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Rural Hoosiers, the Farm Problem, and Agents of Change
No full textThis dissertation is an examination of rural Hoosiers, and in particular to what extent they accepted outside assistance against a backdrop of disruption brought about by mechanization, depression, and in some cases dislocation in the first half of the twentieth century. The farm experts from Purdue University, and government men from federal agencies came to assist rural Hoosiers cope with the “Farm Problem,” joining a succession of outsiders who came to help. Those who came to the rescue confronted a particular quality of character influenced by environmental elements, migration patterns, and received world views. The study uses a range of sources. A wealth of secondary scholarship was written shortly after the end of rural New Deal programs during World War II. Purdue Experiment Station research publications, Purdue Extension annual reports, county Extension agents’ reports, farm journals, newspaper reporting and editorials, congressional records, records and promotional materials of the Resettlement Administration and its successor the Farm Security Administration, and personal correspondence all give voice to actors and observers at the time. This study contributes to our understanding of rural New Deal initiatives in the Midwest as witnessed through an Indiana lens. The inquiry reveals the uneven and sometimes incoherent nature of “progress” as promoted by agents of change. Try as they might, rural Hoosiers could not resist or control forces of change in the face of worldwide crisis of economic disruption, ideological confrontation, and military aggression
On Hodge Cycles on Products of Certain Algebraic Varieties
No full textWe say that two Hodge structures H1 and H2 are orthogonal if HomHS(H1, H2(m)) = 0 for any integer m. Let X1 and X2 be complex algebraic varieties. In some cases, if certain cohomology groups of X1 and X2 are orthogonal as Hodge structures, one can deduce that the Hodge conjecture holds for the product X1 × X2. We make this statement precise, showing which cohomology groups are required to be orthogonal for the Hodge conjecture to hold in the case when X1 and X2 are a curve and a threefold and in the case when X1 and X2 are two surfaces. We then prove that the required orthogonality conditions to imply the Hodge conjecture for X1 × X2 hold in a number of specific examples. We examine the product of a curve and a threefold, the product of a Fermat surface and a very general surface, and the product of two Abelian surfaces. For these classes of varieties, we are able to show that the Hodge conjecture holds in all cases when one of the factors is chosen outside at most a countable union of subvarieties of an appropriate moduli space. We also analyze products of two K3 surfaces and powers of Kummer surfaces and show how, after adding appropriate assumptions, similar results can be deduced in these scenarios as well
The Design, Synthesis, and Application of a Refined Photo-Switchable Cyclic Peptide Scaffold for Beta-Turn Manipulation
No full textThe concept of manipulating secondary structure has been a powerful method to alter chemical processes and interactions. One of the most recent avenues used in achieving this goal is the field of photopharmacology. The use of light to activate and control chemical processes has been extensively studied for this purpose. It was proposed in Chmielewski group that a cyclic peptide containing a azobenzene-like amino acid could be used to modulate a peptide conformation, into a β-turn. This first-generation macrocycle, FLAp, consisting of four alanine residues split by the azobenzene amino acid and a test β-turn sequence (Asn-Pro-Gly-Gly) showed type II β-turn conformation in the cis form, but no turn in the trans. This result, although promising, showed only a two-fold difference in inhibition of somatostatin receptor when using the somatostatin β-turn sequence (Phe-Trp-Lys-Thr). This small difference in activity was attributed to the flexibility of the macrocycle in the two conformations. Efforts have been made to create a better, more rigid scaffold than that used with FLAp to allow for improved differences between the two conformations of the azobenzene. The FLAp cyclic peptide was altered by only having one alanine residue on either side of the azobenzene to create TAp, for increased rigidity. A second peptide, TApβ, was synthesized using β-alanine residues in place of alanine, for added flexibility within the peptide. The TAp and TApβ peptides were shown to possess type II and type II’ β-turn properties respectively, supported by 2D NOESY NMR and restrained molecular dynamics. The trans isomer of TAp, however showed a kink in the peptide backbone, while the TApβ peptide showed a linear backbone with no kink. With the scaffold of TApβ shown to be optimum for structural distinction between the cis and trans conformations. This sequence was carried forward for biological testing. As a proof of concept, the β-turn of tendamistat (Ser-Trp-Arg-Tyr) was chosen, for its hydrophilicity and its target α-amylase. The resulting peptide tendamistat β (TSβ) was synthesized and compared against its linear form (L-TSβ), as well as a literature control (Bartlett control). The cis conformation of the cyclic peptide TSβ showed lesser activity than its trans counterpart, as well as its linear cis and trans counterpart, against α-amylase. Due to unexpected results it was deemed that tendamistat was not suitable for use within the TApβ scaffold because of conformational restriction of the tendamistat sequence. This may be due to the type I β-turn of tendamistat where Tapβ induces type II’ β-turn formation
The Evaluation of Phonemic Awareness Lesson Materials
No full textThe majority of native English-speaking students who have difficulties in reading do not have a strong foundation in phonemic awareness skills which causes their overall reading ability to be hindered. Phonemic awareness is the knowledge that words are made up of different sounds and being able to manipulate those sounds in a variety of ways. About 70 to 80% of these students have difficulty recognizing the words on the page (Moats & Tolman, 2019). A master’s degree final project was created to address this reading issue. The master’s project had two major parts. The first part was a survey study on the evaluation of the newly developed reading lesson and assessment materials and the second was the training handbook for teachers working with students with disabilities in reading. The specific purpose of the survey was to obtain teachers’ evaluation of newly developed phonemic awareness lesson materials. The lesson materials that were evaluated by the participants included the Phonological Awareness Screening Test (PAST), reading passages, one and two-syllable word lists, and four example lesson plans. The following questions that guided this survey study were (1) How do the teachers evaluate the phonemic awareness lesson materials in regard to oral reading fluency, accuracy, and decoding of third-grade special education students with disabilities? (2) What lessons and activities are elementary teachers currently implementing for phonemic awareness instruction? (3) How do phonemic awareness lesson materials align with the goal of supporting third-grade special education students’ fluency, accuracy, and decoding skills? The measurement tool used in this study was a Qualtrics survey. The survey consisted of eleven rating scale questions with open-ended questions. The rating scale was a Likert scale (one being strongly disagreed to four being strongly agreed). Each rating scale question had the option for participants to explain the reason for their rating in an open-ended question. The last five questions were open-ended questions seeking teachers’ current practices and recommendations. A total of 22 teachers were recruited from one elementary school in a mid-western state. The results of the survey (N=1) indicated a need for the development of systematically designed phonemic awareness teaching materials for special education teachers and their third-grade students with disabilities. Based on the extensive review of the previously published phonemic awareness materials, this author found there is no comprehensive teacher training guide that includes key information on phonemic awareness, assessments, and intervention materials. A handbook on phonemic awareness instruction was developed to provide a guide for teachers providing reading intervention to students on what phonemic awareness and related literacy components (i.e., fluency, accuracy, and decoding) are, how to assess phonemic awareness needs in students with disabilities, and how to implement direct instruction of phonemic awareness skills to improve student learning. The handbook this author created also included a section on how to prepare an IRB application for teacher candidates/teachers who are interested in conducting IRB-approved studies in their own classrooms in order to fulfill their master’s or doctoral degree requirements
Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Environmental Control Systems for Resilient Extra-Terrestrial Habitats
No full textAs space exploration continues to advance, so does the drive to inhabit celestial bodies. In order to expand our civilization to the Moon or even other planets requires an enormous amount of research and development. The Resilient Extra-Terrestrial Habitat Institute is a NASA funded project that aims to develop the technology needed to establish deep-space habitats. Deep-space inhabitation poses many challenges that are not present here on earth. The Moon, for example, has temperatures that range from -233−123°C. Aside from the extreme temperatures, a variety of thermal loads will need to be handled by the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS). Aside from the research and architecture of the International Space Station’s ECLSS, very little information is known about disturbances related to the thermal management of extra-terrestrial habitats.RETHi is developing a Cyber-Physical Testbed (CPT) that represents a one-fifth scale prototype of a deep space habitat. In order to answer difficult research questions regarding ECLSS and thermal management of a deep-space habitat, a heat pump was modeled and validated with the physical part of the CPT. Once validated, the heat pump model is able to accurately predict the steady state behavior given the indoor and outdoor conditions of the testbed. When coupled with the interior environment (IE) model, it gives insight into the system’s requirements and response. Experimental testing was conducted with the heat pump in order to validate the model. After the model was validated, a series of parametric studies were conducted in order to investigate the effects of varying thermal loads and dehumidification. Since the groundwork was laid through model development and experimentation, future work consists of designing a more versatile heat pump to test a variety of disturbance scenarios. Although the heat pump model is specifically designed for the CPT, it proves to be versatile for other closed and pressurized environments such as aircraft and clean rooms according to the analysis of dehumidification and dependence on pressure
Chemical Characterization of Nanoplastic Particles Formed in Airborne Waste Discharged from Sewer Pipe Repairs
No full textMicro- and nanoplastic (MNP) particles are an increasing environmental concern related to the widespread uncontrolled degradation of various commercial products made of plastic materials and their associated waste disposal. Most frequently MNP particles are documented as pollutants in terrestrial, aquatic, and marine environments. Reports of MNP detected in snow samples from mountain glaciers in remote locations suggest their atmospheric transport. Recently, common technology used to repair sewer pipes was reported as one of the direct emission sources of airborne MNP in urban areas. This research reports on the multi-modal detailed chemical characterization of the MNP particles related to waste discharged in the repair process and compares MNP composition with the components of uncured resin and cured plastic material used in the process. Comprehensive analysis of these materials employed complementary use of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, scanning transmission x-ray spectro-microscopy, single particle laser ablation time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and direct analysis in real-time high-resolution mass spectrometry. It is shown that the composition of the relatively large MP particles resembles components of plastic material used in the process. In contrast, composition of the NP particles is significantly different, suggesting their formation from unintended polymerization of water-soluble components occurring in drying droplets of the air-discharged waste. Results are further discussed to guide the detection and advanced characterization of NP particles in future field studies
Automated Bridge Inspection Image Localization and Retrieval Based on GPS-Refined Similarity Learning
No full textThe inspection of highway bridge structures in the United States is a task critical to the national transportation system. Inspection images contain abundant visual information that can be exploited to streamline bridge assessment and management tasks. However, historical inspection images often go unused in subsequent assessments as they are disorganized and unlabeled. Further, due to the lack of GPS metadata and visual ambiguity, it is often difficult for other inspectors to identify the location on the bridge where past images were taken. While many approaches are being considered toward fully- or semi-automated methods for bridge inspection, there are research opportunities to develop practical tools for inspectors to make use of those images already in a database. In this study, a deep learning-based image similarity technique is combined with image geolocation data to localize and retrieve historical inspection images based on a current query image. A Siamese convolutional neural network (SCNN) is trained and validated on a gathered dataset of over 1,000 real world bridge deck images collected by the Indiana Department of Transportation. A composite similarity (CS) metric is created for effective image ranking and the overall method is validated on a subset of eight bridge’s images. The results show promise for implementation into existing databases and for other similar structural inspections, showing up to an 11-fold improvement in successful image retrieval when compared to random image selection
A Network Level Feasibility Framework for Beam-Powered Aircraft
No full textBeam-powered aircraft are a promising solution to reducing the air transportation system\u27s operating costs and emissions due to their reliance on typically more efficient ground-based electricity sources. However, modeling these aircraft is a non-trivial task due to their multi-disciplinary nature and the required interconnectedness between the aircraft, air transportation network, and power-beaming models.This thesis establishes a methodology for holistically modeling beam-powered aircraft as a freight transportation asset in the context of their operating environment. This methodology accounts for elements of aircraft conceptual design, the limits of power-beaming technology, and non-idealities associated with the air transportation network. As a product of this methodology, this thesis also approximates beam-powered aircraft\u27s economic and environmental feasibility based on current and future technological capabilities.This work concludes that with an optimistic enough engine absent mass fraction and with sufficiently advanced technologies -- particularly with higher power density rectennas -- beam-powered aircraft are both economically and environmentally feasible, having a lower operating cost and emitting less carbon dioxide per ton-mile compared to current-day and near-future freight transportation aircraft.More specifically, this work concludes that when using a simplified and more optimistic engine absent mass fraction model, power train specific power only needs to improve by a factor of 1.2-3.7 and rectenna power density only needs to improve by a factor of 20-30 compared to the baseline technologies considered in this work in order for beam-powered aircraft to be a feasible alternative to jet fuel powered aircraft in a freight transportation role. However, with a more pessimistic albeit more realistic engine absent mass fraction model, this work concludes that beam-powered aircraft are not feasible in a freight transportation role with the technology levels considered in this work
An Ethical Framework for Library Publishing Version 2.0
Get PDFConceived at the Library Publishing Forum in 2017, the Ethical Framework for Library Publishing was a first-of-its-kind document for the LPC and the library publishing community. But remarkable social upheaval in the ensuing years, along with the continued maturation of our discipline, prompted the LPC to convene a task force to update the Framework for our current environment. What the task force developed, to our surprise, looks very little like the original document. An Ethical Framework for Library Publishing Version 2.0 is a true framework to help library publishers set an ethical baseline for their programs and activities. Consisting of four basic Frames, each with their own set of Statements and Guidance, the Framework gives the reader a scaffolding for ethical thinking in library publishing