California Environmental, Public Health Laws Inconsistently Enforced, New Report Finds
Source: Natural Resources Defense Council

Californians may not be able to rely on law enforcement for protection from pollution, health, and safety violations, according to a new report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The report found that the state’s leadership role in developing environment and public health protections may be undermined by a decentralized law enforcement structure, apparent violation “hotspots,” and uneven oversight by some enforcement authorities.

+ Full Report (PDF; 385 KB)

Technical Guide to Information Security Testing and Assessment (PDF; 605 KB)
Source: National Institute for Standards and Technology

This document is a guide to the basic technical aspects of conducting information security assessments. It presents technical testing and examination methods and techniques that an organization might use as part of an assessment, and offers insights to assessors on their execution and the potential impact they may have on systems and networks. For an assessment to be successful and have a positive impact on the security posture of a system (and ultimately the entire organization), elements beyond the execution of testing and examination must support the technical process. Suggestions for these activities—including a robust planning process, root cause analysis, and tailored reporting—are also presented in this guide.

European Central Bank: Statistics Pocket Book
Source: European Central Bank

The Statistics Pocket Book is published each month on the same day as the Monthly Bulletin. It provides data with the same cut-off date but structured in a slightly different way. It contains selected macroeconomic indicators for the individual Member States of the European Union, as well as comparisons between the euro area, the United States and Japan.

+ Full Document (PDF; 688.01 KB)

NIDDK Publishes Fact Sheets about Thyroid Disorders
Source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

Thyroid problems affect as many as 27 million Americans. Among the most common problems are hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. To help people learn more about thyroid disorders, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has produced four new fact sheets for consumers and health care providers.

The thyroid, a two-inch-long, butterfly-shaped gland located in the front of the neck, produces two hormones that affect critical body functions, including metabolism, brain development, breathing, heart and nervous system functions, body temperature, muscle strength, skin dryness, menstrual cycles, weight, and cholesterol levels. When the thyroid gland makes more thyroid hormone than the body needs, a condition known as hyperthyroidism develops. Conversely, hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland produces inadequate amounts of hormone.

+ Hyperthyroidism
+ Hypothyroidism
+ Graves’ Disease
+ Pregnancy and Thyroid Disease

USFA Releases Highway Vehicle Fires Topical Report
Source: U.S. Fire Administration

The Department of Homeland Security’s United States Fire Administration (USFA) has issued a special report, part of its Topical Fire Report Series, examining the causes and characteristics of highway vehicle fires. An estimated 258,500 highway vehicle fires occur annually resulting in 490 civilian deaths, 1,275 civilian injuries, and $1 billion in property loss.
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The report, Highway Vehicle Fires, was developed by the National Fire Data Center, part of the USFA. The report is based on 2004 to 2006 data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS).

According to the report, 84 percent of highway vehicle fires occur in passenger vehicles. Unintentionally started fires (29%) and the failure of equipment (28%) are the leading causes of highway vehicle fires. Sixty-two percent of highway vehicle fires originate in the engine, running gear, or wheel areas of the vehicle.

+ Full Report (PDF; 841 KB)

Kidnapping and Terror in the Contemporary Operational Environment (PDF; 3.8 MB)
Source: U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Intelligence Support Activity (via Federation of American Scientists
From Secrecy News blog:

Kidnapping and other forms of terrorist violence have developed into a significant form of asymmetric conflict, according to a new U.S. Army manual that describes the theory and practice of kidnapping with numerous case studies from recent years.

“This document promotes an improved understanding of terrorist objectives, motivation, and behaviors in the conduct of kidnapping,” the 168 page manual states.

