The Urgent Need for Job Creation

Many lawmakers, policymakers, and economic commentators do not appear to recognize the depth of the current labor-market recession. Between December 2007 -- the official first month of the recession -- and December 2009, the U.S. economy lost more than eight million jobs. Even if the economy creates jobs from now on at a pace equal to the fastest four years of the early 2000s expansion, we will not return to the December 2007 level of employment until March 2014. And, by the time we return to the number of jobs we had in December 2007, population growth will have increased the potential labor force by about 6.5 million jobs. If job growth matched the fastest four years in the most recent economic expansion, the economy would not catch up to the expanded labor force until April 2021. Absent policy changes such as a major jobs bill, the Congressional Budget Office's most recent projections suggest that the economy will not return to December 2007 employment levels until June 2013, and will not cover the intervening growth in the potential labor force until August 2015. This report examines the depth of the current labor-market recession and sketches the possible recovery path under several historically based job creation scenarios

The Urgent Need for Job Creation

Many lawmakers, policymakers, and economic commentators do not appear to recognize the depth of the current labor-market recession. Between December 2007 – the official first month of the recession – and December 2009, the U.S. economy lost more than eight million jobs. Even if the economy creates jobs from now on at a pace equal to the fastest four years of the early 2000s expansion, we will not return to the December 2007 level of employment until March 2014. And, by the time we return to the number of jobs we had in December 2007, population growth will have increased the potential labor force by about 6.5 million jobs. If job growth matched the fastest four years in the most recent economic expansion, the economy would not catch up to the expanded labor force until April 2021. Absent policy changes such as a major jobs bill, the Congressional Budget Office’s most recent projections suggest that the economy will not return to December 2007 employment levels until June 2013, and will not cover the intervening growth in the potential labor force until August 2015. This report examines the depth of the current labor-market recession and sketches the possible recovery path under several historically based job creation scenarios.unemployment, recession, stimulus, deficit spending

A national policy for the informal economy in Papua New Guinea

The informal economy is important in Papua New Guinea because a majority of households are involved in it as producers and consumers. The livelihoods of householders could be improved by greater access to informal income-generating opportunities. This article rejects widely held negative perceptions of the informal economy, although it cautions against undue optimism concerning its potential. It points to the limits of government action in support of the informal economy and suggests that providing a supportive policy and regulatory environment for the sector is the best course of action. It asserts the need to increase the national level of 'financial inclusion' as a central economic policy goal, with microfinance as the primary policy instrument for that goal. It emphasises the importance of providing public goods and services whose absence or inadequacy has retarded the informal economy. Suggestions are made for public goods and associated government services of particular utility for the growth and development of the informal econom

Molecular phylogenetics of arvicoline rodents

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1998The impetus for this dissertation was an interest in geographic variation in Microtus longicaudus with a particular focus on populations in the Alexander Archipelago of southeastern Alaska. To establish a framework for interpreting intraspecific variation in M. longicaudus, I examined the phylogenetics of 28 species of the genus Microtus, including all North American species (Chapters 2 and 4). That study, which corroborates a rapid pulse of diversification noted in the fossil record, necessitated a deeper phylogenetic perspective. Thus, a third objective of the dissertation was to investigate relationships among genera of arvicolines within the framework of other murid rodents. I examined variation in the mitochondrial cytochrome b and ND4 genes using maximum parsimony, distance, and maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses. Relationships at several taxonomic levels appear intractable due to rapid accumulation and survival of genetic lineages. These rapid radiations were found among species, genera, and possibly subfamilies; however, strong support at these levels for other taxa (e.g., the monophyly of Microtus) suggests these genes have strong phylogenetic signal. Many of the well-supported sister species pairs within Microtus (Chapters 2 and 4) had been previously identified based on morphologic or allozyme work (e.g., M. pennsylvanicus and M. montanus, M. pinetorum and M. quasiater). The sequence data supported a clade of taiga dwelling species in North America and a clade of eastern and central Asian species. The southernmost arvicoline species of Mexico and Guatemala, though previously suggested to be derived from a single ancient invasion, did not appear to be either ancient or monophyletic. Within M. longicaudus, a large east-west phylogeographic break was detected that is equivalent in genetic distance to other sister species pairs in the genus. This break may indicate mid to late-Pleistocene differentiation (Chapter 3) within the genus. At higher latitudes, populations of M. longicaudus exhibited evidence of recent range expansion including absence of correlation between geographic and genetic structure; and pairwise mismatches among DNA sequences with a single peak and few differences

