Learning from the Past, Looking to the Future: Modeling Social Unrest in Karachi, Pakistan

Social unrest represents a major challenge for policy makers around the globe, as it can quickly escalate from small scale disturbances to highly public protests, riots and even civil war. This research was motivated by a need to understand social instability and to unpack the comments made during a spring 2013 conference hosted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Center for Global Security and the U.S. Institute for Peace, where policymakers noted that models considering social instability are often not suitable for decision-making. This analysis shows that existing state level models of instability could be improved in spatial scale to the city level, even without significantly improved data access. Better data would make this analysis more complete and likely improve the quality of the model. Another challenge with incorporating modeling into decision-making is the need to understand uncertainty in a model. Policy makers are frequently tasked with making decisions without a clear outcome, so characterization of uncertainty is critical. This report describes the work and findings of the project. It took place in three phases: a literature review of social stability research, a “hindsight scan” that looked at historical data, and a “foresight scan” looking at future scenarios

Dragonfly (Odonata: Corduliidae, Macromiidae, Gomphidae, Aeshnidae) and Damselfly (Odonata: Calopterygidae) Exuviae Observed at Record Heights in Pinus strobus and Picea abies Canopies

Most odonate species do not typically climb higher than 50 cm when choosing an emergence support. We observed multiple species of odonate nymphs using trees as emergence supports at heights greater than 50 cm and up to 4, 6.9, and 14.6 m for Calopteryx maculata (Ebony Jewelwing), Somatochlora minor (Ocellated Emerald), and Didymops transversa (Stream Cruiser), respectively. These heights represent the greatest heights ever documented for odonate nymphs emergence supports. Our research suggests that some species (S. minor; D. transversa) appear to have a greater affinity for climbing to great heights during emergence than others (Dromogomphus spinosus (Black-Shouldered Spinyleg); Basiaeschna janata (Springtime Darner); Macromia illinoiensis (Swift River Cruiser)). Odonate nymphs appeared to have a strong preference for emergence sites at the underside or base of branches. Researchers have hypothesized that competition for emergence sites drives climbing to such great heights. We propose three alternative hypotheses that could potentially explain these unique behaviors

Closed-Loop Manufacturing System Using Radar

A closed-loop manufacturing system is designed to use small, low-cost radar to observe a manufacturing process and measure characteristics of a build product. The build data measured by the radar includes geometry, reflection characteristics, material density, and high resolution maps. A controller processes the build data to detect errors. Example errors include mistakes in geometry, delamination, curling, shrinkage, lack of material uniformity, air bubbles, inclusions, and contaminations in the build product. Based on the detected errors, the controller determines build corrections and reports the build corrections to the manufacturing process. Using radar, the closed-loop manufacturing system automatically detects and corrects errors, saving time and resources in additive and subtractive manufacturing

Embedding Radars in Robots for Safety and Obstacle Detection

A safety system is designed to use small, low-cost radars embedded in joints and end effectors of a robot to monitor an environment for potential safety hazards. In this way, the radars directly detect obstacles with respect to the moving parts of the robot. A safety controller analyzes the obstacle data provided by the radars and determines an appropriate operating state of the robot based on predefined safety requirements

Embedding Radars in Robots to Accurately Measure Motion

A motion correction system is designed to use small, low-cost radars embedded in joints and end effectors of a robot to measure motion of the robot. In this way, the radars directly measure the robot’s motion and relative position and velocity with respect to a target. A motion correction controller analyzes the motion data provided by the radars and determines an amount of motion correction required to accurately position the robot

Prospectus, November 8, 2006

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2006/1027/thumbnail.jp

Prospectus, December 6, 2006

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2006/1029/thumbnail.jp

Genome-wide screening for DNA variants associated with reading and language traits

This research was funded by: Max Planck Society, the University of St Andrews - Grant Number: 018696, US National Institutes of Health - Grant Number: P50 HD027802, Wellcome Trust - Grant Number: 090532/Z/09/Z, and Medical Research Council Hub Grant Grant Number: G0900747 91070Reading and language abilities are heritable traits that are likely to share some genetic influences with each other. To identify pleiotropic genetic variants affecting these traits, we first performed a genome‐wide association scan (GWAS) meta‐analysis using three richly characterized datasets comprising individuals with histories of reading or language problems, and their siblings. GWAS was performed in a total of 1862 participants using the first principal component computed from several quantitative measures of reading‐ and language‐related abilities, both before and after adjustment for performance IQ. We identified novel suggestive associations at the SNPs rs59197085 and rs5995177 (uncorrected P ≈ 10–7 for each SNP), located respectively at the CCDC136/FLNC and RBFOX2 genes. Each of these SNPs then showed evidence for effects across multiple reading and language traits in univariate association testing against the individual traits. FLNC encodes a structural protein involved in cytoskeleton remodelling, while RBFOX2 is an important regulator of alternative splicing in neurons. The CCDC136/FLNC locus showed association with a comparable reading/language measure in an independent sample of 6434 participants from the general population, although involving distinct alleles of the associated SNP. Our datasets will form an important part of on‐going international efforts to identify genes contributing to reading and language skills.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Inference of evolutionary jumps in large phylogenies using Lévy processes

Although it is now widely accepted that the rate of phenotypic evolution may not necessarily be constant across large phylogenies, the frequency and phylogenetic position of periods of rapid evolution remain unclear. In his highly influential view of evolution, G. G. Simpson supposed that such evolutionary jumps occur when organisms transition into so-called new adaptive zones, for instance after dispersal into a new geographic area, after rapid climatic changes, or following the appearance of an evolutionary novelty. Only recently, large, accurate and well calibrated phylogenies have become available that allow testing this hypothesis directly, yet inferring evolutionary jumps remains computationally very challenging. Here, we develop a computationally highly efficient algorithm to accurately infer the rate and strength of evolutionary jumps as well as their phylogenetic location. Following previous work we model evolutionary jumps as a compound process, but introduce a novel approach to sample jump configurations that does not require matrix inversions and thus naturally scales to large trees. We then make use of this development to infer evolutionary jumps in Anolis lizards and Loriinii parrots where we find strong signal for such jumps at the basis of clades that transitioned into new adaptive zones, just as postulated by Simpson’s hypothesis

Considering Causes for Hypoactive Delirium

Delirium is defined as a mental disorder characterized by an abnormal state of cognition and awareness. Delirium is associated with an annual cost of $350 billion between the United States and Europe. Approximately 80% of delirium cases are either not identified or misdiagnosed. Older adults have the highest incidence due to the consequences of aging. Hypoactive delirium or “quite delirium” is the most common delirium subtype experienced by older adults. Hypoactive delirium, is difficult to recognize and has worse outcomes than other subtypes. If detected, symptoms of hypoactive delirium are frequently dismissed as depression or dementia. Therefore, nurses need heightened vigilance in assessment and identification of hypoactive delirium. This article seeks to assist nurses in identifying hypoactive delirium by outlining factors that increase an individual’s potential for developing hypoactive delirium