Central Nervous System: Development, Function, and Applications of the Glymphatic System (with additional neuroscience topics)

The presence of accumulated toxic protein aggregations such as amyloid-β, tau, and α- synuclein are implicated in the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s (Soto 2003). Thus, the clearance or removal of these harmful byproducts in healthy brain aging previously represented an unknown system whose functionality is likely to be clinically significant. The finding that directional flow of CSF and interstitial fluid through the brain ensures brain clearance sparked numerous research projects which sought to elaborate on what is now known as the glymphatic system. After initial research revealed the fundamentals of the glymphatic system, scientist J. Iliff defined it as a macroscopic waste clearance system originating from a unique system of perivascular tunnels, supported by astroglial cells, which functions to promote the efficient removal of soluble proteins and metabolites from the central nervous system (Iliff 2012). Now that several years have passed, numerous research groups have investigated the development, functionality, and structural components of the glymphatic system. In an effort to consolidate all of this information, PhD student Martin Kaag Rasmussen created an in-depth review paper on all topics related to the glymphatic system and fluid transport in the brain. In addition to creating effective resources on the glymphatic system, other research groups such as Tuomas Liliusm, et. al have launched investigation into its clinical applications—particularly as a route for targeted delivery of therapeutic drugs. Ultimately, in order to ensure these researchers’ literature is most effective in informing its readers, I volunteered to create illustrations to supplement a scientific field with very few pre-existing visual references

Blood in the Streets: Histories of Violence in Italian Crime Cinema.

Blood in the Streets investigates the various ways in which 1970s Italian crime films were embedded in their immediate cultural and political contexts. The book analyses the emergence, proliferation and distribution of a range of popular film cycles (or filoni) – from conspiracy thrillers and vigilante films, to mafia and serial killer narratives – and examines what these reveal about their time and place. With industrial conditions geared around rapid production schedules and concentrated release patterns, the engagement in these films with both the contemporary political turmoil of 1970s Italy and the traumas of the nation’s recent past offers a range of fascinating insights into the wider anxieties of this decade concerning the Second World War and its ongoing political aftermath

Il braccio violento della legge: Revelation, Conspiracy and the Politics of Violence in the Poliziottesco.

This article analyses a strand of the Italian police thriller (poliziottesco) whose plots invest heavily in notions of official cover-up and high-level coup d’état conspiracy, in the cultural, political and historical coordinates of the ‘anni di piombo’/‘years of lead’. Prevailing scholarly discourses on the cinema of and about this era tend to identify a desire to seek explanation for the violent traumas and to see through the opaque webs of intrigue that characterize the national memory of the 1970s. By taking La polizia ringrazia/Execution Squad (Steno, 1972), Milano trema – la polizia vuole giustizia/Violent Professionals (Martino, 1973) and La polizia accusa: il servizio segreto uccide/Silent Action (Martino, 1975) as key examples, this article seeks to demonstrate that such films in fact occupy a divergent register of political address: one that seeks, not to explain or ‘make sense’ of the era’s intrigues, but instead to enact a ritual recognition of innate suspicion, pervasive corruption and assumed distrust. These films are appraised for their immediacy rather than their coherence, as documents of confusion rather than of investigative rigour. They thus enable a reading of ‘political cinema’ as being one that chronicles the range of political registers through which events were being represented to sections of the Italian public

Retaining Ring Material Wear Analysis and Testing

The chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of wafers for integrated circuits is an essential – yet expensive – step in their manufacture. CMP machine down-time due to the replacement of process consumables, such as wafer retaining rings, is a significant contributor to the process cost. To reduce the operational cost of their CMP machines, Revasum is interested in exploring new designs and materials for wafer retaining rings to increase their operational lifetime. Background research showed that there is currently no suitable method for testing new retaining ring designs and materials for wear characteristics specific to the CMP process. Available wear testing technologies do not include process-specific elements like slurry or the complex carrier motion, and therefore would not provide useful results. The Cal Poly senior project team is responsible for the design and manufacture of a device to characterize wear of new retaining ring materials under CMP conditions. The characterization of material wear will allow for the comparison of currently available ring materials and aid in the design and implementation of rings which have longer operational life. The team has defined the scope of the project as developing a device to interface with an existing machine (Strasbaugh 6DF optical grinding machine), in order to test material samples with CMP process parameters. Through a process of ideation – which included brainstorming, Pugh matrices, a morphology chart, a weighted decision matrix, and conceptual prototyping – a design was conceived which utilizes a carrier to hold material samples against a polishing pad. Through this carrier, a down-force was applied by the existing pneumatic cylinder on the Strasbaugh 6DF. An adjustable arm holding a pad conditioner has been added to the machine in order to closely model the CMP process and allow for consistency and repeatability across multiple samples. To help the team keep track of tasks and deliverables, a Gantt chart was created. This has been continually updated and serves as a reference to keep the design team on track. To date, the 6DF has been installed on the Cal Poly campus and two iterations of the sample carrier and pad conditioner arm have been manufactured and tested. The team has conducted testing and confirmed that the design has met all functional requirements and specifications

