Implications on Rural Adult Learning in the Absence of Broadband Internet

The purpose of this study was to establish a deeper understanding of the educational needs of rural-based learners within the context of online learning opportunities. It was hoped to ascertain whether rural learner’s needs differ in terms of learning choices from that of their urban counterparts. The basis for the urban examples is based totally upon available literature. This study is particularly interested in identifying predictors for why rural learners choose to participate in online based adult and community education using a case study approach. Seven themes were identified during this study and are presented as a model for potential predictors of formal and informal online learning in rural communities

Potential Solutions to Rural Broadband Internet Deployment

Broadband availability in rural areas continues to be a major topic of concern in many areas of the country but especially in our rural communities. Several grassroots organizations, including the Wireless Communication Association International and the Rural Broadband Coalition, were created for the sole purpose of closing the “Digital Divide” for underserved Americans. Government should support efforts to offer broadband to the masses, but in some cases special legislation is required to pave the way. In Kentucky, the Supreme Court rendered an August 2005 decision that may have severely hindered broadband deployment by restricting rural electric cooperatives from providing any service other than that of electricity. It is unclear whether this decision adversely affected rural cooperative’s plans to pursue providing high-speed Internet to their constituents but it certainly caused them to their entrance into a less than competitive market for rural areas. Reacting relatively quickly to this decision the Kentucky Legislature passed legislation that empowered these organizations to once again offer services like Internet, long distance telephone, and propane gas service (ConnectKentucky, 2006)

Teaching Undergraduate Business Students Data Analytics: Differences Between Male & Female F2F-WEB Students

Utilizing two class sections at a midwestern, public university, undergraduate students received instruction in basic data analytics concepts using SimNet® preparatory assignments with Microsoft Excel®, additional instructional materials, and analytics projects were assigned. Performance on each of the three analytics projects was measured against performance on the preparatory Excel assignments by sex with the intent to prepare students for basic analytics projects. The results of a Pearson correlation indicated for face-toface female learners there was no correlation observed between the first five SimNet projects. There was a statistically significant correlation between SimNet projects 1-5 and analytics project 2. For face-to-face male learners, correlations observed were between the first and second analytics projects and the first and third analytics projects. For female Web learners analytics project, 1 was correlated to SimNet projects 6 - 9 and to analytics project 2. SimNet projects 6 - 9 were correlated to analytics project 2. For male online students, a statistically significant correlation was observed between numerous projects

Social media and supply chain risk management: improving risk detection and supply chain resilience

The introduction of social media has changed the methods by which many individuals, communities, and organizations communicate and interact. The increasing popularity of social media within a business context has forced executives to rethink how they operate their businesses. Chae (2015) observed that the field of supply chain management (SCM) has been lagging in identifying the potential role and use of social media in both research and practice. Recently, greater attention is being given to social media and its potential uses within the supply chain. This paper investigates the potential use for social media as a technology to help with supply chain risk detection and supply chain resilience

Structure‐Activity Studies of Nitroreductase‐Responsive Near‐Infrared Heptamethine Cyanine Fluorescent Probes

Two new classes of near-infrared molecular probes were prepared and shown to exhibit “turn on” fluorescence when cleaved by the nitroreductase enzyme, a well-known biomarker of cell hypoxia. The fluorescent probes are heptamethine cyanine dyes with a central 4‘-carboxylic ester group on the heptamethine chain that is converted by a self-immolative fragmentation mechanism to a 4‘-caboxylate group that greatly enhances the fluorescence brightness. Each compound was prepared by ring opening of a Zincke salt. The chemical structures have either terminal benzoindolinenes or propargy-loxy auxochromes, which provide favorable red-shifted absorp-tion/emission wavelengths and a hyperchromic effect that enhances the photon output when excited by 808 nm light. A fluorescent probe with terminal propargyloxy-indolenines ex-hibited less self-aggregation and was rapidly activated by nitroreductase with large “turn on“ fluorescence; thus, it is the preferred choice for translation towards in vivo applications

Note and Comment

The Appam Case - On March 6 last the Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision in the appeals taken in the libel suits filed against the Appam and cargo in the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Virginia, affirming the decree of. restitution entered by that court

Optical coherence tomography in the assessment of acute changes in cutaneous vascular diameter induced by heat stress.

There are limited imaging technologies available that can accurately assess or provide surrogate markers of the in vivo cutaneous microvessel network in humans. In this study, we establish the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) as a novel imaging technique to assess acute changes in cutaneous microvessel area density and diameter in humans. OCT speckle decorrelation images of the skin on the ventral side of the forearm up to a depth of 500 μm were obtained prior to and following 20-25 mins of lower limb heating in eight healthy males (30.3±7.6 yrs). Skin red blood cell flux was also collected using laser Doppler flowmetry probes immediately adjacent to the OCT skin sites, along with skin temperature. OCT speckle decorrelation images were obtained at both baseline and heating time points. Forearm skin flux increased significantly (0.20±0.15 to 1.75±0.38 CVC, P<0.01), along with forearm skin temperature (32.0±1.2 to 34.3±1.0°C, P<0.01). Quantitative differences in the automated calculation of vascular area densities (26±9 to 49±19%, P<0.01) and individual microvessel diameters (68±17 to 105±25 μm, P<0.01) were evident following the heating session. This is the first in vivo within-subject assessment of acute changes in the cutaneous microvasculature in response to heating in humans and highlights the use of OCT as an exciting new imaging approach for skin physiology and clinical research

Improved estimates of 222 nm far-UVC susceptibility for aerosolized human coronavirus via a validated high-fidelity coupled radiation-CFD code

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by aerosols has played a significant role in the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the globe. Indoor environments with inadequate ventilation pose a serious infection risk. Whilst vaccines suppress transmission, they are not 100% effective and the risk from variants and new viruses always remains. Consequently, many efforts have focused on ways to disinfect air. One such method involves use of minimally hazardous 222 nm far-UVC light. Whilst a small number of controlled experimental studies have been conducted, determining the efficacy of this approach is difficult because chamber or room geometry, and the air flow within them, influences both far-UVC illumination and aerosol dwell times. Fortunately, computational multiphysics modelling allows the inadequacy of dose-averaged assessment of viral inactivation to be overcome in these complex situations. This article presents the first validation of the WYVERN radiation-CFD code for far-UVC air-disinfection against survival fraction measurements, and the first measurement-informed modelling approach to estimating far-UVC susceptibility of viruses in air. As well as demonstrating the reliability of the code, at circa 70% higher, our findings indicate that aerosolized human coronaviruses are significantly more susceptible to far-UVC than previously thought