States Federal Research Articles

Using the National Land Cover Database as an indicator of shrub-steppe habitat: comparing two large United States federal lands with surrounding regions

ABSTRACT There is a need to assess whether ecological resources are being protected on large, federal lands. The aim of this study was to present a methodology which consistently and transparently determines whether two large Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) facilities have protected valuable ecological lands on their sites compared to the surrounding region. The National Land Cover Database (2019) was used to examine the % shrub-scrub (shrub-steppe) and other habitats on the DOE’s Hanford Site (HS, Washington) and on the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), compared to a 10-km and 30-km diameter band of land surrounding each site. On both sites, over 95% is in shrub-scrub or grassland, compared to the surrounding region. Approximately 70% of 10 km and 30-km bands around INL, and less than 50% of land surrounding HS is located in these two habitat types. INL has preserved a significantly higher % shrub/scrub habitat than HS, but INL allows grazing on 60% of its land. HS has preserved a significantly higher % grassland than INL but no grazing on site is present. The methodology presented may be used to compare key ecological habitat types such as grasslands, forest, and desert among sites in different parts of the country. This methodology enables managers, resource trustees, and the public to (1) make remediation decisions that protect resources, (2) assess whether landowners and managers have adequately characterized and protected environmental resources on their sites, and (3) whether landowners and managers have protected the integrity of that land as well as its climax vegetation.

Climate‐related disasters and transparency: Records and the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency

Climate‐related disasters and transparency: Records and the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency

Юридический факультет Императорского Варшавского, Донского, Ростовского, Южного федерального университетов: непрерывная история, настоящее, будущее юридической школы Юга России

This article is concerned with the history, current realities and development prospects of the leading center of legal education in the South of Russia, the Faculty of Law of the Southern Federal University. The continuity of the law faculties of the Imperial Warsaw, Don, Rostov State and Southern Federal Universities emphasizes centuries-old traditions as much as possible of the scientific school, methods of teaching legal disciplines and the demand for university graduates. A continuous thread laid from the past to the present that allows you to look to the future with justified optimism.

Triple Negative Evaluation of FFPE (Formalin Fixed Embedded Tissue) Breast Cancer Tissues in A Tertiary Health Institution of Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Breast cancer is a common disease worldwide, with over two million cases reported in 2018. Various therapy modalities use biological characteristics that influence treatment and outcomes to provide individualized care. Some biomarker advancements, such as hormone receptors, vascular endothelial growth factors, and HER2/neu receptors, have significantly contributed to the biological characterization of breast cancer. Triple-negative breast cancer is defined as malignancies that do not express hormone responsiveness or HER-2. Approximately 12% of women with breast cancer will have triple-negative illness, which is more common among non-Hispanic black women regardless of age, but is detected at a younger age than other subtypes. Women with triple-negative illness are more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage (stage III or IV). The pathogenesis of breast cancer is complex and poorly understood, however many risk factors are known. This cross-sectional study spanned from 2010 to 2022. In this study, the prevalence of triple-negative breast cancer in archived breast cancer cases at Federal Medical Centre Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, was analyzed using the Haematoxylin and Eosin Staining Technique on breast cancer samples collected over the study period. This study, done at Bayelsa State's Federal Medical Centre Yenagoa, analyzed 178 breast specimens. Ninety-six percent (96%) of the patients were IDC, and 5% were TNBC. The average age at presentation was 48.21 years, with 59.1% of patients being under 50 years. 40% of the patients exhibited HER-2/neu positive, and 65% had estrogen receptor (ER) positivity. The study was conducted in a single medical institution, and specific types of lesions were not included. Other potential limitations include comparing findings with various techniques and diagnostic protocols.

Negotiating the Space between East and West: Sport and Gender Politics in Swiss Women’s Artistic Gymnastics in the Cold War Era

During the Cold War, women’s artistic gymnastics changed fundamentally and became an important battleground between East and West in the struggle for supremacy. As a supposedly neutral state and gymnastics federation, the case of Swiss sport and gender politics was left out. To analyze the Swiss case in women’s artistic gymnastics and its negotiation and positioning between East and West, written archival sources and oral histories are analyzed using a gender historical approach. By analyzing rejection and transfer through boycott, codification, sport policy, reception of coaching and sport techniques, as well as athletes’ welfare, the interconnectedness of gender and sports policy during the Cold War is explored and exemplified. The Swiss Gymnastics Federation, on the one hand, distinguished itself from the East as a reference space, which was imagined as different and indeed successful, but also harsh and totalitarian, but on the other hand, also imported and (re)produced knowledge and promising strategies. This ambivalent positioning between East and West, however, reveals both a gendered and political rejection of the other while using it as a role model and locating problems of athletes’ welfare in the East.

