Mechano-chemical synthesis and analysis of zinc and pyrogallol [4] arene complex under solvent-free and ambient conditions [abstract]

Faculty Mentor: Dr Jerry L. Atwood, ChemistryAbstract only availableHerein, we report a solvent-free approach for chemical synthesis which focuses on mechanochemically forming products from reactants under ambient conditions. With this protocol, several organo-metallic complexes or frameworks of zinc and pyrogallol[4]arenes were synthesized and analyzed with MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry combined with solid state carbon thirteen Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (13CNMR). This synthetic approach is in line with the synthetic methodology of green chemistry which focuses on eco-friendly chemical synthesis or synthetic routs

Training paid caregivers to improve their conversations with people with traumatic brain injury (TBI)

Paid caregivers are frequently involved in the lives of people with TBI with cognitive-communication disorders but no research has evaluated training to improve their interactions. This paper describes an RCT that evaluates a communication partner-training program for paid caregivers of people with TBI. Training was found to improve the skills of paid caregivers and have a significant impact on conversations that involved people with TBI. The long-term effectiveness of the intervention was demonstrated with skills maintained at 6-months follow-up. This research has implications for health professionals that work both with paid caregivers and people with severe TBI

Wind-US Code Physical Modeling Improvements to Complement Hypersonic Testing and Evaluation

This report gives an overview of physical modeling enhancements to the Wind-US flow solver which were made to improve the capabilities for simulation of hypersonic flows and the reliability of computations to complement hypersonic testing. The improvements include advanced turbulence models, a bypass transition model, a conjugate (or closely coupled to vehicle structure) conduction-convection heat transfer capability, and an upgraded high-speed combustion solver. A Mach 5 shock-wave boundary layer interaction problem is used to investigate the benefits of k- s and k-w based explicit algebraic stress turbulence models relative to linear two-equation models. The bypass transition model is validated using data from experiments for incompressible boundary layers and a Mach 7.9 cone flow. The conjugate heat transfer method is validated for a test case involving reacting H2-O2 rocket exhaust over cooled calorimeter panels. A dual-mode scramjet configuration is investigated using both a simplified 1-step kinetics mechanism and an 8-step mechanism. Additionally, variations in the turbulent Prandtl and Schmidt numbers are considered for this scramjet configuration

David Maslanka’s Liberation: A Conductor’s Analysis

Abstract For more than forty years, David Maslanka (1943–2017) was a prolific composer for every musical medium. With significant contributions to chamber music, solo literature, vocal settings, and symphony orchestras, his works for wind band have garnered the most success. In addition to composing eight symphonies for band between 1985 and 2017, Maslanka's other significant works for band include, A Child’s Garden of Dreams (1981), Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble (1999), Give Us This Day (2006), and Liberation (2010). His distinctive musical voice emerges in each of these works as he explores a wide gamut of emotions. Within his works for band, performers and audiences experience a composer with full control of the wind band’s range of forces and palette of colors. Through some of the most technically challenging literature written for wind band, Maslanka creates incredibly powerful moments comprised of surprisingly simple gestures. This document is an examination of David Maslanka’s piece for symphonic wind ensemble and chorus, Liberation. Included within this paper are sections covering: biographical information of the composer; Maslanka’s compositional approach; and information about the origin, inspiration, and source material, addressing formal structure, and performance considerations; in addition to appendices of errata, recommended program notes, and communication with the Maslanka Foundation

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Design and Implementation of Mobile Educational Games: Networks for Innovation

Research networks foster creativity and break down institutional barriers, but introduce geographic barriers to communication and collaboration. In designing mobile educational games, our distributed team took advantage of diverse talent pools and differing perspectives to drive forward a core vision of our design targets. Our strategies included intense design workshops, use of online meeting rooms, group paper and software prototyping, and dissemination of prototypes to other teams for refinement and repurposing. Our group showed strong activity at the university-centered nodes with periods of highly effective dissemination between these nodes and to outside groups; we used workshop invitations to gather new ideas and perspectives, to refine the core vision, to forge inter-project links, and to stay current on what was happening in other networks. Important aspects of our final deliverables came from looselyassociated network members who engaged via collaborative design exercises in workshops, emphasizing the need to bring the network together and the importance of outside influences as ideas evolve. Our final deliverable, a mobile educational game and a series of parallel technology demonstrations, reflect the mix of influences and the focus on iterated development that our network maintained

Population genomics of cardiometabolic traits: design of the University College London-London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine-Edinburgh-Bristol (UCLEB) Consortium.

Substantial advances have been made in identifying common genetic variants influencing cardiometabolic traits and disease outcomes through genome wide association studies. Nevertheless, gaps in knowledge remain and new questions have arisen regarding the population relevance, mechanisms, and applications for healthcare. Using a new high-resolution custom single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array (Metabochip) incorporating dense coverage of genomic regions linked to cardiometabolic disease, the University College-London School-Edinburgh-Bristol (UCLEB) consortium of highly-phenotyped population-based prospective studies, aims to: (1) fine map functionally relevant SNPs; (2) precisely estimate individual absolute and population attributable risks based on individual SNPs and their combination; (3) investigate mechanisms leading to altered risk factor profiles and CVD events; and (4) use Mendelian randomisation to undertake studies of the causal role in CVD of a range of cardiovascular biomarkers to inform public health policy and help develop new preventative therapies

Disruption of semantic metwork in mild Alzheimer's disease revealed by resting-state fMRI

Subtle semantic deficits can be observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients even in the early stages of the illness. In this work, we tested the hypothesis that the semantic control network is deregulated in mild AD patients. We assessed the integrity of the semantic control system using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in a cohort of patients with mild AD (n = 38; mean mini-mental state examination = 20.5) and in a group of age-matched healthy controls (n = 19). Voxel-wise analysis spatially constrained in the left fronto-temporal semantic control network identified two regions with altered functional connectivity (FC) in AD patients, specifically in the pars opercularis (POp, BA44) and in the posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG, BA21). Using whole-brain seed-based analysis, we demonstrated that these two regions have altered FC even beyond the semantic control network. In particular, the pMTG displayed a wide-distributed pattern of lower connectivity to several brain regions involved in language-semantic processing, along with a possibly compensatory higher connectivity to the Wernicke's area. We conclude that in mild AD brain regions belonging to the semantic control network are abnormally connected not only within the network, but also to other areas known to be critical for language processing

Late stage modification of receptors identified from dynamic combinatorial libraries

Approaches for the late-stage modification of receptors discovered from dynamic combinatorial libraries and the investigation of the effects of simple modifications on receptor binding and selectivity