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Majority-Black cities in North America are not often described in the academic literature as such. Racial capitalism is a restorative approach that puts majority-Black cities in the Global North into analytical relation with other cities in the global urban landscape. This is an important step to take for many reasons, including rising interest in conversations about the financial production of urban natures in the context of climate change. Moreover, there is a dearth of mixed method empirics documenting the role of racial capitalism in the production of urban space and urban natures. To address this gap, I pair a case study of Jackson, Mississippi's, struggle to fund mandated upgrades to its water system with analysis of a data set containing interest rates of approximately 5 million municipal bonds issued between 1970 and 2014. I find that since financial deregulation in 1999 and 2000, majority-Black cities have been charged more than their white counterparts to produce their built environments. These findings reveal a conflation between territorialized Blackness and financial risk. Thus exposed, I argue that the racialization of urban finance has previously unexamined implications for the production of urban natures and the establishment of just transitions and socioecological futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In part, the US has sustained superpower status as a result of educational systems that are superior to much of the less industrialized world. If the US wishes to remain a dominant economic and political force, rigorous intellectual standards must be a priority. The pendulum of intellectual capital has perhaps begun to tilt in the direction of China, in particular due to the staggering manpower of the country, but also as a product of restructuring spanning decades, in both education and politics. This restructuring has prompted the US to question the level of threat China could pose if they increase their role on the global stage. A position is asserted that through an integrated, systems-level approach that treats intellectual capital as a vital national resource, the US may broaden the gap to amass an indomitable advantage. A target is proposed whereby through a combination of science, technology and practice, there is a shift such that our top 50% are performing at or above the levels of today's top 2%. Such an accomplishment may be achieved partially through US educational policies, but more importantly, there must be commitments to essential science and technology. While investments in different areas of science and technology may impact the global balance of power, this paper, will focus on one facet of science and technology - specifically, cognitive neuroscience and related neurotechnology. The elements essential to achieve such a dramatic shift in the balance of intellectual capital exist - what is lacking is a vision to bring these pieces together, motivated by a desire to build upon our intellectual capital as the means to assure global dominance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Please cite this paper as: Townsend C, Schulte J, Thorne C, Dominguez K, Tookey P, Cortina-Borja M, Peckham C, Bohannon B, Newell M, for the Pediatric Spectrum of HIV Disease Consortium, the European Collaborative Study and the National Study of HIV in Pregnancy and Childhood. Antiretroviral therapy and preterm delivery—a pooled analysis of data from the United States and Europe. BJOG 2010;117:1399–1410. Objective To investigate reported differences in the association between highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in pregnancy and the risk of preterm delivery among HIV-infected women. Design Combined analysis of data from three observational studies. Setting USA and Europe. Population A total of 19 585 singleton infants born to HIV-infected women, 1990–2006. Methods Data from the Pediatric Spectrum of HIV Disease project (PSD), a US monitoring study, the European Collaborative Study (ECS), a consented cohort study, and the National Study of HIV in Pregnancy and Childhood (NSHPC), the United Kingdom and Ireland surveillance study. Main outcome measure Preterm delivery rate (<37 weeks of gestation). Results Compared with monotherapy, HAART was associated with increased preterm delivery risk in the ECS (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.40, 95% CI 1.49–3.86) and NSHPC (AOR 1.43, 95% CI 1.10–1.86), but not in the PSD (AOR 0.92, 95% CI 0.67–1.26), after adjusting for relevant covariates. Because of heterogeneity, data were not pooled for this comparison, but heterogeneity disappeared when HAART was compared with dual therapy ( P = 0.26). In a pooled analysis, HAART was associated with 1.5-fold increased odds of preterm delivery compared with dual therapy (95% CI 1.19–1.87, P = 0.001), after adjusting for covariates. Conclusions Heterogeneity in the association between HAART and preterm delivery was not explained by study design, adjustment for confounders or a standard analytical approach, but may have been the result of substantial differences in populations and data collected. The pooled analysis comparing HAART with dual therapy showed an increased risk of preterm delivery associated with HAART. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noise-induced hearing loss associated with the workplace has been well described. Far less is known, however, about the risks to hearing from recreational sources of noise. We investigated the popular sport of stock car racing as a potentially significant source of noise exposure, and we conducted a sound-level survey at a National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) event. Noise levels measured during the race ranged from 96.5 to 104 dB(A) at 46 meters (~150 feet) from the track and 99 to 109 dB(A) at 6 meters (~20 feet) from the track. The peak sound pressure level at 6 meters was 109 dB(A). Although significantly less than that associated with an immediate permanent threshold shift, such an exposure could cause a temporary threshold shift. Alhough hearing protection is recommended, particularly for track employees with longer periods of exposure, racing fans with only occasional exposure to such noise levels are unlikely to develop a permanent noise-induced hearing loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing number of nonprofit and government agencies have developed interactive databases to help their website visitors and constituents obtain information about past and recent trends in healthcare. The Office on Women's Health of the Department of Health and Human Services has joined this pursuit by launching Quick Health Data Online (QHData), an interactive database providing health statistics that specifically pertain to women. Since its inception, QHData has quickly emerged as the leader in sophisticated and user-friendly interactive databases. What is so remarkable about QHData? This database is capable of generating health statistics by race (i.e., blacks, whites, Asian and Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, and Native Americans), gender, and age. The results can also be produced across different geographic levels-the nation, by region, state, and county; the jurisdiction statuses of the counties can also be identified as a border, frontier, metropolitan, urban, or rural. Users also have the flexibility of presenting the results in tables, bar graphs, and maps or exporting results to other processing or display tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article contends that while the threat posed by contemporary terrorism challenges the state's monopoly on violence, the American response to this threat, with its heavy reliance upon military contractors, itself challenges the status quo of the state possessing the monopoly on violence applied extraterritorially. This challenge reveals a dynamic, multifaceted, and substantial public/private partnership. In the War on Terrorism, this shift affects the dynamics of traditional interstate relations and brings into question the ontology of the units expected to own and direct the means of violence. Overall, the paper asserts that whether or not military contractors acquire greater acceptance and authoritative status in international affairs will depend greatly upon their actions and success in the United States’ prosecution of the War on Terrorism.International Politics (2004) 41, 243–264. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ip.8800076 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Histoplasmosis is an endemic mycoses caused by Histoplasma capsulatum with endemicity around midwestern United States and central America. The endemicity of histoplasmosis in India is not clearly known. Histoplasmosis, especially oral histoplasmosis, is now increasingly being reported from India. We report here a culture-confirmed and sequence confirmed, oral histoplasmosis in a HIV seropositive individual who was referred to our regional cancer centre with a suspicion of oral cancer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summarizes the study conducted by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services in collaboration with the Billings Area Indian Health Service (IHS) to assess use of the IHS patient database to identify young American Indians with diabetes in Montana and Wyoming. Results of the study; Assessment of the accuracy of case ascertainment; Limitation of the study.

