Taiwan’s Security: History and Prospects

Given the importance of the Taiwan is- sue for U.S. foreign and security policy in East Asia, it is striking that relatively little has been written on Taiwan’s de- fense reform and modernization programs, especially in contrast to the substantial amount of work scholars and policy analysts have produced in recent years on Chinese military mod- ernization and its implications for re- gional security. Bernard Cole’s Taiwan’s Security: History and Prospects, which provides a comprehensive and well written assessment of recent develop- ments in Taiwan’s defense establish- ment, represents an important step in filling this gap

PCSK9 Inhibitors in Secondary Prevention – An Opportunity for Personalized Therapy

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) remains the leading cause of death worldwide. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is the primary cause of ASCVD and reducing LDL-C levels with statin therapy significantly reduces ASCVD risk; however, significant residual risk remains. Two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), alirocumab and evolocumab, that target proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin-type 9 (PCSK9), reduce LDL-C levels by up to 60% when used in combination with statins and significantly reduce the risk of recurrent ASCVD events in both stable secondary prevention and acute coronary syndrome populations. Pre-specified analyses of recent randomized controlled trials have shed light on how best to prioritize these therapies to maximize their value in select high risk groups. These data have also informed recent clinical practice guidelines and scientific statements resulting in an expanded role for PCSK9-mAbs compared to previous guidelines, albeit there are notable differences between these recommendations. Ongoing research is exploring the long-term safety of PCSK9-mAbs and their role in the acute setting as well as patients without prior myocardial infarction or stroke. Novel therapies that inhibit PCSK9 synthesis via small interfering RNA, such as inclisiran, are also in development and may reduce LDL-C levels similar to PCSK9-mAbs but with less frequent administration. Nonetheless, the PCSK9-mAbs are a breakthrough therapy and warrant consideration in very-high risk patients who are most likely to benefit. Such a personalized approach can help to ensure cost-effectiveness and maximize their value

A Mid-Infrared Study of the Class 0 Cluster in LDN 1448

We present ground-based mid-infrared observations of Class 0 protostars in LDN 1448. Of the five known protostars in this cloud, we detected two, L1448N:A and L1448C, at 12.5, 17.9, 20.8, and 24.5 microns, and a third, L1448 IRS 2, at 24.5 microns. We present high-resolution images of the detected sources, and photometry or upper limits for all five Class 0 sources in this cloud. With these data, we are able to augment existing spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for all five objects and place them on an evolutionary status diagram.Comment: Accepted by the Astronomical Journal; 26 pages, 9 figure

Quantitative Chemically-Specific Coherent Diffractive Imaging of Buried Interfaces using a Tabletop EUV Nanoscope

Characterizing buried layers and interfaces is critical for a host of applications in nanoscience and nano-manufacturing. Here we demonstrate non-invasive, non-destructive imaging of buried interfaces using a tabletop, extreme ultraviolet (EUV), coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) nanoscope. Copper nanostructures inlaid in SiO2 are coated with 100 nm of aluminum, which is opaque to visible light and thick enough that neither optical microscopy nor atomic force microscopy can image the buried interfaces. Short wavelength (29 nm) high harmonic light can penetrate the aluminum layer, yielding high-contrast images of the buried structures. Moreover, differences in the absolute reflectivity of the interfaces before and after coating reveal the formation of interstitial diffusion and oxidation layers at the Al-Cu and Al-SiO2 boundaries. Finally, we show that EUV CDI provides a unique capability for quantitative, chemically-specific imaging of buried structures, and the material evolution that occurs at these buried interfaces, compared with all other approaches.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

High abundance synovial fluid proteome: distinct profiles in health and osteoarthritis

