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State and local governments in the United States are the implementation agents for a vast swath of federal policies. As the country embarks on an unprecedented foray into fiscal federalism to combat climate change, we face a stark reality: many local governments are not ready. Drawing from recent data and evidence on local sustainability activities, we argue policy makers and managers at all levels of governance need to apply the lessons learned over the last two decades of subnational climate efforts. For local government managers working in the 21st century, climate change will likely be a defining social dilemma of their lifetimes. After years of inaction, the United States has taken a major step in trying to meet its greenhouse‐gas mitigation pledges. But implementation requires understanding both the opportunities and opportunity costs posed by such generational investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicide is a preventable public health problem and a leading cause of death in the United States. Despite recognized need for community-based strategies for suicide prevention, most suicide prevention programs focus on individual-level change. This article presents seven first person accounts of Finding the Light Within, a community mobilization initiative to reduce the stigma associated with suicide through public arts participation that took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 2011 through 2012. The stigma associated with suicide is a major challenge to suicide prevention, erecting social barriers to effective prevention and treatment and enhancing risk factors for people struggling with suicidal ideation and recovery after losing a loved one to suicide. This project engaged a large and diverse audience and built a new community around suicide prevention through participatory public art, including community design and production of a large public mural about suicide, storytelling and art workshops, and a storytelling website. We present this project as a model for how arts participation can address suicide on multiple fronts-from raising awareness and reducing stigma, to promoting community recovery, to providing healing for people and communities in need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to determine the effect of Se supplementation and source on the Se status of horses. Eighteen 18-mo-old nonexercised horses were randomly assigned within sex to 1 of 3 treatments: 1) control (CTRL, no supplemental Se, 0.15 mg of Se/kg of total diet DM); 2) inorganic Se (INORG, CTRL + 0.45 mg of Se/kg of total diet DM from NaSeO3); or organic Se [ORG, CTRL + 0.45 mg of Se/kg of total diet DM from zinc-L-selenomethionine (Availa Se, Zinpro, Corp., Eden Prairie, MN)]. Horses were acclimated to the CTRL diet (7.1 kg of DM alfalfa hay and 1.2 kg of DM concentrate per horse daily) for 28 d. After the acclimation period, the appropriate treatment was top-dressed on the individually fed concentrate for 56 d. Jugular venous blood samples were collected on d 0, 28, and 56. Middle gluteal muscle biopsies were collected on d 0 and 56. Muscle and plasma were analyzed for Se concentrations. Glutathione peroxidase activity was measured in muscle (M GPx-1), plasma (P GPx-3), and red blood cells (RBC GPx-1). Data were analyzed as a repeated measures design. Mean plasma Se concentration on d 28 and 56 was greater (P < 0.05) for Se-supplemented horses compared with CTRL horses, and tended (P < 0.1) to be greater in ORG vs. INORG on d 28. Mean muscle Se concentration and P GPx-3 activities increased (P < 0.05) from d 0 to 56 but were not affected by treatment. Mean RBC GPx-1 activity tended to be greater (P < 0.1) in ORG than INORG or CTRL horses on d 28, and tended to be greater (P < 0.1) for INORG compared with ORG horses on d 56. Mean RBC GPx-1 activity of INORG and ORG horses was not different from that of CTRL on d 56. Mean M GPx-1 activity decreased (P < 0.01) from d 0 to 56. In conclusion, zinc-L-selenomethionine was more effective than NaSeO3 at increasing plasma Se concentration from d 0 to 28; however, both supplemental Se sources had a similar effect by d 56. No difference in Se status due to Se supplementation or source could be detected over a 56-d supplementation period by monitoring middle gluteal muscle Se, M GPx-1, or P GPx-3. Results for RBC GPx-1 also were inconclusive relative to the effect of Se supplementation and source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Radiopharmaceuticals are administered to a large number of individuals each year, and at any given time can be found at detectable levels in about one in 2600 Americans. Such individuals are among the population crossing international borders where equipment has been deployed for radiation detection, and the resulting “nuisance” alarms produced by these individuals must be resolved by further inspection like all other alarms. During 2001, a total of approximately 14.4 million medical procedures using radionuclides were performed in the US. This number rose to over 16.5 million in 2004. Of this total number of procedures, approximately 98% were diagnostic procedures and 2% were therapeutic procedures. Although there were over 45 different commercially-available products used in over 75 different types of medical procedures, only 17 different radioisotopes comprise the complete set of active radionuclides in the commercially-available radiopharmaceuticals in the US. There are other experimental radiopharmaceuticals in use, but their presence in the population is rare. Of these 17 radioisotopes, nine are customarily administered to outpatients and produce sufficiently energetic photons that can readily be detected. The radioisotope 99mTc is administered in about 90% of the procedures and is the one most likely to be detected by radiation screening equipment. This paper reports on various impacts of radiopharmaceuticals observed in people at border crossings. Calculations were performed to simulate the response of multi-lane portal radiation monitor deployments to these types of sources. Results are given for the time period during which radiopharmaceuticals might be detectable by radiation screening equipment at border crossings. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the USA and other countries large numbers of vehicles pass through border crossings each day. The illicit movement of radioactive sources is a concern that has resulted in the installation of radiation detection and identification instruments at border crossing points. This activity is judged to be necessary because of the possibility of an act of terrorism involving a radioactive source that may include any number of dangerous radionuclides. The problem of detecting, identifying and interdicting illicit radioactive sources is complicated by the fact that many materials present in cargo are somewhat radioactive. Some cargo contains naturally occurring radioactive material that may trigger radiation portal monitor alarms. Such nuisance alarms can be an operational limiting factor for screening of cargo at border crossings. Information about the nature of the radioactive materials in cargo that can interfere with the detection of radionuclides of concern is necessary to help anticipate and recognise likely sources of these nuisance alarms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Part I. Discusses issues concerned with the parallel operation and interconnection of emergency and standby synchronous generation resources with the electric power systems. Background of the U.S. electric power system; Details of parallel operation of the on-site generation with the utility derived service; Operating modes of the soft load control.

