Mobile Application Development: The Mobile Intoxication Assessment Tool

This research and development undertaking during the senior year is a culmination of undergraduate study at Union College and is an opportunity to put knowledge gained to use. The purpose of this specific capstone project is to bring together not just the research and implementation techniques learned as a Computer Engineer but to also meld this discipline with another; Neuroscience. The objective of the project was to develop a full function software prototype in the form of a mobile phone application. The mobile application (Mobile Intoxication Assessment Tool) constitutes a grouping of simple subtasks that can be completed on the touch screen of an Android powered smart phone. These subtasks are designed in such a way that they evaluate five primary abilities that are disrupted by acute alcohol intoxication. The five affected faculties include memory and problem solving abilities, fine muscle control, vision, and reaction time. The result of a user’s cumulative scores on these simple tests paired with their personal information such as body weight, age, and height is compared to a “baseline sobriety reading”. This baseline reading is calculated, at the time of the application’s download, when the sober user completes a variation of the tests that will be administered during intoxication. This project aims to identify a quantitative correlation between blood alcohol content (BAC) and the degradation of a users test scores from their “baseline sobriety reading” scores. Through a month long study, of 25 participants of legal drinking age, this correlation between variations in test scores and users intoxication was searched for. As was the ideal outcome, a strong correlation was discovered and the software prototype resulting from this research is able to provide a BAC reading. The software has yet to achieve the level of BAC prediction accuracy of a commercially available breathalyzer but further research is planned to remedy this

Chandler, Nahum Dimitri, editor. Du Bois, W. E. B. The Problem of the Color Line at the Turn of the Twentieth Century: The Essential Early Essays

Chandler, Nahum Dimitri, editor. Du Bois, W. E. B. The Problem of the Color Line at the Turn of the Twentieth Century: The Essential Early Essays. New York: Fordham University Press, 2015, pp. 400. Adam Burns Nahum Chandler has dedicated many years to studying the works of one of the twentieth century’s foremost thinkers, W. E. B. Du Bois – something illustrated both in this volume and in his recent monograph, X – The Problem of the Negro as a Problem for Thought (Fordham UP, 2014). Chandler..

“A Fit of Absence of Mind?” Learning about British Imperialism in the 21st Century

The British Empire was instrumental in shaping the modern world as we know it. Despite its significance for today, controversies rage over how we should teach it to younger generations. Writing for Frontier, Dr Adam D. Burns discusses his recent investigations into the different educational factors influencing students’ perceptions of the British Empire

Applications of next-generation technologies in the diagnosis of haematological diseases and cancer

The advent of massively-parallel next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods has provided researchers with a powerful tool with which to interrogate and characterise the molecular landscape of cancer genomes. Compared to existing methods of DNA sequencing, NGS platforms generate massive amounts of sequence data and, as a consequence, can reveal information not just on single nucleotide variations (SNVs), but also on copy-number aberrations, translocations and large insertions and deletions in a single experiment. Furthermore, targeted NGS provides the capability to focus on a small number of targets simultaneously, with high accuracy and sensitivity. The presence of specific molecular markers acts as predictors of disease outcome, survival rates and treatment response in individual patients. Screening for such markers has become routine practice in diagnostic laboratories using traditional methods of DNA analysis, are widely used in diagnostic laboratories around the world. Whilst these methods are proven and reliable, their limitations lie in the fact that they focus on only the most prevalent mutations in a particular cancer. The ability to investigate multiple gene targets within individual patients, to a high level of accuracy, and to monitor these changes over time will be a valuable tool in cancer diagnostics. As such, there is a potential use case for NGS techniques in routine diagnostics. Therefore, this thesis investigated the extent to which NGS platforms could be used in a clinical setting for the diagnosis and risk-stratification of both lymphoid and myeloid malignancies. A targeted next-generation sequencing panel was designed and validated against existing diagnostic methods. All mutations in the validation cohort were correctly identified. Both the specificity and sensitivity of the assay were determined and were considerably better than those of the current ‘gold-standard’ techniques. This panel has been fully validated and implemented into the diagnostic service at the John Radcliffe Hospital. The research applications of this panel were also demonstrated through the sequencing of a cohort of del(5q) MDS patients. It was not only found that mutations in TP53 and ASXL1 may be key drivers in the progression of del(5q) MDS into AML but also that 40% of del(5q) patients harboured at least one mutation. A number of mutations were below the limit of detection for Sanger sequencing, and so this study expands our knowledge of the del(5q) mutational landscape. Whole genome sequencing of 42 CLL cases revealed a high level of molecular heterogeneity, with mutations in key CLL driver genes including TP53, SF3B1, NOTCH1 and ATM. Both clinically relevant CNAs and translocations were detected in the cohort. Four mutation signatures were detected across the CLL genomes and are both associated with, and vary in their prevalence according to, specific clinical characteristics, including age and chemo-refractoriness. Mutations introduced as part of the SHM process in B-cells are present throughout the genome, including in patients with unmutated IgHV genes. Regions of localised hypermutation are present in CLL, with a number affecting genes associated with coding mutations in CLL, including ATM, KLHL6 and MEGF9. A number of mutation clusters are also identified in potentially regulatory regions of genes. In summary, this thesis demonstrates that both whole genome sequencing and targeted sequencing panels can be introduced into diagnostics to aid the clinical decision-making process and also reveal important new findings that increase our understanding of the pathogenesis of leukaemia

Addressing the challenges of modeling the scattering from bottlebrush polymers in solution

Small‐angle scattering measurements of complex macromolecules in solution are used to establish relationships between chemical structure and conformational properties. Interpretation of the scattering data requires an inverse approach where a model is chosen and the simulated scattering intensity from that model is iterated to match the experimental scattering intensity. This raises challenges in the case where the model is an imperfect approximation of the underlying structure, or where there are significant correlations between model parameters. We examine three bottlebrush polymers (consisting of polynorbornene backbone and polystyrene side chains) in a good solvent using a model commonly applied to this class of polymers: the flexible cylinder model. Applying a series of constrained Monte‐Carlo Markov Chain analyses demonstrates the severity of the correlations between key parameters and the presence of multiple close minima in the goodness of fit space. We demonstrate that a shape‐agnostic model can fit the scattering with significantly reduced parameter correlations and less potential for complex, multimodal parameter spaces. We provide recommendations to improve the analysis of complex macromolecules in solution, highlighting the value of Bayesian methods. This approach provides richer information for understanding parameter sensitivity compared to methods which produce a single, best fit

The Best Decision by Design: Professional Services Selection

Working with a design professional will give you the advantage of his or her expertise and innovative approaches to your project to provide more successful project outcomes: durable and sustainable facilities, lower construction costs, shorter construction schedules, and lower life-cycle costs. Join us to gain a critical perspective on why owners choose to hire design professionals based on a negotiated procurement process instead of bidding

Users as professionals: A study of IT deployment and its relationship to professional Autonomy

It has been argued that the rise of professions in society has been on the increase for over a century, to the extent that they are seen as integral to post-industrial society. Yet, within information systems minimal research has considered users as professionals. Instead, professions and professionalism as units of analysis have usually been intertwined with discussions of IT workers and systems development. In this paper, we focus on professionals as a user group and consider the implications of the deployment of IT in such contexts. In particular, we attend to the influence of technology on a central feature of professional identity – autonomy. In order to do this, we discuss the deployment of a module of an enterprise-wide student information system in a department of a UK university. From this come insights into regulation through inscription, the deskilling of work, system acceptance in the face of self-interest, the retention of autonomy in a regulated environment and the overt exercise of professional power. Whilst the student information system had an effect on professional identity, within our study, it appears that any encroachment upon autonomy has, overall, been viewed as minimal or easily managed. We suggest that future work might focus upon much more contentious sites of IT roll out where professionals exist – where they feel and experience much more significant effects

Portable Handheld Optical Window Inspection Device

The Portable Handheld Optical Window Inspection Device (PHOWID) is a measurement system for imaging small defects (scratches, pits, micrometeor impacts, and the like) in the field. Designed primarily for window inspection, PHOWID attaches to a smooth surface with suction cups, and raster scans a small area with an optical pen in order to provide a three-dimensional image of the defect. PHOWID consists of a graphical user interface, motor control subsystem, scanning head, and interface electronics, as well as an integrated camera and user display that allows a user to locate minute defects before scanning. Noise levels are on the order of 60 in. (1.5 m). PHOWID allows field measurement of defects that are usually done in the lab. It is small, light, and attaches directly to the test article in any orientation up to vertical. An operator can scan a defect and get useful engineering data in a matter of minutes. There is no need to make a mold impression for later lab analysis

Courting white southerners: Theodore Roosevelt’s quest for the heart of the South

Most studies of President Theodore Roosevelt address his “southern strategy” to revive the Republican Party’s fortunes in a region where it was effectively shut out by 1900. This essay revisits Roosevelt’s approach to the South between 1901 and 1912 and argues that wooing white southerners away from the Democratic Party, more than any other approach, represented Roosevelt’s overriding strategy for the revitalization of the southern GOP