The development of increasingly high-throughput and sensitive mass spectroscopy-based proteomic techniques provides new opportunities to examine the physiology and pathophysiology of many biologic fluids and tissues. The purpose of this study was to determine protein expression profiles of high-abundance synovial fluid (SF) proteins in health and in the prevalent joint disease osteoarthritis (OA). A cross-sectional study of 62 patients with early OA (n = 21), patients with late OA (n = 21), and control individuals (n = 20) was conducted. SF proteins were separated by using one-dimensional PAGE, and the in-gel digested proteins were analyzed by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. A total of 362 spots were examined and 135 high-abundance SF proteins were identified as being expressed across all three study cohorts. A total of 135 SF proteins were identified. Eighteen proteins were found to be significantly differentially expressed between control individuals and OA patients. Two subsets of OA that are not dependent on disease duration were identified using unsupervised analysis of the data. Several novel SF proteins were also identified. Our analyses demonstrate no disease duration-dependent differences in abundant protein composition of SF in OA, and we clearly identified two previously unappreciated yet distinct subsets of protein profiles in this disease cohort. Additionally, our findings reveal novel abundant protein species in healthy SF whose functional contribution to SF physiology was not previously recognized. Finally, our studies identify candidate biomarkers for OA with potential for use as highly sensitive and specific tests for diagnostic purposes or for evaluating therapeutic response

Riverine input of macronutrients, iron, and organic matter to the coastal ocean off Oregon, U.S.A., during the winter

Three cross‐shelf transects were conducted off northern Oregon in February, 2003, coincident with flooding of Coast Range rivers, to assess the riverine impact on coastal ocean biogeochemistry. During downwelling conditions, low salinity river‐influenced water was located in a narrow band near the coast and contained elevated macronutrient, iron, and organic carbon concentrations. Wind relaxation allowed the river‐influenced water to spread out at the surface across the shelf. Nutrients supplied by the rivers could result in winter carbon fixation equating to ~20% of the summer upwelling carbon fixation if conditions are suitable for phytoplankton growth, which is likely on the basis of recent studies. This implies that wintertime production may be significant and requires further study. Iron supplied by the rivers is sufficient to support the entire summer upwelling production and because downwelling conditions prevail during the winter and minimize cross‐shelf transport, this iron may be retained on the shelf to support the summer phytoplankton blooms. Of the major eastern boundary current systems, the northern California Current (including Oregon) and Portugal Current (i.e., Iberian Peninsula) have the highest riverine discharge rates normalized to coastline length. In contrast, riverine inputs to the central California, Canary (i.e., northwest Africa), Benguela and Peruvian Current systems averaged only 3‐35% of that in Oregon. This patchy riverine input (and narrower shelves) might explain why iron limitation is more widespread off California and Peru than Oregon. These results show that small coastal rivers, characteristic of the U.S. Pacific Northwest, can significantly alter coastal biogeochemical cycles and influence ecosystem structure

Who is adjusting to whom?: Differences in elephant diel activity in wildlife corridors across different human-modified landscapes

The global impact of increased human activities has consequences on the conservation of wildlife. Understanding how wildlife adapts to increased human pressures with urban expansion and agricultural areas is fundamental to future conservation plans of any species. However, there is a belief that large wild free-ranging carnivores and ungulates, cannot coexist with people, limited studies have looked at wildlife movements through differing human-dominated landscapes at finer spatial scales, in Africa. This information is vital as the human population is only going to increase and the wildlife protected areas decrease. We used remote-sensor camera traps to identify the movement patterns of African elephant (Loxodonta africana) through six wildlife corridors in Botswana. The wildlife corridors were located in two different human-dominated landscapes (agricultural/urban), with varying degrees of human impact. While we found that elephants use corridors in both landscapes, they use the urban corridors both diurnally and nocturnally in contrast to agricultural corridors which were only nocturnal. Our results provide evidence for temporal partitioning of corridor use by elephants. We identified that seasonality and landscape were important factors in determining the presence of elephants in the corridors. Our findings demonstrate that elephant diel patterns of use of the wildlife corridor differs based on the surrounding human land-uses on an hourly basis and daily basis, revealing potential adaptation and risk avoidance behaviour

The Phoenix Mars Landing: An Initial Look

This presentation was part of the session : Ongoing and Proposed EDL Technology DevelopmentSixth International Planetary Probe WorkshopNASA's Phoenix Mars Lander will make a landing on Mars on May 25th, 2008. Following on from the overview of the Phoenix entry, descent and landing (EDL) system given at IPPW5, an initial look at the Phoenix landing will be presented, highlighting the salient, high level events that occurred during EDL. Initial EDL flight reconstruction results will be presented, along with a retelling of the flight operations events that occurred on approach to Mars, and during the landing event itself. Note: Given the short time duration between the Phoenix landing and IPPW6, only a presentation will be prepared for the workshop.NAS