The article provides information about the preparatory course in neurology for candidates of postgraduate membership examinations in the U.S. It has cited that the course is dealing with shorter lengths of hospital stay and a shift towards outpatient care which have contributed to a relative shortage of clinical cases.

Discusses the results of a survey conducted to determine the link between maternal expectations, mother-child connectedness and adolescent sexual debut. Respondents of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health of United States students; Influence of maternal disapproval on the first sexual intercourse of adolescents.

Cigarette packages are potent marketing tools. Following guidance from the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, many countries have sought to diminish this marketing power by mandating that (1) large graphic health warnings be affixed to the packages (i.e., text warnings combined with graphic images of the health consequences of smoking) and (2) all packages be fully "plain" in their design (i.e., all packages use the same drab/bland color and font type; no brand logos, other colors, or designs are permitted). Yet, the United States lags other countries in implementing regulations designed to blunt the marketing power of cigarette packages. This is not because of a lack of effort on the part of the Food and Drug Administration, the main governmental body charged with regulating tobacco products in the United States. Rather, it is because the regulatory options that that have been advanced in the country (e.g., graphic health warnings) have not been found - yet - to be legally feasible by its courts. This commentary works through some of the conceptual, practical, and legal issues regarding packaging regulations in the United States. It considers the political and bureaucratic risks involved with issuing new regulations. The overall intent is to prompt our field to think creatively about what is realistic in this regulatory space and to offer a novel perspective that may help move the United States tobacco control community forward in its efforts to reduce the promotional power of cigarette packages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]