Beyond Katrina: Improving Disaster Response Capabilities

As Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma successively lashed the Gulf Coast starting in late August 2005, nature’s fury exposed serious weaknesses in the United States’s emergency response capabilities. These problems were not simply the failure of particular places or leaders to be ready for disaster but rather an indication of more fundamental issues. These must be addressed if the country is to be ready for serious challenges that may lay ahead, whether severe natural disasters, outbreaks of emergent infectious disease, or renewed terrorist attacks

KINERJA PASAR PANDAN SEBAGAI BAHAN BAKU INDUSTRI ANYAMAN DI KABUPATEN TASIKMALAYA

ABSTRAKTanaman pandan di Indonesia pada umumnya digunakan sebagaibahan baku untuk industri anyaman yang merupakan komoditas ekspor.Introduksi atau pengembangan tanaman pandan menjadi salah satualternatif pada daerah-daerah yang dominan mengguna-kan bahan bakupandan untuk kebutuhan industri, terutama industri anyaman danhandicraft. Untuk mengetahui kinerja pemasaran pandan maka pada bulanJuli-Agustus 2004 telah dilakukan penelitian di Kabupaten Tasikmalaya,Jawa Barat, sebagai sentra penghasil dan industri anyaman pandan diIndonesia. Petani responden dipilih secara acak, demikian pula pedagangpengumpul I, pedagang pengumpul II, dan produsen anyaman pandan.Data yang dikumpulkan terdiri atas data primer dan sekunder berupa dataharga deret waktu (time series) dari berbagai sumber. Pendekatan yangdigunakan adalah model Structure - Conduct - Performance, denganpangsa petani dan transmisi harga sebagai indikator kinerja pasar. Hasilpenelitian menunjukkan bahwa sebagian besar petani menggunakansaluran pemasaran I (89,25%) dan hanya 10,75% yang menggunakansaluran pemasaran II. Bagian harga yang diterima petani hanya 31,25%pada saluran I dan 37,50% pada saluran pemasaran II. Nilai elastisitastransmisi harga sebesar 0,5148 mengindikasikan bahwa perubahan hargapandan tidak seluruhnya ditransmisikan ke petani produsen. Kinerja pasaryang kurang baik ini terjadi karena struktur pasar yang kurang bersaingdan perilaku pasar yang menjadikan posisi tawar petani lemah berhadapandengan pedagang pengumpul.Kata kunci: Pandanus sp, struktur, perilaku, kinerja pasar, pangsapetani, elastisitas transmisi hargaABSTRACTMarket performance of pandanus as raw material ofhandicraft industry in TasikmalayaPandanus (Pandanus sp.) is the essential raw material of handicraftand potential export commodities. The research was carried out to study ofpandanus performance market. The study was conducted at Tasikmalaya,West Java, as main pandanus handicraft producer, on July-August 2004used survey method. Data collected consisted of primary and secondarydata (time series). The sampling method used was simple randomsampling for farmers, traders I, traders II, and pandanus handicraftproduct. Data analyzed was designed with Structure - Conduct –Performance or SCP model. Farmer share and price transmissionelasticity as main indicator and criteria of analysis. The results showedthat 89,25% farmers used marketing channel I, only 10,75% usedmarketing channel II. Farmers share were only 31,25% on marketingchannel I and 37,50% on marketing channel II. Price transmissionelasticity was 0,5148 indicated that pandanus market had asymmetricprices information. The bad pandanus performance market caused byimperfect market and market conduct while powerless bargaining positionof pandanus farmers.Key words: Pandanus sp., structure, conduct, performance, market,farmers share, prices transmission elasticit

A Quantitative Theory of Solid Tumor Growth, Metabolic Rate and Vascularization

The relationships between cellular, structural and dynamical properties of tumors have traditionally been studied separately. Here, we construct a quantitative, predictive theory of solid tumor growth, metabolic rate, vascularization and necrosis that integrates the relationships between these properties. To accomplish this, we develop a comprehensive theory that describes the interface and integration of the tumor vascular network and resource supply with the cardiovascular system of the host. Our theory enables a quantitative understanding of how cells, tissues, and vascular networks act together across multiple scales by building on recent theoretical advances in modeling both healthy vasculature and the detailed processes of angiogenesis and tumor growth. The theory explicitly relates tumor vascularization and growth to metabolic rate, and yields extensive predictions for tumor properties, including growth rates, metabolic rates, degree of necrosis, blood flow rates and vessel sizes. Besides these quantitative predictions, we explain how growth rates depend on capillary density and metabolic rate, and why similar tumors grow slower and occur less frequently in larger animals, shedding light on Peto's paradox. Various implications for potential therapeutic strategies and further research are discussed