DNA binding and intercalation by novel porphyrins: role of charge and substituents probed by DNase I footprinting and topoisomerase I unwinding

AbstractPorphyrins carrying four charged sidechains, e.g., meso-tetrakis[4-N-methylpyridiniumyl]- and meso-tetrakis[4-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)pyridiniumyl]-porphyrin, bound and intercalated similarly into DNA as measured by helix stabilization and DNA unwinding studies in the presence of DNA topoisomerase I. Despite their different bulky sidechains, these complexes gave essentially identical DNase I footprinting patterns. In contrast, tetrasubstituted porphyrins carrying three phenyl rings and a single positively charged pyridiniumyl sidechain did not intercalate and exhibited little affinity for DNA. Thus, the presence of charged sidechains on the porphyrin rather than their identity appears to be critical for efficient DNA intercalation. The results are discussed in regard to current models for the porphyrin-DNA intercalation complex

Improved Regression-Based Streamflow Forecasting Considering Large-Scale Climate Variability

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) produces water supply forecasts for most of the streams in the western United States. The NRCS produces forecasts starting in January, when snow course measurements of snow water equivalent were available. Although the seasonal streamflow volume forecasts made by the NRCS are useful, many water supply managers need information at the beginning of the water year in October and would like to see forecasts in the form of a monthly hydrograph. An investigation into the effect of decadal scale variability, as reflected by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), show important relationships that may be useful in forecasting. Data from three basins, the Sandy, Skykomish, and Rogue Rivers were split based on the warm and cool phases of the PDQ and correlated to the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) as a measure of the inter-annual climate phenomenon El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). All three basins have similar annual hydrographs with a peak in the winter around November due to direct winter runoff and a peak in the spring or summer due to snow runoff. The results show that in cool phases of the PDO, seasonal streamflow is above average and is significantly correlated with the SOI. However, in warm phases of the PDO, streamflow is lower than normal and not as influenced by the SOI as measured by the correlation coefficient. Further, the PDO influences the distribution of flow within the year. As a result, a new seasonal streamflow volume forecasting method is proposed. The new method fits regression equations for both phases of the PDO and mixes the two forecasts by the probability of the current state of the PDO. The model was verified by comparison to a control model that was fit to all of the data, and by a water year 2000 forecast. The results show that the mixed seasonal streamflow volume forecasts better estimate the historical mean. Further, the disaggregated mixed volume forecasts resulted in better estimates of the historical monthly mean and reduced the overall variability of the forecasts

The Effect of Ethnicity on the Age-of-onset of the Male Voice Change.

The purposes of this study were to describe the characteristics of the changing male voice in 4th, 5th and 6th grade students using Cooksey's maturation stages and, to compare the age-of-onset of the male voice change in African American, White, and Hispanic male students. Participants included volunteer 4th (n = 61), 5th (n = 73), and 6th grade male students (n = 63) from 2 urban elementary schools, 5 suburban elementary schools, 1 suburban middle school and 1 urban middle school in the North Texas region. The three ethnic groups represented in this study were: African American (n = 62), White (n = 58), and Hispanic (n = 77). Results indicated that approximately 46% of 4th grade participants, 62% of 5th grade participants, and 67% of 6th grade participants were classified as changing voices. A descriptively larger percentage of African American participants were classified as changing voices than Hispanic and White participants. Also, a larger percentage of African American and Hispanic participants were descriptively classified in the more advanced stages of the voice change than White participants. Urban African American, White, and Hispanic participants had a larger percentage of males classified as changing voices than suburban African American, White, and Hispanic participants. Results of a one-way, between subjects ANOVA revealed no significant main effect for ethnicity, F (2, 51) = .42, p = .66, η2 = .02. The overall mean age-of-onset for participants in this study was approximately 11.20 years of age