A study of the effects of varying the sampling for a simplified version of the Saturn V/S-1C Final report, 15 May 1968 - 31 Aug. 1969

Bending frequency filtering through adaptive sampling for Saturn 5 stage 1C desig

Conductivity phenomena in polycrystalline zinc oxide films

Photoconductivity and electric conductivity of polycrystalline zinc oxide thin film under low intensity irradiatio

An electrical connector pin protector

Spring loaded insert protects electrical connector pins from being bent due to improper mating, or probing the pins with a screwdriver. This device modifies existing electrical connectors using only springs and retaining pins

Influence of model assumptions about HIV disease progression after initiating or stopping treatment on estimates of infections and deaths averted by scaling up antiretroviral therapy

Background Many mathematical models have investigated the population-level impact of expanding antiretroviral therapy (ART), using different assumptions about HIV disease progression on ART and among ART dropouts. We evaluated the influence of these assumptions on model projections of the number of infections and deaths prevented by expanded ART. Methods A new dynamic model of HIV transmission among men who have sex with men (MSM) was developed, which incorporated each of four alternative assumptions about disease progression used in previous models: (A) ART slows disease progression; (B) ART halts disease progression; (C) ART reverses disease progression by increasing CD4 count; (D) ART reverses disease progression, but disease progresses rapidly once treatment is stopped. The model was independently calibrated to HIV prevalence and ART coverage data from the United States under each progression assumption in turn. New HIV infections and HIV-related deaths averted over 10 years were compared for fixed ART coverage increases. Results Little absolute difference (<7 percentage points (pp)) in HIV infections averted over 10 years was seen between progression assumptions for the same increases in ART coverage (varied between 33% and 90%) if ART dropouts reinitiated ART at the same rate as ART-naïve MSM. Larger differences in the predicted fraction of HIV-related deaths averted were observed (up to 15pp). However, if ART dropouts could only reinitiate ART at CD4<200 cells/μl, assumption C predicted substantially larger fractions of HIV infections and deaths averted than other assumptions (up to 20pp and 37pp larger, respectively). Conclusion Different disease progression assumptions on and post-ART interruption did not affect the fraction of HIV infections averted with expanded ART, unless ART dropouts only re-initiated ART at low CD4 counts. Different disease progression assumptions had a larger influence on the fraction of HIV-related deaths averted with expanded ART

Quantifying Microplastics in Migratory Birds: Loyola University Chicago Campus

Each fall and spring seasons, close to 5-million migratory birds use the Mississippi flyway to fly over Chicago as they travel thousands of miles to nesting or wintering grounds. Traveling primarily at night, birds use rest stops throughout North and South America to forage and refuel for their travels. Unfortunately, many birds will perish during this travel due to light pollution coupled with large, glass-covered buildings such as those in Chicago. Loyola’s SOAR program has been collecting and documenting these fatalities for years. Microplastics pose possible health risks to foraging birds, and with the vast expanse of land and water that migratory birds cover, they are likely to accumulate microplastics in their gastrointestinal (GI) tracts as they forage. This study examined the GI tracts of eight (8) different migratory bird species to determine if different feeding niches accumulate more or less microplastics in their bodies. The study showed that microplastic fibers may be found in any of the species examined, but no statistically significant trends across species or their respective feeding niches were found

The Mariner 5 flight path and its determination from tracking data

Mariner 5 flight path and its determination from tracking dat

Dominant Role of Nucleotide Substitution in the Diversification of Serotype 3 Pneumococci over Decades and during a Single Infection

Streptococcus pneumoniae of serotype 3 possess a mucoid capsule and cause disease associated with high mortality rates relative to other pneumococci. Phylogenetic analysis of a complete reference genome and 81 draft sequences from clonal complex 180, the predominant serotype 3 clone in much of the world, found most sampled isolates belonged to a clade affected by few diversifying recombinations. However, other isolates indicate significant genetic variation has accumulated over the clonal complex’s entire history. Two closely related genomes, one from the blood and another from the cerebrospinal fluid, were obtained from a patient with meningitis. The pair differed in their behaviour in a mouse model of disease and in their susceptibility to antimicrobials, with at least some of these changes attributable to a mutation that upregulated the patAB efflux pump. This indicates clinically important phenotypic variation can accumulate rapidly through small alterations to the genotype

Examining the Effect of Biochar on Invasive Typha x glauca in a Greenhouse Experiment

Invasive species in the Great Lakes pose ecological, economic, and social dilemmas as they alter and diminish the quality of ecosystems. By dominating native plant communities through efficient uptake of excess nutrients, the hybrid cattail, Typha × glauca, reduces the plant diversity of Great Lakes coastal wetlands, homogenizing habitat for many species of fish, animals, and insects. This study investigated how biochar, a charcoal-like substance, affected biomass accumulation in hybrid cattails and native wetland plants. I conducted a greenhouse experiment by growing assemblages of native wetland plants, Typha × glauca, and a combination of both native species and hybrid cattails in separate buckets with a homogenized, sand-compost mixture containing 0%, 2.5%, and 5% biochar by weight for approximately fifty days. I found that biochar reduced the overall biomass of Typha × glauca when comparing the 2.5% and 5% biochar applications to the 0% application. Biochar was also found to change the phosphorus content in Typha × glauca, a nutrient which is often found in excess in wetlands due to agricultural pollution. This preliminary study provides evidence that biochar has the potential to reduce the biomass of Typha × glauca, therefore impeding its dominance in Great Lakes coastal wetlands

Hall and photoresponse measurements associated with ultraviolet and near ultraviolet degradation of thin zinc oxide films

Optical and electrical parameters of zinc oxide degradation during exposure to spectral radiatio

The miswired brain: making connections from neurodevelopment to psychopathology

Developmental neurobiologists have made great progress in elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying nervous system development. There has been less focus, however, on the consequences when these processes go wrong. As the evidence increases that mutations in neurodevelopmental genes are associated with major psychiatric disorders, defining these consequences assumes paramount importance in elucidating pathogenic mechanisms