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Lessons learned from a collaboration process for implementing interdisciplinary sustainability education with the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus
Get PDFThis extended abstract highlights the role of the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus as a tool for fostering sustainability education and supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It emphasizes the integration of key sustainability competencies, such as systems thinking and problem-solving, within interdisciplinary environmental programs (IEPs). Drawing on literature and real-world examples, the abstract illustrates how the FEW Nexus serves as a framework to address complex global challenges by connecting content knowledge with actionable solutions. Additionally, it shares lessons from a collaborative manuscript involving over 20 authors, showcasing strategies to engage students in developing skills for transformative societal change
The SPICE (Sustainable, Physics-Inspired Culinary Education) Lab – A Digestible FEW-Nexus Educational Platform
Get PDFThe SPICE (Sustainable, Physics-Inspired Culinary Education) Lab is a unique educational platform that enables participants from a wide disciplinary background to engage and become literate in the unique connections between food, energy and water. This small but mighty space allows for outreach education in many formats, including formal college courses, university-centered hands-on activities and public outreach.
The work performed in this space fills a unique need in the FEW-Nexus education opportunities because it is adaptable to many learners and learning opportunities and its focus on kitchen science makes these concepts approachable which can later be expanded to understand other critical climate and environmental applications
Lessening Density Requirement and Adjusting Density Pay Factors for Asphalt Pavements in Poor Sublayer Conditions
Get PDFCurrent quality control and quality assurance practices for asphalt pavements rely heavily on density (%Gmm) measurements, which are directly linked to pay adjustments. However, these practices can inadvertently encourage over-compaction, leading to issues such as aggregate segregation, crushing, and reduced pavement quality, especially under poor subgrade conditions. This study examines the relationship between the density of newly laid asphalt layers and the conditions of underlying sublayers in Hot Mix Asphalt pavements. This study analyzed INDOT\u27s historical compaction data and conducted gyratory compaction testing. The analysis result revealed a weak negative correlation between subgrade conditions and surface density. Similarly, the gyratory compaction testing demonstrated that poor sublayer conditions resulted in lower surface density values, while stable subgrades lead to higher densities. Based on these findings, this study proposes a probabilistic approach for pay factor adjustments using subgrade deflection as a key parameter. These findings offer a pathway to refine pay factor criteria, enhancing pavement consistency and durability while promoting equitable pay adjustments for both INDOT and contractors
Accounting for the structure of noise in binocular rivalry with a Bayesian Sampling Approach
Get PDFBinocular rivalry occurs when two eyes are presented with incompatible images; observers experience temporal alternations of the two eyes’ images. Such descriptions often mislead readers to assume regular rhythmic rivalry dynamics.
However, rivalry dynamics are noisy: percept durations show high variability. (1) The percept durations follow a gamma distribution. (2) Autocorrelations in the percept durations, although widely known, receive little attention in modelling. (3) Similarly, there is a substantial chance of and individual differences on returning to the same exclusive percept after a mixture percept (van Ee, 2009). These observations are unlikely to be explained by injecting Gaussian noise in the adaptation term of oscillator models.
Instead, we treat the rivalry process as a Bayesian inference process that is constantly inferring the true state of the world. As full inference is too difficult, we use a sampling approach to approximate the optimal solution at each time point, treating perceptual states as samples from an internal distribution of hypotheses (e.g., Gershman et al. 2009). Here, samples are autocorrelated, meaning new samples are related to preceding samples, and have momentum, meaning new samples continue in the same direction as previous samples.
This Bayesian sampling model qualitatively captures the shape of the percept distributions, autocorrelations in percepts, and the return rate, matching the dynamics which previous models have not captured. Using this model, binocular rivalry can be viewed as a decision-making process performed by the early visual cortex, helping to draw connections between early visual systems and higher-level decision-making
Traffic Management Geocast Study with Connected Vehicles on Indiana Highways
Get PDFVehicular communication allows vehicles to interact with road users, roadside infrastructure, and cloud-connected devices.It holds a crucial position in modern transportation systems, impacting both fundamental and advanced aspects and enhancing traffic safety and efficiency. C-V2X is a wireless communication technology that uses cellular networks to enable communication between vehicles and infrastructure. C-V2X can be used for applications such as collision avoidance, traffic management, and remote vehicle diagnostics. This project conducted a feasibility study on the current position of C-V2X in the industry and developed a prototype, RampCast, to fundamentally understand the current C-V2X implementations as part of the 3GPP Release 14. A comprehensive review on the state-of-the-art CV2X technologies and various demonstration projects were carried out by the automotive industry, cellular wireless chips/systems companies, and federal/states DOTs in the U.S. and Europe. A geocast-based prototype system, named RampCast, was built using a software-defined radio approach. The RampCast algorithms focused on the geocasting and were developed for improving message prioritization and retransmission. The field tests that were conducted in a campus parking lot and on the test track revealed sub-100 ms latency and a range of up to 2,500 ft for C-V2X, which emphasized its effectiveness in transmitting critical messages and traffic guidance. Further extensions for the prototype include incorporating multiple units, expanding message types (e.g., points of interest and location-specific adverts), optimizing the prototype\u27s GUI for diverse scenarios, and conducting long-term data analysis for better message flow optimization
DNA G-Quadruplexes as Targets for Natural Product Drug Discovery
Get PDFDNA guanine (G)-quadruplexes (G4s) are unique secondary structures formed by two or more stacked G-tetrads in G-rich DNA sequences. These structures have been found to play a crucial role in highly transcribed genes, especially in cancer-related oncogenes, making them attractive targets for cancer therapeutics. Significantly, targeting oncogene promoter G4 structures has emerged as a promising strategy to address the challenge of undruggable and drug-resistant proteins, such as MYC, BCL2, KRAS, and EGFR. Natural products have long been an important source of drug discovery, particularly in the fields of cancer and infectious diseases. Noteworthy progress has recently been made in the discovery of naturally occurring DNA G4-targeting drugs. Numerous DNA G4s, such as MYC-G4, BCL2-G4, KRAS-G4, PDGFR-β-G4, VEGF-G4, and telomeric-G4, have been identified as potential targets of natural products, including berberine, telomestatin, quindoline, sanguinarine, isaindigotone, and many others. Herein, we summarize and evaluate recent advancements in natural and nature-derived DNA G4 binders, focusing on understanding the structural recognition of DNA G4s by small molecules derived from nature. We also discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with developing drugs that target DNA G4s
Evaluation of fendiline treatment in VP40 system with nucleation-elongation process: a computational model of Ebola virus matrix protein assembly
Get PDFEbola virus (EBOV) infection is threatening human health, especially in Central and West Africa. Limited clinical trials and the requirement of biosafety level-4 laboratories hinder experimental work to advance our understanding of EBOV and the evaluation of treatment. In this work, we use a computational model to study the assembly and budding process of EBOV and evaluate the effect of fendiline on these processes in the context of fluctuating host membrane lipid levels. Our results demonstrate for the first time that the assembly of VP40 filaments may follow the nucleation-elongation theory, as this mechanism is critical to maintaining a pool of VP40 dimers for the maturation and production of virus-like particles (VLPs). We further find that this nucleation-elongation process is likely influenced by fluctuating phosphatidylserine (PS), which can complicate the efficacy of lipid-targeted therapies like fendiline, a drug that lowers cellular PS levels. Our results indicate that fendiline-induced PS reduction may actually increase VLP production at earlier time points (24 h) and under low fendiline concentrations (≤2 µM). However, this effect is transient and does not change the conclusion that fendiline generally decreases VLP production. In the context of fluctuating PS levels, we also conclude that fendiline can be more efficient at the late stage of VLP budding relative to earlier phases. Combination therapy with a VLP budding step-targeted drug may therefore further increase the treatment efficiency of fendiline. Finally, we also show that fendiline-induced PS reduction more effectively lowers VLP production when VP40 expression is high. Taken together, our results provide critical quantitative information on how fluctuating lipid levels (PS) affect EBOV assembly and egress and how this mechanism can be disrupted by lipid-targeting molecules like fendiline
Kitchen ergonomics in health and healthcare: A rapid scoping review
Get PDFAlthough traditional workplace settings such as hospitals and clinics are well-studied, non-clinical areas like home kitchens, which connect clinical healthcare with the care provided in daily living settings, have received less attention. During the early stages of the global pandemic, there has been an increase in home cooking activities due to widespread isolation and restrictions imposed on dining publicly. Ergonomics is at the intersection between work environments and human task performance, and kitchen ergonomics informs knowledge on effective, safe, and efficient cooking practices while maintaining the desired kitchen functionality. Numerous contributions across various disciplines have added knowledge to the kitchen ergonomics area, and this rapid scoping review aims to synthesize the knowledge from these diverse disciplines and further understanding of user interactions with home kitchens. Adopting the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety model, relevant research publications were synthesized into four major themes: Kitchen layout, arrangement, and environment; Kitchen tools and technology; Design criterion for users with special needs; Risks & Hazards related to kitchen activities. These themes summarizes the current state and gaps in kitchen ergonomics. In addition, these themes help identify future engineering opportunities for supporting health-related cooking activities in the home environment
Photoswitchable optoelectronic properties of 2D MoSe2/diarylethene hybrid structures
Get PDFThe ability to modulate optical and electrical properties of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors has sparked considerable interest in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Herein, we introduce a facile strategy for modulating optoelectronic properties of monolayer MoSe2 with external light. Photochromic diarylethene (DAE) molecules formed a 2-nm-thick uniform layer on MoSe2, switching between its closed- and open-form isomers under UV and visible irradiation, respectively. We have discovered that the closed DAE conformation under UV has its lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy level lower than the conduction band minimum of MoSe2, which facilitates photoinduced charge separation at the hybrid interface and quenches photoluminescence (PL) from monolayer flakes. In contrast, open isomers under visible light prevent photoexcited electron transfer from MoSe2 to DAE, thus retaining PL emission properties. Alternating UV and visible light repeatedly show a dynamic modulation of optoelectronic signatures of MoSe2. Conductive atomic force microscopy and Kelvin probe force microscopy also reveal an increase in conductivity and work function of MoSe2/DAE with photoswitched closed-form DAE. These results may open new opportunities for designing new phototransistors and other 2D optoelectronic devices
A Gnotobiotic Mouse Model with Divergent Equol-Producing Phenotypes: Potential for Determining Microbial-Driven Health Impacts of Soy Isoflavone Daidzein
Get PDFThe implications of soy consumption on human health have been a subject of debate, largely due to the mixed evidence regarding its benefits and potential risks. The variability in responses to soy has been partly attributed to differences in the metabolism of soy isoflavones, compounds with structural similarities to estrogen. Approximately one-third of humans possess gut bacteria capable of converting soy isoflavone daidzein into equol, a metabolite produced exclusively by gut microbiota with significant estrogenic potency. In contrast, lab-raised rodents are efficient equol producers, except for those raised germ-free. This discrepancy raises concerns about the applicability of traditional rodent models to humans. Herein, we designed a gnotobiotic mouse model to differentiate between equol producers and non-producers by introducing synthetic bacterial communities with and without the equol-producing capacity into female and male germ-free mice. These gnotobiotic mice display equol-producing phenotypes consistent with the capacity of the gut microbiota received. Our findings confirm the model’s efficacy in mimicking human equol production capacity, offering a promising tool for future studies to explore the relationship between endogenous equol production and health outcomes like cardiometabolic health and fertility. This approach aims to refine dietary guidelines by considering individual microbiome differences