The Kentucky Redistricting Problem: Mixed-Integer Programming Model: Working Paper Series--03-04

The goal of the voter-redistricting problem is to partition a state into districts so that the districts have equal populations, are contiguous and compact. Each state has a different variation of this problem due to different state laws, history in the courts and political climate. There has been increasing pressure to remove the partisanship from this process and make it a more technical issue. We focus on the non-political aspects of this problem as defined in the state of Kentucky after the 1990 census. The goal of this redistricting problem is to minimize the number of times that the counties must be divided subject to equal population districts. We present two variations of a mixed-integer programming model. The performance of these models is tested on 12 problems. The tradeoff between the minimum number of cuts and contiguity is examined. Limitations of the models are described

Comparison of the meaning of the lexems of the Croatian Church Slavonic stems nenavid- and mrьz-

U prilogu se istražuju značenja koja ostvaruju leksemi hrvatskih crkvenoslavenskih (u nastavku teksta: hcsl.) osnova nenavid- i mrьz- nastojeći ostvariti tri svrhe. Prva je da se ustanove značenjske strukture navedenih osnova i usporede se. Druga je da se na obuhvaćenome dijelu hcsl. leksika provjeri ranije postavljena hipoteza da hcsl. leksik osjećajnosti pretpostavlja paradigmu čuvstava i afekta (najbolje predstavljenu u Summa theologiae 1a.2ae.22–48 Tome Akvinca), a ne paradigmu emocija koja se u suvremenoj znanosti obično drži univerzalnom. Treća je svrha istražiti sličnosti i razlike dviju obrađenih osnova, s obzirom da je riječ o leksikalizacijama dvaju susjednih osvajačkih čuvstava, od kojih jedna (mrьz-) graniči i s leksikalizacijom obrambenoga čuvstva (očaja). Time se želi dotaknuti pitanje zrcali li se konceptualno razlikovanje osvajačkih i obrambenih čuvstava u leksikalizaciji. Raščlamba je primjera pokazala da leksemi osnove mrьz- ostvaruju složeniju značenjsku strukturu koja je bitno povezana s leksikalizacijom pojma grijeha i grješnosti. Naglasak osnove nenavid- više je na oprečnome odnosu dobra i zla, a manje na grijehu. Podaci iz područja tematskih uloga i razjašnjenja (o odnosu volje i osjećaja) te izricanih okolnosti (o moralnome vidu osjećaja te izricanju okolnosti očitovanja) pokazuju da bi moguća buduća istraživanja odnosa sustava čuvstava Tome Akvinca (u nastavku teksta: Akvinac) i hcsl. leksika osjećajnosti mogla donijeti zanimljive rezultate. Konačno, utvrđeno je više uočljivih razlika i sličnosti dviju osnova, ali se ne može utvrditi zrcale li one u leksikalizaciji konceptualnu razliku osvajačkih i obrambenih čuvstava. Čini se da će se za to morati pričekati obrada leksikalizacija barem još nekih, ako ne i svih jedanaest leksikalizacija Akvinčevih čuvstava.The purpose of the article is to examine the three points considering the meaning of the lexems of the Croatian Church Slavonic (abbr. CCS) stems nenavid- and mrьz-. The first one is to recognize the meaning structures of the afore-mentioned stems, and to compare them. The second is to check the hypothesis that the CCS lexis of sentience pressumes the paradigm of passions and affect (best represented in Thomas Aquinas’ Summa theologiae 1a.2ae.22–48) and not the paradigm of emotions which is in the contemporary science usually considered as universal. The third is to explore similarities and distinctions of the two stems since they lexicalize the two concupiscible passions, one of them (mrьz-) neighboring an irascible passion. That last point aims at tackling the question whether the conceptual distinction of concupiscible and irascible passions is reflected in lexicalization or not. Analysis of the usage examples show that the lexems of the stem mrьzrealize more complex meaning structure intrinsically connected to the lexicalization of the concepts of sin and sinfullness. The emphasis of the stem nenavid- is placed more on the oposition of good and evil, and less on sin. The data regarding the two analyzed stems, especially in the area of the thematic roles (concerning relation of will and feelings) as well as of explications of the lexicalized circumstances (or more specifically: the moral aspect of feelings and expressing the circumstance of the manifestation of a particular feeling) show that the future research of the relation between the Thomas Aquinas’ system of passions and the CCS lexis of sensitiveness could come to some interesting results. Finally, a number of the evident similarities and distinctions have been recognised between the analyzed stems, but still there is no solid enough basis to decide whether the conceptual difference of concupiscible and irascible passions reflects on lexicalization. It seems that only further research on lexicalization of some of the Aquinas’ passions, if not of all of the eleven, can elucidate that issue

Developmental Changes and Injury Induced Disruption of the Radial Organization of the Cortex in the Immature Rat Brain Revealed by In Vivo Diffusion Tensor MRI

During brain development, morphological changes modify the cortex from its immature radial organization to its mature laminar appearance. Applying in vivo diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), the microstructural organization of the cortex in the immature rat was analyzed and correlated to neurohistopathology. Significant differences in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) were detected between the external (I-III) and deep (IV-VI) cortical layers in postnatal day 3 (P3) and P6 pups. With cortical maturation, ADC was reduced in both cortical regions, whereas a decrease in FA was only seen in the deep layers. A distinct radial organization of the external cortical layers with the eigenvectors perpendicular to the pial surface was observed at both ages. Histology revealed maturational differences in the cortical architecture with increased neurodendritic density and reduction in the radial glia scaffolding. Early DTI after hypoxia-ischemia at P3 shows reduced ADC and FA in the ipsilateral cortex that persisted at P6. Cortical DTI eigenvector maps reveal microstructural disruption of the radial organization corresponding to regions of neuronal death, radial glial disruption, and astrocytosis. Thus, the combined use of in vivo DTI and histopathology can assist in delineating normal developmental changes and postinjury modifications in the immature rodent brai

ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 guidelines for management of patients with ventricular arrhythmias and the prevention of sudden cardiac death: A report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force and the European Society of Cardiology Committee for Practice Guidelines

Several excellent guidelines already exist on treating patients who have ventricular arrhythmias (Table 1). The purpose of this document is to update and combine the previously published recommendations into one source approved by the major cardiology organizations in the United States and Europe. We have consciously attempted to create a streamlined document, not a textbook, that would be useful specifically to locate recommendations on the evaluation and treatment of patients who have or may be at risk for ventricular arrhythmias. Thus, sections on epidemiology, mechanisms and substrates, and clinical presentations are brief, because there are no recommendations for those sections. For the other sections, the wording has been kept to a minimum, and clinical presentations have been confined to those aspects relevant to forming recommendations

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 Guidelines for Management of Patients With Ventricular Arrhythmias and the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death. A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force and the European Society of Cardiology Committee for Practice Guidelines.

Several excellent guidelines already exist on treating patients who have ventricular arrhythmias (Table 1).The purpose of this document is to update and combine the previously published recommendations into one source approved by the major cardiology organizations in the United States and Europe. We have consciously attempted to create a streamlined document, not a textbook, that would be useful specifically to locate recommendations on the evaluation and treatment of patients who have or may be at risk for ventricular arrhythmias. Thus, sections on epidemiology, mechanisms and substrates, and clinical presentations are brief, because there are no recommendations for those sections. For the other sections, the wording has been kept to a minimum, and clinical presentations have been confined to those aspects relevant to forming recommendations