State Progress Toward Health Reform Implementation

Provides updated state-level estimates of the effects of the 2010 healthcare reform act on coverage and costs, including correlations between a state's progress in establishing insurance exchanges and expected benefits in coverage and federal subsidies

How Does Income Inequality Affect the Growth of U.S. Counties?

This paper aims to conduct a precise test of the political economy hypothesis linking income inequality and economic growth. By choosing covariates from a detailed county-level dataset and assuming that U.S. counties experience perfect capital mobility, I shut off the four possible channels linking inequality and growth other than political economy. This is a first in an empirical literature that has reported conflicting findings with observations of states and countries. I also present thematic maps to illustrate the cross-county variation in key growth determinants that is masked by state-level studies. My econometric tests find a negative association between the initial skewness of a county\u27s income distribution and subsequent growth, as predicted by guiding theory: A one-unit increase in mean-to-median income ratio decreases growth from 1977 to 2000 by at least 5.6% and as much as 24.1%, depending on model specification. I also find evidence of county-level convergence

Does Perceiving a Shorter Life Expectancy Make You More Likely to Commit a Crime?

This paper develops an econometric model of crime using cross-sectional data for 2,728 U.S. counties in the year 2000. From the debate over the role of rationality in decisions based on heavy future discounting, I present a theoretical calculation for all costs faced by an individual deciding whether to commit a crime. This definition allows me to suggest a new variable for the economic study of crime, absent from the expansive body of literature available: the number of years an individual is expected to live. I find strong evidence that a higher perceived life expectancy has a negative impact on violent and property crime rates that carries both statistical and economic significance. Facing possible specification and omitted variable biases, I subject my results to robustness checks that provide encouraging results and a foundation for further research into the economic underpinnings of criminal behaviors

Numerical study of active flow control using synthetic jets

Active Flow Control (AFC) using synthetic jets (SJ\u27s) is numerically simulated for several simple aerodynamic shapes at high Reynolds numbers using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) computer program, CFL3D. AFC is the manipulation of a flow field around a given body in a fluid. AFC is used to improve the resulting flow characteristics bodies produce in regimes of flow separation which result from large pressure gradients. In the AFC device (SJ\u27s) used in this study fluid is periodically displaced from a cavity with an orifice. A SJ relies on the entertainment of the local ambient fluid mass external to the device. Therefore, with the use of SJ\u27s a significant decrease in complexity and weight is possible as compared to other more traditional AFC devices involving mass transfer. The objective of this study is to illustrate how AFC in the form of SJ\u27s can be utilized to enhance the aerodynamic performance of simple aerodynamic shapes such as a circular cylinder, airfoil, and three-dimensional wing in flow conditions which result in boundary layer separation. A flat plate with zero pressure gradient is also analyzed in order to determine the effect of SJ\u27s in the absence of boundary layer separation. In order to provide a fundamental understanding of the enhanced aerodynamic performance an additional investigation of classical boundary layer parameters is performed. Computational results are then presented for the bodies of interest with no AFC and validated with experimental results where available. Secondly, results for the numerical investigations with AFC are presented. The results of this study demonstrate that SJ\u27s enhance the aerodynamic characteristics of the configurations and provide more favorable conditions in those regimes of the flow that are normally highly separated. The present study also revealed that a three-dimensional flow is quite similar in character to two-dimensional flows in the presence of SJ\u27s. Overall, this study illustrates SJ\u27s are effective in boundary layer control, and can be used to improve the aerodynamics of aerospace vehicles

Co-option of a coordinate system defined by the EGFr and Dpp pathways in the evolution of a morphological novelty

Morphological innovation is an elusive and fascinating concept in evolutionary biology. A novel structure may open up an array of possibilities for adaptation, and thus is fundamental to the evolution of complex multicellular life. We use the respiratory appendages on the dorsal-anterior side of the Drosophila eggshell as a model system for morphological novelty. To study the co-option of genetic pathways in the evolution of this novelty we have compared oogenesis and eggshell patterning in Drosophila melanogaster with Ceratitis capitata, a dipteran whose eggs do not bear dorsal appendages.FCT fellowship: (SFRH/BD/33216/2007), Collaborative Research Centre 680 ‘Molecular Basis of Evolutionary Innovations (DFG grant), Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência

Chemical Chaperones Improve Protein Secretion and Rescue Mutant Factor VIII in Mice with Hemophilia A.

nefficient intracellular protein trafficking is a critical issue in the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases and in recombinant protein production. Here we investigated the trafficking of factor VIII (FVIII), which is affected in the coagulation disorder hemophilia A. We hypothesized that chemical chaperones may be useful to enhance folding and processing of FVIII in recombinant protein production, and as a therapeutic approach in patients with impaired FVIII secretion. A tagged B-domain-deleted version of human FVIII was expressed in cultured Chinese Hamster Ovary cells to mimic the industrial production of this important protein. Of several chemical chaperones tested, the addition of betaine resulted in increased secretion of FVIII, by increasing solubility of intracellular FVIII aggregates and improving transport from endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi. Similar results were obtained in experiments monitoring recombinant full-length FVIII. Oral betaine administration also increased FVIII and factor IX (FIX) plasma levels in FVIII or FIX knockout mice following gene transfer. Moreover, in vitro and in vivo applications of betaine were also able to rescue a trafficking-defective FVIII mutant (FVIIIQ305P). We conclude that chemical chaperones such as betaine might represent a useful treatment concept for hemophilia and other diseases caused by deficient intracellular protein trafficking

Distinct functions of the Drosophila Nup153 and Nup214 FG domains in nuclear protein transport

The phenylanine-glycine (FG)–rich regions of several nucleoporins both bind to nuclear transport receptors and collectively provide a diffusion barrier to the nuclear pores. However, the in vivo roles of FG nucleoporins in transport remain unclear. We have inactivated 30 putative nucleoporins in cultured Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells by RNA interference and analyzed the phenotypes on importin α/β−mediated import and CRM1-dependent protein export. The fly homologues of FG nucleoporins Nup358, Nup153, and Nup54 are selectively required for import. The FG repeats of Nup153 are necessary for its function in transport, whereas the remainder of the protein maintains pore integrity. Inactivation of the CRM1 cofactor RanBP3 decreased the nuclear accumulation of CRM1 and protein export. We report a surprisingly antagonistic relationship between RanBP3 and the Nup214 FG region in determining CRM1 localization and its function in protein export. Our data suggest that peripheral metazoan FG nucleoporins have distinct functions in nuclear protein transport events

Results of the 2016 Indianapolis Biodiversity Survey, Marion County, Indiana

Surprising biodiversity can be found in cities, but urban habitats are understudied. We report on a bioblitz conducted primarily within a 24-hr period on September 16 and 17, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. The event focused on stretches of three waterways and their associated riparian habitat: Fall Creek (20.6 ha; 51 acres), Pleasant Run (23.5 ha; 58 acres), and Pogue’s Run (27.1 ha; 67 acres). Over 75 scientists, naturalists, students, and citizen volunteers comprised 14 different taxonomic teams. Five hundred ninety taxa were documented despite the rainy conditions. A brief summary of the methods and findings are presented here. Detailed maps of survey locations and inventory results are available on the Indiana Academy of Science website (https://www.indianaacademyofscience.org/)

Georgia Aquarium Design Space Analysis and Optimization

AbstractThe Ocean Voyager exhibit residing at the Georgia Aquarium Inc. (GAI) is one of the largest reef gallon aquariums in the world, with a capacity greater than 6.2M gallons. Reef aquariums are closed systems and must compensate by ‘turning over’ their complete volume of water many times a day through biological, chemical, and mechanical filtration. Due to the Georgia Aquarium being a non-profit organization, GAI sought to investigate ways to maximize efficiency and lower operating costs. This paper will focus on using low-cost software solutions to perform trade space analyses and optimization directed towards the Ocean Voyager exhibit and related GA Aquarium life support and energy systems.The software solution herein demonstrates a top-down System of Systems (SoS) to subsystem modeling approach that provides decision makers with interdisciplinary dashboard-level tools to visualize system design. The goal of the analysis is to provide executive level decision-making support for designing or enhancing existing complex systems and SoS. The analysis was performed as a capstone project by Georgia Tech graduate students progressing from cradle to finish in just 9 weeks to show the benefits of systems engineering to Georgia Aquarium staff. Integrating software SE tools into a single, aggregate model enables project engineers and decision makers to direct design directions with confidence