The article focuses on his experience as a member of former U.S. President Richard Nixon's Pay Board. The Pay Board was a tripartite board of 15 members — five representatives each from the public, business, and labor sectors. As a corporation president with extensive government experience and hands-on experience with labor problems, the author was asked to represent business. The Pay Board's balanced representation was intended to bring some sort of harmony among those three groups. However, things did not turn out that way. On August 15, 1971, Nixon announced his New Economic Plan as an attempt to spark the economy out of stagflation. Nixon's plan initiated a 90-day freeze on all wages, prices, and rents, known as the wage-price freeze. Then in November 1971, a more flexible program of economic restraints was initiated designed to make adjustments that would maintain economic stability while the country came out of the freeze. The Pay Board's orders were to bring the inflation rate back down to 2 percent by the end of 1972, half of the pre-freeze rate of inflation.

Focuses on a series of articles that provide a profile of a school district's effort to recruit and support a teacher in the United States willing to meet the challenge of the National Board Certification. Strategic objectives of the Paradise Valley Education Association; Details on the commitment of Paradise Valley Unified School District to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; Discussion on the process of the National Board Certification.

Abstract: The U.S. Department of Agriculture supports agricultural research by encouraging the formation of multidisciplinary and multi-institutional teams. Project teams focus on agricultural issues related to profitability and economic and environmental sustainability. Recently, a U.S. Department of Agriculture project to study the impact of equine management and feeding practices on the environment was approved. The project, “NE-1041: Environmental Impacts of Equine Operations,” is a Northeast regional project but includes research and extension faculty from across the country. The project team includes representatives from Alabama, Connecticut, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Vermont. The goal of this project is to incorporate the best available data on horse management and feeding practices, manure storage and disposal, pasture and cropping management, soil and environmental quality, erosion control, and farm management practices to minimize negative impacts of equine operations on the environment. The specific objectives of the project are to assess existing data on environmental impacts of equine operations, identify gaps in current knowledge, conduct research when data are lacking or nonexistent, and incorporate existing and newly generated data into a systematic description of nutrient flow in soil, water, and air occurring on horse farms. Estimates will be made of pathogen transports and nitrogen (N)-, phosphorus (P)-, potassium (K)-, and energy (carbon)-loss potentials. In addition to identifying system-wide losses on equine farms, another goal of the project is to assist farmers and agricultural professionals in determining the value of equine management practices and other accepted best management practices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Deals with hypothermia-related deaths in the U.S. from 2003 to 2004. Symptoms of hypothermia; Common risk factors for hypothermia; Details of hypothermia-related mortality reported from 1979 to 2002; Prevention of hypothermia-related deaths.

Focuses on issues regarding foreign language instruction in the U.S. Analysis of the cradlesongs of Gabriela Mistral, the Chilean Nobel prize winner; Experiment in elementary Spanish reading.

Deals with an experiment which examined the techniques in testing the listening comprehension skills of high school students who study language in the U.S. in the 1950s. Experimentation on the listening skills of students; Application of the French language course; Results of the comprehension tests.