Committee Staff Research Articles

The acid attack on Victor Riesel and fears of labor racketeering in Cold War America

When a hired thug hurled acid in the face of the prominent newspaper columnist, Victor Riesel, in 1956, the attack left him permanently blind. The incident appeared to dramatically vindicate Riesel's repeated warnings about the dangerous power of labor racketeers and it helped spur the creation of the largest ever congressional investigation into union corruption, the McClellan Committee hearings (1957–1959). This article raises important questions about the accepted version of why this attack occurred and what it meant. It uses recently released documents from the FBI as well as records from the McClellan Committee's staff. The article also suggests that several governmental bodies, including the FBI and the US Attorney's Office, played a role in furthering the public's misunderstanding of this episode. In so doing it offers a new understanding about how the issue of union corruption came to assume an important place on the nation's political agenda in this era.

Congressional Staff and the Revolving Door: The Impact of Regulatory Change

In 2007, Congress passed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) in an attempt to slow the revolving door between Congress and the Washington lobbying industry with one year bans on contacts between the ex-staffers and their former colleagues in the Congress. The variation in the Senate and House rules and a complete set of congressional staff panel data between 2001 and 2011 allow us to assess the effectiveness of the revolving door provisions of HLOGA and the relative importance of different factors that contribute to congressional staffers' employability as lobbyists. Using a difference-in-differences quasi-experimental design on data from Legistorm, we find evidence that the HLOGA realized some of its intended effect. As compared to “high-level” staff earning between 60% and 75% of a member's salary, the share of “covered” staff (i.e., those making 75% and above of a member's salary) becoming lobbyists within a year declined at a greater rate. This decline, however, was much more notable in the Senate, which had enacted much tougher contacting rules. The effects of HLOGA were stronger on committee staff than personal office staff, and strongest of all on Senate committee staff. They were also stronger on majority party than minority party staff. Additionally, we found some substitution effects in the lobbying market. Demand for high-level but uncovered Senate committee staffers actually rose in the wake of the reforms, as did the demand for covered House committee staffers.

Prepare to Be Challenged!

An examination of the controversy at the West Bend Community Memorial Library over homosexual materials in the young adult collection, and an informal survey of the collection development plans, challenge procedures, and challenge forms of more than sixty Wisconsin public libraries, raise questions about the challenge process itself. The survey shows widespread support of intellectual freedom principles but great variety in procedures to address patron concerns. Boards should consider policies that specify who may file a challenge, require an intermediate staff committee to document reviews and circulation statistics, and make a recommendation, set an expeditious timetable, and decide when or whether a public hearing is needed. A process that focuses on the offending item, not the offended patron, and asks whether the work meets the criteria of the library’s collection development process might enhance the process itself and the public’s understanding of why the library’s provision of diverse viewpoints benefits the entire community.

Primary Effusion Lymphoma: Secretome Analysis Reveals Novel Candidate Biomarkers with Potential Pathogenetic Significance

Primary Effusion Lymphoma: Secretome Analysis Reveals Novel Candidate Biomarkers with Potential Pathogenetic Significance

Submission No. 6 to Senate Committee on Finance -- Summary of Staff Discussion Draft -- Unaddressed Issues and Request for Comments -- Responses

The Senate Committee on Finance international tax reform staff discussion draft issued November 19, 2013 sets out certain proposals for international tax reform. In a document titled “Summary of Staff Discussion Draft” issued on November 19, 2013 of the proposals, certain “Unaddressed Issues” were listed and comments were requested. This letter responds to certain of those Unaddressed Issues. Comments are provided for the following Unaddressed Issues:1. The pros and cons of the two options for taxing foreign market activities of foreign subsidiaries of U.S. businesses.2. The relative merits of Chairman Camp’s Option C as compared with the proposals in this Senate Finance Committee staff discussion draft.3. The treatment of foreign branches.4. Consideration of a unitary approach to international taxation.9. International tax rules affecting individuals.This is Submission 6 of 7 Comment Letters Provided to the Committee.

