On the Existence of Finite Type Link Homotopy Invariants

We show that for links with at most 5 components, the only finite type homotopy invariants are products of the linking numbers. In contrast, we show that for links with at least 9 components, there must exist finite type homotopy invariants which are not products of the linking numbers. This corrects previous errors of the first author.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

EEG Characterization of Sensorimotor Networks: Implications in Stroke

The purpose of this dissertation was to use electroencephalography (EEG) to characterize sensorimotor networks and examine the effects of stroke on sensorimotor networks. Sensorimotor networks play an essential role in completion of everyday tasks, and when damaged, as in stroke survivors, the successful completion of seemingly simple motor tasks becomes fantasy. When sensorimotor networks are impaired as a result of stroke, varying degrees of sensorimotor deficits emerge, most often including loss of sensation and difficulty generating upper extremity movements. Although sensory therapies, such as the application of tendon vibration, have been shown to reduce the sensorimotor deficits after stroke, the underlying sensorimotor mechanisms associated with such improvements are unknown. While sensorimotor networks have been studied extensively, unanswered questions still surround their role in basic control paradigms and how their role changes after stroke. EEG provides a way to probe the high-speed temporal dynamics of sensorimotor networks that other more common imaging modalities lack. Sensorimotor network function was examined in controls during a task designed to differentiate potential mechanisms of arm stabilization and determine to what degree the sensorimotor network is involved. After sensorimotor network function was characterized in controls, we examined the effect of stroke on the sensorimotor network during rest and described the reorganization that occurs. Lastly, we explored tendon vibration as a sensory therapy for stroke survivors and determined if sensorimotor network mechanisms underlie improvements in arm tracking performance due to wrist tendon vibration. We observed cortical activity and connectivity that suggests sensorimotor networks are involved in the control of arm stability, cortical networks reorganize to more asymmetric, local networks after stroke, and tendon vibration normalizes sensorimotor network activity and connectivity during motor control after stroke. This dissertation was among the first studies using EEG to characterize the high-speed temporal dynamics of sensorimotor networks following stroke. This new knowledge has led to a better understanding of how sensorimotor networks function under ordinary circumstances as well as extreme situations such as stroke and revealed previously unknown mechanisms by which tendon vibration improves motor control in stroke survivors, which will lead to better therapeutic approaches

Large scale quantification of aquifer storage and volumes from the Peninsula and Skurweberg Formations in the southwestern Cape

The Western Cape Province of South Africa is a relatively water-scarce area as a result of the Mediterranean climate experienced. Due to the increased usage of groundwater, and the requirement to know how much water is available for use, it is imperative as a 1st step to establish an initial estimate of groundwater in storage. The storage capacity, namely, the total available storage of the different aquifers, and the storage yield of the fractured quartzitic Peninsula and Skurweberg Formation aquifers of the Table Mountain Group (TMG), are calculated with a spreadsheet and Geographic Information System (GIS) model. This model is based on the aquifer geometry and estimated values (based on measured data) for porosity and specific storage (calculated using the classic Jacob relation). The aquifer geometry is calculated from 1:50 000 and 1:250 000 geological contacts, faults and major fractures, with dips and aquifer formation thickness calculated through structural geology 1st principles using a Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Balanced geological cross-sections constructed through the model areas provide an important check for the aquifer top and bottom surface depth values produced by the GIS model. The storage modelling undertaken here forms part of the City of Cape Town TMG Aquifer Feasibility Study and Pilot Project, with modelling focusing on the 3 main groundwater target areas at Theewaterskloof (Nuweberg), Wemmershoek and Kogelberg-Steenbras. In the storage models, the Peninsula and Skurweberg Formation aquifers have confined pore volumes ranging from approximately 29 bn. to 173 bn. m3 and 4 bn. to 26 bn. m3, respectively (based on using different porosity values ranging from 2.5% to 15%). Using an average head decline of 1 m across the confined aquifer areas across all 3 groundwater exploration areas, and confined pore volumes based on a porosity of 5%, 6.9 Mm3 and 1.1 Mm3 of groundwater, from the Peninsula and Skurweberg Formation aquifers, respectively, is available. The aquifer storage model intentionally makes use of low, geologically reasonable values for porosity and aquifer compressibility, so as to provide minimum large-scale 1st  estimates of potential yields; however, when new data become available these initial porosity and compressibility assumptions will probably be revised upward. The storage yield approach is also very conservative, as it does not take into account the annual replenishment of the aquifer, and constitutes the yield potential during drought conditions (zero recharge) from the confined portion of the aquifer only. The yield model therefore provides a quantitative perspective on the common public and decision-maker perception that groundwater abstraction from the deep confined Peninsula Formation aquifer will significantly dewater the system, with (often unspecified) adverse ecological consequences. Even where the regionally-averaged decline in hydraulic head approaches 20 m, the volume released by aquifer compression generally remains in the order of 0.24% of the total volume in slow circulation within the deep groundwater flow system. A vastly greater volume of groundwater is essentially non-extractable by any practical and/or economical means.Keywords: Table Mountain Group, Peninsula Formation, Skurweberg Formation, hydrogeology, aquifer, storage modelling, storage yiel

