Bridging the Disconnect

New York City is facing a youth unemployment crisis, but the city's youth workforce development programs reach only a fraction of those in need of help and are too often misaligned to the developmental needs of young New Yorkers

Isostaticity and the solidification of semiflexible polymer melts

Using molecular dynamics simulations of a tangent-soft-sphere bead-spring polymer model, we examine the degree to which semiflexible polymer melts solidify at isostaticity. Flexible and stiff chains crystallize when they are isostatic as defined by appropriate degree-of-freedom-counting arguments. Semiflexible chains also solidify when isostatic if a generalized isostaticity criterion that accounts for the slow freezing out of configurational freedom as chain stiffness increases is employed. The dependence of the average coordination number at solidification $Z(T_s)$ on chains' characteristic ratio $C_\infty$ has the same functional form [$Z \simeq a - b\ln(C_\infty)$] as the dependence of the average coordination number at jamming $Z(\phi_J)$ on $C_\infty$ in athermal systems, suggesting that jamming-related phenomena play a significant role in thermal polymer solidification

Quantitative Intensity Harmonization of Dopamine Transporter SPECT Images Using Gamma Mixture Models

PURPOSE: Differences in site, device, and/or settings may cause large variations in the intensity profile of dopamine transporter (DAT) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images. However, the current standard to evaluate these images, the striatal binding ratio (SBR), does not efficiently account for this heterogeneity and the assessment can be unequivalent across distinct acquisition pipelines. In this work, we present a voxel-based automated approach to intensity normalize such type of data that improves on cross-session interpretation. PROCEDURES: The normalization method consists of a reparametrization of the voxel values based on the cumulative density function (CDF) of a Gamma distribution modeling the specific region intensity. The harmonization ability was tested in 1342 SPECT images from the PPMI repository, acquired with 7 distinct gamma camera models and at 24 different sites. We compared the striatal quantification across distinct cameras for raw intensities, SBR values, and after applying the Gamma CDF (GDCF) harmonization. As a proof-of-concept, we evaluated the impact of GCDF normalization in a classification task between controls and Parkinson disease patients. RESULTS: Raw striatal intensities and SBR values presented significant differences across distinct camera models. We demonstrate that GCDF normalization efficiently alleviated these differences in striatal quantification and with values constrained to a fixed interval [0, 1]. Also, our method allowed a fully automated image assessment that provided maximal classification ability, given by an area under the curve (AUC) of AUC = 0.94 when used mean regional variables and AUC = 0.98 when used voxel-based variables. CONCLUSION: The GCDF normalization method is useful to standardize the intensity of DAT SPECT images in an automated fashion and enables the development of unbiased algorithms using multicenter datasets. This method may constitute a key pre-processing step in the analysis of this type of images.Instituto de Salud Carlos III FI14/00497 MV15/00034Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional FI14/00497 MV15/00034ISCIII-FEDER PI16/01575Wellcome Trust UK Strategic Award 098369/Z/12/ZNetherland Organization for Scientific Research NWO-Vidi 864-12-00

Energy embodied in household cookery: the missing part of a sustainable food system? Part 2: A life cycle assessment of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding

This paper firstly reviews the current state of knowledge on sustainable cookery and the environmental impacts of the food consumption phase. It then uses the example of a dish of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding to explore energy use in food production and consumption. Part 1 of this paper conducts a meta-analysis of 33 roast beef and Yorkshire pudding recipes in order to create a representative recipe for analysis. Part 2 of this paper then uses life cycle assessment and energy use data is coupled with the representative recipe of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, to calculate the embodied energy of the meal. Seven interventions are modelled to illustrate how sustainable cookery can play a role as part of a sustainable food system. Interventions show that sustainable cookery has the potential to reduce cookery related energy use by 18%, and integrating sustainable cookery within a sustainable food system has the potential to reduce the total energy use by 55%. Finally, the paper discusses the issue of how the adoption of the sustainable cookery agenda may help or hinder attempts to shift consumers towards sustainable diets

BIM for Bridges and Structures Pooled Fund Initiative

The BIM for Bridges and Structures initiative, also known as TPF-5(372), is a transportation pooled fund project that is a collaborative effort of 20 states, FHWA, and the AASHTO Committee on Bridges and Structures. The pooled fund objective is to develop an open, national standard for exchanging information necessary for the design, fabrication, and construction of bridges and structures in the United States. The presentation will provide an overview of the project and explain ways in which stakeholders can get involved

Tik-Tok as a video-based teaching tool to enhance hearing impaired student’s english elementary vocabulary

