Analysis of Clamped Square Plates Containing Openings with Stiffened Edges

National Science Foundation Grant No. G-657

Effectiveness of blood transfusions and risk factors for mortality in children aged from 1 month to 4 years at the Bon Marche Hospital, Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo

Objective  To assess the effectiveness of blood transfusions in a hospital of north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Methods  Prospective study of children admitted for severe anaemia. During admission, data were collected on clinical condition and haemoglobin levels, before and after blood transfusion. A linear regression model was built to explore factors associated with haemoglobin level after transfusion. Risk factors for mortality were explored through multivariate logistic regression. Results  Haemoglobin level (Hb) was below 4 g/dl in 35% (230/657), between 4 and 6 g/dl in 58% (348/657) and at least 6 g/dl in another 6% (43/657) of the transfused children. A transfusion of 15 ml/kg of whole blood increased the Hb from 4.4 to 7.8 g/dl. Haemoglobin level after transfusion was associated with baseline Hb, quantity of delivered blood and history of previous transfusions. Overall case-fatality rate was 5.6% (37/657). Risk factors for deaths were co-morbidities such as chest infection, meningitis or malnutrition, Hb ≥ 6 g/dl, impaired consciousness or jugular venous distention on admission, and provenance. Conclusion  Transfusion was a frequent practice, the use of which could clearly have been rationalised. While indications should be restricted, quantities of transfused blood should be adapted to needs

Evaluating distributed cognitive resources for wayfinding in a desktop virtual environment.

As 3D interfaces, and in particular virtual environments, become increasingly realistic there is a need to investigate the location and configuration of information resources, as distributed in the humancomputer system, to support any required activities. It is important for the designer of 3D interfaces to be aware of information resource availability and distribution when considering issues such as cognitive load on the user. This paper explores how a model of distributed resources can support the design of alternative aids to virtual environment wayfinding with varying levels of cognitive load. The wayfinding aids have been implemented and evaluated in a desktop virtual environment

The Chasm Between Words and Deeds: Lenders Not Modifying Loans as They Say to Avoid Foreclosures

Lenders began foreclosure proceedings on nearly 60,000 Californians in August alone. The consequences of these growing foreclosures are being felt by families who have lost their main asset and residence, neighborhoods that suffer lower property values, local governments that incur increasing costs and decreasing tax revenue, and the broader California economy which is heavily dependent on the housing market. Yet a key question remains -- is foreclosure the only option?Approximately two million loans are facing rising interest rate resets in the U.S. over the next two years, and many borrowers will be unable to meet their increased mortgage payment. Over 500,000 Californians may be at risk of foreclosure. For many of these borrowers, perhaps the best they can hope for is that they will be able to negotiate with their loan servicer for a loan modification, which would make the terms of the loan more affordable to them.The good news is that servicers routinely say they want to negotiate loan modifications and keep borrowers in their homes. The bad news is that anecdotes and data suggest that these loan modifications are not really occurring.CRC surveyed 33 of the roughly 80 mortgage counseling agencies across the state which are certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist borrowers at risk of foreclosure. Mortgage counseling agencies are often the only place for borrowers to turn when they are faced with foreclosure. Counselors help borrowers understand their options and often act as intermediaries between borrowers and their lenders. The groups that responded to this CRC survey served approximately 9,800 consumers, including nearly 3,800 consumers through in-person meetings, in the month of August alone. Sadly, they reported that the most common outcomes for these borrowers were foreclosures and short sales, both of which result in home loss. The body of the report includes key findings, as well as recommendations for lenders and policy maker

Investigation of phonon behavior in Pr2NiMnO6 by micro-Raman spectroscopy

The temperature dependence of phonon excitations and the presence of spin phonon coupling in polycrystalline Pr2NiMnO6 samples were studied using micro-Raman spectroscopy and magnetometry. Magnetic properties show a single ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic transition at 228 K and a saturation magnetization close to 4.95 \muB/f.u.. Three distinct Raman modes at 657, 642, and 511 cm-1 are observed. The phonon excitations show a clear hardening due to anharmonicity from 300 K down to 10 K. Further, temperature dependence of the 657 cm-1 mode shows only a small softening. This reflects the presence of a relatively weak spin-phonon coupling in Pr2NiMnO6 contrary to other double perovskites previously studied.Comment: 10 pages, 4 fig

Constitutional and environmental factors related to serum lipid and lipoprotein levels

Serum lipoproteins and lipids in 657 human males correlated to multiple constitutional and environmental variable

Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Linkage Map for Arabidopsis thaliana

We have constructed a restriction fragment length polymorphism linkage map for the nuclear genome of the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The map, containing 90 randomly distributed molecular markers, is physically very dense; >50% of the genome is within 1.9 centimorgans, or approx 270 kilobase pairs, of the mapped DNA fragments. The map was based on the meiotic segregation of markers in two different crosses. The restriction fragment length polymorphism linkage groups were integrated with the five classically mapped linkage groups by virtue of mapped mutations included in these crosses. Markers consist of both cloned Arabidopsis genes and random low-copy-number genomic DNA clones that are able to detect polymorphisms with the restriction enzymes EcoRI, Bgl II, and/or Xba I. These cloned markers can serve as starting points for chromosome walking, allowing for the isolation of Arabidopsis genes of known map location. The restriction fragment length polymorphism map also can associate clones of unknown gene function with mutant phenotypes, and vice versa

The labour market and fiscal impact of labour reductions: The case of reduction of employers' social security contributions under a wage norm regime with automatic price indexing of wages. NBB Working Paper Nr. 36

This paper investigates the possible labour market and fiscal impacts of labour tax reductions in a typically Belgian setting, i.e. a wage norm regime with automatic price indexing of wages. We consider reductions in employers' social security contributions and fiscal compensation through value added or production taxes. Reductions in employers' social security contributions can only have significant employment effects if they effectively reduce labour costs. These reductions are only partly self-financing, and the cost per job created is high. The remaining negative impact on the government budget should be compensated through an alternative means of financing this expenditure, since not–compensating for the budgetary loss is not a realistic option in the long run. For this purpose, various financing schemes can be envisaged, but an increase in value added tax and the introduction of a tax on production (mimicking environmental taxes affecting firms' production costs) are the two possibilities considered in this paper. The alternative financing mechanisms destroy some of the positive employment effects of the initial reductions. However, on balance the combined measures can create some employment without worsening the government budget balance. The reaction of wages to the reduction in employers' social security contributions and to the fiscal compensation measures proves crucial. The more the initial reductions in employers' contributions are used to finance higher gross wages, and the more the inflationary effects of fiscal compensation measures are passed on in wages, the less positive the impact on employment will be. This means that little job creation is to be expected without a special co-ordination effort between all labour market players. Labour tax reductions are by no means a substitute for other labour market reforms

The Money Plot

Comprising paintings, drawings and a display of books, printed matter and other ephemera, ‘The Money Plot’, drew on autobiographical material from the artist’s own Soviet childhood as a starting point. The works plotted a serendipitous course through an imagined, personal history of the birth of modern consumer society. The thesis offered an empathic response to the vast, vital energies of capital flows that animate our world. The title of the exhibition was taken from an appendix of Balzac's novel La Cousine Bette, in which the editors provided a synopsis called ‘The money plot’ – a breakdown of debts, financial dependencies and connections between the protagonists. As the global financial crisis escalated in 2008, the project became charged with an uncanny cultural urgency. The exhibition was one major outcome for this large research project, which linked several artistic and cultural modes into an accompanying visual essay. It deployed a multidisciplinary approach to visual production that looked at literature, biography, design and architecture to create works that exist as contemporary art in conversation with the other disciplines. Related outcomes included the group shows ‘Natural Wonders, New Art From London’, Baibakov Art Projects, Moscow (2009) and ‘Il Faut Être Absolument Moderne’, Paradise Row, Istanbul (2009–10). ‘The Money Plot’ was extensively covered in the international art press, including: ‘Margarita Gluzberg’ (The Money Plot, Paradise Row), ‘Critic’s picks’ by Laura K. Jones for Artforum.com (2008); ‘The Money Plot’, by Charles Darwent, Art Review (2008); ‘Manifesting commerce’, interview with Eva Pelczer, New York Arts Magazine (2008); ‘The plot unfolds’, interview by Peter Carty, Mute magazine (2010); ‘Margarita Gluzberg’, feature, Citizen K International (2009); ‘The colour of money’ by Lee Johnson, Art India (2008); and ‘The fashion for modesty’, interview with Clare Carolin, Block Magazine (2010)