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What Inclusive Instructors Do: A Book Review
No full textIn the book, What Inclusive Instructors Do (published in 2021), authors Tracie Addy et el focus on principles and practices for excellence in college teaching and offer several recommendations for creating an inclusive classroom. In the preface, they explain to the reader that this book emerged as a result of changes to the educational landscape as a result of COVID and online instruction. This book was also a courageous response to the racial tension and violence that escalated during the pandemic
Importance of Extrinsic Cues of Grass-Fed Beef by U.S. Consumers Across Regions
Get PDFExtrinsic qualities have become a priority because they affect the type of beef consumers purchase from grocery stores, farmers\u27 markets, restaurants, and private vendors (Cheung et al., 2017; Gwin & Lev, 2011). Some consumers are concerned with the beef they eat, wanting to know about health benefits (Cheung et al., 2017; Gwin & Lev, 2011), the origin of their food (Grunert, 2005), animal welfare (FMI & FMRPE, 2018; Gillespie et al., 2016), concerns about how their beef is produced (Birt, 2017; Gillespie et al., 2016; Yang & Woods, 2016), environmental practices (FMI & FMRPE, 2018), etc. Increased premiums on grass-fed beef have also deterred shoppers from purchasing it (Cheung et al., 2017). This study advances the existing research by exploring the extrinsic quality cues for grass-fed beef across regions in the United States. If beef producers know what consumers value the most, considering that consumption needs change over time, they can react to the trends and communicate about their grass-fed beef products to consumers
Differences in Susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Transgenic hACE2-Hamster Founder Lines
Get PDFAnimal models that are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and develop clinical signs like human COVID-19 are desired to understand viral pathogenesis and develop effective medical countermeasures. The golden Syrian hamster is important for the study of SARS-CoV-2 since hamsters are naturally susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. However, infected hamsters show only limited clinical disease and resolve infection quickly. In this study, we describe development of human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) transgenic hamsters as a model for COVID-19. During development of the model for SARS-CoV-2, we observed that different hACE2 transgenic hamster founder lines varied in their susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 lethal infection. The highly susceptible hACE2 founder lines F0F35 and F0M41 rapidly progress to severe infection and death within 6 days post-infection (p.i.). Clinical signs included lethargy, weight loss, dyspnea, and mortality. Lethality was observed in a viral dose-dependent manner with a lethal dose as low as 1 × 100.15 CCID50. In addition, virus shedding from highly susceptible lines was detected in oropharyngeal swabs on days 2–5 p.i., and virus titers were observed at 105.5−6.5 CCID50 in lung and brain tissue by day 4 p.i.. Histopathology revealed that infected hACE2-hamsters developed rhinitis, tracheitis, broncho-interstitial pneumonia, and encephalitis. Mortality in highly susceptible hACE2-hamsters can be attributed to neurologic disease with contributions from the accompanying respiratory disease. In contrast, virus challenge of animals from less susceptible founder lines, F0M44 and F0M51, resulted in only 0–20% mortality. To demonstrate utility of this SARS-CoV-2 infection model, we determined the protective effect of the TLR3 agonist polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (Poly (I:C)). Prophylactic treatment with Poly (I:C) significantly improved survival in highly susceptible hACE2-hamsters. In summary, our studies demonstrate that hACE2 transgenic hamsters differ in their susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection, based on the transgenic hamster founder line, and that prophylactic treatment with Poly (I:C) was protective in this COVID-19 model of highly susceptible hACE2-hamsters
Coupled Thermal-Electrical-Mechanical Characteristics of Lightning Damage in Woven Composite Honeycomb Sandwich Structures
Get PDFIn this study, lightning strike damage of woven carbon fibre-reinforced polymer laminates (W-CFRPs) and woven composite honeycomb sandwich panels (W-CHSPs) are simulated using the proposed sequential thermal-electrical-mechanical finite element (FE) coupling model incorporating dielectric breakdown of materials. Surface current with an amplitude of 200 kA and corresponding lightning shockwave overpressure were applied on each composite. The FE model coupled with LaRC05 criterion was used to study the failure behaviours of intralaminar damage and interlaminar delamination of the W-CFRPs and W-CHSPs. A series of lightning strike tests were performed to validate the FE model. Detailed lightning damage assessments and mechanisms were characterized by a combination of visual inspection, image processing, ultrasonic scanning and micro computed tomography (Micro-CT) and showed good agreements with the FE-predicted results. It can be concluded that shockwave overpressure significantly impacts lightning-induced damages, thereby supporting the effectiveness of the newly proposed sequential thermal-electrical-mechanical coupling model, which demonstrates improved predictive accuracy
Fact Sheet for Parents: What You Need to Know About Adderall
Get PDFThis fact sheet provides information about what Adderall is used for, how it can be misused, and what parents can do to talk to their kids about appropriate use
Improving Relationships – Hidden Gems Adventure Guides
Get PDFThe USU Hidden Gems Adventure Guides are free online resources for families and couples. They offer one-hour activities that promote social-emotional learning. Online surveys showed improvements in family and couple outcomes in several important aspects, such as spending time together and communication skills
Structure Identification for High-Dimensional Data in the Vicinity of Bear Lake
