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Stanley Black & Decker $SWK to Acquire @Craftsman Tools from Sears $SHLD for $900M
CONNECTICUT, GREENWICH, HEDGE FUNDS, ILLINOIS, M&A, MACHINE TOOLS & ACCESSORIES, NASDAQ, NYSE, RETAIL - DEPARTMENT STORES
Sears Holdings initiated a formal process to explore strategic alternatives for its Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard brands, and its Sears Home Services, with the assistance of Citigroup Global Markets and LionTree Advisors, as reported last year by ExitHub. The deal provides Stanley Black & Decker with the rights to develop, manufacture and sell Craftsman-branded products in non-Sears Holdings retail, industrial and online sales channels across the U.S. and in other countries. As part of the agreement, Sears Holdings will continue to offer Craftsman-branded products, sourced from existing suppliers, through its current retail channels via a perpetual license from Stanley Black & Decker, which will be royalty-free for the first 15 years after closing, then 3% thereafter. Today only approximately 10% of Craftsman-branded products are sold outside of Sears Holdings and the agreement will enable Stanley Black & Decker to significantly increase Craftsman sales in these untapped channels. "Craftsman is a legendary, American brand with tremendous consumer awareness built on a legacy of producing quality products at a great value," said Stanley Black & Decker President and CEO James M. Loree. "This agreement represents a significant opportunity to grow the market by increasing the availability of Craftsman products to consumers in previously underpenetrated channels. We intend to invest in the brand and rapidly increase sales through these new channels, including retail, industrial, mobile and online. To accommodate the future growth of Craftsman, we intend to expand our manufacturing footprint in the U.S. This will add jobs in the U.S., where we have increased our manufacturing headcount by 40% in the past three years. Sears Holdings' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Edward S. Lampert stated, "We are pleased to reach this agreement, after determining that externalizing the Craftsman brand would accomplish our goals of driving value for Sears Holdings and positioning Craftsman for future growth. This transaction represents a significant step in our ongoing transformation to a membership focused business model." Lampert, who is also the founder, chairman and CEO of ESL Investments, his hedge fund based in Greenwich, Connecticut, engineered today's Sears Holdings by merging Kmart and Sears Roebuck in 2005. Existing sales of Craftsman products outside the Sears Holdings and Sears Hometown distribution channels, which will be assumed immediately upon closing by Stanley Black & Decker, were approximately $200 million over the last 12 months. The sale of Craftsman branded products is expected to contribute approximately $100 million of average annual revenue growth for approximately the next ten years. The transaction is expected to be accretive to earnings by approximately $0.10-$0.15 per share in year one, increasing to approximately $0.35-$0.45 by year five and to approximately $0.70-$0.80 by year ten, excluding approximately $20 million of deal-related costs. The deal, which was approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, is expected to close during 2017, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Stanley Black & Decker, an S&P 500 company, is a diversified global provider of hand tools, power tools and related accessories, mechanical access solutions and electronic security solutions, healthcare solutions, engineered fastening systems, and more. Sears Holdings is a leading integrated retailer focused on seamlessly connecting the digital and physical shopping experiences. Sears Holdings is home to Shop Your Way, a social shopping platform offering members rewards for shopping at Sears and Kmart as well as with other retail partners. The company operates through its subsidiaries, including Sears, Roebuck and Co., founded in 1886, and Kmart Corp., founded in 1899, with full-line and specialty retail stores across the United States. Photo: Edward S. Lampert, Chairman and CEO, Sears Holdings Corp, and ESL Investments.]]>
Infoblox $BLOX Exploring Exit Under Pressure From Activist Starboard Value
ACTIVIST INVESTOR, CALIFORNIA, CYBER-SECURITY, EXIT STRATEGIES, HEDGE FUNDS, INFORMATION SECURITY, NEW YORK CITY, NYSE
Infoblox (NYSE: BLOX) reported its financial results for its fourth fiscal quarter and fiscal year ended July 31, 2016, as the company is said to be exploring a sale under pressure by activist investor Starboard Value LP, which recently disclosed a stake of about 7% in Infoblox. The company's market capitalization climbed 6.55% today to $1.22 billion amid ongoing potential buyout rumors. Infoblox reportedly hired Morgan Stanley to help defend itself from Starboard's CEO Jeff Smith, who is known as "the most feared man in corporate America" these days. Indeed the $4.83 billion sale of Yahoo's (NASDAQ: YHOO) core business to Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is said ti have come to fruition largely as a result of unrelenting pressure exerted by Starboard. "We had a strong finish to fiscal 2016," said Jesper Andersen, president and chief executive of infoblox. "Fourth quarter revenue grew 5% sequentially, and we achieved record fiscal 2016 revenue." Total net revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 was $86 million.. Total net revenue for fiscal 2016 was a record $358 million, an increase of 17% compared with the total net revenue of $306 million in fiscal 2015. On a GAAP basis, the company reported a net loss of $10 million, or $0.18 net loss per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016, compared with a net loss of $5 million, or $0.08 net loss per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015. For fiscal 2016, the company reported a GAAP basis net loss of $14 million, or $0.24 net loss per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $27 million, or $0.48 net loss per diluted share, in fiscal 2015. The company also announced results of the Infoblox Security Assessment Report for the second quarter of 2016, which found that 40 percent—nearly half—of files tested by Infoblox show evidence of DNS tunneling, a significant security threat that can indicate active malware or ongoing data exfiltration within an organization's network. Infoblox was recognized as the market-share leader in enterprise-grade DDI in a recent report from IDC. Infoblox market share increased to 49.9 percent in 2015 from 46.7 percent in 2014. No other competitor had a market share greater than 15 percent. Infoblox delivers actionable network intelligence to enterprise, government, and service provider customers around the world. As the industry leader in DNS, DHCP, and IP address management, the category known as DDI, Infoblox provides control and security from the core—empowering thousands of organizations to increase efficiency and visibility, reduce risk, and improve customer experience. Starboard Value LP is a New York-based investment adviser and activist hedge fund with a focused and fundamental approach to investing in publicly traded U.S. companies. Starboard invests in what it refers to as "deeply undervalued companies and actively engages with management teams and boards of directors to identify and execute on opportunities to unlock value for the benefit of all shareholders." As of March 31, 2016, Starboard Value held 22 institutional investment positions with a total market value of $2.58 billion, according to its SEC 13-F filings, the largest of which was its stake in Yahoo Inc., consisting of roughly 12.3 million YHOO shares valued at $484 million. According to FactSet, through March 31, 2016 Starboard has waged 46 campaigns and gained a total of 66 board seats since its inception in 2011. Jeffrey Smith is the co-founder, chief executive and chief investment officer of Starboard, which was spun off in 2011 from hedge fund Ramius LLC, a subsidiary of the Cowen Group Inc. (NASDAQ: COWN) — whose chairman Peter A. Cohen, was the former vice chairman of Republic New York Corp. and former chairman and CEO of Shearson Lehman Brothers. Smith previously served as vice president and board member of his father's company, the Fresh Juice Company, until it was reportedly sold for $20 million in 1998. He began his career in the M&A department at Société Générale, after graduating from the Wharton School of Business with a BS in Economics. Smith currently serves on the board of Yahoo! Inc., and is the chairman of Advance Auto Parts Inc. He was formerly chairman of Darden Restaurants Inc. and Phoenix Technologies Ltd., and formerly served on the boards of Quantum Corp., Office Depot Inc., Regis Corp., Surmodics Inc., Zoran Corp., Actel Corp., Kensey Nash Corp., and S1 Corp. Photo: Jeffrey Smith, Co-Founder, CEO & CIO of Starboard Value LP.]]>
Lampert, Sears $SHLD Exploring Exit for Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard Brands
ASSET SALES, BUSINESS FOR SALE, EXIT STRATEGIES, GREENWICH, HEDGE FUNDS, ILLINOIS, NYSE, RETAIL - DEPARTMENT STORES
FAB Partners to Acquire $CIFC for $333M With Qatari Royal Family Backing
ASSET MANAGEMENT, HEDGE FUNDS, JERSEY, M&A, NASDAQ, PRIVATE EQUITY, QATAR, UNITED KINGDOM, WEALTH MANAGEMENT
