Getting Back to Work: New Public/Private Strategies for Laid-Off American Workers/Summary Report

A new multi-year, national study by the Heldrich Center concludes that the nation's public policies and private sector practices are out of sync with the reality of a changing labor market where millions of Americans face layoffs each year and millions more are at risk of job loss. The study -- based on an analysis of economic trends and surveys of more than 3,000 workers and several hundred employers -- offers concrete recommendations for workers, employers, and policymakers to respond to widespread job dislocation. It also includes first-hand accounts of laid-off workers, and describes public and private sector practices that effectively support displaced workers

Getting Back to Work: New Public/Private Strategies for Laid-Off American Workers/Full Report

A new multi-year, national study by the Heldrich Center concludes that the nation's public policies and private sector practices are out of sync with the reality of a changing labor market where millions of Americans face layoffs each year and millions more are at risk of job loss. The study -- based on an analysis of economic trends and surveys of more than 3,000 workers and several hundred employers -- offers concrete recommendations for workers, employers, and policymakers to respond to widespread job dislocation. It also includes first-hand accounts of laid-off workers, and describes public and private sector practices that effectively support displaced workers

Fire Treatment Effects on Vegetation Structure, Fuels, and Potential Fire Severity in Western US Forests

Forest structure and species composition in many western U. S. coniferous forests have been altered through. re exclusion, past and ongoing harvesting practices, and livestock grazing over the 20th century. The effects of these activities have been most pronounced in seasonally dry, low and mid-elevation coniferous forests that once experienced frequent, low to moderate intensity,. re regimes. In this paper, we report the effects of Fire and Fire Surrogate (FFS) forest stand treatments on fuel load profiles, potential fire behavior, and fire severity under three weather scenarios from six western U. S. FFS sites. This replicated, multisite experiment provides a framework for drawing broad generalizations about the effectiveness of prescribed. re and mechanical treatments on surface fuel loads, forest structure, and potential. re severity. Mechanical treatments without. re resulted in combined 1-, 10-, and 100-hour surface fuel loads that were significantly greater than controls at three of five FFS sites. Canopy cover was significantly lower than controls at three of five FFS sites with mechanical-only treatments and at all five FFS sites with the mechanical plus burning treatment;. re-only treatments reduced canopy cover at only one site. For the combined treatment of mechanical plus. re, all five FFS sites with this treatment had a substantially lower likelihood of passive crown. re as indicated by the very high torching indices. FFS sites that experienced significant increases in 1-, 10-, and 100-hour combined surface fuel loads utilized harvest systems that left all activity fuels within experimental units. When mechanical treatments were followed by prescribed burning or pile burning, they were the most effective treatment for reducing crown fire potential and predicted tree mortality because of low surface fuel loads and increased vertical and horizontal canopy separation. Results indicate that mechanical plus fire, fire-only, and mechanical-only treatments using whole-tree harvest systems were all effective at reducing potential. re severity under severe. re weather conditions. Retaining the largest trees within stands also increased. re resistance

The 2006 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Range Reference Atmosphere Model Validation Study and Sensitivity Analysis to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Space Shuttle

NASA's Space Shuttle utilizes atmospheric thermodynamic properties to evaluate structural dynamics and vehicle flight performance impacts by the atmosphere during ascent. Statistical characteristics of atmospheric thermodynamic properties at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) used in Space. Shuttle Vehicle assessments are contained in the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) Range Reference Atmosphere (RRA) Database. Database contains tabulations for monthly and annual means (mu), standard deviations (sigma) and skewness of wind and thermodynamic variables. Wind, Thermodynamic, Humidity and Hydrostatic parameters 1 km resolution interval from 0-30 km 2 km resolution interval 30-70 km Multiple revisions of the CCAFS RRA database have been developed since initial RRA published in 1963. 1971, 1983, 2006 Space Shuttle program utilized 1983 version for use in deriving "hot" and "cold" atmospheres, atmospheric density dispersions for use in vehicle certification analyses and selection of atmospheric thermodynamic profiles for use in vehicle ascent design and certification analyses. During STS-114 launch preparations in July 2005 atmospheric density observations between 50-80 kft exceeded density limits used for aerodynamic ascent heating constraints in vehicle certification analyses. Mission specific analyses were conducted and concluded that the density bias resulted in small changes to heating rates and integrated heat loading on the vehicle. In 2001, the Air Force Combat Climatology Center began developing an updated RRA for CCAFS

Engagement with online resources and widening participation status: Observations from a large, diverse Foundation Year science cohort

Despite focused effort and attention over recent years, many potential barriers to progression and success remain within Higher Education. This study focuses on a cohort of 168 students studying on two semester-long Foundation Year Biological Sciences modules delivered at the University of East Anglia in the academic year 2021/22. These modules take place in consecutive semesters within the same academic year and specifically target students from underrepresented and widening participation backgrounds. This study seeks to understand whether a student’s widening participation background influences their engagement with online study resources

