Investigation of the Current Levels of Dust-to-Binder Ratio on Durability of Asphalt Mixtures

Durability refers to the resistance of Asphalt Concrete (AC) to several forms of cracking. It is the goal of State Highway Agencies (SHAs) and local authorities alike, to maintaining adequate durability and ensure good pavement performance. Since the early 2000s, escalating asphalt binder costs have significantly increased the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) within AC mixtures. This increase, although cost effective and environmentally conscious, has detrimentally affected AC durability. Optimization of RAP and the regulation of AC durability is currently being addressed during the design and construction of AC pavements through Quality Control (QC) and Quality Assurance (QA) testing. With that being said, AC mixtures produced in the field commonly experience a loss of durability compared to laboratory designed AC mixtures. This loss of durability is frequently thought to be attributed to mixture adjustments and material inconsistencies caused during production and can occur within agencies whose specifications do not include multiple production volumetric requirements. One volumetric requirement that is thought to significantly affect AC durability is Dust Proportion (DP). Mixture DP is notable due to its ability to effectively regulate detrimental AC mixture fines compared to current practices.The purpose of this study was to investigate current DP levels and their impact on mixture performance. AC mixture durability, as well as stability, were evaluated using the Indirect Tensile Cracking (Ideal-CT), Texas Overlay (OT), Indirect Tensile Strength (IDT), and Hamburg Wheel Track (HWTT) tests. Comparisons between field mix lab compacted (FMLC), lab mix lab compacted (LMLC), and a modified DP lab mix lab compacted (1.6 LMLC) AC mixture were analyzed. Results from this study showed that the relationship between the number of cycles till failure determined from the OT test and the CTindex determined from the Ideal-CT test were highly correlated. Mixture properties including the DP, effective binder, total binder, absorbed binder, and film thickness were also determined to significantly affect the IDT and Ideal-CT testing results. Results from this study allowed the researchers to better understand how mixture fluctuations during AC production and deviations from the mixture design affected AC performance. A DP specification and specification language regarding other volumetric properties and performance tests were recommended based on the findings of this study. This research shall serve as a guide to help other local and state regulatory agencies with AC durability concerns

Education on the Gis Frontier: Cybergis and Its Components

Geographic information systems (GIS) are a fundamental information technology. Coupled with advancing developments in spatial analysis through geographic information science (GISci), the capabilities and applications of GIS and GISci continue to rapidly expand. This expansion requires practitioners to have new skills and competencies, especially in computer science and programming. One developing framework for GIS’ future is that of Cyber Geographic Information Systems (CyberGIS), which fuses the technical capabilities of advanced cyber-infrastructure, like cloud and server computing, with the spatial analysis capabilities of GIS. This structure of GIS requires further computer science and programming abilities, but how GIS practitioners use and value the variant components within CyberGIS is unknown. This gap makes teaching and preparing students on the CyberGIS frontier difficult. The GIS skillset is in an ever-present state of re-imagination, but with the growing prominence of CyberGIS, which seeks to capitalize on advanced computing to benefit analysis in GIS, the need for an understanding of educational implications continues to grow. This dissertation uses a mixed-methods approach to explore how CyberGIS functions academically. First, I explore how university geography departments in the U.S. integrate computer science and programming skills in their undergraduate geography and GIS degree programs by reviewing degree requirements in highly-ranked departments. Few departments require computer science or programming courses for undergraduate degrees. Then, I explore the nature of knowledge and skills in CyberGIS using machine reading and q- methodology to explore viewpoints of how key CyberGIS skills function. The three viewpoints I identify reveal highly conflicting mindsets of how GIS functions. Finally, I use syllabi from different GIS programming and computer science courses to identify common topics, course structures, and instructional materials across a broad sample of courses. Three major topic foci emerged, including GIS scripting with Python, web-enabling GIS with JavaScript and HTML, and geodatabase manipulation with SQL. Some common instructional materials exist, but syllabi show little consistency in their curriculum focus and instructional design within or across topics relating GIS programming and computer science. There is little consistency or emphasis in current educational efforts concerning computer science and programming and how they function in building competencies required in CyberGIS. While CyberGIS promises advanced computing capabilities using complex systems, the fractured and uneven nature of basic computer science and programming instruction in GIS indicates that to achieve a Cyber-enabled GIS future, a much larger chasm between GIS and computer science must be bridged

Physical non-viral gene delivery methods for tissue engineering

The integration of gene therapy into tissue engineering to control differentiation and direct tissue formation is not a new concept; however, successful delivery of nucleic acids into primary cells, progenitor cells, and stem cells has proven exceptionally challenging. Viral vectors are generally highly effective at delivering nucleic acids to a variety of cell populations, both dividing and non-dividing, yet these viral vectors are marred by significant safety concerns. Non-viral vectors are preferred for gene therapy, despite lower transfection efficiencies, and possess many customizable attributes that are desirable for tissue engineering applications. However, there is no single non-viral gene delivery strategy that “fits-all” cell types and tissues. Thus, there is a compelling opportunity to examine different non-viral vectors, especially physical vectors, and compare their relative degrees of success. This review examines the advantages and disadvantages of physical non-viral methods (i.e., microinjection, ballistic gene delivery, electroporation, sonoporation, laser irradiation, magnetofection, and electric field-induced molecular vibration), with particular attention given to electroporation because of its versatility, with further special emphasis on Nucleofection™. In addition, attributes of cellular character that can be used to improve differentiation strategies are examined for tissue engineering applications. Ultimately, electroporation exhibits a high transfection efficiency in many cell types, which is highly desirable for tissue engineering applications, but electroporation and other physical non-viral gene delivery methods are still limited by poor cell viability. Overcoming the challenge of poor cell viability in highly efficient physical non-viral techniques is the key to using gene delivery to enhance tissue engineering applications

