The Carrier deal: Trump has won a battle, but is losing the war

Last week, President-elect Donald Trump announced that a deal had been struck for the Carrier Corporation to keep about 1,000 manufacturing jobs in the US rather than move them to Mexico. Laura A. Reese and Gary Sands write that the subsidy deal – despite the positive reaction – should not become a model for the Trump administration’s jobs policies. Rather than choosing winners or losers, they argue, Trump should pursue greater investment in education, research, public services, and other policies which will drive long-term economic development

Detroit’s bankruptcy settlement will not solve the city’s problems

In December, a federal judge ruled that the city of Detroit’s bankruptcy proceedings could continue, and it is now likely to take years for the city to settle its creditors’ claims. Gary Sands, Laura A. Reese, and Mark Skidmore look at Detroit’s recent history which has been characterized by deindustrialization and depopulation, and public mismanagement and corruption. They argue that even after the city’s bankruptcy is concluded, Detroit’s underlying fundamental structural weaknesses mean that its problems are unlikely to go away

Techs and the Cities: A New Economic Development Paradigm?

Large technology firms pose new challenges for local economic development in the 21st century. They are attractive targets for local economic developers because they have the potential of providing permanent, well-paying jobs. This article examines two mega-economic development deals. Amazon’s proposed second headquarters in Queens and Sidewalk Labs’ Quayside proposal for the Toronto waterfront pit large and prosperous Big Tech firms against local governments with healthy economies. Amazon abandoned the New York City site it had chosen, rather than open new negotiations with local officials and citizens. Sidewalk Labs withdrew from the Quayside proposal after two and a half years of negotiation focusing mostly on the size of the proposed development. Although the potential benefits may be substantial, incentivizing Big Tech’s location decisions may be well beyond the means of most cities, especially those with distressed economies

Checklist of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) from small diversified vegetable farms in south-western Montana

Background Over three years (2013-2015), we sampled bees using nets and bowl traps on four diversified vegetable farms in Gallatin County, Montana, USA, as part of a study evaluating the use of wildflower strips for supporting wild bees and crop pollination services on farmlands (Delphia et al. In prep). We document 202 species and morphospecies from 32 genera within five families, of which 25 species represent the first published state records for Montana. This study increases our overall understanding of the distribution of wild bee species associated with agroecosystems of the northern US Rockies, which is important for efforts aimed at conserving bee biodiversity and supporting sustainable crop pollination systems on farmlands. New information We provide a species list of wild bees associated with diversified farmlands in Montana and increase the number of published bee species records in the state from 374 to at least 399. The list includes new distributional records for 25 wild bee species, including two species that represent considerable expansions of their known ranges, Lasioglossum (Dialictus) clematisellum (Cockerell 1904) with previously published records from New Mexico, Arizona, California and Utah and Melissodes (Eumelissodes) niveus Robertson 1895 which was reported to range from New York to Minnesota and Kansas, south to North Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi

A Deep Chandra Observation of the Distant Galaxy Cluster MS1137.5+6625

We present results from a deep Chandra observation of MS1137.5+66, a distant (z=0.783) and massive cluster of galaxies. Only a few similarly massive clusters are currently known at such high redshifts; accordingly, this observation provides much-needed information on the dynamical state of these rare systems. The cluster appears both regular and symmetric in the X-ray image. However, our analysis of the spectral and spatial X-ray data in conjunction with interferometric Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect data and published deep optical imaging suggests the cluster has a fairly complex structure. The angular diameter distance we calculate from the Chandra and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect data assuming an isothermal, spherically symmetric cluster implies a low value for the Hubble constant for which we explore possible explanations.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Ap

Determining the Cosmic Distance Scale from Interferometric Measurements of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect

We determine the distances to 18 galaxy clusters with redshifts ranging from z~0.14 to z~0.78 from a maximum likelihood joint analysis of 30 GHz interferometric Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZE) and X-ray observations. We model the intracluster medium (ICM) using a spherical isothermal beta model. We quantify the statistical and systematic uncertainties inherent to these direct distance measurements, and we determine constraints on the Hubble parameter for three different cosmologies. These distances imply a Hubble constant of 60 (+4, -4) (+13, -18) km s-1 Mpc-1 for an Omega_M = 0.3, Omega_Lambda = 0.7 cosmology, where the uncertainties correspond to statistical followed by systematic at 68% confidence. With a sample of 18 clusters, systematic uncertainties clearly dominate. The systematics are observationally approachable and will be addressed in the coming years through the current generation of X-ray satellites (Chandra & XMM-Newton) and radio observatories (OVRO, BIMA, & VLA). Analysis of high redshift clusters detected in future SZE and X-ray surveys will allow a determination of the geometry of the universe from SZE determined distances.Comment: ApJ Submitted; 40 pages, 9 figures (fig 3 B&W for size constraint), 13 tables, uses emulateapj5 styl

Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Imaging of Massive Clusters of Galaxies at Redshift z > 0.8

We present Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect (SZE) imaging observations of three distant (z > 0.8) and highly X-ray luminous clusters of galaxies, Cl1226+33, Cl0152-13 and MS1054-03. Two of the clusters, Cl1226+33 and Cl0152-13, were recently discovered in deep ROSAT x-ray images. Their high X-ray luminosity suggests that they are massive systems which, if confirmed, would provide strong constraints on the cosmological parameters of structure formation models. Our Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect data provide confirmation that they are massive clusters similar to the well studied cluster MS1054-03. Assuming the clusters have the same gas mass fraction as that derived from SZE measurements of eighteen known massive clusters, we are able to infer their mass and electron temperature from the SZE data. The derived electron temperatures are 9.8, 8.7, and 10.4 keV, respectively, and we infer total masses of ~2 x 10^14 h^-1 Msun within a radius of 65 arcsec (340 h^{-1} kpc) for all three clusters. For Cl0152-13 and MS1054-03 we find good agreement between our SZE derived temperatures and those inferred from X-ray spectroscopy. No X-ray derived temperatures are available for Cl1226+33, and thus the SZE data provide the first confirmation that it is indeed a massive system. The demonstrated ability to determine cluster temperatures and masses from SZE observations without access to X-ray data illustrates the power of using deep SZE surveys to probe the distant universe.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Galaxy Cluster Gas Mass Fractions from Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Measurements: Constraints on Omega_M

Using sensitive centimeter-wave receivers mounted on the Owens Valley Radio Observatory and Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland-Association millimeter arrays, we have obtained interferometric measurements of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect toward massive galaxy clusters. We use the SZ data to determine the pressure distribution of the cluster gas and, in combination with published X-ray temperatures, to infer the gas mass and total gravitational mass of 18 clusters. The gas mass fraction, f_g, is calculated for each cluster, and is extrapolated to the fiducial radius r_{500} using the results of numerical simulations. The mean f_g within r_{500} is 0.081+0.009 -0.011/(h_{100} (statistical uncertainty at 68% confidence level, assuming OmegaM=0.3, OmegaL=0.7). We discuss possible sources of systematic errors in the mean f_g measurement. We derive an upper limit for OmegaM from this sample under the assumption that the mass composition of clusters within r_{500} reflects the universal mass composition: Omega_M h < Omega_B/f_g. The gas mass fractions depend on cosmology through the angular diameter distance and the r_{500} correction factors. For a flat universe (OmegaL = 1 - OmegaM) and h=0.7, we find the measured gas mass fractions are consistent with Omegam less than 0.40, at 68% confidence. Including estimates of the baryons contained in galaxies and the baryons which failed to become bound during the cluster formation process, we find OmegaM \~0.25.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures (1 color), submitted to Astrophysical Journal Uses emulateapj5.st

Interdisciplinary Transgender Veteran Care: Development of a Core Curriculum for VHA Providers

Purpose: The Veteran\u27s Health Administration (VHA) has created a training program for interdisciplinary teams of providers on the unique treatment needs of transgender veterans. An overview of this program\u27s structure and content is described along with an evaluation of each session and the program overall. Methods: A specialty care team delivered 14 didactic courses supplemented with case consultation twice per month over the course of 7 months through video teleconferencing to 16 teams of learners. Each team, consisting of at least one mental health provider (e.g., social worker, psychologist, or psychiatrist) and one medical provider (e.g., physician, nurse, physician assistant, advanced practice nurse, or pharmacist), received training and consultation on transgender veteran care. Results: In the first three waves of learners, 111 providers across a variety of disciplines attended the sessions and received training. Didactic topics included hormone therapy initiation and adjustments, primary care issues, advocacy within the system, and psychotherapy issues. Responses were provided to 39 veteran-specific consult questions to augment learning. Learners reported an increase in knowledge plus an increase in team cohesion and functioning. As a result, learners anticipated treating more transgender veterans in the future. Conclusion: VHA providers are learning about the unique healthcare needs of transgender veterans and benefitting from the training opportunity offered through the Transgender Specialty Care Access Network-Extension of Community Healthcare Outcomes program. The success of this program in training interdisciplinary teams of providers suggests that it might serve as a model for other large healthcare systems. In addition, it provides a path forward for individual learners (both within VHA and in the community) who wish to increase their knowledge

Genome-wide significant linkage of schizophrenia-related neuroanatomical trait to 12q24

The insula and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) share functional, histological, transcriptional and developmental characteristics and they serve higher cognitive functions of theoretical relevance to schizophrenia and related disorders. Meta-analyses and multivariate analysis of structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans indicate that gray matter density and volume reductions in schizophrenia are the most consistent and pronounced in a network primarily composed of the insula and mPFC. We used source-based morphometry, a multivariate technique optimized for structural MRI, in a large sample of randomly ascertained pedigrees (N = 887) to derive an insula-mPFC component and to investigate its genetic determinants. Firstly, we replicated the insula-mPFC gray matter component as an independent source of gray matter variation in the general population, and verified its relevance to schizophrenia in an independent case-control sample. Secondly, we showed that the neuroanatomical variation defined by this component is largely determined by additive genetic variation (h2 = 0.59), and genome-wide linkage analysis resulted in a significant linkage peak at 12q24 (LOD = 3.76). This region has been of significant interest to psychiatric genetics as it contains the Darier’s disease locus and other proposed susceptibility genes (e.g. DAO, NOS1), and it has been linked to affective disorders and schizophrenia in multiple populations. Thus, in conjunction with previous clinical studies, our data imply that one or more psychiatric risk variants at 12q24 are co-inherited with reductions in mPFC and insula gray matter concentration