Les Liaisons Dangereuses (October 2-5, 2008)

Program for Les Liaisons Dangereuses (October 2-5, 2008). To view the photos from this production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, please click here

A Study of Perceptions of Achievement Factors for At-Risk Students in Comparison to Honor Students at a Northeast Tennessee High School.

Student success and motivation are issues that baffle parents and educators. Various factors go a long way in explaining why these educational phenomena occur. Current research has confirmed that issues such as parental involvement, home life, attitude, intellect, and teacher and student relations and rapport have an impact on motivation and future success of students. This research project focused on students\u27 perceptions of factors that affect their success and achievement. These factors were categorized into four areas: intrapersonal influences, parental influences, educational influences, and external influences. These areas were explored in an attempt to promote an awareness of the factors necessary for student success. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of honor and at-risk high school students regarding achievement factors. The method of acquiring information for this phenomenological study was exclusively through indepth interviews. The study was limited to 16 students at a specific Northeast Tennessee high school. Sixteen students were selected from a stratified purposeful sample. Eight students were selected from the top 10% of their class and eight students were selected from the bottom 10% of their class. Each interview contained semistructured and open-ended questions. The questions were prewritten but flexible in interview presentation. The results of this study should promote an awareness of the factors that foster success and those that are detrimental to the success of all students. This awareness might motivate educators to work harder at preventing students from slipping through the cracks

The Technology Effect: How Perceptions of Technology Drive Excessive Optimism

Purpose: We propose that constant exposure to advances in technology has resulted in an implicit association between technology and success that has conditioned decision makers to be overly optimistic about the potential for technology to drive successful outcomes. Three studies examine this phenomenon and explore the boundaries of this “technology effect.” Design/Methodology/Approach: In Study 1, participants (N = 147) made simulated investment decisions where the information about technology was systematically varied. In Study 2 (N = 143), participants made decisions in a resource dilemma where technology was implicated in determining the amount of a resource available for harvest. Study 3 (N = 53 and N = 60) used two implicit association tests to examine the assumption that people associate technology with success. Findings: Results supported our assumption about an implicit association between technology and success, as well as a “technology effect” bias in decision making. Signals of high performance trigger the effect, and the effect is more likely when the technology invoked is unfamiliar. Implications: Excessive optimism that technology will result in success can have negative consequences. Individual investment decisions, organizational decisions to invest in R&D, and societal decisions to explore energy and climate change solutions might all be impacted by biased beliefs about the promise of technology. Originality/Value: We are the first to systematically examine the optimistic bias in the technology effect, its scope, and boundaries. This research raises decision makers’ awareness and initiates research examining how the abstract notion of technology can influence perceptions of technological advances

Laboratory Assessment of \u3cem\u3eBeauveria bassiana\u3c/em\u3e (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) strain GHA for Control of \u3cem\u3eListronotus maculicollis\u3c/em\u3e (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Adults

Bioassays were designed to evaluate Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin strain GHA against Listronotus maculicollis (Kirby) adults. B. bassiana and its “inert” carrier oil in the product BotaniGard and the inert carrier oil alone provided 99 and 96% mortality, respectively, in petri dish assays 1 d after treatment when applied in 1 ml water. When the same treatments were applied in 0.5 ml of carrier water, mortality was only 1.4 and 0.7%, respectively, 1 d after treatment. After 10 d in petri dishes, B. bassiana and its inert carrier oil and the inert carrier oil alone applied in 0.5 ml water showed 77 and 9% mortality, respectively. When one-tenth the label dosage of B. bassiana and inert carrier oil was combined with neonicotinoids applied in 1 ml water, there were significant increases in weevil mortality over the neonicotinoids alone 1 d after treatment. When 88.7% of one-tenth the label dosage of inert carrier oil alone was combined with neonicotinoids clothianidin, imidacloprid, and dinotefuran applied in 1 ml water, there was also a significant increases (38%) with clothianidin in weevil mortality over clothianidin alone 1 d after treatment. B. bassiana and its inert carrier oil provided 28, 50, and 78% mortality at the highest label dosage and 47, 76, and 89% mortality at 4× the highest label dosage in turf plug assays at 7, 10, and 14 d after treatment. Addition of 5 or 20% MycoMax (a nutrient source for B. bassiana) did not significantly increase mortality

