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During the Reagan Revolution, a significant gender gap emerged, accompanied by an urban–rural schism in party preference by gender, one manifestation of the nation's widening urban–rural divide. Using the General Social Survey (GSS) data from 1972 to 2018, we explore this urban–rural schism in party preference by running several ordinary least squares models and specifications. Controlling for individuals' traits, we find that differences in the preference for governmental action to address social problems lie at the heart of this gender gap and are further explained by location. Urban women are far more likely than urban men to call for the government to solve problems of income inequality; rural women, like rural men, are much more likely to emphasize individual responsibility and self-sufficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Habitat loss from agricultural expansion is one of the leading causes of endangerment for terrestrial vertebrates. Restoration programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) were initiated in part to ameliorate grassland loss. Previous assessments of grassland restoration efforts have not focused on medium and large mammals because of sampling difficulties. More generally, few assessments of restoration outcomes consider effects of landscape context. We integrated camera trapping with occupancy modeling to assess mammal responses on 30 restored grassland sites in a dynamic agroecosystem in Illinois from 2014 to 2015. We tested hypotheses about the effects of local habitat conditions and landscape context on use of restored grasslands by four focal species: raccoons ( Procyon lotor), eastern cottontails ( Sylvilagus floridanus), coyotes ( Canis latrans), and white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus). Most species showed seasonal differences in grassland use that reflected the dynamic nature of the surrounding agricultural matrix ( i.e., loss of hiding cover and supplemental food from crop harvesting). Landscape context also was important; species occurrences were related to grassland size and isolation, distances to human structures, and distances to nearest forest. The red fox ( Vulpes vulpes) was not detected on any site, despite >5000 camera nights of sampling, indicating further research is needed to understand how competitive interactions with coyotes might limit the distribution of this smaller canid. Grasslands created by the CRP and SAFE programs provide habitat for medium and large mammals. Understanding how use of these habitats depends on landscape context can enable managers to strategically place new grasslands to either promote colonization by games species or to deter use by raccoons, an important predator of grassland bird nests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the implementation of the Lei das Cotas (Affirmative Action Law) in Brazil, there has been debate as to whether students who were admitted through affirmative action perform at the same level as students admitted through traditional methods. This article examines the results of the Exame Nacional de Desempenho dos Estudantes (ENADE) from 2009 to 2012 to determine whether there is a relationship between students’ performance at the university level and the manner of their admittance. We find that students admitted to public universities under affirmative action perform at similar levels to students who were not, whereas quota students in private universities perform slightly better than students admitted through traditional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the life satisfaction and working hours of Latin Americans and U.S. Americans using the AmericasBarometer and General Social Survey. While there are many common determinants of happiness, hours worked is not among them. Differences in cultural values, especially the distinction between collectivism (familism) and individualism that has long been a foundation of social development theory, may be why married Latin American males are less happy than married U.S. American males when working longer hours. The distinction is not apparent among females or the unmarried. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The government has made great strides in redressing past imbalances in education through the National Norms and Standards for School Funding (NNSSF) policy that focuses on equity in school funding. This NNSSF model compels the state to fund public schools according to a poverty quintile system, where poor schools are allocated much more funding for resources than affluent schools. Using qualitative research, school management teams, school governing bodies and principals of six public schools located within the Gauteng West District were interviewed to determine their views of how the NNSSF policy had been implemented. One of the findings revealed that equity in public schools has not been fully achieved since funding provided by the state is insufficient to address the backlog in educational resources. It is recommended that the state abandons the policy of funding schools according to quintile rankings but instead, fund schools based on resource needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from the World Values Survey and AmericasBarometer are used in ordinal logistic models to evaluate life satisfaction in rural and urban areas in Latin America. Our findings indicate that, unlike the United States, in Latin America there is no evidence of rural–urban happiness differences. In Latin America familism is the key driving force, aspatial and transcending location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examined the effects of perceived discrimination related to race, gender, religion, disability and socioeconomic status on the experience of high school students and their satisfaction of school environment.

