Play Your Cards Right: Creating a Library Orientation Game (poster)

A team of four librarians and staff drew upon previous experience with game-based learning to develop an orientation activity for transfer students. Apples to Apples -style cards were created using a free online card generator. The game exposed transfer students to information about the campus library system in a low-key way that allowed players with different knowledge levels to socialize and compete against one another on an equal basis

Apple Slices: A Card-Matching Party Game about the Library

Inspired by the popular party games Apples to Apples and Cards Against Humanity, this is a fun and flexible small group activity developed for use in library orientation sessions

Building the Deck: Creating a Library Card Game for Outreach to Transfer Students (poster)

University librarians and staff drew upon previous experience with game-based learning to develop an orientation activity for transfer students. A card game was selected due to the large number of students expected and lack of computers in the available space. Apples to Apples-style cards were created using a free online card generator. Multiple decks were printed to accommodate up to 150 players. The game exposed transfer students to information about the campus library system in a low-key way that allowed players with different knowledge levels to socialize and compete against one another on an equal basis

The Masses of Transition Circumstellar Disks: Observational Support for Photoevaporation Models

We report deep Sub-Millimeter Array observations of 26 pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars with evolved inner disks. These observations measure the mass of the outer disk (r ~20-100 AU) across every stage of the dissipation of the inner disk (r < 10 AU) as determined by the IR spectral energy distributions (SEDs). We find that only targets with high mid-IR excesses are detected and have disk masses in the 1-5 M_Jup range, while most of our objects remain undetected to sensitivity levels of M_DISK ~0.2-1.5 M_Jup. To put these results in a more general context, we collected publicly available data to construct the optical to millimeter wavelength SEDs of over 120 additional PMS stars. We find that the near-IR and mid-IR emission remain optically thick in objects whose disk masses span 2 orders of magnitude (~0.5-50 M_Jup). Taken together, these results imply that, in general, inner disks start to dissipate only after the outer disk has been significantly depleted of mass. This provides strong support for photoevaporation being one of the dominant processes driving disk evolution.Comment: Accepted for publication by ApJL, 4 pages and 3 figure

Numerical solution of the Giesekus model for incompressible free surface flows without solvent viscosity

We present a numerical method for solving the Giesekus model without solvent viscosity. This paper is concerned with incompressible two-dimensional free surface flows and employs the finite difference method to solve the governing equations. The methodology involves solving the momentum equation using the implicit Euler scheme and an implicit technique for computing the pressure condition on the free surface. The nonlinear Giesekus constitutive equation is computed by a second order Runge–Kutta method. A novel analytic solution for channel flow is developed and is used to verify the numerical technique presented herein. Mesh refinement studies establish the convergence of the method for complex free surface flows. To demonstrate that the technique can deal with complicated free surface flows, the time-dependent flow produced by a fluid jet flowing onto a rigid surface is simulated and the influence of the parameter α on the jet buckling phenomenon is investigated. In addition, the simulation of the extrudate swell of a Giesekus fluid was carried out and the effect of the parameter α on the flow was similarly examined

Revisiting carbonate chemistry controls on planktic foraminifera Mg / Ca:implications for sea surface temperature and hydrology shifts over the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum and Eocene-Oligocene transition

Much of our knowledge of past ocean temperatures comes from the foraminifera Mg / Ca palaeothermometer. Several nonthermal controls on foraminifera Mg incorporation have been identified, of which vital effects, salinity, and secular variation in seawater Mg / Ca are the most commonly considered. Ocean carbonate chemistry is also known to influence Mg / Ca, yet this is rarely examined as a source of uncertainty, either because (1) precise pH and [CO32−] reconstructions are sparse or (2) it is not clear from existing culture studies how a correction should be applied. We present new culture data of the relationship between carbonate chemistry and Mg / Ca for the surface-dwelling planktic species Globigerinoides ruber and compare our results to data compiled from existing studies. We find a coherent relationship between Mg / Ca and the carbonate system and argue that pH rather than [CO32−] is likely to be the dominant control. Applying these new calibrations to data sets for the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and Eocene–Oligocene transition (EOT) enables us to produce a more accurate picture of surface hydrology change for the former and a reassessment of the amount of subtropical precursor cooling for the latter. We show that pH-adjusted Mg / Ca and δ18O data sets for the PETM are within error of no salinity change and that the amount of precursor cooling over the EOT has been previously underestimated by  ∼ 2 °C based on Mg / Ca. Finally, we present new laser-ablation data of EOT-age Turborotalia ampliapertura from St. Stephens Quarry (Alabama), for which a solution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) Mg / Ca record is available (Wade et al., 2012). We show that the two data sets are in excellent agreement, demonstrating that fossil solution and laser-ablation data may be directly comparable. Together with an advancing understanding of the effect of Mg / Casw, the coherent picture of the relationship between Mg / Ca and pH that we outline here represents a step towards producing accurate and quantitative palaeotemperatures using this proxy

The promise and peril of genomic screening in the general population

Utilization of sequencing to screen the general population for preventable monogenic conditions is receiving substantial attention due to its potential to decrease morbidity and mortality. However, the selection of which variants to return is a serious implementation challenge. Procedures must be investigated to ensure optimal test characteristics and avoidance of harm from false positive test results

Nutrient contamination from non-point sources: Dissolved nitrate and ammonium in surface and subsurface waters at EKU Meadowbrook Farm, Madison County, Kentucky

Agricultural activities often contaminate watersheds with excess nutrients leading to poor water quality and eutrophication. We assayed dissolved nutrient levels in surface and subsurface waters of Eastern Kentucky University’s Meadowbrook Farm in order to assess levels of dissolved nutrients leaving its farmland and draining into the Muddy Creek watershed. The Farm raises both crops and livestock so that nutrient sources include fertilizer and manure. We sampled springs, runoff, and subsurface pipe drainage as well as Muddy Creek on six days from May to August 2016 under a variety of weather conditions. Using established, standard colorimetric methods, we measured nitrate (NO3-; cadmium reduction method) and ammonium (NH4+; sodium hypochlorate method) via spectrophotometry with a precision and accuracy of ~0.1 mg/L. Nitrate was the dominant dissolved nitrogen species whereas ammonium was often absent in water samples. Nitrate levels were typically \u3c2 mg/L N- N- NO3 with the largest values between 7.0 and 14.3 mg/L. Springs and some runoff samples had higher nitrate values. Ammonium generally ranged between 0.0 and 0.5 mg/L N- NH4 with concentration spikes between 2.0 and 4.3 mg/L, but from no consistent source. Dissolved nitrogen concentration values responded to rainfall. Generally, nitrate concentrations increased more than ammonium concentrations during wetter periods. Spring samples maintained higher nitrogen concentrations regardless of different rainfall conditions. Lastly, nitrate contamination was significantly lower than composite national values from streams draining agricultural lands, whereas ammonium was about equal to the median national average. Median nitrate concentration was ~1.8 mg/L N- NO3 compared to the national value of ~2.8 mg/L, whereas the value for pristine streams is 0.24 mg/L N- NO3 (Dubrovsky et al., 2010). Median ammonium values from both data sets are ~0.1 mg/L N- NH4; the national value from pristine streams is ~0.025 mg/L N

Nutrient contamination from non-point sources: Dissolved phosphate in surface and subsurface waters at EKU Meadowbrook Farm, Madison County, Kentucky

Farms are non-point sources for nutrient contaminants that drain into watersheds and contribute to eutrophication and other environmental problems. Eastern Kentucky University’s Meadowbrook Farm raises both crops and livestock, causing dissolved phosphorus in the form of orthophosphate (PO43-) from fertilizer and animal manure to enter surface and subsurface waters, eventually flowing into Muddy Creek, a tributary of the Kentucky River. We sampled surface water, springs, and water from French drains that emanate from the farm, and also sampled Muddy Creek waters from May through August 2016. Typically, 1 to 2 days after sampling, we colorimetrically measured dissolved orthophosphate concentration using the established ascorbic acid method and a UV-VIS spectrophotometer with general accuracy and precision of ~0.1 mg/L, or ppm. Phosphate values measured from the farm are less than those measured nationally from agricultural lands. The median value of orthophosphate from Farm waters was 0.02 mg/L P-PO4, but nationally the level is ~0.1 mg/L P-PO4; pristine water display 0.010 mg/L P-PO4. Phosphate concentrations are also low when compared to nitrate usually ranging from 0 to 0.2 mg/L P-PO4 with higher concentrations of 0.5 to 2.7 mg/L P-PO4 occurring sporadically. With minor exceptions, we saw little difference in phosphate concentration between different sample sources whether spring water, water from subsurface drains, surface waters flowing over the Farm, or Muddy Creek waters. However, one sub-watershed draining the Farm had increased levels of phosphate on 24 May (2.7 mg/L P-PO4). Overall patterns of phosphate concentration were similar whether sampling during periods with little or no rainfall, or periods following rain events. An exception occurred on 24 June, when overland waters of the same sub-watershed mentioned above had a value of 0.5 mg/L, immediately following a significant rain event