THE DRIVERS OF HOUSING PRICES AND THE IMPACT OF SCHOOLS: EVIDENCE FROM GEORGIA

This paper attempts to describe the drivers of housing prices in Cumming, Georgia, a rapidly growing suburban area in the southeast of the US. Data from123 single family homes were collected and analyzed using multiple regression methodology. The findings from correlation matrix indicate that the price of the house is positively associated with the number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, square footage of the house, the lot size, and the number of parking spaces available in the house, and negatively associated with the age of the house. The results from regression analysis suggest that number of bathrooms, square footage, parking spaces, and the dummy variables for Denmark High School, Forsyth Central High School, and North Forsyth High School are statistically significant predictors of the price of the house for Cumming, Georgia. Finally, about 80% of the variation in the prices of the houses is accounted for by our regression model. These findings may have important implications for decision-making by residents, real-estate agents, house buyers and sellers, financial institutions, policymakers, and scholars alike

Insights into Titan’s geology and hydrology based on enhanced image processing of Cassini RADAR data

The Cassini Synthetic Aperture Radar has been acquiring images of Titan's surface since October 2004. To date, 59% of Titan's surface has been imaged by radar, with significant regions imaged more than once. Radar data suffer from speckle noise hindering interpretation of small-scale features and comparison of reimaged regions for change detection. We present here a new image analysis technique that combines a denoising algorithm with mapping and quantitative measurements that greatly enhance the utility of the data and offers previously unattainable insights. After validating the technique, we demonstrate the potential improvement in understanding of surface processes on Titan and defining global mapping units, focusing on specific landforms including lakes, dunes, mountains, and fluvial features. Lake shorelines are delineated with greater accuracy. Previously unrecognized dissection by fluvial channels emerges beneath shallow methane cover. Dune wavelengths and interdune extents are more precisely measured. A significant refinement in producing digital elevation models is shown. Interactions of fluvial and aeolian processes with topographic relief is more precisely observed and understood than previously. Benches in bathymetry are observed in northern sea Ligeia Mare. Submerged valleys show similar depth suggesting that they are equilibrated with marine benches. These new observations suggest a liquid level increase in the northern sea, which may be due to changes on seasonal or longer timescales

Surgeons' Volume-Outcome Relationship for Lobectomies and Wedge Resections for Cancer Using Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Techniques

This study examined the effect of surgeons' volume on outcomes in lung surgery: lobectomies and wedge resections. Additionally, the effect of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) on cost, utilization, and adverse events was analyzed. The Premier Hospital Database was the data source for this analysis. Eligible patients were those of any age undergoing lobectomy or wedge resection using VATS for cancer treatment. Volume was represented by the aggregate experience level of the surgeon in a six-month window before each surgery. A positive volume-outcome relationship was found with some notable features. The relationship is stronger for cost and utilization outcomes than for adverse events; for thoracic surgeons as opposed to other surgeons; for VATS lobectomies rather than VATS wedge resections. While there was a reduction in cost and resource utilization with greater experience in VATS, these outcomes were not associated with greater experience in open procedures

XIM: X-Ray Inspection Module for Automatic High Speed Inspection of Turbine Blades and Automated Flaw Detection and Classification

Under military manufacturing technology funding, a production prototype X-ray Inspection Module (XIM) has been established at General Electric Corporate Research and Development (GE-CRD) and delivered to Quality Technology (QT), General Electric Aircraft Engine Business Group (GE-AEBG). A company funded production unit has been built by GE-AEBG and delivered to the GE-AEBG manufacturing facility in Madisonville, Kentucky where it is in use in production. Computerized tomography (CT) and digital fluoroscopy (DF) images are produced with the system. The CT images provide an image cross-section, and the DF images are much like chest X-rays.The system was designed to automatically inspect and analyze flaws present in turbine blades. It was applied to two flaw types; each type in a different turbine blade. The image processing is performed on complex gray scale images with varying background. The XIM system may be used either automatically or in a manual mode with a trained operator to interpret the images and make quality decisions

Surface processes recorded by rocks and soils on Meridiani Planum, Mars: Microscopic Imager observations during Opportunity's first three extended missions

The Microscopic Imager (MI) on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has returned images of Mars with higher resolution than any previous camera system, allowing detailed petrographic and sedimentological studies of the rocks and soils at the Meridiani Planum landing site. Designed to simulate a geologist's hand lens, the MI is mounted on Opportunity's instrument arm and can resolve objects 0.1 mm across or larger. This paper provides an overview of MI operations, data calibration, and analysis of MI data returned during the first 900 sols (Mars days) of the Opportunity landed mission. Analyses of Opportunity MI data have helped to resolve major questions about the origin of observed textures and features. These studies support eolian sediment transport, rather than impact surge processes, as the dominant depositional mechanism for Burns formation strata. MI stereo observations of a rock outcrop near the rim of Erebus Crater support the previous interpretation of similar sedimentary structures in Eagle Crater as being formed by surficial flow of liquid water. Well-sorted spherules dominate ripple surfaces on the Meridiani plains, and the size of spherules between ripples decreases by about 1 mm from north to south along Opportunity's traverse between Endurance and Erebus craters

Genetic Population Structure in the Antarctic Benthos: Insights from the Widespread Amphipod, Orchomenella franklini

Currently there is very limited understanding of genetic population structure in the Antarctic benthos. We conducted one of the first studies of microsatellite variation in an Antarctic benthic invertebrate, using the ubiquitous amphipod Orchomenella franklini (Walker, 1903). Seven microsatellite loci were used to assess genetic structure on three spatial scales: sites (100 s of metres), locations (1–10 kilometres) and regions (1000 s of kilometres) sampled in East Antarctica at Casey and Davis stations. Considerable genetic diversity was revealed, which varied between the two regions and also between polluted and unpolluted sites. Genetic differentiation among all populations was highly significant (FST = 0.086, RST = 0.139, p<0.001) consistent with the brooding mode of development in O. franklini. Hierarchical AMOVA revealed that the majority of the genetic subdivision occurred across the largest geographical scale, with Nem≈1 suggesting insufficient gene flow to prevent independent evolution of the two regions, i.e., Casey and Davis are effectively isolated. Isolation by distance was detected at smaller scales and indicates that gene flow in O. franklini occurs primarily through stepping-stone dispersal. Three of the microsatellite loci showed signs of selection, providing evidence that localised adaptation may occur within the Antarctic benthos. These results provide insights into processes of speciation in Antarctic brooders, and will help inform the design of spatial management initiatives recently endorsed for the Antarctic benthos