An investigation of blended cements

It is generally accepted to be a fact that the coarser particles of a cement are practically inert, and that it is only the finest particles that possess the cementing qualities. Exactly what percentage of the whole is active, or possesses the cementing properties, is not known. Since but few experiments pertaining to such have been performed there is consequently little data to be found --Introduction, page 3

The University College of Medicine in Richmond, Virginia, 1893- 1913 : a study of institutional decline

The purposes of the study was to examine selected factors that were influential in the decline of the University College of Medicine (UCM) in Richmond, Virginia, from 1893 to 1913. UCM was created in the midst of a national medical reform movement. In ways, the institution directly contributed to the reform of medical training in Virginia.;It was the writer\u27s contention that the decline of UCM happened because of the political pressures emerging from medical accrediting agencies, licensing and examining boards, and related organizations. The character of the institution was modified through recommendations of external organizations and coercion was felt through advancing accreditation standards. It was further hypothesized that the curricular and structural pressures from accreditation requirements became oppressive and led to the decline of the institution. Finally, it was hypothesized that the decline of UCM was affected because of the lack of a sound financial structure. Without such a structure, implementation of recommended improvements in medical education would not have taken place because of the high cost.;The historical method of research was used in writing about selected factors which affected the decline of UCM. This method allowed for the examination of primary source documents, the obtaining of oral testimony from participants and observers, and the scrutiny of relationships which existed among individuals, institutions, organizations and events.;It was concluded that what constituted an adequate medical education had changed. In addition to national demands for reform, new methods and values began to create new financial pressures for which many medical schools were not able to provide. The only financial relief apparently lay in a medical school combining itself with the scientific department of a university. Such an institution usually had either governmental support, a sizeable endowment or both. In some cases this route was followed by schools that had a university with which they could unite. For others, it meant merging with other medical schools or closing.;Further research is suggested in the area of factors affecting medical education at the Medical College of Virginia and the medical department of the University of Virginia; the impact that the departments of medicine, dentistry and pharmacy had on education in Virginia; the relationship between the Virginia Hospital and UCM; the influence of the departments of dentistry and pharmacy on the department of medicine at UCM; and the effect of political, curricular, and financial pressures on the department of dentistry at UCM

Working from the outside in.

This thesis serves as an examination (or exploration) of how an actor can approach a role by working from the outside in, also known as the external acting approach. This thesis also chronicles my beginnings as an actor and preparations for my thesis role as the character of Lymon Jackson in The Piano Lesson. In this thesis, I explain how I uncovered my growth, overcame challenges, failures, and successes in the role of Lymon. I elaborate on how I, initially an internal actor, externally approached a muscular and complex role for the very first time. Also, I describe my undergraduate training and the production experiences of my three-year graduate career at the University of Louisville leading into my thesis role. Finally, I advocate for how the external acting approach can help an actor take ownership of the role

Agile Autonomous Driving using End-to-End Deep Imitation Learning

We present an end-to-end imitation learning system for agile, off-road autonomous driving using only low-cost sensors. By imitating a model predictive controller equipped with advanced sensors, we train a deep neural network control policy to map raw, high-dimensional observations to continuous steering and throttle commands. Compared with recent approaches to similar tasks, our method requires neither state estimation nor on-the-fly planning to navigate the vehicle. Our approach relies on, and experimentally validates, recent imitation learning theory. Empirically, we show that policies trained with online imitation learning overcome well-known challenges related to covariate shift and generalize better than policies trained with batch imitation learning. Built on these insights, our autonomous driving system demonstrates successful high-speed off-road driving, matching the state-of-the-art performance.Comment: 13 pages, Robotics: Science and Systems (RSS) 201

Electrochemical Lithium Harvesting from Waste Li-ion Batteries

poster abstractThis study demonstrates the feasibility of using water and the contents of waste Li-ion batteries for the electrodes in a Li-liquid battery system. Li metal was collected electrochemically from a waste Li-ion battery containing Li-ion source materials from the battery’s anode, cathode, and electrolyte, thereby recycling the Li contained in the waste battery at the room temperature. The harvested Li metal in the battery system was discharged to produce the electricity by using water as the cathode. The discharge voltage of the water showed 2.7 V at 0.1 mA/cm2 versus Li metal harvested from waste Li-ion batteries, compared to 2.8 V versus fresh Li metal at the same current rate. Since the electrodes for this proposed battery system are water and the contents of waste Li-ion batteries, the cost of the battery decreases, which is an attractive strategy for a large size energy storage application. The new design of a battery cell is accompanied in this research. The cell design has two anodes and one cathode which allow it to charge and discharge simultaneously. Thus far, the designs for the cell have been finalized, and will soon be machined so that testing may follow. This drives toward the hopes that an actual battery will be made which can directly harvest the Li metal from a waste Li-ion battery and gain energy immediately. This research will hopefully introduce a new, higher-energy-potential battery while using waste Li-ion batteries which will drastically reduce the cost of Li-ion batteries

Sample Preparation: The Forgotten Beginning

Advances in molecular technologies and automated instrumentation have provided many opportunities for improved detection and identification of microorganisms; however, the upstream sample preparation steps needed to apply these advances to foods have not been adequately researched or developed. Thus, the extent to which these advances have improved food microbiology has been limited. The purpose of this review is to present the current state of sample preparation, to identify knowledge gaps and opportunities for improvement, and to recognize the need to support greater research and development efforts on preparative methods in food microbiology. The discussion focuses on the need to push technological developments toward methods that do not rely on enrichment culture. Among the four functional components of microbiological analysis (i.e., sampling, separation, concentration, detection), the separation and concentration components need to be researched more extensively to achieve rapid, direct, and quantitative methods. The usefulness of borrowing concepts of separation and concentration from other disciplines and the need to regard the microorganism as a physicochemical analyte that may be directly extracted from the food matrix are discussed. The development of next-generation systems that holistically integrate sample preparation with rapid, automated detection will require interdisciplinary collaboration and substantially increased funding

How giving help to others can help young people deal with their own addiction.

ddiction is a significant problem among adolescents – it reduces academic performance, increases the likelihood of injury or criminal behavior, and has been estimated to cost US society as much as $500 billion every year. In new research, which builds on the idea that social connection and helping others can have benefits, Byron R. Johnson, Maria E. Pagano, Matthew T. Lee, and Stephen G. Post studied the effects of social isolation on young people who were being treated for alcohol and drug addiction. They find that socially estranged juveniles were more likely to relapse into addiction post-treatment, but also that those who gave help to others as part of the program were less likely to relapse and to commit crimes