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Navigating Geometry with Interactive Lessons: A Collection of Resources in GeoGebra that Address Frequently Held Misconceptions
No full textNearly every high school student in the United States is required to take a geometry class, and for many, it’s unlike any math class they’ve taken before. Additionally, there are certain topics with which past and present geometry students alike tend to struggle. This project was created to address these issues; my goal is that these materials will help students better understand these topics and clear up their frequently held misconceptions about geometry. This project was supported by interviews I conducted with veteran high school geometry teachers with over 75 years of teaching math between them.
This collection of interactive lessons has been created in GeoGebra, a mathematics software that includes various graphing and computing capabilities and shared community resources. The lessons are arranged in the format of a book within GeoGebra, with each of the eight chapters containing between two and six lessons. Each lesson includes definitions, images, questions, and interactive applets that students can use to explore and better understand certain troublesome topics in geometry. These topics include angle relationships and transversals, triangle congruence properties, and secants and chords within a circle. Additionally, the final two lessons provide a brief exploration of non-Euclidean geometry at an introductory level
Boston Scientific Strategic Audit
No full textBoston Scientific had a strong 2023, achieving 13.6% organic growth, $1.208 billion in profit, and maintaining a focus on employee satisfaction and sustainability. Recognized as a top workplace and leading innovator, the company is well-positioned for continued success. Its competitive edge stems from four key strengths. First, its top-tier innovation, driven by strong R&D investment, reinforces its credibility and specialization. Second, its skilled workforce accelerates product development. Third, its deep product lines foster extensive industry knowledge and creativity. Lastly, its logistical capabilities and strategic acquisitions have built a specialized, dominant portfolio. With a focused differentiation strategy, Boston Scientific competes with larger firms by leveraging its superior product depth and specialization. Operating within Cardiovascular and MedSurg solutions, the company’s R&D expands into related fields to drive portfolio efficiency. Strategic acquisitions further enhance its competitive standing, particularly in high-growth markets like cardiovascular solutions. Boston Scientific prioritizes investments in high-growth fields and regions to capture market share. Its history of successful acquisitions and targeted product expansion has fueled strong financial performance with a promising outlook. With its commitment to innovation and strategic investments, Boston Scientific is poised for sustained growth and profitability
The Effect of Obesity on Satellite Cell Differentiation in Mice
No full textObesity is a chronic condition with rapidly increasing prevalence rates, issuing great concern among the health and medical communities. Obesity not only increases the risk of many medical conditions, but also significantly impacts skeletal muscle structure and function, which can lead to increased recovery time after skeletal muscle damage. Satellite cells (SC) are a type of adult stem cell that function to replace and repair damaged muscle tissue. This study aims to investigate the effect of obesity on SC function. We hypothesize that obesity will have a negative effect on SC differentiation. Therefore, 8-week-old mice were randomly assigned to two groups, and fed control, low-fat diet (LFD) or obesogenic, or a high fat diet (HFD), for another 16 weeks. SC from both groups were extracted, isolated, cultured, and harvested. Harvested SC were then seeded on plates containing differentiation medium, and the differentiation process was analyzed via microscopic pictures and immunostaining. The results indicated that HFD SC presented significantly faster differentiation rates, as well as significantly increased viability when compared to LFD SC. These results indicate that isolated SC are resilient to obesity and that environmental factors found in muscles of obese patients are likely the cause for decreased SC functionality. Further research should be conducted regarding SC function in the presence of those external stimuli
Elucidation of Arthropod 4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Dioxygenase (HPPD) Metabolic Protein Structure, and Investigation of Novel Metabolic Enzyme Inhibitor Targets to Control Blood-Feeding Arthropods, Using Stable Flies (Stomoxys calcitrans) as a Model
No full textBlood-feeding arthropods are a common pest for livestock, particularly cattle, and can lead to approximately $2 billion of economic damage associated with direct feeding and disease pathogens or parasites transmitted by vectors during feeding. There are various biochemical pathways involved in the breakdown of the blood meal, and the pathways have been studied to find novel targets for inhibition of the enzymes involved. One of the most well-known is Nitisinone and its role of inhibiting 4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Dioxygenase (HPPD) in the tyrosine degradation pathway. Within literature evidence, Nitisinone is an effective reversible chemical inhibitor for this well conserved pathway and has been utilized to limit insect populations. Experimentation in this project focused on Stomoxys calcitrans (stable fly) for the first time, successfully using topical and oral bioassays with Nitisinone added to bovine blood that was fed to flies, a small clinical study dosing calves with Nitisinone via intravenous and intramuscular injections with blood draws taken that was then fed to flies, and in combination with other chemistries. Designing and developing novel inhibitors specifically targeting blood-feeding insects is a needed next step. Stomoxys calcitrans (stable fly) and Haematobia irritans (horn fly) HPPD proteins were isolated for further investigation to obtain the first structural models for both proteins. Using these models, it may be possible to design a novel inhibitor to selectively inhibit blood-feeding flies
The Role of Sexual Behavior, Sexual Objectification, and Peer Support for Violence in Young Men’s Empathy for Victims and Perpetrators of Rape
No full textSexual Violence (SV) has many negative health outcomes for victims. Previous studies investigating SV have examined its relationship with rape empathy. However, this research is only concerned with the relationship between SV and empathy for victims. The present study will examine the predictive relationships among rape empathy for both victims and perpetrators with prevalent variables in the broader field of SV prevention. Specifically, correlations, regressions, and moderations were run between scales of rape empathy, frequency of sexual activity, objectification of women, and peer support for sexual violence. It was found that there were few relationships among the predictors and rape empathy for victims while there were significant predictive relationships to empathy for perpetrators. There were no significant results for the moderation analyses. These findings will help to inform the future of SV prevention interventions and campaigns
Characterization of Residues in TetX8 for Tetracycline Inactivation
No full textTetracyclines are a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics historically used to treat bacterial infection via inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis. However, a family of flavin-dependent monooxygenases (FMO) called tetracycline destructases (TetXs) have evolved in bacterial species that confer resistance to many tetracycline substrates. How TetXs specifically recognizes its substrates, and which residues are critical for the enzyme activity remains to be fully understood. This study identified the role of residues in TetX8 for tetracycline inactivation via chimeric mutation compared to its distant homolog LaPhzS, followed by enzymatic activity analysis. LaPhzS is also an FMO that shares a remarkably similar fold to TetX, yet it catalyzes the decarboxylative hydroxylation of phenazine and lacks tetracycline-inactivating properties. In this work, TetX and LaPhzS were used for structural and sequence analysis. TetX8, a TetX family enzyme, was used to generate four TetX8-LaPhzS chimeric mutations to test the essential sequence/structural motifs at the substrate binding pocket of TetX8. Results from the in vivo enzymatic analysis indicate that all four chimeric mutants failed to confer tetracycline resistance. Preliminary purification through Ni-NTA resin suggests that chimera mutants 1-3 significantly affected the protein folding and/or stability, explaining the lack of tetracycline resistance for these mutants. Future steps are needed to produce and isolate correctly folded chimeric mutants to test for tetracycline resistance
KeenInsights
No full textHDR is an architecture, engineering, environmental, and consulting company known for adding beauty and structure to communities. HDR’s projects each face complex risk factors, including various permitting and regulatory requirements, managing deadlines, and coordinating with multiple stakeholders. One of the ways HDR mitigates risk is through senior management oversight. The Design Studio team was challenged to create a software tool to uncover project risk factors and encourage employees to think critically about project outcomes. The team proposed and built a machine learning model to retrieve information from data sources like key project documents and legal databases—uncovering critical risk factors. The team worked with HDR executives to list strategic questions targeting important aspects of project risk. The final model identifies risks for employees to understand and explore further. By using this software, employees at all levels of the company can start answering questions that HDR’s senior management consider when making project decisions. The software allows HDR to spread leadership’s data and industry instincts throughout the company to produce pivotal project insights at early stages of the project process
CK Monitor: From Prototype to Product
No full textCattle Kettle is an ag tech startup transforming how small to mid-sized ranchers monitor and manage livestock water systems. Rooted in real-world ranching challenges, our solution—the CK Monitor—delivers remote, real-time water level tracking through a rugged, battery-powered device equipped with cellular and satellite connectivity. Over the past year, we’ve combined in-depth customer discovery, in-house hardware prototyping, and thoughtful software development to build a durable, user-friendly system that reduces operational risk, saves time, and restores peace of mind. By engaging directly with ranchers across Nebraska, we’ve designed a solution that aligns with their workflows, withstands harsh conditions, and scales with their operations. Our team has laid the technical, operational, and business foundations to move from prototype to market-ready product, positioning Cattle Kettle as a leading force in rural innovation and sustainable livestock management.
Alongside technical development, we’ve included a team retrospective as part of this thesis to capture process insights and lessons learned. This reflection offers guidance for future Design Studio teams and highlights what made our approach effective—and where we’d do things differently
Firearm Trauma Across Time: Investigating Civil War Gunshot Trauma and Their Impact on Modern Forensic Analysis
Get PDFThis thesis will examine the ballistic trauma caused by Civil War-era firearms and ammunition. These weapons, each with distinct characteristics, had a profound impact on the nature of combat and the resulting injuries. By investigating how these firearms’ ammunition interacted with human bone structure, this research will offer a detailed analysis of the trauma these weapons produced.
This research intends to answer several key research questions. First, how did the different types of Civil War firearms affect skeletal remains? Second, what are the key characteristics of gunshot trauma caused by these firearms in terms of bone fracturing and fragmentation, and wound severity? Finally, how can the study of gunshot trauma from Civil War firearms enhance the methods used in modern forensic anthropology to analyze and interpret gunshot wounds to bone in modern cases?
Archival research formed the foundation of this study by providing primary source documentation on Civil War battlefield injuries. A diverse range of historical documents, provided by the National Museum of Health and Medicine, were consulted. Selected documents were reviews and the following data points were recorded: location of fracture, fracture type, soldier affiliation, outcome of injury, ammunition responsible for the injury, treatment measures undertaken, and survivability and fatality.
Advisor: William R. Belche