Assessment Error in the Valuation of Owner-Occupied Housing

Assessed values of owner-occupied housing have been analyzed in this study to determine whether there is systematic error in the property valuation process by assessors. Sources of systematic error are identified for three countries in the Puget Sound area of Washington State. A method is developed to correct assessed values for systematic error to provide better estimates of market values. The results of the study may be useful for using assessed values as predictors of market values.

Rphylopars: fast multivariate phylogenetic comparative methods for missing data and within-species variation

Over the past several years, phylogenetic comparative studies have increasingly approached trait evolution in a multivariate context, with a number of taxa that continues to rise dramatically. Recent methods for phylogenetic comparative studies have provided ways to incorporate measurement error and to address computational challenges. However, missing data remain a particularly common problem, in which data are unavailable for some but not all traits of interest for a given species (or individual), leaving researchers with the choice between omitting observations or utilizing imputation-based approaches. Here, we introduce an r implementation of PhyloPars, a tool for phylogenetic imputation of missing data and estimation of trait covariance across species (phylogenetic covariance) and within species (phenotypic covariance). Rphylopars provides expanded capabilities over the original PhyloPars interface including a fast linear-time algorithm, thus allowing for extremely large data sets (which were previously computationally infeasible) to be analysed in seconds or minutes rather than hours. In addition to providing fast and computationally efficient implementations, we introduce in Rphylopars methods to estimate macroevolutionary parameters under alternative evolutionary models (e.g. Early-Burst, multivariate Ornstein-Uhlenbeck). By providing fast and computationally efficient methods with flexible options for various phylogenetic comparative approaches, Rphylopars expands the possibilities for researchers to analyse large and complex data with missing observations, within-species variation and deviations from Brownian motion

Brokerage Firm Competition in Real Estate Commission Rates

This paper attempts to provide an explanation for the variance in real estate commission rates by analyzing the interaction of the real estate commission and the selling price of properties. The data presented here strongly suggest that there is competition in the rate of commission charged by real estate brokerage firms.

Kidney cell electrophoresis in space flight: Rationale, methods, results and flow cytometry applications

Cultures of human embryonic kidney cells consistently contain an electrophoretically separable subpopulation of cells that produce high levels of urokinase and have an electrophoretic mobility about 85 percent as high as that of the most mobile human embryonic kidney cells. This subpopulation is rich in large epithelioid cells that have relatively little internal structure. When resolution and throughput are adequate, free fluid electrophoresis can be used to isolate a broad band of low mobility cells which also produces high levels of plasminogen activators (PAs). In the course of performing this, it was discovered that all electrophoretic subpopulations of cultured human embryonic kidney cells produce some PAs and that separate subpopulations produce high quantities of different types of PA's. This information and the development of sensitive assays for this project have provided new insights into cell secretion mechanisms related to fibrinolysis. These advances would probably not have been made without the NASA program to explore fundamental questions of free fluid electrophoresis in space

Case Report: Ischial Stress Fracture Non-Union in a College Football Player

Stress fractures are common injuries associated with repetitive high-impact activities, often in high-level athletes and military recruits. Although predominantly occurring in the lower extremities, stress fractures may occur wherever there is a sudden increase in frequency or intensity of activity, thereby overloading the yield point of the local bone environment. Ischial stress fractures are a rarely diagnosed cause of pain around the hip and pelvis. Often, patients present with buttock pain with activity, which can be misdiagnosed as proximal hamstring tendonitis or avulsion. Here, we report a case of a college football player who was diagnosed with an ischial stress fracture which went on to symptomatic non-union after extensive conservative management. We treated his ischial non-union with open reduction internal fixation utilizing a tension band plate and screws. This interesting case highlights an uncommon cause of the relatively common presentation of posterior hip pain and describes our technique for addressing a stress fracture non-union in the ischium

Establishment and Spread of a Single Parthenogenic Genotype of the Mediterranean arundo wasp, Tetramesa romana1, In the Variable Climate of Texas

As part of a biological control program for the invasive weed, Arundo donax L., several genotypically unique populations of the parthenogenetic stemgalling wasp, Tetramesa romana Walker (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae), from Spain and France were released in an infested riparian zone along the Rio Grande from Brownsville to Del Rio, TX. An adventive population of the wasp of unknown origin with limited distribution in Texas was also discovered, evaluated, and released as part of the program. More than 1.2 million wasps representing the mixture of genotypes were aerially released from 2009 to 2011. Wasps dispersed from their original release locations and now have a continuous distribution along the Rio Grande from Brownsville to Del Rio, and have dispersed throughout most of Central Texas with satellite populations as far west as San Angelo (Tom Green County), north as far as Kaufman (Kaufman County), and east to Navasota (Grimes County). The most successful genotype (#4) represented 390 of the 409 wasps recovered and matched both an imported population from the Mediterranean coast of Spain and an adventive population established in Texas before the start of the biological control program. Several other European genotypes of the wasp released in the program apparently failed to establish. This result demonstrated the benefits of evaluating and releasing the maximum genetic diversity of the biological control agent in the introduced range. Abundance of T. romana on the Rio Grande from Laredo to Del Rio averaged 190% more in 2013-2014 compared to a similar study in 2008-2009 before release of the European wasps. A favorability index was developed that showed that conditions from 1969 to 1977 would have been adverse to the wasp; conditions after 2009 were more favorable. Climate matching predicts the wasp will disperse throughout the southern U.S. and Mexico

Giant atypical carcinoid of the liver with vascular metastases and local sinusoidal invasion: a case report

We present the case of a 46 year old woman with a giant, 23-centimeter, atypical carcinoid of the liver. A primary site for this neoplasm could not be identified despite multiple radiographic imaging studies, including a somatostatin scan, and a thorough inspection of the bowel during surgical resection of the lesion. Histologically, the tumor displayed mild cytologic atypia, abundant necrosis, and intravascular metastases, the last feature of which was identified by immunohistochemical markers for chromogranin and synaptophysin. Also described is the unusual sinusoidal infiltration, or "spillage," of tumor cells into the surrounding liver parenchyma, a feature that has not been described as far as we are aware but may suggest an aggressive clinical course. Even though an exact definition of atypia for these lesions apparently does not exist at this point, the multiple atypical features in this case strongly suggest the diagnosis of atypical carcinoid of the liver, thus far an altogether rare and vaguely reported entity. As more cases arise in the medical literature, it may be worthwhile to establish a set of guidelines to define atypical hepatic carcinoids and other gastrointestinal carcinoids, although survivorship data thus far indicates no significant difference in the prognosis between typical versus atypical variants

Phylogeography of an endangered disjunct herb: long-distance dispersal, refugia and colonization routes

Quaternary glacial cycles appear to have had a consistent role in shaping the genetic diversity and structure of plant species. Despite the unusual combination of the characteristics of the western Mediterranean– Macaronesian area, there are no studies that have specifically examined the effects of palaeoclimatic and palaeogeographic factors on the genetic composition and structure of annual herbs. Astragalus edulis is a disjunct endemic found in the easternmost Canary Islands and the semi-arid areas of north-eastern Africa and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. This endangered species shows no evident adaptations to long-distance dispersal. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) data and plastid DNA sequences were analysed from a total of 360 individuals distributed throughout the range of this species. The modelled potential distribution of A. edulis under current conditions was projected over the climatic conditions of the Last Interglacial (130 ka BP) and Last Glacial Maximum (21 ka BP) to analyse changes in habitat suitability and to look for associations between the modelling and genetic results. Amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis showed clear phylogeographic structure with four distinct genetic clusters. Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) models based on plastid DNA sequences indicated a Middle Pleistocene long-distance dispersal event as the origin of the populations of the Canary Islands. The models also suggested south-western Morocco as the ancestral area for the species, as well as subsequent colonization of north-eastern Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula. The data compiled indicated the possibility of the presence of refuge areas at favourable locations around the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas mountain ranges. Moreover, palaeodistribution models strongly support the events inferred by ABC modelling and show the potential distribution of the species in the past, suggesting a putative colonization route.This work has been financed by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación through the projects CGL2012- 32574 and REN2003-09427, as well as by the Andalusian Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Tecnología through the project RNM1067. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript