Clean Air v. Electric Reliability: The Case of the Potomac River Generating Station

Environmental activists considered the shutdown of the Potomac Station a victory for environmental sustainability and a victory for the cause of clean air. Additionally, citizens of Alexandria, Virginia found this to be a victory over the “outdated” polluting coal burning power plant. Looking at the history of the Potomac Station, however, shows that without significant increases in transmission capacity to the mid-Atlantic, the Potomac Station could never have been shut down. This article addresses the case of the Potomac Station and the role of the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the shutdown of the Potomac Station to show that without an expansion in transmission capacity, the environmental concerns would not be enough to shut down the Potomac Station

Make Way for the ABA: Smith v. Robbins Clears a Path for Anders Alternatives

Indigents appealing criminal convictions are entitled to court-appointed counsel. The American Bar Association suggests a standard for providing the required representation. This standard is known as the Idaho Rule

Interstate Electric Transmission Lines and States’ Rights in the Mid-Atlantic Region

Under their traditional jurisdiction over land use, the states permit and site interstate electric power facilities that traverse their boundaries. This jurisdiction may pose an obstacle to the development of new interstate transmission facilities. For that reason, Congress enacted section 216 of the Federal Power Act, which, in limited circumstances, will preempt state law and authorize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to permit interstate transmission lines. The implementation of section 216, however, has been frustrated by judicial challenges in federal courts. Seven years after the enactment of section 216, FERC has yet to exercise jurisdiction over the construction of an interstate transmission line. Under little threat of federal preemption, state jurisdiction over transmission facilities could pose an obstacle to the development in the Mid-Atlantic region of “backbone” transmission lines needed to provide electric power to the Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia area. Thus far, however, state proceedings to permit and site one such line rebut the notion that state jurisdiction will stymie the development of interstate transmission facilities

Spatial distribution of cell-cell and cell-ECM adhesions regulates force balance while main-taining E-cadherin molecular tension in cell pairs.

Mechanical linkage between cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesions regulates cell shape changes during embryonic development and tissue homoeostasis. We examined how the force balance between cell-cell and cell-ECM adhesions changes with cell spread area and aspect ratio in pairs of MDCK cells. We used ECM micropatterning to drive different cytoskeleton strain energy states and cell-generated traction forces and used a Förster resonance energy transfer tension biosensor to ask whether changes in forces across cell-cell junctions correlated with E-cadherin molecular tension. We found that continuous peripheral ECM adhesions resulted in increased cell-cell and cell-ECM forces with increasing spread area. In contrast, confining ECM adhesions to the distal ends of cell-cell pairs resulted in shorter junction lengths and constant cell-cell forces. Of interest, each cell within a cell pair generated higher strain energies than isolated single cells of the same spread area. Surprisingly, E-cadherin molecular tension remained constant regardless of changes in cell-cell forces and was evenly distributed along cell-cell junctions independent of cell spread area and total traction forces. Taken together, our results showed that cell pairs maintained constant E-cadherin molecular tension and regulated total forces relative to cell spread area and shape but independently of total focal adhesion area

A New Approach to Spatial Covariance Modeling of Functional Brain Imaging Data: Ordinal Trend Analysis

In neuroimaging studies of human cognitive abilities, brain activation patterns that include regions that are strongly interactive in response to experimental task demands are of particular interest. Among the existing network analyses, partial least squares (PLS; McIntosh, 1999; McIntosh, Bookstein, Haxby, & Grady, 1996) has been highly successful, particularly in identifying group differences in regional functional connectivity, including differences as diverse as those associated with states of awareness and normal aging. However, we address the need for a within-group model that identifies patterns of regional functional connectivity that exhibit sustained activity across graduated changes in task parameters. For example, predictions of sustained connectivity are commonplace in studies of cognition that involve a series of tasks over which task difficulty increases (Baddeley, 2003). We designed ordinal trend analysis (OrT) to identify activation patterns that increase monotonically in their expression as the experimental task parameter increases, while the correlative relationships between brain regions remain constant. Of specific interest are patterns that express positive ordinal trends on a subject-by-subject basis. A unique feature of OrT is that it recovers information about functional connectivity based solely on experimental design variables. In particular, there is no requirement by OrT to provide either a quantitative model of the uncertain relationship between functional brain circuitry and subject variables (e.g., task performance and IQ) or partial information about the regions that are functionally connected. In this letter, we provide a step-by-step recipe of the computations performed in the new OrT analysis, including a description of the inferential statistical methods applied. Second, we describe applications of OrT to an event-related fMRI study of verbal working memory and H2 15 O-PET study of visuomotor learning. In sum, OrT has potential applications to not only studies of young adults and their cognitive abilities, but also studies of normal aging and neurological and psychiatric disease

Efficacy of a silver colloidal gel against selected oral bacteria in vitro [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

Background: It is necessary to develop new strategies to protect against bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sanguis, and Streptococcus salivarius, which contribute to tooth decay and plaque formation. Our current study investigated the efficacy of a colloidal silver gel in inhibiting biofilm formation by these principal oral bacteria, in vitro. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a colloidal silver gel formulation for inhibiting bacterial biofilm formation (Ag-gel) by the principal bacteria that cause plaque formation and tooth decay. Methods: The effect of Ag-gel on viability of S. mutans, S. sanguis, and S. salivarius was assessed by quantifying their colony forming units (CFU) in presence or absence of the test gel. The effect of this formulation on biofilm-forming ability of these bacteria was studied through scanning electron microscopy. Results: Using the CFU assays, over 6 logs of inhibition (100%) were found for S. mutans, S. sanguis, and S. salivarius for the Ag-gel-treated bacteria when compared with the control gel. In addition, the Ag-gel also inhibited biofilm formation by these three bacteria mixed together. These results were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Conclusions: The Ag-gel was effective in preventing biofilm formation by S. mutans, S. sanguis, and S. salivarius. This Ag-gel should be tested for the ability to block plaque formation in the mouth, through its use as a tooth paste

Prospectus, May 10, 1984

COPIES ARE AVAILABLE FOR \u27IMAGES\u27; StuGo election results; Staerkel talks about scholarships; News Digest; Letter to the editor: Separate Women\u27s Program vital for the women who have invested so much in you; PC Happenings; Hard work recognized by Dean; Letter from the editor: Human element was always there; Editor says goodbye; \u27Intellectual Freedom Begins Here\u27; Student art exhibit displayed variety; Everyone enjoys four-day week during summer session; Law clerk tells how the judicial system really works; Eddie Albert plots ready to grow; Cribbet to speak at Commencement; Students and organizations honored at awards banquet; Creative Corner...Especially for you!!; Freedom; Cathy; This is Dedicated to Amy; Too Late; Almost There; Unwritten; The Life and Death of a Friendship; Parkland\u27s year the was--83/84--awards, scholarships, sports and fun; Classifieds; Did you know...; International songwriters competition; College Bowl National; Pretenders release latest and Rock Goddess their first; \u27Sixteen Candles\u27 burns out; Films show promise this summer; Winter wind blows hot; \u27Indiana Jones\u27 and \u27Spock\u27 lead the way at movies; Instructor receives award; Spring Out; StuGo purchases new van; Sports Digest; N.A.I.A. kills plan; 1984 Parkland outdoor track bests; L.A. students try to trust the Olympics; Baseball team ends season; 1984 Graduates and Candidates for Graduationhttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1984/1021/thumbnail.jp