Simultaneous Estimation of Hedonic Equations with Unbalanced Data

Hedonic non-market valuation often requires estimating housing and labor market regressions. The authors show how to accommodate unbalanced data in hedonic regressions. In addition to efficiency gains, the method allows consistent estimation of confidence intervals for amenity values. The paper illustrates by estimating the implicit price of a temperature increase in urban Brazil

The communication habits of regional documents librarians: an exploratory study

This study describes a questionnaire survey distributed to federal government documents librarians in the 53 regional depositories of the Federal Depository Library System. The purpose of the study was to determine how much communication there is among documents librarians in regional depositories, how much communication regional documents librarians have with documents librarians in selective depositories, and what methods of communication are being used. Overwhelmingly respondents preferred email as a communication method, and email was also cited as the most frequently used method of communication. There appears to be a definite split in terms of expectations and attitudes among respondents in terms of professional journals and conferences, but there was no strong correlation between any of the survey variables to suggest a reason for this difference. A next possible step in determining patterns of communication is to survey a sample of federal documents librarians in selective depositories

A Naturally-Occurring Histone Acetyltransferase Inhibitor Derived from Garcinia indica Impairs Newly Acquired and Reactivated Fear Memories

The study of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the consolidation and reconsolidation of traumatic fear memories has progressed rapidly in recent years, yet few compounds have emerged that are readily useful in a clinical setting for the treatment of anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Here, we use a combination of biochemical, behavioral, and neurophysiological methods to systematically investigate the ability of garcinol, a naturallyoccurring histone acetyltransferase (HAT) inhibitor derived from the rind of the fruit of the Kokum tree (Garcina indica), to disrupt the consolidation and reconsolidation of Pavlovian fear conditioning, a widely studied rodent model of PTSD. We show that local infusion of garcinol into the rat lateral amygdala (LA) impairs the training and retrieval-related acetylation of histone H3 in the LA. Further, we show that either intra-LA or systemic administration of garcinol within a narrow window after either fear conditioning or fear memory retrieval significantly impairs the consolidation and reconsolidation of a Pavlovian fear memory and associated neural plasticity in the LA. Our findings suggest that a naturally-occurring compound derived from the diet that regulates chromatin function may be useful in the treatment of newly acquired or recently reactivated traumatic memories

Preserving Born-Digital Government Information: UNT's Congressional Research Service Reports Archive

This presentation describes the University of North Texas' Congressional Research Services (CRS) Report Archive project. The idea is to capture all CRS reports made available on the web and archive them in one searchable and browsable spot

Charge Characteristics of Agouti-Related Protein Implicate Potent Involvement of Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans in Metabolic Function.

The endogenous melanocortin peptide agouti-related protein (AgRP) plays a well-known role in foraging, but its contribution to metabolic regulation is less understood. Mature AgRP(83-132) has distinct residues for melanocortin receptor binding and heparan sulfate interactions. Here, we show that AgRP increases ad libitum feeding and operant responding for food in mice, decreases oxygen consumption, and lowers body temperature and activity, indicating lower energy expenditure. AgRP increased the respiratory exchange ratio, indicating a reduction of fat oxidation and a shift toward carbohydrates as the primary fuel source. The duration and intensity of AgRP's effects depended on the density of its positively charged amino acids, suggesting that its orexigenic and metabolic effects depend on its affinity for heparan sulfate. These findings may have major clinical implications by unveiling the critical involvement of interactions between AgRP and heparan sulfate to the central regulation of energy expenditure, fat utilization, and possibly their contribution to metabolic disease

Governance challenges of marine renewable energy developments in the US- creating the enabling conditions for successful project development

Increasingly, marine renewable energy developments are viewed as an opportunity to meet climate change obligations, with the added benefit of powering the economy and the creation of jobs. Technical, economic and engineering challenges co-exist with governance challenges in the development of large-scale marine renewable energy projects. This paper addresses the question, if the prerequisites for sustainable project development are evident in selected case studies. It also asks what lessons can be learned from current practice in the context of energy governance at the local level. The authors argue that these lessons can be central enablers to support decision makers in future programmes, to better understand how to build the enabling conditions for programme implementation towards renewable energy at higher spatial scales of governance, importantly the national level. The study builds on a multiple stakeholder approach involving interviews and group discussions with key individuals from industry, government and civil society in emerging pilot programmes along the East Coast of the United States (U.S.). New policy windows were opening at the time of the analysis and ambitious development was underway by a range of actors who are driving progress in the sector and positioning the area to become a major provider of blue energy

Return on investment for mangrove and reef flood protection

There is a growing need for coastal and marine restoration, but it is not clear how to pay for it given that environmental funding is low, and national budgets are stretched in response to natural hazards. We use risk-industry methods and find that coral reef and mangrove restoration could yield strong Return on Investment (ROI) for flood risk reduction on shorelines across more than 20 Caribbean countries. These results are robust to changes in discount rates and the timing of restoration benefits. Data on restoration costs are sparse, but the Present Value (PV) of restored natural infrastructure shows that ROI would be positive in many locations even if restoration costs are in the hundreds of thousand per hectare for mangroves and millions per km for reefs. Based on these benefits, we identify significant sources of funding for restoring these natural defenses.This work was supported in part by the Kingfisher Foundation, the World Bank, AXA XL, AXA Research Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag. We thank Chris Lowrie for help with the figures

