HOW IS THE VALUE OF REAL ESTATE AFFECTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE BASE REALIGNMENT AND CLOSURE PROCESS?

This study examines the Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process as it relates to real estate prices in the communities surrounding the bases marked for closure and realignment. I examine the history of the BRAC process, detail the bases that have been marked for realignment and closure over the five “rounds” of the BRAC process to date (1988, 1991, 1993, 1995, 2005), and present a model that tests the hypothesis that BRAC closure announcements are correlated with the value of real estate in the local communities surrounding the bases marked for closure. I find that there is a strong and statistically significant correlation between the BRAC process, particularly the series of announcements that occur within the BRAC timeline, and the value of real estate in the local communities affected by the BRAC process. I also discuss policy implications of these findings for the Department of Defense, as well as future research areas and opportunities that have arisen as a result of this study

Nemertean taxonomy- Implementing changes in the higher ranks, dismissing Anopla and Enopla

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Granzyme B Cleaves Decorin, Biglycan and Soluble Betaglycan, Releasing Active Transforming Growth Factor-β1

Objective: Granzyme B (GrB) is a pro-apoptotic serine protease that contributes to immune-mediated target cell apoptosis. However, during inflammation, GrB accumulates in the extracellular space, retains its activity, and is capable of cleaving extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Recent studies have implicated a pathogenic extracellular role for GrB in cardiovascular disease, yet the pathophysiological consequences of extracellular GrB activity remain largely unknown. The objective of this study was to identify proteoglycan (PG) substrates of GrB and examine the ability of GrB to release PG-sequestered TGF-b1 into the extracellular milieu. Methods/Results: Three extracellular GrB PG substrates were identified; decorin, biglycan and betaglycan. As all of these PGs sequester active TGF-b1, cytokine release assays were conducted to establish if GrB-mediated PG cleavage induced TGF-b1 release. Our data confirmed that GrB liberated TGF-b1 from all three substrates as well as from endogenous ECM and this process was inhibited by the GrB inhibitor 3,4-dichloroisocoumarin. The released TGF-b1 retained its activity as indicated by the induction of SMAD-3 phosphorylation in human coronary artery smooth muscle cells. Conclusion: In addition to contributing to ECM degradation and the loss of tissue structural integrity in vivo, increase

Photic Entrainment Of Circannual Rhythms In Goldenmantled Ground Squirrels: Role Of The Pineal Gland

Entrainment of circannual rhythms of body mass and reproduction was monitored for 3 years in female golden-mantled ground squirrels maintained in a simulated natural photoperiod. Both pinealectomized and pineal-intact squirrels generated circannual rhythms of body mass and estrus, but only the intact animals entrained these rhythms to a period of 365 days. In the second and third years after treatment, the period of the body mass rhythm was significantly shorter than 365 days for pinealectomized squirrels, and variance in tau among these animals was significantly greater than for intact squirrels. A similar pattern was evident in the rhythm of reproduction, which was phase-disrupted in pinealectomized squirrels but entrained in intacts. Seasonal changes in duration of nocturnal melatonin secretion by the pineal appear to be necessary to produce phase-delays required to entrain the circannual clock to a period of 12 months

Versatile thinking and the learning of statistical concepts

Statistics was for a long time a domain where calculation dominated to the detriment of statistical thinking. In recent years, the latter concept has come much more to the fore, and is now being both researched and promoted in school and tertiary courses. In this study, we consider the application of the concept of flexible or versatile thinking to statistical inference, as a key attribute of statistical thinking. Whilst this versatility comprises process/object, visuo/analytic and representational versatility, we concentrate here on the last aspect, which includes the ability to work within a representation system (or semiotic register) and to transform seamlessly between the systems for given concepts, as well as to engage in procedural and conceptual interactions with specific representations. To exemplify the theoretical ideas, we consider two examples based on the concepts of relative comparison and sampling variability as cases where representational versatility may be crucial to understanding. We outline the qualitative thinking involved in representations of relative density and sample and population distributions, including mathematical models and their precursor, diagrammatic forms