Mechanisms for the Spread of Antibiotic Resistance in Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is currently the ninth leading cause of death for humans worldwide, causing 10.4 million new infections in 2016. According to the World Health Organization, of these infections, 600,000 were antibiotic resistant. However, the treatment success rate for resistant TB was only 54%. The potential for emergent epidemics of drug resistant TB highlights the need to understand the mechanisms for the spread of resistance. Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB, evolves resistant strains within individuals who are being treated with antibiotics. It has been assumed previously that the resistant characteristics of these strains are spread primarily by the transmission of the strains themselves through the air, by coughing. However, in other bacterial diseases, genes for resistance often spread by horizontal gene transfer, or the movement of DNA between cells. In this study, I asked whether resistant genes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) could also spread by the same mechanism. One way to show evidence of horizontal transfer is to look for places in the cell’s DNA where new DNA has recently been incorporated, or recombined. I analyzed 67 whole genomes of drug resistant Mtb for recombination, using the program FastGEAR. I found evidence of ancestral recombination in 3 different places, and of recent recombination in 30 different places. This discovery may lead to new approaches for treating drug resistant tuberculosis

Holdable Haptic Device for 4-DOF Motion Guidance

Hand-held haptic devices can allow for greater freedom of motion and larger workspaces than traditional grounded haptic devices. They can also provide more compelling haptic sensations to the users' fingertips than many wearable haptic devices because reaction forces can be distributed over a larger area of skin far away from the stimulation site. This paper presents a hand-held kinesthetic gripper that provides guidance cues in four degrees of freedom (DOF). 2-DOF tangential forces on the thumb and index finger combine to create cues to translate or rotate the hand. We demonstrate the device's capabilities in a three-part user study. First, users moved their hands in response to haptic cues before receiving instruction or training. Then, they trained on cues in eight directions in a forced-choice task. Finally, they repeated the first part, now knowing what each cue intended to convey. Users were able to discriminate each cue over 90% of the time. Users moved correctly in response to the guidance cues both before and after the training and indicated that the cues were easy to follow. The results show promise for holdable kinesthetic devices in haptic feedback and guidance for applications such as virtual reality, medical training, and teleoperation.Comment: Submitted to IEEE World Haptics Conference 201

An Experimental Investigation of Evanescent Wave Propagation Through a Turning Depth

Internal waves are complex phenomena which occur uniquely in fluids which are stratified, or have varying density with respect to height. This occurs within the ocean and the atmosphere. One well known method of internal wave generation is tidal flow over oceanic bathymetry. However, in some locations, the natural frequency of the deep ocean is less than the tidal frequency and thus only evanescent waves are generated. While evanescent waves generally dissipate quickly after formation, it is been observed that if these waves travel into a stronger stratification, they can become propagating internal waves. Presented here is an experimental investigation of this internal wave generation mechanism. Specifically, internal wave energy transfer through a turning depth for a range of stratification profiles and turning depth locations is explored

A Review of the Impact of Age and Sex on the Diagnosis of ADHD

The purpose of this project is to review the literature on the diagnosis of ADHD. Although attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been around for over 100 years, there are often difficulties in diagnosing children who have this disorder. Even though ADHD can affect all types of people, research into ADHD has largely been focused on symptoms seen primarily in young boys. This, it will be argued, has created a “stereotype” of those who have ADHD which precludes many with this disorder from being diagnosed. This inequality in the attention given to boys rather than girls or adults is because, in most cases, it is only the boys that are hyperactive. The hyperactive and combined types of ADHD are easily noticeable compared to the inattentive type. Girls suffering from the inattentive type of ADHD typically carry these symptoms undiagnosed into adulthood, potentially resulting in negative consequences. Similarly, adults that have missed diagnosis as a child can have lingering effects. In the last decade, more has been done to adequately diagnose and treat all children and adults. Accurate diagnosis of ADHD is critical to treating those who have it

MOOC: Miscalculations, Oversights, Opportunities and Celebration

Online learning is incredibly important for libraries and librarians to stay valuable in modern information ages. While face to face classes are wonderful, online courses give our users more flexibility and opportunities to learn. The field of online learning is essential for libraries and we want to support and embrace online learning developments. Ways for libraries to become involved in online learning have recently been explored in-depth (Tasha Maddison, and Maha Kumaran, ed. 2017. Distributed Learning. Chandos Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-100598-9.00023-4). While some of the identified challenges and limitations are also reflected in this project, this presentation provides a case study about a library creating an online course for broad use in a specific subject domain. Learn from our mistakes! Three years of working on an online course results in a lot of lessons learned. We’ll take you through the journey of mishaps and misadventures in chronological order, and share how we turned oversights into new opportunities. Questions and areas to keep an eye out for when creating your own online class: 1. Planning Stages: Take it seriously and think about the entire project timeline Do you have the background knowledge? Find experts who can help! Use resources available to you, but don’t cut corners! Be realistic about your budget. Include specific breakdowns and costs. 2. Include the User: Include the user in everything you do with check-ins Think about the user first, and think about different users. Your user = your audience. Be reasonable about who your content is for! Conducting a pilot? Include honorariums and plan early! Focus Groups are a great way to get user feedback. But how many should you do? 3. Be Adaptable: Online courses are never going to run exactly as planned Understand both the technology possibilities and limitations. Prepare for scenarios, but be flexible and able to pivot with problems! What happens when the content changes? Think about the long term. With some experimentation, we ultimately were able to celebrate a completed online course. Long-term assessment will be crucial for determining the aspects that still fell short or lead to the eventual success of this project

Effects of a Distributed Computing Architecture on the Emerald Nanosatellite Development Process

Building satellites with greater capabilities on shorter timelines requires changes in development approach. Relative to previous satellite projects in Stanford’s Space Systems Development Laboratory (SSDL), the Emerald Nanosatellite system is highly complex. Its mission requires numerous experiments and relatively sophisticated subsystem capabilities. To develop this system on a short two-year timeline required a new development approach to simplify system integration. As a result, the Emerald development team adopted a modular distributed computing architecture. While this decision imposed many changes on Emerald’s design process, the benefits of the distributed architecture for system integration and testing justified its selection. This approach has already affected the early stages of engineering model integration, and is expected to provide flexibility throughout construction and integration of the flight hardware. In addition the distributed architecture developed for the Emerald project will provide a useful tool for future development efforts in the SSDL and the small satellite development community

More Than a Zip Code: Addressing Home Factors Influencing Kindergarten Readiness Levels

Families and primary caregivers play an important role in developing essential emergent literacy skills of children from birth so that they are ready for kindergarten and have a strong foundation for future academic success. This article explores factors that influence the emergent literacy development process and offers strategies to boost school readiness levels and literacy rates among children