Planning and Elaboration

Buildings, like people, need to be a part of something larger than themselves, and to be approachable and understandable. Cities which are organized on the scale of society, and whose creation requires scales of time, effort, and resources far beyond any single project, represent this larger view, while the way individuals relate and fit into them determines whether they are humane and pleasant places..

Let’s bridge the gap! Cross-cultural mentoring

Few Black students graduate from signed language interpreting programs across the United States and even fewer continue practicing in the signed language interpreting field. Black Deaf consumers are often left with White interpreters who know little of Black cultural norms, and the complexity of cultural information is sometimes mishandled while messages are relayed (Shambourger, 2015). The longevity and numbers of Black interpreters in the field of signed language interpreting needs to increase, and Interpreter Training Programs should be trailblazers in this effort (West-Oyedele, 2015). In addition, many White interpreters in the field need to learn about the cultural norms, and linguistic features of Black Deaf and Black hearing consumers (Shambourger, 2015). Such learning could take place in cross-cultural mentoring relationships with Black interpreters. Black interpreters are already mentoring, but as the numbers of Black students entering the field grows, the need for seasoned interpreter mentors also grows. In some areas of the country, especially rural areas, there may be no experienced Black interpreters. Through conversations and interactions with Black mentees, White mentors could gain knowledge of Black cultural norms and linguistic features, thereby enhancing their interpreting for the Black Deaf and Black hearing communities they serve. At the same time, Black interpreters may be encouraged to continue in the interpreting field from cross-cultural relationships with White interpreters who support skills development and introduction to professional norms and to other interpreters. In this study the findings indicated that there is much ground to be covered before cross-cultural mentoring can become routine

FIELD-PROGRAMMABLE GATE ARRAY IMPLEMENTATION OF EMPIRICAL MODE DECOMPOSITION ALGORITHM FOR ELECTROCARDIOGRAM PROCESSING

The electrocardiogram (ECG) signal contains important information that is utilized by physicians for the diagnosis and analysis of heart diseases. Therefore, good quality ECG signal is required. Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) is a method to analyze non-stationary and non-linear signals. Empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is the core of HHT. EMD breaks down signals into smaller number of components. These components form a complete and nearly orthogonal basis for the original signal. This algorithm is implemented on field-programmable gate array using the process of extrema generation, envelope generation, and stopping criterion.Â

The work environment disability-adjusted life year for use with life cycle assessment: a methodological approach

BACKGROUND: Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a systems-based method used to determine potential impacts to the environment associated with a product throughout its life cycle. Conclusions from LCA studies can be applied to support decisions regarding product design or public policy, therefore, all relevant inputs (e.g., raw materials, energy) and outputs (e.g., emissions, waste) to the product system should be evaluated to estimate impacts. Currently, work-related impacts are not routinely considered in LCA. The objectives of this paper are: 1) introduce the work environment disability-adjusted life year (WE-DALY), one portion of a characterization factor used to express the magnitude of impacts to human health attributable to work-related exposures to workplace hazards; 2) outline the methods for calculating the WE-DALY; 3) demonstrate the calculation; and 4) highlight strengths and weaknesses of the methodological approach. METHODS: The concept of the WE-DALY and the methodological approach to its calculation is grounded in the World Health Organization’s disability-adjusted life year (DALY). Like the DALY, the WE-DALY equation considers the years of life lost due to premature mortality and the years of life lived with disability outcomes to estimate the total number of years of healthy life lost in a population. The equation requires input in the form of the number of fatal and nonfatal injuries and illnesses that occur in the industries relevant to the product system evaluated in the LCA study, the age of the worker at the time of the fatal or nonfatal injury or illness, the severity of the injury or illness, and the duration of time lived with the outcomes of the injury or illness. RESULTS: The methodological approach for the WE-DALY requires data from various sources, multi-step instructions to determine each variable used in the WE-DALY equation, and assumptions based on professional opinion. CONCLUSIONS: Results support the use of the WE-DALY in a characterization factor in LCA. Integrating occupational health into LCA studies will provide opportunities to prevent shifting of impacts between the work environment and the environment external to the workplace and co-optimize human health, to include worker health, and environmental health

Strategic Plan for Genomic Competencies into Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum

Problem: As genomics research continues to grow in medicine and in popular culture, an educational gap in nursing is inevitable. Nurses must have a strong understanding of genetics and genomics to effectively integrate them into current practice.Objectives: The objective is to identify gaps in the current undergraduate curriculum and build threads that may be incorporated into the current curriculum to fill the identified gaps. Methods: The foundation of this project was the Essentials of Genetic and Genomic Nursing: Competencies, Curricula Guidelines, and Outcome Indicators, 2nd Edition (Consensus Panel on Genetic/Genomic Nursing Competencies, 2008). A strategic plan was created to increase the genomics and genetics competencies in the current undergraduate nursing curriculum at the School of Nursing in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to meet the nine essentials of Baccalaureate education set forth by the AACN (2008). A strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis was included to identify and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the project and be given the opportunity to address and eliminate any threats. The syllabi of the undergraduate nursing core courses were analyzed course by course for baseline genetics and genomics content. The content was found in five out of 16 core courses. Utilizing the gap analysis tool based on Essentials of Genetic and Genomic Nursing, 23 possible curricular thread ideas for genetics and genomics content were identified. Implications: This project demonstrated that the development of a strategic plan utilizing the Essentials of Genetic and Genomic Nursing can be used to identify gaps in the undergraduate nursing curriculum and build genetics and genomics competencies to incorporate into the curriculum. This allows for the opportunity for nursing faculty to improve the current undergraduate nursing curriculum to meet the essentials set forth by the AACN

Serelaxin Elicits Bronchodilation and Enhances β-Adrenoceptor-Mediated Airway Relaxation.

Treatment with β-adrenoceptor agonists does not fully overcome the symptoms associated with severe asthma. Serelaxin elicits potent uterine and vascular relaxation via its cognate receptor, RXFP1, and nitric oxide (NO) signaling, and is being clinically evaluated for the treatment of acute heart failure. However, its direct bronchodilator efficacy has yet to be explored. Tracheal rings were prepared from male Sprague-Dawley rats (250-350 g) and tricolor guinea pigs, and precision cut lung slices (PCLSs) containing intrapulmonary airways were prepared from rats only. Recombinant human serelaxin (rhRLX) alone and in combination with rosiglitazone (PPARγ agonist; recently described as a novel dilator) or β-adrenoceptor agonists (isoprenaline, salbutamol) were added either to pre-contracted airways, or before contraction with methacholine or endothelin-1. Regulation of rhRLX responses by epithelial removal, indomethacin (cyclooxygenase inhibitor), L-NAME (nitric oxide synthase inhibitor), SQ22536 (adenylate cyclase inhibitor) and ODQ (guanylate cyclase inhibitor) were also evaluated. Immunohistochemistry was used to localize RXFP1 to airway epithelium and smooth muscle. rhRLX elicited relaxation in rat trachea and PCLS, more slowly than rosiglitazone or isoprenaline, but potentiated relaxation to both these dilators. It markedly increased β-adrenoceptor agonist potency in guinea pig trachea. rhRLX, rosiglitazone, and isoprenaline pretreatment also inhibited the development of rat tracheal contraction. Bronchoprotection by rhRLX increased with longer pre-incubation time, and was partially reduced by epithelial removal, indomethacin and/or L-NAME. SQ22536 and ODQ also partially inhibited rhRLX-mediated relaxation in both intact and epithelial-denuded trachea. RXFP1 expression in the airways was at higher levels in epithelium than smooth muscle. In summary, rhRLX elicits large and small airway relaxation via epithelial-dependent and -independent mechanisms, likely via RXFP1 activation and generation of NO, prostaglandins and cAMP/cGMP. rhRLX also enhanced responsiveness to other dilators, suggesting its potential as an alternative or add-on therapy for severe asthma

Knowledge Management and Organization of the Design/Build/Fly Competition and the Capstone Senior Design Class

The Oregon State University chapter of American Institute of Astronautics and Aeronautics competed in the Design/Build/Fly competition for the second time during the 2013/2014 school year. This chapter began at Oregon State in 2012 and still lacks an organized management system for the Design/Build/Fly team that could allow OSU to be more successful at competition. The team currently consists of four senior project teams and multiple club members, which creates many communication challenges. In the past students have not received clear defined projects and have left the group. This has left a very small group to complete the project before competition. The team wants to implement a system that assists the chapter with organizing documents, communicating with all members, delegating projects, and collaborating within different groups. Each of these are challenges that the chapter currently faces. The rapid turnover rate within the chapter is one of the contributing factors to these issues and must be addressed. The purpose of this thesis is to determine important characteristics of a knowledge management system that would improve the team’s organization and recommend methods for implementing these characteristics

STK15/Aurora-A expression in primary breast tumors is correlated with nuclear grade by not with prognosis

[[abstract]]BACKGROUND DNA amplification on chromosome 20q13 is commonly detected in breast carcinoma and is correlated with poor prognosis. STK15 maps to this amplicon. The objective of the current study was to use immunohistochemistry to determine STK15 expression in primary breast tumors. The authors also explored whether STK15 was a prognostic factor for breast carcinoma by comparing the level of STK15 gene expression with clinical parameters that are known prognostic factors for the disease. METHODS Archival mastectomy and lumpectomy specimens, randomly selected, were immunohistochemically stained to determine the STK15 gene expression level. The clinical parameters of these same patients were reviewed retrospectively and analyzed for correlations with STK15 expression level, based on a positive-versus-negative scoring system. RESULTS Of the 112 human breast tumor specimens analyzed, 26% stained positively for STK15 by immunohistochemistry. Of the tumors, that stained positively 62.1% had a well-to-moderately differentiated nuclear grade. The correlation between STK15 staining and nuclear grade was nearly statistically significant (P = 0.05). No association was found between STK15 staining and tumor size, lymph node status, or hormone receptor status. Analysis of recurrence-free survival and overall survival rates also failed to reveal a statistically significant difference between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS STK15 expression by immunohistochemistry was noted in approximately one-fourth of primary breast tumors. STK15 expression was associated with nuclear grade, but no correlation was found between the other clinical parameters evaluated. Furthermore, no differences were found in survival rates when they were analyzed by level of STK15 staining. Cancer 2004;100:12-9. ? 2003 American Cancer Society

Pulmonary myeloid cell uptake of biodegradable nanoparticles conjugated with an anti-fibrotic agent provides a novel strategy for treating chronic allergic airways disease

Asthma (chronic allergic airways disease, AAD) is characterized by airway inflammation (AI), airway remodeling (AWR) and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). Current treatments for AAD mainly focus on targeting AI and its contribution AHR, with the use of corticosteroids. However, there are no therapies for the direct treatment of AWR, which can contribute to airway obstruction, AHR and corticosteroid resistance independently of AI. The acute heart failure drug, serelaxin (recombinant human gene-2 relaxin, RLX), has potential anti-remodeling and anti-fibrotic effects but only when continuously infused or injected to overcome its short half-life. To alleviate this limitation, we conjugated serelaxin to biodegradable and noninflammatory nanoparticles (NP-RLX) and evaluated their therapeutic potential on measures of AI, AWR and AHR, when intranasally delivered to a preclinical rodent model of chronic AAD and TGF-β1-stimulated collagen gel contraction from asthma patient-derived myofibroblasts. NP-RLX was preferentially taken-up by CD206+-infiltrating and CD68+-tissue resident alveolar macrophages. Furthermore, NP-RLX ameliorated the chronic AAD-induced AI, pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α), chemokines (CCL2, CCL11) and the pro-fibrotic TGF-β1/IL-1β axis on AWR and resulting AHR, as well as human myofibroblast-induced collagen gel contraction, to a similar extent as unconjugated RLX. Hence, NP-RLX represents a novel strategy for treating the central features of asthma

Whole-genome resequencing of Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655 undergoing short-term laboratory evolution in lactate minimal media reveals flexible selection of adaptive mutations

Background Short-term laboratory evolution of bacteria followed by genomic sequencing provides insight into the mechanism of adaptive evolution, such as the number of mutations needed for adaptation, genotype-phenotype relationships, and the reproducibility of adaptive outcomes. Results In the present study, we describe the genome sequencing of 11 endpoints of Escherichia coli that underwent 60-day laboratory adaptive evolution under growth rate selection pressure in lactate minimal media. Two to eight mutations were identified per endpoint. Generally, each endpoint acquired mutations to different genes. The most notable exception was an 82 base-pair deletion in the rph-pyrE operon that appeared in 7 of the 11 adapted strains. This mutation conferred an approximately 15% increase to the growth rate when experimentally introduced to the wild-type background and resulted in an approximately 30% increase to growth rate when introduced to a background already harboring two adaptive mutations. Additionally, most endpoints had a mutation in a regulatory gene (crp or relA, for example) or the RNA polymerase. Conclusions The 82 base-pair deletion found in the rph-pyrE operon of many endpoints may function to relieve a pyrimidine biosynthesis defect present in MG1655. In contrast, a variety of regulators acquire mutations in the different endpoints, suggesting flexibility in overcoming regulatory challenges in the adaptation