Vortexing Off A Common Suction Header

This project is the first iteration of a testing rig to determine the critical submergence of a vortex off a main suction header. The rig was designed with supplies purchased and provided by PG&E, including 4-6” schedule 40 PVC pipe and fittings, a large water tank, a pump, and a flowmeter. PG&E at Diablo Canyon Power Plant presented their problem to the Cal Poly Mechanical Engineering Senior Project class, and three mechanical engineers took up the project. The following report details the ideation, design, build, and test processes used during the 2016-17 academic year to create the vortex testing rig. We determined through testing that the location of hydraulic jump can be influenced by how open or closed the branch line valve was, which in turn influenced when gas ingestion to the pump occurred

Innate Immunity Driven by Incoming Viral Polymerase

Faculty Adviser: Dr. Ryan LangloisThis research was supported by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

FRW Quantum Cosmology with a Generalized Chaplygin Gas

Cosmologies with a Chaplygin gas have recently been explored with the objective of explaining the transition from a dust dominated epoch towards an accelerating expansion stage. We consider the hypothesis that the transition to the accelerated period involves a quantum mechanical process. Three physically admissible cases are possible. In particular, we identify a minisuperspace configuration with two Lorentzian sectors, separated by a classically forbidden region. The Hartle-Hawking and Vilenkin wave functions are computed, together with the transition amplitudes towards the accelerating epoch. Furthermore, it is found that for specific initial conditions, the parameters characterizing the generalized Chaplygin gas become related through an expression involving an integer $n$. We also introduce a phenomenological association between some brane-world scenarios and a FRW minisuperspace cosmology with a generalized Chaplygin gas. The aim is to promote a discussion and subsequent research on the quantum creation of brane cosmologies from such a perspective. Results suggest that the brane tension would become related with generalized Chaplygin gas parameters through another expression involving an integer.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, RevTeX

Ketamine Reverses Lateral Habenula Neuronal Dysfunction and Behavioral Immobility in the Forced Swim Test Following Maternal Deprivation in Late Adolescent Rats

Mounting evidence suggests that the long-term effects of adverse early life stressors on vulnerability to drug addiction and mood disorders are related to dysfunction of brain monoaminergic signaling in reward circuits. Recently, there has been a growing interest in the lateral habenula (LHb) as LHb dysfunction is linked to the development of mental health disorders through monoaminergic dysregulation within brain reward/motivational circuits and may represent a critical target for novel anti-depressants, such as ketamine. Here, we show that maternal deprivation (MD), a severe early life stressor, increases LHb intrinsic excitability and LHb bursting activity, and is associated with the development of increased immobility in the forced swim test (FST) in late-adolescent male rats. A single in vivo injection of ketamine is sufficient to exert prolonged antidepressant effects through reversal of this early life stress-induced LHb neuronal dysfunction and the response in the FST. Our assessment of ketamine’s long-lasting beneficial effects on reversal of MD-associated changes in LHb neuronal function and behavior highlights the critical role of the LHb in pathophysiology of depression associated with severe early life stress and in response to novel fast-acting antidepressants

Forward Thinking and Adaptability to Sustain and Advance IPECP in Healthcare Transformation Following the COVID-19 Pandemic

The proliferation of the novel SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus across the globe in 2020 produced a shared trauma internationally of unprecedented devastation, disruption, and death. At the same time, the pandemic has been a transformation catalyst accelerating the implementation and adoption of long overdue changes in healthcare education and practice, including telehealth and virtual learning. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed healthcare at a crossroads, either viewing it as a temporary situation that requires short-term solutions, or as a major disruption that presents opportunities for innovation for sustainable development and transformation. As COVID-19 transitions from pandemic to endemic, we have a unique opportunity to leverage lessons learned that can foster healthcare transformation through innovation, forward thinking, and interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP). With the changing landscape of higher education and healthcare, IPECP leaders need to reflect on and implement ‘Forward Thinking and Adaptability’ and ‘Sustainability and Growth’ in their IPECP approaches and strategies to achieve the Quintuple Aim. To capitalize on this opportunity and based on a recent publication by InterprofessionalResearch Global, this paper explores and debates (from a global perspective) the impact and application of healthcare education and practice transformation on IPECP with the goal to identify best practices in integrating and sustaining IPECP and building a resilient workforce

Boson Stars: Alternatives to primordial black holes?

The present surge for the astrophysical relevance of boson stars stems from the speculative possibility that these compact objects could provide a considerable fraction of the non-baryonic part of dark matter within the halo of galaxies. For a very light `universal' axion of effective string models, their total gravitational mass will be in the most likely range of \sim 0.5 M_\odot of MACHOs. According to this framework, gravitational microlensing is indirectly ``weighing" the axion mass, resulting in \sim 10^{-10} eV/c^2. This conclusion is not changing much, if we use a dilaton type self-interaction for the bosons. Moreover, we review their formation, rotation and stability as likely candidates of astrophysical importance.Comment: 14 pages, uses REVTeX, 1 postscript figur

Observational Constraints on Dark Radiation in Brane Cosmology

We analyze the observational constraints on brane-world cosmology whereby the universe is described as a three-brane embedded in a five-dimensional anti-de Sitter space. In this brane-universe cosmology, the Friedmann equation is modified by the appearance of extra terms which derive from existence of the extra dimensions. In the present work we concentrate on the ``dark radiation'' term which diminishes with cosmic scale factor as $a^{-4}$. We show that, although the observational constraints from primordial abundances allow only a small contribution when this term is positive, a much wider range of negative values is allowed. Furthermore, such a negative contribution can reconcile the tension between the observed primordial \he4 and D abundances. We also discuss the possible constraints on this term from the power spectrum of CMB anisotropies in the limit of negligible cosmological perturbation on the brane world. We show that BBN limits the possible contribution from dark radiation just before the nucleosynthesis epoch to lie between -65% and $+5$ of the background photon energy density. Combining this with the CMB constraint reduces this range to between -24% and $+3.5$ at the $2\sigma$ confidence level.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PRD; this version includes the referee's suggestions, updated references, and an improved treatment of BBN model uncertaintie

Shark depredation: future directions in research and management

Shark depredation is a complex social-ecological issue that affects a range of fisheries worldwide. Increasing concern about the impacts of shark depredation, and how it intersects with the broader context of fisheries management, has driven recent research in this area, especially in Australia and the United States. This review synthesises these recent advances and provides strategic guidance for researchers aiming to characterise the occurrence of depredation, identify the shark species responsible, and test deterrent and management approaches to reduce its impacts. Specifically, the review covers the application of social science approaches, as well as advances in video camera and genetic methods for identifying depredating species. The practicalities and considerations for testing magnetic, electrical, and acoustic deterrent devices are discussed in light of recent research. Key concepts for the management of shark depredation are reviewed, with recommendations made to guide future research and policy development. Specific management responses to address shark depredation are lacking, and this review emphasizes that a “silver bullet” approach for mitigating depredation does not yet exist. Rather, future efforts to manage shark depredation must rely on a diverse range of integrated approaches involving those in the fishery (fishers, scientists and fishery managers), social scientists, educators, and other stakeholders

Mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 neutralization by shark variable new antigen receptors elucidated through X-ray crystallography

Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Chief Scientist Office, Scottish Government, Grant COV/ABN/20/01 (Elasmogen, Ltd.), a 2018 Prostate Cancer Foundation Challenge Award (AML), a 2013 Prostate Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award (AML), NCI R01s CA237272, CA233562, and CA245922 (AML). WEM was supported by the NIH T32 HL007741 and JMT by the NIH T32 AI055433. JSM was funded by NIGMS R01 GM088790. HA was funded by NIGMS R35 GM118047 and NCI P01 CA234228. X-ray diffraction data were collected at the Northeastern Collaborative Access Team beamlines, which are funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIGMS P30 GM124165). The Pilatus 6M detector on 24-ID-C beamline is funded by a NIH-ORIP HEI grant (S10 RR029205). We thank the Marco Pravetoni lab for providing training and access to the OctetRED96e for BLI experiments.Peer reviewedPublisher PD