From Caution to College: The Effects on Veterans with Self- Reported Trauma Symptoms Sharing their Experiences with the Campus Community

Over 900,000 veterans are using benefits for higher education today; the vast majority of them served in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). Over 25% of GWOT service members that have been treated by the Veterans Affairs (VA) are reported to have symptoms of posttraumatic stress or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTS/PTSD). PTS/PTSD negatively impacts student veterans’ abilities to navigate stressful environments such as college and university settings. The Veterans Embracing Transition (VET) Connect Program at San José State University (SJSU) is designed to connect veterans with non-veterans as peer educators. Five of the 13 VET Connect peer educators (38.5%) who were interviewed reported having symptoms of PTSD. Through their service as peer educators on and off campus, these participants demonstrated signs of healthy coping effects through sharing experiences and educating non-veterans of the struggles related to military culture, service, combat, and loss. This study was conducted in collaboration with Sophia Alcala. We worked on independent research questions and observations using data derived from the same larger study simultaneously under the supervision of Dr. Klaw

Computational polarimetric microwave imaging

We propose a polarimetric microwave imaging technique that exploits recent advances in computational imaging. We utilize a frequency-diverse cavity-backed metasurface, allowing us to demonstrate high-resolution polarimetric imaging using a single transceiver and frequency sweep over the operational microwave bandwidth. The frequency-diverse metasurface imager greatly simplifies the system architecture compared with active arrays and other conventional microwave imaging approaches. We further develop the theoretical framework for computational polarimetric imaging and validate the approach experimentally using a multi-modal leaky cavity. The scalar approximation for the interaction between the radiated waves and the target---often applied in microwave computational imaging schemes---is thus extended to retrieve the susceptibility tensors, and hence providing additional information about the targets. Computational polarimetry has relevance for existing systems in the field that extract polarimetric imagery, and particular for ground observation. A growing number of short-range microwave imaging applications can also notably benefit from computational polarimetry, particularly for imaging objects that are difficult to reconstruct when assuming scalar estimations.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figure

Trichome Development in \u3ci\u3eArabidopsis thaliana\u3c/i\u3e. II. lsolation and Complementation of the \u3ci\u3eGLABROUS1\u3c/i\u3e Gene

We are using the formation of trichomes in Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system to study gene expression during cellular differentiation. To initiate the molecular characterization of this system, we tagged and isolated a gene that is specifically required for the development of the specialized trichome cell. We confirmed the identity of this gene, GLABROUS1 (GL1), by complementation. These results demonstrate that a crucial gene in a plant developmental pathway can be successfully identified by complementation

Identification of Hemodynamically Optimal Coronary Stent Designs Based on Vessel Caliber

Coronary stent design influences local patterns of wall shear stress (WSS) that are associated with neointimal growth, restenosis, and the endothelialization of stent struts. The number of circumferentially repeating crowns NC for a given stent de- sign is often modified depending on the target vessel caliber, but the hemodynamic implications of altering NC have not previously been studied. In this investigation, we analyzed the relationship between vessel diameter and the hemodynamically optimal NC using a derivative-free optimization algorithm coupled with computational fluid dynamics. The algorithm computed the optimal vessel diameter, defined as minimizing the area of stent-induced low WSS, for various configurations (i.e., NC) of a generic slotted-tube design and designs that resemble commercially available stents. Stents were modeled in idealized coronary arteries with a vessel diameter that was allowed to vary between 2 and 5 mm. The results indicate that the optimal vessel diameter increases for stent configurations with greater NC, and the designs of current commercial stents incorporate a greater NC than hemodynamically optimal stent designs. This finding suggests that reducing the NC of current stents may improve the hemodynamic environment within stented arteries and reduce the likelihood of excessive neointimal growth and thrombus formation

Seeing with sound? Exploring different characteristics of a visual-to-auditory sensory substitution device

Sensory substitution devices convert live visual images into auditory signals, for example with a web camera (to record the images), a computer (to perform the conversion) and headphones (to listen to the sounds). In a series of three experiments, the performance of one such device (‘The vOICe’) was assessed under various conditions on blindfolded sighted participants. The main task that we used involved identifying and locating objects placed on a table by holding a webcam (like a flashlight) or wearing it on the head (like a miner’s light). Identifying objects on a table was easier with a hand-held device, but locating the objects was easier with a head-mounted device. Brightness converted into loudness was less effective than the reverse contrast (dark being loud), suggesting that performance under these conditions (natural indoor lighting, novice users) is related more to the properties of the auditory signal (ie the amount of noise in it) than the cross-modal association between loudness and brightness. Individual differences in musical memory (detecting pitch changes in two sequences of notes) was related to the time taken to identify or recognise objects, but individual differences in self-reported vividness of visual imagery did not reliably predict performance across the experiments. In general, the results suggest that the auditory characteristics of the device may be more important for initial learning than visual associations

HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder: Pathogenesis and Therapeutic Opportunities

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) infection presently affects more that 40 million people worldwide, and is associated with central nervous system (CNS) disruption in at least 30% of infected individuals. The use of highly active antiretroviral therapy has lessened the incidence, but not the prevalence of mild impairment of higher cognitive and cortical functions (HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders) as well as substantially reduced a more severe form dementia (HIV-associated dementia). Furthermore, improving neurological outcomes will require novel, adjunctive therapies that are targeted towards mechanisms of HIV-induced neurodegeneration. Identifying such molecular and pharmacological targets requires an understanding of the events preceding irreversible neuronal damage in the CNS, such as actions of neurotoxins (HIV proteins and cellular factors), disruption of ion channel properties, synaptic damage, and loss of adult neurogenesis. By considering the specific mechanisms and consequences of HIV neuropathogenesis, unified approaches for neuroprotection will likely emerge using a tailored, combined, and non-invasive approach

Availability of High Quality TRMM Ground Validation Data from Kwajalein, RMI: A Practical Application of the Relative Calibration Adjustment Technique

Since the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite launch in November 1997, the TRMM Satellite Validation Office (TSVO) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has been performing quality control and estimating rainfall from the KPOL S-band radar at Kwajalein, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Over this period, KPOL has incurred many episodes of calibration and antenna pointing angle uncertainty. To address these issues, the TSVO has applied the Relative Calibration Adjustment (RCA) technique to eight years of KPOL radar data to produce Ground Validation (GV) Version 7 products. This application has significantly improved stability in KPOL reflectivity distributions needed for Probability Matching Method (PMM) rain rate estimation and for comparisons to the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR). In years with significant calibration and angle corrections, the statistical improvement in PMM distributions is dramatic. The intent of this paper is to show improved stability in corrected KPOL reflectivity distributions by using the PR as a stable reference. Inter-month fluctuations in mean reflectivity differences between the PR and corrected KPOL are on the order of 1-2 dB, and inter-year mean reflectivity differences fluctuate by approximately 1 dB. This represents a marked improvement in stability with confidence comparable to the established calibration and uncertainty boundaries of the PR. The practical application of the RCA method has salvaged eight years of radar data that would have otherwise been unusable, and has made possible a high-quality database of tropical ocean-based reflectivity measurements and precipitation estimates for the research community