Hunger in America: Suffering We All Pay For

Estimates the recession's impact on food insecurity and the national and state-by-state cost of hunger from hunger-induced illnesses, including depression; poor educational outcomes and reduced lifetime earnings, and private charity to help feed families

The Economic Cost of Domestic Hunger: Estimated Annual Burden to the United States

Examines the extent of domestic hunger and estimates the cost burden of food insecurity to the nation, including the costs of charity to help feed families, mental health and physical illnesses, and impaired educational outcomes and economic productivity

Health insurance in Zaire

This study of health insurance systems in Zaire was carried out as part of a larger program of initiatives designed to improve the sustainability of health care systems and increase the health status of the Zairian population. This paper presents the objectives of the study and a discussion of the economic aspects of health insurance, background information about the health sector and health financing systems in Zaire and highlights of previous related work. The major motivations for this study were: (a) to provide information for the ongoing social sector adjustment dialogue in Zaire; and (b) to serve as a case study in the World Bank's Region Study of Health Finance. Specifically, the study sought to document different types of insurance systems in Zaire, and to conduct in-depth case studies of several schemes. The in-depth case studies presented in this report evaluate the design, management operational efficiency of four health insurance programs from both rural and urban areas. The case studies also attempt to analyze the effects of insurance on equity of access, utilization of health care services, and mobilization of financial resources for the health sector. From these analyses, the report draws conclusions about the advantages and disadvantages of health insurance programs as a means of financing health care services in Zaire, and suggests avenues for future research, policy, and programming initiatives.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Insurance Law,Health Economics&Finance,Insurance&Risk Mitigation,Health Systems Development&Reform

Application of Hapke photometric model to three geologic surfaces using PARABOLA bidirectional reflection data

The Geologic Remote Sensing Field Experiment (GRSFE) was conducted in July and September of 1989 to collect data with both ground and airborne instrumentation. A major objective of GRSFE was to collect data which could be used to test radiative transfer models for the extraction of composition and textural surface properties from remotely acquired data. Reported here are the initial results from an application of the Hapke photometric model, using data from the Portable Apparatus for Remote Acquisition of Bidirectional Observations of Land and Atmosphere (PARABOLA), a ground based radiometer with three spectral channels. PARABOLA data was collected in the Lunar Crater Volcanic Field in Nevada, specifically from the region of Lunar Lake, a playa. The Hapke model was found to be inadequate for three relatively common geologic surfaces (a clay-rich, hard packed surface with decimeter sized mudcracks; a cobble site, similar to a playa site, but strewn with basaltic cobbles and pebbles; and a surface mantled basalt lava flow). The model is not at fault; rather, the complexity of most geologic surfaces is not accounted for in the initial assumptions

Multilocus Genetic Investigation of Species Limits in the Caddo Mountain Salamander (Plethodon caddoensis)

Alexandra D. Hahn is an undergraduate student in the School of Biological Sciences at Louisiana Tech University. Donald B. Shepard is an Assistant Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at Louisiana Tech University

Preliminary Development of Electrodes for an Electric-Arc Wind Tunnel

Two electrode configurations were tested in an electric-arc wind tunnel at the NASA Lewis Research Center. The results indicated approximately the same heat-loss rate per unit of arc power input for each of the configurations. Measured heat-loss rates were on the order of 40 percent of the arc power input. Nearly all this loss occurred at the anode. The power input and arc current limitations of the electrodes appear to be the critical design factors. Up to now, the maximum power to the stream has been 115 kilowatts with a cooled tungsten cathode and a cooled cylindrical anode incorporating a magnetic field. The maximum power input to this anode could not be established with the cooled tungsten cathode because cathode failures occurred at a gross power level of approximately 175 kilowatts. It was necessary to use a graphite cathode to seek the limitation of the anode. The results indicated that the anode limitation was primarily a function of arc current rather than power input. The anode was successfully operated at a power of 340 kilowatts at 1730 amperes; however, the anode failed with a power input of 324 kilowatts and a current of 2140 amperes. The magnetic flux density at the time of failure was 0.32 weber per square meter, or 3200 gauss. The graphite cathode was used only to establish the anode limitation; further investigation of graphite cathodes was discontinued because of the large amount of stream contamination associated with this type of electrode

Phylogeography and Diversification of the Ouachita Mountain Endemic Salamanders of the

Climatic changes associated with Pleistocene glacial cycles profoundly affected species distributions, patterns of inter-population gene flow, and demography. In species restricted to montane habitats, ranges may expand and contract along elevational gradients in response to environmental fluctuations resulting in alternating periods of connection and isolation. Periods of isolation may result in population divergence whereas periods of connectivity allow for dispersal and gene flow among mountains. The salamanders Plethodon ouachitae and Plethodon fourchensis are endemic to the Ouachita Mountains and are largely restricted to high-elevation, mesic forest. Because the ranges of these species span several mountains which are separated by more xeric, low-elevation valleys, the salamanders appear to be isolated on sky islands where gene flow among populations on different mountains may be restricted. I used DNA sequence data along with ecological niche modelling and coalescent simulations to test several hypotheses related to responses of montane species to Pleistocene glacial cycle-induced climatic shifts. Further, I analyzed morphological variation between species and among lineages within species to assess the extent of morphological divergence. My results revealed that P. ouachitae is composed of seven well-supported lineages structured across six major mountains whereas P. fourchensis is composed of four lineages structured across five montane isolates. Geographic breaks between lineages occurred in the vicinity of major valleys or high-elevation passes. Environmental conditions in intervening valleys were warmer and drier than conditions at locations where salamanders occurred, but ecological niche modelling predicted that suitable conditions were present between most mountains. Lineage diversification within each species occurred contemporaneously during the Middle Pleistocene, but diversification in P. ouachitae occurred in a stepping stone fashion compared to the fragmentation of a wide-ranging ancestor in P. fourchensis. Historical demographic analyses showed relatively stable population sizes over the last glacial cycle in P. ouachitae, but a gradual decrease in P. fourchensis. Both species, however, showed a slight to moderate amount of population growth in all lineages starting approximately 5 000-12 000 years ago, which coincides with the transition to the current interglacial period, the Holocene. Results from morphological analyses supported genetic evidence showing significant divergence between P. ouachitae and P. fourchensis, and among the different lineages within each species. My results not only demonstrate that climatic changes during the Pleistocene had profound effects on species restricted to montane habitats, but comparison of my results for P. fourchensis with its parapatric, sister taxon, P. ouachitae, emphasizes how responses can vary substantially even among closely related, similarly distributed taxa. The high level of diversity within P. ouachitae and P. fourchensis also has important implications for conservation because these endemic species have small ranges and lineages are usually restricted to single mountains

Assessing the Current Status and Distribution of Crawfish Frogs in Louisiana

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Genetic Evidence for Two New Species of Salamanders (Plethodon glutinosus complex)

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