Rulemaking in the Shade: An Empirical Study of EPA’s Air Toxic Emissions

In this article, the authors trace the engagement and the influence of interest groups over the entire life cycle of a complete set of complex EPA rules that set emissions standards for the industrial release of air toxins. In particular they focus on three of the most worrisome phases of the administrative process where imbalances in interest group engagement and influence may be occurring. The thesis of this study is that imbalances in interest group engagement are occurring at critical albeit somewhat obscure stages of the rulemaking life cycle and that these imbalances are impacting the substance of the rulemaking project. This article proceeds in five parts. Part I explores three stages in the rulemaking life cycle that may be afflicted with imbalanced interest group engagement that in turn might distort the outcome of the rulemaking project. Part II describes the methods of the article, which examine the nature of interest group engagement and activity at these problem stages in a complete set of rules promulgated by the EPA governing the industrial emissions of air toxics. Part III describes the findings and Part IV collects information from disparate sources in detective like fashion to explain some of the surprises and new questions that emerge from this research. In the conclusion, the authors retell the store that emerges from their data and consider whether it suggests more pervasive problems in administrative law that will benefit from further study.The Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Energy, Law, and Busines

Selling the news: Distributing Wrexham's newspapers, 1850-1914

This is the author's PDF version of a book chapter published by Oak Knoll Press & The British Library© 2009. Maps appear at the end of this version, in the published version the maps appear interweaved with the text.This book chapter discusses how Wrexham's newspapers developed a reliable distribution service through north and mid Wales and parts of Cheshire and Shropshire. The role of agents and how their location reflected a newspaper's circulation area is particuarly discussed.Based on conference paper delivered at the Twenty-fourth Print Networks Conference on the History of the British Book Trade at the University Chester, July 2007

Impacts of natural and man-made influences on sediment sources and suspended solids concentrations in the lower Colorado River, Texas

Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin

Intertextual, literary and intercultural influences in the poetry of Perveen Shakir

ABSTRACT This thesis explores the Urdu poetry of Perveen Shakir, a Pakistani, third-world, Muslim, female poet, in her socio-cultural, religious and political context. The entire four collections written between 1977 and 1990 are analysed in order to depict the stages of her life: girl, woman, mother and poet. The collections were written during extreme political pressure of martial law, dictatorship and the Islamisation of General Zia’s regime (1977-1988). The thesis argues that Shakir, an educated self-aware Pakistani Muslim woman, is formulating new feminist ideas and concepts of individual freedom through her unconventional love poetry; in that way crossing the limits of her traditional ‘feminine’ nisvani demands, whilst she is also struggling under the extreme cultural, political and religious pressure of a Muslim society which conflicts with her liberal ‘feminist’ thinking. Shakir is constantly shifting between two positions: a traditional ‘feminine’ nisvani and a ‘feminist’ position. Influenced by her Eastern culture she clings to the traditional identity, sometimes due to her own personal choice, and sometimes under her cultural pressure, unwilling to alienate her traditional self which understands that a husband is a symbol of respect and security for a Pakistani woman. Influenced by western culture she reveals her liberal feminist voice openly writing about her sexual needs and also writing about her marginalised position from which she criticises the politics of patriarchy. This intercultural influence in the Urdu poetry of Shakir is reflected through these overlapping and co-existing positions, where she is neither a true feminist poet by western standards (anti-sexist and anti-patriarchal) nor a clear traditional ‘feminine’ nisvani. In the end, she compromises in order to survive in her Islamic culture, re-adjusting and rethinking her liberal feminist ideas. The main concern of the thesis is to explain the complex and multi-layered meanings of the term ‘woman’ in the Pakistani cultural context. The analysis has shown that in Pakistani culture the concept of self or individual freedom for a Pakistani Muslim woman is not a simple question. This study focuses on various stages of Shakir’s biographical journey employing the theoretical framework of dialogism which reveals the development of feminisms, and how they balance in the end. No critical study on Shakir from a third-world postcolonial Pakistani perspective, analysing her poetry within a theoretical framework, has been written so far, and therefore this study is an invaluable contribution to current scholarly knowledge of the discipline. This study also contributes in another way, as it is the first work in English at this level.N/

Inspired by Real Events: Libraries Transforming Students into Engaged Citizens

In the current political environment, librarians remain committed to the democratic ideals of higher education by encouraging students to become engaged citizens. This panel session will demonstrate the ways in which libraries are critical partners in implementing and assessing service learning programs linked to institutional mission. Librarians from different institutions will share ideas including developing service learning partnerships with the library, executing different models for programs and projects, reshaping library instruction and collection policies, advocating for and receiving library administrative support, and structural opportunities for integrating community information into the mission of academic libraries. The panelists will demonstrate how academic library partnerships on campus enhance and enrich the educational experience of students toward advancing the public good

Form, Function, and Figure: The Case of Meetings in Suicide Prevention Campaign

Scholars from different perspectives in communication and related fields have prolifically studied meetings. Since Schwartzman\u27s (1989) seminal research on meetings, scholars have studied this communicative form to find insight on how this form is conducted and how identities, communities, and cultures are constituted through meetings. In my study I take two perspectives to examine meetings: the ethnography of communication and ventriloquism. I use each perspective to view the meetings of Suicide Prevention Campaign, a small nonprofit organization in Pennsylvania. With the ethnography of communication, I examine the cultural form and function of these meetings, with particular attention on how metacommunication reflects changing norms of interpretation. Then, using ventriloquism, I examine how meetings serve as a gatekeeping figure for the organization. The study contributes to both perspectives a new way of viewing meetings, suggests recommendations to practitioners, and proposes a potential combination between the ethnography of communication and ventriloquism

Alterations in vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) phosphorylation: associations with asthmatic phenotype, airway inflammation and β\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e-agonist use

Background Vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) mediates focal adhesion, actin filament binding and polymerization in a variety of cells, thereby inhibiting cell movement. Phosphorylation of VASP via cAMP and cGMP dependent protein kinases releases this brake on cell motility. Thus, phosphorylation of VASP may be necessary for epithelial cell repair of damage from allergen-induced inflammation. Two hypotheses were examined: (1) injury from segmental allergen challenge increases VASP phosphorylation in airway epithelium in asthmatic but not nonasthmatic normal subjects, (2) regular in vivo β2-agonist use increases VASP phosphorylation in asthmatic epithelium, altering cell adhesion. Methods Bronchial epithelium was obtained from asthmatic and non-asthmatic normal subjects before and after segmental allergen challenge, and after regularly inhaled albuterol, in three separate protocols. VASP phosphorylation was examined in Western blots of epithelial samples. DNA was obtained for β2-adrenergic receptor haplotype determination. Results Although VASP phosphorylation increased, it was not significantly greater after allergen challenge in asthmatics or normals. However, VASP phosphorylation in epithelium of nonasthmatic normal subjects was double that observed in asthmatic subjects, both at baseline and after challenge. Regularly inhaled albuterol significantly increased VASP phosphorylation in asthmatic subjects in both unchallenged and antigen challenged lung segment epithelium. There was also a significant increase in epithelial cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage of the unchallenged lung segment after regular inhalation of albuterol but not of placebo. The haplotypes of the β2-adrenergic receptor did not appear to associate with increased or decreased phosphorylation of VASP. Conclusion Decreased VASP phosphorylation was observed in epithelial cells of asthmatics compared to nonasthmatic normals, despite response to β-agonist. The decreased phosphorylation does not appear to be associated with a particular β2-adrenergic receptor haplotype. The observed decrease in VASP phosphorylation suggests greater inhibition of actin reorganization which is necessary for altering attachment and migration required during epithelial repair

Treatment of Recurrent Intracranial Hemangiopericytoma with SRC-Related Tyrosine Kinase Targeted Therapy: A Case Report

Hemangiopericytoma (HPC) is a rare sarcomatous tumor arising from pericytes, a support cell found in blood vessels. These tumors can occur throughout the body, particularly in the lower extremities and retroperitoneum. In rare circumstances, HPCs can arise from the meninges. In these cases, they behave similar to meningiomas, in particular angiomatous meningiomas, but tend to be more aggressive and are likely to recur. Treatment usually focuses on surgical resection and radiotherapy with possible inclusion of chemotherapy for control of recurrent disease. We describe a case of recurrent right temporal HPC that first manifested as a paraneoplastic syndrome of oncogenic osteomalacia. Despite maximum therapy, this patient experienced multiple recurrences of the tumor, and immunohistochemical analysis revealed overexpression of platelet-derived growth factor receptor, a member of the SRC-related tyrosine kinases. After multiple recurrences, the patient's tumor has been stable with treatment with monotherapy utilizing molecularly targeted therapy to SRC-related tyrosine kinases. This is the first case report of the treatment of recurrent meningeal HPC with molecularly targeted therapy to SRC-related tyrosine kinases

State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2012

Over the last three years, projects that address the relationships between carbon and forests have moved from the sidelines of international climate action to center field. Forestry’s recent advancements are the product of decades of ongoing collaboration among market and environmental experts seeking to strike an ideal balance between forestry projects’ market risks and shared benefits. Market dynamics in 2011 demonstrated that these efforts have never been more pivotal, or complex, as forest carbon projects mature – and find themselves positioned squarely in the midst of some of today’s most challenging policy debates. This year, a record number of forest project developers and secondary market suppliers from around the world shared data about their projects and transactions. This third annual State of the Forest Carbon Markets tracks, reports, and analyzes trends in these responses. This information is primarily based on data collected from respondents to Ecosystem Marketplace’s 2011 forest carbon project developer’s survey, combined with data from the 2012 State of the Voluntary Carbon Markets report. The data and analysis that follow cover forest carbon activity in compliance carbon markets – including the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS), the New South Wales Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme (NSW GGAS) and British Columbia’s (BC) Carbon Neutral Government directive – as well as voluntary carbon markets including voluntary Over-the-Counter (OTC) market and country-specific voluntary programs worldwide. In total, we captured responses from 140 project developers or project proponents in the primary forest carbon market and 35 suppliers in the secondary market. Respondents represented 215 individual forest carbon projects, half of which transacted credits in 2011 – totaling 451 projects analyzed in all survey years

No detection of CD4-independent human immunodeficiency virus 1 envelope glycoproteins in brain tissue of patients with or without neurological complications

Macrophage (mac)-tropic human immnunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and simian immnunodeficiency virus (SIV) in brain are associated with neurological disease. Mac-tropic HIV-1 evolves enhanced CD4 interactions that enable macrophage infection via CD4, which is in low abundance. In contrast, mac-tropic SIV is associated with CD4-independent infection via direct CCR5 binding. Recently, mac-tropic simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) from macaque brain was also reported to infect cells via CCR5 without CD4. Since SHIV envelope proteins (Envs) are derived from HIV-1, we tested more than 100 HIV-1 clade B Envs for infection of CD4-negative, CCR5(+) Cf2Th/CCR5 cells. However, no infection was detected. Our data suggest that there are differences in the evolution of mac-tropism in SIV and SHIV compared to HIV-1 clade B due to enhanced interactions with CCR5 and CD4, respectively