Sports For Nathan

Nathan Cooper is a local boy with spinal muscular atrophy. He enjoys playing games and being active. One assistive device that Nathan uses is his Standing Dani, a motorized mobile stander. Nathan enjoys playing golf and kickball, and prior to this project he had no way of playing golf and no safe way of playing kickball. The purpose of this project was to design and build a golf attachment for Nathan’s Standing Dani that allows him to putt, and a kickball attachment that allows him to play kickball safely. First, the design team researched and defined the problem in terms of design specifications. Then, the team brainstormed a number of possible solutions. Decision matrices were used to narrow down the possible solutions to one best concept. Analysis and preliminary testing was then used to turn the top concept into a detailed design. Next, a prototype was constructed to put the design into action. Finally, the prototype was tested on a test frame and then with Nathan on the Standing Dani. The final golf putter attachment consists of a hockey blade that is used to putt the golf ball. The hockey blade is rigidly attached to the front of the Standing Dani with a shaft and brackets, and is driven to hit the ball by operating the Standing Dani like normal. The final kickball attachment consists of plastic guards that protect the Standing Dani from balls that may roll under it and tip it over. Both attachments work as intended and Nathan enjoys using them

Biofilm-stimulated epithelium modulates the inflammatory responses in co-cultured immune cells

The gingival epithelium is a physical and immunological barrier to the microbiota of the oral cavity, which interact through soluble mediators with the immune cells that patrol the tissue at the gingival epithelium. We sought to develop a three-dimensional gingivae-biofilm interface model using a commercially available gingival epithelium to study the tissue inflammatory response to oral biofilms associated with “health”, “gingivitis” and “periodontitis”. These biofilms were developed by sequential addition of microorganisms to mimic the formation of supra- and sub-gingival plaque in vivo. Secondly, to mimic the interactions between gingival epithelium and immune cells in vivo, we integrated peripheral blood mononuclear cells and CD14+ monocytes into our three-dimensional model and were able to assess the inflammatory response in the immune cells cultured with and without gingival epithelium. We describe a differential inflammatory response in immune cells cultured with epithelial tissue, and more so following incubation with epithelium stimulated by “gingivitis-associated” biofilm. These results suggest that gingival epithelium-derived soluble mediators may control the inflammatory status of immune cells in vitro, and therefore targeting of the epithelial response may offer novel therapies. This multi-cellular interface model, both of microbial and host origin, offers a robust in vitro platform to investigate host-pathogens at the epithelial surface

Employee burnout and job retention scores among EMS workers in Vermont

Objective: To assess whether shift length and employment status were positively associated with increased burnout and retention among emergency medical service (EMS) workers in the state of Vermont. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data using the Vermont EMS Retention Survey from the Vermont Department of Health. 545 participants provided data from August to November 2019. Measures included burnout and retention using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results: In an adjusted model, the 24-hour shift length was associated with higher burnout compared to the eight-hour shift. Volunteer workers displayed lower instances of burnout and had higher retention rates than their paid counterparts. Conclusions: These findings suggest that in some cases, shift length and employment status may relate to burnout and retention. These relationships could inform policies related to staffing and scheduling of EMS workers. Further research could assess a predictive relationship between shift length, employment status and burnout or retention

A Comparison of Mechanical and Electrical Wind-Powered Water Pumps

Worldwide, 783 million people do not have access to clean water; 319 million of them reside in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this region, the transportation of water from its source to its point-of-use can be arduous to complete using current methods. The men and women in developing communities must exert considerable effort to retrieve the few gallons of water they need to survive. Due to the lack of infrastructure and no external source of energy, new methods to transport the water must be capable of generating their own energy. The Archimedes Initiative has set out to identify a mechanically powered pump that performs as effectively as an electrical pump based on the following criteria: a 5-10L/min flow rate, 1-mile flow distance, and 150 ft. vertical head distance. The team will conduct research into the efficiency and performance of both hybrid and mechanical systems. At the project’s conclusion, The Archimedes Initiative plans to have a fully functioning wind-powered water pump capable of meeting the design criteria. The project is currently ongoing and much progress has been made towards developing preliminary designs and a viable prototype. After several iterations of design review and redesign, the team plans to begin construction of a prototype in January and testing is scheduled for February 2017. A fully functioning and usable prototype will be complete by the conclusion of the 2016-2017 school year

