Metallic Rotor Sizing and Performance Model for Flywheel Systems

The NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is developing flywheel system requirements and designs for terrestrial and spacecraft applications. Several generations of flywheels have been designed and tested at GRC using in-house expertise in motors, magnetic bearings, controls, materials and power electronics. The maturation of a flywheel system from the concept phase to the preliminary design phase is accompanied by maturation of the Integrated Systems Performance model, where estimating relationships are replaced by physics based analytical techniques. The modeling can incorporate results from engineering model testing and emerging detail from the design process

Building Healthy Communities in the Dominican Republic: A Mixed-Methods Approach towards Engaging the Community

Breakout Session 1C: The Building Healthy Communities Creative Inquiry is an ongoing undergraduate and graduate student-led project from Clemson University. Its goal is to facilitate community-driven improvement of a small rural community in the Dominican Republic, Las Malvinas II. We strive to address five public health priorities, identified in consultation with the community, including vaccine-preventable diseases, chronic diseases, education, sanitation, and unwanted pregnancies. To address these areas for improvement, our research used a mixed-methods approach, using both qualitative and quantitative data gathering tools. Qualitative methods included focus groups and interviews with community leaders and relevant governmental and non-governmental organizations from five different sectors, including work, education, community institutions/organizations, health care, and community-at-large sector. The findings were then analyzed to create a Community Health Assessment. For quantitative methods we utilized arcGIS technology. Students created surveys based on health priorities and mapped a comprehensive survey including any personal assets the community household members may have. In spring 2018, students will conduct a photovoice project with the youth of the community

The production of phantom partials due to nonlinearities in the structural components of the piano

Phantom partials are anomalous overtones in the spectrum of the piano sound that occur at sum and difference frequencies of the natural overtones of the string. Although they are commonly assumed to be produced by forced longitudinal waves in the string, analysis of the sound of a piano produced by mechanically vibrating the soundboard while all the strings are damped indicates that phantom partials can occur in the absence of string motion. The magnitude of the effect leads to the conclusion that nonlinearity in the non-string components may be responsible for some of the power in the phantom partials

Supporting Postsecondary English Language Learners’ Writing Proficiency Using Technological Tools

Postsecondary international students who are also English language learners face a number of challenges when studying abroad and often are provided with services to support their learning. Though some research examines how institutions can support this population of students, few studies explore how technology is used to support language development and writing proficiency. This article reports on an exploratory study that examined the resources English language learners use to support their writing and the impact of the use of writing productivity software’s on writing proficiency. Data were collected using a survey, writing samples, and a focus group. Findings indicate students frequently use technological tools to enhance learning and that technology-based supports such as writing productivity software can complement face-to-face supports

“When I needed you to protect me, you gave him more power instead.” Covid-19 lockdown and domestic abuse

Domestic abuse is a deep-rooted problem that attracted greater recognition during the first national lockdown than perhaps ever before. Globally, one in three women have experienced domestic abuse in their lifetime, and more than a third of femicides are committed by an intimate partner. In the UK, over the last decade, a woman has been killed by a man approximately every three days. The global coronavirus pandemic, sweeping across the UK in March 2020, led the Government to issue orders for people to stay safe by staying at home. Sadly, for many women, those subjected to domestic abuse, home had never been safe. In response, Solace Women’s Aid (Solace), in partnership with Southall Black Sisters and other specialist services that support survivors of violence against women and girls (VAWG), set up emergency crisis refuge provision with funding provided by London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust. To further understand the impact of the pandemic on those escaping domestic abuse, Justice Studio, and Solace decided to partner on a piece of pioneering research. The University of Greenwich provided additional support to the research. The research took place from April to November 2020 in London. In total, 23 in-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted; 13 with female survivors in emergency refuge accommodation and 10 with Solace staff and management. An extensive literature review supplemented the primary data collection

Nephron-Specific Deletion of Circadian Clock Gene Bmal1 Alters the Plasma and Renal Metabolome and Impairs Drug Disposition.

The circadian clock controls a wide variety of metabolic and homeostatic processes in a number of tissues, including the kidney. However, the role of the renal circadian clocks remains largely unknown. To address this question, we performed a combined functional, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analysis in mice with inducible conditional knockout (cKO) of BMAL1, which is critically involved in the circadian clock system, in renal tubular cells (Bmal1(lox/lox)/Pax8-rtTA/LC1 mice). Induction of cKO in adult mice did not produce obvious abnormalities in renal sodium, potassium, or water handling. Deep sequencing of the renal transcriptome revealed significant changes in the expression of genes related to metabolic pathways and organic anion transport in cKO mice compared with control littermates. Furthermore, kidneys from cKO mice exhibited a significant decrease in the NAD(+)-to-NADH ratio, which reflects the oxidative phosphorylation-to-glycolysis ratio and/or the status of mitochondrial function. Metabolome profiling showed significant changes in plasma levels of amino acids, biogenic amines, acylcarnitines, and lipids. In-depth analysis of two selected pathways revealed a significant increase in plasma urea level correlating with increased renal Arginase II activity, hyperargininemia, and increased kidney arginine content as well as a significant increase in plasma creatinine concentration and a reduced capacity of the kidney to secrete anionic drugs (furosemide) paralleled by an approximate 80% decrease in the expression level of organic anion transporter 3 (SLC22a8). Collectively, these results indicate that the renal circadian clocks control a variety of metabolic/homeostatic processes at the intrarenal and systemic levels and are involved in drug disposition

How did the COVID-19 lockdown impact domestic abuse in London, UK?

This video summarises a small research study conducted in London, UK during the first COVID lockdown of 2020. Researchers at Justice Studio collaborated with Solace Women’s Aid and Dr Camille Stengel (University of Greenwich). The research aimed to understand how the lockdown impacted both victims of domestic abuse and the charity workers responding to victims’ needs

Predicting mental imagery based BCI performance from personality, cognitive profile and neurophysiological patterns

Mental-Imagery based Brain-Computer Interfaces (MI-BCIs) allow their users to send commands to a computer using their brain-activity alone (typically measured by ElectroEncephaloGraphy— EEG), which is processed while they perform specific mental tasks. While very promising, MI-BCIs remain barely used outside laboratories because of the difficulty encountered by users to control them. Indeed, although some users obtain good control performances after training, a substantial proportion remains unable to reliably control an MI-BCI. This huge variability in user-performance led the community to look for predictors of MI-BCI control ability. However, these predictors were only explored for motor-imagery based BCIs, and mostly for a single training session per subject. In this study, 18 participants were instructed to learn to control an EEG-based MI-BCI by performing 3 MI-tasks, 2 of which were non-motor tasks, across 6 training sessions, on 6 different days. Relationships between the participants’ BCI control performances and their personality, cognitive profile and neurophysiological markers were explored. While no relevant relationships with neurophysiological markers were found, strong correlations between MI-BCI performances and mental-rotation scores (reflecting spatial abilities) were revealed. Also, a predictive model of MI-BCI performance based on psychometric questionnaire scores was proposed. A leave-one-subject-out cross validation process revealed the stability and reliability of this model: it enabled to predict participants’ performance with a mean error of less than 3 points. This study determined how users’ profiles impact their MI-BCI control ability and thus clears the way for designing novel MI-BCI training protocols, adapted to the profile of each user