Responsive and structured silica-polypeptide composite particles and their components

Nature can produce multifunctional particles by seamlessly combining a variety of molecules and components into a single system. No synthetic particle or collection of particles has approached this elegant combination of function. This dissertation discusses the beginning of building functional and structured particles. It describes a system that combines colloidal silica, known for its ability to assume different and stable shapes, and polypeptides, known for their chirality and ability to change shape. Throughout, the goal is to produce silica-polypeptide composite particles (PCPs) that can illuminate a path to multiple function. The focus is on creating these multi-functional particles and understanding their physical properties and behaviors. This work has presented detailed studies for increased understanding of the degradation and conformational transition of poly(carbobenzyloxy-L-lysine) (PCBL) both free in solution and attached to a core particle. It has also presented composite materials synthesized with varying responsive and physical properties. These findings provide understanding to continue expanding work with polypeptides and biomaterials for use in a variety of applications such as polycolloids, vesicles, and other responsive materials.Ph.D

Designing Scholarships To Improve College Success: Final Report On the Performance-Based Scholarship Demonstration

Performance-based scholarships have two main goals: to give students more money for college and to provide incentives for academic progress. They are designed to reduce the financial burden on low-income students and help them progress academically by offering financial aid contingent upon meeting pre-specified academic benchmarks. The scholarships are intended to cover a modest amount of students' educational costs during the semesters they are offered -- generally between 15 and 25 percent of students' unmet financial need, the difference between students' calculated financial need to attend college and the financial aid they are awarded. The money is paid directly to students, on top of their existing federal and state need-based financial aid, and the students themselves decide how best to use the funds. MDRC launched the Performance-Based Scholarship Demonstration in 2008 to evaluate the effectiveness of these scholarships for as broad a range of low-income students as possible, in a variety of settings, and with varying incentive structures. As such, the evaluation includes more than 12,000 students in institutions across six states to test different performance-based scholarship designs. These results show that even relatively moderate investments in low-income students' education can have modest but long-lasting impacts on their academic outcomes. These findings may be especially relevant to states, institutions, and private scholarship providers seeking purposeful and efficient ways to give low-income students additional financial aid that can also help them succeed academically

Development of Low Cost Braze Alloys for Aerospace Applications

Non-precious metal braze alloys can help lower the cost of brazing, which is a commonly-used joining process in the aerospace industry. A-286, a stainless steel superalloy, and Inconel© 718, a nickel-based superalloy, are both commonly used alloys at Aerojet Rocketdyne. Both alloys were brazed into butt joints using nickel-based braze alloys: AMS 4776, 4777, and 4778. The brazed samples were machined into a modified version of the ASTM E8 subsize specimen samples and tensile tested to compare the strength and calculated elongation of the brazed samples to the base metals’ properties. All of the brazed samples fractured at the joint, and a higher amount of braze alloy on the surface corresponded with a higher strength of the joint. The 718 samples brazed with AMS 4776 and 4778 were not strong enough to be made into tensile samples and the 718 brazed with AMS 4777 reached strengths below 1 ksi due to poor wetting of the braze alloy on the base metal. The average tensile strengths for A-286 brazed with AMS 4776 (A286-76), A286-77, and A286-78 were 30.83 ksi, 93.95 ksi, and 94.91 ksi, respectively. For reference, the base metal had a tensile strength of 145.93 ksi. The average calculated elongations for A286-76, A286-77, and A286-78 were 8.86%, 12.30%, and 15.14%, respectively, and the base metal had a calculated elongation of 58.43%. Metallography along with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed interdiffusion regions, grain pinning, voids, and brittle compounds at the center of the joint. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the brazed samples broke in a brittle manner at the joint