Data from a national survey of formerly landless peasants residing in federal land-reform settlements in Brazil (Pesquisa Nacional de Educação na Reforma Agrária- PNERA) confirm that the Landless Rural Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem-Terra- MST) has been far more successful than other settlement movements in assuring a better quality of life for its members. This superior performance is attributed to an organizational structure that demands and assures membership involvement, and a commitment to participatory education in an environment that fosters and supports MST's goals and objectives. MST's members have higher self-perceived social status than members of non- MST movements, have better residential environments and more material possessions, and experience an education that emphasizes the movement's principles of social justice, radical democracy, and humanist and socialist values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase, which was first identified as the fusion partner of the nucleophosmin (NPM1) gene in the recurrent t(2;5)(p23;q35) found in a subset of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). Several distinct, non-NPM1, ALK fusions have subsequently been described in lymphomas and other tumor types. All of these fusions result in the constitutive expression and activation of ALK and ALK signaling pathways, ultimately leading to the malignant phenotype. Case report: A non-NPM1 fusion partner of ALK was identified in a 32-year-old Caucasian male ALCL patient whose disease was refractory to standard chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation, and exhibited a poor response to a first-generation ALK inhibitor. Non-allele-specific ALK RT-qPCR revealed ALK overexpression and 5' RACE PCR revealed that the patient's lymphoma expressed a TRAF1-ALK fusion. Conclusions: We report the case of an ALCL patient whose tumor harbored the newly recognized TRAF1-ALK fusion and describe the clinical outcome after treatment with an ALK inhibitor. The short survival of our patient may reflect a propensity toward aggressive behavior in lymphomas that express this ALK fusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase, which was first identified as the fusion partner of the nucleophosmin (NPM1) gene in the recurrent t(2;5)(p23;q35) found in a subset of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). Several distinct, non-NPM1, ALK fusions have subsequently been described in lymphomas and other tumor types. All of these fusions result in the constitutive expression and activation of ALK and ALK signaling pathways, ultimately leading to the malignant phenotype. Case report: A non-NPM1 fusion partner of ALK was identified in a 32-year-old Caucasian male ALCL patient whose disease was refractory to standard chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation, and exhibited a poor response to a first-generation ALK inhibitor. Non-allele-specific ALK RT-qPCR revealed ALK overexpression and 5′ RACE PCR revealed that the patient’s lymphoma expressed a TRAF1-ALK fusion. Conclusions: We report the case of an ALCL patient whose tumor harbored the newly recognized TRAF1-ALK fusion and describe the clinical outcome after treatment with an ALK inhibitor. The short survival of our patient may reflect a propensity toward aggressive behavior in lymphomas that express this ALK fusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Data from the World Values Survey are used in multilevel statistical models to evaluate received theory about preferences for rural versus big-city living, as evidenced by variations in life satisfaction/happiness/utility and its converse, life dissatisfaction. The models control for individual-level determinants of life satisfaction plus such embedding circumstances as level of development and culture region. For most parts of the world there is no evidence that either rural or big-city living are associated with variations in happiness or unhappiness; personal characteristics and level of development are the key driving forces. The exceptions are in rapidly-urbanizing Asia, where life dissatisfaction is lower in big cities than elsewhere, and in higher income countries, particularly those of Anglo-Saxon heritage, where life dissatisfaction increases with big-city residence and is significantly lower in rural areas. The Asian experience is consistent with the expectations of received urban theory for regions experiencing the upswing of the urban transition and rapid rural-to-urban migration while the higher income Anglo-Saxon experience conforms with expectations about preferences for low-density living close to nature that are traits of that culture. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

When Spatial Analysis was published in 1968, it drew together the fruits of the first decade of geography's quantitative revolution. In the decades that have followed, quantitative geography has both diffused and concentrated, abandoned some themes, made major progress on others, and in the contemporary form of geospatial analysis has become an innovative multidisciplinary enterprise. In this article, we sketch the broad outlines of this history, lay out the main threads along which technical capabilities have developed, and describe what appear to us to be the leading questions at the research frontier. Even as many geographers disavow social science, geospatial science has emerged as a lusty arena marked by intellectual vigor, conceptual growth, and enhanced analytic abilities. What now is taking shape is a spatially integrated social–environmental science that is transcending older disciplinary attachments, boundaries, and constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Jean Vanier' spirituality. The author ponders on the implication of the virtue ethics in Varnier's spirituality and he cites how he interprets the teachings Jesus Christ on his humanitarian activities with the less fortunate. It features how Varnier based his humanitarian acts through Jesus' way of life.

Abstract: Whether ENSO has affected U.S. macroeconomic performance has been a matter of dispute. To address the issue we explore whether there has been any co-cyclicality of ENSO fluctuations and the rates of inflation and economic growth over the 1894–1999 timespan and, failing this, whether aperiodic ENSO shocks have had any impact on these variables. Neither co-cyclicality nor aperiodic shocks are discernible. While ENSO may briefly influence the performance of particular sectors of the economy in particular regions, as documented by the previous literature, such locally-important effects vanish into the noise surrounding macroeconomic trends in an economy as large and complex as that of the U.S. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article details the design, construction, and operation of flexible system that modulates light exposure for the purpose of fabricating continuous and discrete gradient combinatorial libraries. Designed for versatility, the device combines “off the shelf” components, modular accessories, and flexible computer control, so that it can be used for a variety of combinatorial research applications. Salient aspects and capabilities of the instrument are illustrated through two practical examples. The first case demonstrates how user defined exposure functions can be used to create continuous surface energy gradient libraries with a linear profile. The second example illustrates the creation of continuous and discrete libraries for mapping exposure-property functions in a photocurable polymer system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces the concept of demographic efficiency and data envelopment analysis. Consideration on the level of economic development and educational attainment; Availability of health services; Importance of conceptual payoffs.

Presents an obituary for geographer Paul Wheatley who died on October 30, 1999 in Michigan.

Discusses the modeling of Mexico's epidemiological and fertility transitions of the population using a logistic growth equation. Modeling of the spatial diffusion of demographic change across the states; Inclination of family planning programs to favor the elite.

Studies the impact of controlling for differences and changes in the level of economic development on the fertility and mortality rates among nations with different family types. Post-transition steady state in family types as postulated by demographic transition theorists; Response of different family types to changing levels of modernization; Diversity of family types.

Focuses on the fertility boom and bust cycles in Concord, Massachusetts from 1800 to 1990. Decline in fertility during the eighteenth century due to the decline of frontier conditions characterized by economic and demographic expansion; Characteristics of the state of boom and bust cycles in the nineteenth century.

Examines the effects of spatial learning and memory in defined points of the estrous cycle on the performance of a hippocampal-dependent task in female rats. Similarity between the estrus and post-estrus performance; Possibility of rapid learning and retention despite morphological alterations in hippocampal dendritic spine density.

Studies data sets of transnational urbanward immigration and contributions of transnational migrants to urban growth for an expanding panel of countries from 1830 to 1980. Limitations to data; External validity checks for estimates of transnational flow; Cyclicality in long cycles and long wave rhythms; Pulses of development from surges of transnational migration.

Pluralism in contemporary geography has gone beyond the creative liberty of variety and degenerated into license that threatens the future of the profession. A framework for reintegration of our diverse pursuits is proposed to enable us to create future geographies consistent with our enduring values, environments that expand freedom and choice and opportunity, and organized fantasies containing new delights for the scholarly practitioners and the practical scholars who will succeed us as the geographers of the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An exceptionally early and rapid fertility decline was achieved in Concord, Massachusetts by 1815. This decline was succeeded by a new demographic regime characterized by remarkable cyclical responsiveness to macroeconomic and macropolitical events. The evidence for declining fertility during the eighteenth century is consistent with so-called Malthusian-Frontier explanations of colonial-era demography, whereas the nineteenth-century responsiveness to economic and political change reveals a much earlier onset of Easterlin fertility cycles than has previously been postulated. The transition from the first to the second regime followed the emergence of a market economy in rural Massachusetts in the decade after the American Revolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on certain assertions concerning geography's role among the sciences. A synthesis of apparently dichotomous approaches to geographic understanding is also proposed. A scientific method concludes that geographers like any other scientists, identified not so much by the phenomena they study, as by the integrating concepts and processes that they stress. The integrating concepts and processes of the geographer relate to spatial arrangements and distributions, to spatial integration and organization and to spatial processes.

Examines the differentiation introduced into the central place hierarchy by metropolitan influences with improvement of highways and extension of commuting range in Washington. Development of population; Specialization of the business pattern within the metropolitan community; Paucity of highway-oriented and urban arterial business types.

Examines the role of transportation in the space economy. Increase in specialization in the society; Complexities of economic interdependence; Analysis of realms between economic and geography.

Examines the research methods and the findings of several studies of urban business in Chicago, Illinois. Information concerning urban business pattern, including a classification of business types and shopping centers; Application of the classification of business types developed; Study of business establishments located in ribbons along major arterial highways.

Focuses on methods of classification. Quantification of degrees of similarity; Estimates of the similarity of sampled individuals; Limitation of grouping techniques.

Examines problem of repeated regularities of patterns of occurrence of city sizes. Comparison of city populations and ranks; Elaboration of rank-size regularities; Size classes of cities.

A paradigm is offered far understanding the interlocking modes of data analysis that have come to characterize geography as a result of its recent "quantitative revolution." Among the most serious new problems to emerge have been those related to autocorrelation in spatial series, Two cases are discussed: spatial point processes in the plane, and generalized contiguity in continuous spatial series. In both cases the stationarity assumption is questioned, and an alternative formulation using diffusion theory is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the relationship between metropolitan labor market participation and regional development in the U.S. Description of the labor market map in the country; Implications of differences in commuting behavior; Discussion on regional policy alternatives.

