Spatial Concentration of Opioid Overdose Deaths in Indianapolis: An Application of the Law of Crime Concentration at Place to a Public Health Epidemic

The law of crime concentration at place has become a criminological axiom and the foundation for one of the strongest evidence-based policing strategies to date. Using longitudinal data from three sources, emergency medical service calls, death toxicology reports from the Marion County (Indiana) Coroner’s Office, and police crime data, we provide four unique contributions to this literature. First, this study provides the first spatial concentration estimation of opioid-related deaths. Second, our findings support the spatial concentration of opioid deaths and the feasibility of this approach for public health incidents often outside the purview of traditional policing. Third, we find that opioid overdose death hot spots spatially overlap with areas of concentrated violence. Finally, we apply a recent method, corrected Gini coefficient, to best specify low-N incident concentrations and propose a novel method for improving upon a shortcoming of this approach. Implications for research and interventions are discussed

Feeder Cattle Costs and Returns 1955-1956

Livestock Production/Industries,

ADS-B Communication Interference in Air Traffic Management

Automated Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) provides position and state information about aircraft and is becoming an essential component in the global air traffic management system. ADS-B transponders broadcast this key information on a common frequency to both other aircraft and to secondary surveillance radar systems located at ground stations. Both the aircraft transponders and the ground stations work together to assist in managing the commercial airspace. Since the aircraft transponders all broadcast on the same frequency and are in close proximity there is an apparent risk of interference and the garbling of the communications needed to manage the airspace. The question investigated in this research is whether empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that ADS-B transponders in air traffic space interfere with one another. The analysis shows that message rate per aircraft is negatively correlated with the number of concurrent aircraft in the managed airspace. This provides support for the hypothesis that ADS-B transponders do interfere with each other

Fast Fourier Transform algorithm design and tradeoffs

The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is a mainstay of certain numerical techniques for solving fluid dynamics problems. The Connection Machine CM-2 is the target for an investigation into the design of multidimensional Single Instruction Stream/Multiple Data (SIMD) parallel FFT algorithms for high performance. Critical algorithm design issues are discussed, necessary machine performance measurements are identified and made, and the performance of the developed FFT programs are measured. Fast Fourier Transform programs are compared to the currently best Cray-2 FFT program

Exploring the Efficacy of Kinetic Facades in a Northern Climate [Rochester, NY]

The quality of a building is greatly influenced by the design of its facades. Essentially, it serves as a barrier between an interior area and the outside environment. This implies that the façade serves as a conduit for communication between the activities going] on within and outside the building. Façade design has an impact on the appearance of a structure, and consequently on the perception of its users. The adoption of Kinetic façades may dramatically reduce energy consumption in buildings, which accounts for around one-third of total energy consumption worldwide. This thesis will investigate a computational technique to improve building energy efficiency based on the design of kinetics on a building façade that can alter its thermal and visible transmittance for dynamically shifting climatic conditions. The kinetic façade design approach is powered by an automated optimization approach that combines building energy modeling software with an optimization strategy using a parametric design program. This thesis will examine case studies of buildings with kinetic facades that are controlled by automated control systems and the impact that this has on the building\u27s performance and attain the plausibility of this system working in Rochester. The conclusion of the thesis will attempt to illustrate whether these façade systems and techniques may be applied to the buildings in Rochester to improve daylighting and increase building performance by regulating solar gain. Finally, the study aims at incorporating dynamic facades into buildings as an environmental management system in order to create a sustainable design and achieve excellent energy efficiency in buildings

A Guide in Working With Elementary-Aged Navajo Children of Alcoholic Parents

Programs which provide intervention services for children of alcoholics are very new and in their developing stages nationwide. Despite this, the need for such programs exists, particularly on the Navajo Reservation. All available literature was reviewed that relates to the state-of-the-art in programming for intervention with children of alcoholic parents. Programs in use with children are described and the rationale for adapting such programs for use with Navajo children is discussed. A Navajo intervention pilot program for children of alcoholics is outlined