Get PDFThis report focuses on seven water quality measurements taken at 43 different depths on the Bear Lake, Utah-Idaho for the months of June - November in the years 2018 - 2023. These measurements create a high-dimensional dataset on which we apply state-of-the-art machine learning (ML) techniques to look for low-dimensional structure in the data. A similar effort was made for weather measurements taken near the lake. Our analysis reveals that water quality measurements tend to cluster (i.e., group together) by year, while weather measurements tend to cluster by time of the year. This in mind, we explore potential drivers of this strong year to year clustering in the water quality data. This includes an exploration of land use change as well as an exploration of water inflows/outflows. We find that measured inflows and outflows from the lake explain about 50% of the variability in the position of each year within the low dimensional representations of the platform data. With only six years to compare, it is difficult to know whether or not this phenomenon is due to chance, but the discovery motivates further exploration of the lasting impact of inflow/outflows on Bear Lake water quality measurements
Multiscale Analysis of Thermal Barrier Coated CFRP Composites Under Thermal Loading
Get PDFCarbon-fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are commonly used in high performance applications. Although offering several advantages (i.e., superior specific properties and improved structural rigidity), traditional CFRP composites often exhibit poor thermal stability due to a low matrix thermal decomposition temperature. The effective operating temperature of the CFRP composites can be raised by applying an outermost, protective thermal barrier coating (TBC) layer. Prefabricated high void content ceramic TBCs are ideal for composite applications due to their high thermal stability and relatively low thermal conductivity. In this paper, the thermo-mechanical response of the TBCCFRP composite laminate subjected to 500°C are assessed through a multiscale framework based on micromechanics and finite element analysis: the NASA Multiscale Analysis Tool (NASMAT) and ABAQUS are used herein. The homogenized material properties from NASMAT are transferred to an ABAQUS transient heat transfer model to assess the thermal barrier performance of a TBC layer and understand corresponding temperature distributions in the underlying CFRP laminate. In this framework, the NASMAT micromechanics model can predict the through-the-thickness thermal conductivities of the TBC with a 0.020 W/m/K variation and CFRP laminate with a 0.143 W/m/K variation from the experimental results of 3.38 W/m/K and 0.61 W/m/K, respectively. The predicted back face CFRP temperatures from pristine CFRP and TBC-CFRP laminates are consistent with experimental results (\u3c3% difference). This work represents the first step towards developing a reliable multiscale framework for simulating the performance of thermal barrier coated CFRP composites operating at high temperatures
Comparing Recovery Volumes of Steady and Unsteady Injections Into an Aquifer Storage and Recovery Well
Get PDFAquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) can involve injecting available surface water into an unconfined aquifer and then extracting it to provide secondary water for irrigation. This study demonstrates a method for evaluating the appropriateness of steady injection versus unsteady injection for an assumed situation. In design, it can be important to affect the transient: the proportion of the injected water that would be subsequently extracted (versus that remaining in the aquifer) and the proportion within the extracted water that would be an injectate (versus ambient groundwater). These proportions can be predicted from the predicted value of an ASR well\u27s Recovery Effectiveness (REN)—the time-varying proportion of injectate that is extracted subsequently from the same fully penetrating well. Applying the demonstrated procedure with appropriately detailed data and simulation models can predict the REN values from steady versus unsteady injection, followed by steady extraction. For convenience in displaying and computing REN, the injectate was assumed to have a 100 ppm conservative solute concentration. For this demonstration, a homogenous isotropic unconfined one-layer aquifer was assumed. The scenarios involved steady or unsteady injection for 61 days via a fully penetrating ASR well. Then, 91 days of steady pumping led to the extraction of a total volume equal to that injected. For the assumed hydrogeologic data—31 years of Salt Lake City, Utah, rainfall data and estimated captured runoff—the results show that steady injection is more likely to cause a predictable REN but might not cause a higher REN than daily varying injection of the same total volume. Assuming different runoff or hydrogeologic flows would lead to different REN values. Steady injection causes a predictable groundwater mound and can assure a sufficient vadose zone thickness for overlying plants. Augmentation and storage of captured rainwater can help to provide a steady injection rate. For a situation that requires REN management, appropriate simulations can help water managers design ASR systems that will achieve REN goals and increase sustainable groundwater availability
Extension Agents’ Perceptions of Community Readiness for Farm Stress and Suicide Prevention Efforts
Get PDFThe aim of the present study is to describe how Extension Agents in rural Colorado perceive their communities’ readiness to engage with farm stress and suicide prevention services and resources. Interviews were conducted with Extension Agents from five Colorado counties experiencing high suicide rates. Interview questions were based on a Community Readiness for Community Change framework, and inductive analysis was used to generate themes from the data. Results demonstrate that while prevention efforts are underway, community awareness remains low. In addition to structural barriers associated with rurality (e.g., lack of mental health providers), stigma remains a significant barrier to help-seeking. Extension agents want more partnership with academia to more effectively address prevention. Recommendations include increasing interdisciplinary partnerships and utilizing tailored resources