Bonds and the Recovery Act: A Guide to Municipal Bonds Enabled Under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and Their Potential Impacts on New York Communities

A lesser-known aspect of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is the provisions it sets forth concerning the municipal bond market. By targeting investors through enhanced returns and novel financing options, and by creating new categories of bonds, these provisions provided a boost to public credit that has helped offset the shrinkage in private credit markets. This has brought fiscal relief for states and localities, and helped sustain investments in the nation's infrastructure and promote economic development. Many of the new ARRA bond programs are having a beneficial effect, facilitating financing for schools, infrastructure, and sustainable energy projects. The impacts of Recovery Act bonds are potentially enormous, and yet there is little public discussion about how these bonds work, how they shape public policy, and whether they lead to development that creates good jobs. This report seeks to address that

Paleogeography of the Spieden Group, San Juan Islands, Washington

The Spieden Group in the San Juan Islands of Washington State consists of the Lower Cretaceous Sentinel Island Formation and the Upper Jurassic Spieden Bluff Formation. In order to constrain the location of its origin, paleomagnetism of the sedimentary rocks of the Spieden Group was studied to obtain paleolatitudes. Two components of magnetization were measured in most of the Sentinel Island Formation specimens. The second-removed component had a mean in-situ direction of D = 34.1°, I == 44. 2°, α95 = 12.0° and a mean tilt-corrected direction of D = 49.3°, I = 71.5°, α95 = 6.9°. Uncertainty that some of the scatter of directions was due to fault block rotation not corrected for during unfolding suggests inclination-only analysis may be appropriate; it yielded a tiltcorrected inclination of I = 64.0°, α95 = 7.9°. Three components of magnetization were extracted from most of the Spieden Bluff Formation specimens. The third-removed component had a mean in-situ direction of D = 82.5°, I = 82.0°, α95 = 23.0° and a mean tilt-corrected direction of D = 78.3°, I = 71.3°, α95 = 16.9°. Segregating directions according to how much a component contributed to the total remanence isolated characteristic components that were unfolded incrementally. The best clustered direction was from components that constituted 70-80% of NRM intensity and yielded a magnetic direction of D = 48.2°, I = 65.0°, α95 = 20.9°. The Cretaceous still-stand pole was used as a reference pole for the Cretaceous Sentinel Island Formation. The expected paleomagnetic direction calculated for the present position of the Sentinel Island Formation of D = 334.6°, I - 74.0° corresponds to a latitude of 60° N. This latitude contrasts with the paleolatitude best estimate of origin for the Sentinel Island Formation (derived from its 64° inclination) of 45.7° N latitude. The pole of the Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation was used as a reference pole for the Jurassic Spieden Bluff Formation. The expected paleomagnetic direction calculated for the Jurassic Spieden Bluff Formation of D = 327.4°, I = 65.3° corresponds to a latitude of 47° N, which is identical to the paleolatitude for the Spieden Bluff Formation derived from its 65° inclination

Kidney Disease and Youth Onset Type 2 Diabetes: Considerations for the General Practitioner

Youth onset type 2 diabetes (T2DM) continues to increase worldwide, concomitant with the rising obesity epidemic. There is evidence to suggest that youth with T2DM are affected by the same comorbidities and complications as adults diagnosed with T2DM. This review highlights specifically the kidney disease associated with youth onset T2DM, which is highly prevalent and associated with a high risk of end-stage kidney disease in early adulthood. A general understanding of this complex disease by primary care providers is critical, so that at-risk individuals are identified and managed early in the course of their disease, such that progression can be modified in this high-risk group of children and adolescents. A review of the pediatric literature will include a focus on the epidemiology, risk factors, pathology, screening, and treatment of kidney disease in youth onset T2DM

The VERNALIZATION 2 Gene Mediates the Epigenetic Regulation of Vernalization in Arabidopsis

AbstractThe acceleration of flowering by a long period of low temperature, vernalization, is an adaptation that ensures plants overwinter before flowering. Vernalization induces a developmental state that is mitotically stable, suggesting that it may have an epigenetic basis. The VERNALIZATION2 (VRN2) gene mediates vernalization and encodes a nuclear-localized zinc finger protein with similarity to Polycomb group (PcG) proteins of plants and animals. In wild-type Arabidopsis, vernalization results in the stable reduction of the levels of the floral repressor FLC. In vrn2 mutants, FLC expression is downregulated normally in response to vernalization, but instead of remaining low, FLC mRNA levels increase when plants are returned to normal temperatures. VRN2 function therefore stably maintains FLC repression after a cold treatment, serving as a mechanism for the cellular memory of vernalization

Spatial sampling heterogeneity limits the detectability of deep time latitudinal biodiversity gradients

The latitudinal biodiversity gradient (LBG), in which species richness decreases from tropical to polar regions, is a pervasive pattern of the modern biosphere. Although the distribution of fossil occurrences suggests this pattern has varied through deep time, the recognition of palaeobiogeographic patterns is hampered by geological and anthropogenic biases. In particular, spatial sampling heterogeneity has the capacity to impact upon the reconstruction of deep time LBGs. Here we use a simulation framework to test the detectability of three different types of LBG (flat, unimodal and bimodal) over the last 300 Myr. We show that heterogeneity in spatial sampling significantly impacts upon the detectability of genuine LBGs, with known biodiversity patterns regularly obscured after applying the spatial sampling window of fossil collections. Sampling-standardization aids the reconstruction of relative biodiversity gradients, but cannot account for artefactual absences introduced by geological and anthropogenic biases. Therefore, we argue that some previous studies might have failed to recover the ‘true’ LBG type owing to incomplete and heterogeneous sampling, particularly between 200 and 20 Ma. Furthermore, these issues also have the potential to bias global estimates of past biodiversity, as well as inhibit the recognition of extinction and radiation events

