Trusts and Estates

During the period covered by this review little in the way of trends or departures differing from established positions seems to have appeared; there is much repetition and emphasis of black-letter law. There are, however, in several cases unusual factual patterns which are of interest. The results of these cases, interesting and of course contributing to the normal growth of case law, seem to flow naturally and quite easily from principles long-established and accepted, not departing from what could be expected. There were several statutory changes, prominent among which were the Revised Uniform Principal and Income Act, effective July 1, 1968, as well as statutory provisions which are applicable in estates where allocation and apportionment problems are not troublesome

Trusts and Estates

During the period covered by this review little in the way of trends or departures differing from established positions seems to have appeared; there is much repetition and emphasis of black-letter law. There are, however, in several cases unusual factual patterns which are of interest. The results of these cases, interesting and of course contributing to the normal growth of case law, seem to flow naturally and quite easily from principles long-established and accepted, not departing from what could be expected. There were several statutory changes, prominent among which were the Revised Uniform Principal and Income Act, effective July 1, 1968, as well as statutory provisions which are applicable in estates where allocation and apportionment problems are not troublesome

Greetings from NASBA, Remarks At the Spring Meeting of the AICPA Council, Colorado Springs, Colorado, May 8, 1973

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_assoc/1935/thumbnail.jp

A structural investigation of mechanism in human glutathione transferase omega 1

This thesis investigates the structural details of catalysis associated with the human enzyme, Glutathione Transferase Omega 1 (hGSTO1-1), a member of the most recently discovered class of Glutathione Transferase. The human genome contains two Omega class genes (hGSTO1 and 2) and their transcribed products have been found at varied levels within almost every tissue of the human body. The crystal structure of hGSTO1-1 displays a distinguishing cysteine residue in the active site, a feature that undoubtedly plays a role in the novel biochemistry it displays. Of most interest is the hGSTO1-1 mediated reduction of mono-and dimethylated arsenic species that result from human arsenic exposure. The enzyme is also essential for the enzymatic detoxification of alphahaloketones to acetophenones and exhibits a novel dehydroascorbate reductase activity. The following dissertation reports major progress in understanding the details of these chemical mechanisms. By observing these reactions within the crystallised enzyme using X-ray diffraction, several states within these catalytic cycles have been observed in great detail. Subsequently, hypotheses have been drawn about the product inhibition inferred during dehydroascorbate reduction, the existence of glutathione intermediates inherent to its interaction with methylated arsenicals, and the fundamental understanding of Omega mediated catalysis obtained by observing the enzymatic complex of oxidized glutathione and S-(4-Nitrophenacyl) glutathione simultaneously. In addition, adaptation of experimental conditions has led to the discovery of two new crystal forms with which to study the structural dynamics of this protein and its chemistry. The structure of a naturally occurring polymorphism involving the deletion of glutamate 155 has also been solved, revealing pronounced structural plasticity that correlates well with the apparent instability of the mutant enzyme in vivo. Discussions explore the broad implications for interpreting the role of hGSTO1-1 in the pathomechanisms of human disease states such as Alzheimer's disease and the biological mechanisms of arsenics' newly discovered potential as an anti-cancer agent

Predicted Suitable Habitat Declines for Midwestern United States Amphibians Under Future Climate and Land-Use Change Scenarios

With current declines of vertebrate taxa meeting or exceeding those of historic mass extinction events, there is a growing need to investigate the main drivers of losses. Two of the main drivers of declines are global climate and land-use changes, both affecting multiple groups of taxa. Amphibians are at great risk from these two drivers of change and investigations into the impact of future change could assist with the formation of conservation plans to mitigate losses. Forecasting changes in suitable habitat with ecological niche modeling serves as a useful tool to begin to understand how species may respond to anthropogenic change. We used Maxent to model suitable habitat space of 33 amphibian species within the Midwestern U.S. under multiple future climate change scenarios and used current and predicted changes in land-use to examine the predicted impact of global climate and land-use change. We predicted reductions in suitable habitat for a high proportion of species in all model scenarios, while few species were predicted to gain suitable habitat. No significant differences in percentage change in habitat space were determined between models predicting suitable habitat solely using climate change scenarios or model output that incorporated the impact of land-use change. Species richness of amphibians is predicted to decrease based on future climate and climate + land-use scenarios. In the future, we encourage continuation of the examination of land-use and other global stressors, and further investigations into physiological tolerances of amphibian species to create more robust predictions

Structural insights into omega-class glutathione transferases: a snapshot of enzyme reduction and identification of a non-catalytic ligandin site

Glutathione transferases (GSTs) are dimeric enzymes containing one active-site per monomer. The omega-class GSTs (hGSTO1-1 and hGSTO2-2 in humans) are homodimeric and carry out a range of reactions including the glutathione-dependant reduction of a range of compounds and the reduction of S-(phenacyl)glutathiones to acetophenones. Both types of reaction result in the formation of a mixed-disulfide of the enzyme with glutathione through the catalytic cysteine (C32). Recycling of the enzyme utilizes a second glutathione molecule and results in oxidized glutathione (GSSG) release. The crystal structure of an active-site mutant (C32A) of the hGSTO1-1 isozyme in complex with GSSG provides a snapshot of the enzyme in the process of regeneration. GSSG occupies both the G (GSH-binding) and H (hydrophobic-binding) sites and causes re-arrangement of some H-site residues. In the same structure we demonstrate the existence of a novel "ligandin" binding site deep within in the dimer interface of this enzyme, containing S-(4-nitrophenacyl)glutathione, an isozyme-specific substrate for hGSTO1-1. The ligandin site, conserved in Omega class GSTs from a range of species, is hydrophobic in nature and may represent the binding location for tocopherol esters that are uncompetitive hGSTO1-1 inhibitors.This work was supported by National Health and Medical Research Council Project Grant 366731. AJO is supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship FT0990287

Development of Modal Analysis for the Study of Global Modes in High Speed Boundary Layer Flows

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. May 2017. Major: Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics. Advisor: Graham Candler. 1 computer file (PDF); x, 108 pages.Boundary layer transition for compressible flows remains a challenging and unsolved problem. In the context of high-speed compressible flow, transitional and turbulent boundary-layers produce significantly higher surface heating caused by an increase in skin-friction. The higher heating associated with transitional and turbulent boundary layers drives thermal protection systems (TPS) and mission trajectory bounds. Proper understanding of the mechanisms that drive transition is crucial to the successful design and operation of the next generation spacecraft. Currently, prediction of boundary-layer transition is based on experimental efforts and computational stability analysis. Computational analysis, anchored by experimen- tal correlations, offers an avenue to assess/predict stability at a reduced cost. Classi- cal methods of Linearized Stability Theory (LST) and Parabolized Stability Equations (PSE) have proven to be very useful for simple geometries/base flows. Under certain conditions the assumptions that are inherent to classical methods become invalid and the use of LST/PSE is inaccurate. In these situations, a global approach must be considered. A TriGlobal stability analysis code, Global Mode Analysis in US3D (GMAUS3D), has been developed and implemented into the unstructured solver US3D. A discussion of the methodology and implementation will be presented. Two flow configurations are presented in an effort to validate/verify the approach. First, stability analysis for a subsonic cylinder wake is performed and results compared to literature. Second, a supersonic blunt cone is considered to directly compare LST/PSE analysis and results generated by GMAUS3D

Surgical resection for hilar cholangiocarcinoma: experience improves resectability

AbstractObjectivesIn hilar cholangiocarcinoma, resection provides the only opportunity for longterm survival. A US experience of hilar cholangiocarcinoma was examined to determine the effect of clinical experience on negative margin (R0) resection rates.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective analysis of 110 consecutive hilar cholangiocarcinoma patients presenting over an 18-year period. Analyses were performed using chi-squared, Wilcoxon rank sum and Kaplan–Meier methods, and multivariable Cox and logistic regression modelling.ResultsOf the 110 patients in the cohort, 59.1% were male and 90.9% were White. The median patient age was 64 years. A total of 59 (53.6%) patients underwent resection; 37 of these demonstrated R0. The 30-day mortality rate was 5.1%; the complication rate was 39.0%. The rate of resectability increased over time (36.4% vs. 70.9%; P= 0.001), as did the percentage of R0 resections (10.9% vs. 56.5%; P < 0.001). Of the 59 patients who underwent resection, 23 (39.0%) experienced recurrence. Multivariable Cox regression analysis identified resection margins [hazard ratio (HR) = 4.124 for positive vs. negative; P= 0.002] and type of operation (HR = 5.075 for exploration vs. resection; P= 0.001) as significant to survival.ConclusionsAlthough R0 resection can be achieved in only a minority of patients, these patients have a reasonable chance of longterm survival. The last decade has seen a significant rise in rates of resectability of Klatskin's tumour at specialty centres

A Novel Classification System to Address Financial Impact and Referral Decisions for Bile Duct Injury in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Purpose. The study was undertaken to evaluate a novel classification system developed to estimate financial cost of bile duct injury (BDI) and to aid in decision making for referral. Study Design. A retrospective review of patients referred for BDI was performed. Grade I injuries involve the duct of Luschka or accessory right hepatic ducts, grade II includes all other biliary injuries, and grade III includes all vasculobiliary injuries. Groups were compared using standard statistical methods. Results. There were 14 grade I, 74 grade II, and 20 grade III injuries. There was a significant difference in the cost and mortality of grade I ($12,457, 0$46,481, 1.4%), and grade III ($69,368, 15%, P = 0.002 and P = 0.030, resp.) injuries. Grade II and III injuries were significantly more likely to require surgical repair (OR 27.7, P < 0.001). Conclusion. We have presented a simple classification system that is able to accurately predict cost and need for surgical repair

Thermal Environment and Microhabitat of Ornate Box Turtle Hibernacula

Box turtle populations are under significant threat from historic and current alterations of land-use where remaining populations often occur in remnant patches of suitable habitat surrounded by a heterogeneous mixture of anthropogenically altered, unsuitable habitat. Ornate box turtles Terrapene ornata are a prairie-dependent species, are considered Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and are Endangered or Threatened within many US states. Since their range exists largely in northern latitudes, aspects of hibernacula are particularly important for winter survival. How box turtles select hibernacula within prairies is likely of great importance to better understand which microhabitats are selected for and to identify areas of suitable habitat for management purposes. Using radio telemetry in conjunction with temperature dataloggers (iButtons), we examined the phenology and thermal characteristics of box turtle hibernation, and quantified microhabitat selection of their hibernacula in remnant prairie patches. We monitored hibernation initiation/termination phenology and turtle carapace temperatures, and quantified vegetative and soil microhabitat variables of hibernacula for seven turtles in 2014/2015 and 18 turtles in 2015/2016. Box turtles initiated (descended into hibernacula) and terminated (ascended out of hibernacula) at similar time periods across two years. Although the ambient thermal environment consistently experienced temperatures below freezing, turtle hibernacula offered a buffer against those temperatures and thus the temperature of turtle carapaces never fell below freezing. Turtles selected microhabitat hibernacula with higher percentages of sand, leaf litter and bare ground, and lower percentages of clay, silt, shrubs and herbaceous ground cover. Our study suggests the phenology of box turtle hibernation may be similar across years and that hibernacula selection is driven by above- and belowground characteristics that ultimately lead to a more stable and warmer thermal environment