Miami Dade County Moving Forward, Sustainable Buildings Program

As a leader in public sector sustainability efforts, Miami Dade County has adopted several measures that directly impact the built environment and promote sustainability throughout its operations. In the past few years, the Board of County Commissioners approved the Sustainable Buildings Ordinance (O-07-65) and its associated implementing order (IO-8-8), which established the Sustainable Buildings Program and required that all new county-owned, county-financed, and county-operated buildings meet the appropriate standard under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.To further support and streamline the Sustainable Buildings Program, the Office of Sustainability (OOS) recently embarked on a project to integrate sustainability into the capital improvements process (S-CIP). The resulting guidelines and recommendations will be incorporated into the Implementing Order (IO 8-8). In addition, OOS has set up S-CIP training modules to acquaint the directors of capital departments, OCI staff and sustainable buildings committee members with the new S-CIP guidelines.Miami Dade County Moving Forward, Sustainable Buildings ProgramAll authorsPatricia Gómez, Ben Moore & Claudia Regojohttps://doi.org/10.1080/10485236.2014.10781521Published online:08 January 2014Display full sizeThe Internal Services Department (ISD) trades shop facility is the first facility built under the Sustainable Buildings Ordinance and implementing order mandates to receive LEED certification at the silver level from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). According to the USGBC post-occupancy research, data collected have shown that LEED certified office buildings use an average of 25-30% less energy than conventional office buildings. Thus, a 100,000-sq-ft office building can save over one million dollars and 15 million pounds of CO2 during its lifetime (20 years). Cumulative to date, there are over 2,000,000 sq ft of new or renovated green space planned for the county that will meet maximum sustainable measures or become certified under the LEED rating system (31 qualifying projects and six additional non-qualifying projects). This translates to energy savings of around $20,000,000 in the next 20 years and a reduction of around 300,000,000 lbs of CO2. Some of the upcoming LEED projects include the Marlins Stadium, the Children's Courthouse, the ISD West Lot, the Northeast Library, the Miami Art Museum and the Miami Science Museum.

THE ROLE OF THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL IN MAINTAINING PEACE

The author devoted his research to the role of the UN Security Council at present time and the challenges to its existence as the linchpin of preservation of universal peace, security and stability at the time of transformation of the modern world under the impact of globalization. The research article sheds some light on the process of reforms of the UN Security Council and discussions on this issue in the UN , positions of the permanent members of the SC (“P-5”) and different scenarios of the expansion of the composition of the Security Council (permanent and non-permanent members).In contrast to some optimistic assumptions on the perspectives of the reform the author reinforces a pragmatic approach to the issue. Special emphasis is made on the importance of preserving the exclusive position of permanent members of the SC (“P-5”) as the guarantor of global stability and security. The reform process is closely entwined with another direction of the reform of the SC – strengthening its core functions and strategic role in prevention of international and regional crises. The conclusions and recommendations contain some ideas aimed at strengthening the reform process of the SC and its effectiveness. The SC should be more involved in planning and implementation of the UN peace- keeping operations. The functions of Military Staff Committee should be expanded and the process of consultations within the “P-5” Group should be reviewed with emphasis on taking political decisions on the basis of consensus.

Sensitive Detection and Serovar Differentiation of Typhoidal and Nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica Species Using 16S rRNA Gene PCR Coupled with High-Resolution Melt Analysis

Salmonella enterica species infections are a significant public health problem causing high morbidity rates worldwide and high mortality rates in the developing world. These infections are not always rapidly diagnosed as a cause of bloodstream infections because of the limitations of blood culture, which greatly affects clinical care as a result of treatment delays. A molecular diagnostic assay that could rapidly detect and identify S. enterica species infections as a cause of sepsis is needed. Nine typhoidal and nontyphoidal S. enterica serovars were used to establish the limit of detection (LOD) of a previously published 16S rRNA gene PCR (16S PCR) in mock whole blood specimens. In addition, 16 typhoidal and nontyphoidal S. enterica serovars were used to evaluate the serovar differentiation capability of 16S PCR coupled with high-resolution melt analysis. The overall LOD of 16S PCR for the nine typhoidal and nontyphoidal S. enterica serovars analyzed was <10 colony-forming units per milliliter (CFU/mL) in mock whole blood specimens, with the lowest and highest LOD at <1 CFU/mL and 9 CFU/mL, respectively. By high-resolution melt analysis, the typhoidal and nontyphoidal S.enterica serovar groups analyzed each generated a unique grouping code, allowing for serovar-level identification. 16S PCR coupled with high-resolution melt analysis could be a useful molecular diagnostic that could enhance the current diagnostic, treatment, and surveillance methods of S. enterica bloodstream infections.

