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We present a new method, Fine-Mapping of Adaptive Variation (FineMAV), which combines population differentiation, derived allele frequency, and molecular functionality to prioritize positively selected candidate variants for functional follow-up. We calibrate and test FineMAV using eight experimentally validated "gold standard" positively selected variants and simulations. FineMAV has good sensitivity and a low false discovery rate. Applying FineMAV to the 1000 Genomes Project Phase 3 SNP dataset, we report many novel selected variants, including ones in TGM3 and PRSS53 associated with hair phenotypes that we validate using available independent data. FineMAV is widely applicable to sequence data from both human and other species.

Adapting to the 21st century, community colleges are not adding brick and mortar to meet enrollment demands. Instead, they are expanding services through online learning, with at least 61% of all community college students taking online courses today (Pearson, 2011). As online learning is affording alternate pathways to education for students, it is facing difficulty in meeting outcome standards; attrition rates for the past decade have been found to be significantly higher for online courses than face-to-face courses (Carr, 2000; Hachey, Wladis & Conway, 2012a/b; Morris & Finnegan, 2008; Tyler-Smith, 2006). Yet, there is a lack of empirical investigation on community college online attrition, despite the fact that course and institutional management systems today are automatically collecting a wealth of data which are not being utilized but are readily available for study. This article presents a meta-review of one community college's realization of their underappreciated asset... the use of institutional data to address the dearth of evidence on factors effecting attrition in online learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introductions of invasive species to new environments often result in rapid rates of trait evolution. While in some cases these evolutionary transitions are adaptive and driven by natural selection, they can also result from patterns of genetic and phenotypic variation associated with the invasion history. Here, we examined the brown anole (Anolis sagrei), a widespread invasive lizard for which genetic data have helped trace the sources of non‐native populations. We focused on the dewlap, a complex signalling trait known to be subject to multiple selective pressures. We measured dewlap reflectance, pattern and size in 30 non‐native populations across the southeastern United States. As well, we quantified environmental variables known to influence dewlap signal effectiveness, such as canopy openness. Further, we used genome‐wide data to estimate genetic ancestry, perform association mapping and test for signatures of selection. We found that among‐population variation in dewlap characteristics was best explained by genetic ancestry. This result was supported by genome‐wide association mapping, which identified several ancestry‐specific loci associated with dewlap traits. Despite the strong imprint of this aspect of the invasion history on dewlap variation, we also detected significant relationships between dewlap traits and local environmental conditions. However, we found limited evidence that dewlap‐associated genetic variants have been subject to selection. Our study emphasizes the importance of genetic ancestry and admixture in shaping phenotypes during biological invasion, while leaving the role of selection unresolved, likely due to the polygenic genetic architecture of dewlaps and selection acting on many genes of small effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-profile police killings in the United States have drawn attention to how municipalities generate revenue through citations and arrests. This article investigates whether killings by police are more frequent in places that rely on fine-and-fee revenue by first describing the types of municipalities that collect the most money from monetary sanctions. It then analyzes whether fine-and-fee reliance and a municipality’s status as urban, suburban, or rural are associated with police killings. Descriptive statistics and negative binomial models reveal that suburbs with large Black populations rely the most on fine-and- fee revenue and police killings are higher in central cities than suburbs or rural towns. Cross-sectional and longitudinal regression models find that municipalities that rely more on fines and fees have more police killings, suggesting municipal fiscal imperatives influence police violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent expansion of online genetic-genealogical networks has been hailed as a development that could break racial taboos in the United States by providing irrefutable evidence of the myriad historical and genetic links—many originating in slavery—connecting white and black families. These predictions are countered, however, by a scholarly literature on "white ignorance," defined as an active historical project that works to prevent privileged groups