COMMUNITY SERVICE INTIATIVES OF MEDICAL STUDENTS

This Honors Capstone Project focuses on community service projects of medical students. Extensive research was done on the types of community service programs that exist in medical schools. The types of programs were divided into four different categories representing the various ways that schools conduct their community service initiatives. Schools may have multiple types of programs, and a combination of any of these programs is offered at many institutions. This project also examines nationally recognized programs and the awards received for excellence in community service initiatives. The study was completed in collaboration with SUNY Upstate Medical University (UMU). A close examination was made of UMU’s community service initiatives. The students’ interests and experiences have been captured through two surveys administered eight months apart. The surveys asked first and second year students questions relating to their awareness, interest, and involvement in volunteer activities. The two surveys were identical with the exception of four additional questions on the second survey relating to community service initiative informative activities put on by Upstate within the eight months. The information obtained from the surveys will be given to UMU in order to evaluate the effect of their community service programs. Overall, there was only a small change between the responses from the first and second survey. There was an increase was observed in students’ awareness of volunteer opportunities. A slight increased interest in volunteering was found between the first year class in 2007 (class of 2010) and the first year class who completed the survey in 2008 (class of 2011). A majority of students who took either survey expressed interest in more volunteer opportunities being offered at UMU. A little over two thirds of the students who completed the surveys volunteer their time while at Upstate. There was a small increase in volunteering found between the eight months indicating success of the community service initiatives program. Based on the findings and comments made by students, a list of recommendations for UMU has been complied in order to suggest ways to enhance the community service initiatives offered. These recommendations include: a website, community service initiative presentations at orientations and pamphlet mailings to new students, speaking about community service initiatives during interviews of perspective students, and eventually integrating community service into the curriculum

A Variational Principle for the Asymptotic Speed of Fronts of the Density Dependent Diffusion--Reaction Equation

We show that the minimal speed for the existence of monotonic fronts of the equation $u_t = (u^m)_{xx} + f(u)$ with $f(0) = f(1) = 0$, $m >1$ and $f>0$ in $(0,1)$ derives from a variational principle. The variational principle allows to calculate, in principle, the exact speed for arbitrary $f$. The case $m=1$ when $f'(0)=0$ is included as an extension of the results.Comment: Latex, postcript figure availabl

Magnetotransport in the low carrier density ferromagnet EuB_6

We present a magnetotransport study of the low--carrier density ferromagnet EuB_6. This semimetallic compound, which undergoes two ferromagnetic transitions at T_l = 15.3 K and T_c = 12.5 K, exhibits close to T_l a colossal magnetoresistivity (CMR). We quantitatively compare our data to recent theoretical work, which however fails to explain our observations. We attribute this disagreement with theory to the unique type of magnetic polaron formation in EuB_6.Comment: Conference contribution MMM'99, San Jos

Erosion waves: transverse instabilities and fingering

Two laboratory scale experiments of dry and under-water avalanches of non-cohesive granular materials are investigated. We trigger solitary waves and study the conditions under which the front is transversally stable. We show the existence of a linear instability followed by a coarsening dynamics and finally the onset of a fingering pattern. Due to the different operating conditions, both experiments strongly differ by the spatial and time scales involved. Nevertheless, the quantitative agreement between the stability diagram, the wavelengths selected and the avalanche morphology reveals a common scenario for an erosion/deposition process.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, submitted to PR

Superconductivity in La₂Ni₂In

We report here the properties of single crystals of La2Ni2In. Electrical resistivity and specific heat measurements concur with the results of density functional theory calculations, finding that La2Ni2In is a weakly correlated metal, where the Ni magnetism is almost completely quenched, leaving only a weak Stoner enhancement of the density of states. Superconductivity is observed at temperatures below 0.9 K. A detailed analysis of the field and temperature dependencies of the resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat at the lowest temperatures reveals that La2Ni2In is a dirty type-II superconductor with likely s-wave gap symmetry. Nanoclusters of ferromagnetic inclusions significantly affect the subgap states resulting in a nonexponential temperature dependence of the specific heat C(T) at T ≪ Tc