Hydrostatic extrusion of BSCCO/Ag composite wire

The application of hydrostatic extrusion processing to composite wire fabrication offers several advantages over conventional reduction techniques. These include enhanced uniformity, increased reduction capability, and successful extrusion of normally brittle materials. Specifically, this work involved an experiment to screen the effects of seven extrusion process parameters on the uniformity and density of as-extruded BSCCO-core wire, and the required extrusion pressure. Results suggest the following factors to be potentially significant: (1) back pressure, extrusion ratio, and die angle on core uniformity, (2) packing method, extrusion ratio, silver powder additions, and temperature on density, and (3) extrusion ratio and temperature on extrusion pressure

Fish Bioenergetics 4.0: An R‐Based Modeling Application

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141352/1/fsh0586.pd

A Signature of Maternal Anti-Fetal Rejection in Spontaneous Preterm Birth: Chronic Chorioamnionitis, Anti-Human Leukocyte Antigen Antibodies, and C4d

Chronic chorioamnionitis is found in more than one-third of spontaneous preterm births. Chronic chorioamnionitis and villitis of unknown etiology represent maternal anti-fetal cellular rejection. Antibody-mediated rejection is another type of transplantation rejection. We investigated whether there was evidence for antibody-mediated rejection against the fetus in spontaneous preterm birth.This cross-sectional study included women with (1) normal pregnancy and term delivery (n = 140) and (2) spontaneous preterm delivery (n = 140). We analyzed maternal and fetal sera for panel-reactive anti-HLA class I and class II antibodies, and determined C4d deposition on umbilical vein endothelium by immunohistochemistry. Maternal anti-HLA class I seropositivity in spontaneous preterm births was higher than in normal term births (48.6% vs. 32.1%, p = 0.005). Chronic chorioamnionitis was associated with a higher maternal anti-HLA class I seropositivity (p<0.01), significant in preterm and term birth. Villitis of unknown etiology was associated with increased maternal and fetal anti-HLA class I and II seropositivity (p<0.05, for each). Fetal anti-HLA seropositivity was closely related to maternal anti-HLA seropositivity in both groups (p<0.01, for each). C4d deposition on umbilical vein endothelium was more frequent in preterm labor than term labor (77.1% vs. 11.4%, p<0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that chronic chorioamnionitis (OR = 6.10, 95% CI 1.29–28.83), maternal anti-HLA class I seropositivity (OR = 5.90, 95% CI 1.60–21.83), and C4d deposition on umbilical vein endothelium (OR = 36.19, 95% CI 11.42–114.66) were associated with preterm labor and delivery.A major subset of spontaneous preterm births has a signature of maternal anti-fetal cellular and antibody-mediated rejections with links to fetal graft-versus-host disease and alloimmune reactions

Test Development Center Update

The Florida Department of Education’s Test Development Center will present information on the role of the Test Development Center and the process of item development. Discussion will include how educators can use FSA portal, practice items, test item specifications, implications of HB 7069, concordant and comparative scores, future test release, and other tools found on the FSA portal and FDOE website

Is Iowa making the grade?: An assessment of K-12 health education programs in public schools

There is great potential for health education, when facilitated well in public schools, to provide future leaders with the knowledge and literacy tools needed to improve health. The focus of this research was to explore the challenges faced in teaching and supporting health education in Iowa public schools. It is the intent of this study to further understand what Iowa health education teachers and district administrators perceive as barriers to successfully facilitating a robust health education program. For this study, semistructured interviews were used to further understand the lived experiences of health education teachers and curriculum directors in Iowa public schools. The interviews captured how these experiences impact student learning. They were designed to illustrate current health education and district administrative support to better understand the learning conditions in the health education classroom. The research offers many implications for health education teachers, school district administrators, policy makers, and stakeholders at all levels. The data collected from this study could assist school district administrators and health education teachers in understanding the barriers associated with facilitating a solid health education program and offer suggestions for improving public health education. The various groups could use this information to look critically at the impact of a strong health education program and to improve the level of health literacy in their students

Nitrogen Recovery and Loss from Kentucky Bluegrass Fertilized by Conventional or Enhanced-Efficiency Urea Granules

Easy handling and low unit N cost make prilled urea (46-0-0) a popular fertilizer. While incomplete recovery of granular urea applications by turfgrass is documented, field evaluations of NH3 volatilization mitigation by coatings or bioinhibitor efficiency enhancements are limited. Meanwhile, NH3 emissions reduce air quality and contribute to nutrient loading of water resources. Our objectives were to quantify 3- and 6-d ammonia emission and 9-week turfgrass recovery of unincorporated granular fertilizer application to turfgrass. In 2014 and 2015, commercial urea-N fertilizers were broadcast over a mature Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L. &lsquo;Midnight&rsquo;) lawn at 43 kg ha&minus;1. Treatments included conventional urea and three enhanced-efficiency fertilizers; a blended fertilizer with 25% of its urea-N supplanted by polymer- and polymer-/sulfur-coated prills, or two stabilized urea fertilizers both amended by N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) and dicyandiamide (DCD) inhibitors. Using a 51% &lsquo;trapping-efficiency&rsquo; flux chamber system under the field conditions described, 23.1 or 33.5% of the conventional urea-N was lost as NH3 over the respective 3- or 6-d period following application. Alternatively, dual amendment by NBPT and DCD resulted in approximately 10.3 or 19.6% NH3-N loss over the respective 3- or 6-d periods, and greater fertilizer-N recovery by the turfgrass over the 9-week experiments