Economic Conversion, Productive Efficiency and Social Welfare

Traditional economic theory holds that there is a tradeoff between inflation and unemployment, and that accordingly price stability (i.e. 0% inflation) can only be achieved at the expense of increased unemployment, while full employment (corresponding to an unemployment rate of about 3%)\u27 requires acceptance of an ongoing inflation. In 1960, the noted economists Paul Samuelson and Robert Solow published an analysis of annual data for the per d 1933-1958, from which they quantitatively estimated this tradeoff. It was their rough estimate that the elimination of inflation would require acceptance of a 5%-6% rate of unemployment while the achievement of full employment would impose a continuing 4%-5% rate of inflation. In a later study Lawrence Klein and Ronald Bodkin looked at quarterly data from 1946-57 and concluded that an unemployment rate of 6.9% would have to be maintained In order to achieve price stability, thus implying a slightly more severe tradeoff. The fact is that over the last several years, inflation and unemployment have both been persistently near, and often substantially beyond, these high tradeoff limits simultaneously. During the calendar year 1975, the U.S. national unemployment rate was averaging 8.5% at the same time the consumer price index was rising by 6.5%.4 Something had clearly changed in the U.S. economy to produce this unprecedented high inflation/high unemployment situation. The question is what? An important part of the answer lies not in the events of the last few years by themselves but rather is rooted in a much longer process of cumulative economic deterioration stretching over the past few decades. Furthermore, this process does not derive from a fatal flaw in the workings of the U.S. economic system. It is neither necessary nor inevitable. Rather it Is the unintended result of a conscious decision, with broad popular support, to adhere to a system of national priorities which has given primacy to the development and maintenance of a sector which is particularly unproductive from a purely economic viewpoint -- the military. When the U.S., for the first time in its history, entered into a protracted era of high military spending following the close of the Second World War, it sowed the seeds of the economic decline whose bitter harvest it is just beginning to reap. The initial section of this analysis traces the mechanism by which the persistence of high military spending has played a major role in producing the economic deterioration underlying the present U.S. recession/inflation, and highlights the implications of this deterioration for social welfare. The second section deals with the nature of the serious economic and political barriers that have developed to the reversal of this economic and social decline. Finally, we consider the kinds of policies which should be effective in overcoming these barriers and accomplishing the transition from military to civilian orientation which is a necessary pre-condition of a serious and successful effort to improve the economic and social welfare of the people of the United States. Some of the plethora of conceivable productive uses of the resources freed from the military are discussed

DOE Environmental Management Programs in New Mexico: Environmental and Economic Impacts

In August 2001 Nuclear Watch of New Mexico (NWNM) was funded by the Citizens’ Monitoring and Technical Assessment (MTA) Fund to conduct an “Assessment of the Environmental and Economic Impacts of Department of Energy Environmental Management Programs in New Mexico.” New Mexico is home to two of the three nuclear weapons laboratories in the United States, Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories. New Mexico also hosts the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the world’s only deep geological disposal site for radioactive transuranic wastes (which are primarily plutonium contaminated wastes resulting from bomb research and production). These three sites were the focus of NWNM’s project. In May 2002, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) issued under its Resource and Recovery Act (RCRA) authority a draft “Corrective Action Order” against Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). This Order mandates the investigation and compilation by the lab of comprehensive environmental information categorized by different lab Technical Areas, watersheds and groundwater. The bulk of our project on LANL environmental issues turned to analyzing and commenting on the draft Corrective Action Order. Subsequently Bernd Franke and Jay Coghlan collaboratively provided NMED with 19 pages of technical comments, which we believe had a salutary effect in strengthening the November 2002 Final Order. It is our hope that the LANL Order will lead, in time, to State-mandated cleanup. Unfortunately, to date implementation of the Order has been stayed under the threat of DOE lawsuits against NMED. The purpose of our Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) project to was to look closely at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) anticipated remote-handled transuranic (RH-TRU) waste program as it pertains to WIPP. [RH-TRU wastes are those too hot for humans to handle.] However, because of the consistently changing nature of the DOE’s environmental management program and because of the interlocking nature of those changes, our WIPP project took on a broader scope. Not only did NWNM analyze and comment on the proposed addition of RH-TRU waste disposal, but also analyzed and commented on 22 other proposed additions or changes to WIPP. We believe that we have played a significant role in helping to ensure that the State WIPP RCRA permit remains strong and that the DOE’s requested modifications are not just perfunctorily approved by the NMED. This research was completed money allocated during Round 2 of the Citizens’ Monitoring and Technical Assessment Fund (MTA Fund). Clark University was named conservator of these works. If you have any questions or concerns please contact us at [email protected]://commons.clarku.edu/nuclearwatch/1000/thumbnail.jp

Exogenous expression of a dominant negative RORa1 vector in muscle cells impairs differentiation: RORa1 directly interacts with p300 and MyoD

ROR/RZR is an orphan nuclear receptor that has no known ligand in the 'classical sense'. In the present study we demonstrate that RORalpha is constitutively expressed during the differentiation of proliferating myoblasts to post-mitotic multinucleated myotubes, that have acquired a contractile phenotype. Exogenous expression of dominant negative RORalpha1DeltaE mRNA in myogenic cells significantly reduces the endogenous expression of RORalpha1 mRNA, represses the accumu-lation and delays the activation of mRNAs encoding MyoD and myogenin [the muscle-specific basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins] and p21(Waf- 1/Cip-1) (a cdk inhibitor). Immunohistochemistry demonstrates that morpho-logical differentiation is delayed in cells expressing the RORDeltaE transcript. Furthermore, the size and development of mutlinucleated myotubes is impaired. The E region of RORalpha1 interacts with p300, a cofactor that functions as a coactivator in nuclear receptor and MyoD-mediated transactivation. Consistent with the functional role of RORalpha1 in myogenesis, we observed that RORalpha1 directly interacts with the bHLH protein MyoD. This interaction was mediated by the N-terminal activation domain of the bHLH protein, MyoD, and the RORalpha1 DNA binding domain/C region. Furthermore, we demonstrated that p300, RORalpha1 and MyoD interact in a non- competitive manner. In conclusion, this study provides evidence for a biological role and positive influence of RORalpha1 in the cascade of events involved in the activation of myogenic-specific markers and cell cycle regulators and suggests that crosstalk between theretinoid- relatedorphan (ROR) nuclear receptors and the myogenic bHLH proteins has functional consequences for differentiation

Biallelic UBE4A loss-of-function variants cause intellectual disability and global developmental delay

Purpose: To identify novel genes associated with intellectual disability (ID) in four unrelated families. Methods: Here, through exome sequencing and international collaboration, we report eight individuals from four unrelated families of diverse geographic origin with biallelic loss-of-function variants in UBE4A. Results: Eight evaluated individuals presented with syndromic intellectual disability and global developmental delay. Other clinical features included hypotonia, short stature, seizures, and behavior disorder. Characteristic features were appreciated in some individuals but not all; in some cases, features became more apparent with age. We demonstrated that UBE4A loss-of-function variants reduced RNA expression and protein levels in clinical samples. Mice generated to mimic patient-specific Ube4a loss-of-function variant exhibited muscular and neurological/behavioral abnormalities, some of which are suggestive of the clinical abnormalities seen in the affected individuals. Conclusion: These data indicate that biallelic loss-of-function variants in UBE4A cause a novel intellectual disability syndrome, suggesting that UBE4A enzyme activity is required for normal development and neurological function

Linking Self-Incompatibility, Dichogamy, and Flowering Synchrony in Two Euphorbia Species: Alternative Mechanisms for Avoiding Self-Fertilization?

