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Using Remote Sensing to Determine Riparian Resilience in Beaver Dammed Versus Un-Dammed Corridors Following Whiplash Weather
Get PDFBeaver complexes slow and store water allowing for riparian growth which in turn fosters biodiversity, retains carbon, and enhances resistance to fires and drought. Given the benefits associated with beaver complexes and the potential they have for climate mitigation, California hopes to reintroduce beavers and restore their habitat throughout the state. However, the impact of high peak flow events on beaver complexes and their adjacent riparian corridors is less understood and requires more documentation at various spatial scales. To better understand the potential beavers may have as climate change mitigators it is important to understand beaver complex resiliency following a high peak flow event. This study used remotely sensed mean normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data, which is a measure of vegetative greenness, to serve as a primary indicator of resilience. Mean NDVI for riparian vegetation was collected in 5 beaver complexes and 5 non-beaver developed sections along the Salinas River in California. Both beaver sites and non-beaver sites were exposed to a multi-month flooding event after enduring several dry years. The term “whiplash weather” can be used to characterize the quick flip from dry conditions to flash floods. Each beaver complex contained multiple dams that were continually maintained by the residing beavers even following the high peak flow months which lasted from December 2022 until March 2023. We hypothesized that with the surge of water, the dams within each of the beaver complexes would fail and the exposure would also cause riparian loss thus revealing a lack of resistance; however, following the flood we assumed that beaver complexes would be able to rebuild their dams and recover back to their steady state implying resilience. We evaluated trends in mean NDVI to assess the influence of flooding, beaver influence, and seasonality on riparian resilience. Our study suggests that beaver complexes are capable of promoting a resilient ecosystem in the face of whiplash weather which is a growing threat in California
Effects Of Beet Supplements On Cardiovascular Response Using A Noninvasive Blood Pressure Cuff
Get PDFA Calibrated Cuff Plethysmography device was built, tested for verification, and used to experiment on human subjects to measure the cardiovascular response of consuming a beet supplement, specifically looking at arterial compliance and pressure-area curves. Each subject was tested four times. A baseline was measured under normal conditions and after five-minute hyperemia conditions. 10 subjects were given 6 ounces of water mixed with either purple Kool-Aid (control), a SuperBeets supplement, or a SuperBeets Sport supplement and after 45 minutes, measurements were taken undergoing normal and hyperemia conditions once more. The verification testing demonstrated the calibration of the device was effectively able to measure volume changes using a stationary metal pipe and IV bag, showing an average percent error of 3.11%. Data collected during the patient experiment resulted in the expected arterial compliance curves as well as pressure-area curves, when measurements were taken properly, and the subject didn’t move. These tests were able to validate the use of the device for measuring arterial compliance and seeing distinctions between normal and hyperemic conditions. However, many issues were presented and are thoroughly addressed in this paper for future research using the same device
Slitter Blade Sharpener
Get PDFWithin this document, our team, “Think Sharpener”, will discuss the following work we have completed since the Critical Design Review: material and part procurement, the manufacturing process for our prototype, and a discussion of our results from testing our final Verification Prototype (VP). To summarize our team’s work during the last portion of this project, our design for the slitter blade sharpening mechanism required us to consult the IME department for materials and manufacturing guidance, order pneumatic components from various online hardware companies, and test our VP to verify we met the engineering design specifications. Our slitter blade sharpening mechanism is composed of three subsystems: the air actuation system, the mounting system, and the sharpening system. This document will break down our team’s prototype development from material procurement to verification prototype testing. The sharpening mechanism that resulted from our year-long design process ultimately met our required blade profile specification set by GAF and met the majority of the other engineering specifications, such as sharpening stone replacement time and remote operability. Incorporating feedback from our sponsor, advisor, and peers after every design review enabled us to develop a manufacturable design that accomplished our goal of sharpening a blade to its correct profile both safely and accurately
DC to AC Inverter for a Microgrid-Inspired Power Distribution Architecture for Electric Vehicles
Get PDFThis project builds upon the prototyping of a microgrid-inspired power distribution architecture for electric vehicles (EVs). The efficacy of this prototype aims to inform a full-scale power distribution system that charges an EV battery, supports the electric grid with important ancillary services, performs peer-to-peer EV charging, and works in conjunction with other AC and DC sources and loads. The scope of this report focuses specifically on the design, construction, and testing of the DC/AC inverter. Future development of this distribution architecture will incorporate synchronous generators, a battery management system, and an Arduino/Raspberry Pi-based communication system to fully simulate an electric vehicle’s design
Creating Meaningful Connections with the Electron Transport Chain Beyond a Virtual Classroom
Get PDFAt the center of feminist pedagogy is community. Creating community within the classroom and between the class and local communities increases student engagement and access to knowledge. Communities can be a source of solidarity and further decenter authority in the classroom, empowering students, teachers, and the surrounding community to be co-learners. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, remote teaching posed challenges to student engagement. Here, I describe an assignment used to build an inclusive community of co-learners within a virtual biochemistry class and our local communities. Oxidative phosphorylation is a cellular process used to create energy that depends on the electron transport chain, a series of electron-transfer reactions that can be challenging for students to learn. To help remote students understand the electron transport chain, I designed an assignment for students to 1) learn about electron transport and its connection to oxidative phosphorylation through reenactment and 2) teach classmates and nonscientists within their local communities about this essential process. Through reenactment, students created meaningful connections with this cellular process while educating other nonscientists, extending the virtual classroom into our local communities. Notably, this assignment can be used in in-person teaching and applied to other metabolic pathways to facilitate an intuitive understanding of the biochemical process. @font-face {font-family: Cambria Math ; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-469750017 -1073732485 9 0 511 0;}@font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:0 0 5 0 0 0 0 2 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1342185562 0 0 415 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent: ; margin:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family: Arial ,sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family:Arial; mso-ansi-language:EN;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:11.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family: Arial ,sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:Arial; mso-hansi-font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-ansi-language:EN;}.MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; line-height:115%;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;
Sustainable Packaging for Sundae School
Get PDFSundae School is a relatively new and creative brand producing cannabis products and smoke wear clothing. Sundae School has made an impression within the market due to their strong brand identity that translates through their packaging and design choices. I have decided to create two versions of an alternative package design for their line of Mochi gummy edibles. Their current packaging is purposeful, but I plan to design focused around minimizing packaging waste and utilizing sustainable packaging materials while keeping their brand identity at the forefront
A Taste Of Home
Get PDFThe focus of my GrC 462 project is to preserve and celebrate my family\u27s cherished recipes passed down through generations by transforming a collection of notecards into a comprehensive Holiday cookbook.