Reproductive success through high pollinator visitation rates despite self incompatibility in an endangered wallflower

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Self incompatibility (SI) in rare plants presents a unique challenge—SI protects plants from inbreeding depression, but requires a sufficient number of mates and xenogamous pollination. Does SI persist in an endangered polyploid? Is pollinator visitation sufficient to ensure reproductive success? Is there evidence of inbreeding/outbreeding depression? We characterized the mating system, primary pollinators, pollen limitation, and inbreeding/outbreeding depression in Erysimum teretifolium to guide conservation efforts. METHODS: We compared seed production following self pollination and within- and between-population crosses. Pollen tubes were visualized after self pollinations and between-population pollinations. Pollen limitation was tested in the field. Pollinator observations were quantified using digital video. Inbreeding/outbreeding depression was assessed in progeny from self and outcross pollinations at early and later developmental stages. KEY RESULTS: Self-pollination reduced seed set by 6.5× and quadrupled reproductive failure compared with outcross pollination. Pollen tubes of some self pollinations were arrested at the stigmatic surface. Seed-set data indicated strong SI, and fruit-set data suggested partial SI. Pollinator diversity and visitation rates were high, and there was no evidence of pollen limitation. Inbreeding depression (δ) was weak for early developmental stages and strong for later developmental stages, with no evidence of outbreeding depression. CONCLUSIONS: The rare hexaploid E. teretifolium is largely self incompatible and suffers from late-acting inbreeding depression. Reproductive success in natural populations was accomplished through high pollinator visitation rates consistent with a lack of pollen limitation. Future reproductive health for this species will require large population sizes with sufficient mates and a robust pollinator community

Technique for Obtaining Vertical Profiles of Backscattering and Extinction Cross Sections Using Slant Path Lidar Measurements

A method is presented for solving for vertical profiles of atmospheric particulate extinction and backscattering cross-sections utilizing monostatic lidar slant path measurements. The method is an extension of work by Fernald. It is shown that the number of assumptions necessary for an iterative solution of extinction and backscattering cross sections can be reduced if lidar slant path measurements are used to solve directly for optical depths. The technique is useful only if sufficiently accurate lidar measurements are available. With highly accurate measurements it is also possible to solve directly for extinction cross sections without an iterative solution of a transcendental equation if the proper reduction scheme is used. The required accuracy is discussed and results showing the effect of errors are presented

Pharmacokinetic analysis after implantation of everolimus-eluting self-expanding stents in the peripheral vasculature

Background: A novel self-expanding drug-eluting stent was designed to release everolimus 225 mu g/cm(2) to prevent restenosis following peripheral arterial intervention. The purpose of this study was to measure the pharmacokinetic profile of everolimus following stent implantation. Methods: One hundred four patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease underwent implantation of everolimus-eluting stents in the femoropopliteal arteries. In a prespecified subset of 26 patients, blood samples for assay of everolimus content were collected prior to stent implantation, at 1, 4, and 8 hours postprocedure, prior to discharge, and at 1 month postproccdure. Results: A total of 39 stents, ranging from 28 mm to 100 mm in length, were implanted in 26 patients, resulting in a total delivered everolimus dose range of 3.0 to 7.6 mg. Following the procedure, the maximum observed everolimus blood concentrations (C-max) varied from 1.83 +/- 0.05 ng/mL after implantation of a single 80-mm stent to 4.66 +/- 1.78 ng/mL after implantation of two 100-mm stents. The mean time to peak concentration (T-max) varied from 6.8 hours to 35 hours. The pharmacokinetics of everolimus were dose-proportional in that dose-normalized C-max and area under the curve values were constant over the studied dose range. Conclusions: After implantation of everolimus-eluting self-expanding stents in the femoropopliteal arteries, systemic blood concentrations of everolimus are predictable and considerably lower than blood concentrations observed following safe oral administration of everolimus