fabulous' former senior executives from Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, agreed to acquire New York-based private debt investment manager CIFC LLC (NASDAQ: CIFC) for $333 million in cash, with backing from the Qatari royal family's Supreme Universal Holdings Ltd. The move comes five weeks after the Qatari royal family's Paramount Services Holdings and Supreme Universal Holdings, each raised their respective stakes in Deutsche Bank to nearly 5 percent, concurrently followed by the bank's nomination of Stefan Simon, a partner at the German law firm Flick Gocke Schaumburg, to its supervisory board, heeding the Qatari shareholders' advice. FAB's offer price of $11.46 per share represents a premium of more than 60% over CIFC's closing share price on August 19, 2016, and a premium of nearly 160% over the January 27, 2016 closing share price, the day prior to CIFC's announcement of its pursuit of strategic alternatives. Founded in 2005 and based in New York, CIFC is a $14 billion private debt manager specializing in U.S. corporate loan strategies. CIFC has over 75 employees, including more than 30 dedicated investment professionals. The firm serves more than 200 institutional investors globally and is one of the largest managers of collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) in North America. FAB is a global alternative investment platform that focuses on originating, structuring and actively managing investments across all asset classes, sectors and geographies. FAB, which stands for Faissola, Ariburnu and Al-Bassam, was founded by the firm's eponymous team of capital markets and investment management experts Michele Faissola, Dalinc Ariburnu and Nizar Al-Bassam. "We are pleased to have reached this agreement with FAB, which follows a thorough review of strategic and financial alternatives that generated interest from over a dozen suitors," said CIFC chairman Jeffrey S. Serota. "CIFC is a leading private debt investment platform and one of the largest CLO managers in the industry and we are thrilled that this acquisition marks our first foray into the U.S. credit markets," said FAB co-founding partner Michele Faissola. "CIFC's highly experienced investment team, institutional infrastructure and blue-chip client base, make them an ideal partner for us as we look to access the U.S. market for our clients. Our clients are committed to capitalizing on both current and future investment opportunities in the U.S. and we view CIFC as our beachhead into these exciting opportunities." "The depth and breadth of the team Steve and his partner, Oliver Wriedt, have built was a key consideration in our decision to choose the CIFC platform as our first major investment geared at accessing the U.S. market," added FAB co-founding partner Nizar Al-Bassam. The deal has been approved by CIFC's board of directors. Columbus Nova, CIFC's majority shareholder, has agreed to vote its shares in favor of the transaction. The deal is subject to CIFC's shareholders' approval, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, and is expected to close this calendar year. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to CIFC and Dechert LLP and Latham & Watkins LLP are serving as legal counsel. Moelis & Company LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor to FAB, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Ernst & Young LLP are serving as legal advisor and accounting & tax advisor, respectively. Before co-founding FAB, and until April 2016, Al-Bassam was Head of Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa for Capital Markets & Treasury Solutions, Sales, Investment Banking and Commercial Banking Coverage at Deutsche Bank. He was a member of various governance and management committees at Deutsche Bank, including Global Capital Markets & Treasury Solutions Executive Committee, Global Emerging Markets Management Committee and the European Corporate Finance Management Committee. He also served on the boards of a number of companies, including Abraaj Capital, Deutsche Gulf Finance and Saffar Holdings. Ariburnu previously served as a senior partner and global co-head of fixed income, currency and commodity sales at Goldman Sachs, where he served as member of Goldman Sachs' European Management Committee, Partnership Committee, and Securities Division Global Executive Committee. Before that, he was Global Head of Emerging Markets Group at Deutsche Bank and a member of the Securities Division Global Executive Committee. Faissola previously served as Head of Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, one of the four divisions of the bank, managing total client assets of almost $1.3 trillion. He was also a member of the Deutsche Bank Group Executive Committee. In this role he supervised a team of over 6,000 people in 33 countries. He was also chairman of the DWS Asset Management (Frankfurt) and chairman of Deutsche Bank Switzerland. Photo: HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar. (Courtesy, Georgetown University)]]>
American Apparel New Owners Exploring Exit, Hire Houlihan Lockey
BUSINESS FOR SALE, EXIT STRATEGIES, FASHION, GARMENT MANUFACTURERS, HEDGE FUNDS, LOS ANGELES, RETAIL - DEPARTMENT STORES, TEXTILE - APPAREL CLOTHING
Reorg Research. In addition, "The 27-year-old teen retailer, which boasts on its Web site that its togs are 'Designed, Cut and Sewn in Los Angeles,' is making plans to pull up stakes and move east — possibly to North Carolina or Tennessee, where the minimum wage is $7.25," the New York Post reported. American Apparel's manufacturing is based in a seven-story 800,000-square-foot factory in downtown Los Angeles, where it produces more than 55,000 different products and garments. The company also owns and operates its own fabric dye house, garment dye house, and knitting facility, all based in Los Angeles. According to The New York Times, in 2006 American apparel was "the single largest garment factory in the United States." The erstwhile fashion empire went "from being the coolest company on the block when it arrived in Britain in 2004," according to The Guardian, which named American Apparel "label of the year" in 2008, to chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2015, due to ongoing losses. "The label's progressive labour standards and high voltage ads made it notorious – from dorm room project to generation-defining brand," says Dazed writer Julie Zerbo. "After settling in Los Angeles in 1997, Charney began to make waves, challenging the labour standards of the local garment industry by paying higher wages (two times higher than the standard wage at times)." "American Apparel had a very precise identity to uphold: attainable aspiration – those hot, 'real' twenty-somethings that appeared in their images," she added. "They took on larger competitors, such as The Gap, by catering to those experiencing logo fatigue. From early on, Charney eschewed logos – like the brand names his rivals were slapping on most of their t-shirts and sweatshirts." In December 2014, Charney was forced out after an investigation for misuse of company funds and inappropriate conduct with employees. In January 2016, American Apparel rejected a bid reportedly valued at $300 million from Charney's backers, Atlanta, Georgia-based family office and independent venture capital investor Hagan Capital Group, and Dallas, Texas-based early-stage venture capital investor Silver Creek Ventures. In February 2016, American Apparel exited bankruptcy and is now privately owned by its creditors under a financial restructuring plan whereby the company converted $230 million in a debt-for-equity swap. The company's new owners include Standard General, Monarch Alternative Capital, Coliseum Capital, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management. The investor group also reportedly arranged a $40 million loan to help it exit bankruptcy, and injected another $40 million in new debt and equity. The holdings of former American Apparel shareholders, including Charney, became worthless. In February, Charney was said to be starting from the bottom again on a venture that sounds exactly like American Apparel, according to WWD. The new project is backed by Chad Hagan, president of Hagan Capital Group, who backed Charney's bid to reclaim American Apparel. Hagan reportedly said the new company will make basics for men and women, will manufacture everything in the US, and will focus on wholesale in the early stages. "Sound familiar?" asks racked contributor Cameron Wolf. [caption id="attachment_433333" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Dov Charney, Founder and former Chairman & CEO of American Apparel.[/caption] "What's important to us now is we're able to form this new venture and put Dov at the helm and we're going to do basics again," Hagan told WWD. "We don't want to just start with some funny, online brand. We're going to do what Dov does best and then establish a robust e-commerce system." "We hope to create a brand that captures the attention of the world. It will be irreverent and authentic." Charney revealed on PBS during a recent interview with Tavis Smiley about his upcoming entrepreneurial ventures in downtown Los Angeles. "Whatever the past is, it is. I'm moving forward and I'm going to build a world-class company right here in Los Angeles," the 47-year-old Canadian-born artist and industrialist said. "Long known for edgy, sexually charged advertising and store displays, the company lost its grip on the hottest fashion trends and basic retailing strategy, with stores selling the same goods year-round and factories churning out swimsuits in September," according to USA Today. Paula Schneider, the new CEO, "has outlined a strategic path to rehab the company's image through a mix of new marketing, products and store design," it added. Schneider is an advisor on private equity acquisitions, brand strategies, operations and growth, through her firm Paula Schneider Consulting, since 2013. She's an experienced senior executive in the apparel/fashion sector, who previously served as CEO and director at Big Strike LLC, a portfolio company of The Gores Group. She's a former director at J. Mendel, as well as president of Warnaco Swimwear Group and BCBG Max Azria, among others. To understand why American Apparel has declined so spectacularly, take a stroll through Cambridge, Mass. by the Harvard campus, and you'll notice that, "the store design is exactly as it was 10 years ago," said racked contributor Elizabeth Segran. "It's reminiscent of a factory, with stark white walls covered in metal racks and harsh overhead lighting. On the walls are enormous posters that capture the 1970s porn aesthetic: a woman in a sheer triangle bra suggestively stares at the camera on her hands and knees, a woman clad in nothing but legwarmers and panties looks more demure." "American Apparel's risqué marketing suggested a raw, empowered sexuality when it first entered the scene. Now it's inseparable from the troubling exploits of company founder Dov Charney, who was ousted (in 2014) after the board compiled a long list of strikes like sleeping with employees, walking around the factory naked, and masturbating in front of a journalist," she added. "Another reason these stores are doing so poorly? What was once considered "hipster style" has gone completely mainstream."]]>
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The EXPLORER consortium is a multi-institutional group established to design, build and utilize the world's highest sensitivity positron emission tomography (PET) scanners for a wide range of biomedical research applications in human patients and volunteers.
PET is an extremely safe medical imaging technique that can map out the location or track the movement of tiny amounts of radioactively-tagged compounds (radiotracers) after they are introduced into the body. There are thousands of PET scanners across the world performing millions of PET scans in patients each year.
A depiction of the completed uEXPLORER scanner to be installed at UC Davis Health in April 2019.
Coronal, sagittal, and axial slices from the first human scan on the uEXPLORER PET/CT scanner.
research into systems medicine, including endocrine and immunological signaling related to the brain-gut and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axes which are implicated in a range of debilitating disorders including irritable bowel syndrome.
The goal is to make EXPLORER widely accessible to the broader imaging and clinical research communities as an international facility.


The 27-year-old Mexican Electrocumbia artist has signed a global deal with Universal Music Publishing.
Raymix's "Oye Mujer" is currently no. 9 on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart.
Trained as an aerospace engineer, Raymix, whose real name is Edmundo Gonzalez Moreno, was working at NASA when he began experimenting with electronic music.
"Oye Mujer" took off virally — the video know has over 300 million views on YouTube— before landing in the Billboard Top Ten. The track is also no. 2 this week on the Tropical Songs chart, where it peaked in the no. 1 slot.


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Home › Cohorts › NLSY79 Child/YA › Using & Understanding the Data ›
Missing Data: Noninterviews and Item Nonresponse
Missing values are indicated in the data and on the codebook page for each individual question. Following general NLS convention, a response of "don't know" to an individual question is coded "-2," a refusal to answer an individual question is coded "-1," and an invalid skip is coded "-3." (Invalid skip means that the respondent should have answered the question but didn't; this was more common in the paper-and-pencil interviews when the respondent or interviewer might make an error following the skip pattern on a paper instrument. The incidence of invalid skips has been significantly reduced in the computer-assisted interviews.) In the NLSY79 Child and Young Adult, noninterviews and valid skips (when a respondent was purposely not eligible for a question) have been collapsed into a "-7." Thus, users must know how to distinguish between noninterviews and valid skips for some types of research.
Starting with the 1994 survey round for the Young Adult and the 1998 survey round for the Child, users can rely on the Interview/Assessment flags in the CHILD BACKGROUND area of interest to determine child or young adult interview status. For Child survey rounds prior to 1998, users can identify interviewed respondents as those with sampling weight values greater than "0." The Child sampling weights (values greater than "0") can be used to accurately identify children assessed in any survey year. See the discussion below on the specific procedures for the creation of the Young Adult sample weights that distinguish sample eligibility from interview status.
Variables such as age of child at mother's interview date occasionally show missing values for child cases in which the mother was not interviewed, even though the children themselves were interviewed. Since the AGECH and AGEMOM variables are based on inputs from the mother's record, users may want to default to the child's age at the date of assessment (e.g., CSAGE2010 in 2010). Users should note that Young Adult children are often interviewed in a given survey round, regardless of the interview status of their mothers. Contact with children under age 15 is largely predicated on completion of the mother's own interview and her authorization to assess her younger children.
Interview Status Flags
A set of variables has been constructed that indicates the interview status for children, young adults and their mothers. These interview status flags are cross-sectional and thus only reflect valid values for cases from a particular survey round.
This list includes child interview status variables, which are available starting in 1998. Also listed starting in 2002 are variables indicating the interval between the time the Child Supplement and the Mother Supplement were administered and a flag that indicates the sequence in which the Child Supplement and Mother Supplement interviews took place. The "MINTRV" variables in this series indicate if the mother was interviewed as part of the main Youth survey. Finally, the Young Adult interview status flags available for 1994-present are also in the CHILD BACKGROUND area of interest.
CINTRV98. INTERVIEW STATUS OF CHILD
CASSMT98. ASSESSMENT STATUS OF CHILD
INCSUP98. DOES CHILD HAVE A CHILD SUPPLEMENT?
INMSUP98. DOES CHILD HAVE A MOTHER SUPPLEMENT?
INCSAS98. DOES CHILD 10-14 YEARS OLD HAVE A CSAS RECORD?
MINTRV98. INTERVIEW STATUS OF MOTHER
CINTRV2000. INTERVIEW STATUS OF CHILD
INCSUP2000. DOES CHILD HAVE A CHILD SUPPLEMENT?
INMSUP2000. DOES CHILD HAVE A MOTHER SUPPLEMENT?
INCSAS2000. DOES CHILD 10-14 YEARS OLD HAVE A CSAS RECORD?
MINTRV2000. INTERVIEW STATUS OF MOTHER
INCSUPyyyy. DOES CHILD HAVE A CHILD SUPPLEMENT?
CSCOMPyyyy. COMPLETION STATUS OF CHILD SUPPLEMENT
INCSASyyyy. DOES CHILD HAVE A CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED SUPPLEMENT? (2002 and 2004 only; after 2004 the CSAS was part of the Child Supplement)
CSASCOMPyyyy. COMPLETION STATUS OF CHILD SELF-ADMINISTERED SUPPLEMENT
CSMSINTERVALyyyy. NUMBER OF DAYS BETWEEN CS & MS
CSMSORDERyyyy. SEQUENCE OF CS & MS INTERVIEWS
INMSUPyyyy. DOES CHILD HAVE A MOTHER SUPPLEMENT?
CINTRVyyyy. INTERVIEW STATUS OF CHILD
MSCOMPyyyy. COMPLETION STATUS OF MOTHER SUPPLEMENT
MINTRVyyyy. INTERVIEW STATUS OF MOTHER
YASAMPyyyy. IS CHILD ELIGIBLE FOR YOUNG ADULT INTERVIEW?
YAINTVyyyy. WAS CHILD INTERVIEWED AS YOUNG ADULT?
More details on mothers' interview status are provided by a series of variables titled "REASON FOR NONINTERVIEW" in the NLSY79 main Youth area of interest called COMMON VARIABLES.
Sampling Weights to Identify Interviews
Users can also employ the Child and Young Adult sampling weight variables to delineate their analysis sample and to identify respondents interviewed in each survey round. More information on the sampling weights can be found in the Sample Weights section.
The Child sampling weights are assigned to the ASSESSMENT and SAMPLING WEIGHTS areas of interest. Children who have been assessed or interviewed in a given year have values greater than 0 on their sampling weight for that year.
The Young Adult sampling weights for each year are assigned to the YA COMMON KEYVARS and SAMPLING WEIGHTS areas of interest. These YA sampling weight variables are specific to young adults interviewed in that year who were eligible to be interviewed, so that any young adult not eligible to be interviewed or any child who is not a young adult in that year is assigned a value of "0." With various sample restrictions in place over different rounds, occasionally a Young Adult who was not fielded in a given round is interviewed to ensure the participation of other family members. Such respondents will have an interview status flag indicating that they were interviewed but have a sampling weight of zero. For example, in 2012, 26 young adult respondents who were part of the older ages not being fielded were nonetheless interviewed. Therefore, researchers must use caution in their choice between using the interview status flag (YAINTVyyyy) versus the sampling weight (YAyyWEIGHT) to determine the cases interviewed in a given year.
Missing Data in the Geocode Files
Following the same convention as the NLSY79 Child and Young Adult public release data, missing data values on the geocode data files are coded -7 which indicates either a) a non-interview for a given year or b) respondents who have a missing value in the data for any variables from the County and City Data Book for the following reasons:
Respondents who were in the military or who had an APO address
Respondents who were residing outside of the United States
Respondents whose state or county codes could not be determined
Respondents who reside in a county or SMSA/MSA for which there is missing data for that geographic location from the County and City Data Book for that specific item
Respondents who do not reside in an SMSA for any survey year 1994-2004 who will be missing SMSA level environmental variables for that year
Respondents whose state, county, and ZIP codes for any survey year 1994-2004 do not lead to an unambiguous SMSA designation. This generally applies only to a small number of respondents living in New England.
In the 1994-2002 geocode data file, for 1988 and 1994 metropolitan statistical area variables with NECMA codes, respondents living in the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont were not treated any differently than those residing elsewhere. The addition of the "Record Type" variable in the 1988 and the 1994 County and City Data Book data files allows the user to designate these cases as missing and remove them from the analysis, without having to conduct a county-by-county or state-by-state determination of NECMA/non-NECMA status. Starting in 2004, these data are not available as part of the geocode data release. The Young Adult geocode files are described in more detail in Geographic Residence & Geocode Data.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


