Inter-state Economic Development- Powered by Utilities

In 2000, a group of state business recruiters from New England joined to promote New England to corporate real estate and site selection consultants at IDRC’s1 World Congress in New York City. At roughly the same time, the two metropolitan areas of Hartford, Conn., and Springfield, Mass., formed the Hartford-Springfield Economic Partnership (HSEP). These informal ventures that cross state borders represent coalitions of business, academic, political and policy leaders working together to foster the combined regions’ economic well-being

Introgression of Brown Norway \u3cem\u3eCYP4A\u3c/em\u3e Genes onto the Dahl Salt-Sensitive Background Restores Vascular Function in SS-5\u3csup\u3eBN\u3c/sup\u3e Consomic Rats

The present study tested the hypothesis that the Dahl SS (salt-sensitive) rat has vascular dysfunction due, in part, to the up-regulation of the CYP4A/20-HETE (cytochrome P450 ω-hydroxylase 4A)/20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid) system. To assess the role of vascular 20-HETE, SS rats were compared with SS-5BN consomic rats, carrying CYP4A alleles on chromosome 5 from the normotensive BN (Brown Norway) introgressed on to the SS genetic background. Cerebral arteries from SS-5BN rats had less CYP4A protein than arteries from SS rats fed either NS (normal-salt, 0.4% NaCl) or HS (high-salt, 4.0% NaCl) diet. ACh (acetylcholine)-induced dilation of MCAs (middle cerebral arteries) from SS and SS-5BN rats was present in SS-5BN rats fed on either an NS or HS diet, but absent in SS rats. In SS rats fed on either diet, ACh-induced dilation was restored by acute treatment with the CYP4A inhibitor DDMS (N-methyl-sulfonyl-12,12-dibromododec-11-enamide) or the 20-HETE antagonist 20-HEDE [20-hydroxyeicosa-6(Z),15(Z)-dienoic acid]. The restored response to ACh in DDMS-treated SS rats was inhibited by L-NAME (NGnitro-L-arginine methyl ester) and unaffected by indomethacin or MS-PPOH [N-methylsulfonyl-6-(2-propargyloxyphenyl)hexanamide]. Vascular relaxation responses to the NO donor C5FeN6Na2O were intact in both SS and SS-5BN rats and unaffected by the acute addition of DDMS, indicating that the vascular dysfunction of the SS rat is due to a reduced bioavailability of NO instead of failure of the VSMCs (vascular smooth muscle cells) to respond to the vasodilator. Superoxide levels in cerebral arteries of SS-5BN rats [evaluated semi-quantitatively by DHE (dihydroethidium) fluorescence] were lower than those in the arteries of SS rats. These findings indicate that SS rats have an up-regulation of the CYP4A/20-HETE pathway resulting in elevated ROS (reactive oxygen species) and reduced NO bioavailability causing vascular dysfunction

Evaluating Spatial Model Accuracy in Mass Real Estate Appraisal: A Comparison of Geographically Weighted Regression and the Spatial Lag Model

Geographically weighted regression (GWR) has been shown to greatly increase the performance of ordinary least squares-based appraisal models, specifically regarding industry standard measurements of equity, namely the price-related differential and the coefficient of dispersion (COD; Borst and McCluskey, 2008; Lockwood and Rossini, 2011; McCluskey et al., 2013; Moore, 2009; Moore and Myers, 2010). Additional spatial regression models, such as spatial lag models (SLMs), have shown to improve multiple regression real estate models that suffer from spatial heterogeneity (Wilhelmsson, 2002). This research is performed using arms-length residential sales from 2010 to 2012 in Norfolk, Virginia, and compares the performance of GWR and SLM by extrapolating each model\u27s performance to aggregate and subaggregate levels. Findings indicate that GWR achieves a lower COD than SLM

The Effect of Kernel and Bandwidth Specification in Geographically Weighted Regression Models on the Accuracy and Uniformity of Mass Real Estate Appraisal

The article presents a study which examines the performance of kernel and bandwidth specification in geographically weighted regression (GWR) models in mass real estate appraisal. The kernels employed in the study are the bi-square kernel and the Gaussian kernel. Data from the sales of single-family homes in Norfolk, Virginia from 2010 to 2012 are highlighted

Examining Admission Factors in an MPA Program

This article presents an in-depth examination of the validity of the admission factors employed by a NASPAA-accredited MPA program. Admission factors are examined to determine if particular factors, or a set of factors, are most indicative of an applicant’s potential achievement in the MPA program as measured by a student’s final grade point average (GPA) in the program. The study uses truncated regression techniques to analyze student records in order to determine the relative significance of a set of commonly collected admissions information. We find that the best predictor of success in the MPA program, as measured by final GPA in the program, is the applicant’s undergraduate GPA. This finding brings into question the utility of much of the information collected in a typical MPA program application

Role of Vascular Reactive Oxygen Species in Regulating Cytochrome P450-4A Enzyme Expression in Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rats

Objective The potential contribution of CYP4A enzymes to endothelial dysfunction in Dahl salt-sensitive rats was determined by comparison to SS-5BN consomic rats having chromosome 5 carrying CYP4A alleles from the BN rat introgressed into the SS genetic background. Methods The following experiments were performed in cerebral arteries from HS-fed SS and SS-5BN rats ± the SOD inhibitor DETC and/or the superoxide scavenger Tempol: (i) endothelial function was determined via video microscopy ± acute addition of the CYP4A inhibitor DDMS or Tempol; (ii) vascular oxidative stress was assessed with DHE fluorescence ± acute addition of DDMS, l-NAME, or PEG-SOD; and (iii) CYP4A protein levels were compared by western blotting. Results In DETC-treated SS-5BN and HS-fed SS rats, (i) DDMS or Tempol ameliorated vascular dysfunction, (ii) DDMS reduced vascular oxidative stress to control levels, (iii) chronic Tempol treatment reduced vascular CYP4A protein expression, and (iv) combined treatment with Tempol and l-NAME prevented the reduction in CYP4A protein expression in MCA of HS-fed SS rats. Conclusion The CYP4A pathway plays a role in vascular dysfunction in SS rats and there appears to be a direct role of reduced NO availability due to salt-induced oxidant stress in upregulating CYP4A enzyme expression

The State of the Region: Hampton Roads 2003

This is Old Dominion University\u27s fourth annual State of the Region report. While it represents the work of many people connected in various ways to the university, the report does not constitute an official viewpoint of Old Dominion, or it\u27s president, Dr. Roseann Runte. The report maintains the goal of stimulating thought and discussion that ultimately will make Hampton Roads an even better place to live. We are proud of our region\u27s many successes, but realize that it is possible to improve our performance. In order to do so, we must have accurate information about where we are and a sound understanding of the policy options open to us.https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/economics_books/1015/thumbnail.jp

The application of electromagnetic measurements for the assessment of skin passed steel samples

This paper begins by exploring the relationship between magnetic properties such as coercive field, RMS Magnetic Barkhausen Noise (MBN), initial and differential permeability and percentage elongation of skin passed samples for three different steels; interstitial free, micro alloyed and dual phase. A closed magnetic loop system is used to measure the fundamental magnetisation properties and a system based on an impedance analyser and a cylindrical coil is used to determine low field differential permeability. The results show that coercive field increases consistently with increasing percentage elongation for all three steels, as increasing material hardness causes an increase in magnetic hardness and a corresponding increase in coercive field. This effect levels off at higher values as dislocation density saturates. As would be expected, the inverse trend is observed for differential permeability. Similar results are also reported for MBN and initial and low field differential permeability measurements for the interstitial free and dual phase steel, but the behaviour for the micro alloyed samples appears to be more complex. Finally, the paper considers the response of two on-line measurement systems that exploit these magnetic relations. The first system applies pulse excitation and measures the resulting remnant magnetisation and the second analyses the harmonic response from AC excitation. Both systems can detect microstructural changes associated with varying magnetic properties during strip production

Microbiota-directed fibre activates both targeted and secondary metabolic shifts in the distal gut

Beneficial modulation of the gut microbiome has high-impact implications not only in humans, but also in livestock that sustain our current societal needs. In this context, we have tailored an acetylated galactoglucomannan (AcGGM) fibre to match unique enzymatic capabilities of Roseburia and Faecalibacterium species, both renowned butyrate-producing gut commensals. Here, we test the accuracy of AcGGM within the complex endogenous gut microbiome of pigs, wherein we resolve 355 metagenome-assembled genomes together with quantitative metaproteomes. In AcGGM-fed pigs, both target populations differentially express AcGGM-specific polysaccharide utilization loci, including novel, mannan-specific esterases that are critical to its deconstruction. However, AcGGM-inclusion also manifests a “butterfly effect”, whereby numerous metabolic changes and interdependent cross-feeding pathways occur in neighboring non-mannanolytic populations that produce short-chain fatty acids. Our findings show how intricate structural features and acetylation patterns of dietary fibre can be customized to specific bacterial populations, with potential to create greater modulatory effects at large