Does Decentralized Welfare Reform Lead to a Race to the Bottom in Local Economic Development and Local Public Services?

This paper tests the hypothesis that devolution of welfare programs leads to heightened intergovernmental competition and a "race to the bottom" in the provision of local public services. Data from a national survey of county governments is used to estimate an econometric model of strategic interaction by county governments.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Seismic analysis of multi-storeyed building with floating column using fluid viscous dampers.

Nowadays many multi-storeyed buildings in India have open ground storey for providing better parking facilities, reception lobbies and other amenities. It is required to have column free space due to shortage of space, increase in population and also for functional and aesthetic requirement.For this purpose, building is provided with floating column at one or more storey.Floating column is a vertical member but its lower end is not connected to the foundation. Its lower end rest on beam which is a horizontal member, this beam transfers the load of floating column to other columns below it.The most common use of a floating column is to build a soft storey on the ground floor to provide extra parking or entrance corridor space.But such features are highly unwanted in seismically active region. The present study proposes a practical solution for reducing the risk of earthquake effects associated with floating column building by strengthening them with using fluid viscous dampers. The main aim of the work is to highlights the performance of floating column building and compare floating column building with and without using fluid viscous dampers. Seismic analysis is carried out by using response spectrum analysis as per IS: 1893-2002. The Seismic assessment is executed by using ETABS software

Seismic performance of RC frame retrofitted using steel bracing.

High rise buildings which are very common nowadays are subjected to problems due to lateral loads. Due to lateral loads like wind, earthquake etc. the structural stability of the structure is reduced. The lateral loads produce sway moment and induce high stresses in the structure. In order to reduce these effects of lateral loads bracings are efficient and effective. Bracings can be used for seismic retrofitting due to their high stiffness. Retrofitting approaches can be used to improve the seismic performance of the existing structures, before that are subjected to an earthquake. There are two retrofitting approaches, first is to add a new structural element like steel braces or shear wall and second is to provide concrete or steel jacketing. In this work steel bracings are used to retrofit the structure and they are provided in both concentric and eccentric manner. The main aim of the work is to analyze the performance of the building when the bracings are provided in eccentric manner. This study also focuses on performance of building with mega braced frame. Braced frames reduce lateral displacement and the bending moment in columns. Steel bracing is economical, easy to erect, occupies less space and has flexibility to design for meeting the required strength and stiffness. Different types of bracing such as V bracing, X bracing and diagonal bracing are provided. Seismic analysis is done using ETABS software. Keywords— Steel bracing, ETABS, Seismic analysi

Metronome-Cued Stepping in Place after Hemiparetic Stroke: Comparison of a One- and Two-Tone Beat

Hemiparetic gait is characterised by temporal asymmetry and variability, and these variables are improved by auditory cueing. Stepping in place incorporates aspects of gait and may be a useful tool for locomotor training. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the use of a single-tone and dual-tone metronome to cue stepping in place after hemiparetic stroke. Eight participants completed an uncued baseline stepping condition and two cued stepping conditions utilising a single-tone and a dualtone metronome. Step times were determined from force plate data, and asymmetry and variability were calculated for the three conditions. Step time asymmetry was significantly reduced in the single-tone condition compared to baseline, and paretic step time variability was significantly reduced in both cued conditions.The single-tone metronome appeared to be preferred to the dual-tone metronome based on participant feedback.The results of this pilot study suggest that metronome cueing produces similar benefits on stepping in place to previously reported findings in walking. Further research on whether stepping in place to a metronome can be used for locomotor training is needed

Increased risk of cervical canal infections with intracervical foley catheter

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of intracervical Foley catheter insertion, for the induction of labor, on cervical canal infection. DESIGN: A prospective interventional study with paired analysis. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The study was conducted in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Aga Khan University, Karachi, between June 1 and August 31, 2002. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In 45 women undergoing cervical ripening with intracervical Foley catheter for the induction of labour at term, cervical swabs were taken for culture and sensitivity before its insertion and again after its spontaneous expulsion or removal. RESULTS: Intracervical Foley catheter was retained for mean duration of 8.1 +/- 1.7 hours. There was a significant change in the pathogenic organisms (0 % v 16.3 %; p 0.016) from pre-Foley to post-Foley catheter cervical swab cultures. Growth of beta-hemolytic Streptococcus group-B, Candida albicans, Candida glabrata and Gardnerella vaginalis on cervical swab were considered pathogenic. One woman (2.2 %) developed fever following insertion of intracervical Foley catheter. No statistically significant effect of potential confounding factors was observed on change in growth of pathogenic organisms. CONCLUSION: Induction of labour at term with Foley catheter is associated with a significant increase in intracervical pathogenic organisms despite undertaking routine aseptic measures. We recommend evaluation of this technique for its potential infectious harm in larger studies. Meanwhile, extreme aseptic measures should be undertaken during its insertion to avoid maternal and possible neonatal infections

Comparison of different phenotypic methods of detection of methicillin resistance in staphylococcus aureus with the molecular detection of mec-a gene

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate accuracy, cost-effectiveness and ease to perform different phenotypic methods i.e. Cefoxitin 30 microg disc, Oxacillin 1microg disc and Oxacillin agar screening plate (6microg/ml ) for early and accurate identification of MRSA by comparing with the detection of mec-A gene in our clinical isolates. DESIGN: A comparative study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Clinical samples submitted in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from 1st August to 31st October 2006. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Out of 200 clinical samples, conventional Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was done on 62 pure biochemically identified S. aureus isolates for mec-A gene detection. Phenotypic methods for detecting methicillin sensitivity (Cefoxitin 30 microg disc, Oxacillin 1 microg disc and Oxacillin agar screening plate) were also used according to the recommended incubation time, duration and temperature on the same isolates. RESULTS: Out of 62 isolates of S. aureus, mec-A gene were detected (MRSA) in 32, whereas 30 were mec-A gene negative (MSSA). Cefoxitin disc and agar screening plate correctly identify all MRSA isolates with the sensitivity and specificity of 100%. Single isolate was false, positively detected as sensitive with Oxacillin 1microg disc, due to which, the sensitivity and negative predictive value of this method were reduced to 96.9% and 96.8% respectively, while positive predictive value and specificity remained 100%. CONCLUSION: Comparing different phenotypic methods for MRSA screening in routine microbiology laboratory, Cefoxitin disc and Oxacillin agar screening has better sensitivity and specificity comparative to Oxacillin disc. However, Cefoxitin disc can be preferred especially for small laboratories because it is easy to perform, do not require special technique and media preparation is consequently more cost-effective

Novel mutations of the carbohydrate sulfotransferase-6 (CHST6) gene causing macular corneal dystrophy in India

Purpose: Macular corneal dystrophy (MCD) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by progressive central haze, confluent punctate opacities and abnormal deposits in the cornea. It is caused by mutations in the carbohydrate sulfotransferase-6 (CHST6) gene, encoding corneal N-acetyl glucosamine-6-O-sulfotransferase (C-GlcNAc-6-ST). We screened the CHST6 gene for mutations in Indian families with MCD, in order to determine the range of pathogenic mutations. Methods: Genomic DNA was isolated from peripheral blood leukocytes of patients with MCD and normal controls. The coding regions of the CHST6 gene were amplified using three pairs of primers and amplified products were directly sequenced. Results: We identified 22 (5 nonsense, 5 frameshift, 2 insertion, and 10 missense) mutations in 36 patients from 31 families with MCD, supporting the conclusion that loss of function of this gene is responsible for this corneal disease. Seventeen of these mutations are novel. Conclusions: These data highlight the allelic heterogeneity of macular corneal dystrophy in Indian patients

Enhanced clustering based routing protocol in vehicular ad‐hocnetworks

A vehicular ad‐hoc network (VANET) is derived from a mobile ad‐hoc network that is a part of less infrastructure network design. Vehicular communication in VANET can be achieved using vehicle‐to‐infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle‐to‐vehicle (V2V) communication. A vehicle communicates with other vehicles through onboard units while communicating with roadside units in an infrastructure mode. Secure clustering is required for the communication between nodes in the whole network. The fundamental problem with the VANET is the instability of the network that occurs due to vehicles' mobile nature, which decreases the network's efficiency. This research proposes an enhanced cluster‐based lifetime protocol ECBLTR that focuses on maximising the network's stability of routing and average throughput. The Sugeno model fuzzy inference system is used for assessing the cluster head (CH) that takes residual energy, local distance, node degree, concentration, and distance from the base station as input parameters. Our enhanced routing protocol shows that the proper channel model with an efficient routing protocol enhances the link throughput of the VANET for fixed network size. Our results show an efficient selection method of CH through the fuzzy system and a 10% increase in network lifetime. Furthermore, performance evaluation also demonstrates the impact of network sizes and routing protocols on packet delivery ratio and packet loss, average end‐to‐end delay, and overhead transmission