Wireless Sensor Networks for Long-Term Monitoring of Urban Noise

Noise pollution in urban environments is becoming increasingly common and it has potential to negatively impact people’s health and decrease overall productivity. In order to alleviate these effects, it is important to better quantify noise patterns and levels through data collection and analysis. Wireless sensor networks offer a method for achieving this with a higher level of granularity than traditional handheld devices. In this study, a wireless sensing unit (WSU) was developed that possesses the same functionality as a handheld sound level meter. The WSU is comprised of a microcontroller unit that enables on-board computations, a wireless transceiver that uses Zigbee protocol for data transmission, and an external peripheral board that houses the microphone transducer. The WSU utilizes on-board data processing techniques to monitor noise by computing equivalent continuous sound levels, LeqT, which effectively minimizes data transmission and increases the overall longevity of the node. Strategies are also employed to ensure real-time functionality is maintained on the sensing unit, with a focus on preventing bottlenecks between data acquisition, data processing, and wireless transmission. Four units were deployed in two weeks field validation test and were shown to be capable of monitoring noise for extended periods of time

The use of a rainfall simulator for brush control research on the Edwards Plateau region of Texas

The thicketization of the semi-arid region of the United States has resulted in a dramatic change allowing invasive woody species to dominate the landscape with an unknown impact to the water budget. This landscape transformation has created a need to study the hydrology of the region and in particular the effects of increased brush on the water cycle. To study the effects of invasive brush on the water budget, a portable abovecanopy rainfall simulator was developed for plot scale hydrologic research. The rainfall simulator was tested at various field locations, including within the Edwards Plateau, to replicate natural rainfall events on typical hillslope-scale plots. The rainfall simulator was used to quantify aspects of the water budget for a 7 m by 14 m research plot on the Edwards Plateau in Texas. Three rainfall simulation dates were selected for detailed hydrologic analysis. Overall, throughfall accounted for 74% of the water applied to the plot, while 26% of applied water was in the form of stemflow. Lateral subsurface flow represented 33% of the water measured leaving the research plot. A notable result of rainfall simulations was extensive lateral subsurface flow and no surface runoff. The rainfall simulator has proven to be a cost-effective and efficient research tool for replicating natural rainfall in arid and semi-arid environments

Ice-nucleating particles in the central Arctic

A small subset of aerosol particles can induce ice-nucleation in supercooled liquid droplets. These ice-nucleating particles (INP) are responsible for the primary, heterogeneous nucleation of ice in clouds, and knowledge of their concentrations, sources and characteristics is necessary to accurately represent these mixed-phased clouds in models. This is particularly important in regions such as the central Arctic Ocean, where there are persistent mixed-phased clouds that help shape the radiative budget of the Arctic but very few measurements of INP, none of which are at cloud altitude. This thesis aimed to tackle the dearth of central Arctic INP data through the design and use of novel instrumentation, and a field campaign aboard an icebreaker which saw measurements of INP measurements made at both ship and cloud level close to the North Pole (88-90°N). Firstly, a high-volume, size-selective aerosol sampler capable of being deployed for hours at a time at altitudes and temperatures relevant for mixed phased clouds was designed and tested. This sampler was used on a 2-month campaign to the central Arctic ocean from August-September 2018, alongside ship-based INP measurements. The central Arctic INP concentrations at sea-level were highly variable, with concentrations as low as could be expected in the Southern Oceans, and as high as those measured in rural farmland. The INP were found to be heat-sensitive, and the most active samples originated from the Arctic coasts of Russia. The samples with the least INP activity were from the pack ice and Canadian Arctic. The concentrations measured at cloud-level were often decoupled from those at the surface, demonstrating the necessity for more airborne measurements of INP. Additionally, the INP at cloud-level were often smaller than expected, at <0.25 μm in aerodynamic diameter. Finally, in order to better probe the characteristics of sampled INP in the future, a microfluidic device capable of sorting ice crystals containing INP active at a specific temperature from the bulk sample was developed

Impact of Community Pharmacists on Management of Cancer Chemotherapy and the Resulting Side Effects

The severe side effects of chemotherapy negatively affect quality of life and may limit the amount of life-saving drug delivered to patients with cancer. These adverse events can be difficult to manage and evidence-based guidelines are lacking. Insufficient supportive care can amplify common side effects, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), myelosuppression, alopecia, gastrointestinal effects and neuropathy. Therefore, it is important to recognize the most commonly dispensed chemotherapy agents and the side effects that accompany them. Community pharmacists, as easily accessible health care professionals, can provide valuable supportive care to help manage potentially debilitating side effects. However, a major limitation when managing side effects secondary to chemotherapy is the limited access to patient information in most community pharmacies. By allowing community pharmacists increased access to patient health records using technology, limitations experienced in practice can be averted and quality care provided

Friday Convocation

Program listing performers and works performe

Navigating the challenges of L2 reading: self-efficacy, self-regulatory reading strategies and learner profiles