Priorities for Personalized Medicine (PDF; 6.8 MB)
Source: President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)

“Personalized medicine” refers to the tailoring of medical treatment to the individual characteristics of each patient. It does not literally mean the creation of drugs or medical devices that are unique to a patient, but rather the ability to classify individuals into subpopulations that differ in their susceptibility to a particular disease or their response to a specific treatment. Preventive or therapeutic interventions can then be concentrated on those who will benefit, sparing expense and side effects for those who will not.
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The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) believes that the convergence of scientific and clinical opportunity and public health need represented by personalized medicine warrants significant public and private sector action to facilitate the development and introduction into clinical practice of this promising class of new medical products. In developing recommendations for such action, PCAST considered eight major policy areas – technology/tools, regulation, reimbursement, information technology, intellectual property, privacy, physician and patient education, and economics. To understand the impact of these policy areas on the development of personalized medicine, PCAST solicited input from a broad range of stakeholders representing academic institutions, medical diagnostics and imaging companies, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, patient providers and advocates, venture capital firms, trade and professional associations, and government agencies.

Based on these deliberations, PCAST determined that specific policy actions in the realm of genomics-based molecular diagnostics had the greatest potential to accelerate progress in personalized medicine. This does not mean that PCAST discounts the importance of parallel developments in genomics-linked therapeutics; rather, PCAST has concluded that, at present, the pace of change is most rapid, and the policy hurdles are greatest, in the realm of diagnostics.

Terrorist Assets Report Calendar Year 2007: Sixteenth Annual Report to Congress on Assets in the United States of Terrorist Countries and International Terrorism Program Designees (PDF; 162 KB)
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury (Office of Foreign Assets Control)

The blocked asset amounts described below represent amounts frozen under U.S. sanctions programs that block all property and interests in property of designated parties. The term “interest” is broadly defined in OFAC’s sanctions regulations in Chapter V of Title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations. An interest in property may be direct or indirect and include property interests short of full ownership. In many instances, the interest may be partial or contingent. Because the blocked assets discussed in this report include assets not actually owned by designated parties, they are described throughout as assets “relating to” a designated party. Many of the assets may be owned by or subject to claims by third parties.

OFAC regulations generally prohibit any form of judicial disposition of blocked property. However, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (the TRIA) includes a provision making blocked assets of a terrorist party available to satisfy certain judgments against terrorist parties, including judgments based on claims for which sovereign immunity of foreign states is waived bclaims for personal injury or death).

Statutory Structure and Legislative Drafting Conventions: A Primer for Judges (PDF; 189 KB)
Source: U.S. Courts

The Federal Judicial Center has published a guide, Statutory Structure and Legislative Drafting Conventions: A Primer for Judges. It describes the statutory framework of federal law and examines some legislative drafting conventions. It may be useful to judges for statutory interpretation.

World Resources 2008: Roots of Resilience - Growing the Wealth of the Poor
Source: WRI, UNEP, UNDP and the World Bank
From press release:

Expanding nature-based enterprises can increase income for the world’s rural poor. This approach, as outlined in the latest World Resources Report 2008, can also develop the rural poor’s resilience to social and environmental threats such as climate change.

Three-quarters of the 2.6 billion people who live on less than $2 a day are dependent upon local natural resources for their livelihoods. Threats such as climate change and ecosystem degradation are beginning to strain those livelihoods, and it will be necessary to shape development strategies that build resilience against such threats and ensure stable and prosperous communities.

World Resources 2008: Roots of Resilience – released here today as part of the IUCN World Conservation Congress – closely examines existing community-based efforts. The report argues that properly fostered nature-based enterprises can improve rural livelihoods and, in the process, create resilience to economic, social, and environmental threats.

+ Full Report (PDF; 19.8 MB)
+ Quick Guide (PDF; 3.5 MB)

Hat tip: UN Pulse

Major Gaps Still Exist Between the Perception and the Reality of Americans’ Internet Security Protections, Study Finds
Source: National Cyber Security Alliance and Symantec Corporation

A large number of Americans still fail to use basic Internet security tools and there remains a substantial gap between the protections people think they have and what is actually installed on their computers, according to a new cyber security study released by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Symantec, makers of Norton security software.

The NCSA-Symantec Online Safety Study found that more than 80 percent of Americans claim to have a firewall — designed to prevent hackers and criminals from stealing personal information — installed on their computer. Yet, in reality only 42 percent had adequate firewall protection according to the study, which combined polling and computer checkups performed by Symantec’s PC Help by Norton. Americans do seem to have heeded the computer virus warnings as 95 percent of those checked had anti-virus software installed.

