Non-equilibrium phenomena and molecular reaction dynamics: mode space, energy space and conformer space

status: publishe

Awards Presentation

Mark Whorton, Chief Technology Officer of The Georgia Tech Research Institute, will emcee our awards presentation. There will also be a special presentation during this time from Robert Lightfoot, Vice President of Strategy and Business Development for Lockheed Martin Space

Going Beyond Earth Orbit: What it Takes

No abstract availabl

Creating and Implementing an Online Course Etiquette Appreciative Agreement: Recommendations and Insights for Updating Course Material and Social Expectations to Aid in the Transition to Online Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

A tech report created by the Texas A&M University Engineering Education Faculty and FriendsWith the threat of COVID-19 risking the health and safety of the 19.9 million students and 1.5 million faculty studying and working at colleges and universities across the U.S., these institutions have had little choice but to replace traditional, in-person classes with online, virtual alternatives. This unprecedented rapid adjustment has come with many unexpected difficulties as neither faculty nor students were prepared to teach or learn virtually, respectively. Beyond the obvious challenges of converting course material and accessing resources, an invisible difficulty lies in the lack of social expectations for this unfamiliar environment. A majority of the students and faculty do not know how to properly interact in an online setting. The home environment creates a completely different set of norms and expectations, many of which can be distracting and deleterious to the classroom environment. Thus, there is a critical need to provide students (and faculty) with a set of expectations to help set the tone of the virtual classroom. In the absence of such knowledge, the virtual classroom will be at a disadvantage for providing an effective learning environment, disenfranchising, and causing irreparable damage to the education of millions of students across the nation. As such, this document provides a recommended etiquette template for faculty to use in their classroom. This document has been implemented, tested, and improved across several courses at Texas A&M University. We are sharing this etiquette template so that other faculty at TAMU and other universities can use it to test the tone in their virtual classroom

Assessment of Inherent and Operational Errors in Geographic Information Systems

This thesis was conducted as a case study for examining the amount of inherent, operational, and total error possible in products of a typical geographic information system. The error inherent in commonly used base maps or GIS data layers was assessed by comparing map data to field data at specific sample points located within the study area east of Stillwater, Oklahoma. GIS data layers used by this study were: (1) landcover; (2) slope angle; (3) slope aspect; and (4) soil type. Operational error is a result of human error and computer algorithm error created by the GIS process, while total error is a combination of both inherent and operational error and relates to the actual accuracy of any GIS product. This study calculates operational error and the theoretical minimum, maximum, and actual total error levels that result from various combinations of the four GIS data layers described above.Geograph

Shuttle Propulsion Overview to NATO

In the early morning on Saturday, February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia broke up during entry. After extensive investigation of the accident and recommendations made by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, President Bush gave the vision for space exploration for NASA, which include return the Space Shuttle to flight as soon as practical, complete assembly of the ISS by the end of the decade, initiate robotic missions to the moon no later than 2008, develop a new Crew Exploration Vehicle, conduct first robotic, then human missions to Mars and extend human exploration across the solar system

Eukarion-134 Attenuates Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Induced Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Human Skeletal Muscle Cells

Maladaptive endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is associated with modified reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and mitochondrial abnormalities; and is postulated as a potential mechanism involved in muscle weakness in myositis, an acquired autoimmune neuromuscular disease. This study investigates the impact of ROS generation in an in vitro model of ER stress in skeletal muscle, using the ER stress inducer tunicamycin (24 h) in the presence or absence of a superoxide dismutase/catalase mimetic Eukarion (EUK)-134. Tunicamycin induced maladaptive ER stress, which was mitigated by EUK-134 at the transcriptional level. ER stress promoted mitochondrial dysfunction, described by substantial loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, as well as a reduction in respiratory control ratio, reserve capacity, phosphorylating respiration, and coupling efficiency, which was ameliorated by EUK-134. Tunicamycin induced ROS-mediated biogenesis and fusion of mitochondria, which, however, had high propensity of fragmentation, accompanied by upregulated mRNA levels of fission-related markers. Increased cellular ROS generation was observed under ER stress that was prevented by EUK-134, even though no changes in mitochondrial superoxide were noticeable. These findings suggest that targeting ROS generation using EUK-134 can amend aspects of ER stress-induced changes in mitochondrial dynamics and function, and therefore, in instances of chronic ER stress, such as in myositis, quenching ROS generation may be a promising therapy for muscle weakness and dysfunction

A Culturally Competent Phenotypic Evaluation / Obesity Assessment in African and African American Populations: Pilot Study

BMI, a ratio of weight over height, is a culturally-biased tool imposed upon the scientific, academic and medical communities as an errant measure of obesity across ethnic - ity. Body Mass Index (BMI) relates mass (g) to a relative fat distribution with regards to height. Its genesis is from the actuarially derived and ethnically exclusive height and weight tables that promote the fictional notion of inter-eth - nic ideal weights that would be later adopted by the Na - tional Institutes of Health (NIH) as a competent measure of adiposity. Best practice, movement towards individualized medicine and deployment of effective models that impact the diabetes epidemic and its related precursors like insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome, requires terminal use of BMI, a biologically meaningless and crude indicator of obesity, in favor of effective and culturally competent non-relative body composition evaluation of genetically determined adiposity that untenably compares values among groups. African Americans are among the increasingly affected groups for diabetes and posses unique composition variation requiring proper intra-cultural evaluation independent of inter-ethnic Eurocentric assumptions that over assesses obesity risk. Incorporating use of 4C models to evaluate adiposity and assess risk for diabetic predisposition and onset provides an effective unbiased assessment of the cultural components inherent within body composition variation among ethnicity, age, gender. Obesity and type II diabetes onset and pre-disposition is assessed phenotypically, in creation of a body mass profile among African and African American groups, using 4C model, photography, anthropometry, somatotype and genetic evaluation. Environmental obeseogenic cultural factors are also explored

Food Preferences Survey in African Americans and West Africans: A Cultural Exploration of Agreement and Divergence in Attitudes in Food Environments and Food Responses

African Americans, currently over-represented among low SES groups, have been found to be among the most at risk groups for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Phenotypic expression, such as obesity, result from the combined effect of genetic inheritance and environmental influences. Environmental dynamics interact with individuals on micro, meso and ecto levels (Bronfrenbrenner, 1989), are diverse and cultural (Vygotsky, 1993) and are learned by individuals through modeling and observation (Bandura, 1989). Environmental factors such as parental influence and modeling, availability and accessibility of produce, sweetened drinks and fast foods, can contribute to or minimize the onset of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Consumption of fruits, vegetables and water has been shown to militate against the onset of obesity and type 2 diabetes. In the study ‘Genetic Bottlenecks Impacting Genes Governing Food Responses in African Americans’ the author considers the genetic and environmental responses to the onset of obesity and Type II diabetes among African Americans. The author uses a culturally competent model for repeated traits *(P=μ+G+Ep+Et) to evaluate the genotype/phenotype of African Americans. This model incorporates the contribution of temporary and permanent cultural environmental factors of historical origin, related to food responses, predisposition, metabolism and ethnic adjusted mean values of physical assessment to examine if the environment/genotype variables are informative towards the type 2 diabetes expression among African Americans, and to assess the validity of BMI as a predictor of adiposity and/or obesity prevalence among non-European populations. The main goal was to evaluate the relationship between BMI, fat distribution/prediction, variation among phenotypes and assess their relationships to the obesity genotype and environmental influences affecting metabolism and food choice

In search of professionalism, bureaucracy and sustainable livelihoods for the 21st century

Summary In the 21st century, vastly more people will need to gain sustainable livelihoods in difficult environments. For this, changes are needed on the part of outsiders — professionals, officials and others — who have overlooked or underestimated the complexity and diversity of rural conditions, rural people's ability to take a long?term view, and their knowledge, creativity and competence in presenting and analysing complex information. To serve poor people better, much of the challenge now is methodological: for better learning from, with and by rural people, for enabling them to express and enhance their competence and creativity; and for the improvement and spread of new methods for changing the behaviour and attitudes of outsiders. Resumen En busca de profesionalismo, burocracia y sustento permanente para el siglo XXI En el siglo XXI, muchísimas mas personas deberán alcanzar sustento permanente en medio ambientes difíciles. Para esto, deberá haber cambios por parte de algunos sectores — profesionales, oficiales y otros — que han pasado por alto o subestimado la diversidad y complejidad de las condiciones rurales, la habilidad de los pobladores rurales para asumir una visión a largo plazo, y sus conocimientos, creatividad y competencia para presentar y analizar información intrincada. Para servir mejor a las comunidades carenciadas, la mayor parte del desafío actual es metodológica: para un mejor aprendizaje de, con y por pobladores rurales; para permitirles expresar e incrementar su competencia y creatividad; y para el mejoramiento y extensión de nuevas formas para cambiar el comportamiento y las posturas políticas de los sectores diversos. Résumé À la recherche du professionnalisme, la bureaucratie et le maintien soutenu au 21ème siècle Au 21ème siècle un nombre fortement accru d'êtres humains chercheront à exploiter des moyens soutenus d'existence dans des environnements difficiles. Ainsi, des changements doivent intervenir au niveau des tiers — professionnels, officiels et autres — qui auront soit passé outre, soit sous?estimé la complexité et la diversité des conditions rurales, ainsi que la capacité des ruraux mêmes de déterminer les politiques à long terme; leur propre créativité; et leur expertise en ce qui concerne la présentation et l'analyse des informations complexes. Si l'on veut offrir un meilleur service aux populations déshéritées, le défi sera désormais de savoir quelle méthodologie est la mieux adaptée non seulement à recevoir ce qu'ont à nous apprendre les peuples ruraux (tout en partageant cet apprentissage avec eux et en leur transferant nos propres connaissances); mais aussi, quelle méthodologie leur permettra d'exprimer et de mettre en valeur leur expertise et leur créativité; et pourra enfin améliorer et propager les nouvelles méthodes capables de modifier le comportement et les attitudes des tiers venus de l'extérieur