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Growing Potential
No full textGrowing Potential is a resource and residential complex for youth/young adults aging out of the foster care system. The complex is located at 1801 E 51st St in Austin Texas on 7.5 acres. There are a total of 74 units on site with the capability of housing 6 administrators and 100 young adults (and their children). Each unit is a part of a bigger building called a pocket which has four different variations. Every pocket entry features a pergola as a doorway to the courtyard space and its activity. The outdoor space is to be used as a gathering space for residents to hang out and interact with one another through the activity in the space or simple conversation. This complex's goal is to provide young adults who have aged out of the system with a safe space to go to in order to learn the responsibilities that are associated with being an adult. The resource spaces offer the residents an opportunity to learn the steps to becoming independent. Whether that is receiving childcare, therapy, basic life skills, assistance in finding a job, applying to college or even receiving a high school diploma. Growing Potential allows the young adults (and their children) to remain off the streets which in turn assists in keeping the percentages of homelessness down
Multiphysics Interactions at the Electroadhesive Finger-Device and Finger-Material Interfaces
No full textSurface haptics technology, with its unique capability in generating rich tactile sensations on interactive touch surfaces, is one of the leading technologies for next generation haptics. Due to its high bandwidth, electroadhesion is one of the most effective methods to render virtual textures by modulating the friction force through an electrostatic field between the human finger and the screen surface. Despite its initial success in commercialization, challenges remain to achieve effective and reliable tactile feedback due to the variability of results. For high-volume consumer electronics, it���s critical to simultaneously attain strong electroadhesion effect and low variability.
More broadly, design of products for pleasant or luxurious feeling is becoming important within the consumer products industry. Texturing is often the approach, yet this is mostly still a trial-and-error activity, which neither efficient nor sufficient. The electroadhesive finger-device and finger-material interfaces are complex and changing, and whose performance therefore is hard to predict due to the interactions of multi-physical phenomena such as capillary bridges formed by sweat and adsorbed water, electrostatic field from the electroadhesive device, and textures ranging from macroscale to nanoscale on both surfaces. In addition, the existence of lipids and sebum affects friction force and the tactile feeling of materials in different ways.
In this dissertation, finger friction with electroadhesion was measured with a custom-built tribometer enclosed inside an environmental chamber, material properties including surface topography, Young���s modulus, surface energy were characterized, and the tactile feeling of the surfaces was evaluated by psychophysical human subject tests.
To further elucidate the underlying physics and to predict adhesion, friction, and electroadhesion performance for nanotextured contact interfaces, multi-scale multi-physics models coupling contact mechanics, electrostatic force, capillary force, and van der Waals forces were developed and successfully validated with experimental results. Predicted by the model, novel textures were proposed to achieve improved performance and reduced variability for electroadhesive surface haptic devices. Furthermore, the multi-physics models developed in this dissertation provide the foundation for inverse design and active control of friction and tactile feeling of nanotextured surfaces
���Forever Chemicals��� and Children���s Health���A Review of Adverse Effects Associated with Infant Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
Get PDFBackground: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widespread environmental contaminants. PFAS can bioaccumulate and persist in the human body for years and have been associated with reproductive and developmental effects. Breastfeeding is one major route of PFAS exposure in infants as lactation is an excretion pathway. While breastfeeding provides ample nutrition, immune and developmental benefits for infants, lactational PFAS transfer represents a potential risk for infant immune development and possibly other long-term adverse effects. Methods: In this literature review, we examine levels of PFAS concentration in breast milk across several different studies and synthesize findings from human epidemiologic studies and experimental models in both adults and children. Results: PFAS are routinely found in breast milk across geographic regions. PFAS exposure has led to numerous adverse health outcomes including immune, reproductive, and metabolic effects as well as pubertal onset indicators. Conclusion: Overall, it can be concluded based on existing scientific evidence that there is an association between PFAS exposure and adverse health outcomes in adults and children. However, many of the studies in this review focus on long-chain PFAS and may be inconsistent with other findings, so there is a need for more studies on short-chain PFAS to understand their potential long-term health effects
Trusst
No full textThis project is focused on the design for a center similar to a ���daycare��� or ���nursing home��� that would provide care for both the elderly and the young. This type and level of interaction requires ���intergenerational design���, which is a design concept that considers people holistically in their environment in order to bridge the gap between generations. It requires an understanding of the psychological impacts of the built environment on individuals of different ages and with cognitive differences. Research is focused on two areas: study of the impacts of specific elements on these different groups, and study of the subconscious mind versus societal influences on the effectiveness of certain design elements in promoting health and encouraging interaction between generations
Describing the Impacts of Wastewater Effluent on the Phytoplankton Community Composition in Galveston Bay
Get PDFThe treatment of wastewater has been a dilemma since humans began building and inhabiting cities. Globally, wastewater is released into oceans, bays, streams, lakes and rivers, in many cases, without much consideration for the potential ecological impacts. The impact of wastewater effluent on the phytoplankton community is not well understood. Changes in the phytoplankton community composition are related to the physicochemical parameters of the environment. Phytoplankton are essential to the marine ecosystem as they are the foundation of the food chain and support higher trophic levels. Thus, a deep understanding of the relationship between human activity and wastewater effluent impacts on the ecosystem is necessary for identifying potential environmental degradation due to human activities. As the human population increases, so will the amount of wastewater that is produced. Understanding the best methods of disposal and treatments will help ensure that the best practices are being employed. Seemingly small factors such as release rate, release time and surrounding environments of the wastewater effluent input have the potential to influence how the treated wastewater navigates 2 through the waterway. I hypothesize that changes in the phytoplankton community will be correlated to rapid and large increase in human population associated with human events. In order to test this hypothesis, I determined this relationship by establishing baseline environmental parameters and phytoplankton assemblages to data collected during large-scale human activities in Galveston Bay, Texas. My data suggests that there are no changes in the concentration of chlorophyll-a, a proxy for phytoplankton biomass, between baseline periods and large-scale human activities. This implies that the large-scale human activities did not impact the concentration of phytoplankton. Why a noticeable change was not observed in this study will be discussed, as well as suggestions for future directions of such research