Timothy Pickering to John Kean, December 16, 1791

Timothy Pickering wrote from the General Post Office to John Kean, Cashier of the Bank of the United States, Philadelphia, PA. Timothy was the United States Postmaster General at the time. He acknowledged that John was still serving as commissioner of accounts and, therefore, allowed to frank letters (use a signature instead of postage). John must pay for letters sent to him.https://digitalcommons.kean.edu/lhc_1790s/1474/thumbnail.jp

The table-top visual search ability test for children and young people: normative response time data from typically developing children

Five table-top tasks were developed to test the visual search ability of children and young people in a real-world context, and to assess the transfer of training related improvements in visual search on computerised tasks to real-world activities. Each task involved searching for a set of target objects among distracting objects on a table-top. Performance on the Table-top Visual Search Ability Test for Children (TVSAT-C) was measured as the time spent searching for targets divided by the number of targets found. 108 typically developing children (3-11 years old) and 8 children with vision impairment (7-12 years old) participated in the study. A significant correlation was found between log-transformed age and log-transformed performance (R^2=0.65, p=4×〖10〗^(-26)) in our normative sample, indicating a monomial power law relationship between age and performance with an exponent of -1.67, 95% "CI" [-1.90,-1.43]. We calculated age-dependent percentiles and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated the 3rd percentile as the optimal cut-off for detecting a visual search deficit, giving a specificity of 97.2%, 95% "CI" [92.2%,99.1%] and sensitivity of 87.5%, 95% "CI" [52.9%,97.8%] for the test. Further studies are required to calculate measures of reliability and external validity, to confirm sensitivity for visual search deficits, and to investigate the most appropriate response modes for participants with conditions that affect manual dexterity. Additionally, more work is needed to assess construct validity where semantic knowledge is required that younger children may not have experience with. We have made the protocol and age-dependent normative data available for those interested in using the test in research or practice, and to illustrate the smooth developmental trajectory of visual search ability during childhood

Modelling technique and analysis of porous anti-reflective coatings for reducing wide angle reflectance of thin-film solar cells

Bio-inspired anti-reflective (AR) coatings with porous graded refractive index structures are known to considerably reduce the reflectance of light at optical interfaces, however, research is lacking for thin-film cell application. Ray Tracing software coupled with the Effective Medium Theory were used to simulate the reflectance of nanostructured coatings placed above a thin-film system. The most optimal coating was paraboloid-shaped, with 300 nm nipple heights and spacings of 15%. The non-zero refractive index 'step' aids light trapping and energy absorption. This coating reduced reflectance in the λ = 300–800 nm range by an average of 2.665% and 11.36% at 0∘ and 80∘ incident light, respectively, whilst increasing annual energy output by 4.39% and 5.39% for standard UK roof and vertical window tilts, respectively. Significant wide angle reflectance capabilities are demonstrated at specifically λ = 300 nm and 80∘ incident light, with a reflectance reduction of 19.192%. There are now many promising manufacturing techniques for these porous nanostructures, such as AR or wavelength filtering coatings for photovoltaics. Further understanding of the exact parameters needed to replicate these nanostructures must be explored to proceed

E2F1 induces phosphorylation of p53 that is coincident with p53 accumulation and apoptosis

It has been proposed that the E2F1 transcription factor serves as a link between the Rb/E2F proliferation pathway and the p53 apoptosis pathway by inducing the expression of p19ARF, a protein that regulates p53 stability. We find that although p19ARF contributes to p53 accumulation in response to E2F expression, p19ARF is not required for E2F1-mediated apoptosis. E2F1 can signal p53 phosphorylation in the absence of p19ARF, similar to the observed modifications to p53 in response to DNA damage. These modifications are not observed in the absence of p19ARF following expression of E2F2, an E2F family member that does not induce apoptosis in mouse embryo fibroblasts but can induce p19ARF and p53 protein expression. p53 modification is found to be crucial for E2F1-mediated apoptosis, and this apoptosis is compromised when E2F1 is coexpressed with a p53 mutant lacking many N- and C-terminal phosphorylation sites. Additionally, E2F1-mediated apoptosis is abolished in the presence of caffeine, an inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related kinases that phosphorylate p53. These findings suggest that p53 phosphorylation is a key step in E2F1-mediated apoptosis and that this modification can occur in the absence of p19ARF

A study protocol to develop the domains of an observational well-being scale (WEBS) for non-verbal children and young people with cerebral palsy from using the Innowalk.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of permanent disorders of the development of movement and posture often accompanied by disturbances of communication and behaviour. For those with more severe physical disabilities, their ability to participate in physical activities is limited, which includes those with walking limitations. It is known that adults with CP are prone to early development of chronic diseases such as a cardiovascular disease. Increasing physical activity levels improves well-being across the general population, including children without disabilities. Whether this is so for those children who have mobility limitations and cannot communicate their feelings is currently unknown. It is also unknown whether and how their well-being and quality of life can be influenced. Well-being in this context refers to how children with CP are able to indicate they are enjoying life in their environments-‘thriving or surviving’ which directly impacts upon their perceived quality of life. This research will observe children using the Innowalk, a robotic device as one context for them to indicate their well-being. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2017) guidelines for the management of CP included recommendations to use validated measures to monitor their mental health and well-being, however available questionnaires are problematic for those who cannot communicate verbally or have a learning disability and experience epilepsy, fatigue or pain. Additionally, Mpundu-Kaambwa et al (2018) did not find a valid and reliable measure of well-being for those with complex disabilities. However, a recent development by Oliver et al (2020), the Be-Well checklist for children with profound disabilities, has informed this study. Profound disabilities refer to those children with severe learning disabilities and complex needs. Other existing well-being measures will be reviewed in a co-productive way with children and their parents, to develop the domains for this new observational well-being scale for children with CP. This research will use the context of the Innowalk to observe well-being indicators in the children’s responses. Problem: The lack of a valid and reliable measurement scale for the well-being of children and young people with complex CP. Interest: Developing and testing a new scale by observing the well-being of non-ambulant and non-verbal children and young people with CP when using the Innowalk. Context: Special School setting for children and young people with CP Outcome: The domains established will enable the content validity to be evaluated in larger funded study to test the psychometric properties of the WEBS

Control and efficiency analysis for a Lundell-alternator/active-rectifier system in automotive applications

This paper presents a control strategy for a conventional Lundell alternator and an active-rectifier. The control scheme focuses on the minimisation of the stator copper losses of the alternator in an effort to maximise its efficiency. The modulation scheme of the active-rectifier is being investigated with the introduction of three different modulation techniques in order to quantify the effect they have on the alternator’s efficiency. Steady-state results from experimental measurements of the alternator rectifier system are compared against a standard passive rectifier. The comparison indicates that the modulation scheme of the active-rectifier is significant to the alternator’s efficiency as well as to the overall system efficiency