Urban flooding and sewer inundation on the University of Louisville Belknap campus.

Over the past few decades on the University of Louisville Belknap campus urban flooding has become more frequent as a result of surface water runoff and sewer inundation. This urban flooding is a result of ongoing watershed urbanization and rapid expansion of the local sewer system to accommodate the expanding city of Louisville. However little research has been conducted on this issue, despite continued flooding on and adjacent to campus. Using the EPA Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) we applied a dual drainage modeling approach that combines both surface and subsurface drainage data to produce a flood hydrograph at the main outlet drainage point for a series of storm events. The output from this modeling was then compared to a real-time series dataset through the use of time-lapse photography for model verification. From our results we were able to identify and isolate key choke points in the campus drainage system that promotes sewer system inundation and surface flooding across campus

Turnover of outdoor adventure education field staff

Outdoor adventure education (OAE) organizations continually struggle with field staff turnover. Little research exists of this unique worker population and their unconventional living and working conditions warrant further exploration of the variables that best drive this phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to explore the strength and direction of the relationships between turnover predictor variables and intent to turnover (IT) of OAE field staff. Per the suggestion of organizational behavior and OAE literature, and conversations with OAE practitioners, five independent predictor variables were chosen; (a) tenure; (b) career development opportunities; (c) sense of community; (d) compensation satisfaction; and (e) burnout. A survey was developed adopting validated scales that measured each predictor variable and the dependent variable IT, of which a total of 101 OAE field staff successfully completed the survey. To test the predictor variables, two separate multiple linear regressions were calculated. Results suggest that compensation satisfaction’s pay subscale and sense of community are significant negative predictors of IT. These findings contribute to organizational behavior and OAE turnover literature by providing evidence for strong turnover correlates unique to a worker population seldom studied. Additionally, OAE practitioners can use these findings to aid in prioritizing their time and resources when combatting employee turnover

United we stand? Investigating the impact of unified dues agreements between state and national Career & Technical Education (CTE) professional organizations on CTE funding in the southern states

Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers have long been active in lobbying the federal and state governments in support of CTE through their professional organizations, but these are not traditionally considered interest groups. This study sought to determine if the formal relationships—dues agreements—between the two largest national professional organizations, and their state affiliates had an impact on state funding for CTE. The impacts of professional organization unity, membership rates, and lobbying expenses on state-level CTE funding were analyzed through the lens of interest group theory, a subfield of political science. Within this population (N = 13), 1) a link was found between dues agreement type and funding; 2) Agricultural educators joined their professional organization(s) at higher rates than other CTE teachers; 3) a low relationship was discovered between professional organization membership percentages and funding; and 4) a high degree of relationship was found between lobbying expenses and funding

Regulation and Expression of Nanog, Oct4, and Sox2 in the Bovine Blastocyst following Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

A live birth from a somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryo represents a small percentage of donor cells that survived the reprogramming gauntlet. The inability to reprogram histone modifications in the donor cell line could add to the reprogramming deficiencies associated with SCNT. The effects of two histone modifications associated with transcriptional activation (H3K4m3 and H4K16ac) and two histone modifications associated with repressing transcription (H3K9m2 and H3K27me3) were evaluated in the context of their association to three genes known to contribute to maintaining totipotency: Nanog, Oct4, and Sox2. A µChIP assay was utilized using antibodies specific for each histone modification followed by real time PCR (qPCR) analysis to quantify the percentage of each gene associated with each particular histone modification. Gene expression analysis was followed by immunofluorescence and protein analysis. Results of these analyses suggest that gene association to certain histone modifications did not accurately predict gene expression in bovine blastocyst embryos. Of the three genes studied, only Oct4 expression differed significantly between in vitro fertilized (IVF; control) and SCNT blastocysts. Protein levels detected through immunofluorescence correlated directly with the gene expression analysis. Nanog and Sox2 expression profiles of IVF and SCNT bovine blastocysts are similar, yet the histone modification profiles associated with all three genes differ significantly. Altered expression levels in developmentally important genes will likely result in abnormal activity of the associated cellular pathway. Aberrant histone modifications, along with abnormal Oct4 expression, may contribute to the low percentage of SCNT embryos that result in live offspring

Leading the way toward a socially-accountable medical education system

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Optimizing Generative Adversarial Network Architecture for Low-Resolution Image Enhancement

The research focuses on applying Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) [1] to enhance the clarity of low-resolution images. This research was inspired by a recognized limitation of the capabilities of the current camera and video systems. Systems with higher image resolution require expensively complex equipment and an excessive amount of digital storage to function, effectively limiting their practicality and availability. The capability of GANs to selectively enhance the resolution of the desired image without increasing costs impacts a substantial range of industries and practices. Our research focuses on applying GANs to objects with shared static characteristics such as license plates. Based upon preliminary results, the focus on objects with static characteristics in combination with researched optimization methods [3] increased the effectiveness of the network in relation to its training speed, computational load [4], and produced image quality. Possible applications of the proposed system include enhancing images of license plates for traffic monitoring systems and improving still images from body camera footage to reveal crucial details otherwise left unseen. Beyond the scope of surveillance, resolution-enhancing GANs may be applied to develop media content or national defense capabilities. The possible uses for such a system are as varied and dynamic as they are interesting. By using a GAN to enhance the resolution of low-quality images, we hope to bring valuable research contributions to the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning