Hurricane Katrina as a "teachable moment"

International audienceBy American standards, New Orleans is a very old, very popular city in the southern part of the United States. It is located in Louisiana at the mouth of the Mississippi River, a river which drains about 40% of the Continental United States, making New Orleans a major port city. It is also located in an area of major oil reserves onshore, as well as offshore, in the Gulf of Mexico. Most people know New Orleans as a tourist hotspot; especially well-known is the Mardi Gras season at the beginning of Lent. People refer to the city as the "Big Easy". A recent biography of the city refers to it as the place where the emergence of modern tourism began. A multicultural city with a heavy French influence, it was part of the Louisiana Purchase from France in early 1803, when the United States bought it, doubling the size of the United States at that time. Today, in the year 2007, New Orleans is now known for the devastating impacts it withstood during the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina in late August 2005. Eighty percent of the city was submerged under flood waters. Almost two years have passed, and many individuals and government agencies are still coping with the hurricane's consequences. And insurance companies have been withdrawing their coverage for the region. The 2005 hurricane season set a record, in the sense that there were 28 named storms that calendar year. For the first time in hurricane forecast history, hurricane forecasters had to resort to the use of Greek letters to name tropical storms in the Atlantic and Gulf (Fig.~1). Hurricane Katrina was a Category 5 hurricane when it was in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, after having passed across southern Florida. At landfall, Katrina's winds decreased in speed and it was relabeled as a Category 4. It devolved into a Category 3 hurricane as it passed inland when it did most of its damage. Large expanses of the city were inundated, many parts under water on the order of 20 feet or so. The Ninth Ward, heavily populated by African Americans, was the site of major destruction, along with several locations along the Gulf coasts of the states of Mississippi and Alabama, as well as other parts of Louisiana coastal areas (Brinkley, 2006). The number of deaths officially attributed to Hurricane Katrina was on the order of 1800 to 2000 people. The cost of the hurricane in terms of physical damage has been estimated at about US $250 billion, the costliest natural disaster in American history. It far surpassed the cost of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the impacts of which were estimated to be about$20 billion. It also surpassed the drought in the US Midwest in 1988, which was estimated to have cost the country $40 billion, but no lives were lost. Some people have referred to Katrina as a "superstorm". It was truly a superstorm in terms of the damage it caused and the havoc it caused long after the hurricane's winds and rains had subsided. The effects of Katrina are sure to be remembered for generations to come, as were the societal and environmental impacts of the severe droughts and Dust Bowl days of the 1930s in the US Great Plains. It is highly likely that the metropolitan area of New Orleans which people had come to know in the last half of the 20th century will no longer exist, and a new city will likely replace it (one with a different culture). Given the likelihood of sea level rise on the order of tens of centimeters associated with the human-induced global warming of the atmosphere, many people wonder whether New Orleans will be able to survive throughout the 21st century without being plagued by several more tropical storms (Gill, 2005). Some (e.g., Speaker of the US House of Representatives Hastert) have even questioned whether the city should be restored in light of the potential impacts of global warming and the city's geographic vulnerability to tropical storms

Local smoke-free policy development in Santa Fe, Argentina

ObjectiveTo describe the process of approval and implementation of a comprehensive smoke-free law in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, between 2005 and 2009.MethodsReview of the Santa Fe smoke-free legislation, articles published in local newspapers and documentation on two lawsuits filed against the law, and interviews with key individuals in Santa Fe.ResultsEfforts to implement smoke-free policies in Santa Fe began during the 1990s without success, and resumed in 2005 when the provincial Legislature approved the first 100% smoke-free subnational law in Argentina. There was no strong opposition during the discussions within the legislature. As in other parts of the world, pro-tobacco industry interests attempted to block the implementation of the law using well known strategies. These efforts included a controversy media campaign set up, the creation of a hospitality industry association and a virtual smokers' rights group, the introduction of a counterproposal seeking modification of the law, the challenge of the law in the Supreme Court, and the proposal of a weak national bill that would 'conflict' with the subnational law. Tobacco control advocates sought media attention as a strategy to protect the law.ConclusionsSanta Fe is the first subnational jurisdiction in Latin America to have enacted a comprehensive smoke-free policy following the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. After 3 years of implementation, pro-tobacco industry forces failed to undermine the law. Other subnational jurisdictions in Argentina, as well as in Mexico and Brazil are following the Santa Fe example

Инициатива Китая ”Один пояс — Один путь“ и пандемия коронавируса

The coronavirus (and the disease it causes, COVID-19) has proven to be a rolling crisis. Rolling in the sense that it began in central China and spread westward to the Indo-Pacific region toward Europe and at the same time eastward into North America. Its impacts have been felt most intensely, so far, in several emerging hotspots along the way, such as Spain and Italy. In a matter of a few months it became a truly global pandemic and economic crisis. It continues to spread to all inhabited continents.For China, where the coronavirus started as a national epidemic, the problems were two-fold: first the virus disrupted China’s manufacturing processes as workers became infected with a fast and easy-spreading coronavirus and, secondly, disrupted the supply chain as demand for its domestic and export goods and services rapidly decreased.Коронавирус (и заболевание, которое он вызывает, COVID-19), как оказалось, переживает кризис. В том смысле, что он начался в центральной части Китая и рас-пространился на запад, в Индо-Тихоокеанский регион, к Европе и, в тоже время, на восток, в Северную Америку. Его влияние ощущалось наиболее интенсивно в нескольких возникших горячих точках, таких как Испания и Италия. Через несколько месяцев эта пробле-ма стала глобальным пандемическим и экономическим кризисом. Он распространяется на все континенты. Для Китая, где коронавирус начался как национальная эпидемия, проблемы носили двоякий характер: во-первых, вирус нарушил производственные процессы в Китае, поскольку работники заразились быстро и легко распространяющимся вирусом, во-вторых, нарушил цепочку поставок в результате чего, внутренние и экспортные товары и услуги быстро сократились

КИТАЙСКАЯ ИНИЦИАТИВА «ОДИН ПОЯС — ОДИН ПУТЬ»: ЧТО МОЖЕТ СДЕЛАТЬ «БРЕНД»

This paper is about branding goods and services and viewing China’s reference to OBOR, a new regional trade initiative, as the “accidental” branding of its efforts to institute an entirely new model of development in various places along the ancient Silk Road, as well as a number of places that fall under Chinese contemporary rise to dominance in Asia. President Xi’s use of the Silk Road was meant to generate nostalgia about a perceived favorable time in Chinese history, using it to encourage enthusiasm about China’s new efforts to “share or sell” its expertise and heavy industrial production, such as infrastructure, to developing areas. However, in a very short time Xi’s “One Belt, One Road” policy, referred to by its initials — OBOR, began to exhibit most if not all, the characteristics of a “Brand” name for goods and services.OBOR elicited positive comments from national political leaders, all of whom were potential OBOR consumers. In short order, OBOR has attracted attention, interest, responses and offers of cooperation not only from Eurasian leaders but also from leaders in Africa, Europe, Asia and most recently in South America. Strengthening OBOR as a brand can help China to enhance the value of its OBOR-related goods and services internationally and eventually lead to China’s ultimate ascendance as a dominant World economic and political Power.It is interesting to note that a new Silk Road initiative was considered by the US Department of State in 2011 in an attempt to promote integration in trade and economy between Afghanistan, Central Asia, Pakistan, and India, a North-South silk road “as a compliment to the East-West connection across Eurasia” (US State Department 2015). As noted by in a Council on Foreign Relations report by McBride (2015): «It remains to be seen if the United States and China will clash over their competing plans for developing resources in Central Asia’s Turkmenistan, creating infrastructure in Pakistan, or winning political influence with local governments throughout Asia». Настоящая работа посвящена брендированию товаров и услуг и рассмотрению новой инициативы Китая по развитию региональной торговли «Один пояс — один путь» (ОПОП) в качестве дополнительного брендирования усилий этой страны по созданию совершенно новой модели развития в различных районах, расположившихся вдоль древнего Шелкового пути, а также в некоторых районах, являющихся точками современного роста китайского доминирования в Азии. Обращение Председателя КНР Си Цзиньпина к понятию «Великий Шелковый путь» было призвано реанимировать ностальгию по временам процветания Китая в его истории, стимулируя тем самым рост энтузиазма вокруг новых усилий Китая по «предложению или продаже» его компетенций и тяжелой промышленности, например, инфраструктуры, развивающимся странам. Но достаточно быстро политика Си Цзиньпина «Один пояс — один путь» (сокращенно ОПОП) стала приобретать черты «Бренда» на товары и услуги.Инициатива ОПОП получила положительные отзывы со стороны политических лидеров стран, которые были потенциальными потребителями ОПОП. И очень скоро ОПОП привлекла внимание, вызвала интерес, положительные отзывы и предложения сотрудничества не только от лидеров евразийских стран, но и от руководителей стран Африки, Европы, Азии и совсем недавно Южной Америки. Поддержка инициативы ОПОП в качестве бренда поможет Китаю повысить значимость товаров и услуг, связанных с ОПОП, в международном масштабе и, как результат, позволит Китаю подняться до уровня доминирующей мировой экономической и политической державы.Интересно отметить, что в 2011 году Госдепартамент США рассматривал инициативу нового Шелкового пути как попытку усиления интеграции в области торговли и экономики между Афганистаном, Центральной Азией, Пакистаном и Индией, а шелковый путь Север-Юг «в качестве дополнения к связям Восток-Запад в Евразии» (State Department, 2015). Как отмечалось в докладе McBride (2015) на заседании Совета по международным отношениям: «Нам предстоит увидеть, будет ли происходить борьба между Соединенными Штатами и Китаем в отношении их конкурирующих планов освоения ресурсов Туркменистана в Центральной Азии, создания инфраструктуры в Пакистане или получения политического влияния местными правительствами по всей Азии».

A phase II study of temozolomide vs. procarbazine in patients with glioblastoma multiforme at first relapse.

A randomized, multicentre, open-label, phase II study compared temozolomide (TMZ), an oral second-generation alkylating agent, and procarbazine (PCB) in 225 patients with glioblastoma multiforme at first relapse. Primary objectives were to determine progression-free survival (PFS) at 6 months and safety for TMZ and PCB in adult patients who failed conventional treatment. Secondary objectives were to assess overall survival and health-related quality of life (HRQL). TMZ was given orally at 200 mg/m(2)/day or 150 mg/m(2)/day (prior chemotherapy) for 5 days, repeated every 28 days. PCB was given orally at 150 mg/m(2)/day or 125 mg/m(2)/day (prior chemotherapy) for 28 days, repeated every 56 days. HRQL was assessed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30 [+3]) and the Brain Cancer Module 20 (BCM20). The 6-month PFS rate for patients who received TMZ was 21%, which met the protocol objective. The 6-month PFS rate for those who received PCB was 8% (P = 0.008, for the comparison). Overall PFS significantly improved with TMZ, with a median PFS of 12.4 weeks in the TMZ group and 8.32 weeks in the PCB group (P = 0.0063). The 6-month overall survival rate for TMZ patients was 60% vs. 44% for PCB patients (P = 0.019). Freedom from disease progression was associated with maintenance of HRQL, regardless of treatment received. TMZ had an acceptable safety profile; most adverse events were mild or moderate in severity