The Attitude of the Metropolitan Daily Toward Neighborhood Advertising

The material for this thesis has been gathered from personal letters, accompanied by a questionnaire, which were sent to the advertising managers of thirty-five newspapers throughout the country and Canada. After a thorough investigation it was found that there are no books that dwell directly on the subject and the questionnaire and letter that follow directly after the bibliography were sent to gain the information. Many of the advertising managers went to a lengthy discussion on the subject but the majority of answers were returned, written on the back of the questionnaire. These were very meager in the information that they conveyed. \u27 Two articles, one appearing in the April, 28, 1928 issue of the Editor and Publisher, and another appearing in the December issue of Printers Ink Monthly were the only articles to be found in print that dwelt in any way with the subject

Residue analyses and exposure assessment of the Irish population to nitrofuran metabolites from different food commodities in 2009–2010

peer-reviewedAn exposure assessment to nitrofuran residues was performed for three human populations (adults, teenagers and children), based on residue analyses of foods of animal origin (liver, honey, eggs and aquaculture) covering the 2-year period 2009– 2010. The occurrence of nitrofuran metabolites in food on the Irish market was determined for the selected period using the data from Ireland’s National Food Residue Database (NFRD) and from results obtained from the analysis of retail samples (aquaculture and honey). Laboratory analyses of residues were performed by methods validated in accordance with Commission Decision 2002/657/EC regarding performance of the analytical method and interpretation of results. Semicarbazide (SEM) was the contaminant most frequently identified and its content ranged from 0.09 to 1.27 μg kg−1. SEM is currently used as a marker of nitrofuran abuse, but it may also occur from other sources. The presence of nitrofuran metabolite 3-amino-2-oxazolidinone (AOZ) was detected in two aquaculture samples (prawns) at 1.63 and 1.14 μg kg−1, but such a low number of positive cases did not present sufficient data for a full AOZ exposure assessment. Therefore, the evaluation of exposure was focused on SEM-containing food groups only. Exposure assessments were completed using a probabilistic approach that generated 10 iterations. The results of both the upper- and lower-bound exposure assessments demonstrate that SEM exposure for Irish adults, teenagers and children from selected food commodities are well below EFSA-estimated safe levels.This research was funded by the Food for Health Research Initiative (FHRI) administered by the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Health Research Board (Contract 07FHRIAFRC5

The Extended IRTF Spectral Library: Expanded coverage in metallicity, temperature, and surface gravity

We present a $0.7-2.5\mu m$ spectral library of 284 stars observed with the medium-resolution infrared spectrograph, SpeX, at the 3.0 meter NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Maunakea, Hawaii. This library extends the metallicity range of the IRTF Cool Star library beyond solar metallicity to $-1.7 <$ [Fe/H] $< 0.6$. All of the observed stars are also in the MILES optical stellar library, providing continuous spectral coverage for each star from $0.35-2.5\mu m$. The spectra are absolute flux calibrated using Two Micron All Sky Survey photometry and the continuum shape of the spectra is preserved during the data reduction process. Synthesized $JHK_S$ colors agree with observed colors at the $1-2\%$ level, on average. We also present a spectral interpolator that uses the library to create a data-driven model of spectra as a function of $teff$, $logg$, and [Fe/H]. We use the library and interpolator to compare empirical trends with theoretical predictions of spectral feature behavior as a function of stellar parameters. These comparisons extend to the previously difficult to access low-metallicity and cool dwarf regimes, as well as the previously poorly sampled super-solar metallicity regime. The library and interpolator are publicly available.Comment: Accepted to ApJS. The website making the data publicly available will be available soon. For those interested in the meantime, contact the first autho

