Record on Deals for Trade Votes: Don't Get Fooled Again - Lessons from NAFTA and China PNTR Deal-for-Vote Swapmeets

In this report, we follow up on the status of the NAFTA promises and the China Permanent Normal Relations (PNTR) promises which still had the possibility of being kept. (For instance, a promised fund-raiser is irrelevant once the Member is out of Congress.) Nearly eight years after the NAFTA deals were made and eighteen months after PNTR and promises for domestic programs remained unfunded. The special deals promised to obtain NAFTA and PNTR votes remain unfulfilled. Promises remain unmet even though the Members of Congress involved kept their end of the bargain and voted for NAFTA C some incurring long-lasting political ire at home. Many of the Administration's promises were delivered in formal letters to the target Members by Cabinet Secretaries or the President. Other deals were added into the NAFTA legislation in the House Rules Committee on the eve of the vote. While the letters of "commitment" have made tracking the deals somewhat easier, the letters proved to be worth less than the paper on which they were written. Promises in the NAFTA implementing legislation either were not funded or, in the case of safeguards for Florida fruits and vegetables, were not implemented. Over eight years, the Clinton Administration failed to deliver on the NAFTA vote-deals -- special funding for in-district projects and the policy-related promises to change U.S. regulation. Now, the Bush Administration is trying desperately to gin up support for the controversial Fast Track trade negotiating authority, bill H.R. 3005. Days before the vote, the measure is 40-plus votes short of passage, as critics of corporate managed trade have successfully demonstrated the woefully inadequate track record of NAFTA and the substantial failures of trade agreements to generate jobs, economic growth or protect the environment. The examination of the actual follow through of the deal-making necessary to secure NAFTA and PNTR votes reveals that promises on Fast Track also are unlikely to come to fruition. The Bush Administration's capacity to press Democrats on any spending plan after bailouts of the airlines, additional safeguards for insurers against terrorism losses and huge corporate tax breaks is rapidly eroding, making special pork barrel deals for Fast Track votes less likely to be fulfilled

Coming NAFTA Crash: The Deadly Impact of a Secret NAFTA Tribunal's Decision to Open U.S. Highways to Unsafe Mexican Trucks

Report documents that Mexico's truck safety regulations are virtually non-existent, that Mexican trucks have far more safety deficiencies than U.S. trucks, that a disproportionate number of Mexican trucks crossing the border have been taken out of service for serious safety violations, and that the U.S. lacks enough inspectors to check incoming trucks. Further, Texas border communities within the commercial border zone in which Mexican trucks are permitted have seen a dramatic increase in highway fatalities and serious injuries from crashes involving trucks with Mexican registrations, the report found

PAPR Reduction in the OFDM Signal Using Selective Mapping

Nowadays Orthogonal Frequency Division Multip lexing is becoming more and more popular Because of it is attractive techniques for high data rate transmission. OFDM is widely used in 4G technologies in recent times. Main advantage of OFDM is that it uses orthogonal signals so removes inter - signal inter ference. PAPR ratio in OFDM is very high because it uses Multicarrier modulation, which is its main drawback. High PAPR means more power need at transmission side. PAPR can be decreased using various techniques such as clipping, selective mapping, etc. In this paper, criterion for new scheme selective mapping is introduced for PAPR reduction in OFD

Improving Awareness of Sleep Disorders in Neurology Clinics

Objective Our main goals were to assess the incidence of sleep problems in our patients and to improve the awareness of sleep disorders amongst our neurology clinicians. We hoped that our patients with significant sleep-related symptoms would be referred for further objective testing. Methods We designed a 5-question sleep quality survey to be filled out by each patient seen in our outpatient neurology clinics. The forms were collected for entry and analysis on an Excel spreadsheet program. A response of 2 or 3 (moderate or high chance of having a symptom) for each of the questions 1-4 and a “yes” for question 5 were considered significant symptomology. We compared the incidence of sleep problems between the general clinic and the multiple sclerosis (MS) clinic. Results Surveys from 1008 patients were analyzed. A large majority (78%) of the neurology patients seen in our clinics was found to have at least one significant sleep related symptom. Most of these patients were not referred for further diagnostic testing by polysomnography (PSG) or for formal evaluation by a sleep clinic. Conclusions Our data support a well-known notion that neurological patients have a high prevalence of symptoms related to sleep disorders. As neurologists, we ought to include sleep as one of the functions of the brain, and we need to be more diligent in the diagnosis of sleep disorders in our patients. Our future goals include verification of our data with objective evidence from PSG results or formal sleep evaluations

Human rights based approach to water access

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2001.Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-80).An interdisciplinary and qualitative study was undertaken to determine whether a human rights based approach would ensure each person's access to a water supply sufficient to meet her basic needs. A human right to water shows promise as a strategy for ensuring universal access to water if a broad, comprehensive human rights theory is ascribed to. In a coherent, comprehensive human rights theory, human rights are interdependent and indivisible from other human rights and are predicated upon a core unifying principle such as justice or human dignity for all. The language of many human rights documents indicates that a coherent, comprehensive human rights system was envisioned, but the practices and actions of many countries over the past fifty years indicate that this vision is strongly resisted. Absent such a comprehensive theory of human rights, a human right to water can have great impact as a moral and ethical justification that planners and policy-makers can use to implement programs that increase access to water. A human right to water can also increase participation in a dialogue about water management. This discussion concerning water management must be undertaken soon since a water crisis is looming and water wars are predicted.by Darshana Patel.M.C.P

A Simple and Sensitive HPTLC Method for Simultaneous Determination of Metformin Hydrochloride and Sitagliptin Phosphate in Tablet Dosage Form

A simple, rapid, and precise high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method for simultaneous estimation of two antidiabetic drugs, metformin hydrochloride and sitagliptin phosphate, in tablet dosage form has been developed and validated. Chromatography was performed on silica gel 60 F254 plates with butanol : water : glacial acetic acid (6 : 2 : 2, v/v/v) as mobile phase. This system gave a good resolution for metformin hydrochloride ( value of 0.35 ± 0.01) and sitagliptin phosphate ( value of 0.75 ± 0.01). Detection and quantification were carried out at 227 nm. The linear regression data for the calibration plot showed a good relationship with and 0.9991 for metformin hydrochloride and sitagliptin phosphate, respectively. The method was validated for precision and recovery. The limits of detection and quantification were 13.05 and 39.56 ng/μL for metformin hydrochloride and 2.65 and 8.03 ng/μL for sitagliptin phosphate, respectively. The amounts of the drugs in the marketed formulation were 99.86% and 98.91% for metformin hydrochloride and sitagliptin phosphate, respectively

Down on the Farm: NAFTA's Seven-Years War on Farmers and Ranchers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico

In the summer of 2001, family farmers and ranchers throughout North America are struggling.During the 1993 debate over the fate of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), U.S. farmers and ranchers were promised that NAFTA would provide access to new export markets and thus would finally bring a lasting solution to farmers' off-and-on struggles for economic success.Now, seven years later, the evidence shows farm income has declined, consumer prices have risen and some giant agribusinesses have reaped huge profits. These outcomes are defining the growing national debates over President Bush's proposals to establish Fast Track trade authority and to expand NAFTA through the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).This report reveals the basis for farmers' concern about NAFTA and its model of export-oriented agriculture. For the past seven years, Midwestern and Plains states wheat farmers; ranchers in Montana, Texas and other states; vegetable, flower and fruit growers in California; lumber mill owners in Louisiana, Arkansas and Washington; vegetable growers in Florida; chicken farmers nationwide and others have suffered declining commodity prices and farm income while a flood of NAFTA imports outpaced U.S. exports to Canada and Mexico.Yet it was not farmers in Mexico or Canada who benefitted from U.S. farmers' woes. Millions of campesinos throughout Mexico have lost a significant source of income and left their small corn farms. Some became farm laborers working in squalid conditions for poverty wages on large plantations growing produce for export to the U.S. Others moved to Mexico's cities where unemployment is high. Canadian grain and dairy farmers also face steeply rising debt during the NAFTA era. This report also documents the rise in Mexican staple food prices, such as in tortilla prices, even as the price paid to Mexican corn farmers dropped 48%.However, NAFTA has brought seven years of good fortune to many of the agribusinesses that pressured Washington, Ottawa and Mexico City to negotiate and ratify NAFTA's corporate- managed trade terms. Since NAFTA stripped away many safeguards for the folks who produce raw agricultural products, relative power and leverage has grown for large agribusiness conglomerates to exert pressure on both farmers and consumers.In Washington D.C., the Bush Administration is pushing forward with an ambitious plan to expand the NAFTA model throughout the hemisphere through FTAA. President George W. Bush and his principal trade policy advisors have stated that they intend to make the debate about NAFTA expansion and Fast Track (which they want to rename "Presidential Trade Promotion Authority") a referendum on NAFTA.Public Citizen agrees that the debate over NAFTA expansion ­ indeed, the national conversation about the premises and direction of U.S. trade policy ­ should be decided on the basis of the real-life results of NAFTA and the model on which it is based.In this report, we show how independent farmers in the U.S., Mexico and Canada have seen agricultural prices plummet, farm incomes collapse and critical domestic agriculture safety net programs dismantled. International free trade agreements and the domestic policies which furthered implementation of the export-oriented model, such as the U.S. "Freedom to Farm Act," have proved to benefit only the largest agribusinesses while the majority of farmers and consumers have lost

Down on the Farm: NAFTA's Seven-Years War on Farmers and Ranchers in Florida

In the summer of 2001, family farmers and ranchers throughout North America are struggling. During the 1993 debate over the fate of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Florida farmers and ranchers as well as farm communities across the U.S. were promised that NAFTA would provide access to new export markets and thus would finally bring a lasting solution to farmers off-and-on struggles for economic success. Now, seven years later, the evidence shows the income of independent Florida farmers has declined, consumer prices have risen while some giant agribusinesses have reaped huge profits. Florida has lost 1,000 small and medium sized farms since NAFTA went into effect. Total net income for "farm operations" in Florida increased between 1993 and 1999 but all of the income gain was in corporate farms. When corporate income increases are eliminated farm income drops steeply in Florida. During the seven years of NAFTA, net farm income for non-corporate Florida farm operations fell 74.4% between 1993 and 1999 from $51.4 million to$13.4 million. These bad outcomes for independent farmers are defining the growing national debates over President Bush s proposals to establish Fast Track trade authority and to expand NAFTA to 31 other Latin American and Caribbean nations through the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). This report documents the results that are causing farmers concern about NAFTA and its model of export-oriented agriculture. This special Florida supplement to a recent national report on NAFTA s agriculture-sector outcomes examines the impact of NAFTA on Florida farmers. For the past seven years, Florida vegetable growers, especially tomato and bell pepper growers, have been facing intense pressure from increasing imported vegetables from Mexico. Florida s citrus crop, the jewel of Florida s agriculture production, is already facing increased pressure from Mexico and will face even further import threats if President Bush is granted Fast Track trade authority. President Bush has announced he is seeking trade authority to negotiate FTAA NAFTA expansion which could result in Florida facing severe competition from powerhouse citrus producer Brazil. Farmers raising beef cattle in Florida who have seen incomes decline as farmgate prices for beef have collapsed in Florida under NAFTA would face new FTAA imports from beef giants Argentina and Brazil. Moreover, sugarcane farmers, who received special protection from Mexican sugar imports when NAFTA was negotiated, face even greater threats from FTAA nation Brazil which dominates the world sugar trade. Brazil has announced that access tothe U.S. for its citrus, beef, and sugar is a non-negotiable requirement for any FTAA deal. The complete executive summary and access to the full report are available via the link below

Similar prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in any ICU survivor patient relative

Background: Iwashyna et al defined a chronic critically ill (CCI) patient as any patient requiring care in ICU for more than or equal to 10 days. Physicians often assume that the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in relatives of CCI patients would be higher than in those patients who are not CCI. We hypothesized that there would be no difference in the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms of relatives of a CCI and those whose patients are not CCI. We aimed to establish that the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms are similar in relatives of any ICU survivor patient. Methods: The study was a non-interventional, observational, cross-sectional study. Relatives were evaluated as early as possible after day ten following ICU admission for CCI patients and non-CCI patients on or a day before discharge from ICU. During this evaluation, anonymous demographic data of relatives were captured, and PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scales were administered and completed by the relative. Results: A total of 418 relatives consented and were included in the study [104 in CCI patient group and 314 in non-CCI group]. Overall, the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in the entire study cohort was 23.2% (95% CI, 19.4-27.5) and 16.5% (95% CI, 13.2-20.4), respectively. There was no statistical difference between the two groups in the proportion of PHQ-9 total score >9 (p value: 0.577) as well as the GAD-7 total score (p value: 0.816). Conclusions: There was no difference in the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in relatives of a CCI versus those whose patients are not CCI