+ 2008 National Cyber Security Awareness Study: Fact Sheet (PDF; 170 KB)

Rethinking Student Aid Report Creates Policy Path to Simplify Student Aid and Make Finance Options Obvious Much Earlier in Life
Source: Rethinking Student Aid study group (via College Board)

A new report, “Fulfilling the Commitment: Recommendations for Reforming Federal Student Aid,” issued by the Rethinking Student Aid study group — an independent team of policy experts, researchers and higher education professionals convened by the College Board — calls for a set of policies that would generate unprecedented breakthroughs in how students and their families think about and prepare for futures made brighter through college.

With adoption of the report’s comprehensive proposals, students’ paths to college would be obvious much earlier in life and would be much simpler to navigate. Students’ choices in pursuing fields of study would no longer be limited by concerns about repaying outsized loans, and colleges and universities would be rewarded for supporting student success in earning a college degree, not just for enrollment.

+ Full Report (PDF; 1.1 MB)

Generational Gains in Postsecondary Education Appear To Have Stalled, New ACE Report Finds
Source: American Council on Education

The tradition of young adults in the United States attaining higher levels of education than previous generations appears to have stalled, and for far too many people of color, the percentage of young adults with some type of postsecondary degree compared with older adults has actually fallen, a new report by the American Council on Education (ACE) concludes.

According to the Minorities in Higher Education 2008 Twenty-third Status Report, the percentage of young adults aged 25 to 29 and older adults aged 30 and above with at least an associate degree in 2006 was about the same, approximately 35 percent. For Hispanics and American Indians, young adults have even less education than previous generations.

In 2006, among older Hispanics, 18 percent had at least an associate degree, but just 16 percent of young Hispanics had reached that same educational threshold. Among American Indians, 21 percent of older adults had at least an associate degree compared with 18 percent of young adults.

The postsecondary educational attainment rates of African Americans remained relatively the same for both age groups, at approximately 24 percent. Asian Americans and whites were the only two groups where young adults were more educated than prior generations. Sixty-six percent of young Asian Americans had at least an associate degree compared with 54 percent of older Asian Americans. The percentages for whites were 41 percent for young adults and 37 percent for older adults.

Press release with numbers; full report available for purchase later this month.

Prevention of Rickets and Vitamin D Deficiency in Infants, Children, and Adolescents (PDF; 147 KB)
Source: American Academy of Pediatrics
From press release:

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is doubling the amount of vitamin D it recommends for infants, children and adolescents. The new clinical report, “Prevention of Rickets and Vitamin D Deficiency in Infants, Children, and Adolescents,” recommends all children receive 400 IU a day of vitamin D, beginning in the first few days of life. The previous recommendation, issued in 2003, called for 200 IU per day beginning in the first two months of life.

The change in recommendation comes after reviewing new clinical trials on vitamin D and the historical precedence of safely giving 400 IU per day to the pediatric population. Clinical data show that 400 units of vitamin D a day will not only prevent rickets, but treat it. This bone-softening disease is preventable with adequate vitamin D, but dietary sources of vitamin D are limited, and it is difficult to determine a safe amount of sunlight exposure to synthesize vitamin D in a given individual. Rickets continues to be reported in the United States in infants and adolescents. The greatest risk for rickets is in exclusively breastfed infants who are not supplemented with 400 IU of vitamin D a day.

Adequate vitamin D throughout childhood may reduce the risk of osteoporosis. In adults, new evidence suggests that vitamin D plays a role in the immune system and may help prevent infections, autoimmune diseases, cancer and diabetes.

2008 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry (PDF; 120 KB)
Source: Entertainment Software Association

The data included in 2008 Essential Facts was gathered in an annual study conducted by Ipsos-MediaCT for the ESA. The study is the most in-depth and targeted survey of its kind, gathering data from over 1,200 nationally representative households that have been identified as owning either or both a video game console or a personal computer used to run entertainment software.