Application of a subnetwork characterization methodology for dynamic traffic assignment

textThe focus of this dissertation is a methodology to select an appropriate subnetwork from a large urban transportation network that experiences changes to a small fraction of the whole network. Subnetwork selection techniques are most effective when using a regional dynamic traffic assignment model. The level of detail included in the regional model relieves the user of manually coding subnetwork components because they can be extracted from the full model. This method will reduce the resources necessary for an agency to complete an analysis through time and cost savings. Dynamic traffic assignment also has the powerful capability of determining rerouting due to network changes. However, the major limitation of these new dynamic models is the computational demand of the algorithms, which inhibit use of full regional models for comparing multiple scenarios. By examining a smaller window of the network, where impacts are expected to occur, the burden of computer power and time can be overcome. These methods will contribute to the accuracy of dynamic transportation systems analysis, increase the tractability of these advanced traffic models, and help implement new modeling techniques previously limited by network size. The following describes how to best understand the effects of reducing a network to a subarea and how this technique may be implemented in practice.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin

The inositol phosphatase SHIP1 regulates skeletal development

Background/Introduction: Src-homology (SH) 2 domain-containing inositol-5-phosphatase 1 (SHIP1) is a lipid phosphatase expressed mainly in hematopoietic cells. SHIP1 regulates cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival via the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. SHIP1-deficient (Styx) mice are osteoporotic, which is associated with an increased number of osteoclasts (OC). Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms through which SHIP1 controls osteoporosis. Methods: Osteoclast progenitor cells (OPC) were generated by incubating bone marrow cells with CSF-1. To develop OC, OPC from Styx, Styx het (heterozygous) and wt (wild type) mice were cultured with RANKL and CSF-1. Osteoclastogenesis was evaluated using an XTT cell viability assay, TRAP activity (OC marker) and qRT-PCR. Micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) of vertebrae and femora were performed to evaluate the bone structure. Results: Deficiency in SHIP1 affected several aspects of bone. Compared to Styx het and wt controls, OPC-derived Styx OC presented several developmental defects, including a lower TRAP/XTT ratio and a 52% decrease in Calcr transcripts (encoding for the Calcitonin Receptor) (p<0.001). In vivo, there was a strong reduction of BV/TV in vertebrae and femora of Styx versus wt animals (39.6% and 35%, respectively, p<0.01). In particular, trabeculae in Styx vertebrae were increased by 8% (p<0.05) in numbers while decreased by 37% in thickness (p<0.001). In contrast, in Styx femora both the number and thickness of the trabeculae were decreased by 16% and 14%, respectively. These different phenotypes in Styx femora versus vertebrae indicate different paths to osteoporosis in bones with primary or secondary spongiosa. Conclusion(s): Taken together, our data indicate a central role for SHIP1-dependent PI3K/Akt signalling in bone remodeling. Further investigation will address the role of osteoblasts in the development of osteoporosis in SHIP1-deficient Styx mice

Dimensions of Equity: Undergraduate Research Through Vertically Integrated Projects at Five Institutions

In this innovative practice work-in-progress paper, enrollment data from five institutions was used to examine equity in undergraduate research through Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Programs. VIP is a model for undergraduate research in which large student teams are embedded in faculty-driven projects. The American Association of Colleges and Universities recognizes undergraduate research as a high-impact experience, associated with higher graduation rates and greater learning gains in college. Participation in multiple high-impact experiences yields cumulative gains to students from all backgrounds, and compensatory gains for minoritized and marginalized students. Nationally however, minoritized students, first-generation college students, and transfer students participate in undergraduate research at lower rates than their peers. In this study, VIP enrollments at five institutions (N = 6,651 over two semesters) were compared to demographics of the institutions to determine the degree to which programs achieved equity among historically underserved minorities, transfer students, first-generation college students, and by gender. Analysis accounted for demographics and level of participation of the academic units involved, comparing enrollments with what would be expected under equitable enrollment. Analyses were done for each institution and across the pooled sample. By institution, equity across categories varied. Across the pooled sample, results show small effects sizes for status as a historically underserved minority, very small effect sizes for first-generation students and transfer students, and slightly higher participation among women than men. The large-scale nature of VIP teams enables institutions to scale-up their undergraduate research offerings. This paper begins answering the question of whether this scaling increases access for marginalized populations, and the results are encouraging. The paper is a work-in-progress, because data needs to be collected from more VIP institutions for a wider-ranging study. The chisquare test and the importance of using effect sizes in interpreting results will be explained, so others can apply the same method. Results, implications, and next steps are discussed

