Infographic: Career Competencies of ERAU Student-Athletes

This infographic includes five word clouds containing the perceived career competencies of student-athletes at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). Embry-Riddle is a mid-sized private Southeastern university that competes in the Sunshine State Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association\u27s (NCAA) Division II. Findings from one-on-one interviews with 16 current or past ERAU student-athletes led to the creation of the infographic\u27s five word clouds. Among ERAU student-athletes, the most commonly perceived career competencies are a) career preparation, b) professionalism, c) communication and d) collaboration

Infographic: Career Readiness Challenge (CRC) Summary

This infographic summarizes the final report from a study titled, Gamified Online Platform to Support Student-Athlete Career Readiness, funded by the NCAA Innovations in Research and Practice Grant Program. The purpose of the study was to create a gamified online career readiness program to enhance attitudes towards career planning and support the translation of professional competencies. Over a span of seven weeks, 116 student-athletes from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) - Daytona Beach participated in the study. The student-athletes competed in three different sports. Among ERAU student-athletes, the highest contribution of professional competencies involved: a) leadership, b) communication and c) collaboration. The final report and slides are publicly available via http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/career-readiness-challeng

Small Wins - Big Impact: Narratives from Behind the Scenes

All instructors, administrators, and researchers that have engaged in the endeavor to teach, oversee, and/or transform first-year engineering courses have a story to tell about their successes and struggles. In this workshop, we use narrative inquiry to listen to participants’ stories about first-year engineering programs. Based on the analyses of these stories and deduced patterns, a few key struggles will be teased out to guide this interactive workshop. All participants will then further tell their stories of relevant experiences. Our goal is to address struggles and disseminate successes with first-year engineering programs for adoption and adaptation. Our goal is that all attendees will leave this workshop with a better understanding of their own stories and key takeaways that they can apply to first-year engineering programs at their own institutions

The protective effect of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Scottish healthcare workers

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCW) are believed to be at increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. It is not known to what extent the natural production of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 is protective against re-infection. METHODS: A prospective observational study of HCW's in Scotland (UK) from May to September 2020. The Siemens SARS-CoV-2 total antibody assay was used to establish seroprevalence in this cohort. Controls, matched for age and sex to the general local population, were studied for comparison. New infections (up to 2/12/2020) post antibody testing were recorded to determine if the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies protect against re-infection. RESULTS: A total of 2063 health and social care workers were recruited for this study. At enrolment 300 HCW had a positive antibody test (14.5%). 11/231 control sera tested positive (4.8%). HCW therefore had an increased likelihood of a positive test (Odds ratio 3.4 95% CI 1.85–6.16, p<0.0001). Dentists were most likely to test positive. 97.3% of patients who had previously tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR had positive antibodies. 18.7% had an asymptomatic infection. There were 38 new infections with SARS-CoV-2 in HCW who were previously antibody negative and one symptomatic RT-PCR positive re-infection. The presence of antibodies was therefore associated with an 85% reduced risk of re-infection with SARS-CoV-2 (HR 0.15, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.35, p=0.026). CONCLUSION: HCW were three times more likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 than the general population. Almost all infected individuals developed an antibody response which was 85% effective in protecting against re-infection with SARS-CoV-2

Extensive acute and sustained changes to neutrophil proteomes post-SARS-CoV-2 infection

Background Neutrophils are important in the pathophysiology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the molecular changes contributing to altered neutrophil phenotypes following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are not fully understood. We used quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomics to explore neutrophil phenotypes immediately following acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and during recovery. Methods Prospective observational study of hospitalised patients with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (May to December 2020). Patients were enrolled within 96 h of admission, with longitudinal sampling up to 29 days. Control groups comprised non-COVID-19 acute lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) and age-matched noninfected controls. Neutrophils were isolated from peripheral blood and analysed using mass spectrometry. COVID-19 severity and recovery were defined using the World Health Organization ordinal scale. Results Neutrophil proteomes from 84 COVID-19 patients were compared to those from 91 LRTI and 42 control participants. 5800 neutrophil proteins were identified, with &gt;1700 proteins significantly changed in neutrophils from COVID-19 patients compared to noninfected controls. Neutrophils from COVID-19 patients initially all demonstrated a strong interferon signature, but this signature rapidly declined in patients with severe disease. Severe disease was associated with increased abundance of proteins involved in metabolism, immunosuppression and pattern recognition, while delayed recovery from COVID-19 was associated with decreased granule components and reduced abundance of metabolic proteins, chemokine and leukotriene receptors, integrins and inhibitory receptors. Conclusions SARS-CoV-2 infection results in the sustained presence of circulating neutrophils with distinct proteomes suggesting altered metabolic and immunosuppressive profiles and altered capacities to respond to migratory signals and cues from other immune cells, pathogens or cytokines.</p

Dipeptidyl peptidase-1 inhibition in patients hospitalised with COVID-19: a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial

Background Neutrophil serine proteases are involved in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and increased serine protease activity has been reported in severe and fatal infection. We investigated whether brensocatib, an inhibitor of dipeptidyl peptidase-1 (DPP-1; an enzyme responsible for the activation of neutrophil serine proteases), would improve outcomes in patients hospitalised with COVID-19. Methods In a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial, across 14 hospitals in the UK, patients aged 16 years and older who were hospitalised with COVID-19 and had at least one risk factor for severe disease were randomly assigned 1:1, within 96 h of hospital admission, to once-daily brensocatib 25 mg or placebo orally for 28 days. Patients were randomly assigned via a central web-based randomisation system (TruST). Randomisation was stratified by site and age (65 years or ≥65 years), and within each stratum, blocks were of random sizes of two, four, or six patients. Participants in both groups continued to receive other therapies required to manage their condition. Participants, study staff, and investigators were masked to the study assignment. The primary outcome was the 7-point WHO ordinal scale for clinical status at day 29 after random assignment. The intention-to-treat population included all patients who were randomly assigned and met the enrolment criteria. The safety population included all participants who received at least one dose of study medication. This study was registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN30564012. Findings Between June 5, 2020, and Jan 25, 2021, 406 patients were randomly assigned to brensocatib or placebo; 192 (47·3%) to the brensocatib group and 214 (52·7%) to the placebo group. Two participants were excluded after being randomly assigned in the brensocatib group (214 patients included in the placebo group and 190 included in the brensocatib group in the intention-to-treat population). Primary outcome data was unavailable for six patients (three in the brensocatib group and three in the placebo group). Patients in the brensocatib group had worse clinical status at day 29 after being randomly assigned than those in the placebo group (adjusted odds ratio 0·72 [95% CI 0·57–0·92]). Prespecified subgroup analyses of the primary outcome supported the primary results. 185 participants reported at least one adverse event; 99 (46%) in the placebo group and 86 (45%) in the brensocatib group. The most common adverse events were gastrointestinal disorders and infections. One death in the placebo group was judged as possibly related to study drug. Interpretation Brensocatib treatment did not improve clinical status at day 29 in patients hospitalised with COVID-19. Funding Sponsored by the University of Dundee and supported through an Investigator Initiated Research award from Insmed, Bridgewater, NJ; STOP-COVID19 trial

Bird Strike: The Effect of the Leading-Edge Radius on the behavior of the Bird Upon Impact

This project is in partnership with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation under MMSE program. Birds pose a major threat to aviation. Bird impact can lead to significant damage of the aircraft and can be sometimes catastrophic. For a damage tolerant design of an aircraft structure, the structure has to fulfill the airworthiness specifications prescribed by FAA or EASA. According to FAR 25, Sub-part 25.571, leading-edge structures of large transport aircraft have to withstand an impact with a 4 lb (1.81 kg) bird (8 lb (3.62kg) for empennage leading edge) when the velocity of the airplane relative to the bird along the airplane\u27s flight path is equal to its cruising speed (Vc) at sea level or 0.85 (Vc) at 8,000 feet, whichever is more critical. When a bird impacts the structure, it either slides off of the impacted surface causing less damage or it creates a dent or hole due to penetration into the structure, causing significant damage. The behavior of the bird upon the impact depends on the geometrical characteristics of the structure and the velocity at which the bird impacts. When split upon impact, it results in low impact forces and thus less damage. The impact forces are higher when the bird doesn’t split upon the impact which causes more damage to the target structure as the impact forces are directly proportional to the mass of the bird. Bird strike tests are very expensive and their number in the engine development programs should be minimized. Numerical simulations help reduce a significant amount of testing by providing valuable information in the design process. This thesis aims to develop a model using smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method for analyzing aircraft leading edges for bird strikes that will correlate well with the test results and subsequently, apply the method to study the effect of the leading edge radius on the behavior of the bird (split/not split) upon the impact. The objective is to generate sufficient data through numerical analysis to confirm the “one inch radius split/no split dividing line”, and to validate the empirical formulas used to calculate the impact forces. Overall, the goal is to save both time and money for the future generation aircraft by minimizing or eliminating the bird strike tests

Workshop 3: Small Wins, Big Impacts: Narratives from inside the Classroom

All students, instructors, and researchers that have participated in, taught, developed, or revised an engineering course have a story to tell about their successes and struggles. This workshop presents a well-structured environment for participants to share their own stories and listen to other stories. In this workshop, we use narrative inquiry to listen to participants’ stories about curricular design. Based on the analyses of these stories and deduced patterns, a few key struggles will be teased out to guide this interactive workshop. All participants will then further tell their stories of success relevant to the identified struggles. Our goal is to disseminate successes for adoption and adaptation. Our goal is that all attendees will leave this workshop with a better understanding of their own stories and key takeaways that they can apply at their own institutions