The Impacts of Preconception Nutrition on Pregnancy: An educational module promoting preconception care

Recent research has shown that maternal overweight and obesity (OW/OB) prior to conception are directly and independently associated with negative outcomes in pregnancy, birth, infancy, childhood, and beyond. The purpose of this project was to create and evaluate educational materials for providers who work with women of childbearing age, in order to encourage and facilitate conversations about the importance of preconception nutrition in family planning. A literature review was conducted, and from it two documents were created: 1) an educational module for providers offering background information, relevant research, and tips for discussing the matter with patients; and 2) an infographic-style handout, written in lay language, for providers to use directly with patients. These materials were presented to 16 practitioners, and the efficacy of the materials was assessed using pre- and post-intervention surveys, in addition to qualitative feedback. Responses indicated that the educational materials were positively received by the participants, and the vast majority of participants planned to increase or enhance their discussions of this important topic as a result of the module. Given the current national overweight and obesity epidemic, such efforts could have wide-reaching impacts on health outcomes. This project, while small, indicates that further such educational efforts for providers are warranted

Simulation verification techniques study

Results are summarized of the simulation verification techniques study which consisted of two tasks: to develop techniques for simulator hardware checkout and to develop techniques for simulation performance verification (validation). The hardware verification task involved definition of simulation hardware (hardware units and integrated simulator configurations), survey of current hardware self-test techniques, and definition of hardware and software techniques for checkout of simulator subsystems. The performance verification task included definition of simulation performance parameters (and critical performance parameters), definition of methods for establishing standards of performance (sources of reference data or validation), and definition of methods for validating performance. Both major tasks included definition of verification software and assessment of verification data base impact. An annotated bibliography of all documents generated during this study is provided

Application of ecological, geological and oceanographic ERTS-1 imagery to Delaware's coastal resources management

The author has identified the following significant results. Data from twelve successful ERTS-1 passes over Delaware Bay have been analyzed with special emphasis on coastal vegetation, land use, current circulation, water turbidity and pollution dispersion. Secchi depth, suspended sediment concentration and transmissivity as measured from helicopters and boats were correlated with ERTS-1 image radiance. Multispectral signatures of acid disposal plumes, sediment plumes and slick were investigated. Ten vegetative cover and water discrimination classes were selected for mapping: (1) forest-land; (2) Phragmites communis; (3) Spartina patens and Distichlis spicata; (4) Spartina alterniflora; (5) cropland; (6) plowed cropland; (7) sand and bare sandy soil; (8) bare mud; (9) deep water; and (10) sediment-laden and shallow water. Canonical analysis predicted good classification accuracies for most categories. The actual classification accuracies were very close to the predicted values with 8 of 10 categories classified with greater than 90% accuracy indicating that representative training sets had been selected

Analysis and automation of remedies for community hardships of non-native community

Abstract. Equality among all human beings, as a world community surpassing all the barriers such as religion, language, ethnicity, geographical location, and nationality is an important aspect all over the world. The equality for non-native communities of the country is a more important aspect of human equality. The hardships faced by the non-native community of society due to lack of equality cause irreversible damage to humankind and society. Lately, with the development of many technologies and new implementations, the fact that these technologies can assist in solving social problems came into discussion. Considering the hardships faced by non-native communities in terms of a social problem we explore how technology can assist in solving social matters. Thereby we explore a novel vision for the part that technology can contribute in solving civic matters encompassing frameworks from public engagement, crowdsourcing, and design thinking. In this thesis, we do a study on background work on how we can solve civic matters by assisting public participation frameworks, crowdsourcing frameworks, and design thinking frameworks. For this purpose, we presented three hardship stories that the non-native community of Finnish university faces which have been collected through a previous study, to collect ideas, and thoughts on how to mitigate the situation. We employed three questionnaires designed based on three conditions the conditions were First one is the baseline where the answers to the questionnaires will not be analyzed anywhere, and the second questionnaire condition is that the ideas will be used in social media and the third is that the ideas will be subjected to a quality analysis by crowd workers. To this end, we have collected ideas from 40 participants for each questionnaire with the aid of a prolific crowd-sourcing platform. Each of the questionnaires included a Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE) questionnaire section to measure empathy. Further, we Analyse the data that we have collected, through a QCAE analysis, word count, and answer length analysis, analyzing the co-relations between them, doing thematic coding, and doing a tone analysis. Moreover, we implemented an automated pipeline to do tone analysis starting from fetching answers from google forms to output the tone analysis results. Ultimately, the thesis contributes to Collecting ideas on how to mitigate the hardship experiences faced by non-native communities in a Finnish university. Further enhances the awareness of the hardships faced by the non-native community of a society. And through the analysis of the results we identified different co-relations between different factors like word count and Empathy. Analyze the tone of the participants in civic issues. Finally discussed the part that technology can contribute in solving civic matters encompassing frameworks from public engagement, crowdsourcing and design thinking