from apprehending their links to, and positionality within, systems of racial oppression. This paper mobilizes concepts from the fields of agnotology and epistemic ethics to assess how far genetic-genealogical technologies can contribute to redressing racialized epistemic inequities between slave and slaveholder descendants, by inducing the latter to respond to the former's kinship claims and give access to data that could help reconstruct their linked family histories. Drawing on ethnographic and interview data that foreground the experiences of African American genealogists, the study outlines the structural and affective dimensions that have converged to enable white ignorance regarding genealogies of slavery and discusses ethical and technical solutions proposed by genealogical practitioners to redress the racialized power dynamics that continue to condition access to, and public acceptance of, family history knowledge relating to slavery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on punishment and inequality finds that people with criminal records routinely avoid systems of surveillance. Yet scholarship on monetary sanctions shows that many people experiencing poverty with criminal legal system debt are also involved with the state in other domains of social life. How can these literatures be resolved? In this article, we posit that past research can be reconciled through a focus on financial double-dealing--disparate and contradictory economic entanglements that redistribute welfare resources from individuals to the criminal legal system and its institutional affiliates. Drawing on nationally representative survey data, as well as unique data collected on people with monetary sanctions in seven states, we find that individuals and families receiving cash and noncash public assistance are significantly more likely to owe monetary sanctions and are less likely to pay them. We discuss the implications of multiple-system involvement for ongoing surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monetary sanctions are a common tool for enforcing accountability within the criminal justice system. However, it is unclear how individuals with disabilities who have a limited capacity to work interact with the system of monetary sanctions. Drawing on courtroom observations and interviews in Washington State, we find that although the court does take disability into account when imposing economic sanctions and monitoring payment compliance, individuals with disabilities end up in a perpetual cycle of administrative hearings that can result in serious financial and health consequences for those involved. Implications for findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As anthropogenic disturbances continue to drive habitat loss and range contractions, the maintenance of evolutionary processes will increasingly require targeting measures to the population level, even for common and widespread species. Doing so requires detailed knowledge of population genetic structure, both to identify populations of conservation need and value, as well as to evaluate suitability of potential donor populations. We conducted a range-wide analysis of the genetic structure of red foxes in the contiguous western U.S., including a federally endangered distinct population segment of the Sierra Nevada subspecies, with the objectives of contextualizing field observations of relative scarcity in the Pacific mountains and increasing abundance in the cold desert basins of the Intermountain West. Using 31 autosomal microsatellites, along with mitochondrial and Y-chromosome markers, we found that populations of the Pacific mountains were isolated from one another and genetically depauperate (e.g., estimated Ne range = 3-9). In contrast, red foxes in the Intermountain regions showed relatively high connectivity and genetic diversity. Although most Intermountain red foxes carried indigenous western matrilines (78%) and patrilines (85%), the presence of nonindigenous haplotypes at lower elevations indicated admixture with fur-farm foxes and possibly expanding midcontinent populations as well. Our findings suggest that some Pacific mountain populations could likely benefit from increased connectivity (i.e., genetic rescue) but that nonnative admixture makes expanding populations in the Intermountain basins a non-ideal source. However, our results also suggest contact between Pacific mountain and Intermountain basin populations is likely to increase regardless, warranting consideration of risks and benefits of proactive measures to mitigate against unwanted effects of Intermountain gene flow., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Much scholarship in political science on electoral change tends to neglect the perspectives and actions of the politicians who both responded to developments that offered them opportunity, and sought to achieve electoral gain as a result. The study of the Republican party from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush suggests that such neglect has negative consequences for our understanding of how electoral coalitions undergo transformation, and of how parties interact with political change. First, it was much more difficult for politicians to analyze the implications for party coalitions of social and political upheavals than hindsight suggests. Even at a moment of apparent crisis for the Democrats, in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, Republicans were uncertain, and in disagreement, about how to respond. Second, even when politicians decided a project of party revitalization, the implementation of such a project was far from straightforward, encountering many obstacles – not least dissent within their own party as well as counterstrategies from the opposing party. If many now see the paradigm of electoral realignment as failing to provide explanations for change in party coalitions over time, how politicians engaged with their understanding of an opportunity for realignment provides insights into party politics and electoral change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter describes practical uses of data about online learners and provides suggestions for using data to support their success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Posttraumatic growth is the positive change resulting from traumatic experiences and is typically assessed with retrospective measures like the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). The PTGI was designed to include reference to a specific traumatic event, making it difficult to implement, without change, in prospective survey studies. Thus, a modified Posttraumatic Growth Inventory-Short Form (PTGI-SF) was included in a large prospective study of current and former U.S. military personnel. The current study provides preliminary psychometric data for this modified measure and its ability to assess psychological well-being at a single time point.Methods: The study population (N = 135,843) was randomly and equally split into exploratory and confirmatory samples that were proportionately balanced on trauma criterion. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed to assess the psychometric validity of the modified measure. The final model was also assessed in a subset of the confirmatory sample with a history of trauma using CFA.Results: Results supported a single-factor model with two additional correlations between items assessing spirituality and items assessing compassion/appreciation for others. This model also fits among the subset with a history of trauma. The resulting measure was strongly associated with social support and personal mastery.Conclusions: The modified PTGI-SF in this study captures psychological well-being in cross-sectional assessments, in addition to being able to measure posttraumatic growth with multiple assessments. Results indicate that the modified measure is represented by a single factor, but that items assessing spirituality and compassion/appreciation for others may be used alone to better capture these constructs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fetal growth is an important determinant of cardiometabolic disease risk during childhood and adulthood. The genetic architecture of fetal growth remains largely understudied in ancestrally diverse populations. We conducted genome-wide admixture mapping scan and analysis of genetic ancestry among Hispanic American, African American, European American, and Asian American pregnant women to identify genetic loci associated with fetal growth measures across 13-40 weeks gestation. Fetal growth measures were associated with genome-wide average African, European, Amerindigenous and East Asian ancestry proportions (P ranged from10 -3 to 4.8 × 10 -2 ). Admixture mapping analysis identified ten African ancestry loci and three Amerindigenous ancestry loci significantly associated with fetal growth measures at Bonferroni-corrected levels of significance (P ranged from 2.18 × 10 -8 to 3.71 × 10 -6 ). At the chr2q23.3-24.2 locus in which higher African ancestry was associated with long bone (femur and humerus) lengths, the T allele of rs13030825 (GALNT13) was associated with longer humerus length in African Americans (β = 0.44, P = 6.25 × 10 -6 at week 27; β = 0.39, P = 7.72 × 10 -5 at week 40). The rs13030825 SNP accounted for most of the admixture association at the chr2q23.3-24.2 locus and has substantial allele frequency difference between African and European reference samples (F ST  = 0.55, P = 0.03). Regulatory annotation shows that rs13030825 overlaps with the serum response factor (SRF) transcription factor previously implicated in postnatal bone development of mice. Overall, we identified ancestry-related maternal genetic loci that influence fetal growth, shedding light on molecular pathways that regulate fetal growth and potential effects on health across the lifespan.Clinical trials registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00912132.

The article announces that several individuals and papers received awards from the "American Journal of Public Health" in 2016, including Paper and Reviewer of the Year award winner Deborah Holtzman, as well as Reviewer of the Year award recipients such as John Brill and Angela Beck.

Online learning platforms with asynchronous discussion boards provide such a different setting from traditional face-to-face classrooms that they urge educators to investigate online teaching methods. The purpose of this study was twofold: first, to identity the recommended online teaching methods in asynchronous discussion boards, and second, to explore learners' perceptions about the identified teaching methods and correlate the learners' perceptions with learners' characteristics, including computer skills, experiences, and activity ratios in online discussions. Bruner's classification of two modes of analytical and narrative thought was used as a theoretical framework. Accordingly, two teaching methods, narrative and episodic, were identified. Descriptive survey and correlation designs were used to examine the perspectives of 30 purposefully selected online students through two sets of questionnaires with close and open-ended questions. Findings indicated that the narrative with a higher interactivity level, was the preferred method. The interactivity of online instructors and perceived success of courses were moderately correlated. Participants with stronger computer skills preferred teaching methods with lower interactivity. Some participants did not prefer a specific teaching method for performing various instructional tasks but rather preferred combining the narrative and episodic methods. Such findings inform educators about possible changes to improve the quality of online teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As online learning continues to gain widespread attention and thrive as a legitimate alternative to classroom instruction, educational institutions and online instructors face the challenge of building and sustaining student trust in online learning environments. The present study represents an attempt to address the challenge by identifying the social and technical factors that can likely induce or influence students’ perception about the trustworthiness of an online course and integrating the factors into a socio-technical framework that can be empirically validated. The methodology used and the data obtained from a university-wide survey conducted in an American university are reported in this article. Feedback from students with disabilities was further investigated, and the result has important implications for our understanding of disabled students’ acceptance for online learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This essay examines how two Jefferson biographies represented the Thomas Jefferson–Sally Hemings relationship in the post–civil rights movement era: Fawn Brodie’s Thomas Jefferson (1974), a controversial publication that claimed that Hemings and Jefferson loved each other, and Joseph Ellis’s American Sphinx (1996), one of the last mainstream biographies to deny that they had any children together. The story in both cases serves as an allegory of founding authority and national membership. The author finds that Ellis and Brodie characterize Jefferson as a fallible founder to affirm that founding ideals can accommodate and overcome racial differences and injustices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: Military personnel are at increased risk for traumatic brain injury (TBI) from combat and noncombat exposures. The sequelae of moderate to severe TBI are well described, but little is known regarding long-term performance decrements associated with mild TBI. Furthermore, while alcohol and drug use are well known to increase risk for TBI, little is known regarding the reverse pattern. The authors sought to assess possible associations between mild TBI and addiction-related disorders in active-duty U.S. military personnel. Method: A historical prospective study was conducted using electronically recorded demographic, medical, and military data for more than a half million active-duty U.S. Air Force service members. Cases were identified by ICD-9-CM codes considered by an expert panel to be indicative of mild TBI. Outcomes included ICD-9-CM diagnoses of selected addiction- related disorders. Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to calculate hazard ratios while controlling for varying lengths of follow-up and potential confounding variables. Results: Airmen with mild TBI were at increased risk for certain addiction-related disorders compared with a similarly injured non-mild TBI comparison group. Hazards for alcohol dependence, nicotine dependence, and nondependent abuse of drugs or alcohol were significantly elevated, with a consistent decrease over time. Conclusions: A novel finding of this study was the initial increased risk for addiction-related disorders that decreased with time, thus eroding war fighter performance in a military population. Moreover, these results suggest that mild TBI is distinguished from moderate to severe TBI in terms of timing of the risk, indicating that there is a need for screening and prevention of addiction-related disorders in mild TBI. Screening may be warranted in military troops as well as civilians at both short- and long-term milestones following mild TBI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both online and STEM courses have been shown to have lower student retention; however, there is little research indicating what effect the online environment may have on retention in STEM courses specifically. This study compares retention rates for online and face-to-face STEM and non-STEM courses to determine if the online environment affects STEM courses differently than non-STEM courses. In addition, different subcategories of STEM courses are compared to see if the effects of the online environment are different for different course subtypes. Each online course is matched with the same course taught face-to-face by the same instructor in the same semester to control for possible confounding effects. This study found that retention rates in STEM courses were more strongly decreased by the online environment than in non-STEM courses. In particular, the course types which had significantly lower retention online were lower level STEM courses taken as electives or distributional requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While genetic testing may be the gateway to the future of medicine, it also poses challenges for individuals, especially in terms of differentiated treatments on the basis of their genetic characteristics. The fear of unwanted disclosure to insurers and the possibility of genetic discrimination can hamper the recruitment of individuals for clinical research that involves genetic testing. Precision medicine initiatives, such as All of Us, are proliferating in the United States. In order to succeed, however, they must ensure that the millions of Americans recruited to share their genetic data are not penalized with regard to life, disability and long-term insurance coverage. In this Perspective, we discuss several initiatives adopted by countries around the world, such as the United Kingdom and France, that better balance the interests of insurers and research subjects, and explain how the United States might learn from them. We call for regulatory and industry leadership to come together to establish a voluntary moratorium on insurance pricing with the aim of protecting research participants.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Tyler Smith on synthetic herbal supplements, one on herbal supplement firms that have been in existence for more than 100 years and one by Kirsten Bosnak et al. on a medicinal herb garden at the University of Kansas College of Pharmacy.

