Pay Equity Legislation in the 109th Congress

The term pay equity originates from the fact that women as a group are paid less than men. In 2003, for example, women with a strong commitment to the work force earned about 76-79 cents for every dollar earned by men. As women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s earnings have narrowed by just 15 percentage points over the past 40-plus years (from about 60% in the 1960s and 1970s to more than 70% since 1990), some members of the public policy community have argued that current anti-discrimination laws should be strengthened and that additional measures should be enacted. Others, in contrast, believe that further government intervention is unnecessary because the gender wage gap will narrow on its own as women’s labor market qualifications continue to more closely resemble those of men

Numerical nonlinear inelastic analysis of stiffened shells of revolution. Volume 1: Theory manual for STARS-2P digital computer program

The theoretical analysis background for the STARS-2P nonlinear inelastic program is discussed. The theory involved is amenable for the analysis of large deflection inelastic behavior in axisymmetric shells of revolution subjected to axisymmetric loadings. The analysis is capable of considering such effects as those involved in nonproportional and cyclic loading conditions. The following are also discussed: orthotropic nonlinear kinematic hardening theory; shell wall cross sections and discrete ring stiffeners; the coupled axisymmetric large deflection elasto-plastic torsion problem; and the provision for the inelastic treatment of smeared stiffeners, isogrid, and waffle wall constructions

Numerical nonlinear inelastic analysis of stiffened shells of revolution. Volume 2: User's manual for STARS-2P digital computer program

The information necessary for application of the STARS-2P (shell theory automated for rotational structures-2(plasticity)) program is presented. This addition to the STARS system of programs retains the basic fractures characteristic of the system. For vol. 1, see N75-27419

ELAV mediates 3' UTR extension in the Drosophila nervous system

Post-transcriptional gene regulation is prevalent in the nervous system, where multiple tiers of regulatory complexity contributeto the development and function of highly specialized cell types. Whole-genome studies in Drosophila have identified several hundred genes containing long 3′ extensions in neural tissues. We show that ELAV (embryonic-lethalabnormal visual system) is a key mediator of these neural-specific extensions. Misexpression of ELAV results in the ectopicsynthesis of long messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in transgenic embryos. RNA immunoprecipitation assays suggest that ELAV directlybinds the proximal polyadenylation signals of many target mRNAs. Finally, ELAV is sufficient to suppress 3′ end formationat a strong polyadenylation signal when tethered to a synthetic RNA. We propose that this mechanism for coordinating 3′ UTRextension may be generally used in a variety of cellular processes

Do Drug Plans Matter? Effects of Drug Plan Eligibility on Drug Use Among the Elderly, Social Assistance Recipients and the General Population

The 1984 Canada Health Act does not require that the provinces subsidize prescription drugs. Many provinces do, however, provide categorical coverage to the elderly, social assistance recipients and others, although the generosity of coverage is highly variable. A system of parallel private insurance covers the non-elderly ineligible for social assistance. In this study, we assessed the socio- economic, health and demographic determinants of private drug insurance. We also assessed the effect of inter-provincial variations in drug insurance coverage for the elderly and low income on variations in drug insurance coverage for the elderly and low income on their drug use. In addition, using instrumental variables methods, we considered the effect of prescription drug insurance coverage status on drug use in the non-elderly population ineligible for social assistance. Consistent with the previous literature, we find that for most seniors and non-indigent, drug coverage has only minor effects on drug use. The drug use of social assistance recipients was, however, sensitive to even relatively modest copayments of $0-$6.prescription drug utilization, copayments, user fees, pharmaceutical cost control

Correlated measurements of UHF radar signatures, RF radiation and electric field changes from lightning

During Storm Hazards - 82, simultaneous measurements are made of radar echoes, fast and slow field changes and RF radiation from lightning. Radio frequency radiation and radar echoes are also obtained during periods when the research aircraft is struck by lightning. These data are presently used to better understand the electrical processes which occur during strikes to the aircraft. Preliminary conclusions verify that the events recorded aboard the aircraft occurred during lightning but also indicate that they occur with surprising frequency very early in the flash

Numerical nonlinear inelastic analysis of stiffened shells of revolution. Volume 3: Engineer's program manual for STARS-2P digital computer program

Engineering programming information is presented for the STARS-2P (shell theory automated for rotational structures-2P (plasticity)) digital computer program, and FORTRAN 4 was used in writing the various subroutines. The execution of this program requires the use of thirteen temporary storage units. The program was initially written and debugged on the IBM 370-165 computer and converted to the UNIVAC 1108 computer, where it utilizes approximately 60,000 words of core. Only basic FORTRAN library routines are required by the program: sine, cosine, absolute value, and square root

Regulation by small RNAs via coupled degradation: mean-field and variational approaches

Regulatory genes called small RNAs (sRNAs) are known to play critical roles in cellular responses to changing environments. For several sRNAs, regulation is effected by coupled stoichiometric degradation with messenger RNAs (mRNAs). The nonlinearity inherent in this regulatory scheme indicates that exact analytical solutions for the corresponding stochastic models are intractable. Here, we present a variational approach to analyze a well-studied stochastic model for regulation by sRNAs via coupled degradation. The proposed approach is efficient and provides accurate estimates of mean mRNA levels as well as higher order terms. Results from the variational ansatz are in excellent agreement with data from stochastic simulations for a wide range of parameters, including regions of parameter space where mean-field approaches break down. The proposed approach can be applied to quantitatively model stochastic gene expression in complex regulatory networks.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure