Inside the Bread Basket: A Look at Growing Grains in Kansas

Kansas has always produced large wheat harvests but over the last few years Kansas has experienced smaller and smaller wheat harvests, and these smaller harvests could be due to weather, food allergies, or issues with sustainability. One grain that also has a history of growing in Kansas is sorghum and the use of sorghum in human consumption is growing because the grain is naturally gluten-free and the crop is able to grow in harsh climates. Also, the non-profit research organization The Land Institute is looking to create a perennial sorghum crop that would be a sustainable option opposed to traditional sorghum crops. A perennial sorghum crop would be sustainable, grow good in Kansas\u27s climate and the grain would be naturally gluten-free. These factors could change the way that wheat and sorghum are grown across Kansas and in the future more and more sorghum-based products could be hitting grocery stores soon

Comparative toxicology of NiO and Ni(OH)₂ nanoparticles

“Understanding the potential toxicity of nanoparticles (NPs) is important to ensure that these new products do not impose harmful effects to human and environmental health. Paper I is a literature review in which we discuss characteristics of nanomaterials, with an emphasis on transition metal oxide nanoparticles that influence cytotoxicity. Identification of those properties may lead to the design of more efficient and safer nanosized products for various industrial purposes and provide guidance for assessment of human and environmental health risk. We then investigate biochemical and molecular mechanisms of cytotoxicity that include oxidative stress-induced cellular events and alteration of the pathways pertaining to intracellular calcium homeostasis. All the stresses lead to cell injuries and death. Furthermore, as exposure to nanoparticles results in deregulation of the cell cycle (i.e., interfering with cell proliferation). Paper II is about our original research in which we evaluated the differential cytotoxicity between nickel oxide (NiO) and nickel hydroxide Ni(OH)2 in human bronchoalveolar carcinoma (A549) and human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell lines. Cellular viability assays revealed cell line-specific cytotoxicity in which nickel NPs were only toxic to A549 cells. Time-, concentration-, and particle-specific viability was observed in A549 cells. NP-induced oxidative stress triggered subsequent dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential and induction of caspase-3 enzyme activity. The subsequent apoptotic events lead to reduction in cell number, though the contribution of necrosis to cell viability is unknown. In addition to cell death, suppression of cell proliferation contributes to play an essential role in regulating cell number. Collectively, the observed cell viability is a function of cell death and suppression of proliferation”--Abstract, page iv

An examination of Louisiana Educational School Improvement Legislation, Policy Decisions, Initiatives, and Fiscal Expenditure from 1997 to 2005

This study sought to identify major school improvement reform programs and initiatives in Louisiana during the period of 1997 to 2005. The criteria used to identify each program included: state funding that averaged at least $2 million per year in state funds; programs that affected teachers and students for school improvement purposes; and, programs that remained in place for at least two school years. The study ultimately yielded nine initiatives that met each of the above listed criteria. Some, but not all, were the result of the School and District Accountability Commission, which was established by Act 478, the 1997 Louisiana School and District Accountability Act. These initiatives in alphabetical order are Community Based Tutorial Program; Distinguished Educators; K-3 Reading and Math Initiative; Louisiana Teacher Assessment & Assistance Program; Learning Intensive Networking Communities for Success; Local Teacher Quality; Regional Education Service Centers; Remediation; and, State Testing/ Accountability. The present study was conducted in three phases. Phase One consisted of a document search and identification. Results of the document analysis provided a foundation for Phase Two. Using content analysis (Krippendorff, 2004), the text of laws passed by the state legislature, policies created by BESE, and documents published by the LDE were examined to determine the intent, goals, longevity, and sources and levels of funding of the various mandated school improvement initiatives. In Phase Three, semi-structured interviews were conducted with former personnel and officials of the LDE, which added depth to the findings from the document analysis and were used for triangulation purposes. As mentioned, the results of the content analysis conducted in Phase Two were used to frame the interview protocol used in Phase Three. Data from the document analysis and the interviews revealed three issues relevant to the state’s policymaking efforts in the school improvement arena: conflicts with stakeholders erupted over turf; program instability stymied effects; and, the lack of a shared mission also impacted effects. This study offers several recommendations to policy makers in Louisiana addressing these issues and concludes with recommendations for future research

ALGUNAS OBSERVACIONES SOBRE LA PLANIFICACION SOCIOECONOMICA EN PUERTO RICO.

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Offset-compensated comparator with full-input range in 150nm FDSOI CMOS-3d technology

This paper addresses an offset-compensated comparator with full-input range in the 150nm FDSOI CMOS- 3D technology from MIT- Lincoln Laboratory. The comparator discussed here makes part of a vision system. Its architecture is that of a self-biased inverter with dynamic offset correction. At simulation level, the comparator can reach a resolution of 0.1mV in an area of approximately 220μm2 with a time response of less than 40ns and a static power dissipation of 1.125μW

Handball history.The links between uruguayan balon and german feldhandball

El feldhandball alemán y Karl Schelenz conforman sin duda, parte fundamental de la historia del balonmano mundial. En el Río de la Plata a partir de 1918, otro deporte - el Balón uruguayo -comenzaba un camino propio muy lejos de la realidad europea, el cual años después lo uniría indefectiblemente al deporte germano Este artículo pretende presentar el análisis del relacionamiento de estos dos deportes, creados tan lejos geográficamente y tan cerca - para los uruguayos - en una historia común.The German feldhandball and Karl Schelenz are undoubtedly a fundamental part of handball's world history. Since 1918 in the River Platea area, and distant from the European reality, another sport - the Uruguayan Balón - began its own way, which eventually years later linked it to the German sport. This article is meant to introduce the analysis of the relationship between these two sports with a history in common, which were created so faraway geographically, yet so close for the Uruguayan people.peerReviewe

LA EVOLUCION DE LOS TRANSPORTES MARITIMOS Y LOS COMPLEJOS PORTUARIOS.

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Entropy and the driving force for the filling of carbon nanotubes with water

The spontaneous filling of hydrophobic carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by water observed both experimentally and from simulations is counterintuitive because confinement is generally expected to decrease both entropy and bonding, and remains largely unexplained. Here we report the entropy, enthalpy, and free energy extracted from molecular dynamics simulations of water confined in CNTs from 0.8 to 2.7-nm diameters. We find for all sizes that water inside the CNTs is more stable than in the bulk, but the nature of the favorable confinement of water changes dramatically with CNT diameter. Thus we find (i) an entropy (both rotational and translational) stabilized, vapor-like phase of water for small CNTs (0.8–1.0 nm), (ii) an enthalpy stabilized, ice-like phase for medium-sized CNTs (1.1–1.2 nm), and (iii) a bulk-like liquid phase for tubes larger than 1.4 nm, stabilized by the increased translational entropy as the waters sample a larger configurational space. Simulations with structureless coarse-grained water models further reveal that the observed free energies and sequence of transitions arise from the tetrahedral structure of liquid water. These results offer a broad theoretical basis for understanding water transport through CNTs and other nanostructures important in nanofluidics, nanofiltrations, and desalination