Reminders can enhance or impair episodic memory updating: a memory-for-change perspective

The Memory-for-Change framework proposes that retrieving episodic memories can facilitate new learning when changes between existing memories and new information are integrated during encoding and later recollected. Four experiments examined whether reminders could improve memory updating and enhance new learning. Participants studied two study lists of word pairs and were given a cued recall test on responses from both lists. Reminders of List 1 words pairs (A-B) appeared immediately before List 2 words pairs that included repeated cues and changed responses (A-D). Across experiments, we varied the types of reminders to determine whether differences in their effectiveness as retrieval cues would influence memory for the list membership of responses. We found that presenting intact reminders (cue-response) enhanced the memory benefits associated with recollection-based retrieval of changes relative to when no reminders appeared and when partial reminders (cue-only) appeared with and without feedback. Importantly, cue-response reminders benefitted memory when they were recognised in List 2 and when changes were later recollected. This suggests that integrative encoding can be facilitated when substantial environmental support is available to cue retrieval of existing memories. These findings have practical implications for understanding which reminders best aid the correction of memories for inaccurate information

Local Density of States and Interface Effects in Semimetallic ErAs Nanoparticles Embedded in GaAs

The atomic and electronic structures of ErAs nanoparticles embedded within a GaAs matrix are examined via cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (XSTM/XSTS). The local density of states (LDOS) exhibits a finite minimum at the Fermi level demonstrating that the nanoparticles remain semimetallic despite the predictions of previous models of quantum confinement in ErAs. We also use XSTS to measure changes in the LDOS across the ErAs/GaAs interface and propose that the interface atomic structure results in electronic states that prevent the opening of a band gap.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figur

Multiplets Matter: The Electronic Structure of Rare-Earth Semiconductors and Semimetals

We demonstrate that a theoretical framework fully incorporating intra-atomic correlations and multiplet structure of the localized 4f states is required in order to capture the essential physics of rare-earth semiconductors and semimetals. We focus in particular on the rare-earth semimetal erbium arsenide (ErAs), for which effective one-electron approaches fail to provide a consistent picture of both high and low-energy electronic states. We treat the many-body states of the Er 4f shell within an atomic approximation in the framework of dynamical mean-field theory. Our results for the magnetic-field dependence of the 4f local moment, the influence of multiplets on the photoemission spectrum, and the exchange splitting of the Fermi surface pockets as measured from Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, are found to be in good agreement with experimental results.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 2 table

Physiochemical Drivers Of Variation in Grass-Invasion Impacts on Soil Carbon Cycling

Microstegium Vimineum (Japanese Stiltgrass) is an invasive grass species that is currently dominating susceptible ecosystems across the eastern half of the United States. The presence of Japanese Stiltgrass can result in decomposition of plant available carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), limiting the variety of species that thrive within these habitats. N deposition has the ability to influence the composition of plant communities as it can change the concentration of nitrogen within the atmosphere and rhizosphere. Similarly, leaf litter quality influences microbial communities and therefore available nutrients to understory plants. In this study, we are examining the degree at which these factors influence the impact of Japanese Stiltgrass on soil degradation. The study is taking place in the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois. 20 pairs of plots consist of 10 low-quality litter (pine dominated) plots and 10 high-quality litter (6 maple-elm and 4 tulip-poplar dominated) plots. Within each pair, three one-square foot subplots are each receiving one of three nitrogen treatments: 8.65 kg N ha-1 yr-1 or high N, 3.46kg N ha-1 yr-1 or low N, and a control of 0 g N m-2 yr-1. It is anticipated that the highest N treatment levels will yield lesser impacts on the soil in all forest cover types. However, we expect to see the greatest suppression of SOM decomposition under pine-dominated forests, as the microbial communities within these stands are more sensitive to higher levels N additions.College of ACES Undergraduate Research ScholarshipOpe