New York Hearts Tech: Tech in the City Under Bloomberg

From Austin’s Silicon Hills, to Louisiana’s Silicon Bayou, Southern California’s Silicon Beaches to the Midwest’s Silicon Prairie, cities across the country have been actively courting tech. New York City is no exception. Since the financial crisis, the Bloomberg administration has pursued tech as a way to diversify the City’s economy. Over the past four years, the government has introduced a suite of tech-focused economic development initiatives, including competitions, incubators, and a well publicized (and expensive) campaign to overhaul the state of the City’s engineering education. Simultaneously, the growth of the City’s tech industry has been remarkable by any measure – companies, jobs, investment, or community network. Much of the government’s attention has been directed at the purported shortage of local tech talent. Less evaluated has been the government’s impact in directing tech’s growth. This thesis asks thus to what extent the Bloomberg administration’s tech agenda has impacted the tech community and contributed to its resurgence in the City. I derive my answer from both a detailed survey of the tech community, as well as from targeted interviews with winners of government-sponsored competitions, academics and industry leaders. My research finds the tech community considerably more impacted by and reliant for its growth on the City’s existing competitive advantages (its strength and diversity across industries, its skilled labor force, its global economy and its livability) than on the direct and visible support of the government

The bedrock topography of Gries- and Findelengletscher

Knowledge of the ice thickness distribution of glaciers is important for glaciological and hydrological applications. In this contribution, we present two updated bedrock topographies and ice thickness distributions for Gries- and Findelengletscher, Switzerland. The results are based on ground-penetrating radar (GPR) measurements collected in spring 2015 and already-existing data. The GPR data are analysed using ReflexW software and interpolated by using the ice thickness estimation method (ITEM). ITEM calculates the thickness distribution by using principles of ice flow dynamics and characteristics of the glacier surface. We show that using such a technique has a significance advantage compared to a direct interpolation of the measurements, especially for glacier areas that are sparsely covered by GPR data. The uncertainties deriving from both the interpretation of the GPR signal and the spatial interpolation through ITEM are quantified separately, showing that, in our case, GPR signal interpretation is a major source of uncertainty. The results show a total glacier volume of 0.28±0.06 and 1.00±0.34 km3 for Gries- and Findelengletscher, respectively, with corresponding average ice thicknesses of 56.8±12.7 and 56.3±19.6 m

Practical guide for debris flow and hillslope debris flow protection nets and its application in case studies

Debris flows and hillslope debris flows endanger people and infrastructures. Technical protection measures are important elements in addition to spatial planning (adapted use of space like hazard maps) and organizational measures (warning systems, emergency plan, evacuation). Additional to other rigid protection measures flexible debris flow nets and hillslope debris flow nets were developed in 2008, and 2010 respectively. Such flexible barriers consist of an interception surface of netting spanned between horizontal support ropes including energy devices and posts for large span width. Since then, they are available on the market worldwide. Many projects were successfully installed and already filled by debris flow events. After more than ten years of experience and demonstrating that these measures work against debris flow and hillslope debris flow, they are fully accepted as possible measures for integral protection against debris flow. To provide planners and engineers the experience and know-how of these flexible protection nets, a practical guide was initiated by the Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) and Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN). Two case studies with planned and installed flexible nets, in one case for a debris flow and in the other case for a hillslope debris flow, are presented

Quantitative Super-Resolution Imaging with qPAINT using Transient Binding Analysis

Current super-resolution techniques offer unprecedented spatial resolution, but quantitative counting of spatially unresolvable molecules remains challenging. Here, we use the programmable and specific binding of dye-labeled DNA probes to count integer numbers of targets. This method, called quantitative Points Accumulation In Nanoscale Topography (qPAINT), avoids the challenging task of analyzing the environmentally sensitive hard-to-predict photophysics of dyes, and enables robust counting by analyzing the predictable binding kinetics of dye-labeled DNA probes. We benchmarked qPAINT in vitro and in situ by counting strands on DNA nanostructures, Nup98 protein clusters in the nuclear pore complex, Bruchpilot proteins in Drosophila, and finally the number of fluorescence in situ hybridization probes on single mRNA targets in fixed cells. We achieved high accuracy (~98–99 %), high precision (~80–95 %), and multiplexed detection over a large dynamic range

Steam towboat Winifrede

ca. 1905 Steam towboat Winifrede, built at Marietta, Ohio, 1903, sank in 1920, rebuilt as the C.F. Colbert.https://mds.marshall.edu/river/1077/thumbnail.jp

The Impact of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders, and Neurocognitive Deficits on Violent Crime

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are conditions characterized by frontal lobe deficits. Past research has shown increased violent and aggressive behavior in both conditions; however, few studies have examined the mechanisms driving this relationship, particularly in non-athlete or non-veteran populations. The current study examined the neurodegenerative effects of repeated mTBI over time on cognitive flexibility and stability deficits in a homeless population. Additionally, we investigated the mediating effects of these deficits on the impact of both repeated lifetime mTBI and presence of an SSD on violent crime. Consistent with expectations, the number of lifetime mTBIs positively predicted violence levels across multiple measures of violent crime, however cognitive flexibility and stability deficits did not mediate this relationship. Furthermore, comorbidity of mTBI and SSD increased the frequency of violent crimes greater than either condition alone. Implications for risk assessment, intervention strategies and violence reduction are discussed