Community Perspectives on Neighborhood Characteristics and Home-Buying Decisions

This paper analyzes households’ perceptions of neighborhoods according to Brown and Chung’s framework of Market-Led Pluralism (M-LP). Using household survey responses from 100 respondents in Columbus, Ohio and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I empirically test MLP’s utility in understanding consumers’ decision making processes on where to live and who to live with. Consumers from all races/ethnicities ranked these attributes similarly, closely aligning with the M-LP. The quality of schools, safety of neighborhoods, price and affordability generally mattered to all consumers. However, African Americans’ perceptions of certain attributes as more valuable than others’ are likely due to their lower socio-economic status and the historical factors. Many of these findings, though, get more streamlined along conventional perceptions of races and ethnicities, especially when situated within the person-specific responses gathered in open-ended interviews, which have not been reported here. At a broader scale, though, a majority of responses align well with the M-LP. This analysis also points toward the problem that lies not in the way various developments are planned and executed, but the missing links that limit the growth of a dynamic urban system in certain locations. A master-plan community developed in collaboration with the city can promote diversity/intermixing and create a sustainable community

Income Divide and Race/Ethnicity in Tennessee Metropolises

Tennessee, like other Southeastern states, has also gained in its share of racial/ethnic diversity, but it also contains some of the most segregated and poorest (e.g., Memphis) metropolises in the southeast. This paper examines one dimension of inequality – the income divide – measured here by the 95/20 Ratio. Important questions include: How does income divide vary across the major racial/ethnic groups in Tennessee’s ten metropolises? How do they associate with diversity, segregation, and other geographic predictors? By using simple ranking and correlations analyses to explore these relationships, I find that metropolises that are large, diverse and mostly segregated, with higher African American poverty, highly educated, and mixed-economy are also the most income divided. In contrast, the smaller, mid-diverse metropolises with mixed-economic structure are less divided. Knoxville and Clarksville, the 3rd and 6th largest metropolises in Tennessee, rank as the most and the least income divided for African Americans respectively

Crowdfunding and Crowdsourcing Initiatives in Detroit

This study examines the role of crowdfunding and community-based initiatives in Detroit, a city that has been hurt by economic distress for several years. We start by compiling the Kickstarter projects initiated and successfully funded all over the US during April 2009-July 2012, and later focus on those occurring in Detroit only. We conduct in-depth analyses to understand the intra-urban characteristics that provide opportunities for such initiatives. By combining the census demographic data with qualitative information collected from online surveys and semi-structured interviews, we analyze the specific roles of crowdfunding initiatives in creating sustainable urban communities. This analysis finds that Kickstarter projects initiated primarily in low-income neighborhoods, and the main motivation had been the autonomy for the Kickstarter initiators who create projects on their own terms and conditions that benefits the local communities. This study is one of the first to examine crowdfunding initiatives. In an age of continuing economic downturn, grantfunding and government budgets for community projects are the first ones to be eliminated. This study suggests that the projects initiated in Detroit’s neighborhoods fill up the grantfunding gaps, thus marking crowdfunding as a contemporary way for creating sustainable processes

A Neighborhood-level Perspective of Real Estate Determinants in Three U.S. Cities

This study examines the relationships between commonly available socio-economic and environmental determinants of real estate (crime, quality of schools, racial/ethnic diversity, and built environment) and real estate values in socially and politically recognized units in the three largest cities of the U.S.—New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Utilizing a variety of data sources used by potential real estate buyers, we conduct correlations, mapping, and multiple regression analyses to identify the degrees and strengths of associations between select determinants and real estate values at these politically recognized units. Results suggest that the cities exhibit similar patterns for crime-related characteristics and quality of schools. However, the characteristics such as population density, vacancy rates, and especially the ethnic/racial diversity of these recognized units demonstrate nuanced differences with real estate values across the three cities

Comparison of the efficacy and safety of Glimepiride and Glipizide as add-on therapy with metformin in patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder carrying an enormous burden of morbidity and mortality because of its characteristic complications, many of which are preventable with strict glycaemic control. Initial management of T2DM consists of non-pharmacological interventions; it those fail, an oral anti-diabetic drug, most typically metformin, is started. Combination therapy is initiated only when monotherapy fails to achieve glycaemic control. Glipizide and glimepiride, a second and a third generation sulphonylurea respectively, are the commonest drugs added to metformin when the latter fails to achieve euglycaemia on its own. Aims and Objectives of the study were to compare the efficacy and safety of glimepiride and glipizide as add-on therapy to metformin in patients of uncontrolled T2DM.Methods: This prospective, observational and analytical study was conducted by the Department of Pharmacology among patients attending the Internal Medicine OPD of a tertiary-care hospital. Fifty patients were assigned to two groups of 25 patients each: Group A - Glimepiride + Metformin and Group B - Glipizide + Metformin. Patients were followed up for three months. Data were analysed by Student's t-test.Results: There was a significant decrease in the HbA1c, FBS and 2h-PPBS in both groups. However there was no significant difference between the two groups during the three-month period of follow-up.Conclusions: The combination of glimepiride and metformin is just as effective and safe as the combination of glipizide and metformin in patients not controlled on monotherapy with metformin

