A Method for Orientation of Cellulose Nano Fibers for Addition of Biological Nanoparticles and Tissue Integration

The University of Maine is one of the world’s leading producers of cellulose nanofibers (CNF). This material has the power to revitalize the Maine paper industry. This has led to an abundance of labs on campus researching applications for the material. Active research activities at the University of Maine include industrial applications such as filtration, biodegradable packaging, building materials and niche health care applications. Niche health care applications include wicking pads for point of care diagnostics and tunable biomaterials ranging from dressings to implantable bone-like materials. Medical applications require an analysis of the biocompatibility of CNF.CNF is biocompatible in general: however, the degree of biocompatibility, particularly for tissue engineering applications involving long term integration within the body, is an area of active research. CNF is a highly tunable biomaterial; control of the fibril anisotropy dramatically alters bulk biomechanical properties which also modulates biological interaction. To tune fiber anisotropy, a novel strategy to produce single direction-oriented CNF films by application of a unilateral force via a latex substrate was developed. The alignment of CNF films was characterized using both polarized light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy(SEM). CNF is birefringent; therefore, using polarized light microscopy the alignment of CNF can be inferred by quantifying the birefringence optical index (BOI). The BOI ranges from -1 to 1, with high birefringence found at the extrema values. To validate the birefringence orientation sensitivity to CNF film alignment; we performed SEM for direct assessment of fiber alignment using OrientationJ, a FIJI plugin. Hydroxyapatite (HA) was incorporated as an additive to evaluate the application of this method to cellulose nano composites. Both the BOI and the SEM fibril analysis confirmed that CNF fibrils are aligned preferentially along the axis of force transmission. Furthermore, the addition of HA did not diminish the degree of CNF fibril alignment. Overall, we demonstrate a rapid and economic approach to fabricate and assess fibril alignment in CNF films useful for a myriad of tissue engineering applications

Multiscale Anisotropy Analysis of Second-Harmonic Generation Imaging of Pancreatic Cancer

Despite recent advancements in biomedicine, cancer is still the second leading cause of death in the United States. Early detection of cancer is critical to improving patient care, but there are risks of over screening caused by the need for surgical biopsies in many cancers for final diagnostics. Recent advancements in computer aided diagnostics for breast cancer screening has reduced the need for biopsies and resulted in earlier diagnoses which has lowered the mortality rate from breast cancer within the past two decades. Developing new computer aided diagnostic tools that can be applied to a vast majority of cancers would serve to improve quality of life worldwide. These tools could also help researchers target and understand biological markers that lead to more malignant cancers improving both our treatment and understanding of cancer progression. The novel combination of the label-free, collagen-specific microscopy technique known as second harmonic generation (SHG) and the 2D Wavelet Transform Modulus Maxima (2D WTMM) Anisotropy Method is a prime candidate to serve this role. The 2D WTMM Anisotropy Method, originally developed for galactic astronomy and then used in multiple biological studies, was further adapted for SHG imaging of cancer in this work by improving both the binning and normalization techniques. This improved method was then applied to forty slides from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients and eight images were captured per each tissue category on each slide. Cancer and fibrosis had greater anisotropy factors (Fa) at small wavelet scales than normal and normal adjacent tissue. At scales larger than 21 μm this relationship changed with normal tissue having a higher Fa than all other tissue groups. This demonstrated that our developed method is sensitive to changes induced by PDAC. Our method was also compared to other open source SHG image analysis tools currently used by researchers in the field by generating 100 simulated fiber images at four different angle distributions of 0-180°, 30-150°, 60-120°, and 85-95°. The 2D WTMM Anisotropy method could differentiate the 0-180° and 30-150° groups at multiple scales whereas off-the-shelf tools could not. Four different levels of white noise were also added to the 60-120° angle distributions images to test each methods sensitivity to noise by comparing each noise convolved fiber image to pure white noise. The 2D WTMM Anisotropy Method was the only method capable of differentiating all added noise levels from white noise demonstrating its superior resistance to noise. This method will soon be applied to a larger breast cancer study and a breast cancer spheroid study. In both cases further developments to the method are planned, such as developing a version capable of analyzing 3D images and coupling the method with a machine learning technique

Cultural Resources Survey of the Proposed Bonnie Wenk Park Phase II, City of McKinney, Collin County, Texas

This report documents the substantive findings and management recommendations of a cultural resource inventory conducted by Integrated Environmental Solutions, LLC (IES) for the Bonnie Wenk Park Phase II project in McKinney, Collin County, Texas. As the City of McKinney is a political subdivision of the State of Texas, the proposed project will require coordination with the Texas Historical Commission (THC) prior to construction, per the provisions of the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT). In addition, as the project will require a Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), it will also be subject to the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended. The goal of the survey was to locate, identify, and assess any cultural resources, which include standing structures and archeological sites that could be adversely affected by the proposed development, and to evaluate such resources for their potential eligibility for listing as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL) or eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). All work conformed to 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 800, and 13 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) 26, which outline the regulations for implementing Section 106 of the NHPA and the ACT, respectively. The cultural resources inventory was conducted on the 23 and 26 March 2015, under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 7217. During the IES survey, no cultural resources were documented within APE. No further work is warranted. However, if any cultural resources are unearthed during construction, the operators should cease work immediately in that area, and the THC/SHPO should be prior to resuming any construction activities

Cultural Resources Survey of the Lebow Drainage Improvement Project, City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas

This report documents the substantive findings and management recommendations of a cultural resource inventory conducted by Integrated Environmental Solutions, LLC (IES) for the Lebow Drainage Improvement Project in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas. As the City of Fort Worth is a political subdivision of the State of Texas, the proposed project will require coordination with the Texas Historical Commission (THC) prior to construction, per the provisions of the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT). In addition, as the project will require a Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), it will also be subject to the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended. All work conformed to 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 800, and 13 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) 26, which outline the regulations for implementing Section 106 of the NHPA and the ACT, respectively. The goal of the survey was to locate, identify, and assess any cultural resources, which include standing structures and archeological sites that could be adversely affected by the proposed development, and to evaluate such resources for their potential eligibility for listing as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL) or eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The cultural resources inventory was conducted by archeologists Kevin Stone and Joshua Hamilton on 04 June 2015, under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 7291. Proposed construction consists of an approximately 61.95-acre project corridor that extends along an unnamed tributary of the West Fork Trinity River. Although the project is still in the development stage, current designs call for the enhancement of Lebow Channel through regrading and reinforcement of the channel and the creation of several water retention/detention areas Although four historic-period sites (41TR279, 41TR280, 41TR281, and 41TR282) were documented during the field survey, based on the degree of disturbance and general nature of each site, they were deemed ineligible for listing on the NRHP or as a SAL. No artifacts were collected as part of this survey. All records will be curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL). No further work is warranted. However, if any cultural resources, other than those documented within this report, are unearthed during construction, the operators should stop construction activities, and immediately contact the project environmental representative to initiate coordination with the THC prior to resuming any construction activities

Cultural Resources Survey of the Proposed Bear Creek Industrial Project Phase I, City of Euless, Tarrant County, Texas

