Impact of a Diversity Conference on University Curriculum, Recruitment, and Accreditation Efforts

Diversity of students, faculty, administrative staff, community, and curriculum is an asset thought to strengthen and enrich students’ academic experiences. Responding to a charge from a Northern Michigan University president to place diversity at the center of a University Strategic Plan, members of a diversity advisory council proposed a plan to prepare the university and its students for a future in an increasingly diverse and globalized society. Integral to this plan was a diversity conference, UNITED (Uniting Neighbors in the Experience of Diversity), which went from an annual September event to an integral part of the university\u27s academic fabric. Our research describes an eight-year history of the diversity conference, which has hosted more than 12,000 participants and has become a vital component in the curriculum of the university. The research assists in outcomes assessment efforts to determine whether the diversity conference has lived up to its original purpose and perceived importance in the curriculum, recruitment of students, and program accreditation efforts

Successive Study of Diversity Conference Evaluations of Presenters by Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Disability

A Midwestern university’s annual diversity conference hosts about 1,500 attendees from a campus of 9,000 students. Using a successive independent samples design, a series of cross-sectional surveys were conducted to answer the research question, how does a presenter’s race, gender, and ability/disability affect participant responses on conference evaluations. A review of the literature has determined that our research represents the largest and longest empirical study of a higher education diversity conference in the United States. The research is a comparative study of evaluation trends of conference attendees toward diversity conference presenters based on race, gender, and disability over eight years from 2006 to 2013. Ten evaluation items provided qualitative and quantitative data on topics of quality, likes best, shortcomings, meets expectations, and level of appropriateness. Over 4000 evaluations were analyzed over an 8-year period, resulting in a 33% evaluation response rate. Content analysis of evaluation data revealed underlying themes in attendees’ general comments. Threats to validity are discussed. Statistical analyzes include descriptive statistics, Chi-square, and regression analyses of contrasting trends in conference attendees’ evaluations. A trends analysis of diversity conference evaluations articulates the reality that in modern societies, humans may occupy a number of social groups in the same social/political public space, but the perceived diversity of individuals and social groups result in differences in evaluations of quality and performance

EVIDENCE OF WEAK CHAOS WITHIN PLUG-SLUG TRANSITION IN HORIZONTAL TWO PHASE FLOW

Intermittent behaviour has been observed in gas-liquid flows in a horizontal pipe and a weak sign of deterministic chaos has been diagnosed within a transition from plug to slug flow. The analysis has been performed on the basis of an algorithm which exploits the concept of short-term predictability of chaotic motions. The method is completely non-parametric and works whatever the distribution function of the data points may be. The weak sign of chaos is in contrast with the Lorenz-type systems (strong chaos) and supports the idea of Kolmogorov about irregular motion in hydrodynamical systems

Genomic diversity and ecology of human-associated Akkermansia species in the gut microbiome revealed by extensive metagenomic assembly

Background Akkermansia muciniphila is a human gut microbe with a key role in the physiology of the intestinal mucus layer and reported associations with decreased body mass and increased gut barrier function and health. Despite its biomedical relevance, the genomic diversity of A. muciniphila remains understudied and that of closely related species, except for A. glycaniphila, unexplored. Results We present a large-scale population genomics analysis of the Akkermansia genus using 188 isolate genomes and 2226 genomes assembled from 18,600 metagenomes from humans and other animals. While we do not detect A. glycaniphila, the Akkermansia strains in the human gut can be grouped into five distinct candidate species, including A. muciniphila, that show remarkable whole-genome divergence despite surprisingly similar 16S rRNA gene sequences. These candidate species are likely human-specific, as they are detected in mice and non-human primates almost exclusively when kept in captivity. In humans, Akkermansia candidate species display ecological co-exclusion, diversified functional capabilities, and distinct patterns of associations with host body mass. Analysis of CRISPR-Cas loci reveals new variants and spacers targeting newly discovered putative bacteriophages. Remarkably, we observe an increased relative abundance of Akkermansia when cognate predicted bacteriophages are present, suggesting ecological interactions. A. muciniphila further exhibits subspecies-level genetic stratification with associated functional differences such as a putative exo/lipopolysaccharide operon. Conclusions We uncover a large phylogenetic and functional diversity of the Akkermansia genus in humans. This variability should be considered in the ongoing experimental and metagenomic efforts to characterize the health-associated properties of A. muciniphila and related bacteria.Peer reviewe

A Note on (In)Compatibility Relations

Non-symmetric incompatibility relations, or non-symmetric compatibility relations, are a standard method for introducing a split negation pair on a frame. Another standard method is to reject commutation for the frame. The first task is to examine the relationship between non-symmetric incompatibility relations and non-symmetric compatibility relations and commutation failure on frames. The second task is to look at the sort of points that may constitute such frames. Taking the points as information states, what type of information states may operate in non-symmetric incompatibility/compatibility environments? The proposal made here is that databases consisting of sub-propositional information states, or data-points, are a respectable place to start