Background: Plant species have several mechanisms to avoid selfing such as dichogamy or a self-incompatibility response. Dichogamy in a single flower may reduce autogamy but, to avoid geitonogamy, plants must show flowering synchronization among all their flowers (i.e. synchronous dichogamy). It is hypothesized that one species would not simultaneously show synchronous dichogamy and self-incompatibility because they are redundant mechanisms to reduce selfing; however, this has not been accurately assessed. Methodology/Principal Findings: This expectation was tested over two years in two natural populations of the closely related Mediterranean spurges Euphorbia boetica and E. nicaeensis, which completely avoid autogamy by protogyny at the cyathia level. Both spurges showed a high population synchrony (Z,79), and their inflorescences flower synchronously. In E. nicaeensis, there was no overlap among the cyathia in anthesis of successive inflorescence levels and the overlap between sexual phases of cyathia of the same inflorescence level was uncommon (4–16%). In contrast, E. boetica showed a high overlap among consecutive inflorescence levels (74–93%) and between sexual phases of cyathia of the same inflorescence level (48–80%). The flowering pattern of both spurges was consistent in the two populations and over the two successive years. A hand-pollination experiment demonstrated that E. nicaeensis was strictly self-compatible whereas E. boetica was partially self-incompatible. Conclusions/Significance: We propose that the complex pattern of synchronized protogyny in E. nicaeensis prevents geitonogamous crosses and, consequently, avoids selfing and inbreeding depression. In E. boetica, a high probability of geitonogamous crosses may occur but, alternatively, this plant escapes selfing through a self-incompatibility response. We posit that synchronous dichogamy and physiological self-incompatibility do not co-occur in the same species because each process is sufficiently effective in avoiding self-fertilization.España Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología PLO CGL2005-03731; CGL2008-02533-EEspaña Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología MA CGL2009-0825

Sea level and climate changes during OIS 5e in the Western Mediterranean

Palaeontological, geomorphological and sedimentological data supported by isotopic dating on Oxygen Isotopic Stage (OIS) 5e deposits from the Spanish Mediterranean coast, are interpreted with the aim of reconstructing climatic instability in the Northern Hemisphere. Data point to marked climatic instability during the Last Interglacial (OIS 5e), with a change in meteorological conditions and, consequently, in the sedimentary environment. The oolitic facies generated during the first part of OIS 5e (ca. 135 kyr) shift into reddish conglomeratic facies during the second part (ca. 117 kyr). Sea surface Temperature (SST) and salinity are interpreted mainly on the basis of warm Senegalese fauna, which show chronological and spatial differential distribution throughout the Western Mediterranean. Present hydrological and meteorological conditions are used also as modern analogues to reconstruct climatic variability throughout the Last Interglacial, and this variability is interpreted within the wider framework of the North Atlantic record. All the available data indicate an increase in storminess induced by an increase in the influence of northwesterlies, a slight drop of SST in the northern Western Mediterranean, and an important change in meteorological conditions at the end of OIS 5e (117 kyr). These changes correlate well with the decrease in summer insolation and with the climatic instability recorded in North Atlantic high latitudes

Gravitational Waves From Known Pulsars: Results From The Initial Detector Era

We present the results of searches for gravitational waves from a large selection of pulsars using data from the most recent science runs (S6, VSR2 and VSR4) of the initial generation of interferometric gravitational wave detectors LIGO (Laser Interferometric Gravitational-wave Observatory) and Virgo. We do not see evidence for gravitational wave emission from any of the targeted sources but produce upper limits on the emission amplitude. We highlight the results from seven young pulsars with large spin-down luminosities. We reach within a factor of five of the canonical spin-down limit for all seven of these, whilst for the Crab and Vela pulsars we further surpass their spin-down limits. We present new or updated limits for 172 other pulsars (including both young and millisecond pulsars). Now that the detectors are undergoing major upgrades, and, for completeness, we bring together all of the most up-to-date results from all pulsars searched for during the operations of the first-generation LIGO, Virgo and GEO600 detectors. This gives a total of 195 pulsars including the most recent results described in this paper.United States National Science FoundationScience and Technology Facilities Council of the United KingdomMax-Planck-SocietyState of Niedersachsen/GermanyAustralian Research CouncilInternational Science Linkages program of the Commonwealth of AustraliaCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research of IndiaIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare of ItalySpanish Ministerio de Economia y CompetitividadConselleria d'Economia Hisenda i Innovacio of the Govern de les Illes BalearsNetherlands Organisation for Scientific ResearchPolish Ministry of Science and Higher EducationFOCUS Programme of Foundation for Polish ScienceRoyal SocietyScottish Funding CouncilScottish Universities Physics AllianceNational Aeronautics and Space AdministrationOTKA of HungaryLyon Institute of Origins (LIO)National Research Foundation of KoreaIndustry CanadaProvince of Ontario through the Ministry of Economic Development and InnovationNational Science and Engineering Research Council CanadaCarnegie TrustLeverhulme TrustDavid and Lucile Packard FoundationResearch CorporationAlfred P. Sloan FoundationAstronom

Social mobility among Christian Africans: evidence from Anglican marriage registers in Uganda, 1895-2011

This article uses Anglican marriage registers from colonial and post-colonial Uganda to investigate long-term trends and determinants of intergenerational social mobility and colonial elite formation among Christian African men. It shows that the colonial era opened up new labour opportunities for these African converts, enabling them to take large steps up the social ladder regardless of their social origin. Contrary to the widespread belief that British indirect rule perpetuated the power of African political elites (chiefs), this article shows that a remarkably fluid colonial labour economy actually undermined their social advantages. Sons of chiefs gradually lost their high social-status monopoly to a new, commercially orientated, and well-educated class of Anglican Ugandans, who mostly came from non-elite and sometimes even lower-class backgrounds. The study also documents that the colonial administration and the Anglican mission functioned as key steps on the ladder to upward mobility. Mission education helped provide the skills and social reference needed to climb the ladder in exchange for compliance with the laws of the Anglican Church. These social mobility patterns persisted throughout the post-colonial era, despite rising levels of informal labour during Idi Amin’s dictatorship

Transpressional tectonics and Carboniferous magmatism in the Limousin, Massif Central, France: Structural and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar investigations

New structural, microstructural, and 40Ar/39 Ar data from the NW Massif Central (France) provide additional constraints on the timing and tectonic setting of late Variscan granite magmatism. Previous studies had emphasized the role of late orogenic extension in the emplacement of granite plutons in the Limousin region. In contrast, the new data set is consistent with syntectonic emplacement of magma in a dextral simple shear active from 350 to 300 Ma in a transpressional regime. As an alternative hypothesis to late orogenic extension, we propose that magmas migrated into tensional bridges between active P shears associated with a lithospheric shear zone comparable to a pop-up structure. The Galician region, in the western end of the Ibero-Armorican tectonic arc, exhibits major left-lateral ductile shear zones which can be interpreted as conjugate structures to the Limousin and Armorican shear zones. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union

Integrating an internet-mediated walking program into family medicine clinical practice: a pilot feasibility study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Regular participation in physical activity can prevent many chronic health conditions. Computerized self-management programs are effective clinical tools to support patient participation in physical activity. This pilot study sought to develop and evaluate an online interface for primary care providers to refer patients to an Internet-mediated walking program called Stepping Up to Health (SUH) and to monitor participant progress in the program.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In Phase I of the study, we recruited six pairs of physicians and medical assistants from two family practice clinics to assist with the design of a clinical interface. During Phase II, providers used the developed interface to refer patients to a six-week pilot intervention. Provider perspectives were assessed regarding the feasibility of integrating the program into routine care. Assessment tools included quantitative and qualitative data gathered from semi-structured interviews, surveys, and online usage logs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In Phase I, 13 providers used SUH and participated in two interviews. Providers emphasized the need for alerts flagging patients who were not doing well and the ability to review participant progress. Additionally, providers asked for summary views of data across all enrolled clinic patients as well as advertising materials for intervention recruitment. In response to this input, an interface was developed containing three pages: 1) a recruitment page, 2) a summary page, and 3) a detailed patient page. In Phase II, providers used the interface to refer 139 patients to SUH and 37 (27%) enrolled in the intervention. Providers rarely used the interface to monitor enrolled patients. Barriers to regular use of the intervention included lack of integration with the medical record system, competing priorities, patient disinterest, and physician unease with exercise referrals. Intention-to-treat analyses showed that patients increased walking by an average of 1493 steps/day from pre- to post-intervention (<it>t </it>= (36) = 4.13, <it>p </it>< 0.01).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Providers successfully referred patients using the SUH provider interface, but were less willing to monitor patient compliance in the program. Patients who completed the program significantly increased their step counts. Future research is needed to test the effectiveness of integrating SUH with clinical information systems over a longer evaluation period.</p