GWAS of 126,559 individuals identifies genetic variants associated with educational attainment.

A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of educational attainment was conducted in a discovery sample of 101,069 individuals and a replication sample of 25,490. Three independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are genome-wide significant (rs9320913, rs11584700, rs4851266), and all three replicate. Estimated effects sizes are small (coefficient of determination R(2) ≈ 0.02%), approximately 1 month of schooling per allele. A linear polygenic score from all measured SNPs accounts for ≈2% of the variance in both educational attainment and cognitive function. Genes in the region of the loci have previously been associated with health, cognitive, and central nervous system phenotypes, and bioinformatics analyses suggest the involvement of the anterior caudate nucleus. These findings provide promising candidate SNPs for follow-up work, and our effect size estimates can anchor power analyses in social-science genetics.

The Effectiveness of Domestic Abuse Protective Orders and Court Practices in Sentencing Violators, July 2011

Deterring abuse is important to ensuring safety among domestic violence and assault victims. Protective orders are tools aimed at restricting contact between the victim and the abuser to prevent subsequent violence. While empirical research has indicated that protective orders are effective, the extent of the effectiveness is uncertain because violation rates have varied widely from study to study. In addition, little research exists to explain how violations of protective orders are handled, which factors are considered when giving penalties, and whether certain situations lead to a given type of penalty.

Competing linguae france: the place of english and spanish for chinese students

This research project focuses on the role of English and Spanish as linguae francae. More specifically, the research attempts to answer the following questions: (i) What is the place of English and Spanish as linguae francae in the world, in general, and in China, in particular? (ii) What kinds of foreign language teaching/learning attitudes and practices are characteristic of the Chinese educational system? (iii) What are the motivations, expectations and experience of Chinese students in study abroad programmes, in general, and in the programme of the University of Lleida, in particular? The study constitutes an attempt to answer each of these questions in two ways: a review of the literature and a pilot study with 26 Chinese students at UdL. The research reveals that even though English is a very dominant foreign language in China, Spanish is a language on the rise and mainly for economic reasons. The results of the study also point at the impact of the dominance of the grammar-translation method in the perspective of Chinese students about language learning. Finally, the study shows the relevance of taking part in a SA programme for Chinese students as well as their experience of them.

HIV Testing Practices by Clinical Service before and after Revised Testing Guidelines in a Swiss University Hospital.

OBJECTIVES: To determine 1) HIV testing practices in a 1400-bed university hospital where local HIV prevalence is 0.4% and 2) the effect on testing practices of national HIV testing guidelines, revised in March 2010, recommending Physician-Initiated Counselling and Testing (PICT). METHODS: Using 2 hospital databases, we determined the number of HIV tests performed by selected clinical services, and the number of patients tested as a percentage of the number seen per service ('testing rate'). To explore the effect of the revised national guidelines, we examined testing rates for two years pre- and two years post-PICT guideline publication. RESULTS: Combining the clinical services, 253,178 patients were seen and 9,183 tests were performed (of which 80 tested positive, 0.9%) in the four-year study period. The emergency department (ED) performed the second highest number of tests, but had the lowest testing rates (0.9-1.1%). Of inpatient services, neurology and psychiatry had higher testing rates than internal medicine (19.7% and 9.6% versus 8%, respectively). There was no significant increase in testing rates, either globally or in the majority of the clinical services examined, and no increase in new HIV diagnoses post-PICT recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: Using a simple two-database tool, we observe no global improvement in HIV testing rates in our hospital following new national guidelines but do identify services where testing practices merit improvement. This study may show the limit of PICT strategies based on physician risk assessment, compared to the opt-out approach.

