Conditions of Full Disclosure:The Blockchain Remuneration Model

One of the fundamental applications for a practically useful system of money is remuneration. Information pertaining to the amount of compensation awarded to different individuals is often considered sensitive, commanding a certain degree of privacy. As Bitcoin and similarly designed cryptocurrencies evolve into a recognized medium of exchange for larger swaths of the world economy, an increasing number of people will earn income in the form of blockchain-based payments. The nature of these transactions is such that the minute details of an affected individuals compensation package and spending habits will be exposed to public scrutiny. In some cases this violates cultural norms which respect the confidentiality of salaries, yet in other cases it could be regarded as providing the benefits associated with greater transparency. In this work we analyse the Bitcoin blockchain record of periodic payments accruing to an individual address in exchange for goods or services rendered. For differing levels of available information we seek to determine the extent of insights that can be gleaned about the transacting counter-parties and the privacy implications this entails

A School for the Percussive Arts

A dialogue between form and void can be created when openings in architectural expression are varied to express rhythm. movement. repetition. and transformation. The vehicle for this thesis will be a School for the Percussive Arts, which will provide an arena for the performance. education. and enlightenment for all who are interested in the field of percussion. The school will be approximately 70.000 square feet and will provide spaces for an auditorium. rehearsal hall. practice rooms. classrooms, and all other spaces needed to help educate those interested in pursuing an education in percussion music. The site for this school will be in Austin. Texas. the state's capitol. It is a park located downtown and is bordered by the streets of Red River to the East, Trinity to the West, 15th to the North, and 12th on the South. The diversity and dynamic nature of the nearly 500.000 inhabitants will greatly impact the design of this facility.Waller Creek Working Grou

Skin regeneration with a synthetic biomaterial that replaces the extracellular matrix

Our extracellular matrix replacement (EMR) is a photopolymerized, polysaccharide-PEG hydrogel scaffold that promotes functional skin regeneration and stimulates wound closure with reduced scarring. The advanced wound care market is dominated by collagen-based products isolated from animal and human tissues, and these products are often costly, show only modest efficacy, and cannot be extensively modified to provide customized devices. Preclinical data indicates that the EMR provides the optimal mechanical and chemical properties to stimulate an effective and efficient inflammatory response, followed by regeneration of a robust vascular network and restoration of a complete reticulated epithelium, hair follicles, and sebaceous glands. The EMR is a biodegradable synthetic biomaterial, and its properties can be rationally modified by adjusting the reaction conditions under which it is produced. Therefore, future generations of EMR products can be tailored to specific wound types and/or loaded with growth factors and small molecules. We will review EMR discovery and development, covering its synthesis and chemical and biochemical characterization. We will present data from our preclinical animal studies in murine and porcine third degree burn and excisional wound models. Finally, we will discuss efforts to develop scalable EMR manufacturing processes and highlight some future directions to develop next generation EMR-based products

Rodent Research and Education

In cooperation with researchers from the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University, a survey of Norway rat ectoparasites and pathogens was conducted from October 2012 to June 2013 in New York City. Two manuscripts detailing the results of this work are in preparation. During the course of this research, images and videos were taken of rodents, their requirements to survive and evidence of an infestation. These resources were used to create a series of four videos on rodent biology and management. A proposal submitted to the Northeast IPM Center would support the development of guidelines to manage mice in multifamily housing and reduce health risks associated infestations

The Interactive Stratospheric Aerosol Model Intercomparison Project (ISA-MIP): motivation and experimental design

The Stratospheric Sulfur and its Role in Climate (SSiRC) Interactive Stratospheric Aerosol Model Intercomparison Project (ISA-MIP) explores uncertainties in the processes that connect volcanic emission of sulfur gas species and the radiative forcing associated with the resulting enhancement of the stratospheric aerosol layer. The central aim of ISA-MIP is to constrain and improve interactive stratospheric aerosol models and reduce uncertainties in the stratospheric aerosol forcing by comparing results of standardized model experiments with a range of observations. In this paper we present four co-ordinated inter-model experiments designed to investigate key processes which influence the formation and temporal development of stratospheric aerosol in different time periods of the observational record. The Background (BG) experiment will focus on microphysics and transport processes under volcanically quiescent conditions, when the stratospheric aerosol is controlled by the transport of aerosols and their precursors from the troposphere to the stratosphere. The Transient Aerosol Record (TAR) experiment will explore the role of small- to moderate-magnitude volcanic eruptions, anthropogenic sulfur emissions, and transport processes over the period 1998–2012 and their role in the warming hiatus. Two further experiments will investigate the stratospheric sulfate aerosol evolution after major volcanic eruptions. The Historical Eruptions SO2 Emission Assessment (HErSEA) experiment will focus on the uncertainty in the initial emission of recent large-magnitude volcanic eruptions, while the Pinatubo Emulation in Multiple models (PoEMS) experiment will provide a comprehensive uncertainty analysis of the radiative forcing from the 1991 Mt Pinatubo eruption

A Sectional Microphysical Model to Study Stratospheric Aerosol: Ions, Geoengineering and Large Volcanic Eruptions

