2199 research outputs found
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Fusion Spring 2015
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Formation of the Rainbow
No full textThis presentation is devoted to describe the formation of the rainbow. The theory of the rainbow started in the man’s sense of wonder thousands of years ago. About 2,500 years ago, Aristotle suggested the first theories that explain the formation of the rainbow. Many scientists studied and suggested different theories to try to improve the understanding of the appearance of the rainbow. The theories of Aristotle, Descartes, Newton, Fermat, and Snell are specifically described in this presentation. By using several calculus equations, it can be proved that the different colors of the rainbow have different angles of observation. This presentation mainly focuses on the observation angles of red and violet light. The angles of observation for these two colors are also proved to be different in the second rainbow and the third rainbow. Even now in the beginning of the twenty-first century, the formation of the rainbow is not understood in all details.</p
Preserving the Classics: \u27The Iliad\u27 Composed by a Typographer
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/ugresearch/2015/Art_Fashion/1/thumbnail.jpgI wanted to explore a classical text from a typographer\u27s perspective. I was curious to examine how modern technological conventions could be taken advantage of to illustrate the emotion and power of the story. This fusion brings the classical text into the modern age for an audience that is unprepared for this unique relationship. I typeset The Iliad by Homer and examined the visual vernacular that would push the story I was trying to illustrate, through text.</p
Evaluating Stereoscopic Effects with EEG of Memory Formation and Regional Brain Activity
No full textA current line of research is focusing on the processes of spatial learning. Previous studies have indicated that students have trouble learning concepts which have a spatial component to them. Topics such as molecular geometry within the field of chemistry are notably difficult. Recent research has suggested that stereoscopic presentation of these objects may promote better learning. To understand the processes which contribute to spatial learning a neurophysiological approach is necessary. Therefore, in order to investigate the effectiveness of stereoscopic presentation and the neural correlates of it, an Electroencephalograph (EEG) was used. Participants were fitted with an EEG cap and had electrical scalp activity recorded using Brain Vision software. Participants were presented with images in both 3-D and 2-D of the organic molecule Hemoglobin. During the tasks the molecule rotated across three different planes, changed colors, and changed focal distance. The data collected was then analyzed using EEGLAB for MATLAB. Individual components associated with visual processing (visual cortex), executive processing (pre-frontal cortex), and memory (hippocampus) were identified using an Independent Components Analysis (ICA) and dipole modeling. The brainwave activity in these components were recorded and the components were correlated with one another. Preliminary data collected indicated an increased amount of activation in the visual cortex for 3-D processing as compared with its 2-D counterpart. The goal of these findings is to identify areas of the brain associated with spatial learning through stereoscopic presentation and to identify the optimal conditions for learning various spatial objects and molecules.</p
Recombination rate and nucleotide diversity in recombination hot-spots in HIV-1 Pol gene from low-income and high-income countries
No full textIdentification of recombination hotspots in HIV-1 genome is animportant tool that can be used to predict evolution of the virus and to inform the design of an antiviral drug that avoids targeting the recombination hotspots (e.g. Gao, 2009). Depending on the different selective pressures acting on different genomic regions, recombination can facilitate the accumulation of mutations and accelerate the emergence of resistance to therapies, dissociate favorable combinations of mutations or contribute to emergence of multi-drug resistance bycombining multiple drug resistance mutations in a single recombinant product. The latter is mostly a problem in low- to middle-income countries as multiple subtypes tend to co-circulate in these countries (e.g. Rajaram et al, 2007). For example, under conditions of fast spreading of the virus, such as in standing social intravenous drug user networks, the chances of super-infection, and thus recombination, are greater than that of other transmission modes, suggesting that such epidemics may have a higher rate of virus recombination (Berry et al,2009). We hypothesize that differences in socioeconomic status between countries likely to influence difference in recombination rate of HIV-1 genes that are under strong purifying selection pressure (e.g. Pol gene), which in turn can influence the levels of nucleotide diversity of the virus. In this project we have examined and contrasted the correlationcoefficients between recombination rate and nucleotide diversity of recombination hotspots in Pol gene for low-income and high-income countries. Our study shows that there is a significant difference in recombination events and thus nucleotide diversity in HIV-1 pol gene accounting to socioeconomic status.</p
Developmental allometry of the effective mechanical advantage in eastern cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus)
No full textJuvenile mammals must often compete in the same ecological niche as adults, despite smaller absolute body size and muscle force capacity. However, because limb joints operate as levers, greater muscle mechanical advantage (i.e., ‘leverage’) in juveniles may permit greater force production despite these disadvantages. Previous research on mammals has shown that bony proxies for extensor muscle leverage are greater early in development and decrease throughout growth. However, no previous study of mammalian musculoskeletal development has collected the locomotor data needed to examine changes in actual (i.e., “effective”) mechanical advantage. We used high-speed videography and force plate measurements, combined with anatomical data on muscle lever arm lengths, to calculate effective mechanical advantage (EMA), a measure of limb muscle leverage, exploring the relationship between body size (proxy for age) and EMA. We predicted that if rabbits maintain proportionality during growth, then the length variables that determine muscle leverage should scale to the cube root of overall volume, and therefore the cube root of overall body mass (i.e., Mb0.33). However, we found that muscle lever arms scaled to Mb0.27, whereas the lever arms of the loading forces that the limb muscles had to resist scaled to Mb0.45. Therefore EMA, as the quotient of these two measures, scaled to Mb-0.18, such that muscle leverage decreased by 36% over the course of rabbit growth. Greater leverage early in life may permit young rabbits to attain adult-like levels of locomotor performance, despite smaller size and reduced muscle mass.</p
Demyelination in Multiple Sclerosis as an Effect of N-Acetylaspartate Depletion”
No full textMultiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by the demyelination of the central nervous system, which causes progressive neurological disability. Mitochondrial defects in the MS brain, including decreased levels of the neuronal mitochondrial metabolite N-acetylaspartate (NAA), have previously been identified in our lab. We suspect that demyelination in MS is due in part to depletion of NAA through two possible mechanisms. In one mechanism, oligodendrocytes break down NAA into acetate and aspartate which can enter the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle altering oligodendrocyte metabolism. Changes in levels of TCA intermediates have been shown to regulate the activity of histone H3 demethylase enzymes. Preliminary data suggests that neuronal release of NAA enhances myelination by oligodendrocytes through altering trimethylation of histone H3 on lysine 4 (H3K4me3), which regulates genes associated with myelin lipid synthesis. In mechanism two, additional acetyl-CoA resulting from the catabolism of NAA may serve as a substrate for the synthesis of myelin lipids. Here, we will investigate how defects in myelin can be caused by changes in NAA by studying primary cultures of oligodendrocytes and mice that are deficient for NAA (NAT8L-KO). TCA cycle intermediates will be quantitated by mass spectrometry. Western blotting will be used to determine H3K4me3 levels. Quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry will be used to measure changes in oligodendrocyte differentiation markers. Mass spectrometry, thin layer chromatography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will be used to measure changes in myelin lipid levels in vivo in the NAA deficient NAT8L-KO mice.</p
Histological Investigation of the Intestinal Tracts of Lean and Obese-Prone Rats.
No full textObesity is a growing concern for the nation. Increased interest has focused on the gastrointestinal tract (GI) properties that may impact nutrient absorption. To compare potential differences in GI morphology, we examined the histological characteristics of the digestive tracts of lean and obese rats. High-capacity runners (HCR) are lean, whereas low-capacity runners (LCR) are obese, yet HCR eat more than LCR. Intestines were collected from 12 HCR and 12 LCR adult male rats. After fixation with 10% formalin, a sample from the jejunum was paraffin embedded and sectioned cross-sectionally on a microtome, followed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Using microscopy, we were able to quantify aspects of jejunum such as villi length, diameter, and surface area, and number of crypts per unit area. Preliminary findings showed thinner mucosal layers in the LCR than in the HCR. Longer villi were seen in the HCR than LCR jejunum; however, the number of villi was greater in the LCR. Ongoing analyses will calculate the surface area of villi. The total number of villi and surface area could differentially impact nutrient absorption.</p
NASA Martian Surface Mining: Most effective method of digging and collecting regolith in under 10 minutes.
No full text Kent State Robotics has been preparing for its first attempt at the NASA Robotic Mining Competition. The objective of the competition is to design, build, and control a robotic mining rover to collect a simulated Martian surface called BP-1. The team is judged in several different areas, including the mass of the robot, dust proof designs, automation, mass of Bp-1 collected, mass of “ice” simulant collected, an outreach program, and a systems engineering paper. During the design process, multiple methods of mining were investigated. A scooping design was chosen for its simplicity and low mass. Components for the frame, drivetrain and wheels were chosen to maximize maneuverability on the simulated Martian surface. A practice pit was constructed and filled with basalt rock of similar material buildup to allow for the rover to be tested. Methods for operating autonomously were explored, including techniques for orienting the robot and navigating terrain. </blockquote
The Crossroads of Embracing Content Management: Using the BeagleBone Black Microcomputer to Host Omeka
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/asir/vol5/iss1/5/thumbnail.jpgOver the past decade, the technical marketing term “cloud computing” has led users and organizations to enter into contractual agreements that sometimes result in the inappropriate use of content without their knowledge and additional risk for breaches of privacy. These agreements also can end up “vendor locking” organizations into services that take on a subscription model as opposed to true data ownership from self-hosting. While this shift occurred, processors evolved at a pace that allowed the adoption of smartphones which now equal pocket computers. Many smartphones run on the ARM based processor platform, that facilitates powerful processing and relatively low power consumption. With the arrival of the successful ARM processor based, educational microcomputer called the “Raspberry Pi”, a whole new market of credit card sized microcomputers has started to flourish. These microcomputers have the capability of running web server applications that can be used in libraries of all sizes. This potential “desktop datacenter” advancement is profound for small libraries like those found in churches and seminaries around the world. With low power consumption, these single board servers give the capability to service areas that have never had the opportunity to host application servers due to unstable electricity. This paper illustrates the use of the single board computing platform named “BeagleBone Black” running Ubuntu Linux, to host the institutional repository application Omeka. This work guides a small library to build an IR site, supporting Dublin Core metadata with Omeka, for under a $200 while assuring complete content ownership.</p