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As bibliometric indicators are objective, reliable, and cost-effective measures of peer-reviewed research outputs, they are expected to play an increasingly important role in research assessment/management. Recently, a bibliometric approach was developed and integrated within the evaluation framework of research funded by the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC). This approach helped address the following questions that were difficult to answer objectively using alternative methods such as program documentation review and key informant interviews: (a) Has the NCIC peer-review process selected outstanding Canadian scientists in cancer research? (b) Have the NCIC grants contributed to increasing the scientific performance of supported researchers? (c) How do the NCIC-supported researchers compare to their neighbors supported by the U.S. National Cancer Institute? Using the NCIC evaluation as a case study, this article demonstrates the usefulness of bibliometrics to address key evaluation questions and discusses its integration, along complementary indicators (e.g., peer ratings), in a practice-driven research evaluation continuum. (Contains 6 figures and 1 note.)

Human trafficking is a public health social work issue. This review aimed to present the current state (nature and extent) of sex trafficking research, categorize best practices, and identify recommendations for professionals. Comprehensive literature searches of online databases were conducted to identify eligible articles from January 2000 to March 2019. The search yielded 467 studies, 87 met the predetermined criteria for inclusion. Seven themes identified: awareness, identification, at-risk populations, health issues, implementation of trafficking legislation, service and program implementation, and exploiters. Findings indicate the need for additional research to determine the most effective practices to increase awareness and identification, widespread TVPA implementation, reduce risk factors and resulting health disparities, offer services to survivors and prevention of potential victims. There should be significant efforts to enhance all sex trafficking research in the United States to implement effective, sustainable and evidence-based interdisciplinary interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a landscape‐level species that requires large tracts of intact sagebrush (Artemisia spp.). Loss of functional habitat resulting from increased demand for energy generation, transmission, and distribution within greater sage‐grouse habitats in the western United States has the potential to negatively affect this species. We monitored 346 radio‐marked female greater sage‐grouse from 2009 to 2014 to evaluate the potential effects of 27‐m‐tall, 230‐kilovolt (kV) wood‐pole, H‐frame transmission lines on greater sage‐grouse habitat selection and demography. We modeled the effect of the transmission lines in 2 different study areas simultaneously using consistent habitat data. Previous research in our study areas suggested that the effect of transmission lines was potentially confounded by other habitat features. We accounted for these potential confounding effects by estimating habitat suitability before estimating the effect of transmission lines. We combined habitat selection and demography results to estimate habitat function relative to transmission lines and inform management recommendations. Overall, we found evidence that transmission lines had a negative effect on greater sage‐grouse habitat selection and survival within our study areas over 6 years, but the magnitude of this effect varied by habitat suitability and proximity to occupied leks. The effect of transmission lines on habitat function extended 1.0 km from a transmission line in habitats within 3.1 km of an occupied lek compared to 0.50 km from a transmission line in habitats beyond 3.1 km from occupied leks. Based on these results, we suggest future power line placement relative to sage‐grouse nesting, brood‐rearing, and summer habitats consider potential effects to sage‐grouse habitat selection and demography. Effects can be minimized by incorporating design features that discourage avian predator perching and siting power lines in habitats with lower suitability and, in our study area, habitats beyond 3.1 km from occupied leks. © 2019 The Wildlife Society. Effects on sage‐grouse populations with similar characteristics as the studied population may be minimized by designing future power lines that discourage avian predator perching and siting transmission lines beyond 3.1 km from occupied leks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how De Wit's process approach (De Wit, 2002) describes internationalization and impacts its effectiveness, through a case study research at a comprehensive public university in the U.S. It aims to explore how a higher education institution may plan for internationalization, implement its plan, review how the implementation conforms to the plan, and act on what has been learned. This study examines the relationship between internationalization planning and assessing internationalization outcomes. It responds to the call for accountability, the call for quality assurance, and the urgent need for higher education internationalization. Most importantly, this study addresses the research gap in the area of internationalization assessment--exploring how De Wit's process approach can be utilized to help higher education institutions strategically plan internationalization to effectively impact teaching, learning, research, and service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Allergic inflammation has been linked to increased susceptibility to viral illnesses, but it is unclear whether this association is causal.Objectives: To test whether omalizumab treatment to reduce IgE would shorten the frequency and duration of rhinovirus (RV) illnesses in children with allergic asthma.Methods: In the PROSE (Preventative Omalizumab or Step-up Therapy for Severe Fall Exacerbations) study, we examined children with allergic asthma (aged 6-17 yr; n = 478) from low-income census tracts in eight U.S. cities, and we analyzed virology for the groups randomized to treatment with guidelines-based asthma care (n = 89) or add-on omalizumab (n = 259). Weekly nasal mucus samples were analyzed for RVs, and respiratory symptoms and asthma exacerbations were recorded over a 90-day period during the fall seasons of 2012 or 2013. Adjusted illness rates (illnesses per sample) by treatment arm were calculated using Poisson regression.Measurements and Main Results: RVs were detected in 97 (57%) of 171 exacerbation samples and 2,150 (36%) of 5,959 nonexacerbation samples (OR, 2.32; P < 0.001). Exacerbations were significantly associated with detection of rhinovirus C (OR, 2.85; P < 0.001) and rhinovirus A (OR, 2.92; P < 0.001), as well as, to a lesser extent, rhinovirus B (OR, 1.98; P = 0.019). Omalizumab decreased the duration of RV infection (11.2 d vs. 12.4 d; P = 0.03) and reduced peak RV shedding by 0.4 log units (95% confidence interval, -0.77 to -0.02; P = 0.04). Finally, omalizumab decreased the frequency of RV illnesses (risk ratio, 0.64; 95% confidence interval, 0.49-0.84).Conclusions: In children with allergic asthma, treatment with omalizumab decreased the duration of RV infections, viral shedding, and the risk of RV illnesses. These findings provide direct evidence that blocking IgE decreases susceptibility to RV infections and illness. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01430403). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the political conditions in U.S. Topics include the problems faced by college students and faculty, the benefits of a community program conducted by the American Square Office, and the help given by private universities. The article also discusses the role of libraries in distribution of content.

