Enforcing the Equator Principles: An NGO\u27s Principled Effort to Stop the Financing of a Paper Pulp Mill in Uruguay

This note will focus on the efforts of an Argentine NGO, the Center for Human Rights and Environment, to use the Equator Principles to stop the financing and construction of a paper-pulp mill, Orion, by the Finnish company Metsa-Botnia in neighboring Uruguay. The Equator Principles, a set of voluntary commitments first adopted in 2003 by private financial institutions, reflect a commitment to, and increasing preoccupation with, responsible lending practices, with particular regard to social and environmental issues. As the Principles were conceived as a set of voluntary guidelines, they do not establish a mechanism for self-enforcement. Nevertheless, the voluntary principles did play an important role allowing the NGO to shame and expose the EPFI to public scrutiny. They also gave CEDHA the opportunity to challenge the project\u27s compliance with IFC Safeguards through a formal complaint with the Compliance Advisory Ombudsman, the independent recourse mechanism for the IFC. In spite of these efforts, the Orion project was completed and is operational. The Principles nevertheless remain a stepping-stone to a future mechanism of more substantial, if not binding, commitments by financial non-state actors to responsible investing. In the meantime, voluntary commitments create a forum in which interested non-state actors - individuals, NGOs and corporations - may participate actively in the development of corporate human rights responsibilities

Lessons to be learned from three mass casualty events - 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing, 2009 Aurora Movie Theatre Shooting, and 2005 Hurricane Katrina

Disaster preparedness is absolutely necessary as the number of both man-made and natural disasters increases worldwide. Not confined to any regions or people, disasters can result in mass casualties. The United States is not spared from these incidents. Ever since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the United States has tried to establish more effective and efficient emergency management systems at all levels in order to respond to any type of disaster. Due to the effort, much improvement in disaster preparedness was observed when mass casualty events happened within the last 10 years. Although there are many independent studies for each mass casualty event, there are very few studies done to compare multiple mass casualty incidents and find commonly shared lessons. This paper aims to determine whether there are any similarities among three mass casualty events - 2005 Hurricane Katrina, the 2009 Aurora Theatre Shooting, and the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing. Because the response to the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing was the most seamless among the three, the most in-depth investigation was done on this incident. Through the examination, the study will also prove if any of the lessons learned from these events can be implemented in future mass casualty incidents. To do so, many current reports and literature reviews were analyzed. The conclusion gained from this study is that there are indeed commonly occurring challenges in disasters and various aspects of disaster preparedness that require practice and preparation. In addition, learning from others' unfortunate mass casualty incidents and their lessons is an important part of strengthening the existing disaster preparedness systems

Energy Homeostasis During Fasting and Fed States: Foxa2 Regulates Hepatic Amino Acid Uptake

In MODY3 patients, as well in the experimental mouse model, the Tcf1 -/- mouse, there is a defect in arginine-induced insulin secretion. In this thesis, we examined the role of arginine transporters in the insulin secreting cells in arginine-induced insulin secretion. We first characterized arginine uptake by MIN6 cells as having a Km of 102.6 μM and being partially Na-dependent and entirely Cl-dependent. We then examined Tcf1 -/- pancreatic islets, which are defective for arginine-induced insulin secretion. Using gene expression array analysis and semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis on pancreatic islets from Tcf1 +/+ and Tcf1 -/- mice, we found eight arginine transporters expressed in the pancreatic islets with only two transporters, mNAT3 and CAT3, regulated by Tcf1 in the islets. Using siRNA-mediated knockdown of both transporters, we found that these transporters are not required for arginine-induced insulin secretion in MIN6 cells. We conclude that there is a high level of redundancy for arginine transport into insulin-secreting cells. We also examined the regulation of mNAT3 in the liver. The liver is the main site for gluconeogenesis during fasting, and has been shown to increase amino acid uptake during periods of low nutrient intake to increase its substrate iv pool for glucose production. We found that mNAT3 is upregulated during fasting, and that this response is abolished with insulin. Using mice injected with adenovirus expressing either Foxa2 or GFP as a control, we found that Foxa2 mediates this insulin-sensitive increase in hepatic mNAT3 expression. Through electrophoretic mobility shift assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments, we found that Foxa2 binds to promoter elements of the mNAT3 gene, Slc38a4. We also showed these promoter elements to be important for Foxa2 transactivation using luciferase reporter gene assays. In addition, with liver perfusion experiments using mice infected with adenovirus, we found increased arginine uptake by livers overexpressing Foxa2. Thus, we have identified Foxa2 as a mediator for increased hepatic amino acid uptake during fasting

A Master's thesis consisting of 1. Acting book for the role of Nora Helmer in A doll's house; 2. Production log for the role of Raina in Arms and the man

Thesis (M.F.A)--Boston University. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts. Boston University, School of Fine and Applied Arts, June 1962

