1854 research outputs found
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Increasing Accessibility of a Children\u27s Summer Camp
Full text linkThe Americans with Disabilities Act was initially passed in 1990 with an aim of creating accessible public spaces for all individuals with disabilities and impairments. Since that time, research on accessibility for children with physical impairments has largely been focused on access to homes and schools. It is clear that a lack of accessibility impacts children with physical impairments in other environments by reducing social participation and interaction with peers. There is minimal research on accessibility of children’s extracurricular spaces, such as summer camps, despite studies showing the importance of children with physical impairments participating in social extracurricular activities. This project assessed the ADA compliance and accessibility of a children’s summer camp with a focus on determining where accessibility could be improved to facilitate participation for all children
Survey Analysis: Senior and One-Year Out Surveys
Full text linkThrough surveys colleges are able to collect and analyze data pertaining to the institution\u27s alumni, including valuable information about employment post-graduation. The number of alumni employed after graduation is an important statistic for colleges. In addition, the location, company, industry sector, and relevance to major are other aspects that can be analyzed by the college. Collecting alumni information not only provides pertinent employment status but can also maintain alumni connections. Therefore, this project works to organize and analyze alumni major feedback collected through alumni surveys, in order to provide pertinent information for departments and the college
Effect of Historic Milldam Density on Current Water Quality Indicators in a Portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Full text linkSuspended sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus are a significant source of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, and levels of these pollutants in the watershed’s streams and rivers are concerning. Traditional approaches to reducing sediment and nutrient loads have focused primarily on upland soil erosion, but often fail to include in-stream processes like bank erosion. It has recently been shown that in the North American Piedmont geographical region, historic sediment that accumulated behind milldams in the 18th and 19th centuries, referred to as legacy sediment, is an underestimated source of sediments in the Chesapeake Bay. Breached dams result in altered stream structures that exacerbate bank erosion and erosion of legacy sediment. In this study, I aimed to examine the relationship between historic milldam density in a watershed and the current water quality leaving the watershed. I expected to find positive correlations with watersheds with higher milldam densities having higher current levels of suspended sediment, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus. Watersheds were constructed using ArcMap software based on USGS stream gauge stations in Pennsylvania and Maryland in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Milldam density for each of these watersheds was calculated as number of dams per hectare, and linear regression analyses were run for each of the water quality variables. No statistically significant results were found for the 14 studied watersheds. More research is needed to determine whether there is a relationship between historic milldam density and current water quality indicators
The Effect of Poly(I:C) and IFN-α on the Immune System as Observed Through IL-12 Production by Dendritic Cells
Full text linkActivation of dendritic cells (DCs) through toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists causes release of cytokines. DC2.4 cells are immature murine DCs derived from the bone marrow that express TLRs, including TLR3. The response of DC2.4 cells to varying doses and times of the TLR3 agonist, poly(I:C), was evaluated. In contrast to previously studied MuTu DCs, DC2.4 cells produced little to no interleukin-12 (IL-12) after 12-hour exposure to doses from 0.1-100 µg/mL poly(I:C). This was surprising because literature suggests that the expression of TLR3 dramatically increases when DCs are maturing, which should occur upon poly(I:C) exposure. Once fully mature, DCs receive inflammatory signals to reduce TLR3 expression. Treatment of DCs with interferon-a (IFN-α) has been found to enhance IL-12 production by increasing TLR3 expression. DC2.4s exposed to IFN-α prior to poly(I:C) treatment also failed to produce IL-12. Experiments using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) confirmed that the cells can make IL-12 through activation of the TLR4 pathway. Ongoing studies are investigating the functionality of the TLR3 pathway in the cells. Luciferase assays with IFN-β plasmids are being conducted to confirm the presence of a functional TLR3. Western blotting and immunofluorescence are also being explored to qualitatively determine whether the DC2.4 cell line expresses TLR3, as reported in literature. Additionally, the maturation status of the lab’s DC2.4 cells is being considered. Analysis of TLR3 levels and production of IL-12 by DC2.4s allows for greater understanding of how different lab-derived lines of DCs exhibit responses to TLR agonists
Episode 5: Hacking
No full textIt may sound audacious, to say that a horse-and-buggy driving group, can teach us anything about living in a hyper-tech, hyper-everything world. Yet for Professor Kraybill, the Amish demonstrate how some old-fashion things, suddenly turn relevant, once again! In nine episodes Kraybill explores what he learned from the Amish about (1) Community, (2) Technology, (3) Apprenticeship, (4) Forgiveness, (5) Hacking (6) Smallness (7) Choices (8) Humility, and (9) Death.
Episode Five: Hacking
Professor Kraybill explores the fascinating ways that Amish “hackers” adapt technology to fit Amish values and practices. He shows how hacking is a way to control technology while at the same time permitting some progress
The Tenets of Journalism: A Thematic Analysis of Journalists’ Adherence to Traditional Journalistic Norms
No full textInvestigation of BIN1 Isoform in Immortalized Human Diploid Fibroblasts Transformed by SV40 T-Antigen
Full text linkBridging intergrator-1, BIN1, functions in membrane recycling, cytoskeleton regulation, DNA repair, and cell proliferation. As a tumor suppressor, BIN1 binds to c-MYC to inhibit S-phase gene transcription aand the N-terminus sequesters PARP, stopping DNA repair, and promoting apoptosis. Decreases in overall levels if BIN1 correlate with poor cancer prognosis. Additionally, BIN1 message can be alternatively spliced, creating isoforms lacking the myc-binding domain. This study was designed to investigate a potential role of BIN1 in viral tumorigenesis by comparing the accumulated levels and isoforms in immortalized human diploid fibroblasts and their simian virus 40 transformed counterparts. RTPCR, revealed several processed transcripts and immunoblotting detected a doublet depending upon the antibody employed. Thus far we have not detected a qualitative difference between the RNA transcripts amplified; however, preliminary data indicate that the lower BIN1 protein band may predominate in the transformed cells. Studies are ongoing to answer these questions
Design and Synthesis of Hoogsteen-Binding Peptide Nucleic Acid Monomers with Extended Linkers for Triple Helical U-A Recognition in RNA
Full text linkRNA provides many functions within biological systems. For example, noncoding RNA (ncRNA), a form of RNA that is not part of transcription or translation, serves a variety of unique roles, such as catalysis or gene regulation. ncRNA generally forms double helical motifs that are ripe for molecular recognition. Sequence selective recognition of double helical RNA (dhRNA) can be achieved using Peptide Nucleic Acids (PNA) through triple helical formation by Hoogsteen hydrogen bonding of PNA nucleobases in the major groove of dhRNA. However, strong, and selective recognition is typically limited to polypurine strands and pyrimidine recognition remains an unsolved problem. A promising solution uses extended nucleobases to reach across the Hoogsteen face of the RNA base pair, bypassing the pyrimidine, and binding with the distal purine. Using this strategy, we designed and synthesized new extended nucleobases to help uncover the ideal linker length and heterocyclic substitution for optimal molecular recognition
Minimizing Stimulation Artifact in Real-Time Movement Decoding
No full textElectrocutaneous stimulation stimulates nerves in the skin and allows a user to feel what they are touching while using a prothesis. Without a sense of touch amputees must focus their attention on their prosthesis and without sensory feedback the user cannot adjust their grip to match the object. A Convolutional neural network (CNN) was implemented alongside of the Kalman filter to see which algorithm will reject artifact better. An experiment was designed in a virtual environment to test which of the two algorithms will reject stimulation artifact better. The experiment consists of three blocks that all take a different amount of force to move, and the electrical stimulation occurs when a force is applied to the blocks. We will compare finger position during stimulation and ability to identify blocks. We anticipate the CNN to perform better and ignore stimulation if the artifact is included in the training