The Navigator Podcast - Episode 1: Mind Over Machine

The University of Greenwich Generator is setting sail on a thrilling new journey of knowledge exchange with the launch of its first-ever podcast the Navigator. Crafted in collaboration with Lucien von Schomberg, Senior Lecturer in Creativity and Innovation at Greenwich Business School it promises to be an exciting platform for innovation, entrepreneurship, and thought-provoking conversation. The podcast aims to bridge the gap between academic insights and real-world issues in an easily digestible way. Through engaging conversations, listeners can expect to gain valuable knowledge from industry leaders and academic experts alike. Operating on three key principles—knowledge communication, knowledge exchange, and knowledge creation—this podcast embodies the essence of the Generator's mission, inspiring, educating and fostering collaboration. The first episode explores the limitless potential of AI in today's world, unravelling its impact on business, education, and society. Guests share their profound insights, experiences, and practical advice, shedding light on how AI is shaping our future. The episode delved deep into the ethical implications but also vast potential of using AI in the future and how it will affect both education and the wider world. The episode boasts an impressive lineup of inaugural guests, including Jane Harrington, the Vice-Chancellor of The University of Greenwich, Carl Thomas, Enterprise Advisor, and founder of Audiowings, Ghislaine Boddington, Professor in Digital Immersion, and Neil Saunders, Senior Lecturer in Mathematical Sciences. Together, these guests provide diverse perspectives on the future of AI at the university and beyond

Swell Sleeves for Testing Explosive Devices

A method of testing explosive and pyrotechnic devices involves exploding the devices inside swell sleeves. Swell sleeves have been used previously for measuring forces. In the present method, they are used to obtain quantitative indications of the energy released in explosions of the devices under test. A swell sleeve is basically a thick-walled, hollow metal cylinder threaded at one end to accept a threaded surface on a device to be tested (see Figure 1). Once the device has been tightly threaded in place in the swell sleeve, the device-and-swell-sleeve assembly is placed in a test fixture, then the device is detonated. After the explosion, the assembly is removed from the test fixture and placed in a coordinate-measuring machine for measurement of the diameter of the swell sleeve as a function of axial position. For each axial position, the original diameter of the sleeve is subtracted from the diameter of the sleeve as swollen by the explosion to obtain the diametral swelling as a function of axial position (see Figure 2). The amount of swelling is taken as a measure of the energy released in the explosion. The amount of swelling can be compared to a standard amount of swelling to determine whether the pyrotechnic device functioned as specified

A short-oligonucleotide microarray that allows improved detection of gastrointestinal tract microbial communities

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The human gastrointestinal (GI) tract contains a diverse collection of bacteria, most of which are unculturable by conventional microbiological methods. Increasingly molecular profiling techniques are being employed to examine this complex microbial community. The purpose of this study was to develop a microarray technique based on 16S ribosomal gene sequences for rapidly monitoring the microbial population of the GI tract.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have developed a culture-independent, semi-quantitative, rapid method for detection of gut bacterial populations based on 16S rDNA probes using a DNA microarray. We compared the performance of microarrays based on long (40- and 50-mer) and short (16–21-mer) oligonucleotides. Short oligonucleotides consistently gave higher specificity. Optimal DNA amplification and labelling, hybridisation and washing conditions were determined using a probe with an increasing number of nucleotide mismatches, identifying the minimum number of nucleotides needed to distinguish between perfect and mismatch probes. An independent PCR-based control was used to normalise different hybridisation results, and to make comparisons between different samples, greatly improving the detection of changes in the gut bacterial population. The sensitivity of the microarray was determined to be 8.8 × 10⁴bacterial cells g^-1faecal sample, which is more sensitive than a number of existing profiling methods. The short oligonucleotide microarray was used to compare the faecal flora from healthy individuals and a patient suffering from Ulcerative Colitis (UC) during the active and remission states. Differences were identified in the bacterial profiles between healthy individuals and a UC patient. These variations were verified by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) and DNA sequencing.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this study we demonstrate the design, testing and application of a highly sensitive, short oligonucleotide community microarray. Our approach allows the rapid discrimination of bacteria inhabiting the human GI tract, at taxonomic levels ranging from species to the superkingdom bacteria. The optimised protocol is available at: <url>http://www.ifr.ac.uk/safety/microarrays/#protocols</url>. It offers a high throughput method for studying the dynamics of the bacterial population over time and between individuals.</p

Resolving the contributions of the membrane-bound and periplasmic nitrate reductase systems to nitric oxide and nitrous oxide production in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium

The production of cytotoxic nitric oxide (NO) and conversion into the neuropharmacological agent and potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) is linked with anoxic nitrate catabolism by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Salmonella can synthesize two types of nitrate reductase: a membrane-bound form (Nar) and a periplasmic form (Nap). Nitrate catabolism was studied under nitrate-rich and nitrate-limited conditions in chemostat cultures following transition from oxic to anoxic conditions. Intracellular NO production was reported qualitatively by assessing transcription of the NO-regulated genes encoding flavohaemoglobin (Hmp), flavorubredoxin (NorV) and hybrid cluster protein (Hcp). A more quantitative analysis of the extent of NO formation was gained by measuring production of N2O, the end-product of anoxic NO-detoxification. Under nitrate-rich conditions, the nar, nap, hmp, norV and hcp genes were all induced following transition from the oxic to anoxic state, and 20% of nitrate consumed in steady-state was released as N2O when nitrite had accumulated to millimolar levels. The kinetics of nitrate consumption, nitrite accumulation and N2O production were similar to those of wild-type in nitrate-sufficient cultures of a nap mutant. In contrast, in a narG mutant, the steady-state rate of N2O production was ~30-fold lower than that of the wild-type. Under nitrate-limited conditions, nap, but not nar, was up-regulated following transition from oxic to anoxic metabolism and very little N2O production was observed. Thus a combination of nitrate-sufficiency, nitrite accumulation and an active Nar-type nitrate reductase leads to NO and thence N2O production, and this can account for up to 20% of the nitrate catabolized