Top US Research Articles

Parental Leave, Lactation, and Childcare Policies at Top US Schools of Public Health.

To describe policies related to parental leave, breastfeeding, and childcare for faculty and staff at top schools of public health in the United States. We identified the top 25 schools of public health from the US News and World Report rankings. We reviewed each institutional Web site to identify publicly available policies as of July 2018. For birth mothers, 80% (20/25) of the schools provided paid childbearing leave to faculty (mean = 8.2 weeks), and 48% (12/25) provided paid childbearing leave for staff (mean = 5.0 weeks). For nonbirth parents, 68% (17/25) provided paid parental leave for faculty and 52% (13/25) for staff (range = 1-15 weeks). We found that 64% (16/25) of the schools had publicly available lactation policies, and 72% (18/25) of the schools had at least 1 university-run on-campus childcare center. The majority of top US schools of public health provide paid leave to faculty birth mothers. However, most schools fall short of the 14 weeks recommended by the American Public Health Association.

From trash to treasure: Turn a Minitel terminal into a Linux terminal or videotex display - [Resources_Hands On

One of US (Mailland) Grew up in Paris in the 1980s, Surrounded by Advertisements for Racy pink chat rooms, accessible through terminals connected to France's Minitel network. They were a lucrative part of the wider Minitel economy, which also let you send messages, check bank balances, and read news. By 2000, as the Internet displaced the Minitel network, the billboards started being replaced by piles of terminals abandoned by trash cans. In 2010, while researching Minitel law and policy for a project that became the first English-language academic book on Minitel, I'd collected over 15 terminals of various models, when I met an American home brewer (Driscoll) who wanted to play with them. • We quickly completed our first project: turning a terminal into a Twitter client. Then we turned it into a webcam client; then, into a videotex slideshow display. We found a lot of help along the way because we weren't the only people unwilling to let these stylish terminals end up as e-waste. Indeed, there's now a vibrant Minitel hacking scene. You don't need to be in France to try any of these upcyling projects either. Minitel was an open platform, and a number of failed attempts to replicate Minitel's success means there are localized terminals to be found, with ones for Ireland, South Africa, and the United States, among others. • However, a lot of the guidance we relied upon is in French, so here we'd like to offer an English-language introduction to Minitel hacking. • The first thing you'll need is a terminal. French terminals are plentiful on eBay, and despite their age, very sturdy. A reasonable offer shouldn't top US $23 (shipping is the issue, thanks to relatively heavy cathode ray tubes. Expect that to cost at least $90 to North America). We recommend getting the 1B model, the sturdiest and most versatile. Steer away from Magis, M2, or M12, each of which present problems for the home brewer. Your terminal must have a five-pin DIN connector in the back.

Noncommercial US Funders’ Policies on Trial Registration, Access to Summary Results, and Individual Patient Data Availability

Incomplete information about existing research is an underlying cause of research waste. National and international initiatives and requirements have been launched to address this issue. To characterize current clinical trial transparency policies among the largest noncommercial US funders and examine whether the policies are concordant with international funders. This retrospective review of public information used methods developed for documenting funder policies internationally; 2 researchers searched each funder's website and Google between May and November 2018 to locate trial transparency policies for 10 top US funders. Key informants at each funding organization were contacted by email and given 3 or more weeks to review and confirm or correct the findings. Nonresponders were contacted 2 or more additional times. Descriptive statistics were calculated to summarize the findings. The study was conducted using publicly available policy information with findings confirmed by funder representatives where possible. Participants included top 10 noncommercial US health research funders with the highest reported investment in health research (2013 dollars) who fund clinical trials. Data analysis was conducted from November 6, 2018, to November 23, 2018. Availability of policies addressing each of the 3 key trial transparency domains as specified by the World Health Organization in 2017. Independent assessment by 2 investigators of availability (yes or no) of a policy addressing registration for trials, sharing of summary results, and individual participant data sharing activities; requirements (yes, no, or supportive statement) of these policies in terms of completeness, timeliness, public access, and provision of additional technical or financial support to meet data sharing requirements; description (yes or no) of internal monitoring for policy adherence. All 10 funders acknowledged the outreach. One funder who indicated that less than 1% of their research funding goes to clinical trials was removed. Six (67%) of the remaining 9 top US funders have a publicly available written policy for all 3 major trial transparency domains. The most comprehensive trial transparency practice among US funders addresses summary results sharing as follows: 8 of 9 US funders (89%) have a policy, 5 of 9 US funders (56%) require reporting of summary results within 1 year, and 6 of 9 US funders (67%) monitor compliance with their summary results sharing policy. For clinical trial registration, 7 of 9 US funders (78%) have a policy and 5 of 9 US funders (56%) require registration and monitor trial registration to measure adherence to the policy. In this study, overall the proportion of US funders with policies and practices to support trial transparency in this sample was similar or compared favorably with the larger international sample of noncommercial funders recently reported.