United States Federal Policies Contributing to Health and Health Care Inequities in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States since 1898, has recently experienced an increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters and public health emergencies. In 2022, Hurricane Fiona became the latest storm to attract media attention and cast a light on Puerto Rico's deteriorating conditions, including infrastructural failings, health care provider shortages, and high levels of chronic illness. Although recent events have been uniquely devastating, decades of inequitable US federal policy practices have fueled the persistence of health inequities in the territory. Here we demonstrate how existing health and health care inequities in Puerto Rico have been exacerbated by compounding disasters but are rooted in the differential treatment of the territory under US federal policies. Specifically, we focus on the unequal US Federal Emergency Management Agency response to disasters in the territory, the lack of parity in federal Medicaid funding for Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico's limited political power as a territory of the United States. We also provide empirically supported policy recommendations aimed at reducing health and health care inequities in the often-forgotten US territory of Puerto Rico. (Am J Public Health. 2024;114(S6):S478-S484. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307585) [Formula: see text].

An Analysis of Disparities and Political Implications in Native American Healthcare

For centuries, an agenda of colonialist-driven politics has left the Native American community alienated from society. Generally stemming from the negligent political values pushed by the United States government, multiple external factors have left Native Americans with a fraction of the prosperity and unity that they once held. Through a series of statistical and holistic analyses of Native American culture and population levels over the years, it has become evident that the lack of attention and support from publicly funded institutions has increased Native vulnerability to a world of rising health threats. In addition to an already meager amount of financial support, organizations directed at helping Natives are met with stubborn governmental legislation that has refused to create the substantial change necessary to modernize a failing system. As such, even though recent advancements have been made and new establishments are on the rise, the most prominent issue regards the government’s unwillingness to expand and create meaningful change. With these issues in mind, this analysis of health disparities impacting the Native American community provides support for the argument that the United States Federal Government must take more action towards making reparations for its past mistakes, in addition to providing the basis for a healthcare system that American Indians can rely on.

The good intentions of federalism

The article is devoted to substantiating the controversial thesis that federalism is not an autonomous type of political structure. Federations are interpreted as a set of specific failures of different origins in the course of following the basic modern scenario of the formation of a unitary nation-state with a consolidated (civil) political identity. The article has for theoretical basis the actor approach, which interprets the political form of the federation as a derivative result of a conflict pact between the central and peripheral elites. In this methodological perspective, the history of the concept of federalism is examined and a comparative historical analysis of the world federal experience is carried out. As a result, a number of interrelated author's conclusions were formulated. First, it is shown that the original Kantian project of a world federation of states has little in common with federalism, which refers to the description of the internal structure of individual societies. Secondly, the conclusion is substantiated by the fact that in the modern theory of federalism a harmful mainstream tradition has developed, which scales as a normative successful experience the centralizing federalism in the United States. Thirdly, the cultural and historical features of the formation of two families of federations are highlighted and analyzed, one of which is associated with the acquisition of independence by offshoots of the West, and the other was formed by the later processes of the collapse of the colonial empires of the West and the liberation of colonies in Africa and Eurasia. Fourthly, it is argued that the federal political structure at the theoretical level was intended to reconcile, at the basis of the political project of Modernity, the liberal utopia of a universal and culturally homogeneous civil nation and the actual cultural diversity of any modern states, which is a permanent source of erosion of its political sovereignty and differentiation of collective identities. Fifthly, it is proved that all derived political, legal, economic and other signs of federalism are due to one initial problem - the legitimation and subsequent institutionalization of the conflict between the central elite and regional elites, challenging the indivisibility of political sovereignty and demanding political autonomy. Sixth, federalism as a changeable pact of elites in specific historical societies does not provide convincing grounds for its qualification as an autonomous political form compared to a unitary nation-state. The final conclusion is that the political format of federalism in most states is a long-term way of formalizing the political divorce of cultural communities that could not create a common political nation.