Impact of Pharmacy Intervention on the Use of Proton-Pump Inhibitors in the Hospital Setting

Determine effectiveness of pharmacy-driven medical staff training regarding proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy. This study was performed in two parts. Part I evaluated baseline PPI usage within the hospital. Part II evaluated the effect of pharmacy-driven medical staff education on PPI prescribing patterns. Data were collected retrospectively via electronic chart review. Passavant Area Hospital in Jacksonville, Illinois, is a 99-bed community hospital. Patients' profiles were selected if administration of at least one PPI was electronically charted during their hospital stay. Patients discharged from the emergency department were not included in the study. There were a total of 1,089 charts reviewed (Part I: N=565; Part II: N=524). The average patient age was 66.5 years. Part I results were presented to the pharmacy and therapeutics (P&T) committee and medical staff. A series of three educational presentations were subsequently given to medical staff. Part II results were reported to the P&T committee, with further interventions to be determined after consulting with hospital administration and medical staff. Improvement of appropriate acute PPI therapy. Secondary outcome measures included duration of acute therapy and continuation of chronic therapy. There was improvement in the appropriate usage of PPI for stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) (P=0.1216), decreased chronic PPI therapy (P=0.0054), and increased documentation of PPI indication (P=0.0365). A decrease of appropriate acute duration of PPI for SUP was also observed (P<0.0001). Appropriate initiation of acute and continuation of chronic PPI therapies improved. Appropriate duration of use declined in SUP patients. Pharmacy interventions have an overall positive impact on appropriate use of PPI therapy.

Homozygosity for the V122I Mutation in Transthyretin Is Associated with Earlier Onset of Cardiac Amyloidosis in the African American Population in the Seventh Decade of Life

Individuals heterozygous for the V122I mutation in transthyretin (TTR) tend to develop cardiac amyloidosis, often after the seventh decade of life. Although homozygotes have been reported, these have typically been single case reports. We report a cohort of 13 V122I homozygotes. TTR gene sequencing results from the Mayo Clinic Molecular Genetics Laboratory between September 2004 and January 2013 were reviewed; 177 heterozygotes and 13 homozygotes for the V122I alteration were identified. Detailed clinical history was available for the 24 heterozygotes seen at Mayo Clinic. We compared age at onset of disease for this group to homozygotes, both alone and pooled with the 11 homozygotes from the literature. Individuals with homozygous V122I manifested symptoms a mean of 10 years earlier than heterozygotes (63.8 ± 5.7 versus 72 ± 8.1 yrs, P = 0.0002). Further, males were significantly overrepresented in both heterozygous and homozygous individuals. There was a trend for an even higher male bias in the homozygous group. All 24 homozygotes were African American, whereas four of the heterozygotes were reported as white. Two novel V122I compound heterozygotes were also identified, with clinical presentation in the late fifth or early sixth decade of life. This study is the largest homozygous V122I cohort reported and demonstrates association with earlier age at onset. It also highlights the uncertain penetrance, particularly with respect to sex.

California provider status bill heads to governor

California provider status bill heads to governor

James Angleton and the Church Committee

James J. Angleton, who served as chief of counterintelligence for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1954 to 1974, was an important figure in the Cold War and, in a sense, the first line of defense against clandestine Soviet intelligence operations directed against the United States and its allies. In 1975 a U.S. Senate investigative committee—informally known as the Church Committee and led by Senator Frank Church—called Angleton to testify in public on his approach to counterintelligence, especially how he had become involved in illegal domestic operations in the United States. His testimony to committee staff investigators preceding the hearing, along with his public statements to senators during the hearing, displayed an extreme view of the global Communist threat. Amid ongoing revelations in the mid-1970s of illegal CIA actions, Angleton proved unable to mount an effective public defense of his approach.

The Political and Civic Implications of Chicago’s Unsuccessful Bid to Host the 2016 Olympic Games

Between 2006 and 2009, Chicago’s political and civic leadership developed a bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) ultimately selected Rio de Janeiro to host the 2016 Games, with Chicago finishing fourth among the finalist cities in the October, 2009, IOC voting. This article is based on 20 key informant interviews with members and staff of the Chicago 2016 Committee, neighborhood activists and organizational staff in projected Olympic “venue” neighborhoods, and three “unaffiliated” civic leaders. The aim of the interviews was to determine—in light of the failed 2016 Olympic bid—if Chicago’s leadership had effected a process of what urban regime theorists term “social learning,” collective retrospection that can lead to the pursuit of more successful future civic ventures. The evidence provided by these interviews suggests that not only has there been little civic retrospection by Chicago’s leadership, but also that processes put in place to promote the Chicago bid to international and local constituencies actually inhibited the ability of local elites to learn from past action.

DECODING CONSCIOUSNESS

Geraint Rees is a Professor of Cognitive Neurology at University College London, where he directs the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. His research interests focus on understanding the neural basis of...