Reading in a foreign language has value for learners as a potentially rich source of input as well as enjoyment. It requires persistence, however. Within models of self-regulated learning, persistence relates to learners’ selfefficacy and use of strategies to aid task completion and regulation of engagement. Yet the relationship between self-efficacy and self-regulatory strategies is underexplored for L2 reading, despite some intervention studies finding that instruction aimed at improving strategy use positively influences self-efficacy. The current study investigated the relationship between what we called text engagement regulatory reading strategies (TERRS) and reading self-efficacy among 529 beginner learners of French. It also explored whether different learner profiles exist with respect to that relationship, and how far learners of different profiles benefited in respect of reading self-efficacy from three instructional approaches: phonics instruction plus the use of challenging texts; strategy-based instruction, using the same texts; and using the texts only (no explicit phonics or strategy instruction). The use of TERRS was an important predictor of reading self-efficacy and central to three distinct learner profile clusters. Increases in reading self-efficacy were significantly greater for learners of certain profiles who received strategy-based instruction, with implications for theories of selfregulated language learning and classroom practice

The Los Angeles Healthy Community Neighborhood Initiative: A Ten Year Experience in Building and Sustaining a Successful Community-Academic Partnership

Developing effective Community-Academic Partnerships (CAPs) is challenging, and the steps to build and sustain them have not been well documented. This paper describes efforts to form and sustain the Healthy Community Neighborhood Initiative (HCNI), a CAP to improve health in a low-income community in South Los Angeles. Moderated, semi-structured discussions with HCNI community and academic partners were used to develop a framework for CAP formation. We identified two key features, shared values and respect, as critical to the decision to form the HCNI. Five elements were identified as necessary for building and sustaining the HCNI: trust, transparency, equity and fairness, adequate resources and developing protocols to provide structure. We also identified several challenges and barriers and the strategies used in the HCNI to mitigate these challenges. We developed a framework to incorporate and reinforce the key elements identified as crucial in building and sustaining a CAP in a low-income community

ETV6 germline mutations cause HDAC3/NCOR2 mislocalization and upregulation of interferon response genes

ETV6 is an ETS family transcription factor that plays a key role in hematopoiesis and megakaryocyte development. Our group and others have identified germline mutations in ETV6 resulting in autosomal dominant thrombocytopenia and predisposition to malignancy; however, molecular mechanisms defining the role of ETV6 in megakaryocyte development have not been well established. Using a combination of molecular, biochemical, and sequencing approaches in patient-derived PBMCs, we demonstrate abnormal cytoplasmic localization of ETV6 and the HDAC3/NCOR2 repressor complex that led to overexpression of HDAC3-regulated interferon response genes. This transcriptional dysregulation was also reflected in patient-derived platelet transcripts and drove aberrant proplatelet formation in megakaryocytes. Our results suggest that aberrant transcription may predispose patients with ETV6 mutations to bone marrow inflammation, dysplasia, and megakaryocyte dysfunction

Disease Progression and Serological Assay Performance in Heritage Breed Pigs following Brucella suis Experimental Challenge as a Model for Naturally Infected Feral Swine

Invasive feral swine (Sus scrofa) are one of the most important wildlife species for disease surveillance in the United States, serving as a reservoir for various diseases of concern for the health of humans and domestic animals. Brucella suis, the causative agent of swine brucellosis, is one such pathogen carried and transmitted by feral swine. Serology assays are the preferred field diagnostic for B. suis infection, as whole blood can be readily collected and antibodies are highly stable. However, serological assays frequently have lower sensitivity and specificity, and few studies have validated serological assays for B. suis in feral swine. We conducted an experimental infection of Ossabaw Island Hogs (a breed re-domesticated from feral animals) as a disease-free proxy for feral swine to (1) improve understanding of bacterial dissemination and antibody response following B. suis infection and (2) evaluate potential changes in the performance of serological diagnostic assays over the course of infection. Animals were inoculated with B. suis and serially euthanized across a 16-week period, with samples collected at the time of euthanasia. The 8% card agglutination test performed best, whereas the fluorescence polarization assay demonstrated no capacity to differentiate true positive from true negative animals. Froma disease surveillance perspective, using the 8%card agglutination test in parallel with either the buffered acidified plate antigen test or the Brucella abortus/suis complement fixation test provided the best performance with the highest probability of a positive assay result. Application of these combinations of diagnostic assays for B. suis surveillance among feral swine would improve understanding of spillover risks at the national level

Do High Frequency Ultrasound Images Support Clinical Skin Assessment?

High frequency ultrasound imaging has been reported as a potential method of identifying the suspected tissue damage in patients “at risk” of pressure ulceration. The aim of this study was to explore whether ultrasound images supported the clinical skin assessment in an inpatient population through identification of subcutaneous tissue damage. Skin on the heels and/or sacral coccygeal area of fifty vascular surgery inpatients was assessed clinically by tissue viability nurses and with ultrasound pre operatively and at least every other day until discharge. Images were compared to routine clinical skin assessment outcomes. Qualitative classification of ultrasound images did not match outcomes yielded through the clinical skin assessment. Images corresponding to 16 participants were classified as subgroup 3 damage at the heels (equivalent to grade 2 pressure ulceration); clinical skin assessment rated no heels as greater than grade 1a (blanching erythema). Conversely, all images captured of the sacral coccygeal area were classified as normal; the clinical skin assessment rated two participants as grade 1b (non-blanching erythema). Ultrasound imaging is a potentially useful adjunct to the clinical skin assessment in providing information about the underlying tissue. However, further longitudinal clinical assessment is required to characterise images against actual and “staged” pressure ulceration