Cardiac Masses

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) may be indicated in patients who have poor acoustic windows or in whom lesions are incompletely characterized by echocardiography. This unit presents a basic technique for evaluating cardiac masses, with optional contrast‐enhanced sequences for specific indications. The parameters are based on experience on a Siemens 1.5 T Vision or Symphony and should be altered accordingly for different field strengths and machines from different manufacturers.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145216/1/cpmia1102.pd

Pericardial Disease

This unit presents a basic technique for evaluating non‐neoplastic disease of the pericardium with optional contrast‐enhanced sequences for evaluating suspected neoplastic disease. The parameters are based on experience on a Siemens 1.5 T Vision or Symphony and should be altered accordingly for different field strengths and machines from different manufacturers.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145328/1/cpmia1101.pd

Effect of carbohydrate ingestion during 'spin' classes on health and fitness parameters, quality of life and mood in recreational exercisers -- Happy Carb Study : a thesis presented for a degree of Masters of Science in Sport and Exercise Science at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

Background: Carbohydrate plays an important role in energy provision during exercise, and is a well-known performance-enhancing ergogenic aid. Carbohydrate ingestion has also been shown to influence mood and lead to more pleasurable feelings during exercise. However, carbohydrate ingestion especially from ‘sugary’ sports drinks is perceived to be detrimental for health and weight management. ‘Spin’ classes are popular group fitness cycling sessions where participants work at self-selected exercise intensities. Carbohydrate supplements may allow recreational exercisers to improve exercise performance and enhance the ‘feel-good’ aspects of exercise, leading to an improvement in health and fitness parameters, as well as mood. Extensive research has been conducted with well trained and/or elite athletes to examine the effects of carbohydrate ingestion during single bouts of exercise. However, studies on carbohydrate ingestion during single and repeated bouts of exercise, in recreational exercisers are lacking. Aim: The primary aim of this study was to examine the effect of regular carbohydrate ingestion during exercise in a 10-week intervention on health and fitness parameters, mood and quality of life in recreational exercisers. A secondary aim was to examine the effect of 10-weeks of cycling exercise (spin classes) on health and fitness parameters, as well as quality of life. Methods: Twelve recreational exercisers that attended regular spin classes volunteered to participate in this study. These participants in the Exercise cohort (EXE) were randomly allocated to either Carbohydrate (7.5% carbohydrate solutions; 5 mL/kg of body mass per exercise session; n = 6; CHO) or Placebo (0% carbohydrate, taste- and volume-matched solutions; n = 6; PLA) groups. They each underwent 2 x 45-minute spin classes per week, over a 10-week intervention period. Before each class, participants were given their allocated drinks to consume during the exercise class. Various heart rate parameters, as well as perceptual measures of exertion, pleasure-displeasure and activation (arousal) were assessed after each exercise session. Five non-exercisers were recruited for the Control group (age and gender-matched; CON); they continued their normal daily activities throughout the 10 weeks. All participants (n = 17) were required to attend pre- and postintervention testing sessions where anthropometry, fat composition (BodPod), physiological measures (resting heart rate, resting blood pressure and oxygen saturation rate), cardiorespiratory fitness (cycling test; O2max), quality of life (questionnaire), and various metabolic markers (via collection of blood samples) were assessed. Results: There were no changes from pre- to post-intervention in the measures of body mass, fat composition, waist-to-hip ratio, body mass index (BMI), resting heart rate and systolic blood pressure, oxygen saturation rate, O2max, metabolic markers (triglyceride, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein and high density lipoprotein) and quality of life measures between CHO and PLA groups (all p > 0.05). However, a significant decrease in the resting diastolic pressure in the CHO group was observed post-intervention (p = 0.02). Throughout the 10-week intervention, mean heart rate, proportion of time spent in different heart rate zones, perceived working resistance, and perceptual ratings of exertion and pleasure-displeasure did not change between CHO or PLA groups (all p > 0.05). However, the level of activation throughout the intervention increased in CHO participants, while it decreased in the PLA group (p = 0.03). Furthermore, a higher proportion of participants within the CHO group were in the ‘high-activation, pleasurable’ quadrant (circumplex model of affect) throughout the intervention. The 2-hour fasted glucose (p < 0.01) and high density lipoprotein (p = 0.04) levels also significantly decreased in the CHO group, while it increased in the PLA group. There were no differences in any health and fitness parameters between EXE and CON groups following the 10-week intervention (all p > 0.05) except for a decrease in waist-to-hip ratio of the EXE cohort, and an increase in the CON group (p = 0.02). Lower BMI (p = 0.03) and resting heart rate (p < 0.01), and higher cardiorespiratory fitness (p < 0.01) and ‘work’ subscale of quality of life (p = 0.03) were seen at baseline in the EXE cohort. Conclusion: Carbohydrate ingestion during regular exercise over a 10-week period did not have any physiological benefits in recreational exercisers. However carbohydrate ingestion appeared to enhance ‘feel-good’ state of recreational exercisers throughout the intervention period. The 10 weeks of regular exercise did not incur any additional benefits relative to no exercise. Nevertheless, the exercisers showed better physiological and cardiovascular fitness relative to non-exercisers. Keywords: Feeling Scale, Felt Arousal Scale, circumplex model