Cross-sectional review of publication trends among OBGYN graduates

Objective: Research and other scholarly activities are essential components to medical training and may predict (i) success for matching into residency or fellowship programs and (ii) a future in academia. Despite this importance, little is known about the research outputs of obstetrics and gynecology residency graduates. In this cross-sectional analysis, we explored the characteristics of published, peer-reviewed publications of obstetrics and gynecology residency graduates and publication rates before, during, and after residency.Study Design: We employed a cross-sectional study design using a random sample of 50 obstetrics and gynecology residency programs found on the 2019-2020 Doximity residency navigator (Doximity Residency Navigator). Data were extracted for each graduate of the included programs with a pilot-tested Google Form and then analyzed using STATA 15.1 and Microsoft Excel. A protocol is publicly available. Publication Trends Among Medical Resi...)Results: We identified 281 residency programs, from which we randomly sampled 50. Among the 50 programs, 15 were included, totaling 303 obstetrics and gynecology residency graduates available for analysis. Of the 303 graduates, a total of 111 (36.6%) produced no publications, 137 (45.2%) produced 1-5 total publications, 28 (9.2%) produced 6-10 publications, 15 (5.0%) produced 11-15 publications, and 12 (4.0%) produced 16-20 publications. Of the graduates we analyzed, 79 (79/303, 26.1%) pursued fellowships, with most in maternal and fetal medicine (23/79, 29.1%). Academia was pursued by 46/303 (15.2%) of graduates. The mean number of publications per resident was 2.9 (SD). Our results showed an increase of publications during the progression of training with a mean of 0.38 publications prior to residency, 0.8 during residency, and 1.75 after residency.Conclusion: Our results showed that the majority of obstetrics and gynecology graduates do not go on to pursue a fellowship or career in academia. According to the ACGME, the average number of research experiences (poster or abstract presentations, publications, etc.) for matched residents as a whole was 3.3 while matched obstetrics and gynecology residents averaged 3.4 research experiences1. While matched obstetrics and gynecology residents only averaged slightly more research experiences than the average resident, publications throughout obstetrics and gynecology training trended upward as training progressed. The highest average of publications was seen post- residency, which suggests there may be an opportunity for residents to increase their scholastic activity while in training. We propose that one way to increase the scholarly activity while in training is to encourage collaborative research involvement between medical students, residents, and attending physicians. This joint effort will not only increase resident scholarly activity but will also facilitate teaching research principles to medical students early in medical training and provide opportunities for networking and knowledge sharing

Circle of Ramsey Greenway System

Report and posters completed by students enrolled in ARCH 3250: Community Design and Public Interest Architecture, taught by James Wheeler and LA 3002: Informants of Creating Landscape Space, taught by Jessica Rossi-Mastracci and Joe Favour in spring 2018.This project was completed as part of the 2017-2018 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with the City of Ramsey. The goal of this project was to examine the City of Ramsey’s current greenway system and propose changes and extensions to the system that make it easier to navigate and more efficient to use. Ramsey project lead Mark Riverblood collaborated with a team of students enrolled in James Wheeler’s ARCH 3250 course, and Jessica Rossi-Mastracci and Joe Favour’s LA 3002 course, to create conceptual designs and recommend specific improvements to the City’s greenway system. A final student report and posters from the project are available.This project was supported by the Resilient Communities Project (RCP), a program at the University of Minnesota whose mission is to connect communities in Minnesota with U of MN faculty and students to advance community resilience through collaborative, course-based projects. RCP is a program of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA). More information at http://www.rcp.umn.edu

The Value of the Franklin University Nationwide Library

The Franklin University Nationwide Library (FUNL) has long been considered a significant contributing resource to our university community. Yet, in spite of our high level of professional competence and credibility, we are reticent to “tell our story” or to promote to others the list of services we provide. This reluctance is rooted in the professional academic preparation and service ethic that characterizes librarianship. Compelling contemporary trends in higher education mandate that all academic programs provide robust performance evaluation and verified and validated measures of Return on Investment (ROI). ROI is a technique for quantifying the extent to which investment in a library helps generate income or other tangible benefits for its parent institution. One way of measuring ROI is quantitative and involves calculating what Franklin University would spend, in time and direct costs, to get the information our users need without access to the library. Another method addressed in this Learning Showcase presentation is qualitative evidence from University administrators and faculty pointing out how FUNL has expedited university administrative initiatives, new program and degree development, and other revenue enhancing efforts. This poster employs both forms of measure to demonstrate the continued value of professional librarianship to the varied and complex directions this university will be moving in during the coming years.https://fuse.franklin.edu/ss2014/1055/thumbnail.jp