Israeli nuclear capabilities in mid-1967: what Washington knew (and didn’t know)

ABSTRACTAt the time of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, top US policy makers did not believe that Israel had produced nuclear weapons. Since the discovery of the Dimona reactor complex in 1960, senior US officials and intelligence experts took it for granted that the Israelis sought a nuclear-weapon capability, but a wall of secrecy surrounded the reactor. Even inspection visits by US nuclear experts left important questions unanswered. A central problem was whether Israel had acquired or would acquire the reprocessing plant needed to produce plutonium. While the original plans for Dimona included an underground reprocessing plant, it was deeply secret. A few months before the war, State Department intelligence experts suspected that the Israelis had begun reprocessing and could even have stockpiled a few devices, but this perception was not shared at the top. The Lyndon B. Johnson administration would have been profoundly shocked if US intelligence had discovered the secret assembly of nuclear devices in May 1967. Strict secrecy in Israel may have averted a crisis in US–Israeli relations.

Top US biomedical institute settles gender-discrimination lawsuits

The Salk Institute has reached a deal with two of three female scientists who alleged unequal treatment. The Salk Institute has reached a deal with two of three female scientists who alleged unequal treatment.

Hierarchy and the power-law income distribution tail

What explains the power-law distribution of top incomes? This paper tests the hypothesis that it is firm hierarchy that creates the power-law income distribution tail. Using the available case-study evidence on firm hierarchy, I create the first large-scale simulation of the hierarchical structure of the US private sector. Although not tuned to do so, this model reproduces the power-law scaling of top US incomes. I show that this is purely an effect of firm hierarchy. This raises the possibility that the ubiquity of power-law income distribution tails is due to the ubiquity of hierarchical organization in human societies.

Top US court upholds Trump travel ban: student visas already in decline

In 5–4 ruling, Supreme Court allows government to bar visitors and immigrants from seven nations. In 5–4 ruling, Supreme Court allows government to bar visitors and immigrants from seven nations.

Prominent biologist resigns from top US institute after harassment allegations

Inder Verma steps down from Salk Institute before investigation into accusations concludes. Inder Verma steps down from Salk Institute before investigation into accusations concludes.

EVALUATING THE ACCURACY OF TAIL RISK FORECASTS FOR SYSTEMIC RISK MEASUREMENT

In this paper, we address how to evaluate tail risk forecasts for systemic risk (SRISK) measurement. We propose two loss functions, the Tail Tick Loss and the Tail Mean Square Error, to evaluate, respectively, Conditional Value-at-Risk (CoVaR) and MES forecasts. We then analyse CoVaR and MES forecasts for a panel of top US financial institutions between 2000 and 2012 constructed using a set of bivariate DCC-GARCH-type models. The empirical results highlight the importance of using an appropriate loss function for the evaluation of such forecasts. Among other findings, the analysis confirms that the DCC-GJR specification provides accurate predictions for both CoVaR and MES, in particular for the riskiest group of institutions in the panel (Broker-Dealers).

Harassment and discrimination allegations roil a top US biomedical institute

California's Salk Institute faces multiple complaints and lawsuits. California's Salk Institute faces multiple complaints and lawsuits.

Media relations and universities: an assessment of digital newsrooms

ABSTRACTReviews of editorial practices and academic studies have shown that journalists often rely on organization websites—and online newsrooms in particular—to inform news stories. Yet, at a time when many academics are called upon as experts by the media, university newsrooms have been ignored. To fill this gap, this study assesses newsrooms of universities to determine whether they are providing adequate resources to cover the institution or identify experts. Previous research demonstrated higher ranked Fortune 500 companies have more comprehensive newsrooms, potentially putting them at an advantage when it comes to news coverage. To better understand whether disparities exist among the top US institutions, this study features a content analysis of the newsrooms of the top 202 universities ranked by U.S. News & World Report. Findings show that although higher ranked universities typically feature more comprehensive newsrooms, universities at all levels are missing opportunities to provide journalists with information necessary to cover the university, thus limiting visibility to outside stakeholders. The most common features were internally written news stories and links to social media. Resources specifically for journalists were less common. Assessing newsrooms is valuable because they influence media coverage, which can improve credibility and perceived external prestige.

Paid Family and Childbearing Leave Policies at Top US Medical Schools

Author(s): Riano, Nicholas S; Linos, Eleni; Accurso, Erin C; Sung, Dawn; Linos, Elizabeth; Simard, Julia F; Mangurian, Christina

Diminishing Returns at Corporate U: Chinese Undergraduates and Composition’s Activist Legacy

This article draws on a qualitative study of Chinese undergraduates at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the top US enrollers of international students from China. Throughout, I study these students’ efforts to secure returns on what they described as an expensive and uncertain educational investment, often by asserting their power as consumers of US higher education. In particular, I argue that their struggles against segregation make visible broader changes in how student agency is made available in our corporate universities, prompting composition scholars to adapt the field’s tradition of student advocacy to our moment of fiscal turmoil and shifting institutional priorities.

Alex Azar: critics cry “revolving door” as Trump picks pharma executive for top US health job

What might the appointment of a lawyer who led Eli Lilly US mean for physicians? Liz Seegert reports

Progress In Interoperability: Measuring US Hospitals' Engagement In Sharing Patient Data.

Achieving an interoperable health care system remains a top US policy priority. Despite substantial efforts to encourage interoperability, the first set of national data in 2014 suggested that hospitals' engagement levels were low. With 2015 data now available, we examined the first national trends in engagement in four domains of interoperability: finding, sending, receiving, and integrating electronic patient information from outside providers. We found small gains, with 29.7percent of hospitals engaging in all four domains in 2015 compared to 24.5percent in 2014. The two domains with the most progress were sending (with an increase of 8.1 percentage points) and receiving (an increase of 8.4 percentage points) information, while there was no change in integrating systems. Hospitals' use for patient care of data from outside providers was low, with only 18.7percent of hospitals reporting that they "often" used these data. Our results reveal that hospitals' progress toward interoperability is slow and that progress is focused on moving information between hospitals, not on ensuring usability of information in clinical decisions.

When the Gated Misbehave

This study analyzes online reader comments on top US newspapers’ stories related to former congressman, Anthony Weiner’s, August 2016 sexting scandal. Audience gatekeeping was seen through such discussion themes as gender bias and sexism, political scandals, and sex addiction. The analysis revealed that the majority of reader comments significantly diverged from the news topic, and many comments about US politicians were uncivil. Furthermore, online discussions “drowned out” newspapers’ intended message about Weiner’s inclusion of his toddler son into a sexually explicit selfie. This study argues that online commentary should not be perceived as a dichotomy—a negative or positive development, a contributor or preventer of public discourse—but rather as a continuum of citizen engagement.

Women in MBA Programs at Top 20 US Business Schools: Trends Analysis for 19 Years (1999 to 2017)

If we look into the trends of the percentage of female students of top American business schools, the study reveals that there has been no significant growth in the rise of female percentage of students in these schools. To find out the current trends of female students enrolment in top US business schools, the author taken into the consideration of top 20 business schools and studied how these schools have admitted female students in between 1999 to 2017 (19 years data) based on the data available in the Financial Times (FT) MBA Rankings from 1999 to 2017. The present article presents how the Financial Times top ranked US business schools have been admitting female students in the last 19 years (1999-2017) ever since the FT MBA rankings are out.

Do brand characteristics contribute significantly to variability in toxicant exposure in smokers? Data from NHANES 2007-2012.

INTRODUCTIONThis study sought to quantify the difference in serum cotinine and other biomarkers indicative of cigarette smoking in current US cigarette smokers attributable to brand level versus individual level factors.METHODSA total of 2,558 daily exclusive smokers, 20 years and older in the United States participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 2007-2012 and provided biospecimens and cigarette brand information. Biomakers of interest were serum cotinine, and urinary NNAL, PAHs, and heavy metals. Adjustments were made for person-level factors (e.g., sex, age, race, education), smoking behavior (cigarettes per day), brand, tar group (≤ 6mg, >6-15mg, >15mg), and menthol status.RESULTSThe most commonly reported brands of US cigarettes were Marlboro, Newport, Camel, and Pall Mall. Cotinine levels differed by age (p=0.0065), race (p<0.0001), and cigarettes smoked per day (p<0.0001) but not brand, tar or menthol. Brand family was significantly associated with urinary levels of NNAL, 1HP, HFs, and HPHs. For NNAL. Person-level factors accounted for some of these differences. No consistent differences in metal exposure by brand were noted. Overall, brand information accounted for 2-8% of variance depending on the marker. Together, age, sex, race, education, and cigarettes smoked per day accounted for 20% in variance in cotinine levels, and adding the brand information (brand family, tar group, menthol) to the model accounted for an additional 0.5% (p<0.0948). In the full multivariate model, no significant difference in cotinine was seen by brand (p=0.2205), tar (p=0.2987) or menthol (p=0.1583).CONCLUSIONSBrand to brand differences seen in serum cotinine levels and other biomarkers indicative of cigarette smoking between the top US cigarette brands from 2007-2012 are primarily driven by individual differences among smokers, and to a lesser extent by differences among products.

Mobile marketing: an emerging strategy to promote electronic nicotine delivery systems

Recent years have seen significant increases in both traditional and on-line advertising of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).1–5 There has been little research, however, on how ENDS are advertised on...

Geographic mobility and research productivity in a selection of top world economics departments

In this paper, we study the spatial characteristics of a sample of 2605 highly productive economists, and a subsample of 332 economists with outstanding productivity. Individual productivity is measured in terms of a quality index that weights the number of publications up to 2007 in four journal classes. We analyze the following four issues. (1) The “funneling effect” towards the US and the clustering of scholars in the top US institutions. (2) The high degree of collective inbreeding in the training of elite members. (3) The partition of those born in a given country into brain drain (who work in a country different from their country of origin), brain circulation (who study and/or work abroad followed by a return to the home country), and stayers (whose entire academic career takes place in their country of origin). We also study the partition of the economists working in 2007 in a given geographical area into nationals (stayers plus brain circulation) and migrants (brain drained from other countries). (4) Finally, we estimate the research output in different geographical areas in two instances: when we classify researchers by the institution where they work in 2007, or by their country of origin.