Modellierung nanomechanischer Effekte in neuen lithografischen Materialien und Prozessen

Optical projection lithography involves the transfer of a photomask pattern onto a polymer material known as a photoresist. The diffracted light from the exposed photomask is projected onto the photoresist to produce the desired pattern. Depending on the application, a positive-tone development (PTD) or negative-tone development (NTD) process is employed, where either the exposed or unexposed regions are washed away respectively. It is very important to investigate the various chemical, optical, and mechanical effects taking place within the photoresist polymer, since lithography is very much dependent on the interaction between these effects. The use of chemically amplified resists (CARs) has been instrumental in the reduction of printed feature sizes seen over the past few decades. These resists with their superior resolution have enabled high volume production and continue to be a cost-effective option despite the challenges involved. They are, however, prone to shrinkage and deformation in the exposed areas leading to inaccuracies in the critical dimensions (CDs). This makes the accurate pattern transfer from the photomask to the silicon wafer difficult and is especially problematic in the negative-tone development (NTD) process where the exposed regions are left behind. Moreover, resist defects in modern extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) are random events that do not scale down with the feature size and in turn cause catastrophic failures such as pattern collapse and feature distortions during manufacturing. All these undesirable effects observed during photoresist processing make modelling and simulation imperative to better understand and help mitigate/correct them. The main goal of this thesis is to individually model and simulate each of the effects contributing to the overall deformation of the resist mainly during the exposure, post expose bake (PEB), chemical development and resist rinsing. The physical models developed in this thesis serve as a baseline for optimizing and improving the current generation of lithography simulators. Also, they show the impact of varying the various physical parameters including the thermal and material properties of the resist on the overall deformation of the resist pattern. A finite element method (FEM) based model is developed to help simulate the shrinkage and volume losses seen in negative-tone development (NTD) resists. This new model uses a relational principle where a photocleavable polymer group concentration is directly related with the thermal expansion coefficient during the PEB step. The most significant shrinkage occurs during this step and the critical dimension (CD), height and volume of the final photoresist profile are greatly impacted. The proposed model helped simulate the shrinkage phenomenon effectively in numerous use cases and was validated using experimental data. The deformation during the post exposure bake (PEB) also leaves a certain amount of stress and strain within the resist bulk which contributes to further deformation during and after the development step. This effect is neglected in current lithographic simulators which can make accurate pattern prediction difficult. A modified development rate model is introduced in this thesis that captures the influence of volumetric strain on the overall development rate, which helped simulate and validate the interaction of mechanical and optical proximity effects observed in experimental data. After development, there is a change in boundary conditions resulting in a free-standing feature. This free-standing feature, depending on its dimensions, shape and feature density can begin to relax due to a gradual decrease in the residual stresses. A rigorous modelling procedure was developed to help predict the extent of sidewall angle and CD variations occurring. After the chemical development, a rinsing of the resist surface is carried out to get rid of the residual developer left behind. Uneven drying of the rinse liquid due to the pattern shape can cause an imbalance in the capillary forces and eventually lead to collapse. This effect is simulated and the influence of dose and focus variations on pattern stability is studied. The presence of an underlayer in EUVL can make the pattern unstable and cause resist debonding or delamination due to the lack of adhesion between the resist and underlayer. This thesis presents a modelling procedure to simulate the resist debonding effect effectively and explains the importance of contact stress on pattern stability. Localized regions of higher aspect ratios and higher feature densities arising due to line width roughness (LWR) can make the modelling of collapse and feature bending much more challenging. To alleviate this issue, a new machine learning based approach was implemented to predict collapse probabilities for resists with varying degrees of roughness emanating due to stochastics. The stability of simulated rough patterns in EUVL was not investigated in past literature. The approaches introduced in this thesis can be well integrated into lithographicsimulators to get a complete understanding of pattern stability.In der optischen Projektionslithografie wird eine Struktur auf einer Maske auf ein Polymermaterial, den sogenannten Fotolack, übertragen. Hierzu wird das an der Maske gebeugte Licht auf den Fotolack abgebildet, um das gewünschte Muster zu erzeugen. Je nach Anwendung wird ein Positivlack-Entwicklungsprozess (positive-tone development PTD) oder ein Negativlack-Entwicklungsprozess (negative-tone development NTD) verwendet, bei dem entweder die belichteten oder die unbelichteten Bereiche entfernt werden. Es ist von grundlegender Wichtigkeit, die verschiedenen chemischen, optischen und mechanischen Effekte im Fotolack-Polymer zu untersuchen und zu verstehen, da die Lithografie sehr stark von der Wechselwirkung zwischen diesen Effekten abhängt. Die Verwendung von chemisch verstärkten Fotolacken (chemically amplified resists CARs) hat in den letzten Jahrzehnten maßgeblich zur Verringerung der Größe der erzeugten Strukturen beigetragen. Diese Lacke mit ihrem überlegenen Auflösungsvermögen haben die Massenproduktion ermöglicht und stellen trotz vieler Herausforderungen nach wie vor eine kostengünstige Option dar. Sie sind jedoch anfällig für Verformungen sowie ein Schrumpfen in den belichteten Bereichen, was zu Ungenauigkeiten bei den kritischen Strukturabmessungen (critical dimension CD) führt. Dies erschwert die exakte Übertragung der Strukturen von der Fotomaske auf den Siliziumwafer und ist besonders problematisch bei einem Negativlack- Entwicklungsprozess (NTD), bei welchem die belichteten Bereiche erhalten bleiben. Darüber hinaus sind Fotolack-Defekte in der modernen Extrem-Ultraviolett-Lithografie (EUVL) zufällig auftretende Ereignisse, die nicht mit den Strukturgrößen skalieren und zu extremen Fehlern führen, wie z. B. dem Zusammenbruch oder Verformungen einer Struktur während der Herstellung. All diese unerwünschten Effekte, die während der Fotolack-Prozessierung beobachtet werden, erfordern Modellierungs- und Simulationsansätze, um die Effekte besser zu verstehen und zu ihrer Abschwächung und Korrektur beitragen zu können. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, die Effekte, die zur Gesamtverformung des Fotolackes während der Belichtung, des Post-Exposure-Bake-Prozesses (PEB), der chemischen Entwicklung und der Lackspülung beitragen, separat zu modellieren und zu simulieren. Die in dieser Arbeit entwickelten physikalischen Modelle dienen als Grundlage zur Optimierung und Verbesserung aktueller Lithographiesimulatoren. Sie zeigen die Auswirkungen der Variation verschiedener physikalischer Parameter, einschließlich der thermischen und Materialeigenschaften des Fotolackes, auf die Gesamtverformung der Fotolackstrukturen. Ein auf der Finite-Elemente-Methode (FEM) basierendes Modell wurde entwickelt, um die Schrumpfung und die Volumenverluste zu simulieren, die bei einem Negativlack-Entwicklungsprozess (NTD) auftreten. Dieses neue Modell beruht auf einem relationalen Prinzip, bei dem die Konzentration der fotospaltbaren Polymergruppen direkt mit dem Wärmeausdehnungskoeffizienten während des PEBSchrittes in Beziehung steht. Die größte Schrumpfung tritt während dieses Schritts auf, und die CDs, die Höhe und das Volumen des endgültigen Fotolackprofils werden stark beeinflusst. Das neue Modell wurde mittels experimenteller Daten validiert und bei der Simulation von Schrumpfungsphänomenen in zahlreichen Anwendungsfällen effektiv eingesetzt. Die Verformung während des Post-Exposure-Bake-Prozesses (PEB) erzeugt gewisse Spannungen und Dehnungen im Fotolackvolumen, was zu einer weiteren Verformung während und nach dem Entwicklungsschritt führt. Dieser Effekt wird in den aktuellen Lithographiesimulatoren vernachlässigt, was eine genaue Vorhersage der Struktur schwierig machen kann. In dieser Arbeit wird ein modifiziertes Entwicklungsratenmodell eingeführt, das den Einfluss der volumetrischen Dehnung auf die Gesamtentwicklungsrate erfasst und dazu beiträgt, das in den experimentellen Daten beobachtete Zusammenspiel zwischen mechanischen und optischen Naheffekten zu simulieren und zu validieren. Nach der Entwicklung kommt es zu einer Änderung der Randbedingungen, mit dem Resultat einer freistehenden Struktur. Diese freistehende Struktur kann sich je nach Größe, Form und Strukturdichte allmählichen entspannen. Es wurde ein rigoroses Modellierungsverfahren entwickelt, um das Ausmaß der dabei auftretenden Seitenwandwinkel- und CD Schwankungen vorhersagen zu können. Nach der chemischen Entwicklung wird die Fotolackoberfläche gespült, um die zurückgebliebenen Entwicklerreste zu entfernen. Eine ungleichmäßige Trocknung der Spülflüssigkeit aufgrund der Form der Struktur kann zu einem Ungleichgewicht der Kapillarkräfte und schließlich zum Strukturkollaps führen. Dieser Effekt wird simuliert und der Einfluss von Dosis- und Fokusvariationen auf die Strukturstabilität untersucht. Das Vorhandensein einer zusätzlichen Schicht unter dem Fotolack in der EUV-Lithographie kann die Struktur instabil machen und aufgrund mangelnder Haftung zwischen Fotolack und dieser Schicht zur Ablösung des Fotolackes führen. In dieser Arbeit wird ein Modellierungsverfahren vorgestellt, mit dem der Effekt der Fotolack-Ablösung effektiv simuliert und die Bedeutung der Kontaktspannung für die Strukturstabilität gezeigt werden kann. Lokale Bereiche mit höherem Aspektverhältnis und höherer Strukturdichte, die durch rauheitsbedingt Schwankungen der Linienbreite (line width roughness LWR) entstehen, können die Modellierung von Strukturkollaps und Strukturverbiegungen erheblich erschweren. Um dieses Problem zu lösen, wurde ein neuer auf maschinellem Lernen basierender Ansatz zur Vorhersage von Kollapswahrscheinlichkeiten für Fotolacke mit unterschiedlichen stochastischen Rauheitsgraden eingeführt. Die Stabilität von simulierten Strukturen mit Rauigkeit in der EUV-Lithographie wurde in der Literatur bisher nicht untersucht. Die in dieser Arbeit vorgestellten Ansätze können gut in Lithographiesimulatoren integriert werden, um ein umfassendes Verständnis der Strukturstabilität zu erhalten. vi

From Bench To Bedside And Back Again: Car T Cell Signaling And Survival

Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell therapies for hematologic malignancies have been astonishingly successful in driving cancer remissions. However, early loss of CAR T cells and return of normal B cells is a predictor of relapse in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia; the duration of remission is associated with the persistence of CAR T cells for more than three months. These CAR T cells are the product of over 30 years of research and innovation in T cell biology and engineering, which began with the desire to understand how the T cell receptor (TCR) activates T cells in response to antigen. In this thesis, we return to that approach again, but this time to investigate signaling downstream of the costimulatory receptor, 4-1BB, a TNF Receptor Superfamily (TNFRSF) member. 4-1BB-costimulated CAR (BBz) T cells exhibit longer persistence following adoptive transfer than CD28-costimulated CAR (28z) T cells, which contain the first costimulatory domain commonly added to CARs. 4-1BB signaling improves T cell persistence even in the context of 28z CAR activation, which indicates that the 4-1BB cytoplasmic domain contributes unique pro-survival signals. In order to specifically study CAR signaling, we developed a cell-free ligand-based activation and ex vivo culture system for CD19-specific CAR T cells. In this system, we observed greater ex vivo expansion and survival of BBz CAR T cells compared to 28z T cells. We used this system to isolate a pathway activated most by BBz CARs, the non-canonical NF-kB (ncNF-kB) pathway, which is associated with the survival benefit from imparted by other TNFRSFs. We observed that BBz CARs uniquely activate non-canonical NF-kB (ncNF- kB) signaling in T cells basally, and the anti-CD19 BBz CAR further enhances ncNF-kB signaling following ligand engagement. Reducing ncNF-kB signaling specifically diminishes anti-CD19 BBz T cell expansion and survival and is associated with a significant increase in expression of the most pro-apoptotic isoforms of Bim. Although our findings do not exclude the importance of other signaling differences between these CARs, they demonstrate the necessary and non-redundant role of ncNF-kB signaling in promoting BBz CAR T cell survival that likely underlies the engraftment persistence observed with this CAR design

Measuring the Impacts of Social Media on Advancing Public Transit

This project is a collaboration between Portland State University (PSU) and the Center for Infrastructure Transportation & Environment (CITE) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute seeking to develop performance measures for assessing the impacts of social media on promoting public transit. Revolutionary changes have occurred in the communication landscape, and there has been a rapid diffusion of social media use as a means of communicating transit information to the public. Significant resources are being directed to the use of social media in communication, yet little effort exists that measures the impacts of these popular vehicles of communication. Rarely studied is the role of social media in achieving the overarching goals of advancing the mission of transit agencies through increasing recruitment and retention of transit riders; increasing resources and customer satisfaction; addressing system issues, performance efficiency and effectiveness; and improving employee productivity and morale. There is a need to measure the impacts of social media and account for the cost effectiveness of its wide use as a means of communication in public transit agencies. This research intends to extend understanding about whether investments in social media tools effectively achieve their intended purposes. The goal of this project is to identify social media-related measures for public transit agencies that can comprehensively capture the impacts of social media use on agency performance. This project will rely on a review of the research and practice literature to document findings in other fields on performance measures used to assess the impacts of social media. Best practices will be identified. A survey of a random sample of public transit agencies nationwide will target identifying performance measures currently used to document impacts. Gaps will be identified. Investigators will compare and contrast measures used in transit agencies and other fields and identify a list of performance measures that are most effective for transit agencies