Studies of the differential absorption rocket experiment

Investigations of the ionosphere, in the rocket program of the Aeronomy Laboratory, include a propagation experiment, the data from which may be analyzed in several modes. This report considers in detail the differential absorption experiment. The sources of error and limitations of sensitivity are discussed. Methods of enhancing the performance of the experiment are described. Some changes have been made in the system and the improvement demonstrated. Suggestions are made for further development of the experiment

A Guide for Educators in Teaching Four Central American Indigenous Tales

An informal study was conducted to develop a guide for grades 4-6 educators to use in teaching Central American folklore in the context of an interdisciplinary curriculum. Four story books were selected which reflect the cultures of Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala and Panama and serve to illustrate the oral tradition of peoples from these countries. The instructional method used was the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) by Chamot and O\u27Malley. Based on the language acquisition and bilingualism research and theoretical work of Jim Cummins, CALLA follows a comprehensive lesson plan model that integrates language development, academic content mastery, and learning strategies. The guide presented in this project employs the CALLA instructional framework, and integrates social studies content and language arts skills. The guide contains student lessons and teaching strategies appropriate for the study of the culture and folk literature of the countries already identified here

Measurements of neurotransmitter release in animal models of the central nervous system using fast scan cyclic voltammetry

This dissertation is a compilation of the work we have done in the past five years using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry in model organisms to solve biological problems. In this work, we use fast-scan cyclic voltammetry to measure neurotransmitter release in rodent models of neurodegeneration and neurotoxicity. Later, we develop this technique for use in zebrafish whole mount retinas. In Chapter One, we will introduce fast-scan cyclic voltammetry and the underlying electrochemical concepts. We will also introduce the various biological problems investigated in this work and the model organisms used to investigate these problems. In Chapter Two, we will discuss fast-scan cyclic voltammetry measurements of serotonin release in Huntington’s disease model mice. We have demonstrated that serotonin release is impaired in multiple regions of the brain and across multiple mouse models. In Chapter Three, we will discuss fast-scan cyclic voltammetric measurements of both dopamine and serotonin in chemotherapy-treated rats. Here, we have treated rats with both carboplatin and 5-fluorouracil in order to investigate the effect of chemotherapy on neurotransmitter release. Additionally, we will discuss our collaboration with Dr. David Jarmolowicz, in which his lab measured cognitive behavioral changes in rats treated with chemotherapy. We have also investigated the novel drug, KU-32, developed by Dr. Brian Blagg’s group, as a potential therapy for chemotherapy-induced cognitive changes. In Chapter Four, we will discuss our work developing a method to measure light-stimulated neurotransmitter release in adult zebrafish whole mount retinas. Here, we have shown through pharmacological studies that dopamine can be measured using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry in the retina. Finally, in Chapter Five, we will present our conclusions and future directions for this work

Economic Impact of Immigration in Kansas City and the Bi-State Region

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation commissioned researchers from the Center for Science Technology & Economic Policy at the Institute for Policy & Social Research at the University of Kansas to study the characteristics and economic impact of immigration in the states of Kansas and Missouri with a special focus on the Kansas City metropolitan area. This report documents the characteristics of immigrants in these three geographic areas. Where relevant, we make comparisons with other metro areas and with the US as a whole. We compare the foreign‐born population with the native‐born population to try to identify the economic niches that immigrants fill in our communities and to assess some of the challenges they may face. Our report paints a statistical portrait of immigration in the bi‐state area.The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundatio

kt Effects in Direct-Photon Production

We discuss the phenomenology of initial-state parton-kt broadening in direct-photon production and related processes in hadron collisions. After a brief summary of the theoretical basis for a Gaussian-smearing approach, we present a systematic study of recent results on fixed-target and collider direct-photon production, using complementary data on diphoton and pion production to provide empirical guidance on the required amount of kt broadening. This approach provides a consistent description of the observed pattern of deviation of next-to-leading order QCD calculations relative to the direct-photon data, and accounts for the shape and normalization difference between fixed-order perturbative calculations and the data. We also discuss the uncertainties in this phenomenological approach, the implications of these results on the extraction of the gluon distribution of the nucleon, and the comparison of our findings to recent related work.Comment: LaTeX, uses revtex and epsf, 37 pages, 15 figure

A preliminary study on the induction of dioestrous ovulation in the mare – a possible method for inducing prolonged luteal phase

BACKGROUND: Strong oestrous symptoms in the mare can cause problems with racing, training and handling. Since long-acting progesterone treatment is not permitted in mares at competition (e.g. according to FEI rules), there is a need for methods to suppress unwanted cyclicity. Spontaneous dioestrous ovulations in the late luteal phase may cause a prolongation of the luteal phase in mares. METHODS: In this preliminary study, in an attempt to induce ovulation during the luteal phase, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) (3000 IU) was injected intramuscularly in four mares (experimental group) in the luteal phase when a dioestrous follicle ≥ 30 mm was detected. A fifth mare included in this group was not treated due to no detectable dioestrous follicles ≥ 30 mm. Four control mares were similarly injected with saline. The mares were followed with ultrasound for 72 hours post injection or until ovulation. Blood samples for progesterone analysis were obtained twice weekly for one month and thereafter once weekly for another two to four months. RESULTS: Three of the hCG-treated mares ovulated within 72 hours after treatment and developed prolonged luteal phases of 58, 68 and 82 days respectively. One treated mare never ovulated after the hCG injection and progesterone levels fell below 3 nmol/l nine days post treatment. Progesterone levels in the control mares were below 3 nmol/l within nine days after saline injection, except for one mare, which developed a spontaneously prolonged luteal phase of 72 days. CONCLUSION: HCG treatment may be a method to induce prolonged luteal phases in the mare provided there is a dioestrous follicle ≥ 30 mm that ovulates post-treatment. However, the method needs to be tested on a larger number of mares to be able to draw conclusions regarding its effectiveness

Examination of direct-photon and pion production in proton-nucleon collisions

We present a study of inclusive direct-photon and pion production in hadronic interactions, focusing on a comparison of the ratio of gamma/pi0 yields with expectations from next-to-leading order perturbative QCD (NLO pQCD). We also examine the impact of a phenomenological model involving k_T smearing (which approximates effects of additional soft-gluon emission) on absolute predictions for photon and pion production and their ratio.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures. Minor changes in wording and in figure

Measurement of direct photon production at Tevatron fixed target energies

Measurements of the production of high transverse momentum direct photons by a 515 GeV/c piminus beam and 530 and 800 GeV/c proton beams in interactions with beryllium and hydrogen targets are presented. The data span the kinematic ranges of 3.5 < p_T < 12 GeV/c in transverse momentum and 1.5 units in rapidity. The inclusive direct-photon cross sections are compared with next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations and expectations based on a phenomenological parton-k_T model.Comment: RevTeX4, 23 pages, 32 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Evidence for Parton kT Effects in High pT Particle Production

Inclusive pizero and direct-photon cross sections in the kinematic range 3.5 < pT < 12 GeV/c with central rapidities are presented for 530 and 800 GeV/c proton beams and a 515 GeV/c pi- beam incident on beryllium targets. Current Next-to-Leading-Order perturbative QCD calculations fail to adequately describe the data for conventional choices of scales. Kinematic distributions from these hard scattering events provide evidence that the interacting partons carry significant initial-state parton transverse momentum (kT). Incorporating these kT effects phenomenologically greatly improves the agreement between calculations and the measured cross sections.Comment: 11 pages including 6 pages of figures with caption