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Red Raspberries Attenuate Blood Glucose Spike Of A High Glycemic Load Breakfast Cereal
Get PDFBlood glucose (BG) spikes increase chronic disease risk in those with and without diabetes. The fiber and phytonutrient content of fruit, such as raspberries has the potential to attenuate the BG spike of a high glycemic load (HGL) meal. We examined the effect of red raspberries (RRs) on the BG spike when added to a HGL meal. In this randomized cross-over trial, 16 university students were given breakfast cereal and almond milk (control), the control breakfast with 140g added RRs, and the control breakfast with sugar equivalent to the sugar content of the RRs (50% sugar increase from control). Meals given on 3 separate test days, being separated by a 1-week washout period. BG was measured at: fasting then 15 min, 30 min, 60 min, 90 min, and 120 min postprandial. Repeated measures ANOVA was performed to investigate differences in peak minus baseline BG (spike) and glucose incremental area under the curve (IAUC). The added RR meal had a lower BG spike compared to the added sugar meal (-12.8 mg/dL, CI: -22.8 to -2.79, p = 0.0083). Additionally, a lower BG was seen comparing the added RR meal to the control meal (-10.9 mg/dL, CI: -20.9 to -0.83, p = 0.0318). There were no significant differences for IAUC and the timing of peak BG among the meals. RR effect is likely attributed to high fiber-to-sugar ratio, polyphenol content, and greater amount of beneficial micronutrients. Based on obtained results from this pilot study, the practice of adding RRs to HGL meals such as breakfast, seems to reduce risk for T2DM in health populations through BG spike attenuation
Drone Applications in Residential Construction
Get PDFDrones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have revolutionized various industries since their creation, particularly in construction. Originally used for military and recreational purposes, drones began to find their place in construction in the early 2010s, primarily for surveying and mapping. While tons of research has been conducted on drones\u27 capabilities in surveying, there is a gap in studies focusing on their applications for general contractors, particularly in large-scale developments. Five interviews were conducted, three with general contractors who have integrated drone technology into their teams and two drone companies that provide subcontracted drone services. Through these interviews, the primary applications identified for drone use among general contractors were capturing site photos for collaborative purposes, progress tracking, and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC). The efficiency and communication of projects are greatly improved by these applications. The advantages of management teams using drones in construction are significant as through the interviews were shown to save project engineers substantial time each week that would otherwise be spent on site walks and taking photos. Additionally, aerial photographs taken by drones offer better quality photographs from superior angles compared to traditional ground-level photos. This improved efficiency and production can lead to improved collaboration, communication, and cost savings
Disability, Belongingness, and Accommodations in Post-Pandemic Learning
Get PDFDuring the post-pandemic return to campus, lingering expectations for instructor flexibility illuminated the need for classroom cultures that support inclusivity and belongingness for all students. Yet power asymmetries between students and instructors, along with implicit expectations about what it means to be normal, make disclosure of personal disability, precarity, or other concealable stigmatized identities a risky prospect for those who most need accommodation. By taking a dialogical approach to classroom culture and inviting students to identify areas where flexibility is needed, instructors can increase group cohesion and feelings of belongingness, improve student-instructor relationships, and promote non-stigmatized access to accommodations. In this critical commentary, we use Critical Communication Pedagogy to explore how constitutive dialogue between instructors and students can set reasonable expectations for instructor flexibility and clarify student needs to increase feelings of belongingness while promoting academic achievement
Use of Tempered Glass as a Potential Substitute for Coarse Aggregate in Concrete
Get PDFTempered glass poses issues for traditional glass recyclers, as the melting temperature is different from standard glass due to the tempering process that the glass is subjected to. This makes tempered glass more difficult to recycle and opens this material up as a potential for other methods of environmentally beneficial disposal. Tempered glass breaks into relatively consistent pieces that are more rectangular and granular than standard glass. Granular size is dependent on the thickness of the glass used and forms a relatively cubic shape. This size is similar to some of the material found in standard coarse aggregate for concrete mixes, providing an opportunity for tempered glass to be used in its place. This presents a method of environmentally friendly disposal for tempered glass, as well as reducing the amount of virgin material needed for concrete. A testing protocol was developed that allowed for the comparison of concrete mixes utilizing different quantities of tempered glass compared to a control mix. Compressive testing was performed to determine the effect of the glass on the compressive strength. The results showed that the glass had minimal impact to the ultimate strength, demonstrating that the use of tempered glass is indeed feasible
Remote Operated Amateur Radio using Raspberry Pi and LimeSDR
No full textThis project presents the design and implementation of a portable, remotely programmable amateur radio system operating on the 2-meter and 70-cm bands. The system utilizes Raspberry Pi 5 and LimeSDR hardware to facilitate communication between aerial and ground units, allowing for efficient transmission and reception of synchronization and calibration waveforms. A custom communication protocol incorporating BPSK modulation and a two-tone signaling mechanism enables time-of-flight measurements for calculating distances between nodes. This low-cost solution has potential applications in civilian sectors, such as search and rescue operations, where accurate direction finding and target localization are critical. Full-duplex operation enhances the system\u27s capability to conduct simultaneous transmission and reception, reducing latency and improving the reliability of time-of-flight data. Initial results demonstrate successful signal transmission and reception with high data accuracy. Future work includes enhancing error correction and implementing advanced waveform capture techniques for further system robustness
Computational Modeling of High Yttrium Refractory High Entropy Alloy Microstructures
Get PDFRefractory high entropy alloys (RHEAs) are advanced metals made up of five or more principal elements in roughly equal amounts. The microstructural effects of alloying with yttrium as a principal element for RHEAs are currently not well understood. This project compared RHEA microstructures from literature with simulations using the High Entropy Alloy Predicting Software (HEAPS), which computes 10 screening criteria to predict the microstructure of a RHEA composition. The accuracy of HEAPS predictions was assessed by comparing them with experimentally validated microstructures found in literature. A combination of criteria was found to have a 95.8% accuracy rate, and a new criteria was developed with a 96.2% accuracy. These criteria were then used to compile a list of RHEAs with high concentrations of yttrium that form a solid solution, aiming to improve oxidation resistance at high temperatures. The list was narrowed down to ten alloys that showed promising properties for further research, which could include synthesis of these alloys and experimentally validating their structure and material properties
Deep Learning for Microscope Image Denoising
Get PDFIn order to avoid damaging live cells, optical microscope imaging must be conducted under low-excitation light intensity and/or short exposure times, resulting in low signal-to-noise ratios (SNR). Deep learning methods offer an effective solution for removing microscope noise, utilizing algorithms that are able to reconstruct finer features in low SNR images. This research explores the denoising capability of several deep learning methods based on PSNR and SSIM. Tested methods include traditional approaches (BMED), supervised learning (CARE and Restormer), and unsupervised methods (Noise2Fast, N2V, SSD-Unsupervised, and SASSID). The Restormer model, which employs an encoder-decoder transformer architecture and progressive learning, stood out from other methods, demonstrating strong PSNR and SSIM performance
Optimizing Sensor Placements for Fixed Source Localization: A Distinct Subset Distance Sum Problem
Get PDFThis research addresses the problem of optimizing sensor placements for fixed source localization using distinct subset distance sums. Given a line L in R2 and a set P of n points on one side of L, we seek to locate a minimal set S of points on L such that for any two distinct subsets Q and R of P, there exists a point s∈S where the sum of reciprocal distances from Q to s uniquely identifies Q. Our results show that a minimal sensor set S of size 1 is always feasible, but computing this set exactly proves to be inefficient with an exponential worst-case complexity. To address this, we propose the use of approximation algorithms that reduce the time complexity while maintaining accuracy. Additionally, we explore the implementation of a threshold T, which ensures that the reciprocal distance sums of distinct subsets remain sufficiently separated. We also analyze how this threshold affects the size of S. Future work will focus on applying approximation techniques such as Well Separated Pairs Decomposition (WSPD) and coresets to achieve more efficient solutions, as well as further analyzing the impact of threshold implementation on sensor placement