Integrating mechanisms of pulmonary fibrosis

Pulmonary fibrosis is a complex and heterogeneous disease; a more detailed and integrated understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms influencing its pathogenesis will aid the design of new therapies

Developing a GIS-based intersection traffic control planning tool

textThe purpose of this study was to include consideration for intersections into the previously created GIS traffic control planning tool. Available data for making intersection control calculations were collected and integrated into the design of the tool. The limitations created by required assumptions were addressed, as well as more advanced techniques for overcoming these problems. The tool can be use to estimate capacity calculations at any signalized intersection within the NCTCOG modeling region. These calculations can be used to inform users about the effects of a construction plan. Inputs for using dynamic traffic assignment to further understand these effects is then addressed, focusing on the development of a subnetwork to reduce computation time for multiple temporary traffic control plans.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin

Popular entertainment and constructions of Southern identity: how burlesques, medicine shows, and musical theatre made meaning and money in the South, 1854-1980

Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, popular entertainments thrilled audiences throughout the United States, using a variety of techniques to encourage their potential audiences to part with their hard earned money. Rather than simply being a commercial exchange, attendance at a popular entertainment such as melodrama, circus, burlesque, or musical theatre often placed that individual in the midst of an active site of meaning making. This dissertation uses Modernity as a guiding historical, social, and cultural context to examine three specific performance events in three different Southern cities at three different historical periods to examine how popular theatricals provided a space for the discussion of what it means to be Southern. Looking at burlesques of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in New Orleans in the Summer of 1854, Medicine Shows in rural Appalachia in the 1920s and 30s, and the Atlanta stop on the first national tour of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas in January of 1980, illustrates how performance spaces staged debates, documenting and contributing to changing notions of Southern identity. These show offered depictions of Southern life that often placed older, stereotypical characterizations alongside increasingly nuanced or modern ones. In each of my three theatrical examples, Southern identity becomes a critical strategy or construct for audience members to use to navigate the space between the realities of their own existence in the South, the ever more modern world around them, and the mythic images of the South presented both onstage and in the popular media. The time frame extends from 1854, the summer of three prominent burlesques of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in New Orleans that directly responded to the increasingly nation phenomenon of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, to the 1920s and 30s, when Medicine Shows traveled throughout rural Appalachia trying to transforms mountaineers into consumers using live performance and fake medicinal products, to 1980, when Whorehouse staged a debate between the Old and New South at The Fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. I conclude with an examination of the career trajectory of the Dixie Chicks and their recent troubles with identifying themselves as Southern.Theatre and Danc

Application Layer Authentication Using a Time-Based Password Effect upon the Smart Home Automation Controller

The evolution and convergence of embedded information and communication systems (ICS) technologies has contributed to an era of device-embedded smart objects whose continually increasing capabilities drives utility and an ever-expanding footprint. Collectively, the smart objects comprise the Internet of Things (IoT). Individually, the smart objects consist of thing-embedded or standalone microcontrollers, System on a Chip (SoC), and/or single-board computers (SBC) based devices whose capabilities include data generation, aggregation, communication, and/or data-driven actuation of cyber-physical components. Smart Home Automation (SHA) is at the forefront of the IoT revolution. The motivations for SHA include increased energy efficiencies, convenience, security, and the provision of assistive-living technologies within the domicile. Academic research into these areas has been ongoing for decades. The feasibility of SHA, however, has been a more recent realization resulting in an ever-expanding consumer market space. Contemporary research disclosing authentication vulnerabilities has been evidenced by wide-spread device comprise. Implementation of application authentication faces several challenges including constrained device resource limitations, key distribution or exchange, and device heterogeneity. Application authentication is critical to ensure the authenticity of the originating data source and, consequently, the integrity of the data, as well as the authorization of any subsequently triggered actions. Application authentication, particularly for machine to machine communications, is an active research area consisting of multiple broad focuses. Authentication efficiency research frequently examines device processor, memory, and power utilization. The goal of this study is to examine the effect incurred upon processor, memory, and power utilization by a SHA controller utilizing an enhanced authentication mechanism not typically studied, time-based dynamic passwords

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