11603 research outputs found
Sort by
Securing Pint Glasses on Serving Trays with Magnetic Attachments
It is extremely common for servers in the restaurant industry to have pint glasses slip off their serving tray, wasting both time and money for the restaurant. I have designed a sleeve attachment that will clip on to the bottom of a pint glass. The metal sleeve attachment will be attracted to a magnet placed into the serving tray. This increases the normal force of the pint glass, resulting in an increase in the friction force between the tray and sleeve attachment, and helping secure the glass to the tray. In order to optimize the design, the value of the static friction coefficient of the materials, as well as the value and influence of the magnet force on the object was measured. This information was used to determine the best material to use in the product, and to predict the effectiveness of the design in preventing the sliding of the glass. Ultimately, a wooden tray and an ABS plastic sleeve were chosen for the design, and a prototype was produced and tested
Buddhas and Body Language: The Literary Trope of the Buddha\u27s Smile
This essay explores how classical Buddhist literature, across a variety of traditional genres, portrays the wondrous smile of the Buddha. Despite its literary register, the Buddha’s smile is first and foremost a nonverbal gesture, and if we are to understand its significance, then we must employ a theoretical approach that treats it as such. Multimodality provides such an approach. While an emergent body of psychological research has argued that the smile is a universal human gesture connected to a rather limited set of emotional states like happiness, the recognition that smiles can be voluntary acts highlights the importance of situational context. Since the Buddha’s smile comes from an historical and cultural context quite foreign to the body of evidence that has informed modern physiological science, we must read carefully for incongruency and allow difference to guide our thinking. The essay argues that, while the figurative trope of the Buddha’s smile remains enigmatic and rich in possible meanings due to its inherently nonverbal character, it nonetheless gestures toward his status as a figure of sovereign power and superhuman knowledge. Although this interpretation has largely eluded modern commentators, it finds support in classical Buddhist understandings and points to the power and flexibility of language itself, particularly gesture, body language, and figurative behavior. For evidence, the article also includes, as an appendix, an English translation of a short story from the Hundred Buddhist Tales (Avadānaśataka) featuring the luminous and powerful smile of the Buddha
Marketing Lululemon in Nigeria
International marketing and globalization have evolved from being solely a large corporation practice and have been a valuable tool in businesses\u27 success even on a smaller scale. However, there isn\u27t a set framework or cookie-cutter method that translates across all countries, and many companies may wonder where they went wrong when their business flourishes in one country and fails in the next. Lululemon, a well-established and recognized athletic clothing company, has found great success in the industry and has gained consumer favor from primarily western countries. To better analyze how Lululemon would conduct business in Nigeria, there must be a thorough understanding of specific consumer demands and needs, analysis of the different demographics and how product distribution might change, the financial strain that Nigeria faces more than Lululemon\u27s other markets, their social and political environment, etc. Through a better understanding and analysis of the Nigerian market, Lululemon can successfully expand its business into a completely new market
COVID-19\u27s Impact on the Small Town of McMinnville: A Mini Documentary
I produced a documentary about the economic and societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the small town of McMinnville, Oregon. In this work of journalism, I researched relevant statistical information from electronic databases, as well as other professional resources, and presented them in a creative and engaging way. I planned to have at least 3 in-depth interviews of people representing notable institutions in McMinnville. I as a journalist planned to have a role in the documentary through narration.
The target audience for my documentary would mainly be residents of Yamhill County and other counties close by; however, residents of small towns or people interested in small towns should be part of the audience as well. McMinnville is a case study of a town that was on a steady rise but hit a brick wall due to the pandemic. This documentary can shed light on this kind of situation that is happening in other areas across the country
crisscrossing Science Episode 115: Cellular Sunscreen
In this episode, Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield University) and Chad Tillberg (professor of biology at Linfield University) invite Dr. Shanna Bowman (assistant professor of biology at Linfield University) to their conference call to discuss types of melanin and how different types arose based on geographical location
Student-Faculty Collaborative Research Grant Report
Complexity is the study of unexpected order or “phenomena which emerge from a collection of interacting objects.”1 There are many natural systems that have been studied with the complexity lens: earthquakes, neuronal activity, protein folding, insect swarms, and forest fires. My research over the past few years has focused on computationally modeling fly swarms. This past year, the coronavirus pandemic and the role that computational modeling plays in managing the pandemic caused me to switch my research topic to modeling infectious disease propagation. While different from fly swarms, infectious diseases at the population level form a system with similar complexity.
