Effective Job Development Strategies for Working with the Hardest to Employ

Effective job development -- creating opportunity for subsidized employees to move into the unsubsidized labor market -- is integral to the goals and successful outcomes of the Transitional Jobs (TJ) strategy. It is also one of the most challenging aspects of TJ program delivery, especially during times of high unemployment

The American Medical Association’s Work for Consumer Protection

The aim of the given paper is the development of an approach for the identification of affine Wiener systems with piecewise linear nonlinearities, i.e. when the linear part with unknown parameters is followed by a saturation-like function with unknown slopes. It is shown here that by a simple data rearrangement and by a following data partition the problem of identification of the nonlinear Wiener system could be reduced to a linear parametric estimation problem. Afterwards, estimates of the unknown parameters of linear regression models are obtained by processing respective sets of input-output data. A technique based on ordinary least squares, to be used in a case of missing data, and on the expectation-maximization algorithm is proposed here for the identification of parameters of linear and nonlinear parts of the Wiener system, including the unknown threshold of the piecewise nonlinearity, too. The results of numerical simulation and identification obtained by processing observations of input-output signals of distinct discrete-time Wiener systems with two types piecewise nonlinearities by computer are given

Cardiac manifestations of PRKAG2 mutation.

BACKGROUND:The Protein Kinase AMP-Activated Non-Catalytic Subunit Gamma 2 (PRKAG2) cardiac syndrome is characterized by glycogen accumulation in the cardiac tissue. The disease presents clinically with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and it is often associated with conduction abnormalities. CASE PRESENTATION:A 23 year-old female with history of Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) and HCM presented for evaluation after an episode of Non-ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI). The patient was found to have severe coronary bridging on angiography and underwent an unroofing of the left anterior descending artery (LAD). Due to the constellation of symptoms, the patient underwent genetic testing and a cardiac muscle biopsy. Genetic testing was significant for an Arg302Gln mutation in the PRKAG2 gene. Cardiac tissue biopsy revealed significant myocyte hypertrophy and large vacuoles with glycogen stores. CONCLUSION:The pathologic and genetics findings of our patient are consistent with PRKAG2 syndrome. Patients presenting with conduction abnormalities and suspected HCM should be considered for genetic testing to identify possible underlying genetic etiologies

A numerical study of forced lithospheric thinning

Subsolidus lithospheric thinning by mantle plumes may be involved in the creation of swells, hotspots, and rifts. Among the major questions concerning this process are the timescale on which it occurs and the structure of the plumes. The lithosphere is known to have been substantially thinned in 10 Ma or less. Current studies are focused on the lithospheric thinning by time-dependent plumes hypothesized to have large temperature differences across them

The Determinants of Attitude Formation: An Application to Nuclear Power

This paper presents an expectancy-value model which allows identification of the technological, psychological and social determinants of attitude formation. The utility of the model with respect to attitudes toward nuclear power, and attitudes toward the risks associated with nuclear power, was tested by an empirical application. Attitudes estimated from the model correlated highly (r = 0.66 and 0.76, respectively) and significantly (p < 0.001) with direct measures of these attitudes. An analysis of the cognitive structures underlying attitudes, including a comparison of sub-groups "pro" and "con" nuclear power, is reported. These groups were found to significantly differ in their beliefs concerning the benefits of nuclear power but not in their beliefs about the risks. A similar analysis of sub-groups relatively favorable and unfavorable toward nuclear power risks suggests that those who believe that people are involuntarily exposed to these risks, and in a passive way, also tend to judge the risks as being unacceptable

Public Attitudes and Decision Making

Decision makers are increasingly being faced with the necessity of considering the relevant attitudes of various publics. This paper describes a method by which these attitudes may be measured. The model has the feature of synthesizing the cognitive and evaluative components underlying attitude in a fashion that preserves the distinction between them. Preliminary results are reported of an application of this model, using a revised measuring instrument, to attitudes toward five different types of energy systems. The sample was a heterogenous group of 224 respondents residing in various parts of Austria. Results from this sample of the general public are reported only for attitudes towards nuclear power; they are generally consistent with the pilot study. A factor analysis of the beliefs underlying this attitude suggested four basic belief factors: beliefs about psychological risks, about economic and technological benefits, about socio-political risks and about environmental and physical risks

Ariel - Volume 12(13) Number 1

Executive Editor Gary E. Fishbein Associate Editor Sam Markind Business Manager Rich Davis Sports Editor Dave Cohen Photography Editor Ben Alman Layout Sheila Grossma