EFFECTS OF KAATSU TRAINING ON UPPER EXTREMITY SIZE AND STRENGTH

poster abstractConventional resistance training involves lifting heavy loads (~70% max-imal strength), which can be poorly tolerated or contraindicated in many clinical populations. KAATSU training is a novel training mode from Japan that combines muscle blood flow restriction with low load lifting (~20% max-imal strength). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a KAATSU training program on upper extremity size and strength. Forty healthy subjects ages 18 to 30 were divided into exercise (EX) or control (CON) groups. Subjects reported to the laboratory three times per week for eight weeks. The EX group performed 3 sets of 15 repetitions of unilateral bicep curls and triceps extensions lifting loads equivalent to 20% of their predetermined maximal strength while wearing a pneumatic cuff to restrict blood flow on one arm (CUFF) and nothing on the other (NCUFF). The CON group did not perform any exercises but wore the cuff on one arm for a time comparable to the EX group. CUFF and NCUFF arms were randomly as-signed. Strength, girth, skin folds and tomography scans were taken pre-, during, and post-eight weeks. In the EX group, bicep curl (17.4% +4.1% and 18.7% +4.9%) and triceps extension (15.8% +3.4% and 10.7% +2.7%) strength increased significantly over the 8-week period for both the CUFF and NCUFF arms, respectively. No significant differences in strength occurred between the CUFF and NCUFF arms within the group. No strength changes were noted in the CON group for the CUFF and NCUFF arms. Arm girth and muscle cross-sectional area (mCSA) increased significantly in the EX subjects compared to the CON subjects, however no significant differ-ences were found when within group comparisons were made between the CUFF and NCUFF arms. This study indicates that KAATSU training can in-crease muscle strength and mCSA

KAATSU TRAINING: PERCEPTIONS AND COMPLIANCE TO AN UPPER ARM EXERCISE PROGRAM

poster abstractKAATSU training is a novel Japanese training mode involving low load (~20% maximal strength) weightlifting combined with blood flow restriction to the muscles. Little is known about the sensations experienced during KAATSU training and whether clients will tolerate it. The purpose of this study was to assess perceived sensations, exertion rates, and compliance to an upper arm KAATSU training program. Forty healthy subjects ages 18 to 30 were divided into exercise (EX) or control (CON) groups. Subjects report-ed to the laboratory three times per week for eight weeks. The EX group performed 3 sets of 15 repetitions of unilateral bicep curls and triceps exten-sions lifting loads equivalent to 20% of their predetermined maximal strength while wearing a pneumatic cuff on one arm (CUFF) and nothing on the other (NCUFF). The CON group did not perform any exercises but wore the cuff on one arm for a time comparable to the EX group. CUFF and NCUFF arms were randomly assigned. Sensations (burning, aching, pressure, pins & needles) and perceived exertion were assessed using visual analog scales that included emotions and verbal cues. Compliance (percentage of subjects completing the pre- and post-testing) and adherence (percentage of ses-sions completed) were tracked to provide an indication of training tolerance. Compliance was 85.4% and 97% for the EX and CON groups, respectively. EX subjects completed 85.4% of their workouts while controls attended 90.4% of their sessions. The prominent sensation reported in the CUFF arm was pressure (moderate; 3.2 +0.6) followed by aching (weak; 1.7 +0.4). Ratings of perceived exertion were higher for the CUFF (3.2 +1.0, 5.1 +1.8, and 7.0 +2.5) versus NCUFF (1.5 +0.3, 2.4 +0.3, and 3.3 +0.4) arm for sets 1, 2, and 3, respectively. KAATSU training is well tolerated by those performing it and a viable alternative to conventional resistance exercise

Organophilic, Superparamagnetic, and Reversibly Thermoresponsive Silica-Polypeptide Core-Shell Particles

Particles with a superparamagnetic cobalt inner core, silica outer core, and covalently bound homopolypeptide shell were investigated under thermal and magnetic stimuli. The homopolypeptide was poly(ϵ-carbobenzyloxy-l-lysine), PCBL, which is known to exhibit a thermoreversible coil → helix transition when dissolved as a pure polymer in m-cresol. Tethering to a core particle did not prevent PCBL from undergoing this conformational transition, as confirmed by dynamic light scattering and optical rotation, but the transition was broadened compared to that of the untethered polymer. The Co@SiO2-PCBL hybrid particles retained the superparamagnetic properties of the cobalt inner nougat. Indeed, some response remains even after aging for \u3e5 years. The aged PCBL shell also preserved its responsiveness to temperature, although differences in the shape of the size vs temperature transition curve were observed compared to the freshly made particles. A reversible coil → helix transition for a particle-bound polypeptide in a pure organic solvent is rare. In addition to providing a convenient tool for characterizing coil → helix transitions for surface-bound polypeptides without interference from pH or the strong ionic forces that dominate behavior in aqueous systems, the Co@SiO2-PCBL/m-cresol system may prove useful in studies of the effect of shell polymer conformation on colloid interactions. The stability of the magnetic core and polypeptide shell suggest a long shelf life for Co@SiO2-PCBL, which can, in principle, be deprotected to yield positively charged Co@SiO2-poly(l-lysine) particles for possible transfection or antimicrobial applications or chained magnetically to produce responsive poly(colloids)