1 Johnson, Neil F., Chapter 1: Two\u27s company, three is complexity,” Simply complexity: A clear guide to complexity theory, Oneworld Publications (2009
How Drone Technology Can Help Minimize Natural Disaster
In this presentation, we demonstrate a model for determining how drone technology is able to be used most effectively in order to reduce the damage of natural disasters. Additionally, drones can enable response teams to be more effective and safe. Our model is based on the wildfires in Victoria, Australia, and our work was part of the 2021 Mathematical Contest in Modeling
Sending Mixed Signals: A Study of the Melanocortin-1-Receptor
Skin tone varies considerably among humans across the world. These variations are due in part to different types of skin pigments known as melanin. The two main types of melanin are eumelanin and pheomelanin. Eumelanin, a brown/black pigment, is produced in response to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and provides protection from harmful UV rays. On the other hand, pheomelanin is a red/yellow pigment and is not photoprotective. According to the World Health Organization, skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer. Individuals who produce predominantly pheomelanin typically have fair skin, red or blonde hair, are unable to tan, and are at greater risk for developing melanoma skin cancer. Melanoma is cancer of the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. UV exposure causes release of the melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH), which activates a receptor on melanocytes called the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R). MSH stimulates MC1R signaling pathways which produce photoprotective eumelanin. In contrast, pheomelanin is produced when the MC1R signaling pathway is inactive. MC1R signaling is typically inactive in individuals who carry melanoma-associated MC1R variants. Two of the most frequent melanoma-associated mutations are MC1R-R151C and MC1R-D294H. Both of these mutations cause red hair, fair skin, and increased skin cancer risk. These mutations also impact surface levels of MC1R, which in turn affect the eumelanin synthesis pathway. Previous work in human embryonic kidney cells suggests that MC1R signaling is reduced in both of these mutations and that MC1R-R151C decreases MC1R surface levels, while MC1R-D294H increases MC1R surface levels. How these mutations alter MC1R localization in melanocytes is unknown. We investigated how MC1R surface levels differ among wild type MC1R and MC1R skin cancer mutants. We observed that MC1R-R151C decreases receptor surface levels and MC1R-D294H increases surface levels in mouse melanocytes
Performance of Nightsongs for Fluegelhorn and Trumpet with Accompaniment, by Richard Peaslee
Nightsongs by Richard Peaslee (1930-2016) was composed in 1973 during the midst of his theatre career. The piece was commissioned by Harold Lieberman at Carnegie Hall. Peaslee’s composition study and specialization in big band music transferred into his involvement in a variety of range of genres, such as film, dance, and jazz, which reflected on Nightsongs with jazz and extended techniques. This piece contains contrasting moods that exploit each instrument’s characteristics. A rich sound, a low register, and syncopated rhythm are amplified by the fluegelhorn. In comparison, a brighter, more regal sound, and ascending/descending triplets, are amplified by the trumpet. Throughout the piece, the unstable and unfinished feel sustains with a sense of peace, surreal state, and conflict.
Performers: Fluegelhorn/Trumpet: Sungmin Park Piano Accompaniment: Dr. Julie Cros
Gene Annotation of GlyS in Drosophila Species
In collaboration with scientists and undergraduate members of the Genomics Education Partnership, we are using genomic data and bioinformatics tools to engage in comparative genomics research. By analyzing sequence and gene expression data from numerous Drosophila species, we are generating gene models for orthologs of genes found in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. A gene model is a representation of a gene’s exons and introns (coding and noncoding regions). We are building and analyzing gene models in their genomic context. The gene models we produce are illuminating the evolution of the structure and function of the insulin signaling pathway, enabling us to uncover the principles by which genes and their regulatory regions evolve, as a factor of a gene’s position within a particular biological network.
Our research team created gene models for GlyS, a gene that codes for the protein Glycogen Synthase, in several species of Drosophila. Glycogen Synthase catalyzes the production of glycogen from glucose monomers and serves a necessary role in growth and metabolic homeostasis. We have identified key similarities and differences in the GlyS gene and in its genomic context across species. Evaluating the conservation of genes is a critical way to examine features of gene networks, such as robustness and resistance to change. The genome annotations we produced for various species at critical evolutionary distances will be further analyzed to determine how the GlyS gene and its genomic context has changed over time relative to other genes involved in the insulin signaling pathway