"A New Approach to Tax-Exempt Bonds, Infrastructure: Financing with the AGIS Bond"

The current system of tax-exempt bond financing is inefficient and inequitable because a large portion of the federal subsidy provided by the tax exemption does not reach state and local governments and accrues instead to the wealthiest investors. In addition, the current system excludes large institutional investors, both domestic and foreign, with their huge pools of capital, and it lacks the stable oversight characteristic of the taxable bond market. Regan and his associates have developed a new security concept to overcome these weaknesses. The American global infrastructure security (AGIS) bond has two components that are sold separately--tax exemption and income flow--creating a taxable bond for sale in the regular capital markets in addition to the tax exclusion benefit.

"Infrastructure Investment for Tomorrow, A Financing Plan to Eliminate the Deferred Maintenance on the Nation's Roads"

Regan presents a long-term public investment proposal to preserve and upgrade the nation's infrastructure system. He offers a unique financing plan to eliminate much of the backlog of deferred maintenance that plagues America's roads and bridges. The plan would allow states and municipalities to get out from under this burden with a one-time upgrading program and then attain a new capacity to maintain and improve their infrastructure networks. Regan concludes that the goal of long-term investing is "to make possible sustained growth, improved productivity, and a strengthened private sector" for the next generation. A program to upgrade the nation's infrastructure base could help the United States achieve this goal.

Maîtriser la norme sociolinguistique en interlangue française: le cas de l'omission variable de ‘ne’

L’acquisition de la norme sociolinguistique française pose des problèmes considérables aux locuteurs non-natifs. L’analyse de la variation dans l’omission du ne dans un corpus d’interlangue avancée de 27 apprenants néerlandophones interviewés dans une situation informelle et formelle confirme que l’instruction formelle est insuffisante pour la maîtrise de la norme sociolinguistique native. Une majorité de locuteurs omettent le ne un peu moins souvent dans une situation formelle mais la variation va dans le sens opposé pour une minorité de locuteurs. L’observation et surtout la participation à des interactions authentiques avec des locuteurs natifs stimulent l’acquisition de la norme sociolinguistique. Une analyse statistique révèle que différentes variables socio-biographiques, psychologiques et situationnelles déterminent la variation intra- et interindividuelle dans les taux d’omission du ne

Survey of Applications of Active Control Technology for Gust Alleviation and New Challenges for Lighter-weight Aircraft

This report provides a historical survey and assessment of the state of the art in the modeling and application of active control to aircraft encountering atmospheric disturbances in flight. Particular emphasis is placed on applications of active control technologies that enable weight reduction in aircraft by mitigating the effects of atmospheric disturbances. Based on what has been learned to date, recommendations are made for addressing gust alleviation on as the trend for more structurally efficient aircraft yields both lighter and more flexible aircraft. These lighter more flexible aircraft face two significant challenges reduced separation between rigid body and flexible modes, and increased sensitivity to gust encounters due to increased wing loading and improved lift to drag ratios. The primary audience of this paper is engineering professionals new to the area of gust load alleviation and interested in tackling the multifaceted challenges that lie ahead for lighter-weight aircraft

Contemporary NSTEMI management: the role of the hospitalist.

Non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) is defined as elevated cardiac biomarkers of necrosis in the absence of persistent ST-segment elevation in the setting of anginal symptoms or other acute event. It carries a poorer prognosis than most ST-segment elevation events, owing to the typical comorbidity burden of the older NSTEMI patients as well as diverse etiologies that add complexity to therapeutic decision-making. It may result from an acute atherothrombotic event (\u27Type 1\u27) or as the result of other causes of mismatch of myocardial oxygen supply and demand (\u27Type 2\u27). Regardless of type and other clinical factors, the hospital medicine specialist is increasingly responsible for managing or coordinating the care of these patients. Following published guidelines for risk stratification and basing anti-anginal, anticoagulant, antiplatelet, other pharmacologic therapies, and overall management approach on that individualized patient risk assessment can be expected to result in better short- and long-term clinical outcomes, including near-term readmission and recurrent events. We present here a review of the evidence basis and expert commentary to assist the hospitalist in achieving those improved outcomes in NSTEMI. Given that the Society for Hospital Medicine cites care of patients with acute coronary syndrome as a core competency for hospitalists, it is essential that those specialists stay current on optimal NSTEMI care

A Technique of Direct Tension Measurement of a Strung Fine Wire

We present a new technique of direct measurement of wire tensions in wire chambers. A specially designed circuit plucks the wire using the Lorentz force and measures the frequency of damped transverse oscillations of the wire. The technique avoids the usual time-consuming necessity of tuning circuit parameter to a resonance. It allows a fast and convenient determination of tensions and is straightforward to implement.Comment: 15 pages with 9 figure

Why are women still leaving academic medicine? A qualitative study within a London Medical School

Objectives: To identify factors that influenced women who chose to leave academic medicine. Design and main outcome measures: Independent consultants led a focus group of women in medicine who had left academia after completion of their postgraduate research degree at Imperial College London Faculty of Medicine. Thematic analysis was performed on the transcribed conversations. Participants and setting: Nine women physicians who completed a postgraduate degree (MD or PhD) at a large London Medical School and Academic Health Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, but did not go on to pursue a career in academic medicine. Results: Influences to leave clinical academia were summarised under eight themes—career intentions, supervisor support, institutional human resources support, inclusivity, work–life balance, expectations, mentors and role models, and pregnancy and maternity leave. Conclusion: The women in our focus group reported several factors contributing to their decision to leave clinical academia, which included lack of mentoring tailored to specific needs, low levels of acceptance for flexible working to help meet parental responsibilities and perceived explicit gender biases. We summarise the multiple targeted strategies that Imperial College London has implemented to promote retention of women in academic medicine, although more research needs to be done to ascertain the most effective interventions