This cookbook will serve as a modern and lasting alternative to the fragile notecards, providing a tangible and shareable heirloom for future generations to enjoy and carry forward the rich culinary traditions of my family
Launch Vibration Attenuation For In-Space Assembly Cargo
Get PDFThis thesis investigates the implementation of a passive isolator with a pressurized air cushion for spacecraft payloads in mission architectures implementing in-space assembly technologies. A pressurized air bed capable of briefly surviving the space environment for cargo delivery was prototyped and experimentally evaluated for launch vehicle vibration dynamics resulting in a 72%, 93%, and 88% reduction in experienced GRMS loads for the X-Axis, Y-Axis, and Z-Axis, respectively. A preliminary Total Mass Loss evaluation of the Low-Density Polyethylene Film utilized for the air bed resulted in a mass loss of 0.7%, indicating that commercial off-the-shelf films might require minimal modification for flight readiness. An analytical model of a planar rectangular payload experiencing free vibrations with a Winkler foundation is generated and compared to the experimental results, showing a potential way for characterizing and designing such a foundation to reduce experienced vibrations. These preliminary results show a potential path for a non-cost-prohibitive method for space payloads to reduce loads experienced during launch as inspired by the successful hosted payloads program aboard the International Space Station
Parametric Optimization Of A Wing-Fuselage System Using A Vorticity-Based Panel Solver
Get PDFAerodynamic topology optimization is a useful tool in the aerodynamic design pro-cess, especially when looking for marginal gains within a design. One example isa turboprop racer concept aircraft that is designed with the goal of breaking worldspeed records. An optimization framework was developed with the intention of laterbeing applied to this design. In the early design stages, the optimization frameworkmust focus on quicker methods of drag estimation, such as a panel codes. The largenumber of design variables in topology optimization can exponentially increase func-tion evaluations and thus computational cost. A vorticity-based panel solver wasproven out for this application to reduce the computational cost while keeping theaccuracy of the results similar to that of traditional CFD solvers in conditions with-out prominent flow separation. The framework developed here includes geometryparameterization, function evaluation scripting, and post-processing, which are allrun within the optimization algorithm. The designs used to validate the solver arewing-fuselage systems of various sailplane configurations with existing experimentaldata. These sailplane designs were also used as the initial geometry to demonstratethe framework. A parametric optimum was found to reduce drag by 9%, but it mustbe noted that this method does have certain trade offs and limitations
Development Of Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Knock Out Protocol For Drug Substance Assay Development
Get PDFWiskott-Aldrich Syndrome (WAS) is a rare X-linked primary immunodeficiency affecting approximately 1 in 100,000 live XY births in North America and is caused by a mutation to the WAS gene which is expressed across hematopoietic lineages. The WAS protein (WASp) plays a role in regulating actin polymerization. On a cellular level, there are a variety of effects of a lack of WASp or expression of a dysfunctional WASp protein for patients including issues with migration, adhesion, chemotactic response, phagocytosis, activation, and proliferation across different cell types in addition to reduced platelet size and output. This can lead to several systematic effects for the patients however because mutations to the WAS gene are not limited to one location or type there is a great amount of variability between patient symptoms making it challenging to diagnose. Major symptoms include frequent and recurrent infections, uncontrolled bleeding episodes, issues associated with autoimmunity, and malignancy, the most common form being lymphoma. Without treatment, the life expectancy of an individual diagnosed with WAS is 14 years of age, and the only curative treatment strategy available is hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell transfer (HSPCT). If not performed with an HLA-identical donor, which is available to less than 10% of patients, and within the first two years of life, the risk of graft versus host disease (GvHD) increases drastically for the patient. A gene therapy using autologous and genetically corrected CD34+ cells would be advantageous to the patients due to a reduction in preparative conditioning, immunosuppressive aftercare, and the risk of GvHD. CSL Behring is currently in the development of a lentiviral gene therapy to fulfill this gap in care, however, to develop the assays required to assess and characterize the drug substance usually an uncorrected patient sample is compared with a gene-edited sample. The limitation here is that due to the risk of infection and bleeding patient sample is very limited and therefore the development of a mock patient sample is necessary for early development. The goal of the project is to develop a WAS-KO protocol utilizing CRISPR/Cas9 and its characterization