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Suitability of Paleosols from the early Miocene Kiahera Formation, Rusinga Island, Kenya for Stable Isotopic Analysis
Get PDFClimate change and concurrent environmental changes play an important role in understanding biological evolution through time, because climate change may be a stressor that promotes flora and fauna adaptations. Nearly a century of geological and paleontological study on Rusinga Island, Lake Victoria, Kenya, has made it a touchstone for understanding early Neogene floral and faunal evolution. This is because sediments that were deposited between ca. 20-17 Ma, during the early Miocene, are famous for the presence of the early ape, Ekembo, as well as more than 100 species of mammals. The basal Kiahera Formation has largely been understudied, but recent preliminary work suggests it contains an abundance of fossil soils (paleosols), as well as uniquely preserved fossils. Here we report on the clay mineralogy of four different paleosols within the Kiahera Formation using x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Preliminary XRD analysis reveals samples dominated by illite, kaolinite, and mixed layer clay minerals. In particular, sample LM17KF contained an abundance of clay minerals, no evidence of diagenetic alteration, and the desired two clay mineral suite of illite and kaolinite. This sample was determined to be the most robust candidate for future stable isotopic analysis. These results advance our ability to quantitively assess climate on the island, particularly in a formation that is important for its small mammal communities. Furthermore, this work, suggests there are phyllosilicates that are appropriate for 18O analysis which may result in our better understanding the role the East African monsoon played in the environment during this time
Integration of Spirituality and Religion in Therapeutic Interventions and Effectual Factors on Sanism in America: A Historical Case Study
No full textThis literature review will focus on the importance of integrating religious and spiritual paradigms into therapeutic interventions to meet cultural demands in rural America. The tension lies in the scarcity of training provided to counseling professionals in this area which has resulted in a hesitancy to integrate faith-based interventions into treatment plans. With an added layer of complexity, sanism magnifies the necessity of decreasing discrimination and intolerance starting with the counseling session in hopes of building advocacy outward to challenge and change systemic and societal misperceptions. The reviewer will evaluate articles investigating the impact of faith-based integration and synthesize findings to explore the mechanics of counselor action and advocacy. Gaps will be noted in areas of counselor education to increase competency in spiritual and religious integration as well as the potential negative outcomes of integration. Proposals will be explored for future studies to measure client treatment outcomes with faith-based integration as well as to consider how diverse cultural variables might affect societal perceptions of mental illness or religion and spirituality
The relationship between family structure and child development
Get PDFResearch suggests that family types can have positive and negative effects on children. Research also shows relationships between family types and cognitive development, and family types and socioemotional development. This project intends to examine the relationship between family structure and child development. For this literature synthesis I reviewed existing research articles that provided evidence of this relationship. I looked for articles that included outside factors that could influence the development. This includes topics such as race, gender, ethnicity, age, religion, culture, and economic status/social class. I focused on connecting the similarities and differences between the results. The outside factors listed above provide opportunities for gaps in the research. A question that arose from the research is, what role does the environment play on this relationship? Another was, how does society speed up or slow down the cognitive and socioemotional development? I found that different family types affect different areas of development. Going from a two-parent household to a one-parent household has a bigger influence on a child’s behavior. Starting with only one parent and gaining another influences a child’s achievements. Reviewed articles expressed that the type of family experiencing a change determines the developmental results. What is the relationship between family structure and child development? Through reviewing the literature, I found there is a relationship and there are many other factors that play a role in the relationship
How a Nimble Company Can Outrun Its Competition In Tense Situations
No full textDuring the Covid-19 pandemic, supply and demand for most products dramatically shifted. Although this sudden change was a hurdle for most industries, it was an unforeseen boon for others. One industry that benefitted was manufacturers of personal protection equipment. Makers of dust, surgical, and N-95 masks entered the spotlight. Homemakers sought out fabric and elastic to produce homemade masks. A few companies were uniquely positioned to meet this spike in demand.
We analyzed the quarterly financial statements of two companies from 2019 through 2020: Ambu A/S (AMBBY) and Alpha Pro Tech (APT) During 2020, AMBBY’s ROE decreased by 5.016% while APT’s ROE grew by 48.98%. We conducted horizontal and vertical analysis of the drivers for each company’s change in ROE using DuPont Decomposition along with a disaggregation of RNOA for the quarters ended January 2019 through December 2020.
We read the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) section of both company’s 2020 form 10-k. Our findings suggest that a company’s size, relative sales revenue, profit margin, and asset turnover can reduce a company’s flexibility, making them less likely to capitalize on unpredictable spikes in demand. APT adapted more quickly than AMBBY, because of its more compact size and favorable metrics. This enabled them to expand and accelerate their profits at a greater rate
Is the work-from-home concept here to stay? Study of changes in rental income from commercial real estate firms.
Get PDFIn March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a sudden influx of employees working from home full-time. A study of 100,000 tweets in spring 2020 showed a 73% positive sentiment toward working from home (Dubey & Tripathi, 2020). In October 2020, Rutgers reported between 14 and 203 million Americans plan to relocate in response to the availability of work-from-home assignments. That might signal a shift in demand for companies connected to residential real estate; however, one industry is positioned to lose big if Americans don't return to office buildings: commercial real estate. We analyzed the 2019 and 2020 quarterly financial statements of seven commercial real estate firms that specialize in renting office space and found evidence of changes in revenue and net property, plant, & equipment. Q2 2020 quickly showed an average decrease in rental income by more than 12% from Q1. The decrease suggests that while many companies are closing brick-and-mortar locations and workers anticipate a permanent work-from-home status, their landlords are not yet experiencing a significant change in their rental income or PPE. The average long-term lease for office space is around 3-5 years (Smith, 2021), so it may take years to see an impact as clients decide now to renew leases in the future and management completes existing projects
Development of a ternary mobile phase in thin layer chromatography testing for distinctions between hemp and marijuana
Get PDFThe illegal use of recreational drugs has led to an increase of presumptive drug testing in the law enforcement field. These tests can be faulty, and there is a need for improved testing methods. The enhanced ability to distinguish Cannabis from other related substances through presumptive testing would allow officers to have better information regarding making arrests. This project involves the use of thin layer chromatography (TLC) to create a new presumptive test that is more effective. Different compounds will be added to the current mobile phase to decrease the acid appearance on the TLC plates which is visualized by streaking. The ideal ternary mobile phase will be able to maintain successful extraction of the Cannabinoids and reduce the appearance of acid streaking on the TLC plates. The reduction of the streaking effect will give clearer results, this will allow officers to make better decisions based on the test kit. The test kit will show different colors in the presence of Cannabis compared to other similar substances making a clear indication for the presence of THC. If successful, this project holds the potential to provide officers with a safe and effective field testing kit
Polyaromatic Radical Anions: Utilization of a Harmonic Model in Simulating Radical Vibrational Structure and Gas-Phase Acidity Determination
Get PDFThrough their diverse molecular structure, charge and protonation states, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) play a central role in the field of Biochemistry, combustion chemistry, and Astrochemistry. In this poster, a harmonic model was utilized in the Franck–Condon (FC) analysis of the vibrational structure of negative radical anions of PAHs such as naphthalene and anthracene, following the ultra violet (UV) photodetachment of the initially prepared deprotonated anionic species. The two PAHs are utilized as a prototype for the vibronic analysis of the ground-state and lowest lying excited states of similar gas-phase isomers that contain a rigid, ring structure. The spectra are interpreted based on the comparison with quantum-mechanical data obtained from ab initio calculations as well as the Franck-Condon (FC) calculations. The geometric and frequency of the optimized structures of the anion and the neutral radical are calculated using the GAUSSIAN 09 software package. The FC factors of the anion PES are simulated using the PESCAL program. PESCAL obtains the FC factors using molecular geometry, normal mode vectors, and normal mode harmonic vibrational frequencies of the anion and neutral states. These FC simulations are based on a harmonic oscillator approximation model that utilizes the Duschinsky rotation between the normal mode vectors of the anion and neutral radical species. The calculated adiabatic electron affinity is utilized in the negative ion thermochemical cycle to determine gas-phase acidity values of neutral PAH molecules
Absenteeism at Work
Get PDFAs the economic side of the world continues to grow, so do the demands associated with it. In lieu of these demands, absenteeism at work can lead to interruptions throughout a company or with a company’s workflow. The overarching question is, can these be predicted despite being unintentional or habitual? Excessive absences impact the performance of the company and the individual. One guarantee is these absences can derive from a variety of reasons, whether medical or personal. Another factor in absences require looking into personal lives, work load, distance from work. By using the Absenteeism at Work from UCI Machine Learning Repository, we will attempt to build a machine learning model using Python. From this data set and this research, we demonstrate an ability to predict absentee time based on the reason for the absence, while accounting for the general lifestyle of the employee(s). We intend to evaluate the impacts of the absenteeism on the company and how to bridge the gaps left when a worker is missing. We hypothesize that employees with more severe medical issues will be at the upper range of all absences, and employees with more social occupations are more likely to miss than their less social counterparts. Using R’s modeling capabilities, we present various statistical and graphical observations
Origin of Linear Deformation Patterns in the Fortuna and Itzpapalotl Tesserae, Venus
Get PDFTesserae are unique surface features identified by linear deformation in multiple crossing directions. They are found on Venus and are assumed to comprise the oldest known crust of the planet. This study focuses on tessera lineations in order to identify similarities regarding their formation. Two tesserae, the Fortuna Tessera and Itzpapalotl Tessera, located in the northern polar region (V1), are compared. The goal of this work is to determine if tesserae formed in isolated events or if they were formed by the same or similar events. This could help understandings in the processes that form tesserae and how they relate to each other. This study tests the hypothesis that lineations within the tesserae will differ enough in orientation to conclude that individual tesserae were formed in unique isolated events. This study presents bearing measurements taken of the lineations within the chosen tesserae. Each tessera has two distinct sets of linear features which cross at near perpendicular angles. Using GIS, 400 lineations were mapped at a scale of 1:1,000,000 and their bearings calculated. The bearing measurements were then plotted against each other to determine if the sets of lineations had significant similarity in their orientations. Preliminary results show that there is a general northeast and northwest trend for the two sets of lineations, respectively, on each of the observed tesserae. This refutes the hypothesis that individual tessera experienced deformation during unique, local deformation events and instead suggests that tessera may record widespread, global deformation
Role of Nanotechnology in Assisting Health Care Treatment: A Review of Technologies
No full textNanotechnology is known as the science of “tiny” scales and it has very impactful outcomes for applications in materials, the environment, health care, and energy, among other significant fields. In particular, it has a wide range of applications within the healthcare field including diagnosis and treatment of early-stage cancer and other diseases. In addition, nanoparticles offer numerous advantages in drug delivery systems. For example, nanoparticles are used in novel approaches for drug delivery which can achieve better therapeutic action, bioavailability, and reduce toxicity. In this contribution, technologies developed to assist with the treatment of healthcare-related illness will be classified and a brief description of the approach associated with the technology will be presented. Potential research gaps for advancing the technology and/or improving its efficiency will also be highlighted