Integrating EJ into Federal Policies and Programs: Examining the Role of Regulatory Impact Analyses and Environmental Impact Statements

Following Executive Order 12898 in 1994, federal agencies have taken a variety of steps to incorporate environmental justice (EJ) into their programs and practices. Two scales at which these efforts are critical are regulatory design and enforcement. This study evaluates Regulatory Impact Analyses (RIAs) and Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) across three federal agencies (the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency) to compare the extent to which EJ is addressed at these two scales, across agencies, and over time. By searching agency documents for key EJ variables, such as site, population, and impact characteristics, we develop a framework to determine if RIAs and EISs include sufficient information to identify disproportionate impacts of proposed regulations or projects on minority and low-income communities. Results of this analysis reveal that EJ issues are noted more frequently in all three agencies’ EISs over time, but few RIAs or EISs contain enough data to assess whether EJ impacts are significant.environmental justice, Regulatory Impact Analysis, RIA, Environmental Impact Statement, EIS, content analysis, program evaluation

Gateway Experiences to Engineering Technology: Development of an Introductory Course

The launch of a new Engineering Technology undergraduate degree at a research intensive university prompted collaboration from six different disciplines within the College of Technology. With a flexible curriculum designed to meet existing and future workforce needs, the program of study incorporated both new and revised courses. One of the new courses is a gateway Introduction to Engineering Technology course designed to attract and retain both traditional and nontraditional students. In this introductory course, engineering technology is defined based on the skill set needed for the current and future economy. The gateway course employs a reverse course-content-delivery design whereby students engage traditional lecture-based subject matter in a user-friendly manner that encourages students to revisit lectures on-demand. Students work through a series of at-home assignments in a linear manner, labeled simply as read, watch, and do. These assignments build upon each other to develop both depth and breadth through repeated exposure and analysis of core concepts. This is consistent with learning theory literature, which is replete with studies showing that when students experience expectation failure, followed by a time of thorough and investigative feedback loops, learning gains are increased almost fourfold, from 20–30% to nearly 80% (Karpicke & Roediger, 2008). In addition, based upon student persistence theory (Tinto, 2003), common student experiences are developed for both engineering technology content and the social learning aspect of higher education to create learning-communities for the gateway students (Tinto, 1997)

Older Age Is Associated with Peripheral Blood Expansion of Naïve B Cells in HIV-Infected Subjects on Antiretroviral Therapy

Older HIV infected subjects were previously found to have significant B cell expansion during initial antiretroviral therapy in a prospective age-differentiated cohort of older and younger (≥45 vs. ≤30 years) HIV-infected subjects initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) through the AIDS Clinical Trials Group. Here to further describe this expansion, using a subset of subjects from the same cohort, we characterized B cell phenotypes at baseline and after 192 weeks of ART in both older and younger HIV-infected groups and compared them to uninfected age-matched controls. We also examined whether phenotypes at baseline associated with response to tetanus and hepatitis A vaccine at 12 weeks. Forty six subjects were analyzed in the HIV infected group (21 older, 25 younger) and 30 in the control group (15 per age group). We observed naïve B cells to normalize in younger subjects after 192 weeks of ART, while in older subjects naïve B cells increased to greater levels than those of controls (p = 0.045). Absolute resting memory (RM) cell count was significantly lower in the older HIV infected group at baseline compared to controls and numbers normalized after 192 weeks of ART (p<0.001). Baseline RM cell count positively correlated with week 12 increase in antibody to tetanus vaccine among both younger and older HIV-infected subjects combined (p = 0.01), but not in controls. The age-associated naïve B cell expansion is a novel finding and we discuss several possible explanations for this observation. Relationship between RM cells at baseline and tetanus responses may lead to insights about the effects of HIV infection on B cell memory function and vaccine responses

A peptide mimic of the chemotaxis inhibitory protein of Staphylococcus aureus: towards the development of novel anti-inflammatory compounds

Complement factor C5a is one of the most powerful pro-inflammatory agents involved in recruitment of leukocytes, activation of phagocytes and other inflammatory responses. C5a triggers inflammatory responses by binding to its G-protein-coupled C5a-receptor (C5aR). Excessive or erroneous activation of the C5aR has been implicated in numerous inflammatory diseases. The C5aR is therefore a key target in the development of specific anti-inflammatory compounds. A very potent natural inhibitor of the C5aR is the 121-residue chemotaxis inhibitory protein of Staphylococcus aureus (CHIPS). Although CHIPS effectively blocks C5aR activation by binding tightly to its extra-cellular N terminus, it is not suitable as a potential anti-inflammatory drug due to its immunogenic properties. As a first step in the development of an improved CHIPS mimic, we designed and synthesized a substantially shorter 50-residue adapted peptide, designated CHOPS. This peptide included all residues important for receptor binding as based on the recent structure of CHIPS in complex with the C5aR N terminus. Using isothermal titration calorimetry we demonstrate that CHOPS has micromolar affinity for a model peptide comprising residues 7–28 of the C5aR N terminus including two O-sulfated tyrosine residues at positions 11 and 14. CD and NMR spectroscopy showed that CHOPS is unstructured free in solution. Upon addition of the doubly sulfated model peptide, however, the NMR and CD spectra reveal the formation of structural elements in CHOPS reminiscent of native CHIPS

JEM's 2009 Tune-up

Scientific journals, like cars, require periodic tune-ups to keep them running smoothly. Effective immediately, several changes to the JEM publication policies will take effect. Our aim is to address policy issues that have arisen over the past several years and, more broadly, to maintain the quality and integrity of the research we publish. The upcoming changes to JEM policies and the impetus behind them are outlined here

Peyton Rous: father of the tumor virus

In 1910, Peyton Rous identified a transmissible avian tumor virus, a discovery that began the journey from tumor virus biology to tumor biology itself