Interprofessional practices of physiotherapists working with adults with low back pain in Québec's private sector: results of a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Collaboration and interprofessional practices are highly valued in health systems, because they are thought to improve outcomes of care for persons with complex health problems, such as low back pain. Physiotherapists, like all health providers, are encouraged to take part in interprofessional practices. However, little is known about these practices, especially for private sector physiotherapists. This study aimed to: 1) explore how physiotherapists working in the private sector with adults with low back pain describe their interprofessional practices, 2) identify factors that influence their interprofessional practices, and 3) identify their perceived effects. METHODS: Participants were 13 physiotherapists, 10 women/3 men, having between 3 and 21 years of professional experience. For this descriptive qualitative study, we used face-to-face semi-structured interviews and conducted content analysis encompassing data coding and thematic regrouping. RESULTS: Physiotherapists described interprofessional practices heterogeneously, including numerous processes such as sharing information and referring. Factors that influenced physiotherapists' interprofessional practices were related to patients, providers, organizations, and wider systems (e.g. professional system). Physiotherapists mostly viewed positive effects of interprofessional practices, including elements such as gaining new knowledge as a provider and being valued in one's own role, as well as improvements in overall treatment and outcome. CONCLUSIONS: This qualitative study offers new insights into the interprofessional practices of physiotherapists working with adults with low back pain, as perceived by the physiotherapists' themselves. Based on the results, the development of strategies aiming to increase interprofessionalism in the management of low back pain would most likely require taking into consideration factors associated with patients, providers, the organizations within which they work, and the wider systems.

Audit report on the Office of Treasurer of State, Iowa Educational Savings Plan Trust (Trust) for the year ended June 30, 2015

Audit report on the Office of Treasurer of State, Iowa Educational Savings Plan Trust (Trust) for the year ended June 30, 2015

2004 Annual Report of the Superintendent, April 11, 2005

To facilitate equity and maximize the use of available human resources, all policies, practices, and procedures of the Division of Banking are designed to ensure that recruitment, hiring selection, promotions, transfers, compensation, benefits, and training will be administered in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner.

2005 Annual Report of the Superintendent, March 11, 2006

To facilitate equity and maximize the use of available human resources, all policies, practices, and procedures of the Division of Banking are designed to ensure that recruitment, hiring selection, promotions, transfers, compensation, benefits, and training will be administered in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner.

2006 Annual Report of the Superintendent, May 25, 2007

To facilitate equity and maximize the use of available human resources, all policies, practices, and procedures of the Division of Banking are designed to ensure that recruitment, hiring selection, promotions, transfers, compensation, benefits, and training will be administered in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner.

2008 Annual Report of the Superintendent, February 23, 2008

To facilitate equity and maximize the use of available human resources, all policies, practices, and procedures of the Division of Banking are designed to ensure that recruitment, hiring selection, promotions, transfers, compensation, benefits, and training will be administered in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner.

Annual Report of the Superintendent, 2010

To facilitate equity and maximize the use of available human resources, all policies, practices, and procedures of the Division of Banking are designed to ensure that recruitment, hiring selection, promotions, transfers, compensation, benefits, and training will be administered in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner.

Annual Report of the Superintendent, 2011

To facilitate equity and maximize the use of available human resources, all policies, practices, and procedures of the Division of Banking are designed to ensure that recruitment, hiring selection, promotions, transfers, compensation, benefits, and training will be administered in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner.

Annual Report of the Superintendent, 2012

To facilitate equity and maximize the use of available human resources, all policies, practices, and procedures of the Division of Banking are designed to ensure that recruitment, hiring selection, promotions, transfers, compensation, benefits, and training will be administered in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner.

Annual Report of the Superintendent, 2013

To facilitate equity and maximize the use of available human resources, all policies, practices, and procedures of the Division of Banking are designed to ensure that recruitment, hiring selection, promotions, transfers, compensation, benefits, and training will be administered in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner.

Annual Report of the Superintendent, 2000

To facilitate equity and maximize the use of available human resources, all policies, practices, and procedures of the Division of Banking are designed to ensure that recruitment, hiring selection, promotions, transfers, compensation, benefits, and training will be administered in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner.