THE EFFECTIVNESS OF FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM

This study presents a systematic literature review of the effectiveness of the Federal Pell Grant program, a program provided by the United States government to assist low-income college students attend a higher education institution. Using literature obtained from the OneSearch database of the California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) John M. Pfau Library, this study included 14 articles for analysis, out of which 12 studies utilized quantitative cross-sectional and quasi-experimental research designs. The 3 remaining studies utilized qualitative phenomenological and descriptive methodologies to further examine Pell Grant effectiveness of student access to education, academic performance along with employment outcomes among students seeking a higher educational level. Based on a preliminary analysis of 14 articles, findings point to conflicting information about the effectiveness of the Federal Pell Grant program on students seeking higher education. Patterns observed in the reviewed articles suggested that the results highlighted the challenges in the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Federal Pell Grant program. While some articles suggested positive outcomes for Pell Grant recipients, other articles present evidence of the program’s inefficiency. Overall, findings suggested that more research should be conducted on the effectiveness of the Federal Pell Grants program meeting students educational and financial needs

Rolling-sliding laboratory tests of friction modifiers in dry and wet wheel-rail contacts

Friction management has been carried out extensively in the majority of railway networks in the last few years. A popular practice is the application of friction modifiers to increase the adhesion level in contaminated wheel-rail contacts. Two friction modifiers have particularly been used or tested on several railway networks as adhesion enhancers to facilitate the traction and braking operation under poor adhesion conditions. However, for assessment of the performance the railway operators and infrastructure managers mostly rely on practical observations that do not elucidate completely the effectiveness and side effects of these adhesion enhancers. In this paper, the constituents of the two friction modifiers are identified and the solid components are analyzed. A twin-disk roller rig has been used to study their performance in dry and wet contacts under closely controlled laboratory conditions. The adhesion characteristics of both friction modifiers are examined for different slip ratios. Furthermore, the wheel and rail disks are examined after a series of dry tests to analyze the mass loss, the surface damage, the change in surface hardness and roughness, and the subsurface deformation caused by the friction modifiers compared to dry clean contacts. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Respuesta de la demanda basado en incentivos: Caso de estudio

The present article discusses the development of a demand response system on a residential setting given that the proper management of energy resources by users can solve scarcity and energy reliability issues. The behavior of 1000 residential users is modelled through a peak control program based on economic and energy-related incentives. A demand response (DR) application is used where remuneration depends on scarcity pricing. The case study is shown including a mathematic algorithm and the application. The results obtained with the application exhibit a reduction of energy peaks, which translates into more efficient energy management which in turn is remunerated by scarcity pricing. It is concluded that the incentive-based DR program is viable both energy-wise and financially.El presente artículo pretende desarrollar la Respuesta de la demanda a nivel residencial, dado que con la adecuada gestión energética de los usuarios, se puede resolver problema de escasez y confiabilidad energética. Para esto se modela el comportamiento de mil usuarios residenciales al aplicar un programa de control de picos basado en incentivos energéticos y económicos por medio de un aplicativo de respuesta de la demanda (RD), donde la remuneración se realiza en función al precio de escasez. Se presenta el caso de estudio, el algoritmo matemático implementado y el aplicativo. En los resultados obtenidos en el aplicativo se tiene la disminución de los picos de energía, lo que representa una mejor gestión de energía, esta a su vez se ve remunerada por el precio de escasez, lo que permite concluir que el programa de RD basado en incentivos de control de picos es viable energética y económicamente

Anterior-segment optical coherence tomography for the detection and therapeutic monitoring of corneal disorders

Background: Over recent years a revolutionary trend happened on imaging technologies to diagnose and monitor treatment of a varied group of ophthalmic pathologies. Recent reports have analyzed the microstructural changes of various ocular surface and corneal disorders, particularly ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) and keratoconus using anterior-segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT). Aim of this short communication is to elaborate on clinical applications AS-OCT for the detection and therapeutic monitoring of corneal disorders. Methods: We performed an English literature search without a time limit and intending to identify articles related to the AS-OCT applications in the detection and therapeutic monitoring of corneal disorders. The most relevant articles were selected.  practical points of selected papers and advantages and disadvantages of AS-OCT were retrieved from them and summarized. Results:.Many records reported the AS-OCT applications for diagnosing many ocular surface disorders, the microstructural changes of different inflammatory, infectious, degenerative, and dystrophic corneal disorders. Its applications in identifying disease activity and therapeutic monitoring of various corneal pathologies, including stromal edema associated with angle-closure glaucoma, Fuchs endothelial dystrophy, infectious keratitis, and bullous keratopathy, are promising. The percentage of diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of artificial intelligence methodologies applied to AS-OCT imaging analysis today has reached 94% to 100%. Moreover, AS-OCT is very useful for analyzing the extension of scar and leukoma depth for surgical planning of partial or total corneal transplantation. Conclusions: There is a clear prospect for expanding application of corneal OCT imaging technology, a rapid, non-invasive, and now a promising lower-cost device, which is becoming an in-office standard-of-care tool for the assessment of different corneal and ocular surface pathologies. KEYWORDS anterior-segment optical coherence tomography, AS-OCT, ocular surface disorders, corneal disorders, ocular surface squamous neoplasia, OSSN, keratoconu