OK, so two weeks ago when the boys went back to school, I drafted this blog post in my head. Then I promptly forgot about it. It was Tuesday and the boys were finally back in school after 17 sleeps and I could exhale. I didn't have to feed anyone, entertain anyone or pretend I think this is funny.
You guys, I didn't do a thing that entire day. I took full advantage of this stay at home mom gig and stayed at home. I might have napped. I might have watched Gilmore Girls on Netflix. I might have had a giant grin on my face for that entire five hours.
I mean, we did have a nice Christmas. I know you don't know that since I have been MIA. Why did I have to go MIA?? I was not planning on it. I was thinking I would have all this time to blog and chat. Negative. Let me run down all what happened for you…you know I adore a summary post.
After I published that last December post, the school year ended and Zach's birthday was three days away. He wanted to have his party at Chuck-e-Cheese's and it was so easy. I reserved it all online and just showed up with some cupcakes. He didn't want favors as "the things they win with their tickets will be there favors". Having just come out of crafting overload, I did not argue.
Can you even believe I have a six year old. My fat baby is six. I can't even take it.
James got to invite one friend and he picked Harper, of course. These two are best buddies could not love each other more.
Birthday = done, on to Christmas Eve! Everyone came to our house for Mexican (my family's tradition) and church. I got out the tripod my dad got me for a Wall family photo. This was the best we could do. On the whole, it is pretty good.
And Merry Christmas! Santa came, complete with photo documentation for a skeptical six year old and brought the boys all they wanted – except the bb gun Zach asked for. There is no need for a little boy living in the middle of Houston to have a bb gun. No way. I told him Santa could not get gifts that parents didn't want their kids to have. It was in the contract.
After breakfast we packed up and went out to the Walls to spend the night and open more presents.
Then it was my birthday – happy 37th to me. Gross. How am I so old?
My parents were in town so we threw handed the boys off to them and had lunch at ZaZa. My sister, brother-in-law and nieces arrived and we went to Tokyohana to celebrate. My parents were highly, highly skeptical, but it turned out to be perfect. It is super kid friendly and aside from the fire scaring my niece Vivian, everyone had fun.
How cute is she, even if she is so scared??
We had a fun weekend with my them all, I love to spend time with them and Vivi is thinking about acknowledging that she has an Uncle named Alex. She currently refuses to make eye contact or speak to him. It is hilarious. His voice is very loud and low for little girls.
Once they left I was still staring down a full week, plus a Monday, of quality family time. Luckily I had thought a bit ahead and signed the boys up for half day art camp on Monday and half day gymnastics camp on Friday. So we filled the time with a trip to the trampoline center, including my three year old playing dodgeball with 12 year olds. Normal.
New Year's Eve the Wall's kept the boys, which has become a nice little tradition which I hope continues (pretty please?). We had the Rockets tickets that night and Alex was shocked when I agreed to go for my one game of the year. It was a 6pm game however, so we had some time to kill once the game ended. I don't know who won. I barely paid attention.
So we had about two hours to kill before our dinner reservations. We walked to some bars downtown and pretended like we were 22 again. And what did we do at those bars? Oh we drank water (to hydrate) and registered Zach for Little League (the deadline was the 1st). I would say sad, but really, it is about on par for 37 year old parents of two. We are tired and have stuff to do. We rang in the New year at a bar and then immediately Ubered home. I was in bed by 12:30. Awesome.
Finally the celebrating could come to an end. Are you not exhausted just thinking about it? I am. While it was fun to see everyone and so nice to not have to get up at school time, I started having flashbacks to the summer with 12 hours each day to entertain my children and might have gotten a bit panicky there at the end.
So I am glad for January. I like my routine. Even with the cold and rainy weather, it is a relief for me.
I love how the big kids will still wear the zip up pi's on Christmas Day!


The aim of this paper is to reconsider the role that technological progress plays in bringing about growing economic inequality and "secular stagnation." The main part of this paper is a theoretical analysis of the impact that technological innovation has on income distribution. The author argues that standard assumptions related to the production function, though seemingly neutral, have far-reaching consequences for economic reasoning concerning income distribution. Wages and employment are not subject to precise solutions resulting from economic optimization reflecting the technical properties of the production process, but are a result of an interplay of social and political factors at any level of employment. Moreover, technological innovations are labor-economizing in nature and eliminate any grassroots competition due to advantages of scale. As a consequence, the share of labor income declines. The second step of the analysis concerns the consequences of evolving income patterns for aggregate spending. Along the lines of reasoning typical for Kalecki, the author argues that the declining share of labor income gives rise to stagnation and persistent unemployment. As a whole, the analysis helps explain the "secular stagnation" and persistent unemployment combined with high profits, a process that breeds confusion in contemporary economics. Finally, the author reconsiders possible corrective policy measures. Globalization shows to be a major obstacle to any action that an individual government might decide to undertake with respect to the problem at hand.


text:
I Wasn't Sold on Cyberpunk 2077 Being a FPS Until the Augmentation Scene in the Gameplay Reveal
*Hacker voice*: "I'm in."
News by Matt Kim, News Editor
I was a little taken aback when I found out that Cyberpunk 2077 would be a first-person shooter. While I understand the argument for the first-person perspective, I wasn't sold on Cyberpunk's idea of immersion until I saw the augmentation scene in today's Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay trailer.
CD Projekt Red debuted 48-minutes of Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay today, and a lot of it was geared towards showing off the game's first-person perspective. There were copious amounts of shooting to showcase the game's combat, a great scene where you first enter Night City and see the skylines rise above you, but none of it sold me on the game's first-person perspective as much as the augmentation upgrade scene halfway through the demo.
In a scene featuring the game's upgrade and augmentation mechanics, the main character visits her "ripper" Dr. Vector. There she straps in to augment her right hand for combat, as well as to implant a new cybernetic eye. It's in this scene that Cyberpunk 2077's first-person immersion truly shines.
As the protagonist, our character sits in Vector's medical examination chair and chooses the stat updates she'd like to augment from a menu of cybernetic surgeries. Her arm is placed under a menacing medical device, but it's the eye implant that's particularly cool. Starting around the 20 minute mark, Dr. Vector removes our character's original right eye and the screen goes black for a moment as data is transferred to the new cybernetic eye. When she regains consciousness, it's through the new eye which is sitting in a table away from our body.
There're even some awesome detail flourishes like when Dr. Vector picks up the new eye from the table and implants it in the protagonist's body. The moment where the eye calibrates and refocuses from a center perspective and gains peripheral vision as the right eye is simply awesome.
I don't know how often cybernetic enhancements come into play in Cyberpunk 2077, and whether it's something that can be done as often as possible or only during select moments when we unlock special upgrades. But I hope that each visit to Dr. Vector features immersive augmentation scenes, instead of a simple upgrade option.
The whole scene honestly gave me flashbacks to when I got my first tattoo, and I appreciate that virtual experience in Cyberpunk 2077 was able to trigger a memory like that all through the detailed use of perspective.
There're no details yet on the release date for Cyberpunk 2077. We managed to preview Cyberpunk 2077 at E3 2018, but those impressions are for the gameplay trailer released today. You can check out all the latest Cyberpunk 2077 news that came out of Gamescom, or check out our Cyberpunk 2077 guide for the latest trailers, news, and release info.
Matt Kim
Matt Kim is a former freelance writer who's covered video games and digital media. He likes video games as spectacle and is easily distracted by bright lights or clever bits of dialogue. He also once wrote about personal finance, but that's neither here nor there.
Halo 3 Gets New Armor in the Master Chief Collection, But Many Aren't Happy About It
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The Last of Us Part 2 Takes Home Top Prize at The Game Awards: Here Are All the Winners
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Call of Duty Modern Warfare Weapons Tier List
Here's our guide compiling the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2019 weapons list, including all weapon unlock levels, and more.
Borderlands 3 Shift Codes List (August 2020)
All the info you need on getting and redeeming SHiFT Codes in Borderlands 3, plus how to get Golden Keys to earn loot.
Destiny 2 Xenophage Quest - How to Get the New Xenophage Machine Gun
This is how to complete the Destiny 2 Xenophage quest, including all puzzles, and more.
Apex Legends Wattson - Abilities, Skins, How to Win With Wattson Apex Legends
This is our guide to Wattson in Apex Legends, featuring all her legendary skins, new abilities, tips, and more.


text:
WVC News
The official news source of Wenatchee Valley College. Proudly serving Chelan, Douglas and Okanogan counties.
//////////////////////////////////////
Emergency training exercise at WVC July 12
Wenatchee Valley College and Confluence Health will host an emergency training exercise at the Wenatchee campus on Friday, July 12.
Knights Care Fund receives grant from Women's Service League of NCW
The Wenatchee Valley College Foundation Knights Care Fund received a $5,000 grant from the Women's Service League of North Central Washington.
Wenatchee Valley College 2019 graduation awards
The 2019 Wenatchee Valley College President's Medals, Most Supportive Partner Award, Outstanding Graduate Awards and Academic Achievement Award were announced during the Wenatchee and Omak campus commencement ceremonies June 14 and 15.
Wenatchee Valley College employees recognized
Outstanding faculty and staff members at Wenatchee Valley College were recognized by colleagues and the WVC Foundation at an awards ceremony in June.
AthleticsCommunityEventsNursingScholarshipsWVC at OmakWVC Foundation
View Past Issues »


If you answered, "yes" to any of these questions, you could probably use some help.
You can feel good about your body and stop obsessing over food!
My mind/body/spirit approach can help you transform your relationship with food and your body forever.
I have worked with countless women over the years and assisted them in outsmarting disordered eating for life. I have a special gift in this area having been through it myself. Along with my extensive counselling training and work experience, I have come to know what works and what doesn't. I have helped many women do exactly this for over a decade. As well, I survived a deadly battle with anorexia and bulimia in my teens and early 20s and have lived to tell the story. My 20+ years of full recovery is a testament to the fact that disordered eating recovery is possible and that one can lead a brilliant, juicy, and fabulous life after healing. If I could do it, you can too!
I also work with men who struggle with food and body image issues.
In-person (Victoria, BC) or telephone counselling. Book an appointment.
Get the book, It's Not About The Food.
Order the audio program, Making Peace With Food and Our Bodies.


Readers of Lisa Kleypas and Eloisa James who have not yet experienced the exceptional historical romance of Katharine Ashe are missing out on something truly special. Named one of the "New Stars of Historical Romance" by the American Library Association, Katharine continues her sensational Regency Era-set Falcon Club series by exploring How a Lady Weds a Rogue--romantically uniting a man determined to be bad and a woman who is sure that he's her perfect hero. Seduction has never been more perilous--or pleasurable--than it is in this unforgettable historical romance winner from an author who brilliantly combines the wit of Eloisa James, the romantic adventure of Johanna Lindsey, and the amazing sensuality of Lisa Kleypas. As bestselling romance author Sabrina Jeffries promises, "You'll be swept away" by the novels of Katharine Ashe.
"Beautiful Diantha Lucas understands society's rules: a young lady must find a man to marry. But Diantha has a bigger goal, and she's not afraid of plunging into adventure to achieve it. When daring, dashing Wyn Yale rescues her, she's certain he's just the man she needs. As an agent for the secret Falcon Club, Wyn knows his duty, but he's not about to admit he's a hero of any sort. He has a plan, too: steal a prized horse, murder an evil duke, avenge an innocent girl, and probably get hanged for it-in that order. Wyn can't afford to be distracted by a pretty face, even one with delectable dimples and kissable lips. But how can a country miss and a hardened spy solve their problems when they can't keep their hands off each other?"--P.  of cover.
hoopla:MWT12301582|eAudiobook|Audio Books|Unabridged.|English|Tantor Audio,|2018.|1 online resource (1 audio file (11hr., 25 min.)) : digital., ils:.b37211882|Book|Books||English|Avon,||373 pages : genealogical table ; 18 cm.


Portable appliance testing (PAT) instrumentation specialist Seaward has produced the easy to follow DVD training pack to enable dutyholders to familiarise themselves with the electrical safety inspection and testing associated with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.
The special Seaward training package comprises an informative DVD presentation that comes with unique online customer login details to enable users to take a formal PAT assessment after viewing the film.
The presentation includes a practical explanation of all the fundamental tests required to ensure the safety of electrical equipment, alongside common sense advice and guidance on the frequency of testing and preventative maintenance matters.
Colourful graphics are complemented by a jargon-free easy to understand voice over providing all the information needed to enable users to progress to the online assessment stage. Successful completion of the program is rewarded with a PAT certificate.
Seaward is a market leader in the supply of integrated PAT testing solutions that comprise advanced test instrumentation alongside results management software, training and technical support services.
Visit our PAT Training Course DVD page for more information.


text:
Q: Storing data efficiently in an array The problem is the following:
I am storing error codes with IDs (e.g. 23,53,12,64...) in an array with a predefined length (e.g. 10).
Now I would like to store some additional bytes to these codes
(e.g. **23** (data: 102, 340), **53** (data: 10), **12** (data: 46, 23, 64, 12), **64** (data: 1,2,3)).
The data length is different for almost each error codes.
What is the best way of storing these additional bytes regarding the memory consumption?
My idea is to calculate the maximum memory I need for storing these additional bytes.
If I have 30 error codes and I would like to make it possible to store 10 of them (if they occur), then the maximum memory for storing the additional bytes can be calculated by summing up the number of the additional bytes of those error codes which require the most additional bytes. So when the 10 errors occur, which require the most additional bytes, the array for storing the additional bytes is just enough.
One error code only present once in a time.
When an error occurs, I save the additional bytes into this array and store a "pointer" (which is just an index of this array) to the error code, where the additional bytes start.
But this causes fragmentation if errors occur and I delete errors.
Defragmenting this array would be an overhead for the CPU.
Any ideas? I need to avoid dynamic memory allocating.

A: It sounds like you have one array to store the error IDs and another array to store the additional bytes for all errors.  (And do you have yet another array to store the pointers to the additional bytes for each error?)  And your concern is with managing the additional_bytes array and the pointers.  Is that right?
Instead of using separate arrays with pointers, store everything in a single array of structs.
First declare a struct that contains all of the information related to an error.
typedef struct ErrorInfo
{
    unsigned int error_id;
    uint8_t additional_data[MAX_ADDITIONAL_BYTES_PER_ERROR];
} ErrorInfo;

Then allocate a single array to store multiple errors.
ErrorInfo errors_array[MAX_NUMBER_OF_ERRORS];

Set an error like this:
errors_array[0].error_id = 23;
errors_array[0].additional_data[0] = 102;
errors_array[0].additional_data[1] = 340;  <--- Note that 340 will overflow a byte!

This should use less memory than your design because you no longer need to record pointers to the additional bytes for each error.  This also removes your defragmentation issue because each error's additional bytes have a reserved place in the struct array and you no longer need to manage their location in a separate addition_bytes array.
If you must store all the additional bytes for all errors in a separate array then just use a fixed (permanent) offset for each error.  The offset to the additional bytes for error number n is equal to (n - 1) * MAX_ADDITIONAL_BYTES_PER_ERROR.  This will leave some empty bytes in the array between errors but it will remove the need to store pointers and manage fragmentation.

A: For a read only solution without dynamically changing data I would consider using a run length approach. Code, length, data[length], code, length, data[length] etc...
This is slow to access but if you do not have an index then you will have to trawl through the array too to find the code you want.
You could write some a small program that did the encoding on the host, rather than the target, and printed the array as C code to a file. The host would use a wasteful method where the data size was the max that you would encounter.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
package com.hadlink.recyclerviewhelpper.unrelated;

import java.math.BigDecimal;
import java.util.regex.Matcher;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;

public class MathUtil {

    /**
     * 检查整数
     *
     * @param num
     * @param type "0+":非负整数 "+":正整数 "-0":非正整数 "-":负整数 "":整数
     * @return
     */
    public static boolean checkNumber(String num, String type) {
        String eL = "";
        if (type.equals("0+"))
            eL = "^\\d+$";// 非负整数
        else if (type.equals("+"))
            eL = "^\\d*[1-9]\\d*$";// 正整数
        else if (type.equals("-0"))
            eL = "^((-\\d+)|(0+))$";// 非正整数
        else if (type.equals("-"))
            eL = "^-\\d*[1-9]\\d*$";// 负整数
        else
            eL = "^-?\\d+$";// 整数
        Pattern p = Pattern.compile(eL);
        Matcher m = p.matcher(num);
        boolean b = m.matches();
        return b;
    }

    /**
     * 将一个浮点型保留一定位数
     *
     * @param source 源
     * @param number 保留位数
     * @return
     */
    public static float floatTransfer(Float source, int number) {
        float result = 0f;
        Integer numberTmp = (int) Math.pow(10, number);
        result = (float) (Math.round(source * numberTmp)) / numberTmp;
        return result;
    }

    /**
     * 将一个double型保留一定位数
     *
     * @param source 源
     * @param number 保留位数
     * @return
     */
    public static double doubleTransfer(double source, int number) {
        double result = 0f;
        Integer numberTmp = (int) Math.pow(10, number);
        result = (double) (Math.round(source * numberTmp)) / numberTmp;
        return result;
    }

    public static float formatFloat(Float source) {
        return floatTransfer(source, 2);
    }

    public static double formatDouble(Double source) {
        return doubleTransfer(source, 2);

    }

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        float a = 12.01f;
        float b = 12.007f;
        float e = 0.001f;

        System.out.println(a + b);
        addFloat(a, b);

        System.out.println(a - b);
        subFloat(a, b);

        System.out.println(a * b);
        multiFloat(a, b);

        System.out.println(addFloat(a, b, e));
        System.out.println(subFloat(a, b, e));

        double c = 12.01;
        double d = 0.005;
        System.out.println(addDouble(c, d));
    }

    public static float addFloat(float a, float b) {
        BigDecimal b1 = new BigDecimal(Float.toString(a));
        BigDecimal b2 = new BigDecimal(Float.toString(b));
        Float result = b1.add(b2).floatValue();
        return result;
    }

    public static float subFloat(float a, float b) {
        BigDecimal b1 = new BigDecimal(Float.toString(a));
        BigDecimal b2 = new BigDecimal(Float.toString(b));
        Float result = b1.subtract(b2).floatValue();
        return result;
    }

    public static float multiFloat(float a, float b) {
        BigDecimal b1 = new BigDecimal(Float.toString(a));
        BigDecimal b2 = new BigDecimal(Float.toString(b));
        Float result = b1.multiply(b2).floatValue();
        return result;
    }

    public static float divFloat(float a, float b) {
        BigDecimal b1 = new BigDecimal(Float.toString(a));
        BigDecimal b2 = new BigDecimal(Float.toString(b));
        Float result = b1.divide(b2).floatValue();
        return result;
    }

    public static float addFloat(float a, float b, float c) {

        BigDecimal b1 = new BigDecimal(Float.toString(a));
        BigDecimal b2 = new BigDecimal(Float.toString(b));
        BigDecimal b3 = new BigDecimal(Float.toString(c));
        Float result = b1.add(b2).add(b3).floatValue();
        return result;
    }

    public static float subFloat(float a, float b, float c) {
        BigDecimal b1 = new BigDecimal(Float.toString(a));
        BigDecimal b2 = new BigDecimal(Float.toString(b));
        BigDecimal b3 = new BigDecimal(Float.toString(c));
        Float result = b1.subtract(b2).subtract(b3).floatValue();
        return result;
    }

    public static double addDouble(double a, double b) {
        BigDecimal b1 = new BigDecimal(Double.toString(a));
        BigDecimal b2 = new BigDecimal(Double.toString(b));
        Double result = b1.add(b2).doubleValue();
        return result;
    }

    public static double subDouble(double a, double b) {
        BigDecimal b1 = new BigDecimal(Double.toString(a));
        BigDecimal b2 = new BigDecimal(Double.toString(b));
        Double result = b1.subtract(b2).doubleValue();
        return result;
    }

    public static double multiDouble(double a, double b) {
        BigDecimal b1 = new BigDecimal(Double.toString(a));
        BigDecimal b2 = new BigDecimal(Double.toString(b));
        Double result = b1.multiply(b2).doubleValue();
        return result;
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Did you know that there is a new JES2-file XCOMINIT created since XCOM for z/OS 11.6?
With XCOM for z/OS 11.6 there is a new JES-file being introduced as additional file in the Job Output of every XCOM transfer Job and for the XCOM Server. It is named XCOMINIT and lists all parameters from the Configuration member and from the PARM-Field of the EXEC-Statement. Parameters of the SYSIN Statement are listed in the XCOMLOG. If your Job has multiple XCOMJOB steps there will be one XCOMINIT file for each of them in the joblog.
However, this is not recommended because the list of parameters can help in debugging if an XCOM transfer fails for whatever reason.


text:
Science selected
AAAS: Machine learning 'causing science crisis'
By Pallab Ghosh Science correspondent, BBC News, Washington
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47267081
AAAS meeting
Image caption Astronomy is one of the many areas of science in which machine learning is used to make discoveries
Machine-learning techniques used by thousands of scientists to analyse data are producing results that are misleading and often completely wrong.
Dr Genevera Allen from Rice University in Houston said that the increased use of such systems was contributing to a "crisis in science".
She warned scientists that if they didn't improve their techniques they would be wasting both time and money. Her research was presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington.
A growing amount of scientific research involves using machine learning software to analyse data that has already been collected. This happens across many subject areas ranging from biomedical research to astronomy. The data sets are very large and expensive.
'Reproducibility crisis'
But, according to Dr Allen, the answers they come up with are likely to be inaccurate or wrong because the software is identifying patterns that exist only in that data set and not the real world.
Image copyright Rice University
Image caption Dr Allen says flawed machine learning is producing a "crisis in science"
"Often these studies are not found out to be inaccurate until there's another real big dataset that someone applies these techniques to and says 'oh my goodness, the results of these two studies don't overlap'," she said.
"There is general recognition of a reproducibility crisis in science right now. I would venture to argue that a huge part of that does come from the use of machine learning techniques in science."
The "reproducibility crisis" in science refers to the alarming number of research results that are not repeated when another group of scientists tries the same experiment. It can mean that the initial results were wrong. One analysis suggested that up to 85% of all biomedical research carried out in the world is wasted effort.
More from Pallab at the AAAS:
The man gene-editing animals for Africa
Call to ban killer robots in wars
Hidden painting under Picasso masterpiece
It is a crisis that has been growing for two decades and has come about because experiments are not designed well enough to ensure that the scientists don't fool themselves and see what they want to see in the results.
Flawed patterns
Machine learning systems and the use of big data sets has accelerated the crisis, according to Dr Allen. That is because machine learning algorithms have been developed specifically to find interesting things in datasets and so when they search through huge amounts of data they will inevitably find a pattern.
"The challenge is can we really trust those findings?" she told BBC News.
"Are those really true discoveries that really represent science? Are they reproducible? If we had an additional dataset would we see the same scientific discovery or principle on the same dataset? And unfortunately the answer is often probably not."
Image caption Machine learning is also used in biomedical research
Dr Allen is working with a group of biomedical researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston to improve the reliability of their results. She is developing the next generation of machine learning and statistical techniques that can not only sift through large amounts of data to make discoveries, but also report how uncertain their results are and their likely reproducibility.
"Collecting these huge data sets is incredibly expensive. And I tell the scientists that I work with that it might take you longer to get published, but in the end your results are going to stand the test of time.
"It will save scientists money and it's also important to advance science by not going down all of these wrong possible directions."
Follow Pallab on Twitter


The Green Bay Packers play the Los Angeles Rams in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the first time since 1978 on Sunday, which is where they will find the last undefeated team in the NFL this season.
The Rams (7-0) will be playing at home for the first time in more than a month.
"I think every week is a chance for our football team to continue to try to demonstrate the consistency that they've played with through seven weeks," Rams head coach Sean McVay said. "Right now our sole focus and concentration will be on the Packers.
"Being back at home should be fun and that's really what it is. It's a week-to-week league and we talk about it all the time. The narrative is written every single week and we want to continue to try to do a good job. We don't have to do anything other than try to be the best that we can be one day at a time and hopefully that leads to a good performance. The confidence that we have in our coaches and in our players' ability to execute, I think can allow them to operate with a quieted mind and go play to the best of their ability and we'll hopefully get the result that we want."
Coming into the game, the Rams lead the NFL in total yards behind quarterback Jared Goff and running back Todd Gurley II, who leads the NFL with 686 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns.
The Packers are second in total offense, but quarterback Aaron Rodgers, playing on a gimpy left knee, will have to avoid a devastating pass rush led by defensive tackles Aaron Donald, who leads the NFL with eight sacks, and Ndamukong Suh.
Rodgers has been sacked 17 times, but also has a knack for avoiding losses because of his innate ability to throw the ball away at just the right time.
Green Bay is 3-2-1 against teams with a combined record of 17-21-1, but the Packers' next five games are against teams with an overall mark of 23-10-1.
"We're going to have to play better," said Rodgers, who has played well this season despite not practicing much because of his injury. "We're going to have to play a lot better than we have to win those games.
"This is an important stretch in our season. I'm not going to say it's going to define our season but it's definitely going to shake things out when we get on the other side of this and get back home in six weeks on where we're at in the race and what we're playing for.
"If you want to be a competitive team that's playing in January, you've got to win some of these games."
It won't get any easier for the Packers, who in the next several weeks will play the New England Patriots (5-2), the Miami Dolphins (4-3), the Seattle Seahawks (3-3) and the Minnesota Vikings (4-2-1).
Green Bay is going to need more of what Rodgers delivered in his last game, when he completed 25 of 46 passes for 425 yards and two touchdowns in a 33-30 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.
Rodgers, who is playing with a knee brace, threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams to tie the game, 30-30, with 1:55 left in regulation and then drove the Packers down the field for Mason Crosby's game-winning 27-yard field goal as time expired.
"If I'm completely healed, I don't need to wear a brace," Rodgers said. "I feel more comfortable without it obviously. Having dealt with a knee injury for much of my football life, obviously you're more protected. You see some guys who do wear it all the time without having issues, but I just feel more comfortable without having it on. So if it's not on that means I'm feeling great and if it is, that means I'm not quite all the way back."
This is one of the NFL great, old-time rivalries, with the Rams and Packers playing for the 93rd rime in the regular season, and incredibly they are tied, 45-45-2. Only 11 points separates them in the previous 92 games, with the Rams elading, 2,105-2,094.
The Packers have won the last five, but will need some more magic from Rodgers to keep that going.


Ms. Moore! That's me! (as I say at the end of the kindergarten name song each week).
I'm at Garden City Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Friday afternoons. You can access our catalog and blog from the boxes below. Click on the tabs above for library lessons, access to e-books, and more.
Suggestions and comments are welcome. Email me at mmoore@cpsed.net.
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If a teacher or student would like a book that we don't have at Garden City, they may take advantage of our Interlibrary Loan program, through which we can order materials from more than 160 other Rhode Island school libraries.
Type your search term into the box below.
Then click on the appropriate access button.


text:
Q: Besides how texels are fetched, what differences are there between 2D and 3D textures? I'm in the process of porting an OpenGL app to the web, and discovered that WebGL 1.0 does not support 3D textures (will support in 2.0).
I use 16 x 16 x 16 textures for the colour information of some simple models (for a blocky kind of look).
Now without support for the 3D models, I realized I could instead spread the 16 layers on to a 4 x 4 plane, like so:
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0

0 = layer

The result being a 64 x 64 "pseudo-3D" texture.
Which leads me to my question: what's the difference between 3D and 2D textures on GPUs? And in a situation where a 2D texture can be used instead of a 3D texture (as in my example), would there be a performance difference between the two?
I'm guessing 3D textures have hardware support for interpolation along the z-axis, whereas with a 2D texture two texel fetches would be required, and a manual interpolation between them, for the same result.

A: You are correct, the biggest difference that comes to my mind immediately has to do with texture filtering 3D vs. 2D. Linear filtering has to sample 4 texels (assuming a 2D image) if the texture coordinate is not precisely at the center of a texel and then do weighted averaging based on the distance the sample location is from each of the texels fetched. This is such a fundamental operation that the hardware is built specially for this (newer hardware even lets you take advantage of this in the form of instructions like gather4).
You can implement linear filtering yourself (and in fact, you sometimes have to for things like multisampled textures) if you use a nearest-neighbor filter and compute the weighting factor, etc. yourself but it will always come out slower than the hardware implementation.
In your case, if you wanted to implement linear filtering on a 3D texture you would actually have to sample 8 texels (23 to handle interpolation across all 3 dimensions). Obviously hardware is biased toward working with 2D textures, as there is no gather8 instruction... but you can bet that native linear interpolation will be quicker than your manual hack.
WebGL does not even expose gather4/textureGather (as that is a DX10.1 / GL4 feature), but hardware worked this way long before that was an instruction you could use in a shader.

You might be able to come up with a compromise if you are clever, where you use the hardware's linear filtering capabilities for filtering in the S and T directions of each 2D slice and then perform your own linear filtering between the slices (R). You will have to be careful when dealing with texels at the edge of your image, however. Make sure there is at least 1 texel worth of border between the slice images in your virtual 3D texture so the hardware does not interpolate across slices.