Evidence of a Modest Price Decline in U.S. Broadband Services

In this paper, we construct a price index for broadband services in the United States between 2004 and 2009. We analyze over 1500 service contracts offered by DSL and cable providers in the United States. We employ a mix of matched-model methods and hedonic price index estimations to adjust for qualitative improvements. In general, we find some evidence of a quality-adjusted price decline, but the evidence points towards a modest decline at most. Our estimates of the price decline range from 3% to 10% in quality-adjusted terms for the five-year period, which is faster than the BLS estimates for the last three years. These modest price declines look nothing like other parts of electronics, such as computers or integrated circuits, which raises many questions. The results also inform a range of policy discussions about US broadband services.

Beyond Transhumanism: The Dangers of Transhumanist Philosophies on Human and Nonhuman Beings

Each chapter that follows centers on literature showing the possible effects of Transhumanist philosophies if they are implemented. I focus on contemporary fiction that portrays Transhumanists — humans who believe in Transhumanism — as well as post-/transhumans characters. Limiting the scope of my thesis to contemporary literary works, I aim to explore the potential of new (specifically genetic) technologies, and consider the power of speculative fiction as it impinges both who we are and who or who we might become. In Chapter 1, I analyze the ambiguities of language in the Transhuman Declaration (2009), a manifesto written by a group of Transhumanists called Humanity Plus (H+). In this chapter, I show how the language used invites radical, dangerous, and totalitarian ideologies to sprout in Transhumanism, and in turn examine Zoltan Istvan’s philosophical novel The Transhumanist Wager (2011), which shows a radical Transhumanist building a One World Order to “perfect” the human species. The Transhumanist Declaration is the only nonfiction text I analyze in this thesis, and I chose it because it was one of the first, and is certainly the most popular, statement from a collective of Transhumanist thinkers. It changed the movement from a purely academic one to a political one. In Chapter 2, I show Transhumanity’s effects on post-/transhuman beings created by the members of the movement, by I analyzing Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake (2003) and Paulo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl (2009) in order to show that Transhumanism may create marvels, but it will also create slaves. This chapter inspects the lives of Atwood’s genetically-manipulated Crakers and Bacigalupi’s Emiko, an engineered transhuman sex slave, and examines how post-/transhuman beings are deprived of agency in an anthropocentric world. This chapter also focuses on the issue of the human as an ascendant being and how that view shapes the world we inhabit and will necessarily affect post-/transhuman beings physically and emotionally. In Chapter 3, I look at texts that grant Transhumanism’s ultimate wish — immortality — and analyze how immorality, or the lack of death, affects human society through David Mitchell’s The Bone Clocks (2014) and Jose Saramago’s Death With Interruptions (2008). These novels argue that immortality is not the answer to humanity’s deeply instantiated problems, and the absence of death will actually create more divisions in society, ultimately leading to violent conflict

The Effect of Manipulation of the Phosphoinositide 3-kinase Pathway on Axon Regeneration in vivo

Millions worldwide are visually impaired by optic nerve diseases, and glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness, is due to affect approximately 80 million people by 2020. The optic nerve is comprised of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons, and like all mammalian central nervous system axons, they fail to regenerate due to a combination of extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Current treatments have limited success preventing disease progression, and this failed regeneration presents a major barrier to restoring vision. Previous research has demonstrated that manipulation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway by transgenic knockout of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) promotes survival and regeneration of murine RGC axons in an optic nerve crush (ONC) model. However, translation issues are yet to be addressed. PI3K converts phosphatidylinositol (3,4)-bis-phosphate (PIP2) lipids to phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-tris-phosphate (PIP3). PTEN acts as a pathway regulator, converting PIP3 back into PIP2. PIP3 is a second messenger molecule for several pathways, including the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, which has been demonstrated to promote axon regeneration in RGCs, the spinal cord, and cortical neurons. The PI3K pathway is activated by growth factors, integrins and cytokine receptors. Integrins have also been shown to promote axon regeneration via the focal adhesion kinase pathway. This thesis aimed to determine the effects on axon regeneration of manipulating the PI3K pathway in various ways. A transgenic approach was adopted to conditionally express the hyperactive p110$\alpha$ and p110$\delta$ PI3K isoforms using viral Cre recombination. Both survival and axon regeneration were significantly increased 4 weeks post-ONC injury in young and aged mice. No significant difference between the two isoforms was observed, except that p110$\alpha$ promoted RGC survival in aged mice whereas p110$\delta$ had no significant effect. This was developed further using viral vectors to upregulate PI3K and to knockdown PTEN for a more translational approach: AAV2.shPTEN.GFP and AAV2.PI3K(p110$\delta$). PTEN knockdown promoted both RGC survival and axon regeneration, while PI3K upregulation promoted axon regeneration. No significant difference in axon regeneration was seen between the two strategies. Where regeneration was seen, activation of the mTOR pathway was demonstrated. It is becoming increasingly clear that strategies need to be combined to achieve long-distance, robust regeneration. In this thesis, PI3K upregulation was combined with PTEN knockdown and then with integrin activation using AAV2.Integrin.V5 and AAV2.Kindlin.GFP viruses. While PI3K upregulation and PTEN knockdown promoted RGC survival and axon regeneration compared to control, this was not significantly more than PI3K upregulation alone. The experiments involving integrin activation were unsuccessful and the viruses need to be investigated further. While the field has achieved small numbers of regenerating axons up to the optic chiasm, key challenges for future work are reaching central targets in the brain and assessing axon regeneration in an aged model to better reflect the clinical setting, where neurodegenerative diseases predominately affect the aging population. In summary, the work in this thesis investigated the pro-regenerative effects of potential gene therapy targets, advancing our knowledge for developing future clinical strategies.I am grateful for the funding I received to complete this PhD. My MRC and Sackler PhD scholarship was funded by the UK Medical Research Council and the Sackler fund. In addition, the work in this thesis was also funded by several grants written by Dr Amanda Barber and Prof Keith R Martin: Wellcome Trust, Fight for Sight (The Eye Research Charity), Cambridge Eye Trust, International Glaucoma Association, and the National Eye Research Centre

Effects of Wi-Fi-Enabled Smart Irrigation Controllers on Water Use and Plant Health of Residential Landscapes in the Intermountain West

Residential and commercial landscapes provide home and business owners with several benefits. These benefits range from improved air quality and flood control to the reduction of noise and breakdown of organic chemicals. However, these landscapes are routinely overwatered which can lead to plant disease, nutrient pollution, and large amounts of water being wasted. Utah State University, in conjunction with the Center for Water Efficient Landscaping (CWEL), the Utah Division of Natural Resources and Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, conducted an experiment to determine if Wi-Fi-enabled smart irrigation controllers conserve water as compared to average residential irrigation amounts and manually programmed controllers. A two-year study was completed at the Utah State University Greenville Research Farm in Logan, Utah. The three different Wi-Fi-enabled controllers tested were selected because of their inclusion in a state-wide rebate program to incentivize residents to save water. Average residential irrigation amounts were determined based on thousands of water audits performed by the USU Extension Water Check Program. The manually programmed irrigation controller was selected based on local availability and distributor recommendations. When compared to the average residential irrigation amounts in the state of Utah, Wi-Fi-enabled irrigation controllers applied significantly less water. When compared to the manually programmed irrigation controllers (programmed according to USU Extension recommendations), the highest performing Wi-Fi-enabled irrigation controller applied similar amounts of water

Navigating a Calculus Course During a Pandemic: A USMA Perspective

In this article we analyze publications written about different teaching modalities and evaluate how each applies to a calculus class during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. We focus on the positives and negatives of teaching and learning in a virtual, classroom, or HyFlex environment. Although arguments could be made for each environment, especially given different institutional objectives, this work aims to explain why we eventually preferred teaching our Fall 2020 multivariable calculus course in a face-to-face classroom setting at the United States Military Academy at West Point. We also offer measures of performance to compare the current COVID-19 semester with previous semesters. The results support two major conclusions drawn from our decision to teach in-person under in a time constrained environment: learning modality matters in mathematics and this pandemic will influence student-teacher interaction for semesters to come

Preliminary design studies of an advanced general aviation aircraft

The preliminary design results are presented of the advanced aircraft design project. The goal was to take a revolutionary look into the design of a general aviation aircraft. Phase 1 of the project included the preliminary design of two configurations, a pusher, and a tractor. Phase 2 included the selection of only one configuration for further study. The pusher configuration was selected on the basis of performance characteristics, cabin noise, natural laminar flow, and system layouts. The design was then iterated to achieve higher levels of performance

Integration of hatha yoga and evidence-based psychological treatments for common mental disorders : An evidence map

Background Interest in the use of yoga to enhance engagement with and augment the benefits of psychological treatment has grown. However, a systematic approach to reviewing existing research examining the use of yoga with psychological treatment is lacking. Materials and Methods This mapping review identified and synthesised research trialling yoga as an integrated or adjunct therapy with evidence-based psychological interventions for the treatment of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and eating disorders. Results Overall, the review identified ten published and three unpublished studies, representing either single group or small quasi-experimental research designs. Discussion Limited but promising findings were shown for yoga with CBT for anxiety and depression, and the integration of yoga within intensive treatment models for PTSD. Conclusions Future research is encouraged to focus on controlled trials that enable examination of the component effect of yoga when applied with evidence-based psychological treatment and acceptability and feasibility data to further knowledge regarding a role for yoga in clinical practice

Examining Stroke Volume Changes During Exercise in Healthy Young Adults

Cardiac output is determined by the combination of heart rate and stroke volume. While heart rate is primarily influenced by cardiac autonomic input, stroke volume\u27s behavior is more intricate due to the interplay between myocardial response to stretch (Frank-Starling law) and adrenergic changes in contractility. No consensus exist on its behavior during exercise despite extensive data. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess how normalized stroke volume scores (SV) change in young, healthy adult males during a graded exercise test to exhaustion (GXT). METHODS: Participants (n=20; age=22.9±2.4; BMI=23.7±2.4) were instructed to abstain from engaging in vigorous exercise for a period of 24 hours before the study, ensure they were adequately hydrated, and maintain a fasting state. Participants completed a graded exercise test to exhaustion in the morning on an electromagnetically braked cycle ergometer. SV was recorded using trans-thoracic bioimpedance device and results were averaged and normalized into five epochs. To determine the effect of GXT epochs on SV score, SV was normalized to percentage of within- subject maximum SV, and mean SV was quantified across 10 equally spaced epochs (10% of trial duration each). A mixed model was used to compare epochs. Assumptions of residual normality and homoscedasticity were visually verified using q-q plots and model predicted scores vs. residuals plots, respectively. SV score was modeled using participant as a random effect, and GXT epochs as fixed effects. Follow-up pairwise comparisons utilized Holm sequential corrections. Alpha was set at 0.05. RESULTS: There were no significant differences (p\u3e.05) between epochs 1 (85.2%±5.7) and 2 (86.6%±5.4), epochs 2 and 3 (88.8%±4.1), or among epochs 3 through 10 (91.4%±3.5). There were significant differences (p\u3c0.01) between epochs 1 and 3-10. There were significant differences between epochs 2 and 4-10. CONCLUSION: SV exhibited a general increase throught the first 30% of test duration. However, beyond this point, there was no statistically significant increase in stroke volume, indicating a relatively stable pattern after the first 30% of the test. These results in agreement with previous data that have reported a plateau in stroke volume during progressive exercise to exhaustion