Nicalon/siliconoxycarbide ceramic composites

A series of silsesquioxane copolymers was synthesized by acid hydrolysis and condensation of trimethoxysilanes of the form RSi(OCH3)3, where R = methyl or phenyl. By varying pH, water/methoxy and methyl/phenyl ratios, the molecular structure, polymer rheology and ceramic composition can be controlled. The polymers form an amorphous siliconoxycarbide on pyrolysis. Composites of Nicalon/siliconoxycarbide were fractured in four-point flexure and in tension to evaluate the influence of matrix composition, final fabrication temperature and use of filler on composite mode of failure, modulus, strain capability and strength. Incorporation of filler was found to increase matrix compressive strength. Employment of processing temperatures of 1375 to 1400 C enhanced strain to failure and reduced the tendency toward brittle fracture. Mixed mode (compression/shear and tension/shear) failures were observed in flexural samples processed to the higher temperatures, giving rise to nonlinear stress-strain curves. Tensile samples pyrolyzed to 1400 C showed linear-elastic behavior and failed by fracture of fiber bundles. Matrix material was found to be adherent to the fiber surface after failure. These results demonstrate the need for tensile testing to establish composite behavior

Estimating abundance of Galliformes: tools and application

A large number of techniques are available for assessing populations of vertebrates. However, application of many of those techniques to Galliformes is hampered by a variety of constraints. These problems are often magnified by poor understanding of the biology of many species of concern, and an absence of valid estimates of abundance and demographic parameters. Researchers interested in developing estimates of Galliformes populations must address a number of key issues before collecting field data, to avoid biases in the resulting population estimates. General guidance exists for the identification of appropriate population estimation techniques, and a dichotomous key has been developed for abundance estimation of other vertebrates, such as mammals. First, we review some of the basic principles of abundance estimation, with the goal of identifying sources of bias, and avoiding these in field surveys. We then develop specific guidelines for Galliformes, and a key to abundance estimation for field researchers. Based on our knowledge of the general biology of Galliformes, the most applicable techniques for estimating abundance are based on variations of distance sampling techniques, mark-resighting techniques, and removal techniques. Use of indices should be considered only when more quantitative analyses are logistically or biologically impossible. However, their use can be made more valuable by employing double sampling or other methods that directly link indices to unbiased estimates of abundance

TCR Convergence in Individuals Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibition for Cancer.

Tumor antigen-driven selection may expand T cells having T cell receptors (TCRs) of shared antigen specificity but different amino acid or nucleotide sequence in a process known as TCR convergence. Substitution sequencing errors introduced by TCRβ (TCRB) repertoire sequencing may create artifacts resembling TCR convergence. Given the anticipated differences in substitution error rates across different next-generation sequencing platforms, the choice of platform could be consequential. To test this, we performed TCRB sequencing on the same peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from individuals with cancer receiving anti-CTLA-4 or anti-PD-1 using an Illumina-based approach (Sequenta) and an Ion Torrent-based approach (Oncomine TCRB-LR). While both approaches found similar TCR diversity, clonality, and clonal overlap, we found that Illumina-based sequencing resulted in higher TCR convergence than with the Ion Torrent approach. To build upon this initial observation we conducted a systematic comparison of Illumina-based TCRB sequencing assays, including those employing molecular barcodes, with the Oncomine assay, revealing differences in the frequency of convergent events, purportedly artifactual rearrangements, and sensitivity of detection. Finally, we applied the Ion Torrent-based approach to evaluate clonality and convergence in a cohort of individuals receiving anti-CTLA-4 blockade for cancer. We found that clonality and convergence independently predicted response and could be combined to improve the accuracy of a logistic regression classifier. These results demonstrate the importance of the sequencing platform in assessing TCRB convergence