Redesigning our Conception of Local Food Utilizing a Value-Based Approach

The goal of this study was to design a new method of evaluating and building local food systems which is based on a new conception of how we view local food. Beginning with a review of the current literature on how local food is defined and its apparent goals, I begin to pick apart the dated idea that local needs not be more complex than the 400-mile limit offered by the USDA. Utilizing the literature review, I bring together a host of values that local food seems to (want to) embody and use these to form a pathway toward the creation of ideal food systems. I then evaluate this new value-based definition by applying it to three separate case studies in Hardwick, Vermont, Fort Worth, Texas, and Prince George’s County, Maryland. Each offers a unique perspective on food security, one of the six values embodied by local food, and provides insight into the ways this new system can be useful in working to make sustainable, equitable change in community food systems. I ultimately conclude that this new method which is value-centric in designing what our local food systems should look like is a non-comprehensive, valuable starting point to help us begin to evaluate our current food systems and how we would ideally like to see them

Methods to increase the efficiency of precise CRISPR genome editing

Pluripotente Stammzellen haben das Potential, in unterschiedliche Zelltypen zu differenzieren und können genutzt werden, um organähnliche Mikrostrukturen zu generieren. Somit können molekulare Unterschiede verschiedenster künstlich differenzierter Gewebe, etwa zwischen Mensch und Schimpanse, anhand von pluripotenten Ausgangszellen untersucht werden. Da die Genome unserer nächsten ausgestorbenen Verwandten Neandertaler und Denisovaner aus konservierter DNA in alten Knochen sequenziert wurden, könnten ebenso Unterschiede zwischen Mensch und diesen Spezies oder dem letzten gemeinsamen Vorfahren untersucht werden. Dies erfordert jedoch die Generierung neandertalisierter Stammzellen durch künstliche Integration von Neandertalerallelen in humane Stammzellen, etwa durch die CRISPR Genomeditierungstechnik. Durch CRISPR kann ein DNA-Doppelstrangbruch an einer gewünschten Stelle im Genom eingefügt werden. Die zelluläre Reparatur des Doppelstrangbruchs ermöglicht dann die Editierung des Genoms. Basierend auf einer DNA-Matrize, die die gewünschte Modifikation trägt, kann das Genom an dieser Stelle präzise editiert werden. Die Effizienz präziser Editierung ist jedoch sehr niedrig im Vergleich zu unpräziser Reparatur. Um möglichst effizient neandertalisierte Stammzellen generieren zu können, wurden im Zuge dieser Doktorarbeit Methoden entwickelt, welche die präzise Genomeditierungseffizienz drastisch steigern. Zum einen wurde aus mehreren niedermolekularen Substanzen, welche mit Proteinen der DNA-Reparaturen interagieren, ein optimierter Mix entwickelt. Weiterhin konnte durch eine Mutation in einem zentralen Reparaturprotein die Effizienz für die Editierung eines einzelnen Gens auf 87% erhöht werden. Diese hohe Effizienz ermöglicht erstmals die präzise homozygote Editierung von vier Genen auf einmal in ein und derselben Zell

An Ergonomics Analysis of Redundancy Effect in Touch Screen Design for the Aged Population

Touch screen technology is rapidly increasing, and at the same time there is a shifting, aging population. As the percentage of the population over the age of 65 increases, adults of the age group are adopting smartphones and tablets more now than ever before. Although older adults are adopting touch screen devices, they face many challenges when interacting with said devices, such as not knowing how to navigate between pages, not knowing where to click for an action to occur, and the touch screen interface is often too sensitive or the buttons are not big enough. Furthermore, the challenges of aging, specifically sensory and cognitive decline resulting from aging affect comprehension and spacial processing, which are critical when navigating through an interface. The purpose of this thesis was to better understand redundancy effect applied to females and males between the ages of 65 and 84. There were two tasks of different lengths, and for each task there were two designs. The first design included text only buttons, and the second included symbol + text buttons, the latter being the redundant interface. Quantitative results yielded no significant results for time for either task. Qualitative results included ratings for ease of navigation, general satisfaction, overall understanding, and button design preference. Preferences between text only buttons were statistically significant; for the task of online grocery shopping and booking a cruise, females prefer text only buttons and males prefer symbol + text buttons (p = 0.0068 and p = 0.0024). Although button design had no significance in completing a task, significant preference results indicate likelihood to return to a given website. Furthermore, although quantitative results were not significant, gender did influence average times per task and average ratings across categories. Further research could be conducted with larger sample sizes, other forms of redundancy, and larger tasks, however it is evident through this experiment that gender has an impact on how adults between 65 and 84 perceive and navigate through touch screen interfaces given the constraints of the symbols used, ages, and task designs. Therefore, concluding recommendations based on the qualitative data suggest that designers should create gender specific interfaces based on gender favored websites, or design based on the ability to customize the interface upon entering a website

Things NOT to do on CyRide

Tips to being a better CyRide passenger

Taboos and Primitivism: James Frazer, H.G. Wells, and the Intersection of Anthropology and Science Fiction

A study of H.G. Wells\u27s early scientific romances, The Time Machine and Island of Moreau, and the influence of Sir James G. Frazer. In 1890, Frazer published the first two volumes of The Golden Bough, sparking an interest among members of British Victorian society in comparative religion, primitive societies, and the universal stages by which civilization develops. This thesis traces a connection between Frazer and his anthropological perspective on Wells as a writer and social commentator

Entwicklung eines Inkubationssystems für ein inverses Mikroskop zur Langzeitbeobachtung von Zellkulturen in gekammerten Objektträgern

Trifunctional bispecific antibodies open up new immunological possibilities in tumour treatment. Prior to clinical application, comprehensive investigations using animal models and in vitro examinations need to be done. To investigate long-term interactions between Various immunologically active blood cells and individual tumour cells in the presence of antibodies, we developed an incubation system for experimental cell cultures on an inverted microscope. The system consists of a perspex box with a central moisture chamber with integrated water reservoir, external air circulation heating, and a CO2 supply. The sterile cell cultures are located in the wells of a slide positioned within a depression in the water reservoir. The newly developed incubation system enables continuous observation over the long term of experiments under optimal cell cultures conditions in combination with modern video techniques

Emergency sonography : the use of focused assessment with sonography for trauma in mid-American trauma centers [abstract]

The use of Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) has steadily increased as a safe, inexpensive, noninvasive, and quick alternative to other imaging modalities, such as computed tomography (CT), in evaluating free-fluid caused by trauma. However, lack of regulation makes it difficult to assess its prevalence and who is performing the scans. As a result, accuracy is widely variable depending on the person performing the scan and how much training they have received. The purpose of this study is to interview the trauma centers of Missouri with a survey to measure how much ultrasound is used in the emergency setting and who is performing the scans in the state