This research paper investigates the potential of Tik-Tok, a popular video-sharing social media platform, as a video-based teaching tool to enhance the English elementary vocabulary of hearing-impaired students. The study is conducted within a public institution with a sample size of five hearing-impaired students. The research aims to address the difficulties faced by hearing-impaired students in acquiring and expanding their English vocabulary and explore innovative approaches to enhance their learning experience. The literature review highlights the use of video-based teaching tools and the benefits of Tik-Tok as an educational platform. The theoretical framework emphasizes the importance of specialized teaching approaches for hearing-impaired students and the potential benefits of incorporating technologies like Tik-Tok as visual aids in teaching English vocabulary. The methodology includes content analysis and document analysis to analyze Tik-Tok videos created for vocabulary learning and relevant documents discussing the use of video-based teaching tools for hearing-impaired students. The findings from this research will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of Tik-Tok as a visual aid for enhancing vocabulary development in hearing-impaired students. Overall, this study contributes to the exploration of innovative approaches to support the English vocabulary acquisition of hearing-impaired students

Dynamics of double-semidilute liquid coacervates formed by oppositely charged polyelectrolytes

Mixtures of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes can undergo a phase separation to form a polymer rich phase, typically called a coacervate, and a polymer depleted phase1. The polymer rich phase can be a soft, viscous liquid, or a solid like complex. Both types have drawn much attention in the literature due to their applications in the food2, pharmaceutical3,4, and other industries as well as their role in many biological systems1. Studies have focused on the formation of the coacervate phase5, and models have been developed to predict phase separation and static properties6. However, much less attention has been given to the dynamic properties of coacervates, and how these can be predicted and controlled through the experimentally controllable parameters of the system. In this work, we develop a scaling theory for the dynamic behavior of asymmetric liquid-like coacervates formed from oppositely charged polyelectrolyte solutions. We consider asymmetric coacervates, characterized by having a different number density of charges in the polyanion and polycation. Depending on the degree of polymerization, the asymmetric liquid coacervate can form either an interpenetrating double-semidilute structure, wherein both polyanion and polycation are found above their overlap concentration, or a dilute-semidilute structure, where only one of the polyelectrolytes is found above their overlap concentration6. We will discuss a scaling theory for the unentangled dynamics of double-semidilute and dilute-semidilute coacervates, providing scaling predictions for the relaxation modulus and steady state shear viscosity of the coacervate, and the diffusivity of the polyelectrolyte chains. The scaling theory will highlight the different dynamical regimes of the system, and how the dynamic properties depend on experimentally controllable parameters such as the degree of polymerization, the number density of charges of the polyanion and polycation, and the strength of electrostatic interactions throughout different regimes. This scaling theory should provide useful guidelines for the tuning of dynamic and rheological properties for future application in the cosmetics, food, and other industries. Srivastava S, Tirrell M V. 2016. Polyelectrolyte complexation. In Advances in Chemical Physics, ed SA Rice, AR Dinner. 161:499–544. John Wiley & Sons. First Edit ed. De Kruif CG, Weinbreck F, De Vries R. 2004. Complex coacervation of proteins and anionic polysaccharides. Curr. Opin. Colloid Interface Sci. 9(5):340–49 Black KA, Priftis D, Perry SL, Yip J, Byun WY, Tirrell M. 2014. Protein encapsulation via polypeptide complex coacervation. ACS Macro Lett. 3(10):1088–91 Davis ME. 2009. The first targeted delivery of sirna in humans via a nanoparticle : from concept to clinic. Mol. Pharm. 6(3):659–68 Sing CE. 2017. Development of the modern theory of polymeric complex coacervation. Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 239:2–16 Rubinstein, Liao, Panyukov 2018. In preparation

Gestión del Talento Humanos : Desarrollo de Personal

Con la presente investigación documental de seminario de graduación está referido a registrar la importancia del proceso de desarrollo de personal dentro de las organizaciones desde el enfoque gestión del talento humano. Puesto que existen empresas que necesitan entrenar, capacitar y desarrollar al personal. En este caso se realizó el estudio de la importancia del proceso de desarrollo de personal en las organizaciones, para mejorar eficaz mente la compresión acerca del tema, se empezó describiendo conceptos claves como son: desarrollo, desarrollo de personal, organizaciones, análisis organizacional, técnicas, características, herramientas entre otro. Una vez presentados los conceptos básicos se valoran las técnicas y herramientas y se profundiza sobre el mismo tema y sub tema Gestión del talento humano, proceso del desarrollo de personal, y listas de entrenamiento como sus diferentes programas de capacitación y desarrollo en funcion de las organizaciones. Tras valorar las herramientas y técnicas, capacitación y desarrollo de personal se logró obtener las ventajas y desventajas del desarrollo de personal asi como la importancia que determina el desenvolvimiento de habilidades y destrezas que un capital humano destaca en una organización. Este trabajo de seminario de graduación es de carácter documental ya que se recopilo, selecciono, y presento información pertinente para el contenido del mismo, para la compresión de la importancia del desarrollo de personal, ya que fueron consultados por fuentes de información de especialistas en la materia