Project SHINE: Evaluating Mobile Based Learning Resources for Novice Tutors

This project was completed as part of the graduation requirements for the LTEC masters program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The project was presented at the 20th Annual Technology, Colleges, and Community Worldwide Online Conference.The Students Helping in Naturalization of Elders Project of Honolulu is part of a national service-learning initiative that helps elderly immigrants pass the naturalization examination for United States citizenship. Service learning volunteers commit to ten weeks of service and enter into the program with little to no experience teaching English as a Second Language. The researcher designed a website to provide a repository of just-in-time English as a Second Language tutoring resources for mobile devices. Therefore, the purpose of this usability study was to examine the ease of use of this website on mobile devices. The researcher recruited participants from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa student clubs and organizations with a stated mission of learning through community service. Participants answered questions about how they use mobile devices. A mobile device fitted with a wireless camera rig captured the gestures of the participants in authentic mobile environments on the campus of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Three cycles of iterative design took place over a three-month period. Thirteen participants indicated that the mobile website was well organized, had pleasing design elements, and the site was easy to use. Participant feedback and suggestions contributed to the website's final design

2D NMR structural study of a DNA duplex containing two unnatural base pairs

DNA is the genetic blueprint responsible for the traits of living organisms. The genetic alphabet consists of four molecules called nucleobases, represented by the letters A, T, G, and C strung together in a strand. A DNA duplex consists of two strands held together such that A is across from T and G across from C, referred to A-T and G-C base pairs . Recently, the genetic alphabet or code has been expanded by synthetic biologists in an effort to unveil new insights to the machinery of DNA replication, and potentially develop new medicines to cure diseases like HIV. The new unnatural base pair 5SICS-NaM is the first to be stably replicated by a semi-synthetic E. Coli organism. This project investigates the structure of a novel DNA duplex containing two 5SICS-NaM pairs arranged side-by-side using a technique called NMR spectroscopy. Thus far, NMR chemical shift assignments for this duplex have been largely completed which provide some information as to the structural configuration of the base pairs. Preliminary results indicate that one of the two adjacent 5SICS-NaM pairs is situated within the duplex, whereas the other may have the 5SICS base pushed out of the duplex with its paired NaM base stacked quite normally. Further analysis of the data should allow us to propose a more precise structure of the DNA duplex as well as provide insight into the versatility of DNA replication machinery to recognize altered DNA structures

Toward the nonmetal-to-metal phase transition of helium

Properties of helium under high pressure are of great importance for a variety of astrophysical objects. This work presents results of extensive ab initio calculations for high-pressure helium regarding the equation of state, the melting line, the electrical conductivity, the reflectivity, and the band gap. The calculations determined a higher-order phase transition from an insulating to a conducting phase which has been discussed for decades. This work finally proposes an update of the phase diagram of helium and discusses its implications on dwarf stars and giant planets.Die Eigenschaften von Helium unter hohem Druck sind wichtig für eine Vielzahl von astrophysikalischen Objekten. Diese Arbeit präsentiert die Ergebnisse umfangreicher Ab-initio-Berechnungen für Helium. Insbesondere wurde die Zustandsgleichung, die elektrische Leitfähigkeit, das Reflexionsvermögen und die Bandlücke berechnet. Die Ergebnisse weisen einen kontinuierlichen Phasenübergang zwischen isolierendem und elektrisch leitfähigem Helium nach. Schließlich zeigt diese Arbeit ein aktualisiertes Phasendiagramm von Helium und diskutiert die Konsequenzen für Zwergsterne und Riesenplaneten

Strategische Ansatzpunkte für Nachhaltigkeit in Stadtregionen

Metropolregionen sind in Gestalt und Zielsetzungen vielfältig. Ein Blick auf Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten jenseits der dominierenden Wachstums- und Wettbewerbsorientierung eröffnet dabei neue Perspektiven. In ausgewählten Handlungsfeldern könnten Metropolregionen nämlich einen wichtigen Beitrag zu einer nachhaltigen Regionalentwicklung leisten

Stadt, Land Me(e/h)r - ein Mosaik der Integration?

Zum Abschluss des Jungen Forums 2009 wurde im Sinne des Tagungsthemas "Integration" ein neuer Ansatz der Plenumsarbeit ausprobiert. Mithilfe der Methode "OpenSpace" wurden in den Arbeitsgruppen vorbereitete Fragestellungen übergreifend diskutiert und die Ergebnisse reflektiert. Hier erreichte die Diskussion zwar eine geringere Tiefe als in den Arbeitsgruppen, aber es konnten wichtige Querbezüge der einzelnen Themen hergestellt werden. Das Ergebnis war eine übergreifende Diskussion des Tagungsthemas "Integration - Stadt, Land, Mee(h)r" deren Ergebnis das Junge Forum 2009 gewinnbringend abrundete. Integration wurde als eine Aufgabe herausgestellt, die Planung und Akteure in vielfältiger Weise fordert, was Planungsinhalte und nötige Qualifikationen der Planenden angeht.At the end of its conference, the Junges Forum 2009 (Young Professionals’ Forum) tried a new approach to working in the plenum within the spirit of the conference topic of "integration". The "OpenSpace" method allowed for joined-up discussion of the questions prepared in the working groups and reflection on the results of discussion. This discussion could not be as in-depth as the preceding discussions in the respective working groups, but the results revealed important cross-connections. In a very positive way, the discussion pulled together various aspects of the conference topic of "Integration - Stadt, Land, Mee(h)r" ("Town, country and beyond"), a title which in German plays on the homophony of the words for ‘sea’ and ‘more’. Integration was seen as a multi-faceted challenge to planning and to all of the actors involved, touching both on the content of planning as well as on the qualifications required on the part of planners

Rebound macular edema following oral acetazolamide therapy for juvenile X-linked retinoschisis in an Italian family

BACKGROUND: Juvenile X-linked retinoschisis (RS1, OMIM: 312700) is a hereditary vitreoretinal dystrophy characterized by bilateral foveal schisis and, in half of the patients, splitting through the nerve fiber layer in the peripheral retina. In the first decade of life, patients usually develop a decrease in visual acuity. Long-term visual outcomes can be poor due to the limited number of known successful treatments. PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to present, for the first time, a p.Arg197Cys missense mutation in the RS1 gene (OMIM: 300839) in a four-generation Italian family with RS1 and to examine the clinical response to the treatment with acetazolamide tablets alone or in combination with dorzolamide eye drops as assessed by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). METHODS: Eleven individuals, including two brothers with RS1 (patients 1 and 2), underwent a full medical history examination and a comprehensive ocular assessment that involved SD-OCT, fluorescein angiography, electroretinography and DNA analysis. Each RS1 patient received oral acetazolamide (375 mg daily) during the first three months. Thereafter, patient 1 continued only with dorzolamide eyedrops three times a day for a period of three months, while patient 2 spontaneously stopped both medications. RESULTS: Sequence analysis of the RS1 gene identified a hemizygous c.589C>T (p.Arg197Cys) missense mutation in exon 6, which has not been previously reported in an Italian family. A different response to the medical therapy was observed in the four eyes of the two affected brothers hemizygous for this abnormality. Of note, after acetazolamide interruption, a rebound effect on cystoid macular edema reduced the beneficial effects of the initial therapy for RS1 from p.Arg197Cys mutation. Indeed, a minimal rebound effect on cystoid macular edema, and an improvement in visual acuity, was observed in patient 1 during the six months of treatment. Conversely, in patient 2, an initial improvement in cystoid macular edema was not associated with visual acuity changes, followed by a marked rebound effect. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the sequential use of acetazolamide tablets and dorzolamide eye drops should be considered and studied further as a possible treatment for macular edema and visual impairment in patients with RS1 from a hemizygous p.Arg197Cys mutation