Enhancing STEM Education for East Tennessee in a Post-COVID World

I have identified a need for an analysis of the middle and high school STEM education curricula in the East Tennessee Region which does not effectively integrate technology into their current instruction, which results in low student engagement, motivation, and achievement in the instruction and learning of algebra and geometry. I propose a program to identify specific applications and methods to be integrated into these programs which will improve the abilities of teachers to positively impact their students\u27 understanding and mastery of algebra and geometry. Using emerging and novel STEM subject instruction, teaching, and engagement methods, and focusing on the analysis of the current uses of technology, identifying specific applications and computing systems, and providing necessary resources and support to teachers, the program I am proposing aims to cast a wide net for effective programs and adapt to new and innovative methods

Creating an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program for the Marion Rivinus Rose Garden at the Morris Arboretum

This project seeks to catalogue the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches practiced in rose gardens throughout the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. and beyond. It will begin with a section explaining the history of IPM at Morris Arboretum and the theory and practices currently surrounding IPM in a public rose garden setting. Then, priority issues in the Morris Arboretum Rose Garden are examined one at a time by synthesizing research garnered from interviews with other rosarians and academic sources. This information will be interpreted, at the end of the paper, to suggest a renewed IPM program for the Morris Arboretum Rose Garden. Suggestions will include templates for establishing thresholds, keeping records, and early identification and treatment of issues. Appendix A contains the survey tool I created to conduct the research for this project, with a list of all of the respondents. This network of gardeners and IPM specialists should be a future resource as we move forward with new approaches to managing pest and disease issues in the Morris rose garden. Appendix B contains a sample monitoring tool for recording rose performance, as well as threshold guidelines for fungal disease

Binary Properties from Cepheid Radial Velocities (CRaV)

We have examined high accuracy radial velocities of Cepheids to determine the binary frequency. The data are largely from the CORAVEL spectrophotometer and the Moscow version, with a typical uncertainty of $\leq1$~km~s$^{-1}$, and a time span from 1 to 20 years. A systemic velocity was obtained by removing the pulsation component using a high order Fourier series. From this data we have developed a list of stars showing no orbital velocity larger than $\pm1$~km~s$^{-1}$. The binary fraction was analyzed as a function of magnitude, and yields an apparent decrease in this fraction for fainter stars. We interpret this as incompleteness at fainter magnitudes, and derive the preferred binary fraction of $29\pm8$\% ( $20\pm6$\% per decade of orbital period) from the brightest 40 stars. Comparison of this fraction in this period range (1-20 years) implies a large fraction for the full period range. This is reasonable in that the high accuracy velocities are sensitive to the longer periods and smaller orbital velocity amplitudes in the period range sampled here. Thus the Cepheid velocity sample provides a sensitive detection in the period range between short period spectroscopic binaries and resolved companions. The recent identification of $\delta$ Cep as a binary with very low amplitude and high eccentricity underscores the fact that the binary fractions we derive are lower limits, to which other low amplitude systems will probably be added. The mass ratio (q) distribution derived from ultraviolet observations of the secondary is consistent with a flat distribution for the applicable period range (1 to 20 years).Comment: accepted for publication in A

Chandra Early-Type Galaxy Atlas

The hot ISM in early type galaxies (ETGs) plays a crucial role in understanding their formation and evolution. The structural features of the hot gas identified by Chandra observations point to key evolutionary mechanisms, (e.g., AGN and stellar feedback, merging history). In our Chandra Galaxy Atlas (CGA) project, taking full advantage of the Chandra capabilities, we systematically analyzed the archival Chandra data of 70 ETGs and produced uniform data products for the hot gas properties. The primary data products are spatially resolved 2D spectral maps of the hot gas from individual galaxies. We emphasize that new features can be identified in the spectral maps which are not readily visible in the surface brightness maps. The high-level images can be viewed at the dedicated CGA website, and the CGA data products can be downloaded to compare with data at other wavelengths and to perform further analyses. Utilizing our data products, we address a few focused science topics.Comment: 52 pages, 9 figures, accepted in ApJ Supp

Facilitated Peptide Transport via the Mucosal Epithelium

A hallmark of autoimmunity is the breakdown of tolerance and generation of effector responses against self-antigens. Re-establishment of tolerance in autoimmune disorders was always the most desired treatment option; however, despite many efforts, clinical trials have been largely unsuccessful. This also applies to the generation of oral tolerance, which seems to be a default response type of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues to harmless antigens. In this study, we report improved efficacy of oral tolerance induction by coupling antigen with the newly identified mucosal carrier peptide 13C. Antigen coupled to 13C is efficiently taken up in the gastrointestinal tract and could be visualized in cells of the lamina propria. Oral, rectal, or nasal treatment effectively induced the proliferation of antigen-specific T cells with some increase in the frequency of regulatory T cells. In a model of delayed-type hypersensitivity, especially intrarectal tolerization treatment resulted in reduced footpad swelling, demonstrating a moderate tolerogenic effect of mucosal treatment with 13C coupled antigen. Coupling of antigens to a transmucosal carrier, therefore, is a promising tool to improve the efficacy of vaccination via mucosal surfaces

THE CHANDRA VARIABLE GUIDE STAR CATALOG

Variable stars have been identified among the optical-wavelength light curves of guide stars used for pointing control of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. We present a catalog of these variable stars along with their light curves and ancillary data. Variability was detected to a lower limit of 0.02 mag amplitude in the 4000-10000 Å range using the photometrically stable Aspect Camera on board the Chandra spacecraft. The Chandra Variable Guide Star Catalog (VGUIDE) contains 827 stars, of which 586 are classified as definitely variable and 241 are identified as possibly variable. Of the 586 definite variable stars, we believe 319 are new variable star identifications. Types of variables in the catalog include eclipsing binaries, pulsating stars, and rotating stars. The variability was detected during the course of normal verification of each Chandra pointing and results from analysis of over 75,000 guide star light curves from the Chandra mission. The VGUIDE catalog represents data from only about 9 years of the Chandra mission. Future releases of VGUIDE will include newly identified variable guide stars as the mission proceeds. An important advantage of the use of space data to identify and analyze variable stars is the relatively long observations that are available. The Chandra orbit allows for observations up to 2 days in length. Also, guide stars were often used multiple times for Chandra observations, so many of the stars in the VGUIDE catalog have multiple light curves available from various times in the mission. The catalog is presented as both online data associated with this paper and as a public Web interface. Light curves with data at the instrumental time resolution of about 2 s, overplotted with the data binned at 1 ks, can be viewed on the public Web interface and downloaded for further analysis. VGUIDE is a unique project using data collected during the mission that would otherwise be ignored. The stars available for use as Chandra guide stars are generally 6-11 mag and are commonly spectral types A and later. Due to the selection of guide stars entirely for positional convenience, this catalog avoids the possible bias of searching for variability in objects where it is to be expected. Statistics of variability compared to spectral type indicate the expected dominance of A-F stars as pulsators. Eclipsing binaries are consistently 20%-30% of the detected variables across all spectral types.United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Contract NAS8-03060)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Contract SV3-73016

Governance of Digital Health Data on Cooperatively Organized Platforms – a Design Thinking Approach

More and more stakeholders are collecting data for improving their services: from scientific research over public administration to commercial enterprises. Existing data management services offer few rights of co-determination for their users. Data cooperatives aim to provide a democratic alternative to this. Through such a platform cooperative members are supposed to be enabled to share their data in a self-determined way. In this paper, we present a design thinking-based user research with stakeholders of data cooperatives in a health-data context. We provide an overview of motivations, expectations, and interfaces between a cooperative and individuals as cooperative members, organizations, representatives from research, and policy makers. In an iterative process, 34 interviews were conducted with different stakeholder groups, from which 7 personas were subsequently derived. For these, 4 prototypes were developed and tested with potential users. Our results show that all interviewed groups were very interested in the concept of data cooperatives. At the same time, it proves challenging to reconcile the conflicting internal and external requirements and to implement attractive value propositions for all stakeholders

A Coordinated X-ray and Optical Campaign of the Nearby Massive Binary δ\delta Orionis Aa: II. X-ray Variability

We present time-resolved and phase-resolved variability studies of an extensive X-ray high-resolution spectral dataset of the $\delta$ Orionis Aa binary system. The four observations, obtained with Chandra ACIS HETGS, have a total exposure time of ~479 ks and provide nearly complete binary phase coverage. Variability of the total X-ray flux in the range 5-25 $\AA$ is confirmed, with maximum amplitude of about +/-15% within a single ~125 ks observation. Periods of 4.76d and 2.04d are found in the total X-ray flux, as well as an apparent overall increase in flux level throughout the 9-day observational campaign. Using 40 ks contiguous spectra derived from the original observations, we investigate variability of emission line parameters and ratios. Several emission lines are shown to be variable, including S XV, Si XIII, and Ne IX. For the first time, variations of the X-ray emission line widths as a function of the binary phase are found in a binary system, with the smallest widths at phase=0.0 when the secondary $\delta$ Orionis Aa2 is at inferior conjunction. Using 3D hydrodynamic modeling of the interacting winds, we relate the emission line width variability to the presence of a wind cavity created by a wind-wind collision, which is effectively void of embedded wind shocks and is carved out of the X-ray-producing primary wind, thus producing phase-locked X-ray variability.Comment: 36 pages, 14 Tables, 19 Figures, accepted by ApJ, one of 4 related papers to be published togethe