Rhode Island: The Defeat of the Greenhouse Compact

Rhode Island has not shared equally in New England\u27s economic resurgence of recent years. A major reevaluation of the state\u27s economic malaise in 1982-84 resulted in a $250 million program called the Greenhouse Compact to improve business in the state. Initially supported in polls by a two-to-one margin, the Compact was defeated overwhelmingly when it went to a statewide referendum. The timing of the referendum and mistakes in the public relations strategy and in the structure of the Compact all played a role in the outcome, but post-election polls showed that defeat, based on a massive shift of undecided voters, ultimately revolved around a lack of trust in government and in the state\u27s leadership. Rhode Islanders made an understandable choice which unfortunately led to the loss of a great opportunity for the state

Examination of Contact Width on Fretting Fatigue

The primary goal of this study was to find the effects on the fretting fatigue life when systematically holding the fretting fatigue variables, peak contact pressure, maximum/minimum nominal bulk stress, and the ratio of shear traction to pressure force constant while varying the contact semi-width through changes in pad radius and normal load. Experimental tests were performed on a test setup capable of independent pad displacement. Analytical and finite element simulations of the different experimental tests were performed. The local mechanistic parameters were inspected. Five different critical plane based fatigue predictive parameters lacked effectiveness in predicting changes in life with changes in contact width. The Ruiz parameter, and a modified version of the Ruiz parameter performed better than the five critical plane based parameters. Correlations between slip amplitude and fretting fatigue life were found. Tests experiencing infinite fatigue life, in contrast to the typical shortened fretting fatigue life, were experiencing the gross slip condition, which led to fretting wear instead of fretting fatigue

The prophages of Citrobacter rodentium represent a conserved family of horizontally-acquired mobile genetic elements associated with enteric evolution towards pathogenicity

Prophage mediated horizontal gene transfer (HGT) plays a key role in the evolution of bacteria, enabling access to new environmental niches, including pathogenicity. Citrobacter rodentium is a host-adapted intestinal mouse pathogen and important model organism for attaching and effacing (A/E) pathogens including the clinically significant enterohaemorrhagic (EHEC) and enteropathogenic (EPEC) Escherichia coli. Despite containing ten prophage genomic regions, including an active temperate phage, ΦNP, little was known regarding the nature of C. rodentium prophages in the bacterium’s evolution towards pathogenicity. In this study, our characterization of ΦNP led to the discovery of a second, fully functional temperate phage, named ΦSM. We identify the bacterial host-receptor for both phages as lipopolysaccharide (LPS). ΦNP and ΦSM are likely important mediators of HGT in C. rodentium. Bioinformatic analysis of the ten prophage regions reveals cargo genes encoding known virulence factors, including several Type III secretion system (T3SS) effectors. C. rodentium prophages are conserved across a wide range of pathogenic enteric bacteria, including EPEC and EHEC as well as pathogenic strains of Salmonella enterica, Shigella boydii, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Phylogenetic analysis of core enteric backbone genes compared against prophage evolutionary models suggests that these prophages represent an important, conserved family of horizontally acquired enteric-associated pathogenicity determinants. In addition to highlighting the transformative role of bacteriophage mediated HGT in C. rodentium’s evolution towards pathogenicity, these data suggest that the examination of conserved families of prophages in other pathogenic bacteria and disease outbreaks might provide deeper evolutionary and pathological insights otherwise obscured by more classical analysis.BBSRC and China Scholarship Council and the Cambridge Commonwealth, European, and International Trust

