High Resolution Spectrometry of Leaf and Canopy Chemistry for Biochemical Cycling

High-resolution laboratory spectrophotometer and Airborne Imaging Spectrometer (AIS) data were used to analyze forest leaf and canopy chemistry. Fundamental stretching frequencies of organic bonds in the visible, near infrared and short-wave infrared are indicative of concentrations and total content of nitrogen, phosphorous, starch and sugar. Laboratory spectrophotometer measurements showed very strong negative correlations with nitrogen (measured using wet chemistry) in the visible wavelengths. Strong correlations with green wet canopy weight in the atmospheric water absorption windows were observed in the AIS data. A fairly strong negative correlation between the AIS data at 1500 nm and total nitrogen and nitrogen concentration was evident. This relationship corresponds very closely to protein absorption features near 1500 nm

Studies on the clinical significance of nonesterified and total cholesterol in urine

Gas-liquid chromatographic determinations of nonesterified and total urinary cholesterol were performed in 137 normals, 264 patients with various internal diseases without evidence of neoplasias or diseases of the kidney or urinary tract, 497 patients with malignancies and 236 patients with diseases of the kidney, urinary tract infections or prostatic adenoma with residual urine. A normal range (mean±2 SD) of 0.2–2.2 mg/24 hours nonesterified cholesterol (NEC) and of 0.3–3.0 mg/24 hours total cholesterol (TC) was calculated. Values of urinary cholesterol excretion were independent of age and sex and did not correlate with cholesterol levels in plasma. Patients with various internal diseases, without evidence of neoplasias nor diseases of the kidney or obstruction of the urinary tract, showed normal urinary cholesterol excretions, as did patients with infections of the urinary tract. However, elevated urinary cholesterol was found in patients with diseases of the kidney or urinary tract obstruction (prostatic adenoma with residual urine), malignant diseases of the urogenital tract and metastasing carcinoma of the breast. In patients with other malignant diseases urinary cholesterol was usually normal. Lesions of the urothelial cell membranes are considered to be the most likely cause of urinary cholesterol hyperexcretion. The clinical value of urinary cholesterol determinations as a possible screening test for urogenital carcinomas in unselected populations is limited by lacking specificity, expensive methodology and low prevalence of the mentioned carcinomas, although elevated urinary cholesterol excretions have been observed in early clinical stages of urogenital cancers

Auditing Quality: A Critical Exploration of Faculty Members\u27 Experiences with Quality Matters

Online education has become a pervasive and embedded instructional modality in American higher education, with nearly one-third of all students taking at least one course at a distance and another 15% enrolled exclusively in online courses. Concomitant with the growth in online education has been increased pressure from institutions, administrations, lawmakers, accreditors, and the public to regulate the quality of online courses. Some institutions have responded to this pressure by pursuing quality assurance certification programs. Quality Matters (QM) is a non-profit organization that facilitates a peer-reviewed quality assurance program for online courses and is the predominant mechanism of online course quality assurance used by higher education institutions. Understanding the QM course review as an audit practice, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how faculty members negotiated, maneuvered, and resisted the Quality Matters process; the motivational factors, impacts, and significance that led up to and followed their engagement with Quality Matters; and the relations between the standards of the Quality Matters rubric and faculty members’ own conceptualizations of quality. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight university faculty members, representing a variety of faculty ranks and subject areas, who have successfully passed a formal Quality Matters course review for one or more online courses. Interview transcripts and documentary artifacts were analyzed to identify salient themes. The results indicated that participants’ conceptualizations of course quality were not fully aligned with the QM rubric, resulting in an expectations gap. Participants engaged in Quality Matters because of factors relating to perceptions of prestige, recognition, and distinction; the possibility of a monetary incentive; or because it was mandated or expected. Participants in this study were able to navigate and maneuver QM in large part through the support of a decoupled organizational structure and resisted through various performative means. The major impacts of Quality Matters included colonization of QM-related logics into other aspects of their teaching practice and its role as a platform for self-reflection. Ultimately, the findings from this study suggest that the Quality Matters audit represents an encroachment on the professional autonomy of teaching faculty emblematic of the neoliberalization of the university

Social Presence in Online Discussion Forums

El uso de foros de discusión en línea como una herramienta para el aprendizaje colaborativo requiere que los estudiantes se perciban mutuamente como personas reales y generen lazos afectivos entre ellos. Se investigó la relación entre la presencia social de los participantes en un foro y sus posiciones en las redes sociales de amistad, consejo, y adversarios formadas con compañeros. Se encontró una correlación negativa entre la centralidad de los participantes en la red de adversarios con el uso de indicadores afectivos, más no con indicadores cohesivos ni interactivos. No se encontraron correlaciones significativas entre la centralidad en las redes de consejo y amistad con ninguno de los tipos de indicadores de presencia social.When using online discussion boards as a tool for collaborative learning, students should be able to perceive each other as real people and create affective bonds between them. This paper assesses the relationship between social presence indicators and participants' messages to an online discussion board and his or her centrality in the advice, friendship, and hindrance social network created by all participants. A negative correlation was found between the use of affective indicators and centrality in the hindrance networks; no significant correlations were found between the centrality in the other networks and any kind of indicator of social presence

Gateway Modeling and Simulation Plan

This plan institutes direction across the Gateway Program and the Element Projects to ensure that Cross Program M&S are produced in a manner that (1) generate the artifacts required for NASA-STD-7009 compliance, (2) ensures interoperability of M&S exchanged and integrated across the program and, (3) drives integrated development efforts to provide cross-domain integrated simulation of the Gateway elements, space environment, and operational scenarios. This direction is flowed down via contractual enforcement to prime contractors and includes both the GMS requirements specified in this plan and the NASASTD- 7009 derived requirements necessary for compliance. Grounding principles for management of Gateway Models and Simulations (M&S) are derived from the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) report and the Diaz team report, A Renewed Commitment to Excellence. As an outcome of these reports, and in response to Action 4 of the Diaz team report, the NASA Standard for Models and Simulations, NASA-STD-7009 was developed. The standard establishes M&S requirements for development and use activities to ensure proper capture and communication of M&S pedigree and credibility information to Gateway program decision makers. Through the course of the Gateway program life cycle M&S will be heavily relied upon to conduct analysis, test products, support operations activities, enable informed decision making and ultimately to certify the Gateway with an acceptable level of risk to crew and mission. To reduce risk associated with M&S influenced decisions, this plan applies the NASA-STD-7009 requirements to produce the artifacts that support credibility assessments and ensure the information is communicated to program management