Background: The importance of increasing the number of US college students completing degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) has prompted calls for research to provide a better understanding of factors related to student participation in these majors, including the impact of a student’s high-school mathematics curriculum. Purpose: This study examines the relationship between various student and high-school characteristics and completion of a STEM major in college. Of specific interest is the influence of a student’s high-school mathematics curriculum on the completion of a STEM major in college. Sample: The sample consisted of approximately 3500 students from 229 high schools. Students were predominantly Caucasian (80%), with slightly more males than females (52% vs 48%). Design and method: A quasi-experimental design with archival data was used for students who enrolled in, and graduated from, a post-secondary institution in the upper Midwest. To be included in the sample, students needed to have completed at least three years of high-school mathematics. A generalized linear mixed model was used with students nested within high schools. The data were cross-sectional. Results: High-school predictors were not found to have a significant impact on the completion of a STEM major. Significant student-level predictors included ACT mathematics score, gender and high-school mathematics GPA. Conclusions: The results provide evidence that on average students are equally prepared for the rigorous mathematics coursework regardless of the high-school mathematics curriculum they completed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of eligibility for a free lunch as a measure of a student's socioeconomic status continues to be a fixture of quantitative education research. Despite its popularity, it is unclear that education researchers are familiar with what student eligibility for a free lunch does (and does not) represent. The authors examine the National School Lunch Program, which is responsible for certifying students as eligible for a free lunch, and conclude that free lunch eligibility is a poor measure of socioeconomic status, which suffers from important deficiencies that can bias inferences. A table characterizing key strengths and weaknesses of variables used as measures of socioeconomic status is provided to facilitate comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States has witnessed several bridge collapses that have resulted in human fatalities. One such failure was the Schoharie Creek Bridge (1987), which motivated the improvement of bridge management policies and procedures. This paper offers a detailed review of the events that resulted in this bridge failure through the use of fault tree analysis. A fault tree is a graphical depiction of the various failure paths that lead to an undesirable outcome. The tree presented considers a host of catastrophic events ranging from vessel collision to fire. Fault trees also provide quantitative assessment and comparison of different failure mechanisms. The results of this analysis present scour as the source of the collapse of this bridge, which was in reality the root cause. Knowledge of the vulnerabilities particular to a bridge aids in the management of similar bridge types, allowing focus upon critical aspects. Recognition of historical bridge failures offers awareness to current bridge engineers and managers that aids in the decision making that promotes public safety and structure preservation. Lessons learned will help avoid similar catastrophic failures in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Recurring bills may be interpreted in two very different ways. First, there is the ‘legislative loser’ perspective, which posits that legislators introduce bills repeatedly for symbolic reasons, not intending or expecting them to go very far. Alternatively, there is the ‘softening up’ perspective, which assumes that legislators introduce bills more than once for policy reasons. They first test the waters, making a second attempt more successful. In this research article, we test these assumptions by examining the legislative impact of recurring bill status at various stages in the US House and Senate: initial committee attention, committee passage, attachment to an omnibus package and enactment. The evidence is mixed for the first stage of the process, while the findings for subsequent stages support the softening up interpretation. We discuss the implications for representation and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study that examined the prevalence of staff turnover in a single residential treatment center in the U.S. Problems caused by staff transitions; Correlations between employee characteristics, job factors and use of employee incentives and job retention; Discussion on organizational interventions to increase staff retention.

The article presents an account of the author as being a fatherless child. She grew up without a real father, and only recently has she realized how much she hated that fact. She was born in the hallway of a hospital in the Bay Area near San Francisco, California. The trailer park was not near a reservation, though it was possible that her ancestors once lived near there. The Washos from the Donner Lake area were unable to establish a recognized land base after they were pushed out of their homelands. She remembers the day when her grandma died because that evening something unusual had happened. By that time, she was living in Grass Valley with her mother who had married a non-Indian male. Her grandpa is from the Cabazon Band of the Cahuilla Indians, who live in the Southern California desert. He is the elder of his band and his given talent is that of a storyteller and history. Her stepfather had taken some courses at a junior college and had texts and encyclopedia. She remembers reading his high school biology book when she was in first grade.

Provides information on a radio survey for a historic water project of the Water Works and Sewer Board of the City of Birmingham, Alabama. Key design feature of the project; Details on the radio survey plan; Results of the radio survey.

Features the product Geometry Question Quest in the United States. Review on the basic concepts of geometry; Contents of the kit; Number of participants in each game.

Since its start, the Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC) has sought to provide at least one full-protein-coding sequence cDNA clone for every human and mouse gene with a RefSeq transcript, and at least 6200 rat genes. The MGC cloning effort initially relied on random expressed sequence tag screening of cDNA libraries. Here, we summarize our recent progress using directed RT-PCR cloning and DNA synthesis. The MGC now contains clones with the entire protein-coding sequence for 92% of human and 89% of mouse genes with curated RefSeq (NM-accession) transcripts, and for 97% of human and 96% of mouse genes with curated RefSeq transcripts that have one or more PubMed publications, in addition to clones for more than 6300 rat genes. These high-quality MGC clones and their sequences are accessible without restriction to researchers worldwide.