Prothèses orthopédiques et médecine nucléaire : le cas particulier de l’infection. Cas cliniques d’infection chronique sur prothèse de hanche

The diagnosis of chronic orthopedic infections relies on the combination of clinical, laboratory and imaging findings. Although there is no perfect imaging examination, the various nuclear medicine techniques are a useful help for clinicians. Performance and image quality have improved dramatically since the development of hybrid cameras. The choice of the most appropriate examination for underlying infections is sometimes difficult as well as its interpretation. It is often essential to know the patient's history (surgical history, biology, etc.). We have tried to illustrate the sometimes-complex management of chronic infections of hip prostheses through these clinical cases from multidisciplinary staff committee of osteoarticular infections.

The Contemporary Presidency: Organizing theNationalSecurityCouncil: I Like Ike's

TheUnitedStates’ national security establishment lacks an integrated strategic planning capability. The currentNationalSecurityCouncil (NSC) system relies heavily on part‐time committees that lack the clout and time to execute strategic planning. The president could overcome this difficulty by looking toPresidentEisenhower'sNSCsystem.Eisenhower'sNSCrelied on aPlanningBoard—which was neither a part‐time committee nor fulltime staff—to get realistic planning that was not captive to parochial interests and to foster a national, strategic mindset without falling prey to an ivory‐tower mind‐set divorced from reality.

Staff report on Medtronic’s influence on INFUSE clinical studies

On June 21, 2011, the US Senate Finance Committee staff initiated an inquiry into whether Medtronic, Inc improperly influenced peer-reviewed studies of Medtronic's bone-growth product InFuse, also known as bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2). In response to the June 21, 2011 request by Chairman Baucus and Senator Grassley, Medtronic produced more than 5000 documents pertaining to 13 studies sponsored by Medtronic where there was absolutely no reporting of adverse events associated with InFuse. Committee staff conducted a review of the documents submitted by Medtronic and other materials. Staff found that Medtronic was heavily involved in drafting, editing, and shaping the content of medical journal articles authored by its physician consultants; that Medtronic paid a total of approximately $210 million to physician authors; and that a Medtronic employee recommended against publishing a complete list of adverse events possibly associated with InFuse; among other findings. The Committee's investigation discovered troubling evidence that Medtronic officials influenced the content of articles in peer-reviewed scientific publications to present InFuse in the best possible light. In order to address the problem of biased research in medical literature, drug and device manufacturers and journal editors need to implement stringent disclosure policies that detail industry funding to physician authors. Medical journals should critically examine past studies that may exhibit industry bias that harms patients and misleads physicians. A company employee involved in the drafting of a scientific article should be listed as an author.

Baby Steps: One Hospital's Quest to Improve Its Breastfeeding Practices

Newborn Care Poster Presentation Purpose for the Program Though numerous research studies show the positive effect of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)/World Health Organization (WHO) Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative on breastfeeding rates, only 143 hospitals in the United States have undertaken the necessary steps to become Baby Friendly. In the current economic climate, some hospitals may be concerned about potential costs, including refusing free formula, and others may face cultural or institutional barriers to full implementation. In 2011, Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children began an initiative to improve its breastfeeding practices. Alabama has the fourth lowest breastfeeding rate in the nation, with less than 60% of infants ever having been breastfed. At Huntsville Hospital, about three‐fourths of women intend to breastfeed (similar to the national rate). To support these mothers, hospital leaders decided to advance breastfeeding practices to be in line with the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative and evidence‐based practice. Proposed Change Using the Baby‐Friendly steps as guidelines, a committee of interested staff and leaders from the postpartum unit planned and implemented a series of interventions focused on breastfeeding. Implementation, Outcomes, and Evaluation Staff members were first surveyed about breastfeeding knowledge and education ability. Survey data were used to create a mandatory full‐day course for all unit nurses that focused on areas where staff needed further education. Additional steps undertaken by the unit included replacing the patient discharge bags that display the formula company with bags that contain the hospital logo, increasing lactation consultant hours on the unit, creation of a unit‐specific breastfeeding booklet for staff, changing the infants’ intake/output sheet to include breastfeeding education for parents, and to not distribute pacifiers unless specifically requested by parents. Preliminary data indicated that the breastfeeding course objectives were met and patient satisfaction scores related to breastfeeding assistance were high. Despite the hospital's initial successes, it still faces many challenges in its quest to implement all 10 steps of the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding as outlined by the Baby Friendly Hospitals Initiative. In a state with traditionally low breastfeeding rates, barriers include getting families to room‐in with infants, encouraging physicians’ infant assessments and other interventions to be performed in patient rooms, increasing funding for lactation consultants at night and on weekends, looking at ways for mothers who had a cesarean delivery to breastfeed their infants within 1 hour of delivery, and implementing breastfeeding support groups. Implications for Nursing Practice Increased staff knowledge, high patient satisfaction scores, and movement toward compliance with the Baby Friendly Hospital's Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding are all positive signs of improved breastfeeding practices at Huntsville Hospital. Other hospitals that want to work toward Baby Friendly practices can learn from Huntsville's successes and continued challenges in improving its breastfeeding policies and practices.