Политизация спорта в современном мире: правовой взгляд на проблему

The article is devoted to the definition of theoretical and methodological approaches to the proper legal assessment of the processes of politicization of elite sports in the modern world. The generally accepted principles of relations between the state and sports federations, key Olympic principles, conceptual provisions on sport as a specific socio-cultural activity are considered. An analysis has been made of the systemic discrimination occurring in recent years in Russian sports, the main reason being the unprecedented political pressure of the political leadership of some countries of the “collective West” on the International Olympic Committee, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the World Anti-Doping Agency, and international universal and regional sports federations. The author’s theoretical, methodological, scientific and practical proposals are formulated to overcome the politicization of world sports, and a model for the full implementation of Olympic principles in the decisions and actions of the International Olympic Committee and international sports federations in individual sports is proposed. The scale of the negative impact of the politicization of sports to ensure the rights of athletes, the efficiency and quality of sports competitions, and ensuring a non-discriminatory approach in world professional sports is shown.

The evolution of sustainability accounting and reporting in the United States: applications of the ecological anthropology and industrial ecology frameworks

PurposeThe primary objective of this research is to chronicle how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other United States Federal Government Agencies (USFGA) agencies have played a role in shaping the trajectory of financial reporting for sustainability, with a particular emphasis on triple bottom line (TBL). This exploration extends to other indexes reporting sustainability data encompassed within financial, social and environmental reporting.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts an illustrative methodology, utilizing data sourced from governmental, business and international organizational documents.FindingsSustainability accounting predominantly finds its place within the framework of TBL. However, it is crucial to note that sustainability reporting remains voluntary rather than mandatory. Nevertheless, accounting firms and professional accounting societies have embraced it as a supplementary facet of financial accounting reporting.Originality/valueThe research highlights the historical evolution of sustainability within the USFGA and corporate entities. Corporations’ interest in accounting for sustainability performances has significantly contributed to the emergence of voluntary sustainability accounting rules, as embodied by the TBL.

Telework and Work Flexibility in the United States Federal Government Post-Pandemic

A decade before the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States (US) federal government was working to create flexible work environments for employees under the 2010 Telework Enhancement Act. Given this reality and the growing desire for greater flexibility of workers inspired by the “Great Resignation” during the pandemic, the US federal government appears to have recovered lost employees faster than other levels of the public sector. Still, given that federal workers skew older with less than a tenth of the workforce being under age 30 years and nearly a third reaching retirement age, a true crisis still looms in our administrative state. Using the 2021 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey Data, we analyze what factors predict turnover intention post-pandemic, focusing the analysis on teleworking and other workplace flexibility policies. We use the findings to make recommendations to help increase employee recruitment and retention within the US federal government.

The Role of Tranexamic Acid in Preventing Primary Post-Partum Haemorrhage During Caesarean Section: A Randomized Control Trial

Background: Primary postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is a leading cause of maternal mortality in Ni-geria. Caesarean section (CS), though a life-saving alternative to vaginal delivery in several maternity units globally, is a risk factor for PPH. Its rate has increased globally with wide variability amongst various countries. Although tranexamic acid (TXA) is an affordable medication that has been widely investigated for the treatment of PPH, its role as prophylaxis against PPH during Caesarean section has not been well characterized in our environment. Methods: A randomized, double-blind, two-center study of 130 consenting pregnant women who were scheduled for either elective or emergency LSCS at the Institute of Maternal and Child Health, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and Federal Medical Center, Ebute-Metta (FMCEB) Lagos. Data was imported into Stata version 17 (StataCorp, USA) software for analysis. Results: The mean age of the participants was 30.8 ± 4.76 years. The prevalence of PPH among the placebo group was four times that of the Tranexamic acid group. (P-value < 0.0001). There was a sta-tistically significant lower estimated blood loss in the intervention compared to the placebo arm of the study (P-value < 0.0001) Conclusion: Prophylactic use of intravenous Tranexamic acid as an adjunct to uterotonic at caesarean section is efficacious in reducing blood loss and preventing post-partum haemorrhage.

Investigation of speed and altitude effects on sound exposure level calculations for multiple helicopters

International and United States Federal regulations evaluate helicopter acoustic emissions for certification purposes as well as community noise impact assessments. The Sound Exposure Level (SEL) is a commonly used metric that represents the loudness of a single event, with a penalty for duration. For example, a flyover lasting ten seconds can have the same SEL as a five-second duration flyover that is 6 dB higher in peak level. Ten helicopters spanning the light and medium weight classes were modeled using flight test data. They were then virtually flown using the Advanced Acoustic Model at multiple speeds and altitudes. SEL and A-weighted SEL (SELA) were calculated at ground-based observer locations for each condition. Scaling laws with altitude are determined, and cruising airspeeds which result in the minimum SEL are found. Implications for future land-use planning will be discussed, and the relationships are reduced to general or vehicle-specific operational guidance for pilots.

United States Federal Employee Development in Turbulent Times: Using Job Demands-Resources Theory to Explain Changes in Perceived Performance and Turnover Intention During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Under conditions of organizational turbulence, it is crucial to staff organizations with public servants who feel committed and capable of creating public value. However, managers may neglect training and development during turbulent times while they attempt to protect the technical core of the agency. This study draws on job demands-resources theory (JD-R) to understand the role of job-related training and resources on perceived work unit performance and turnover intention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the 2020 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), I find that workers who reported needing, but not receiving, training or resources to cope with new work roles were more likely to report a deterioration in their work unit’s performance and to report new intentions to leave their job. These effects were stronger when an employee’s demands increased over the pandemic. The findings emphasize the importance of balancing demands and resources as organizational leaders react to turbulent conditions.

Reliability of information recorded on the National Immunization Program Information System.

To analyze the reliability of records held on the National Immunization Program Information System (SI-PNI) in a subsample of children included in the national vaccination coverage survey in Brazilian state capitals and Federal District in 2020. This was a study of agreement between data recorded on vaccination cards (doses and dates) and on the SI-PNI for 4050 children with full coverage at 24 months. Data on 3587 children were held on the SI-PNI, with losses of 11% (95%CI: 10;12). Total agreement between doses and dates in the two sources was 86% (95%CI: 86;87), however taking each dose and vaccine individually, variation was greater, with 32% of data in only one source. Part of the information was not recorded, but the discrepancy can be considered small. Nonetheless, underrecording of doses and children can compromise vaccination coverage estimates, altering the numerator and denominator data. Subsample of 4,050 children, among those completing the full schedule at 24 months studied in the national survey, 11% had not been recorded on the SI-PNI, 32% had unrecorded doses (doses or dates) and there was 8% disagreement between vaccination cards and SI-PNI records. Recognizing the difficulties faced by the SI-PNI and the discrepancies between sources is essential for adopting initiatives to improve data quality, so as to avoid inaccurate estimates of childhood vaccination coverage. This study is expected to contribute to improving the quality of records and the usability of data for monitoring vaccination coverage of the immunization program from the local to the national level.

Can capillary microsampling facilitate a clinical pharmacokinetics study of cefazolin in critically ill children?

Aim: Pharmacokinetic studies in children are limited, in part due to challenges in blood sampling. We compare the use of capillary microsampling and conventional sampling techniques in pediatric patients to show results that can be used in the pharmacokinetic analysis of Cefazolin.Patients & Methods: Paired blood samples (n=48) were collected from 12 patients (median age/weight 49months/18kg).Results: The United States Federal Drug Administration incurred sample reanalysis acceptance criteria was used and identified 79% of paired samples achieved a difference of less than 20% in magnitude with a capillary microsampling bias of -10% (SD 20%). With exclusion of PK outliers, this rose to 88%.Conclusion: Capillary microsampling is reliable, meets acceptance criteria and can be used in pharmacokinetic studies.ACTRN: 12618001469202.

The Status of Judicial Presumption in the System of Evidence in the Legislative System of Iran and the Federal Rules of Evidence of the United States

Judicial presumption, as one of the tools for discovering the truth in the judicial system, particularly in civil proceedings, holds a significant position. This paper meticulously examines this matter from the perspective of Iran's legislative system and the United States Federal Rules of Evidence. Thus, we faced certain questions and sought to provide convincing answers to the following issues: Firstly, how does the system of evidence view this matter, and secondly, what is the status of this evidentiary reasoning in the United States Federal Rules of Evidence? The present research adopts a descriptive and analytical approach, using a library-based method for data collection. The concept of judicial presumption, as a tool for presenting specific evidence in each case, is not only beyond the drafting and specific legal framework of each country but is also an external reality that every legal system must address to ensure comprehensiveness and justice. Initially, we presented general concepts of comparative studies, then discussed the existing judicial procedures in both legal systems, and identified those fundamental legal concepts that have mutual influence with the concept of judicial presumption. We examined these concepts in the context of the origins of each legal system with an approach that considers the fundamental events and thoughts surrounding these related concepts.

The Myth of Children’s Online Privacy Protection

Digital technology has changed the landscape young people face as they come of age. It has changed how children interact with their parents, schools, community organizations, and the state. Despite many benefits, digital technologies that employ data collection, algorithms, and artificial intelligence pose significant risks for the next generation. Private businesses can collect, use, and sell a child’s data in ways never imagined by their families. Information collected by third parties with good intentions can be stolen through data breaches. Through faulty algorithms, websites can make inaccurate assumptions about young people’s interests, teachers can make inaccurate assumptions about a student’s potential achievement, and the state can make inaccurate assumptions about a child’s risk to engage in criminal activity. It can also feed young people information that is harmful to their physical or psychological well-being. Meanwhile, current efforts in the United States that promise to protect children online threaten to undermine their right to privacy. United States federal and state laws are ill-equipped to truly offer children online privacy protections. There are few legal remedies available to young people whose data is used in malicious ways. The remedies that do exist are insufficient to simultaneously safeguard children while respecting privacy as young people mature. To that end, this Article seeks to explore how current laws centered on children’s online protection are inadequate, and why the obsession with keeping young people safe online often curtails their need for agency and autonomy. It offers a cogent path forward to guide federal and state policymakers as they update children’s online privacy protection law.

The State and Prospects of Development of the Ethnocultural Historical Component in the System of General Education of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic

The article examines the development of the historical component of ethno-cultural education in the vector of updating the educational strategy, the introduction of the Federal State Educational Standard and Federal Educational Programs. The ethnocultural component of historical education is considered on the example of activities in the general education system of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. Considering the fact that from September 1, 2023, all schools in the country are switching to new federal basic educational programs (FOP), in which it is possible to allocate hours to the part formed by participants in educational relations, it is relevant to consider the possibility of allocating hours to ethno-cultural subjects. The realization of ethno-cultural interests is one of the key tasks of the updated Federal Educational Standards. Thus, the theses of the normative documents of the educational strategy of the state confirm the current research topic. The study presents options for the implementation of objects of ethno-cultural historical orientation. In the region, they are represented by 2 subjects: «History of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic» and «Culture of the peoples of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic». During the study of this topic, a survey was conducted on the options for teaching ethno-cultural subjects in all educational institutions of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. As a result, both strengths and weaknesses were identified in the implementation of the strategy of ethno-cultural education in the general education system of the KBR. For example, the strengths include the fact that a full-scale work is being carried out in the republic to update the teaching materials in ethno-cultural subjects. The deficits include the fact that in some schools ethno-cultural subjects are not included either in the curricula or integrated into the work programs for the subject «History of Russia». The identified deficiencies allow us to formulate a number of recommendations for their elimination.

Gender and Risk-Taking in the Building of U.S. Retirement Wealth

AbstractThe growing weight being placed on self-directed retirement accounts within the United States retirement income policy framework, and the time inconsistency challenge of individuals, particularly women, tending to under-invest in retirement savings accounts motivated the current work. Using data from the United States Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances, for a period spanning from 1989 to 2019, 11 cross-sections of data, the paper investigated the role of gender in United States retirement risk-taking investment strategies of single (never married) individuals. The analysis documented increasing trends in the risk-taking of both single women and single men but recorded differences in the risk-taking profiles of the two groups, with single men taking more risk than single women in their retirement wealth building in most cross-sections, with the gender risk-taking gap dropping, nonetheless, algebraically in magnitude from 1989 to 2019.