The author reflects on the study by Pamela Cushing and Tyler Smith on the review of English-language disability studies degrees and courses in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand published in the same issue. He commends the structure of the study with what he perceives as organized sections, tables, diagrams and figures. But he says that the footnotes and endnotes of the study are unnecessary and disruptive for readers. He describes the content of the study as informative especially the background on disability studies.

Since 1988, researchers have monitored the extent and severity of the chronic special education (SE) faculty shortage. The present study sought to add to this knowledge base by (a) gathering data on the supply and demand of leadership personnel in SE since the 2001 Faculty Shortage Study; (b) combining and comparing these data with other sources (e.g., Survey of Earned Doctorates [SED]); (c) producing evidence to assess what changes, if any, have occurred in leadership personnel in SE over the past 10 years; (d) describing the characteristics of the SE faculty job market, including recent faculty search trends; and (e) identifying emerging issues as it relates to the demand for SE faculty. Data to answer these questions came from a random sample of job-search coordinators (n = 36) for SE faculty position advertisements posted in The Chronicle of Higher Education between June and November, 2010. Other sources of data include the Survey of Doctoral Training Programs in Special Education and the Survey of Teacher Education Training Programs in Special Education.The most important finding from this study indicates that although demand markers have improved in the last 10 years, retirements across all SE programs are predicted to increase by 21% per year between 2011 and 2017. Implications of and solutions for the predicted shortage are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the field of special education (SE) examines issues related to supply and demand of SE teachers and faculty, an investigation of students currently enrolled in doctoral programs and doctoral graduates is an important perspective to consider. The results of two components of the Special Education Faculty Needs Assessment (SEFNA), focused on the aforementioned two populations, are described. Students enrolled in SE doctoral programs during the spring of 2009 (n = 1,263) and graduates of SE doctoral programs between 1999 and 2008 (n = 626) were surveyed about their educational backgrounds, experiences in applying to doctoral programs, doctoral programs and studies, post graduation plans, post graduation career choices, and background information. Results indicated that key predictors of doctoral students who become college and university faculty include the following: intent to pursue a faculty career, financial support (e.g., teaching assistantship, research assistantship, traineeship, fellowship), age when enrolling in a doctoral program, reduced time to complete the doctoral degree, and willingness to relocate after graduation for employment. Comparisons are made to results from the 2001 Faculty Shortage Study, a predecessor to SEFNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented which discusses the history of the U.S. Special Education Faculty Needs Assessment (SEFNA) project of 2007 and focuses on supply and demand, the theme of the May 2012 issue.

In this article the author discusses the arguments over government policy for patents on human gene sequences in the courts and the U.S. Congress. It explores the decision of Judge Sweet of the Southern District of New York on the case that challenge patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office (USPTO) on gene sequences. It argues that although DNA sequences do not reflect a common human heritage, patents on human gene sequence remain legally and ethically questionable.

Background: Combat-intense, lengthy, and multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan have characterized the new millennium. The US military's all-volunteer force has never been better trained and technologically equipped to engage enemy combatants in multiple theaters of operations. Nonetheless, concerns over potential lasting effects of deployment on long-term health continue to mount and are yet to be elucidated. This report outlines how findings from the first 7 years of the Millennium Cohort Study have helped to address health concerns related to military service including deployments. Methods: The Millennium Cohort Study was designed in the late 1990s to address veteran and public concerns for the first time using prospectively collected health and behavioral data. Results: Over 150 000 active-duty, reserve, and National Guard personnel from all service branches have enrolled, and more than 70% of the first 2 enrollment panels submitted at least 1 follow-up survey. Approximately half of the Cohort has deployed in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Conclusion: The Millennium Cohort Study is providing prospective data that will guide public health policymakers for years to come by exploring associations between military exposures and important health outcomes. Strategic studies aim to identify, reduce, and prevent adverse health outcomes that may be associated with military service, including those related to deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal barrens support rare plant species but may be threatened by forest encroachment. We determined whether trees spread into coastal barren habitat from forest patches and assessed plant species composition and soil properties across the forest-barren ecotone. We quantified tree age and height, soil properties, and vascular plant, bryophyte and lichen species composition along transects perpendicular to the edges of tree patches within the forest-barren ecotone in coastal Nova Scotia. Randomization tests assessed whether the vegetation and environmental characteristics were significantly different in the transition zone compared to one or both adjoining ecosystems. We used ordination to examine trends in species composition across the ecotone and the relationship to environmental variables. Tree age and height decreased continuously from the forest towards the edge of the forest patches. There were also trends in vegetation composition and structure from the forest into the open barrens. Many species were most abundant within the transition zone, although not always significantly. Soil properties were relatively uniform across the ecotone. The structure and vegetation of the forest-barren ecotone suggests that forest patches act as nuclei for forest expansion on barrens with a typical successional pathway where coastal barren vegetation is gradually replaced by forest species. This encroachment may pose a threat to rare barrens communities. While landscape factors such as salt spray and wind exposure may determine the general locations where forest can establish, biotic processes of growth and dispersal appear to govern the fine-scale expansion of tree patches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research addresses system justification tendencies in the United States and Hungary and their potential to shape reactions to equity–equality tradeoffs in the workplace. Participants in both nations were asked to rate the fairness of, their satisfaction with, and the typicality of four hypothetical work situations. These scenarios differed in terms of which distributive justice principle was violated (equity or equality) and whether the violation favored the participant or the co-worker (self or other). While the mean level of system justification was lower in Hungary than in the U.S., multilevel models revealed that in both societal contexts the motivation to justify the system was associated with participants’ perceptions of justice in the workplace. Based on the characteristics of the two social systems, however, these tendencies played out differently. Specifically, for the U.S. participants system justification was associated with more favorable views of work situations that emphasized equity over equality and that rewarded the self over others, whereas for Hungarian participants system justification was associated with more favorable views of work situations that emphasized equality over equity and that rewarded others over the self. Results also revealed that Americans (but not Hungarians) who scored higher on system justification perceived as fairer that which they perceived as more typical of their society. Taken as a whole, the evidence suggests that the psychological transfer of legitimacy from socialism to capitalism in Hungary remains incomplete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors explore the perceptions related to cohort education models (CEMs) of special education professors and doctoral students at a Carnegie-designated research extensive university in a multicultural, urban area in the southeastern United States. Three themes emerged: (a) Organizational efficiency of CEMs and benefits to student learning outweigh concerns, (b) structure of CEMs impacts students who are not in the CEM, and (c) CEM structure impacts professors. Benefits of a CEM included interstudent support, a flexible learning model, support for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) learners, opportunities for building trusting relationships, ease in class scheduling, and opportunity for maturation. Presence of the CEM affected the non-CEM students and professors negatively in several ways. Although CEMs are strong mechanisms for supporting students, the faculty must be aware of group cohesion within cohorts to effectively engage the students in the academic process to address the retention problem of doctoral students, decrease the disparity between CEM and non-CEM students, and improve graduate studies programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The roles and obligations of teacher educators have expanded substantially in recent years. Expectations have increased because of national concerns about the overall achievement results of all students and because of specific federal mandates—expressed in reauthorizations of the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004—about students with disabilities and their access to the general education curriculum and their increased, successful participation in inclusive educational settings. Complicated by the chronic and persistent shortage of special educators and the imperative that general educators have increased skills to address the needs of all struggling learners, demands on special education college and university faculty have magnified. However, the nation continues to face a shortage of faculty who can generate new knowledge about effective practices, translate such research findings into teacher preparation programs' curriculum, and prepare a sufficient supply of new and highly skilled teachers. In this article, the authors discuss the current policy landscape, connections between the shortage of teachers and the shortage of special education faculty, and the role of the federal government in addressing these shortages. They conclude with a call for national dialogue—necessary so that the continuing cycle of faculty shortages and resulting shortages of those who directly serve students with disabilities may finally be resolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on the article "Why Harvard Needs Summers," published in the aftermath of Harvard University president Larry Summers' statement that women fail to advance in science in the U.S. Impact of the comments of Summer on women working in science; Public reaction regarding the views of Summer; Action taken by women about the inaccuracy of the statement.

