internet comes a broadening of the scope of religious authority and resulting conflict with or accommodation of old political communities. Senegalese converts to Shi‘i Islam use their literacy in Arabic and individually acquired libraries of Islamic legal books to bypass the authority of Sufi marabouts. Some keep their feet in both Sunni and Shi‘i worlds, and their ability to compare religious texts of both traditions wins them disciples. Shi‘i minorities claim autochthony and authenticity in Senegal through narrating revisionist historical accounts of the spread of (Shi‘i) Islam to Africa. Conferences commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Husayn during the Shi‘i mourning period in the month of Muharram target Sufi Muslims who also love the family of the Prophet. Shi‘i leaders skillfully detach this foreign religious ideology from Middle Eastern politics and make this branch of Islam relevant to Senegalese through establishing religious centers as NGOs, which work to bring health care and economic development to neighborhoods in the name of Shi‘i Islam.