A local resampling trick for focused molecular dynamics

We describe a method that focuses sampling effort on a user-defined selection of a large system, which can lead to substantial decreases in computational effort by speeding up the calculation of nonbonded interactions. A naive approach can lead to incorrect sampling if the selection depends on the configuration in a way that is not accounted for. We avoid this pitfall by introducing appropriate auxiliary variables. This results in an implementation that is closely related to configurational freezing and elastic barrier dynamical freezing. We implement the method and validate that it can be used to supplement conventional molecular dynamics in free energy calculations (absolute hydration and relative binding)

Beaked whales

25 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 24-25)."A stranding of a young male Mesoplodon mirus True is reported from Flagler Beach, Florida - the most southern record for the species. The distribution of occurrences of Mesoplodon mirus and Mesoplodon gervaisi Deslongchamps are charted, and evidence of geographic segregation of the two species is noticed and discussed. Mesoplodon mirus apparently occupies the temperate western North Atlantic, and gervaisi the tropical and near tropical western North Atlantic. Eighteen proposed skull differences between Mesoplodon mirus and M. gervaisi are tested on the two specimens of the former and three of the latter in the American Museum of Natural History, and to some extent on published photographs of other specimens. Five of these propositions are found to be good, or modifiable so that they distinguish this material, and two others are found to be useful as supporting evidence. In addition to the interspecific differences concurred in by this testing of the 18 skull chracters, some intraspecific differences are observed in gervaisi. Part of this variation is shown to be sexual dimorphism, and the studied gervaisi material is sorted by it into three females and three males. Individual variation is evidently greater in the males. Comparison of external body measurements suggests that the length of the flipper of mirus generally exceeds that of gervaisi in proportion to total body length. Comparison of 31 skull measurements of the two species reveals nine measurements which, used collectiely, will separate skulls of these two species"--P. 23-24

2017 Final Evaluation Report for Better Together

Program DescriptionHeartland Family Service (HFS) partnered with Nebraska Families Collaborative (NFC) and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS) to begin Better Together, a comprehensive support service program for families affected by substance abuse in Omaha, Nebraska. Better Together seeks to prevent infant abandonment by increasing wellbeing, improving permanency, and enhancing the safety of infants and young children who have been exposed to dangerous drugs. Utilizing a community-based treatment setting, Better Together provides intensive outpatient and outpatient substance abuse treatment to families impacted by substance abuse. NDHHS and NFC identify families as being at risk for out-of-home placement of their children and recommend the appropriate services. The target population is families in which the mother is pregnant and using drugs and/or alcohol, families where infants screen positive for illegal substances, or families with young children who are at risk for placement due to parental substance abuse. HFS treats each family as a unit, providing comprehensive treatment and support services for the parents, infants, young children, older children, and any self-identified family members. Better Together services include the following: Intensive outpatient and outpatient substance abuse treatment. Mental health treatment. Case management. Parenting education. Peer support. Family therapy. Housing assistance. Infant and child developmental screening and intervention. Physical health care coordination and support. Transportation assistance. Families live in a community-based treatment setting, in individually-leased apartments, for up to two years. As they move through the program, their treatment becomes progressively less intensive. Better Together outcomes include improved child well-being, sustained parental recovery from substance abuse, and reunification of families

Biodegradable PLGA Based Nanoparticles for Sustained Regional Lymphatic Drug Delivery

The purpose of this work is to evaluate biodegradable drug carriers with defined size, hydrophobicity, and surface charge density for preferential lymphatic uptake and retention for sustained regional drug delivery. PLGA–PMA:PLA-PEG (PP) nanoparticles of defined size and relative hydrophobicity were prepared by nanoprecipitation method. These were compared with PS particles of similar sizes and higher hydrophobicity. PLGA–PMA:PLGA-COOH (PC) particles at 80:20, 50:50, and 20:80 ratios were prepared by nanoprecipitation for the charge study. Particle size and zeta potential were characterized by dynamic light scattering and laser doppler anemometry, respectively. Particles were administered in vivo to rats subcutaneously. Systemic and lymph node uptake was evaluated by marker recovery. Lymphatic uptake and node retention of PP nanoparticles was shown to be inversely related to size. Lymphatic uptake and node retention of PP particles, as compared to PS particles, was shown to be inversely related to hydrophobicity. Lastly, lymphatic uptake and node retention of PC nanoparticles were directly related to the anionic charge on the particles. In vivo lymphatic uptake and retention in a rat model indicates that the 50 nm PP particles are ideal for sustained regional delivery into the lymphatics for prevention/treatment of oligometastases

Presearch Data Conditioning in the Kepler Science Operations Center Pipeline

We describe the Presearch Data Conditioning (PDC) software component and its context in the Kepler Science Operations Center (SOC) pipeline. The primary tasks of this component are to correct systematic and other errors, remove excess flux due to aperture crowding, and condition the raw flux light curves for over 160,000 long cadence (~thirty minute) and 512 short cadence (~one minute) targets across the focal plane array. Long cadence corrected flux light curves are subjected to a transiting planet search in a subsequent pipeline module. We discuss the science algorithms for long and short cadence PDC: identification and correction of unexplained (i.e., unrelated to known anomalies) discontinuities; systematic error correction; and excess flux removal. We discuss the propagation of uncertainties from raw to corrected flux. Finally, we present examples of raw and corrected flux time series for flight data to illustrate PDC performance. Corrected flux light curves produced by PDC are exported to the Multi-mission Archive at Space Telescope [Science Institute] (MAST) and will be made available to the general public in accordance with the NASA/Kepler data release policy