The Transition Portfolio: A Portfolio Project Designed to Facilitate Successful Transition for High School Special Education Students

A transition portfolio has been developed for high school students to aid them in preparing for life after graduation. The project focuses on strategies to increase the involvement of students in transition planning. Also emphasized are the Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements for Communication

A Bacteriological Study of Abscesses of Swine and Cattle

Condemnation of abscessed portions of swine and beef carcasses is an important economic problem to the meat packing industry and, consequently, to the individual stock producer. The Meat Inspection Division of the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in its summary of activities from 1955 through 1969 (2), reported that the numbers of abscessed portions from cattle and swine have increased (Table 1 and Figure 1). In this 10-year period the number of abscessed parts condemned in swine increased from 1.4% (1,397,248) of the animals slaughtered to 3.9% (2,660,522). During the same period of time the number of abscessed beef livers condemned increased from 7.6% (1,432,505) to 8.8% (2,242,147), an increase of 1.2%. The entire head of a hog is condemned when it has a jowl abscess and the entire liver of a beef is condemned when it is abscessed. In addition to the loss from abscesses which can be calculated directly from packing house losses, the individual stock producer loses by forced premature sale of breeding stock and by reduced feed utilization by an infected animal. The total effect on the industry is in the millions of dollars

Practitioner Profile: Deb Finnegan Biever

Practitioner Profile: Deb Finnegan Bieve

A genetically encodable cell-type-specific protein synthesis inhibitor

Chemical inhibitors have revealed requirements for protein synthesis that drive cellular plasticity. We developed a genetically encodable protein synthesis inhibitor (gePSI) to achieve cell-type-specific temporal control of protein synthesis. Controlled expression of the gePSI in neurons or glia resulted in rapid, potent and reversible cell-autonomous inhibition of protein synthesis. Moreover, gePSI expression in a single neuron blocked the structural plasticity induced by single-synapse stimulation

Alternate Methods for the Extraction and Measurement of Pore Solution in Fresh Concrete

Knowledge of the pore solution composition and pore solution resistivity can be helpful for determining the durability of concrete structures. Most notably, pore solution resistivity can be used in the calculation of the formation factor of concrete, which is a ratio of the electrical resistivities of concrete and its pore solution. Additionally, the formation factor is equal to the inverse of the product of porosity and pore connectivity, which are critical parameters for concrete durability assessment. This paper explores alternative experimental techniques to extract pore solution of fresh cement pastes to be used to measure its composition and resistivity. All test methods were statistically analyzed using t-tests with a significance level of 0.05. First, the centrifuge extraction method was compared to the gas (nitrogen) pressure technique. The results showed that these two methods yielded no statistically significant difference in measured resistivity of the extracted pore solutions. Second, a cell method of measuring resistivity was compared to a probe method. A statistically significant difference was found. Future experimentation will be required to determine the reason for the cell method’s higher recorded resistivities. Finally, 30-, 60-, and 90-minute time from initial mixing was compared to find a difference in the resistivity of extracted pore solutions. Pore solutions extracted between 30-90 minutes after initial mixing did not show any statistically significant difference in measured electrical resistivity.Key Words: Fresh Paste, Fresh Concrete, Pore Solution, Resistivity, Formation Facto

Measuring and Correcting the Electrical Resistivity of Concrete Pore Solution in Fresh Mixtures

A vital aspect of concrete construction is quality assurance and control (QA/QC). Engineered structures must meet pre-determined and agreed-upon strength and durability requirements. Concrete falls into a specific category of infrastructure material because in most cases, these strength and durability requirements cannot be found until the material has at least partially cured (7-28 days). Recent research has suggested that fresh concrete electrical resistivity may be a possible indicator of critical hardened concrete properties; therefore, it can be used to supplement existing QA/QC protocols of concrete. The electrical properties of fresh and hardened concrete have been investigated for more than 80 years. However, two key aspects of measuring fresh concrete resistivity in the field have not been extensively studied. The main goal of this thesis is to answer the following two questions: (1) how can the electrical resistivity of concrete pore solution be measured practically in the field and (2) would aggregates affect these measurements. The first part of this thesis statistically compares techniques for fresh concrete resistivity extraction and measurement. These procedures must be cost-effective, easy to upscale for industry, and yield faster results. The centrifuge approach of extraction and conductivity probe for measuring resistivity are found to be the most practical techniques for potential field use. Additionally, it is found that pore solution extraction and measurement can be performed 30-90 minutes after mixing without significantly affecting the resistivity. Finally, a practical method is proposed to determine the resistivity from a diluted cement paste sample when the extracted pore solution volume is inadequate for accurate measurement. The second part of this thesis examines the influence of fine aggregates on the pore solution of fresh mortars. Specifically, this chapter considers the dilution of pore solution due to the water content of aggregates, and the potential adsorption of pore solution ions on the surface of aggregates. Results indicate that aggregates may play a significant role in the chemistry of a fresh mortar system. A test method is proposed to identify aggregates that are a significant ionic influence on the pore solution system, and a methodology is proposed that corrects for the change in ion concentration of a fresh pore solution due to the dilution and adsorption of aggregates