The Role Of Contested And Uncontested Passes In Evaluating Defensive Basketball Efficiency

The global economic impact of basketball is measured in tens of billions of dollars and requires the efficient use of resources to maximize success on and off the court. Today, coaches, players, investors, and owners need to take full advantage of modern analytical methods and digital video software capabilities to make the most efficient use of a teams resources. This research is the first in a series that makes full use of modern analytic methods and begins to define new defensive and offensive criteria to supplement the decades old game box score performance information. Data envelopment analysis and statistical methods are used to evaluate two new defensive performance metrics on defensive efficiency. The two new defensive metrics are contested and uncontested passes that are fully defined in the articles appendix. Future research will expand the sample size and allow for more comprehensive models of basketball team defensive efficiency

Transposable elements and the dynamic somatic genome

Although alterations in the genomes of somatic cells cannot be passed on to future generations, they can have beneficial or detrimental effects on the host organism, depending on the context in which they occur. This review outlines the ways in which transposable elements have important consequences for somatic cell genomes

Drivers Of Customer Loyalty In A Retail Store Environment

The determinants of customer loyalty are identified for a large U.S. retailer based on a survey of 972 customers. An ordered logistic regression is used to estimate the proportion of a retailers customers who are willing to recommend the retailers products to others based on survey results.Statistical results document that service quality, product quality and brand image drive customer loyalty as measured by a customers willingness to recommend the retailers products to other people. Service management managers can improve these drivers of customer loyalty by better training, recognition and reward programs, day-to-day store operations, and job, product, process and store design. Given the general research objective of defining a universal model of what drives customer loyalty in a diverse set of industries, this research provides additional statistical evidence to support the theory that brand image, product quality, and service quality determine customer loyalty

Partitioned aquaculture system

The present invention generally relates to a process and system for raising aquatic organisms, such as shellfish, shrimp and fish. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an automated partitioned aquaculture system for raising catfish. The aquiculture system comprises an algal growth channel; at least one raceway for producing and maintaining the aquatic organisms; and a first and second flow control device. The first flow control device is configured to control the flowrate of water through the algal growth channel substantially independently of the flowrate of water in the raceway. By changing the water flowrate, in response to factors in the aquaculture environment, production of aquatic organisms can be substantially increased

Controlled eutrophication system and process

A controlled eutrophication system and process are disclosed. The system includes the combination of a partitioned aquaculture system in conjunction with an anaerobic digester. Wastewater containing pollutants, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, are fed to the partitioned aquaculture system. Algae within the system converts the pollutants into algal biomass. Fish populations, in turn, control the algal populations. The fish populations may then be periodically harvested for human or animal consumption. A polishing chamber is contained in the system in which aquatic organisms remove substantial amounts of the algae from batch fed additions of water. The water is then discharged to an external water source containing virtually no pollutants. In one embodiment, the biomass excreted by the aquatic organisms in the system are collected and fed to a digester. In the digester, the biomass is converted to a hydrocarbon gas and collected for its fuel value, while the liquid fraction is collected for its fertilizer value

The On/Off Nature of Star-Planet Interactions

Evidence suggesting an observable magnetic interaction between a star and its hot Jupiter appears as a cyclic variation of stellar activity synchronized to the planet's orbit. In this study, we monitored the chromospheric activity of 7 stars with hot Jupiters using new high-resolution echelle spectra collected with ESPaDOnS over a few nights in 2005 and 2006 from the CFHT. We searched for variability in several stellar activity indicators (Ca II H, K, the Ca II infrared triplet, Halpha, and He I). HD 179949 has been observed almost every year since 2001. Synchronicity of the Ca II H & K emission with the orbit is clearly seen in four out of six epochs, while rotational modulation with P_rot=7 days is apparent in the other two seasons. We observe a similar phenomenon on upsilon And, which displays rotational modulation (P_rot=12 days) in September 2005, in 2002 and 2003 variations appear to correlate with the planet's orbital period. This on/off nature of star-planet interaction (SPI) in the two systems is likely a function of the changing stellar magnetic field structure throughout its activity cycle. Variability in the transiting system HD 189733 is likely associated with an active region rotating with the star, however, the flaring in excess of the rotational modulation may be associated with its hot Jupiter. As for HD 179949, the peak variability as measured by the mean absolute deviation for both HD 189733 and tau Boo leads the sub-planetary longitude by 70 degrees. The tentative correlation between this activity and the ratio of Mpsini to the planet's rotation period, a quantity proportional to the hot Jupiter's magnetic moment, first presented in Shkolnik et al. 2005 remains viable. This work furthers the characterization of SPI, improving its potential as a probe of extrasolar planetary magnetic fields.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Affinity and dose of TCR engagement yield proportional enhancer and gene activity in CD4+ T cells.

Affinity and dose of T cell receptor (TCR) interaction with antigens govern the magnitude of CD4+ T cell responses, but questions remain regarding the quantitative translation of TCR engagement into downstream signals. We find that while the response of mouse CD4+ T cells to antigenic stimulation is bimodal, activated cells exhibit analog responses proportional to signal strength. Gene expression output reflects TCR signal strength, providing a signature of T cell activation. Expression changes rely on a pre-established enhancer landscape and quantitative acetylation at AP-1 binding sites. Finally, we show that graded expression of activation genes depends on ERK pathway activation, suggesting that an ERK-AP-1 axis plays an important role in translating TCR signal strength into proportional activation of enhancers and genes essential for T cell function