Strength and creep testing for artificial ground freezing

Artificial ground freezing (AGF) provides a means by which excavations can be given temporary or permanent structural support. It may also be used to control the movement of groundwater without the risk of pollution of potable aquifers. As AGF is called upon to strengthen ground at ever increasing depths, the design process needs to be adapted to account for the greater stresses encountered. In strong materials, the prime consideration is the short term strength of the materials and closed-form formulae can be used in design. In weaker materials, the time dependent creep behaviour of the frozen ground predominates and more complex analysis techniques have been devised (e. g. finite elements). Previous works in this field have been chiefly concerned with uniaxial states of stress. In this thesis, consideration is given to the problem of modelling creep under triaxial stress conditions. An introduction is followed by an outline of the general applications and design procedures currently used in ice wall design. Descriptions are then given of a selection of soils and weakly cemented rocks which have been incorporated into a programme of tests to investigate both short and long term strength behaviour. The apparatus available at the start of this project was suitable for uniaxial and low pressure triaxial tests only. Equipment subsequently developed to extend the confining pressure capability to 12 MPa, is described in detail. Short term strength tests show the increase in strength on freezing of ground materials is almost entirely due to the cohesion contributed by the ice matrix. Analysis of the creep test results leads to the development of a new empirically based triaxial creep equation for frozen soils. A sensitivity analysis of the parameters in this equation is followed by its application to a simplified design. Suggestions for further work in this field are included

Development of electrocardiogram intervals during growth of FVB/N neonate mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Electrocardiography remains the best diagnostic tool and therapeutic biomarker for a spectrum of pediatric diseases involving cardiac or autonomic nervous system defects. As genetic links to these disorders are established and transgenic mouse models produced in efforts to understand and treat them, there is a surprising lack of information on electrocardiograms (ECGs) and ECG abnormalities in neonate mice. This is likely due to the trauma and anaesthesia required of many legacy approaches to ECG recording in mice, exacerbated by the fragility of many mutant neonates. Here, we use a non-invasive system to characterize development of the heart rate and electrocardiogram throughout the growth of conscious neonate FVB/N mice.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We examine ECG waveforms as early as two days after birth. At this point males and females demonstrate comparable heart rates that are 50% lower than adult mice. Neonatal mice exhibit very low heart rate variability. Within 12 days of birth PR, QRS and QTc interval durations are near adult values while heart rate continues to increase until weaning. Upon weaning FVB/N females quickly develop slower heart rates than males, though PR intervals are comparable between sexes until a later age. This suggests separate developmental events may contribute to these gender differences in electrocardiography.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We provide insight with a new level of detail to the natural course of heart rate establishment in neonate mice. ECG can now be conveniently and repeatedly used in neonatal mice. This should serve to be of broad utility, facilitating further investigations into development of a diverse group of diseases and therapeutics in preclinical mouse studies.</p

Timing recovery after the cretaceous/paleogene boundary: evidence from Brazos River, Texas

As part of an on-going re-assessment of the Cretaceous/ Paleogene boundary in the Brazos River area, Falls County, Texas, a number of new exposures have been described. One of these, at River Bank South, provides a near continuous record of the lowermost Paleocene. It is from this succession that stable isotope analysis of bulk organic matter (δ13C and C/N) and mono-specific samples of the benthic foraminifera Lenticulina rotulata Lamarck (δ18O and δ13C) yields an orbitally-tuned stable isotope record, which allows the timing of events adjacent to the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary to be determined. Using this cyclicity, it is suggested that the on-set of biotic recovery began ∼40,000 years after the impact (near the base of Zone Pα) and that more significant recovery of planktic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils began close to the base of Zone P1a, some 85,000–100,000 years post-impact. The data also appear to record the presence of the earliest Paleocene DAN-C2 and Lower C29n hyperthermal events and that these events appear to be an accentuated segment of this orbital cyclicity

Block Ionomer Complexes Consisting of siRNA and \u3ci\u3ea\u3c/i\u3eRAFT-Synthesized Hydrophilic-\u3ci\u3eBlock\u3c/i\u3e-Cationic Copolymers II: The Influence of Cationic Block Charge Density on Gene Suppression

Block ionomer complex (BIC)–siRNA interactions and effectiveness in cell transfection are reported. Aqueous RAFT polymerization was used to prepare a series of hydrophilic-block-cationic copolymers in which the cationic block statistically incorporates increasing amounts of neutral, hydrophilic monomer such that the number of cationic groups remains unchanged but the cationic charge density is diluted along the polymer backbone. Reduced charge density decreases the electrostatic binding strength between copolymers and siRNA with the goal of improving siRNA release after targeted cellular delivery. However, lower binding strength resulted in decreased transfection and RNA interference pathway activation, leading to reduced gene knockdown. Enzymatic siRNA degradation studies with BICs indicated lowered binding strength increases susceptibility to RNases, which is the likely cause for poor gene knockdown

Adjusting for sampling variability in sparse data: geostatistical approaches to disease mapping

Abstract Background Disease maps of crude rates from routinely collected health data indexed at a small geographical resolution pose specific statistical problems due to the sparse nature of the data. Spatial smoothers allow areas to borrow strength from neighboring regions to produce a more stable estimate of the areal value. Geostatistical smoothers are able to quantify the uncertainty in smoothed rate estimates without a high computational burden. In this paper, we introduce a uniform model extension of Bayesian Maximum Entropy (UMBME) and compare its performance to that of Poisson kriging in measures of smoothing strength and estimation accuracy as applied to simulated data and the real data example of HIV infection in North Carolina. The aim is to produce more reliable maps of disease rates in small areas to improve identification of spatial trends at the local level. Results In all data environments, Poisson kriging exhibited greater smoothing strength than UMBME. With the simulated data where the true latent rate of infection was known, Poisson kriging resulted in greater estimation accuracy with data that displayed low spatial autocorrelation, while UMBME provided more accurate estimators with data that displayed higher spatial autocorrelation. With the HIV data, UMBME performed slightly better than Poisson kriging in cross-validatory predictive checks, with both models performing better than the observed data model with no smoothing. Conclusions Smoothing methods have different advantages depending upon both internal model assumptions that affect smoothing strength and external data environments, such as spatial correlation of the observed data. Further model comparisons in different data environments are required to provide public health practitioners with guidelines needed in choosing the most appropriate smoothing method for their particular health dataset

A Comparison of the Accessibility of Three Neighborhoods’ Institutions and Amenities in Frederick, MD

Frederick is a city of neighborhoods. We studied three neighborhoods in the southern part of the City: Downtown—the area of downtown Frederick, South—the area to the immediate south and west of downtown, and West—the area west of the Frederick Bypass anchored by the Golden Mile and US-40. We based our analysis on the institutions and amenities present in each neighborhood. Institutions were landmarks or structures of civic nature such as schools, banks, churches, and parks, while amenities were necessities or conveniences such as groceries, retail, or service areas. We determined the boundaries of the neighborhoods by mapping the locations of institutions and amenities within the City and observing how they were geographically organized, then using differences in the age of the buildings in those areas as well as physical barriers between them to designate borders. We then studied selected social, demographic, and economic characteristics of the neighborhoods. These were age, income, race, and household size. We found that households tended to consist of fewer people closer to downtown Frederick, the youngest and most racially diverse areas were along the Golden Mile, the oldest and least diverse were in downtown Frederick and west of downtown, and income levels throughout the study area can be seen as having a bi-centric distribution. We also administered a survey in person at three locations within the City. Survey questions explored how often respondents visited amenities and institutions, and what form of transportation they used to get to those places. Respondents indicated that convenience stores were the type of service they used the most often, most trips they took to such destinations were less than five miles, and the mode of transportation they chose depended on their destination. Large numbers of respondents indicated support for bike lanes, traffic abatement, and crosswalks. Three recommendations result from this analysis: add bike lanes wherever possible; improve walkability; implement policies to encourage the opening of a grocery store within downtown Frederick. In the future, appropriate areas of research to extend this study may include bicyclist and pedestrian counts at key locations to guide bicycle and pedestrian policy within the City, a thorough assessment of the City’s public transportation system, and a review of neighborhood zoning to determine whether it reflects a desirable and functional land use pattern.The City of Frederic