Three sampled populations of unrelated males—African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic, all from Texas—were typed for 16 Y short tandem repeat (STR) markers using the AmpF lSTR® YfilerTM kit. These samples also were typed previously for the 13 core CODIS autosomal STR loci. Most of the 16 marker haplotypes (2478 out of 2551 distinct haplotypes) were observed only once in the data sets. Haplotype diversities were 99.88%, 99.89%, and 99.87% for the African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic sample populations, respectively. FST values were very small when a haplotype comprised 10–16 markers. This suggests that inclusion of substructure correction is not required. However, haplotypes consisting of fewer loci may require the inclusion of FST corrections. The testing of independence of autosomal and Y STRs supports the proposition that the frequencies of autosomal and Y STR profiles can be combined using the product rule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, we investigated the relations among system justification, religiosity, and subjective well-being in a sample of nationally representative low-income respondents in the United States. We hypothesized that ideological endorsement of the status quo would be associated with certain existential and other psychological benefits, but these would not necessarily be evenly distributed across racial groups. Results revealed that religiosity was positively associated with subjective well-being in general, but the relationship between system justification and well-being varied considerably as a function of racial group membership. For low-income European Americans, stronger endorsement of system justification as an ideology was associated with increased positive affect, decreased negative affect, and a wide range of existential benefits, including life satisfaction and a subjective sense of security, meaning, and mastery. These findings are consistent with the notion that system justification satisfies psychological needs for personal control and serves a palliative function for its adherents. However, many of these effects were considerably weakened or even reversed for African American respondents. Thus, the psychological benefits associated with religiosity existed for both racial groups, whereas the benefits of system justification were distributed unequally across racial groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Y-SNP haplogroup G (hgG), defined by Y-SNP marker M201, is relatively uncommon in the United States general population, with only 8 additional sub-markers characterized. Many of the previously described eight sub-markers are either very rare (2-4%) or do not distinguish between major populations within this hg. In fact, prior to the current study, only 2% of our reference Caucasian population belonged to hgG and all of these individuals were in sub-haplogroup G2a, defined by P15. Additional Y-SNPs are needed in order to differentiate between individuals within this haplogroup. Principal Findings: In this work we have investigated whether we could differentiate between a population of 63 hgG individuals using previously uncharacterized Y-SNPs. We have designed assays to test these individuals using all known hgG SNPs (n = 9) and an additional 16 unreported/undefined Y-SNPS. Using a combination of DNA sequence and genetic genealogy databases, we have uncovered a total of 15 new hgG SNPs that had been previously reported but not phylogenetically characterized. Ten of the new Y-SNPs are phylogenetically equivalent to M201, one is equivalent to P15 and, interestingly, four create new, separate haplogroups. Three of the latter are more common than many of the previously defined Y-SNPs. Y-STR data from these individuals show that DYS385*12 is present in (70%) of G2a3b1-U13 individuals while only 4% of non-G2a3b1-U13 individuals posses the DYS385*12 allele. Conclusions: This study uncovered several previously undefined Y-SNPs by using data from several database sources. The new Y-SNPs revealed in this paper will be of importance to those with research interests in population biology and human evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, one of the major debates about the American peopling focuses on the number of populations that originated the biological diversity found in the continent during the Holocene. The studies of craniometric variation in American human remains dating from that period have shown morphological differences between the earliest settlers of the continent and some of the later Amerindian populations. This led some investigators to suggest that these groups-known as Paleomericans and Amerindians respectively-may have arisen from two biologically different populations. On the other hand, most DNA studies performed over extant and ancient