Opportunities and challenges of the U.S. dollar as an increasingly global currency: a Federal Reserve perspective

The rapid growth of demand for U.S. currency over the past two decades, especially the proportion estimated to be held abroad, has posed challenges for the Federal Reserve in meeting its congressionally mandated responsibilities for currency availability and distribution. Those challenges lie in making certain that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) prints adequate amounts of currency; that overseas distribution channels have sufficient capacity to distribute U.S. currency when and where it is needed; and that the integrity of U.S. currency is maintained by monitoring counterfeiting activity. In the process of meeting these challenges, the Federal Reserve has improved its methods of forecasting demand for U.S. currency, expanded currency distribution channels, and worked with the BEP and the U.S. Secret Service to protect against counterfeiting threats. This article gives an overview of the evolution of the Federal Reserve's responsibilities for U.S. currency, particularly in relation to the increase in foreign demand over the past two decades, and also discusses work on counterfeit deterrence.International finance ; Money ; Dollar, American

A Gunman’s Paradise: How Louisiana Shields Concealed Handgun Permit Holders While Targeting Free Speech and Why Other States Should Avoid the Same Misfire

The article discusses development in the laws for concealed handgun permit in the U.S. Topics discussed include legal history of gun laws in Louisiana, the constitutionality of laws in context of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and various laws banning the permit of handgun in Louisiana

Ultrasound Guidance of Thrombolytic Therapy in Pulseless Electrical Activity: A Case Report

A young man presented to the emergency room in extremis and deteriorated into a state of pulseless electrical activity. Bedside echocardiography by emergency medicine physicians was crucial to the clinical decision to implement thrombolytic therapy for suspected massive pulmonary embolus

The America Economic Crisis Of 2009/2010: Three Pillars Of American Strength That Will Lead To Recovery

The notion of the Fall of the American Empire (Wojtowicz, 1993) is equivalent to the Peter Principal in that positive realization will always prevail over the negative perspective. Wojtowicz (1993) contends that Isaac Asimov wrote his foundation stories to show that every empire, even the most powerful one, has to fall eventually. Lawrence Peter (1984), an educator and hierarchiologist, argued that each manager will rise to the level in which he or she will fail. Inevitably, the Peter Principal failed because it placed a negative connotation on managerial growth. The same thing holds true with the Failure of the American Empire. America cannot fail because while there are many foundations of strength that has held America together since the American Revolution, there are three pillars that will help America continue to prosper. The three pillars are the strength of the military, the excellent education system, and the spirit of democracy that has led to capitalism. The spirit of democracy as Abraham Lincoln exemplifies as “A government of people, by the people, for the people,” has kept America vibrant and open for people to rise to the highest office in the free world (Powell and Powell, 1918). In the philosophical Age of Enlightenment, John Locke, a puritan in the England of Cromwell, put forth a new civil order: law based on reason, a government deriving its power from the governed, liberty to pursue individual goals as a natural right, and private property and its use in the pursuit of happiness (Wren and Bedian, 2009). These four ideas provide the bases of how our founders designed the America of today. This paper provides an overview of the three pillars that will influence the economic recovery of America in a positive way

Rydberg-Atom Population Transfer By Population Trapping in a Chirped Microwave Pulse

We demonstrate that Rydberg atoms can be transferred to states of lower principal quantum number by exposing them to a frequency chirped microwave pulse. Specifically, we have transferred n=75 atoms to n=66 with a 400-ns pulse chirped from 7.8 to 11.8 GHz. In spite of the large number of coupled levels, using a simplified model we can describe the process reasonably well as a sequence of adiabatic rapid passages

Rydberg-Atom Population Transfer By Population Trapping in a Chirped Microwave Pulse

We demonstrate that Rydberg atoms can be transferred to states of lower principal quantum number by exposing them to a frequency chirped microwave pulse. Specifically, we have transferred n=75 atoms to n=66 with a 400-ns pulse chirped from 7.8 to 11.8 GHz. In spite of the large number of coupled levels, using a simplified model we can describe the process reasonably well as a sequence of adiabatic rapid passages

Factor Analysis of the Preschool Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale for Children in Head Start Programs

Strength-based assessment of behaviors in preschool children provides evidence of emotional and behavioral skills in children, rather than focusing primarily on weaknesses identified by deficit-based assessments. The Preschool Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scales (PreBERS) is a normative assessment of emotional and behavioral strengths in preschool children. The PreBERS has well-established reliability and validity for typically developing children as well as children with identified special education needs, but this has not yet been established for children in Head Start programs, who tend to be at high risk for development of emotional and behavioral concerns. This study explores the factorial validity of the PreBERS scores for a large sample of children participating in Head Start programs around the United States. Results not only confirm the fit of the four-factor model of the PreBERS for this population, but also demonstrate the application of a bifactor model to the structure of the PreBERS which, in turn, allows for the computation of model-based reliability estimates for the four subscales (Emotional Regulation, School Readiness, Social Confidence, Family Involvement) and overall strength index score. The implications suggest that the PreBERS items are reliable scores that can be used to identify behavioral strengths in preschool children in Head Start, and support planning of interventions to selectively address component skills to promote child social and academic success

The Cost of Increasing Adoption of Beneficial Nutrient-Management Practices

We estimate the cost of offsets tied to reductions in the use of nitrogen on U.S. cornfields under the proposed American Clean Energy and Security Act.offsets, nitrogen, corn, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Factor Analysis of the Preschool Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale for Children in Head Start Programs

Strength-based assessment of behaviors in preschool children provides evidence of emotional and behavioral skills in children, rather than focusing primarily on weaknesses identified by deficit-based assessments. The Preschool Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scales (PreBERS) is a normative assessment of emotional and behavioral strengths in preschool children. The PreBERS has well-established reliability and validity for typically developing children as well as children with identified special education needs, but this has not yet been established for children in Head Start programs, who tend to be at high risk for development of emotional and behavioral concerns. This study explores the factorial validity of the PreBERS scores for a large sample of children participating in Head Start programs around the United States. Results not only confirm the fit of the four-factor model of the PreBERS for this population, but also demonstrate the application of a bifactor model to the structure of the PreBERS which, in turn, allows for the computation of model-based reliability estimates for the four subscales (Emotional Regulation, School Readiness, Social Confidence, Family Involvement) and overall strength index score. The implications suggest that the PreBERS items are reliable scores that can be used to identify behavioral strengths in preschool children in Head Start, and support planning of interventions to selectively address component skills to promote child social and academic success