Assembling a Successful Industry-Sponsored Senior Capstone Program – Lessons Learned From a Startup Effort at a Liberal Arts University

A medium-sized (around 4000 students) liberal arts university recently began a general engineering program. The program’s first graduating class was in May 2016, and the program obtained initial ABET accreditation in August 2017. Entering the 2015-2016 academic year, program faculty envisioned a capstone design experience that would engage student teams in a year-long, professional level design project sponsored by an industry client. The first two years of the capstone design program have been inarguably successful, and in this paper we identify and reflect on the keys to our success. The intention for writing this paper is to ensure the success of the program is repeatable, and to assist other programs, especially those residing in small liberal arts universities, in starting or revising their own senior design experience. Our key factors in assembling a successful industry-sponsored capstone design program have been: (1) faculty buy-in and involvement, (2) engaged industry partners, (3) our teaming and project assignment strategy, (4) flexibility to address curricular concerns in program, and (5) building a corporate-like environment within the classroom. Early indicators of success include formal feedback from industry partners, feedback from our program’s industrial advisory board, and job placement of our program graduates

Editorial: brain, mind and educational technology

There has been substantial hype around the growing body of research investigating how learning occurs in the brain. Over the last century, in particular, we have learned more about how the brain functions than has been discovered throughout history (Albright, Jessell, Kandel & Posner, 2000). New imaging techniques, such as electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), have been pivotal in driving this research agenda. The emergence of the field of cognitive neuroscience has further helped to align foundational work on uncovering how the brain works with what is known about learning from the psychological sciences. In combination with education, new fields such as ‘educational neuroscience’ have emerged with the aim of translating the findings from the laboratory to the classroom (e.g. Ansari, Coch & De Smedt, 2011)

Health screenings administered during the domestic medical examination of refugees and other eligible immigrants in nine US states, 2014-2016: A cross-sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND: Refugees and other select visa holders are recommended to receive a domestic medical examination within 90 days after arrival to the United States. Limited data have been published on the coverage of screenings offered during this examination across multiple resettlement states, preventing evaluation of this voluntary program\u27s potential impact on postarrival refugee health. This analysis sought to calculate and compare screening proportions among refugees and other eligible populations to assess the domestic medical examination\u27s impact on screening coverage resulting from this examination. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis to summarize and compare domestic medical examination data from January 2014 to December 2016 from persons receiving a domestic medical examination in seven states (California, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Kentucky, Illinois, and Texas); one county (Marion County, Indiana); and one academic medical center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We analyzed screening coverage by sex, age, nationality, and country of last residence of persons and compared the proportions of persons receiving recommended screenings by those characteristics. We received data on disease screenings for 105,541 individuals who received a domestic medical examination; 47% were female and 51.5% were between the ages of 18 and 44. The proportions of people undergoing screening tests for infectious diseases were high, including for tuberculosis (91.6% screened), hepatitis B (95.8% screened), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; 80.3% screened). Screening rates for other health conditions were lower, including mental health (36.8% screened). The main limitation of our analysis was reliance on data that were collected primarily for programmatic rather than surveillance purposes. CONCLUSIONS: In this analysis, we observed high rates of screening coverage for tuberculosis, hepatitis B, and HIV during the domestic medical examination and lower screening coverage for mental health. This analysis provided evidence that the domestic medical examination is an opportunity to ensure newly arrived refugees and other eligible populations receive recommended health screenings and are connected to the US healthcare system. We also identified knowledge gaps on how screenings are conducted for some conditions, notably mental health, identifying directions for future research

Health of Special Immigrant Visa holders from Iraq and Afghanistan after arrival into the United States using Domestic Medical Examination data, 2014-2016: A cross-sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND: Since 2008, the United States has issued between 2,000 and 19,000 Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) annually, with the majority issued to applicants from Iraq and Afghanistan. SIV holders (SIVH) are applicants who were employed by, or on behalf of, the US government or the US military. There is limited information about health conditions in SIV populations to help guide US clinicians caring for SIVH. Thus, we sought to describe health characteristics of recently arrived SIVH from Iraq and Afghanistan who were seen for domestic medical examinations. METHODS AND FINDINGS: This cross-sectional analysis included data from Iraqi and Afghan SIVH who received a domestic medical examination from January 2014 to December 2016. Data were gathered from state refugee health programs in seven states (California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, New York, and Texas), one county, and one academic medical center and included 6,124 adults and 4,814 children. Data were collected for communicable diseases commonly screened for during the exam, including tuberculosis (TB), hepatitis B, hepatitis C, malaria, strongyloidiasis, schistosomiasis, other intestinal parasites, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and human immunodeficiency virus, as well as elevated blood lead levels (EBLL). We investigated the frequency and proportion of diseases and whether there were any differences in selected disease prevalence in SIVH from Iraq compared to SIVH from Afghanistan. A majority of SIV adults were male (Iraqi 54.0%, Afghan 58.6%) and aged 18-44 (Iraqi 86.0%, Afghan 97.7%). More SIV children were male (Iraqi 56.2%, Afghan 52.2%) and aged 6-17 (Iraqi 50.2%, Afghan 40.7%). The average age of adults was 29.7 years, and the average age for children was 5.6 years. Among SIV adults, 14.4% were diagnosed with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), 63.5% were susceptible to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, and 31.0% had at least one intestinal parasite. Afghan adults were more likely to have LTBI (prevalence ratio [PR]: 2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5-2.7) and to be infected with HBV (PR: 4.6; 95% CI 3.6-6.0) than Iraqi adults. Among SIV children, 26.7% were susceptible to HBV infection, 22.1% had at least one intestinal parasite, and 50.1% had EBLL (≥5 mcg/dL). Afghan children were more likely to have a pathogenic intestinal parasite (PR: 2.7; 95% CI 2.4-3.2) and EBLL (PR: 2.0; 95% CI 1.5-2.5) than Iraqi children. Limitations of the analysis included lack of uniform health screening data collection across all nine sites and possible misclassification by clinicians of Iraqi and Afghan SIVH as Iraqi and Afghan refugees, respectively. CONCLUSION: In this analysis, we observed that 14% of SIV adults had LTBI, 27% of SIVH had at least one intestinal parasite, and about half of SIV children had EBLL. Most adults were susceptible to HBV. In general, prevalence of infection was higher for most conditions among Afghan SIVH compared to Iraqi SIVH. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines for the US Domestic Medical Examination for Newly Arriving Refugees can assist state public health departments and clinicians in the care of SIVH during the domestic medical examination. Future analyses can explore other aspects of health among resettled SIV populations, including noncommunicable diseases and vaccination coverage

Percepta Genomic Sequencing Classifier and decision-making in patients with high-risk lung nodules: A decision impact study

BACKGROUND: Incidental and screening-identified lung nodules are common, and a bronchoscopic evaluation is frequently nondiagnostic. The Percepta Genomic Sequencing Classifier (GSC) is a genomic classifier developed in current and former smokers which can be used for further risk stratification in these patients. Percepta GSC has the capability of up-classifying patients with a pre-bronchoscopy risk that is high (\u3e 60%) to very high risk with a positive predictive value of 91.5%. This prospective, randomized decision impact survey was designed to test the hypothesis that an up-classification of risk of malignancy from high to very high will increase the rate of referral for surgical or ablative therapy without additional intervening procedures while increasing physician confidence. METHODS: Data were collected from 37 cases from the Percepta GSC validation cohort in which the pre-bronchoscopy risk of malignancy was high (\u3e 60%), the bronchoscopy was nondiagnostic, and the patient was up-classified to very high risk by Percepta GSC. The cases were randomly presented to U.S pulmonologists in three formats: a pre-post cohort where each case is presented initially without and then with a GSG result, and two independent cohorts where each case is presented either with or without with a GSC result. Physicians were surveyed with respect to subsequent management steps and confidence in that decision. RESULTS: One hundred and one survey takers provided a total of 1341 evaluations of the 37 patient cases across the three different cohorts. The rate of recommendation for surgical resection was significantly higher in the independent cohort with a GSC result compared to the independent cohort without a GSC result (45% vs. 17%, p \u3c 0.001) In the pre-post cross-over cohort, the rate increased from 17 to 56% (p \u3c 0.001) following the review of the GSC result. A GSC up-classification from high to very high risk of malignancy increased Pulmonologists\u27 confidence in decision-making following a nondiagnostic bronchoscopy. CONCLUSIONS: Use of the Percepta GSC classifier will allow more patients with early lung cancer to proceed more rapidly to potentially curative therapy while decreasing unnecessary intervening diagnostic procedures following a nondiagnostic bronchoscopy

The Grizzly, February 2, 1979

Frat Beating Draws Administrative Fire • New Frat Gathers Steam • Holiday Thefts: Negligence or Lack of Concern? • In Memoriam • Judiciary Board Revival • Cultural Kaleidoscope • Letters to the Editor: Snack shop complaint • Roving Reporter: Greaseband opinions • Dishroom Profile: Roy Schuetz, Man or Myth? • Grease Is The Word • Nicolette Larson Debuts In Style • USGA Elections • Portrait of the Professor: Dr. Conrad E. Kruse • Raquetball Review • Bio Club Spawned • R.A. Applications Available; Ruby Seeks Editor • Gymnasts Place Third In Tourney • Bears Turning Corner • Slavin Breaks Record Mermaids Lose • Wrestlers Manhandle Mules • Badminton Drops Onehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1011/thumbnail.jp

Bowman Birk Inhibitor Concentrate and Oral Leukoplakia: A Randomized Phase IIb Trial

Oral premalignancy serves as an ideal model for study of chemopreventive agents. Although 13-cis-retinoic acid showed reversal of oral premalignancy, toxicity, and reversal of clinical response after cessation of therapy obviated its widespread use. A search for nontoxic agents with cancer preventive activity led us to evaluate Bowman Birk Inhibitor (BBI) formulated as BBI Concentrate (BBIC). We previously reported encouraging results in a phase IIa trial of BBIC in patients with oral leukoplakia with measurable clinical responses and favorable biomarker changes. On the basis of these results, we undertook a randomized, placebo controlled phase IIb trial with patients receiving BBIC or placebo for 6 months, with assessment of clinical response and change in lesion area as primary end point and an intent-to-treat analysis. One hundred and thirty two subjects were randomized; and 89 subjects completed six months on study drug or placebo. Both placebo and BBIC showed a statistically significant decrease in mean lesion area of 17.1% and 20.6%, respectively, and partial or greater clinical responses of 30% and 28% respectively. No significant difference between placebo and study drug arms was observed. Histologic review, review of photographs of lesions, and comparison of serum neu protein and oral mucosal cell protease activity also did not show significant differences between study arms. Probable reasons for these negative results were considered, are discussed, and include a placebo with non-BBIC clinical activity and reduced pharmacokinetic availability of the second batch of BBIC. This experience should be a strong cautionary note to those considering Green chemoprevention. © 2013 AACR

A Spitzer Census of Transitional Protoplanetary Disks with AU-Scale Inner Holes

[abridged] Protoplanetary disks with AU-scale inner clearings, often referred to as transitional disks, provide a unique sample for understanding disk dissipation mechanisms and possible connections to planet formation. Observations of young stellar clusters with the Spitzer Space Telescope have amassed mid-infrared spectral energy distributions for thousands of star-disk systems from which transition disks can be identified. From a sample of 8 relatively nearby young regions (d <= 400 pc), we have identified about 20 such objects, which we term "classical" transition disks, spanning a wide range of stellar age and mass. We also identified two additional categories representing more ambiguous cases: "warm excess" objects with transition-like spectral energy distributions but moderate excess at 5.8 microns, and "weak excess" objects with smaller 24 micron excess that may be optically thin or exhibit advanced dust grain growth and settling. From existing Halpha emission measurements, we find evidence for different accretion activity among the three categories, with a majority of the classical and warm excess transition objects still accreting gas through their inner holes and onto the central stars, while a smaller fraction of the weak transition objects are accreting at detectable rates. We find a possible age dependence to the frequency of classical transition objects, with fractions relative to the total population of disks in a given region of a few percent at 1-2 Myr rising to 10-20% at 3-10 Myr. The trend is even stronger if the weak and warm excess objects are included. Classical transition disks appear to be less common, and weak transition disks more common, around lower-mass stars (M <= 0.3 Msun).Comment: 34 pages, 7 figures; accepted to Ap