18 research outputs found
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Development of Materials Resistant to Metal Dusting Degradation-Vol 1
This is Volume 1 of a two-volume report. It provides general information on industrial participation and commercialization. Volume 2 contains details of technical work and results
Preliminary Results from a Study Investigating the Transition from Capstone Design to Industry
This study investigates engineering studentsâ transitions from academic to professional environments by examining the role capstone design courses play in preparing graduates for the workplace. To better understand how capstone design experiences contribute to graduatesâ professional preparation, we are collecting data from participants from four different institutions with project-based capstone courses as they begin post-graduation positions in a variety of engineering workplaces. Through quantitative and qualitative methods, our study is designed to collect insights from participants in their first 12 months on the job. Currently we are collecting and analyzing data from the first of two planned cohorts of participants. Preliminary results for the participants in the first cohort point towards interesting trends regarding participantsâ frequency of activities and perception of their preparedness. Professional skills such as team meetings were listed most frequently as activities engaged in by participants, and while there were particular areas such as budgeting where participants felt less prepared, overall their perception of preparedness indicates that capstone design courses and the larger engineering curriculum they are housed within are preparing students for professional careers
New Engineersâ First Three Months: A Study of the Transition from Capstone Design Courses to Workplaces
In preparing engineering students for the workplace, capstone classes provide unique opportunities for students to develop their professional identities and learn critical skills such as engineering design, teamwork, and self-directed learning (Lutz & Paretti). While existing research explores what and how students learn within these courses, we know much less about how capstone courses affect studentsâ transitions into the workplace.
To address this gap, we are following 62 new graduates from four institutions during the participantsâ first 12 weeks of work. Participants were drawn from three mechanical engineering programs and one engineering science program. Women were intentionally oversampled in the study, with 29 participants (47%) identifying as female. Weekly surveys were used to collect quantitative data on what types of workplace activities participants engaged in (e.g., team meetings, project budgeting, CAD modeling, engineering calculations) and qualitative data on what challenges they experience in their early work experience.
In this paper, we present a descriptive analysis of the data to identify patterns across participants. Preliminary analysis of the quantitative data suggests that the most common activities for our participants were team meetings and project planning (mentioned by \u3e70% of participants) compared to formal presentations and project budgeting (mentioned by
The results are intended to inform both capstone faculty and industry to identify areas of strength and improvement. Our recommendations target current practices in capstone education including course design and structure as well as industry onboarding practices
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Macrophage-mediated delivery of light activated nitric oxide prodrugs with spatial, temporal and concentration controlâ â Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Includes detailed experimental details plus 10 additional figures. See DOI: 10.1039/c8sc00015h
Nitric oxide (NO) holds great promise as a treatment for cancer hypoxia, if its concentration and localization can be precisely controlled. Here, we report a âTrojan Horseâ strategy to provide the necessary spatial, temporal, and dosage control of such drug-delivery therapies at targeted tissues. Described is a unique package consisting of (1) a manganeseânitrosyl complex, which is a photoactivated NO-releasing moiety (photoNORM), plus Nd3+-doped upconverting nanoparticles (Nd-UCNPs) incorporated into (2) biodegradable polymer microparticles that are taken up by (3) bone-marrow derived murine macrophages. Both the photoNORM [Mn(NO)dpaqNO2]BPh4(dpaqNO2 = 2-[N,N-bis(pyridin-2-yl-methyl)]-amino-NâČ-5-nitro-quinolin-8-yl-acetamido) and the Nd-UCNPs are activated by tissue-penetrating near-infrared (NIR) light at âŒ800 nm. Thus, simultaneous therapeutic NO delivery and photoluminescence (PL) imaging can be achieved with a NIR diode laser source. The loaded microparticles are non-toxic to their macrophage hosts in the absence of light. The microparticle-carrying macrophages deeply penetrate into NIH-3T3/4T1 tumor spheroid models, and when the infiltrated spheroids are irradiated with NIR light, NO is released in quantifiable amounts while emission from the Nd-UCNPs provides images of microparticle location. Furthermore, varying the intensity of the NIR excitation allows photochemical control over NO release. Low doses reduce levels of hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α) in the tumor cells, while high doses are cytotoxic. The use of macrophages to carry microparticles with a NIR photo-activated theranostic payload into a tumor overcomes challenges often faced with therapeutic administration of NO and offers the potential of multiple treatment strategies with a single system
Quantum dot photoluminescence quenching by Cr(III) complexes. Photosensitized reactions and evidence for a FRET mechanism
Reported are quantitative studies of the energy transfer from water-soluble CdSe/ZnS and CdSeS/ZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) to the Cr(III) complexes trans-Cr(N(4))(X)(2)(+) (N(4) is a tetraazamacrocycle ligand, X(-) is CN(-), Cl(-), or ONO(-)) in aqueous solution. Variation of N(4), of X(-), and of the QD size and composition allows one to probe the relationship between the emission/absorption overlap integral parameter and the efficiency of the quenching of the QD photoluminescence (PL) by the chromium(III) complexes. Steady-state studies of the QD PL in the presence of different concentrations of trans-Cr(N(4))(X)(2)(+) indicate a clear correlation between quenching efficiency and the overlap integral largely consistent with the predicted behavior of a Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-type mechanism. PL lifetimes show analogous correlations, and these results demonstrate that spectral overlap is an important consideration when designing supramolecular systems that incorporate QDs as photosensitizers. In the latter context, we extend earlier studies demonstrating that the water-soluble CdSe/ZnS and CdSeS/ZnS QDs photosensitize nitric oxide release from the trans-Cr(cyclam)(ONO)(2)(+) cation (cyclam = 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane) and report the efficiency (quantum yield) for this process. An improved synthesis of ternary CdSeS core/shell QDs is also described
Macrophage-mediated delivery of light activated nitric oxide prodrugs with spatial, temporal and concentration control.
Nitric oxide (NO) holds great promise as a treatment for cancer hypoxia, if its concentration and localization can be precisely controlled. Here, we report a "Trojan Horse" strategy to provide the necessary spatial, temporal, and dosage control of such drug-delivery therapies at targeted tissues. Described is a unique package consisting of (1) a manganese-nitrosyl complex, which is a photoactivated NO-releasing moiety (photoNORM), plus Nd3+-doped upconverting nanoparticles (Nd-UCNPs) incorporated into (2) biodegradable polymer microparticles that are taken up by (3) bone-marrow derived murine macrophages. Both the photoNORM [Mn(NO)dpaqNO2 ]BPh4(dpaqNO2 = 2-[N,N-bis(pyridin-2-yl-methyl)]-amino-N'-5-nitro-quinolin-8-yl-acetamido) and the Nd-UCNPs are activated by tissue-penetrating near-infrared (NIR) light at âŒ800 nm. Thus, simultaneous therapeutic NO delivery and photoluminescence (PL) imaging can be achieved with a NIR diode laser source. The loaded microparticles are non-toxic to their macrophage hosts in the absence of light. The microparticle-carrying macrophages deeply penetrate into NIH-3T3/4T1 tumor spheroid models, and when the infiltrated spheroids are irradiated with NIR light, NO is released in quantifiable amounts while emission from the Nd-UCNPs provides images of microparticle location. Furthermore, varying the intensity of the NIR excitation allows photochemical control over NO release. Low doses reduce levels of hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α) in the tumor cells, while high doses are cytotoxic. The use of macrophages to carry microparticles with a NIR photo-activated theranostic payload into a tumor overcomes challenges often faced with therapeutic administration of NO and offers the potential of multiple treatment strategies with a single system
Quantum Dot Photoluminescence Quenching by Cr(III) Complexes. Photosensitized Reactions and Evidence for a FRET Mechanism
Reported are quantitative studies of the energy transfer
from water-soluble
CdSe/ZnS and CdSeS/ZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) to the CrÂ(III)
complexes <i>trans</i>-CrÂ(N<sub>4</sub>)Â(X)<sub>2</sub><sup>+</sup> (N<sub>4</sub> is a tetraazamacrocycle ligand, X<sup>â</sup> is CN<sup>â</sup>, Cl<sup>â</sup>, or <u>O</u>NO<sup>â</sup>) in aqueous solution. Variation of N<sub>4</sub>, of X<sup>â</sup>, and of the QD size and composition allows
one to probe the relationship between the emission/absorption overlap
integral parameter and the efficiency of the quenching of the QD photoluminescence
(PL) by the chromiumÂ(III) complexes. Steady-state studies of the QD
PL in the presence of different concentrations of <i>trans</i>-CrÂ(N<sub>4</sub>)Â(X)<sub>2</sub><sup>+</sup> indicate a clear correlation
between quenching efficiency and the overlap integral largely consistent
with the predicted behavior of a FoÌrster resonance energy transfer
(FRET)-type mechanism. PL lifetimes show analogous correlations, and
these results demonstrate that spectral overlap is an important consideration
when designing supramolecular systems that incorporate QDs as photosensitizers.
In the latter context, we extend earlier studies demonstrating that
the water-soluble CdSe/ZnS and CdSeS/ZnS QDs photosensitize nitric
oxide release from the <i>trans</i>-CrÂ(cyclam)Â(ONO)<sub>2</sub><sup>+</sup> cation (cyclam = 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane)
and report the efficiency (quantum yield) for this process. An improved
synthesis of ternary CdSeS core/shell QDs is also described
Prevalence of Suspected Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Hispanic/Latino Individuals Differs by Heritage
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was shown to disproportionally affect Hispanic persons. We examined the prevalence of suspected NAFLD in Hispanic/Latino persons with diverse backgrounds. METHODS: We studied the prevalence of suspected NAFLD among 12,133 persons included in The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. We collected data on levels of aminotransferase, metabolic syndrome (defined by National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines), demographics, and health behaviors. Suspected NAFLD was defined based on increased level of aminotransferase in the absence of serologic evidence for common causes of liver disease or excessive alcohol consumption. In multivariate analyses, data were adjusted for metabolic syndrome, age, acculturation, diet, physical activity, sleep, and levels of education and income. RESULTS: In multivariate analysis, compared to persons of Mexican heritage, persons of Cuban (odds ratio [OR], 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57â0.85), Puerto Rican (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.52â0.87), and Dominican backgrounds (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.54â0.93) had lower rates of suspected NAFLD. Persons of Central American and South American heritage had a similar prevalence of suspected NAFLD compared to persons of Mexican heritage. NAFLD was less common in women than men (OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.40â0.60). Suspected NAFLD associated with the metabolic syndrome and all 5 of its components. CONCLUSION: Based on an analysis of a large database of health in Latino populations, we found the prevalence of suspected NAFLD among Hispanic/Latino individuals to vary by region of heritage