This report documents the substantive findings and management recommendations of a cultural resource inventory conducted by Integrated Environmental Solutions, LLC (IES) for the Bear Creek Industrial Phase I project in Euless, Tarrant County, Texas. As the project will occur on the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport property, the DFW International Airport will need approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to modify their Airport Layout Plan (ALP) to reflect the permanent alterations. This is considered a federal action and will subsequently require compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). In addition, as the DFW International Airport is a political subdivision of the State of Texas the project will be subjected to the provisions of the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT). The goal of the survey was to locate, identify, and assess any cultural resources, which include standing structures and archeological sites that could be adversely affected by the proposed development, and to evaluate such resources for their potential eligibility for listing as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL) or eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). All work conformed to 13 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) 26, which outline the regulations for implementing the ACT. The cultural resources inventory was conducted by archeologists Kevin Stone and Joshua Hamilton on 21 and 23 January 2015, under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 7126. Prior to IES’s pedestrian survey, several areas along South 20th Avenue and within the north-central portion of the project area or Area of Potential Effects (APE) that could potential contain historic-period cultural features and/or deposits were identified. During the IES survey, three archeological sites (41TR273, 41TR274, and 41TR275) were documented within APE. Through the subsequent analysis, all three sites were determined to be ineligible for listing on the NRHP or as a SAL. No further work is warranted. However, if any cultural resources, other than those documented within this report, are unearthed during construction, the operators should stop construction activities, and immediately contact the project environmental representative to initiate coordination with the Texas Historical Commission (THC) prior to resuming any construction activities

Cultural Resources Survey for a 9.1-Acre Tract at Granbury, Hood County, Texas

This report documents the substantive findings and management recommendations of a cultural resources inventory conducted by AmaTerra Environmental, Inc. (AmaTerra) for the 9.1-acre tract in Granbury, Hood County, Texas. As a federal grant has been provided to the developer by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the project will be subject to the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended. The goal of the survey was to locate, identify, and assess any cultural resources that could be adversely affected by proposed development, and to evaluate such resources for their potential eligibility for listing in the National Register for Historic Places (NRHP) or eligibility for listing as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL). All work conformed to 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 800, and 13 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) 26, which outline the regulations for implementing the Section 106 of the NHPA and the ACT, respectively. The cultural resources inventory was conducted by archeologist Joshua Hamilton and architectural historian Erica Howard on June 27, 2017. The entirety of the project area or Area of Potential Effects (APE) was subjected to visual inspection supplemented by shovel tests in order to evaluate the cultural resources located within the project area. During the survey, one prehistoric lithic scatter and one historic-aged cultural resource were documented within the 9.1-acre APE. Based on our research and field assessment, the prehistoric lithic scatter (41HD94) is recommended to be not eligible for listing on the NRHP or as a SAL. The historic-age resource is identified as the Old Ferry Master’s Cabin and is recommended as eligible for listing in the NRHP under Criterion A at the local level with Criteria Consideration B for a building removed from its original location. The cabin has historically been associated with the water and rural setting. Current development of the area does not include using the cabin nor moving it to another location, and the cabin has been donated to the City of Granbury for their use. The proposed HUD development project has been approved by the City. Even though the cabin will not be relocated, the proposed development construction would change the historic view shed of the cabin, the association with the water, and remote feel of the cabin. Thus, the integrity of association would be impacted by the proposed project. Since the proposed undertaking would result in direct impacts to the integrity of setting, feeling, association, a finding of adverse effects is recommended for the Old Ferry Master’s Cabin. Should the proposed project change in scope or design, the potential to affect the historic-age resource should be taking into consideration. No artifacts were collected as part of this survey. All records will be curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL). No further work is warranted; however, if any cultural resources, other than those documented within this report, are unearthed during construction, the operators should stop construction activities, and immediately contact the project environmental representative to initiate coordination with the THC prior to resuming any construction activities

Bipolar jets produced by a spectroscopic binary

We present evidence that the spectroscopically identified bipolar jets of the pre-main sequence binary KH 15D are a common product of the whole binary system, rather than being launched from either star individually. They may be launched from the innermost part of the circumbinary disk (CBD) or may result from the merging of two outflows driven by the individual stars. This evidence is based on high-resolution H-alpha and [OI] 6300A line profiles obtained during eclipse phases of this nearly edge-on system. The occultation of star A (the only currently visible star) by the disk strongly suppresses the stellar H-alpha and continuum emission and allows one to study the faint redshifted and blueshifted emission components of the bipolar jets. The strongest evidence for jet production by the whole binary system comes from the observed radial velocity symmetry of the two jet components relative to the systemic velocity of the binary, in combination with current accretion models from the CBD onto a binary system.Comment: ApJ Letters, in press [6 pages

Complex Variability of the Hα\alpha Emission Line Profile of the T Tauri Binary System KH 15D: The Influence of Orbital Phase, Occultation by the Circumbinary Disk, and Accretion Phenomenae

We have obtained 48 high resolution echelle spectra of the pre-main sequence eclipsing binary system KH~15D (V582 Mon, P = 48.37 d, $e$ $\sim$ 0.6, M$_{A}$ = 0.6 M$_{\odot}$, M$_{B}$ = 0.7 M$_{\odot}$). The eclipses are caused by a circumbinary disk seen nearly edge on, which at the epoch of these observations completely obscured the orbit of star B and a large portion of the orbit of star A. The spectra were obtained over five contiguous observing seasons from 2001/2002 to 2005/2006 while star A was fully visible, fully occulted, and during several ingress and egress events. The H$\alpha$ line profile shows dramatic changes in these time series data over timescales ranging from days to years. A fraction of the variations are due to "edge effects" and depend only on the height of star A above or below the razor sharp edge of the occulting disk. Other observed variations depend on the orbital phase: the H$\alpha$ emission line profile changes from an inverse P Cygni type profile during ingress to an enhanced double-peaked profile, with both a blue and red emission component, during egress. Each of these interpreted variations are complicated by the fact that there is also a chaotic, irregular component present in these profiles. We find that the complex data set can be largely understood in the context of accretion onto the stars from a circumbinary disk with gas flows as predicted by the models of eccentric T Tauri binaries put forward by Artymowicz & Lubow, G\"{u}nther & Kley, and de Val-Borro et al. In particular, our data provide strong support for the pulsed accretion phenomenon, in which enhanced accretion occurs during and after perihelion passage.Comment: accepted to Ap

Metabolic network analysis reveals microbial community interactions in anammox granules.

Microbial communities mediating anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) represent one of the most energy-efficient environmental biotechnologies for nitrogen removal from wastewater. However, little is known about the functional role heterotrophic bacteria play in anammox granules. Here, we use genome-centric metagenomics to recover 17 draft genomes of anammox and heterotrophic bacteria from a laboratory-scale anammox bioreactor. We combine metabolic network reconstruction with metatranscriptomics to examine the gene expression of anammox and heterotrophic bacteria and to identify their potential interactions. We find that Chlorobi-affiliated bacteria may be highly active protein degraders, catabolizing extracellular peptides while recycling nitrate to nitrite. Other heterotrophs may also contribute to scavenging of detritus and peptides produced by anammox bacteria, and potentially use alternative electron donors, such as H2, acetate and formate. Our findings improve the understanding of metabolic activities and interactions between anammox and heterotrophic bacteria and offer the first transcriptional insights on ecosystem function in anammox granules

Can It Work for Us Too? Results from Using West Point’s Fundamentals of Engineering Mechanics and Design Course Redesign

At the 2017 ASEE National Conference and Exhibition two papers from the US Military Academy (one in the Mechanics Division and one in the Civil Engineering Division) detailed a redesign of their initial mechanics sequence and the introduction of Inquiry Based Learning Activities. The authors of those papers extended an offer to share details and materials of their course redesign and associated lesson activities. The authors of this paper took them up on that offer and in the Fall of 2017 implemented the changes proposed at the US Military Academy at their institution. The question this paper strives to answer is, can a similar course redesign produce similar results at an institution, that in many respects is very different from the US Military Academy; essentially is the West Point redesign reproducible and the results replicable and if so under what conditions? This paper will strive to use many of the same measures from the original paper in the analysis of the success or failure of the implementation. The paper will also examine and document the differences between the students and institutions. It will then note differences in the administration of the course, changes made, and conduct of the course, to include number of instructors, sections, section size, group size and the demographic make-up of students in the course and list the effect of the differences discovered at this time. Finally, considering differences and similarities, the paper will analyze and capture the results and the effects of the two applications of the course redesign to come up with an answer to the research question