The American Nightmare: The Ford Edsel Flop and Sputnik Terror

During the late 1950s, it seemed everyone was pelting Ford Motor Company’s ill-fated Edsel. What was supposed to be the car of the future and an emblem of American prestige had turned into a symbol of America’s sharp decline. Two years earlier, Ford promised consumers riding on the waves of economic good times that they would no longer have to settle for their old entry-level Ford’s. Instead of allowing middle-class Ford customers to defect to General Motor’s flashy medium-price brands that showed personality and prestige, in 1957 Ford launched the Edsel as the perfect car for these “professional...famil[ies].” Yet soon after the Edsel launched, the Soviet Union’s Sputnik satellite made the good times come to a grinding halt. The triumphant America that Ford designed the Edsel for ceased to exist once the Soviets seemingly conquered outer space, and the failed Edsel only fueled America’s fears that they were slipping behind the Russians. Ultimately Ford tried selling excess, American technological prowess, and the American Dream when the Edsel and Sputnik were proof that all three were in jeopardy

Even Better than the Real Thing

In an era where the youth were obsessed with an appearance of success and being hip, when Coke finally altered its New Coke brand identity to appeal to the youth, they still could not make the youth accept New Coke. In the end when Coke had the chance to market to the trendy Generation X in 1985, they focused on taste instead of adapting the brand to fit youth trends. When they finally changed the strategy to appeal to the youth, it was far too late. The “smart shoppers” of the 1980s had already identified New Coke as a failure and moved on

Machine Learning Model Selection for Predicting Global Bathymetry

This work is concerned with the viability of Machine Learning (ML) in training models for predicting global bathymetry, and whether there is a best fit model for predicting that bathymetry. The desired result is an investigation of the ability for ML to be used in future prediction models and to experiment with multiple trained models to determine an optimum selection. Ocean features were aggregated from a set of external studies and placed into two minute spatial grids representing the earth\u27s oceans. A set of regression models, classification models, and a novel classification model were then fit to this data and analyzed. The novel classification model is optimized by selecting the best performing model in a geospatial area. This optimization increases prediction accuracy for test purposes by approximately 3%. These models were trained using bathymetry data from the ETOPO2v2 dataset. Analysis and validation for each model also used bathymetry from the ETOPO dataset, and subsequent metrics were produced and reported. Results demonstrate that ocean features can potentially be used to build a prediction model for bathymetry with the inclusion of accurate data and intelligent model selection. Based on the results in this work, evidence supports that no single model will best predict all Global bathymetry

Selective incorporation of proteinaceous over nonproteinaceous cationic amino acids in model prebiotic oligomerization reactions.

Numerous long-standing questions in origins-of-life research center on the history of biopolymers. For example, how and why did nature select the polypeptide backbone and proteinaceous side chains? Depsipeptides, containing both ester and amide linkages, have been proposed as ancestors of polypeptides. In this paper, we investigate cationic depsipeptides that form under mild dry-down reactions. We compare the oligomerization of various cationic amino acids, including the cationic proteinaceous amino acids (lysine, Lys; arginine, Arg; and histidine, His), along with nonproteinaceous analogs of Lys harboring fewer methylene groups in their side chains. These analogs, which have been discussed as potential prebiotic alternatives to Lys, are ornithine, 2,4-diaminobutyric acid, and 2,3-diaminopropionic acid (Orn, Dab, and Dpr). We observe that the proteinaceous amino acids condense more extensively than these nonproteinaceous amino acids. Orn and Dab readily cyclize into lactams, while Dab and Dpr condense less efficiently. Furthermore, the proteinaceous amino acids exhibit more selective oligomerization through their α-amines relative to their side-chain groups. This selectivity results in predominantly linear depsipeptides in which the amino acids are α-amine-linked, analogous to today's proteins. These results suggest a chemical basis for the selection of Lys, Arg, and His over other cationic amino acids for incorporation into proto-proteins on the early Earth. Given that electrostatics are key elements of protein-RNA and protein-DNA interactions in extant life, we hypothesize that cationic side chains incorporated into proto-peptides, as reported in this study, served in a variety of functions with ancestral nucleic acid polymers in the early stages of life

Effects of diabetes family history and exercise training on the expression of adiponectin and leptin and their receptors

The daughters of patients with diabetes have reduced insulin sensitivity index (ISI) scores compared with women with no family history of diabetes, but their ISI increase more in response to exercise training(1). The present study aimed to determine whether differences between these groups in exercise-induced changes in circulating adiponectin and leptin concentrations and expression of their genes and receptors in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), could explain differences in the exercise-induced changes in ISI between women with and without a family history of diabetes

Acute Effects of Ballistic and Non-ballistic Bench Press on Plyometric Push-up Performance

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a ballistic or non-ballistic concentric-only bench press (COBP) on subsequent plyometric push-up performance. Fourteen resistance trained men completed two separate one-repetition-maximum (1RM) testing sessions followed by three randomized experimental explosive push-up sessions. These sessions combined a heavy concentric bench press with plyometric push-ups. Using a series of 3 × 10 (condition × time) repeated measures ANOVA, comparisons were made between the effects of ballistic and non-ballistic bench presses on performance of plyometric push-ups to investigate push-up performance variables. Compared with the control condition, both ballistic and non-ballistic bench presses produced lower net impulse and take-off velocity data. No differences were found between ballistic and non-ballistic conditions comparing net impulse and take-off velocity. We conclude that the magnitude of loading used in the current investigation may have caused acute fatigue which led to lower push-up performance characteristics. This information can be used to alter loading protocols when designing complexes for the upper body, combining the bench press and plyometric push-ups

Whose Business is Your Pancreas?: Potential Privacy Problems in New York City\u27s Mandatory Diabetes Registry (with N. Gingo et al.)

New York City authorities in 2006 formulated a policy requiring that medical data from all diabetics in the City be stored in a centralized registry. This diabetic registry is the first in the nation to require collection of personal testing data for the purpose of monitoring treatments for a noninfectious disease. The registry represents an important step on the path toward better understanding and managing of the disease. Nonetheless, establishment of the registry threatens privacy in a number of ways. Many individuals are open about their diabetes, but others prefer to keep that information to themselves, whether because of concerns for discrimination in the workplace or for ramifications in custody disputes. Although New York City’s regulation includes a confidentiality provision, privately identifiable information may be divulged through the notification process set up by the City, under which both physicians and patients are notified when their hemoglobin tests are dangerously high; through subpoenas in criminal and family court actions, and through use of the information by public health researchers to conduct epidemiological research. Regulators have already indicated that, despite the confidentiality provision, they intend to use the registry to conduct public health research that can only be attained by combining registry information with other statistics about the individuals covered. Moreover, there is no confidentiality provision at all for physicians, and operation of the registry may intrude upon the sanctity of the physician/patient relationship by providing physicians with troubling incentives either to circumvent the reporting requirements or to ensure that their patients appear healthier than they are. After considering the ways in which implementation of the registry potentially compromises privacy, the article concludes with a list of specific recommendations for both the NYC and future registries targeted at noninfectious diseases. In short, we recommend making the confidentiality provision more explicit, limiting secondary uses of the information obtained, protecting diabetics from adverse insurance consequences due to operation of the registry, and protecting the privacy of physicians

Whose Business is Your Pancreas?: Potential Privacy Problems in New York City\u27s Mandatory Diabetes Registry (with N. Gingo et al.)

New York City authorities in 2006 formulated a policy requiring that medical data from all diabetics in the City be stored in a centralized registry. This diabetic registry is the first in the nation to require collection of personal testing data for the purpose of monitoring treatments for a noninfectious disease. The registry represents an important step on the path toward better understanding and managing of the disease. Nonetheless, establishment of the registry threatens privacy in a number of ways. Many individuals are open about their diabetes, but others prefer to keep that information to themselves, whether because of concerns for discrimination in the workplace or for ramifications in custody disputes. Although New York City’s regulation includes a confidentiality provision, privately identifiable information may be divulged through the notification process set up by the City, under which both physicians and patients are notified when their hemoglobin tests are dangerously high; through subpoenas in criminal and family court actions, and through use of the information by public health researchers to conduct epidemiological research. Regulators have already indicated that, despite the confidentiality provision, they intend to use the registry to conduct public health research that can only be attained by combining registry information with other statistics about the individuals covered. Moreover, there is no confidentiality provision at all for physicians, and operation of the registry may intrude upon the sanctity of the physician/patient relationship by providing physicians with troubling incentives either to circumvent the reporting requirements or to ensure that their patients appear healthier than they are. After considering the ways in which implementation of the registry potentially compromises privacy, the article concludes with a list of specific recommendations for both the NYC and future registries targeted at noninfectious diseases. In short, we recommend making the confidentiality provision more explicit, limiting secondary uses of the information obtained, protecting diabetics from adverse insurance consequences due to operation of the registry, and protecting the privacy of physicians

A randomised controlled trial of 1- versus 2-day per week formats of Nordic hamstring training on explosive athletic tasks in prepubertal soccer players

Purpose: This randomised controlled trial examined the effect of volume-equated programmes of Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) training, executed at frequencies of 1- or 2-days per week, on explosive athletic tasks (30 m sprint, 15 m manoeuvrability and standing long jump [SLJ]) in male youth soccer players (mean age: 10.3 ± 0.5 years). Materials and methods: Players were divided into an experimental group (n=31) which was further subdivided into 1-day (n=16) and 2-days (n=15) per week training conditions, and a control group (n=14). Results: There were significant group-by-time interactions for 30-m sprint (p<0.001, d=0.6), SLJ (p=0.001, d=1.27) and 15 m manoeuvrability (p<0.001, d=0.61). The experimental group demonstrated small to moderate effect sizes in 30-m sprint (d=0.42, p=0.077), SLJ (d=0.97, p<0.001) and 15 m manoeuvrability (d=0.61, p<0.001). The control group showed small significant performance decrements or no change in these variables. There were no significant differences between the 1-day and 2-day training groups. In two of the three tests (30 m sprint, SLJ) the 2-day group demonstrated larger effect sizes. Conclusion: The NHE enhances explosive athletic task performance in prepubertal youth soccer players and there may be only small advantages to spreading training over two days instead of one