Concanavalin A staining: a potential biomarker to predict cytarabine sensitivity in acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the myeloid lineage of blood cells, with an overall 5-year survival rate of 25%, mainly due to therapy-resistant relapses in > 50% of patients. The standard treatment for AML comprises cytarabine (AraC) with anthracyclines. Biomarkers to determine AraC sensitivity are currently lacking, thus hampering the rational choice of optimal treatment protocols, which would be especially warranted in the case of primary refractory disease. In the current study, we hypothesized that AraC-resistant AML cells harbor a different “sugar decoration”, i.e., glycosylation profile, compared with sensitive cells, which could be used as biomarker for AraC sensitivity. Therefore, we analyzed the expression of glycosylation-related genes in publicly available AML datasets, whereby the high expression of mannosylation-related genes (6 out of 13) was significantly associated with a worse survival in patients treated with AraC-based intensive chemotherapy protocols. In line with these data, the AraC-resistant AML cells expressed higher levels of high mannose N-glycans, as detected by mass spectrometry-based glycomics. Concanavalin A (ConA), a lectin that specifically recognizes α-mannoses in N-glycans, bound more strongly to AraC-resistant cells, and the extent of the ConA binding was correlated with AraC sensitivity in a panel of AML cell lines. Furthermore, the ConA staining could discriminate AraC sensitivity in vitro between two patient-derived AML samples taken at diagnosis. Therefore, the ConA staining may be a potential novel biomarker to predict AraC sensitivity in AML

Baker Center Journal of Applied Public Policy, Vol. I No. I

Welcome to the first issue of the Baker Center Journal of Applied Public Policy. Throughout my many years of service, I always have been impressed with the tremendous good that can be accomplished through the creation and implementation of sound public policy. I hope that, along the way, I have contributed to the body of policies that help our nation function in a strong, effective, compassionate, and prosperous fashion. As we launch this new Journal, under the auspices of the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennnnessee, I wanted to briefly expand on some of the reasons I believe that this journal is necessary and why I believe that research on public policy is so vitally important. This Journal aims to discuss applied public policy. The goal is not to engage in theoretical discussions, though I believe those are important. Instead, we hope that the Baker Journal will focus on the most current issues that directly affect our nation and our world on the operational, or mechanical level. We intend to engage a wide variety of contributors. Scholars, of course, will be asked to write on critical topics of research. We also aim to include contributions from those who draft, approve and execute public policy at the local, state, and national levels. Additionally, at least one article in each issue will be reserved for the work of a university-level student. Our approach is varied, and I know that the result will be an intellectually sound and extraordinarily interesting presentation of experiences and ideas.I am especially pleased that so many University of Tennnnessee students are involved in the formulation and operation of the Journal. Our editorial board is comprised of some of the University of Tennnnessee’s most promising undergraduate, graduate, and law school students. With dedicated assistance and oversight from faculty and from the Baker Center, this board of extraordinarily intelligent and committed students has worked very hard to make this Journal a reality. The Center has also formed a national advisory panel for the Journal. I am a member of that panel, and I must note that I am grateful for the involvement and support of my colleagues who have agreed to serve with me: Ms. Emily Reynolds, former Secretary of the United States Senate; Congressman Bob Clement, former Tennnnessee Congressman; Mr. Glennnn Reynolds, noted author and professor of law at the University of Tennnnessee; Dr. Joseph Cooper, an accomplished professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University; and Mr. John Seigenthaler, distinguished journalist and founder and director of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University. I believe it is critical that we think deeply about the issues that are confronting us today. Our representative system of governance is based on an informed citizenry and informed public servants. From international issues such as the war on terror and energy challenges to more local but equally important topics such as sustainable development and education, we must commit ourselves to understanding all challenges free of partisan rhetoric. Only then can we confront them together. It is my hope that this Journal will add to that understanding and will speak to many audiences. From the classroom to the boardroom, from city hall to the halls of our legislatures, I believe the work put forward in our journal will be useful for everyone who wants to be informed and engaged. It is an exciting undertaking, and I thank you for your support

Red Galaxy Clustering in the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey

We have measured the clustering of z<0.9 red galaxies and constrained models of the evolution of large-scale structure using the initial 1.2 sq. degree data release of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey (NDWFS). The area and BwRI passbands of the NDWFS allow samples of >1000 galaxies to be selected as a function of spectral type, absolute magnitude, and photometric redshift. Spectral synthesis models can be used to predict the colors and luminosities of a galaxy population as a function of redshift. We have used PEGASE2 models, with exponentially declining star formation rates, to estimate the observed colors and luminosity evolution of galaxies and to connect, as an evolutionary sequence, related populations of galaxies at different redshifts. A red galaxy sample, with present-day rest-frame Vega colors of Bw-R>1.44, was chosen to allow comparisons with the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey and Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We find the spatial clustering of red galaxies to be a strong function of luminosity, with r0 increasing from 4.4+/-0.4 Mpc/h at M_R=-20 to 11.2+/-1.0 Mpc/h at M_R=-22. Clustering evolution measurements using samples where the rest-frame selection criteria vary with redshift, including all deep single-band magnitude limited samples, are biased due to the correlation of clustering with rest-frame color and luminosity. The clustering of M_R=-21, Bw-R>1.44 galaxies exhibits no significant evolution over the redshift range observed with r0= 6.3+/-0.5 Mpc/h in comoving coordinates. This is consistent with recent LCDM models where the bias of L* galaxies undergoes rapid evolution and r0 evolves very slowly at z<2.Comment: 34 pages, 10 figures, Accepted for Publication in ApJ. Selection criteria for one of the red galaxy samples have been revise