Linear and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Graphene Quantum Dots: A Computational Study

Due to the advantage of tunability via size, shape, doping and relatively low level of loss and high extent of spatial confinement, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are emerging as an effective way to control light by molecular engineering. The collective excitation in GQDs shows both high energy plasmon frequency along with frequencies in the terahertz (THz) region making these systems powerful materials for photonic technologies. Here, we report a systematic study of the linear and nonlinear optical properties of large varieties of GQDs (400 systems) in size and topology utilizing the strengths of both semiempirical and first-principles methods. Our detailed study shows how the spectral shift and trends in the optical nonlinearity of GQDs depends on their structure, size and shape. Among the circular, triangular, stripe, and random shaped GQDs, we find that GQDs with inequivalent sublattice atoms always possess lower HOMO-LUMO gap, broadband absorption and high nonlinear optical coefficients. Also, we find that for majority of the GQDs with interesting linear and nonlinear optical properties have zigzag edges, although reverse is not always true. We strongly believe that our findings can act as guidelines to design GQDs in optical parametric oscillators, higher harmonic generators and optical modulators.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures, 4 table

Propofol induced severe neuroexcitatory symptoms during emergency laparotomy

Propofol is a widely used intravenous agent for general anesthesia and sedation. Propofol is associated with a variety of neuroexcitatory events including: opisthotonus, muscle rigidity, myoclonus, and seizures collectively termed as seizure-like phenomenon (SLP). We report a rare case of propofol   induced severe neuroexcitatory symptoms at the time of induction in a young male presenting for emergency laparotomy. He developed generalized tonic- clonic seizures which resulted in dislodgement of intravenous cannula. Immediately a new intravenous cannula was inserted with difficulty during convulsions and injection thiopentone 200 mg bolus was given. Convulsions subsided within a minute. Patient remained hemodynamically stable and surgery was uneventful. He developed emergence agitation which was treated with injection midazolam. Patient recovered with no neurologic sequelae

Monitoring and Assessment of Soil Quality near Kashlog Limestone mine at Darlaghat District Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India

Limestone mining for an area is an economic activity but may lead to degradation of soil quality. Opencast mining operations involved displacement of large amount of overburden/rock mass materials to excavate the limestone for many purposes. In mining areas the soils are affected by various mining operations i.e blasting, drilling and storage of overburden dump materials, clearing of land, construction of ancillary facilities and movement of vehicles.  It is essential to determine the potential of soil in the area and identify the impacts of urbanization, industrialization and mining on soil quality. Present study is carried out to determine the soil characteristics, Impact of mining, industrialization and more importantly from agricultural point of view. Soil samples collected from ten locations were analyzed for physic- chemical characteristics. From the data it is observed that the concentration of total iron in 2 samples were above the permissible limit of 5.77%. Potassium levels were under the category very high whereas the levels of Phosphorus were reported to be in the category of less to medium. Higher potassium content of all the samples may be due to using fertilizers containing potassium. Cacium and magnesium levels are also higher than the prescribed safe limit in few samples. Key Words: Pollution, urbanization, industrialization, mining and fertilizer

SYNTHESIS, FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING AND DNA CLEAVAGE ACTIVITIES OF SOME NOVEL INDOLE DERIVATIVES

Objective: Synthesis of a series of novel indole derivatives (6a-h) by condensation of indolyl chalcones (5a-h) with thiobarbituric acid to evaluate free radical scavenging and DNA cleavage activity.Methods: The newly synthesized compounds were screened for free radical scavenging activity by DPPH method. The DNA cleavage activity of some indole derivatives was studied by agarose gel electrophoresis method. The structures of the synthesized compounds are assigned on the basis of elemental analysis, IR, 1HNMR, 13C NMR and mass spectral data.Results: Among the synthesized compounds the simple indole derivative (6a) has very good scavenging activity, chloro and fluoro substituted indole derivatives (6g), (6h) have shown moderate activities and methyl derivatives (6e), (6f) have shown least activity compare with the standard. All the tested compounds in the series have exhibited promising DNA cleavage activity.Conclusion: A series of novel indole derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for free radical scavenging and DNA cleavage activity. The compound (6g) was found most active among all the synthesized compounds.Â