Background: Regulatory aspects of transfusion medicine add complexity in blinded transfusion trials when considering various electronic record keeping software and blood administration processes. The aim of this study is to explore strategies when blinding transfusion components and products in paper and electronic medical records. Methods: Surveys were collected and interviews were conducted for 18 sites across various jurisdictions in North America to determine solutions applied in previous transfusion randomized control trials. Results: Sixteen responses were collected of which 11 had previously participated in a transfusion randomized control trial. Various solutions were reported which were specific to the laboratory information system (LIS) and electronic medical record (EMR) combinations although solutions could be grouped into four categories which included the creation of a study product code in the LIS, preventing the transmission of data from the LIS to the EMR, utilizing specialized stickers and labels to conceal product containers and documents in the paper records, and modified bedside procedures and documentation. Discussion: LIS and EMR combinations varied across sites, so it was not possible to determine combination‐specific solutions. The study was able to highlight solutions that may be emphasized in future iterations of LIS and EMR software as well as procedural changes that may minimize the risk of unblinding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compatibility is the ability of materials to resist chemical changes when they interact with other materials. Both the compatibility and interaction between energetic materials or between energetic and non-energetic materials are of great importance. Differential scanning calorimetry was performed to investigate the compatibility and the interaction between the energetic materials. The thermal characterization of energetic materials is important to indicate their stability as propellants, revealing necessary information regarding their thermal decomposition mechanisms during combustion and storage. The energetic materials include guanidinium azo-tetrazolate (GAT), aminoguanidinium azo-tetrazolate (AGAT), aminoguanidinium azo-tetrazolate monohydrate (AGATH), diaminoguanidinium azo-tetrazolate (DAGAT), triaminoguanidinium azo-tetrazolate (TAGAT), and ammonium azo-tetrazolate (AZT). Azo-tetrazolate salts and their derivatives were synthesized and fully characterized by multinuclear spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results present good compatibility between GAT-AGATH, GAT-DAGAT, GAT-TAGAT, GAT-AZT, AGAT-DAGAT, and DAGAT-TAGAT. The decomposition of AGATH and DAGAT was increased by adding GAT and TAGAT, respectively. There were poor compatibility between GAT and AGAT and fair compatibility between AGAT and TAGAT, and the mixtures of AGAT-AZT, DAGAT-AZT, and TAGAT-AZT might be hazardous. Adding any other energetic material to GAT accelerates the decomposition temperature of GAT, which may be useful in some applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the attempts of social scientists to capture the complexities of natural sciences. Enhancement of social science research; Discussion of emergent behavior and self-organization; Dynamic systems of physical and social sciences.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) and the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) developed by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in 2002.

Focuses on the conception of the National Goals Research Staff (NGRS) Report 'Toward Balanced Growth: Quantity With Quality,' by the U.S. government. Motivation for the creation of NGRS; Functions of the NGRS; Information on the first assignment of the NGRS.

Abstract: Four phases of interest in the distribution of city sizes are identified and current conflict in the literature is shown to be a consequence of poorly-selected units of observation. When urban regions are properly defined, US urban growth obeys Gibrat’s Law and the city size distribution is strictly Zipfian rank-size with coefficient q =1.0. Care has to be taken with definition of the largest urban-economic regions, however; the fit in the upper tail of the distribution is best when they are recognized to be megalopolitan in scale. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Comments on the use of chi-square. Comparison of observed and expected frequencies within the specified categories; Number of observations on the raw data counted upon a specified unit of measurement; Measurements involving non-frequency data.

Background and Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic raised concerns about the vulnerability of platelet supply and the uncertain impact of the resumption of elective surgery on utilization. We report the impact of COVID‐19 on platelet supply and utilization across a large, integrated healthcare system in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC). Materials and Methods: Historical platelet use in BC by indication was compiled for fiscal year 2010/2011–2019/2020. Platelet collections, initial daily inventory and disposition data were assessed pre‐COVID‐19 (1 April 2018–15 March 2020) and for two COVID‐19 time periods in BC: a shutdown phase with elective surgeries halted (16 March–17 May, 2020) and a renewal phase when elective surgeries resumed (18 May–27 September 2020); comparisons were made provincially and for individual health authorities. Results: Historically, elective surgeries accounted for 10% of platelets transfused in BC. Initial daily supplier inventory increased from baseline during both COVID‐19 periods (93/90 units vs. 75 units pre‐COVID‐19). During the shutdown phase, platelet utilization decreased 10.4% (41 units/week; p < 0.0001), and remained significantly decreased during the ensuing renewal period. Decreased platelet utilization was attributed to fewer transfusions during the shutdown phase followed by a decreased discard/expiry rate during the renewal phase compared to pre‐COVID‐19 (15.2% vs. 18.9% pre‐COVID‐19; p < 0.0001). Differences in COVID‐19 platelet utilization patterns were noted between health authorities. Conclusion: Decreased platelet utilization was observed in BC compared to pre‐COVID‐19, likely due to a transient reduction in elective surgery as well as practice and policy changes triggered by pandemic concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]