Achieving Excellence: Collaborating with Families to Make a Difference in Care

Professional Issues Poster Presentation Purpose for the Program Our less than optimal patient satisfaction scores and our desire to embrace patient‐ and family‐centered care principles required that we focus on our culture and adopt a true method of accountability to hold our staff to new standards of excellence. Our leadership team and the facility associates adopted Vision 2020, which outlined the strategic initiatives for our facility to help us become one of the top hospitals in the country. Proposed Change The very first bullet in Vision 2020 was to embrace the principles of patient‐ and family‐centered care. Since the beginning of this implementation, we have grown our family partners group to more than 40 families and developed five family‐led committees with staff liaisons that affect the culture of this facility and enable staff to reach specific goals and measure success. Implementation, Outcomes, and Evaluation The staff education committee of the family partner's council developed a curriculum by which to train family faculty. The goal of this committee is to assist the staff in acquiring knowledge and competencies in patient‐ and family‐centered principles, skills and attitudes. The principles are dignity and respect for the family; complete and unbiased information sharing in ways that are affirming and useful; family participation in care planning and delivery to provide enhanced control and independence; and family collaboration with clinicians in policies, procedures, and staff education. Family faculty with their committee staff liaison attend staff meetings within the facility and share what each principle means to them with tangible examples where the principles were positively met and examples of where things could have gone better. The team also develops quarterly tip sheets written from the perspective of the families to reinforce the principles. In addition, this group works with other family members to learn to tell and share their stories as well. Implications for Nursing Practice Nurses play a key role in promoting patient‐ and family‐centered care. When the family can be involved and the principles are followed, the facility goals can be more easily reached with measurable growth in the patient satisfaction scores. Evaluations of presentations reflect that staff acquire new strategies in dealing with families, which will affect their practice positively. The use of families to drive home the concept of true patient‐ and family‐centered care has shown an increase in the facility patient satisfaction scores.

Protecting Our Littlest Patients: A Newborn Falls Prevention Strategy

Childbearing Poster Presentation Objective To reduce and prevent newborn falls at Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children. Design Evidence‐based quality improvement project. Sample Mother/baby patients and staff. Methods There were seven newborn falls during a 7‐month time period on the hospital's postpartum unit. After the first falls, the unit formed a committee to create a policy on newborn fall prevention and to develop education and tools for family members and staff to decrease the incidence of infant falls/drops. Committee members used information from review of the seven falls events, from a comprehensive literature review on newborn falls, and from information collected by the unit's Nurse Manager from other hospitals with similar numbers of deliveries. Implementation Strategies As a result of the committee's work, the following interventions targeting family members have currently been implemented: information on newborn falls added to safety instruction sheet read to, given to, and signed by parents at admission: new crib cards with information on falls prevention; room posters and mirror clings with falls information created; and falls information to be added as a crawl on unit's Newborn Channel. Parents are also educated on newborn falls during childbirth classes. Strategies targeting staff members include staff education on falls through a mandatory class, e‐mails, staff meetings, and unit flyers; a new Fall Risk Assessment Tool added to charting system; and a Newborn Post‐Fall Debriefing Form created for use after fall events. The Newborn Falls Policy is now in use and includes protocol for parental education, infant transport, placement of infant for sleeping, review of maternal medications, assessment of environment and mother's level of consciousness, and actions for preventing falls during infant feedings. In addition, Falls Committee staff members are meeting with pediatricians who see patients at Huntsville Hospital to plan a unified protocol for physician response to newborn falls. Results No newborn falls have occurred in the time period since the implementation of this comprehensive falls prevention strategy. Conclusion/Implications for Nursing Practice The issue of newborn falls (drops) in the hospital is one that has only been recognized as a problem in recent years. With little in the literature to provide evidence‐based guidelines for a uniform healthcare policy response, hospitals are developing their own strategies to reduce and prevent newborn falls. Other hospitals seeking to reduce and prevent newborn falls may learn from the experience of Huntsville Hospital in its newborn falls initiative.