How Does Intergovernmental Fiscal Environment Affect General Fund Balances of Major American Cities?

This study explores the extent to which intergovernmental fiscal factors affect fiscal reserves in municipal general funds. Statistical results from panel data of 87 major cities in the U.S. for the period from 1995 to 2010 show that cities facing more restrictive limitations on local property taxation tend to maintain higher levels of unreserved general fund balances. Additional analyses also show that fiscally constrained cities accumulate surpluses in their general funds. This is consistent with the proactive approach in which municipal governments make fiscal decisions with the awareness of expected state constraints on their revenue-raising capacity. We call for consideration of relevant intergovernmental constraints in the determination of appropriate level of fund balances for municipal governments

Norms in tension : Democracy and efficiency in Bangladeshi health and population sector reform

Spurred on by donors, a number of developing countries are in the midst of fundamental health and population sector reform. Focused on the performance-oriented norms of efficiency and effectiveness, reformers have paid insufficient attention to the process-oriented norms of sovereignty and democracy. As a result, citizens of sovereign states have been largely excluded from the deliberative process. This paper draws on political science and public administration theory to evaluate the Bangladeshi reform experience. It does so with reference to the norms of efficiency, effectiveness, sovereignty and democracy as a means of making explicit the values that need to be considered in order to make health and population sector reform a fair process.</p

How Does Intergovernmental Fiscal Environment Affect General Fund Balances of Major American Cities?

This study explores the extent to which intergovernmental fiscal factors affect fiscal reserves in municipal general funds. Statistical results from panel data of 87 major cities in the U.S. for the period from 1995 to 2010 show that cities facing more restrictive limitations on local property taxation tend to maintain higher levels of unreserved general fund balances. Additional analyses also show that fiscally constrained cities accumulate surpluses in their general funds. This is consistent with the proactive approach in which municipal governments make fiscal decisions with the awareness of expected state constraints on their revenue-raising capacity. We call for consideration of relevant intergovernmental constraints in the determination of appropriate level of fund balances for municipal governments

Highly efficient removal of emulsified oil from oily wastewater by microfiltration carbon membranes made from phenolic resin/coal

Oily wastewater treatment is a major problem for a large variety of industrial sectors. Membrane filtration is quite promising for oil-in-water emulsion treatment by virtue of numerous eminent advantages. Here, microfiltration carbon membranes (MCMs) were prepared by the blends of phenolic resin (PR)/coal as precursor materials for efficient removal of emulsified oil from oily wastewater. The functional groups, porous structure, microstructure, morphology and hydrophilicity of the MCMs were analysed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, bubble-pressure method, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and water contact angle, respectively. The effect of coal amount in precursor materials on the structure and properties of MCMs was mainly investigated. Under operation at 0.02 MPa for trans-membrane pressure and 6 mL min−1 for feed flowrate, the optimal oil rejection and water permeation flux are correspondingly attained to 99.1% and 21,388.5 kg m−2 h−1 MPa−1 for MCMs made by the precursor containing 25% coal. Besides, the anti-fouling ability of the as-prepared MCMs is greatly improved in comparison with the one merely made by PR. In summary, the result indicates that the as-prepared MCMs are very promising for oily wastewater treatment.</p

How infectious disease priorities spread : global battles against polio, malaria and tuberculosis in the post-World War Two era

Description to be added</p

Supplemental Material, SLGR_17-0063R4,_Tables - What Factors Drive Municipal Fiscal Policy Adoption?: An Empirical Investigation of Major Cities in the United States

Supplemental Material, SLGR_17-0063R4,_Tables for What Factors Drive Municipal Fiscal Policy Adoption?: An Empirical Investigation of Major Cities in the United States by Yu Shi, Nisa Yazici Aydemir, and Yonghong Wu in State and Local Government Review</p

Evaluating Adsorption and Biodegradation Mechanisms during the Removal of Microcystin-RR by Periphyton

Microcystin-RR (MCRR) is among the cyanobacterial toxins of significant concern due to their negative effects on water quality and human health. In this study, periphyton dominated by bacteria and diatoms was applied to remove MCRR from water. The maximum removal rate of MCRR by periphyton was observed in the first day (the latent adaptation period). Within this period, 85.2%, 73.3%, 83.5%, and 86.5% of the total MCRR removed (through adsorption and biodegradation) was by the adsorption of periphyton when the periphyton biomasses were 1.32 g, 3.96 g, 6.60 g, and 9.24 g, respectively. The amount of MCRR adsorbed increased with the increasing ratio of periphyton biomass to MCRR in solution. The adsorption process fitted well to the Freundlich, Langmuir, and Dubinin−Radushkevich (D-R) models, implying that the bioadsorption process has mechanistic relevance. The MCRR adsorption by periphyton is physical in nature and thermodynamically spontaneous. This study provided strong evidence that adsorption was the main mechanism for the removal of MCRR and other microcystins by periphyton and similar microbial aggregates in the latent adaptation period. Thereafter, biodegradation of periphyton dominated the toxin removal process. These results show that periphyton can be employed for an environmentally benign and effective solution for MCRR removal

The removal process of P_org by the periphyton. P_total means total phosphorus content and P_inorg means inorganic phosphorus content.

<p>The removal process of P_org by the periphyton. P_total means total phosphorus content and P_inorg means inorganic phosphorus content.</p

Adsorption kinetic analysis, (a d) the pseudo first-order kinetic and (b e) the pseudo second-order kinetic and (c f) the intra-particle diffusion kinetic of the periphyton biofilm for the P_org with different biomass content at different temperatures.

<p>Adsorption kinetic analysis, (a d) the pseudo first-order kinetic and (b e) the pseudo second-order kinetic and (c f) the intra-particle diffusion kinetic of the periphyton biofilm for the P_org with different biomass content at different temperatures.</p

The kinetic parameters of P_org transformation by the periphyton.

<p>The kinetic parameters of P_org transformation by the periphyton.</p