The Decline of North American Industry

SUMMARY While the US has not suffered significant falls in either absolute industrial employment or output during the post?war period it has experienced a relative decline in manufacturing, commerce and finance. This decline is documented and three policy responses to industrial decline are discussed: non?tariff protectionism, bail?outs and labour cost reductions. SUMMARY Data are presented to show the relative decline in the Canadian manufacturing sector since 1960. The evolution of Canadian industrial policy in the post?war period is described and it is argued that the design of industrial policy instruments makes them ineffective for dealing with industrial decline. RESUMEN La declinación de la industria norteamericana: I Estados Unidos Aunque Estados Unidos no sufrió caídas significativas en el producto o empleo industrial en términos absolutos, las manufacturas, la construcción y las finanzas experimentaron una declinación relativa. Se proporcionan datos sobre este proceso y se examinan tres políticas para enfrentar el descenso industrial: proteccionismo no tarifario, subsidios y reducciones en los costos laborales. RESUMEN La declinación en la industria norteamericana: II Canadá Se presentan datos para ilustrar la declinación relativa que sufre el sector manufacturero canadiense desde 1960. Se describe la evolución de la política industrial del país en la postguerra y se argumenta que los instrumentos diseñados para implementarla la hacen ineficiente para enfrentar la declinación industrial. SOMMAIRE Le déclin de l'industrie Nord?Américaine: I les Etats Unis Alors que les Etats Unis n'ont pas été affectés par des chutes significatives de leurs productions ou de l'emploi dans le domaine industriel strict dans la période de l'après?guerre, ils ont néanmoins expérimenté un déclin relatif dans l'industrie, le commerce et la finance. Ce déclin est analysé et trois réponses politiques sont envisagées: le protectionnisme non?tarifaire, les diminutions des garanties et des coûts salariaux. SOMMAIRE Le déclin de l'industrie Nord?Américaine: II le Canada Présentation de données destinées a prouver le déclin relatif du secteur industriel depuis 1960. L'évolution de la politique industrielle canadienne dans la période de l'après?guerre est analysée, et l'auteur affirme que la structure même de la politique industrielle rend cette dernière inefficace dans la lutte contre ce déclin

Physician Consultation, Multidisciplinary Care, and 1-Year Mortality in Medicare Recipients Hospitalized with Hip and Lower Extremity Injuries

To determine whether routine surgeon consultation with medicine specialists and multidisciplinary care conferences—potentially modifiable hospital characteristics—are associated with lower 1-year mortality in older adults with hip and lower extremity injuries.Retrospective cohort study.Oregon hospitals.Two thousand five hundred thirty-eight Medicare recipients aged 67 and older hospitalized in Oregon hospitals in 2002 with hip or lower extremity injuries.Demographic, injury, comorbidity, and survival information were gathered from Medicare records for 2000 to 2003. All Oregon hospitals with a qualifying case were surveyed using a structured telephone interview to collect information about routine surgeon consultations and multidisciplinary care conferences for older adult orthopedic patients. Multivariable generalized estimating equation models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations between hospital characteristics and mortality.After adjusting for age, injury severity, comorbid conditions, trauma center status, and hospital annual volume of patients with hip fracture, the relative odds of dying in the year after injury for inpatients treated in settings with routine surgeon consultation with medical staff was 0.69 (95% CI 0.57–0.83) compared with patients not treated in such settings. Inpatient treatment in settings with routine multidisciplinary care conferences did not significantly affect the relative odds of dying in the year after injury (OR=1.06, 95% CI=0.89–1.26).Routine consultation by attending orthopedic surgeons with medicine or primary care specialists for Medicare inpatients is associated with better survival 1 year after injury.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79088/1/j.1532-5415.2010.03087.x.pd

Dynamic Parameters of Balance Which Correlate to Elderly Persons with a History of Falls

Poor balance in older persons contributes to a rise in fall risk and serious injury, yet no consensus has developed on which measures of postural sway can identify those at greatest risk of falling. Postural sway was measured in 161 elderly individuals (81.8y±7.4), 24 of which had at least one self-reported fall in the prior six months, and compared to sway measured in 37 young adults (34.9y±7.1). Center of pressure (COP) was measured during 4 minutes of quiet stance with eyes opened. In the elderly with fall history, all measures but one were worse than those taken from young adults (e.g., maximal COP velocity was 2.7× greater in fallers than young adults; p<0.05), while three measures of balance were significantly worse in fallers as compared to older persons with no recent fall history (COP Displacement, Short Term Diffusion Coefficient, and Critical Displacement). Variance of elderly subjects' COP measures from the young adult cohort were weighted to establish a balance score (“B-score”) algorithm designed to distinguish subjects with a fall history from those more sure on their feet. Relative to a young adult B-score of zero, elderly “non-fallers” had a B-score of 0.334, compared to 0.645 for those with a fall history (p<0.001). A weighted amalgam of postural sway elements may identify individuals at greatest risk of falling, allowing interventions to target those with greatest need of attention

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http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b2058053~S1*es