Charakterystyka popiołu dennego z MSWI oraz ocena odzysku

Municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash contains valuable components that can be recovered as secondary materials, such as ferrous and non-ferrous metals, some rare earth elements, glass etc. Metal-free mineral fraction can be used in construction industry as a substitute for natural materials. Important benefit of bottom ash recycling for the plant operator is also in reduction of fees for solid residuals landfilling. The composition of bottom ash is highly dependent on the composition of incinerated waste but in average can be around 5–13% ferrous metals, 2–5% non-ferrous metals, 15–30% glass and ceramics, 1–5% unburned organics and 50–70% mineral fraction. Several incineration plants in Europe are equipped with advanced systems for metals recovery, mostly based on magnetic separation of ferrous metals and separation of non-ferrous metals usually by eddy-current separators. To assess the possibilities of the bottom ash treatment in the Czech Republic it is necessary to obtain data about the bottom ash composition and evaluate its resource recovery potential. This paper summarizes characteristics of bottom ash samples from waste-to-energy plant in Prague. Emphasis of the study was primarily placed on the material composition. Bottom ash samples were dried and sieved into eight size fractions in the first step. It must be said that particle size distribution plays a decisive role for further utilization of bottom ash. In the second step, individual size fractions were sorted, using magnetic separation and the set of grinding, sieving, and manual separation processes, into the following materials: glass, ceramics and porcelain, magnetic particles with ferrous scrap, non-ferrous metals, unburned organic material, and residual fraction.Miejskie spalarnie odpadów stałych (ang. skrót MSWI) wytwarzają popiół, który zawiera cenne składniki, które można odzyskać w postaci materiałów wtórnych, tj. metali żelaznych i nieżelaznych, niektórych metali ziem rzadkich, szkła itd. Pozbawiona metalu frakcja mineralna może być użyta w przemyśle budowlanym jako zamiennik dla materiałów naturalnych. Ważną korzyścią płynącą z recyklingu popiołu dennego dla zarządzających spalarnią jest obniżenie kosztów składowania stałych pozostałości pospalaniu. Skład popiołu dennego w dużej mierze zależy od składu odpadów i średnio zawiera około 5-13% metali żelaznych, 2-5% metali nieżelaznych, 15-30% szkła i ceramiki, 1–5% niespalonych składników organicznych i 50-70% frakcji mineralnej. Kilka spalarni w Europie jest wyposażonych w zaawansowane systemy odzysku metali, głównie oparte o separacje magnetyczną. Aby ocenić możliwości odzysku popiołu dennego w Republice Czeskiej, zebrano dane na temat składu popiołu dennego i określono potencjał odzysku. Niniejsza praca podsumowuje charakterystykę próbek popiołu dennego pobranych ze spalarni generującej energię z odpadów znajdującej się w Pradze. Nacisk był przede wszystkim położony na skład materiału. W pierwszym etapie próbki popiołu dennego zostały osuszone i przesiane na 8 różnych frakcji. Warto uwzględnić, że rozkład wielkości ziaren ma decydujący wpływ na dalszą utylizację popiołu dennego. W drugim kroku, poszczególne frakcje zostały poddane separacji magnetycznej oraz innym procesom tj. rozdrabnianie, przesiewanie oraz separacja ręczna, na poszczególne frakcje: szkło, ceramika i porcelana, cząsteczki magnetyczne ze skrawkami żelaza, metale nieżelazne, niespalone materiały organiczne i pozostałe frakcje

Common occurrence of a positive delta(53)Cr shift in Central European waters contaminated by geogenic/industrial chromium relative to source values

Carcinogenic effects of hexavalent chromium in waters are of concern in many countries worldwide. We explored Cr isotope systematics at 11 sites in the Czech Republic and Poland. Geogenic Cr pollution was associated with serpentinite bodies at former convergent plate margins, while anthropogenic Cr pollution resulted from electroplating, tanning, and the chemical industry. Cr(VI) concentration in geogenic waters was less than 40 ppb. Anthropogenic waters contained up to 127,000 ppb Cr(VI). At both geogenic and anthropogenic sites, where known, the source of pollution had a low δ⁵³Cr (<1‰). δ⁵³Cr of geogenic and anthropogenic waters was up to 3.9 and 5.8‰, respectively. At both serpentinite-dominated and industrial sites, δ⁵³Cr(VI)aq was shifted toward higher values, compared to the pollution source. At the industrial sites, this positive δ⁵³Cr shift was related to Cr(VI) reduction, a process known to fractionate Cr isotopes. At geogenic sites, the origin of high δ53Cr(VI)aq is tentatively ascribed to preferential release of ⁵³Cr during oxidation of soil Cr(III) and its mobilization to water. δ⁵³Cr(VI) of industrially contaminated waters was significantly higher (p<0.001) compared to δ⁵³Cr of waters carrying geogenic Cr(VI), implying that either the effective fractionation factor or process extent was greater for Cr(VI) reduction than for Cr(III) oxidation.Martin Novak, Vladislav Chrastny, Eva Cadkova, Juraj Farkas, Thomas D. Bullen, Jiri Tylcer, Zdenka Szurmanova, Marcel Cron, Eva Prechova, Jan Curik, Marketa Stepanova, Jan Pasava, Lucie Erbanova, Marie Houskova, Karel Puncochar, and Lucas A. Helleric

Identification of defluidization region in a gas-solid fluidized bed using a method based on pressure fluctuation measurements

Industrial applications that involve fluidized bed operations must prevent the undesirable phenomenon of partial or complete bed defluidization. Defluidization can be avoided by increasing the gas velocity and/or, in some cases, changing the solid feed conditions in the system, provided that the changes in the hydrodynamics of the flow are detected early enough. The use of a technique that can perform an early detection of the defluidization condition in industrial applications is important, in order to avoid the loss of efficiency or even an undesirable shutting down of the process. The objective of this work is to show the application of a method for early detection of the condition where the bed is tending to the defluidization, in a gas-solid fluidized bed flow. The method is based on pressure fluctuation measurements. Experimental tests are carried out using two solid particles: microcrystalline cellulose and sand. Results show that the proposed method is efficient in detecting the fluidization condition in a conventional bubbling bed regime. The potential of application of the technique is also shown for the control of the defluidization phenomenon in industry