Large Scale Influences on Summertime Extreme Precipitation in the Northeastern United States

Observations indicate that over the last few decades there has been a statistically significant increase in precipitation in the northeastern United States and that this can be attributed to an increase in precipitation associated with extreme precipitation events. Here a state-of-the-art atmospheric reanalysis is used to examine such events in detail. Daily extreme precipitation events defined at the 75th and 95th percentile from gridded gauge observations are identified for a selected region within the Northeast. Atmospheric variables from the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2), are then composited during these events to illustrate the time evolution of associated synoptic structures, with a focus on vertically integrated water vapor fluxes, sea level pressure, and 500-hectopascal heights. Anomalies of these fields move into the region from the northwest, with stronger anomalies present in the 95th percentile case. Although previous studies show tropical cyclones are responsible for the most intense extreme precipitation events, only 10 percent of the events in this study are caused by tropical cyclones. On the other hand, extreme events resulting from cutoff low pressure systems have increased. The time period of the study was divided in half to determine how the mean composite has changed over time. An arc of lower sea level pressure along the East Coast and a change in the vertical profile of equivalent potential temperature suggest a possible increase in the frequency or intensity of synoptic-scale baroclinic disturbances

Assessing the fidelity of the independently getting up off the floor (IGO) technique as part of the ReTrain pilot feasibility randomised controlled trial for stroke survivors

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Purpose Hemiparesis and physical deconditioning following stroke lead to an increase in falls, which many individuals cannot get up from. Teaching stroke survivors to independently get off the floor (IGO) might mitigate long-lie complications. IGO was taught as part of a community-based, functional rehabilitation training programme (ReTrain). We explore the feasibility of teaching IGO and assess participant’s level of mastery, adherence, and injury risk. Materials and methods Videos of participants (n = 17) performing IGO at early, middle, and late stages of the ReTrain programme were compared to a manualised standard. A visual, qualitative analysis was used to assess technique mastery, adherence, and injury risk. Results Most participants (64%) achieved independent, safe practice of IGO. A good (73%) level of adherence to IGO and low incidence of risk of injury (6.8%) were observed. Deviations were made to accommodate for non-stroke related comorbidities. Conclusions IGO was successfully and safely practised by stroke survivors including those with hemiparesis. Trainers should be aware of comorbidities that may impede completion of IGO and modify teaching to accommodate individual need. Further research should assess if IGO can be utilised by individuals who have other disabilities with unilateral impairments and whether IGO has physical, functional and economic benefit. Implications for rehabilitation Falls are common in stroke survivors, and many are unable to get up despite being uninjured, leading to long-lie complications or ambulance call-outs but non-conveyance to hospital. Teaching the independently getting up off the floor (IGO) technique to stroke survivors was possible for those with or without hemiparesis, and remained safe despite modifications to accommodate an individual’s needs. Individual assessment is needed to check if a stroke survivor is suitable for learning IGO including, but not limited to, their ability to safely get to the floor and to temporarily stand (without support) at the end of the technique.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Concert recording 2012-11-05

[Track 01]. Danse macabre / Camille Saint-Saens -- [Track 02]. Mazurka / Francis Poulenc -- [Track 03]. Now sleeps the crimson petal / Roger Quilter -- [Track 04]. O cessate di piagarmi / Alessandro Scarlatti -- [Track 05]. Widmung / Robert Schumann -- [Track 06]. Pique dame. Pauline\u27s aria / Peter IIlyich Tchaikovsky -- [Track 07]. Don Giovanni. Deh vieni alla finestra / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -- [Track 08]. Manon. Epouse quelque brave fille / Jules Massenet -- Die tote Stadt. Tanzlied des pierrot / Erick Wolfgang Korngold -- [Track 09]. Die Forelle / Franz Schubert -- [Track 10]. Ici-bas / Gabriel Faure -- [Track 11]. Un ballo in maschera. Saper vorreste / Guiseppe Verdi -- [Track 12]. Il Floriodo. Per pieta / Alessandro Stradella -- [Track 13]. Mein schoner stern/ Robert Schumann -- [Track 14]. Fleur jetee / Gabriel Faure -- [Track 15]. A view from the bridge. New York lights / William Bolcom -- [Track 16]. Les nuits d\u27ete. Vilanelle / Hector Berlioz -- [Track 17]. Ständchen / Joseph Marx -- Will there really be a morning? / Andre Previn -- The trees on the mountain / Carlisle Floyd

Investigating the effectiveness of the Mediterranean diet in pregnant women for the primary prevention of asthma and allergy in high-risk infants: protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial

This research is funded by the Chief Scientist Office of The Scottish Government/Chief Medical Officer Directorate (Grant CZG/2/558). The authors would like to acknowledge the staff involved in the NHS ethical and research and development review processes, and staff at the Health Records Department of the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for their help in getting the recruitment material to potential participants. The staff at the ultrasound/X-ray clinics at the two NHS Lothian sites where the participants are met by the researcher are most helpful and accommodating. The authors thank Anne Galloway (dietitian) who, when available, is delivering the intervention at one of the sites. They would also like to thank the participants for volunteering to take part, Dr Rob Elton the independent statistician, and Julia Clark (dietitian), Dr Ulugbek Nurmatov (researcher), and our Consumer Involvement Group for their input.Peer reviewedPublisher PD