populations suggest a single migration of a population from Northeast Asia. Comparing craniometric and mtDNA data of diachronic samples from East Central Argentina dated from 8,000 to 400 years BP, we show here that even when the oldest individuals display traits attributable to Paleoamerican crania, they present the same mtDNA haplogroups as later populations with Amerindian morphology. A possible explanation for these results could be that the craniofacial differentiation was a local phenomenon resulting from random (i.e. genetic drift) and non-random factors (e.g. selection and plasticity). Local processes of morphological differentiation in America are a probable scenario if we take into consideration the rapid peopling and the great ecological diversity of this continent; nevertheless we will discuss alternative explanations as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Productive as the recent collaboration between genetics and anthropology has been, additional insights are within reach. Molecular DNA evidence has been beneficial to the study of the peopling of the Americas, but the interpretation of this very complex dataset has been constrained by long-standing assumptions. The use of DNA evidence to test lesser-known historical hypotheses may reveal a more complicated picture of demography in American antiquity. Scholars debate the details of the initial colonization of America, but few have investigated claims of later historical migrations from Asia to America. This is an effort to address the paradoxical sustained similarity between Native American and East Central Asian cultures and gene pools, in the face of turbulent East-West admixture throughout Eurasian history. Though inconclusive, these data may nonetheless be consistent with the possibility of modest Asian-American ties within historical timeframes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I hope to challenge our thinking on perhaps the most private type of health information by applying its disclosure to someone incredibly public. I will review the relevant constitutional, tort law, and statutory frameworks for disclosure of a presidential candidate's health information by applying these concepts to the specific disclosure of a candidate's genetic testing results. In some cases, the analysis will shift into a discussion of accessing health information of the winning candidate. After surveying tire different types of genetic tests and possible methods for disclosure, I then will compare legal and ethical concerns to discuss the degree to which the public interest may be served by accessing our potential presidents' genetic information. I will end by questioning whether a double standard is developing in privacy rights doctrine as it relates to the testing of public figures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the United States implemented civilian and military smallpox vaccination programs in 2003, the National Smallpox Vaccine in Pregnancy Registry was established to better evaluate outcomes after the inadvertent vaccination of pregnant women. Women were referred to the registry by vaccine administrators, health care providers, or state health departments or through self-referral. Registry professionals actively follow up with all enrolled women and collect data on pregnancy, birth, and infant health outcomes. As of September 2006, pregnancy outcome data were available from 376 women. Most (77%) were vaccinated near the time of conception, before results of a standard pregnancy test would have been positive. To date, outcome evaluations have not revealed higher-than-expected rates of pregnancy loss (11.9%), preterm birth (10.7%), or birth defects (2.8%), compared with those in healthy referent populations. No cases of fetal vaccinia have been identified. The Smallpox Vaccine in Pregnancy Registry continues to actively enroll women and follow infant and early-childhood health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been said that serving on the U.S. Supreme Court is like being a member of an exclusive club. Yet within this club, there are even more exclusive clubs that only a small number of Justices are permitted to join. These shadowy associations are unseen by the public, receive no publicity, and are not even known to the Justices who are excluded. The existence of these secretive organizations has recently been revealed through the release of Justice Harry Blackmun's papers at the Library of Congress. This article is the first serious attempt to research the existence, membership, and practices of these clandestine alliances. Ultimately, as with many High Court practices, these newly uncovered connections may be in need of reform, and I offer a number of solutions to define membership criteria and improve their functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]