Stratospheric aerosols can influence radiative forcing and atmospheric chemistry, yet much remains to be learned about their sources and evolution. To improve understanding of these processes, a sulfate aerosol microphysical sectional model coupled to a climate model (WACCM/CARMA) has been developed. This model includes sulfur emissions, a 63-species chemistry module, and aerosol microphysics (nucleation, coagulation, growth, and deposition). This model was utilized to study stratospheric aerosol under ambient conditions as well as from large volcanic eruptions and hypothetical climate engineering scenarios. Simulations of ambient aerosol using three nucleation schemes reveal that one theory for ion-induced nucleation from galactic cosmic rays predicts 25% higher nucleation rates in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) than its related binary homogeneous nucleation scheme, but that the rates predicted by two binary schemes vary by two orders of magnitude. None of the nucleation schemes are superior at matching the limited observations available at the smallest sizes. It is found that coagulation, not nucleation, controls number concentration at sizes greater than approximately 10 nm, suggesting that processes relevant to atmospheric chemistry and radiative forcing in the UTLS are not sensitive to the choice of nucleation schemes. Simulations using all three nucleation schemes compare reasonably well to observations of aerosol size distributions, number concentrations, and mass in the UTLS. The inclusion of van der Waals forces in the coagulation scheme improves comparison to observations in the UTLS. Simulations of the Mount Pinatubo eruption find stratospheric aerosol mass and aerosol optical depth (AOD) to increase by two orders of magnitude, in agreement with observations, highlighting the eruption’s significant impact on stratospheric aerosol. The model predicts effective radius to triple six months after the eruption and 525 nm AOD to increase to 0.45 three months after the eruption in the tropics, in agreement with observations. In the mid- and high-latitude Southern Hemisphere, the simulated 525 nm AOD is about one-third that of observations 3 months after the eruption, which may be due to the August eruption of Cerro Hudson in Chile, which is not included in the model. Simulated 525 nm AOD spans a narrower range than observations, tapers more quickly, and peaks at 5°N while the data peaks at 5°S. Possible explanations for these differences include the lack of ash, aerosol heating or the Cerro Hudson eruption in the model, unmatched winds for the year 1991, or biases in the data. Simulations of stratospheric sulfur injection scenarios reveal numerous insights into the efficacy and consequences of hypothetical geoengineering scenarios. Continuous SO2 injection in a narrow region at the equator is found to have limited efficacy at higher injection rates, while broadening the injection region or injecting SO4 particles instead of SO2 gas can increase sulfate burden, in agreement with previous work. Injection of H2SO4 gas does not increase burdens compared to SO2, in disagreement with previous work using a plume model. It is suggested that the results found in the plume model were not due to injecting H2SO4, but rather to converting gases to particles. Considerably more research is needed on plumes to test assumptions made during modeling studies. Additionally, stratospheric geoengineering significantly perturbs tropospheric aerosol mass burden, number, and size distributions at much greater levels than simulated for the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. Tropospheric burdens increase by a factor of two or three, with the majority of the increases occurring at all latitudes in the 100 hPa thick layer just below the tropopause, as well as most of the troposphere at high latitudes. These perturbations could impact upper tropospheric radiative forcing or chemistry, highlighting the need to further study the efficacy and consequences of geoengineering before its employment is seriously considered

Two-week joint mobilization intervention improves self-reported function, range of motion, and dynamic balance in those with chronic ankle instability

We examined the effect of a 2-week anterior-to-posterior ankle joint mobilization intervention on weight-bearing dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM), dynamic balance, and self-reported function in subjects with chronic ankle instability (CAI). In this prospective cohort study, subjects received six Maitland Grade III anterior-to-posterior joint mobilization treatments over 2 weeks. Weightbearing dorsiflexion ROM, the anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral reach directions of the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT), and self-reported function on the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) were assessed 1 week before the intervention (baseline), prior to the first treatment (pre-intervention), 24–48 h following the final treatment (post-intervention), and 1 week later (1-week follow-up) in 12 adults (6 males and 6 females) with CAI. The results indicate that dorsiflexion ROM, reach distance in all directions of the SEBT, and the FAAM improved (p < 0.05 for all) in all measures following the intervention compared to those prior to the intervention. No differences were observed in any assessments between the baseline and pre-intervention measures or between the postintervention and 1-week follow-up measures (p > 0.05). These results indicate that the joint mobilization intervention that targeted posterior talar glide was able to improve measures of function in adults with CAI for at least 1 week

Multiple aneurysms in childhood

AbstractArterial aneurysms in children are rare. When present, they are often associated with connective tissue disorders or arteritidies. Idiopathic aneurysms occurring at multiple sites throughout the arterial tree are rare, with only ten cases reported. This report describes a case of multiple arterial aneurysms of uncertain origin involving upper-extremity, extracranial cerebrovascular, aortoiliac, and renal arteries in a 14-year-old boy. The clinical presentation, vascular reconstruction, pathologic findings, and a brief review of the literature are described

Design Entrepreneurship in Innovation

The paper demonstrates the need for an entrepreneurial attitude and competence in designers of today in order to ensure innovation. The paper considers evidence from four design innovation case studies to explore the relationship between design capabilities and the wider conditions necessary for innovation. All four case studies have been conducted in collaboration with commercial organisations seeking innovation, and designers and academics based in a university in the United Kingdom. First, a review of design’s capabilities is presented from the literature. Second, evidence from each case study is mapped to the UK Design Council’s popular model of design process: the double diamond. This allows findings across the four cases to be compared and discussed, considering how design’s capabilities contribute to the conditions necessary to transform design effort into innovation. Third, the role of design within the ‘define’ stage of the double diamond is articulated. The initial findings state that the lack of connector-­ integrator capability in designers during the ‘define’ phase lead to weak interpretation of the problem space, and consequently contributed to design’s inability to convert ideas into real products in the ‘delivery’ phase. The paper concludes that for design to effectively drive innovation it needs to secure entrepreneurial support i.e. with an appetite for risk/reward; in the early part of the design process