Design and Construction of R.C. Plane

This project was started to help students understand how to conduct a proper research project and to gain a general understanding of circuitry and aerodynamics. As undergraduate students, this was practical information and experience. Our project’s goal was to create a functioning airplane made from mainly on-hand pieces. We had to figure out how to improvise and use the resources we had creatively while troubleshooting many problems

Adjustable Prone Trolley Design for People Suffering from Spinal Cord Injuries in Nepal

For people suffering from spinal cord injuries, it is important to stay active. However, with spinal cord injuries, the use of a wheelchair isn’t feasible. These patients require a prone trolley. A prone trolley is a horizontal pad with four wheels that a patient can maneuver and control while lying in a prone position. Our partner, International Nepal Fellowship (INF), deals directly with patients who suffer from spinal cord injuries on a daily basis. INF, a Christian, medical organization, manages a hospital in Pokhara, Nepal which specializes in treating patients with spinal cord injuries. The Nepal Prone Trolley Team’s goal is to provide our partner with a sustainable prone trolley design and create the required manufacturing documentation to enable them to produce the prone trolleys in country at their Green Pastures hospital. The team began our work by researching what a prone trolley is, how it functions and what is currently available. During the research, the team discovered that there weren’t many examples of a manually powered prone trolley or critical dimensions for ergonomics for manually powered trolleys. This drove the team to develop testing methods and preliminary designs specifically for INF. Various basic designs were considered, but, through communication with INF, a single design was chosen. Computer modeling of this design was used to decrease the overall weight of the trolley and simplify the frame. With most of the design finalized, the team is ready to begin prototyping next semester.https://mosaic.messiah.edu/engr2021/1012/thumbnail.jp

Metagenomes of tropical soil-derived anaerobic switchgrass-adapted consortia with and without iron

Tropical forest soils decompose litter rapidly with frequent episodes of anoxia, making it likely that bacteria using alternate terminal electron acceptors (TEAs) such as iron play a large role in supporting decomposition under these conditions. The prevalence of many types of metabolism in litter deconstruction makes these soils useful templates for improving biofuel production. To investigate how iron availability affects decomposition, we cultivated feedstock-adapted consortia (FACs) derived from iron-rich tropical forest soils accustomed to experiencing frequent episodes of anaerobic conditions and frequently fluctuating redox. One consortium was propagated under fermenting conditions, with switchgrass as the sole carbon source in minimal media (SG only FACs), and the other consortium was treated the same way but received poorly crystalline iron as an additional terminal electron acceptor (SG + Fe FACs). We sequenced the metagenomes of both consortia to a depth of about 150 Mb each, resulting in a coverage of 26× for the more diverse SG + Fe FACs, and 81× for the relatively less diverse SG only FACs. Both consortia were able to quickly grow on switchgrass, and the iron-amended consortium exhibited significantly higher microbial diversity than the unamended consortium. We found evidence of higher stress in the unamended FACs and increased sugar transport and utilization in the iron-amended FACs. This work provides metagenomic evidence that supplementation of alternative TEAs may improve feedstock deconstruction in biofuel production

(9R,9aS,12aR,13S)-9,13-Diphenyl-9,9a,12a,13-tetrahydro-9,13-methanotriphenyleno[2,3-c]furan-10,12,14-trione

X-ray crystallography was used to characterise the title compound for the first time, and the 1H NMR, 13C NMR and IR spectroscopic data from earlier reports were also updated.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe