Implementation of an Online Adolescent Oncology Support Group

Adolescence is a time for social and emotional growth and learning how they interact and engage in the world around them. When an adolescent is diagnosed with a life threatening cancer diagnosis, it can have a substantial impact on their ability to maintain social and emotional connections with their peers. Disruptions in school and peer relationships can lead to isolation, withdrawal and poor coping. Many factors contribute to a teens inability to stay connected with their current peer group, as well as make it difficult to develop and meet new peers in the hospital setting that are also coping with a cancer diagnosis. With an increase in adolescents use of technology, phone use and social media, an online support group was established for teens undergoing and 1 year post cancer treatment in a rural hospital setting. The group was implemented, facilitated and evaluated by a certified child life specialist. This paper will examine the effectiveness of an online platform for teens diagnosed and undergoing cancer treatment for improving peer relations, increased coping, and expression of feelings

Variation in mineral content of prairie forb species and content changes over winter related to slagging potential

Coal fired power plants are responsible for more than 75 percent of the energy produced in Iowa. Burning coal releases large amount of carbon dioxide and other chemical compounds into the atmosphere. A variety of types of biomass, including prairie vegetation, are being proposed as biofuel alternatives for electrical generation. Tilman et al. (2006) determined that biofuels from mixtures of prairie vegetation of increasing diversity provide more usable energy, reduce greenhouse gases and produce less agriculture pollutants. The Prairie Power Project of the Tallgrass Prairie Center is testing four mixtures of prairie species for maximum production of biomass. A primary concerns regarding burning prairie biomass for electrical generation is the potential for slag production from trace metals and other minerals during the combustion process (Skrifvars et al. 1998). Adler et al. (2006) observed that the mineral content of switchgrass declined from summer to fall harvest and dropped further the following spring. Little is known about the slagging potential of prairie forbs. This study examined the concentration of three minerals, potassium, sodium, and silicon, in nine prairie forb species in relation to their potential for slagging. Samples of the prairie forbs were collected during late fall and early spring-near the beginning and the end of the winter dormancy period from five different prairie sites. Mineral concentrations of the prairies forbs were compared to determine whether some species had higher potential for slagging than others. Also, concentrations of the minerals were sampled fall and spring to determine if there were changes during the winter dormancy period that would affect slagging potential of the plants. The energy production per unit weight was similar for all the species. The slaginducing chemicals in the prairie forbs varied from species to species. Solidago canadensis, Solidago rigida and Silphium laciniatum exhibited high potential for slagging and should be avoided as biofuels. Desmodium canadensis showed low potential for slagging. Concentrations in Monarda fistulosa, Lespedeza capitata, and Heliopsis helianthoides declined during the winter dormancy. Delaying harvest until spring would improve their candidacy for biomass production

Archeota, Fall 2016

https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/saasc_archeota/1003/thumbnail.jp

You Are Late. Off with Your Heads? : Time in American Pop Culture

Time is perceived to be a valuable resource (Lauer 4). Some people even compare managing their time with managing money: they save and they spend (Lauer 13). Technology has provided a number of timesaving devices to enable people to use time to its fullest potential, and now Americans cram as many activities as possible into a period of time. Often this rushing about is for the sole purpose of creating more leisure time. Instead, in reality the opposite occurs and people are constantly running to beat deadlines and get more done. Ironically, American Popular Culture, obsessed with saving time, has created a scarcity of time

Mathematics anxiety: A study of its causes as proclaimed by educational research

In today\u27s fast-paced, high-stress society, feelings of anxiety have become commonplace; even normal. Of the many anxieties that have been found to affect people, one that I, as a future math teacher, have become very concerned about is mathematics anxiety (also called mathphobia). Even now, during my college career, I have noticed an alarming number of people around me (colleagues, co-workers, relatives, roommates, etc.) who claim to be terrified of math. Listening to their explanations as to why they find math so threatening has made me realize the importance that math anxiety will have in my career. For these reasons, I have chosen to investigate several researchers\u27 theories which attempt to explain the causes of math anxiety in students in hopes of being better able to understand and help my future students. I would also like to describe several methods that have been developed to test students for math anxiety

Two-step thermochemical solar-to-fuel efficiency computation of strontium and chromium doped lanthanum manganite perovskite oxides using CALPHAD

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and profiting on novel synthetic fuels to store and buffer energy from renewable sources (such as solar or wind) is a prime strategy to encounter the global energy challenge. Here, two-step thermochemical fuel production is an energy technology utilizing intermittent solar power to convert water and carbon dioxide into syngas, a renewable fuel that can be stored easily and mitigate CO2 emissions. Success of the technology relies on the discovery of materials with a high thermochemical solar-to-fuel efficiency. Perovskites have attracted much attention recently due to impressive fuel productivity[1, 2]. Although a high fuel productivity shows the feasibility of a material, it does not imply that it is the optimum and most efficient material as it depends largely on the operation of the solar-to-fuel reactor [3, 4]. Literature on thermochemical solar-to-fuel efficiency of perovskites is limited and none of the existing studies measures the thermodynamic properties in the entire temperature range relevant for solar-to-fuel production, namely 1000-1800K. In this work, we use oxygen nonstoichiometry from CALPHAD data libraries on A-site doped La1-xSrxMnO3-δ and B-site doped perovskite La0.6Sr0.4Mn1-yCryO3-δ in a relevant temperature range of 1073-1873K to determine the solar thermochemical efficiency. The oxygen nonstoichiometry and thermodynamic properties extracted from CALPHAD libraries are compared to earlier studies of La1-xSrxMnO3-δ for thermochemical fuel production. We discuss diffferences between the earlier extrapolated models and the CALPHAD descriptions on the presented material examples. Specifically, we show thermochemical equilibrium models of fuel productivity supplemented by validations with experimental results on La1-xSrxMnO3-δ in literature. We make predictions on the most efficient material in the composition space La1-xSrxMn1-yCryO3-δ for different conditions. It is shown that the amount of experimental work can be reduced substantially by using the CALPHAD approach and further making predictions for multi-component systems that would be practically unattainable without this method. The solar-to-fuel field will benefit directly from additional thermodynamic data on perovskites in the relevant temperature range. Further, we provide guidelines in terms of key CALPHAD experiments that enables a mapping of the thermodynamic properties of a wide compositional space of perovskites to find materials with a high thermochemical efficiency. 1. McDaniel, A.H., et al., Sr-and Mn-doped LaAlO3−δ for solar thermochemical H2 and CO production. Energy & Environmental Science, 2013. 6(8): p. 2424-2428. 2. Bork, A.H., et al., Perovskite La0.6Sr 0.4Cr1− xCoxO3−δ solid solutions for solar-thermochemical fuel production: strategies to lower the operation temperature. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2015. 3(30): p. 15546-15557. 3. Scheffe, J.R., D. Weibel, and A. Steinfeld, Lanthanum–Strontium–Manganese Perovskites as Redox Materials for Solar Thermochemical Splitting of H2O and CO2. Energy & Fuels, 2013. 27(8): p. 4250-4257. 4. Yang, C.-K., et al., Thermodynamic and kinetic assessments of strontium-doped lanthanum manganite perovskites for two-step thermochemical water splitting. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2014. 2(33): p. 13612-13623

Environmental monitoring of CO2 concentration flows with novel fast Li-Garnet based electrochemical sensor

Global energy production and consumption growth sets new environmental and energy challenges that require innovative solutions to store, track, transfer and monitor CO2 flows. To date, the most common solution to monitor CO2 involves either the use of expensive and energy-consuming near infrared gas sensors, or semiconducting metal oxide gas sensors in which adsorbed gases modify their resistivity. Both meet requirements in terms of response time and accuracy, however their limited working temperature ranges and power consumption give way for other types of sensors. Here, electrochemical sensors based on the Taguchi principle seem to be a suitable alternative, due to their simplicity, scalability and tracking sensibly changes in CO2 concentrations with respect to their electromotive force pf the cell. Despite number of reports on the carbon dioxide sensing performance of devices based on sodium and lithium conductors such as NASICON and LISICON, the need of well performing, stable and power efficient devices is still not yet fully satisfied. Therefore new engineered electrolyte materials, such as doped lithium lanthanum zirconates, attract considerable attention for improving long-term chemical stability and faster kinetics. In this work, we report on a new class of Taguchi-type carbon dioxide sensors, based on Li-ions conducting solid state electrolytes with fast conducting Li-garnet structures as an alternative to state-of-the-art NASICON based structures. Ceramic processing of the sensor unit based on a dense ceramic pellet electrolyte of Li6.75La3Zr1.75Ta0.25O12 and thick film porous sensing electrodes based on Li2CO3-containing pastes are discussed. We elaborate on the ceramic fabrication routes for the pellet based sensor structures and structural stabilities investigated in terms of Raman Spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction showing the intended electrolyte and electrode crystal structures. The electrochemical performance of the system and electrode-electrolyte interface behavior is discussed in terms of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The sensing performance of the device is tested in steady gas flows at elevated temperatures in a range of 250-450oC. The sensing performance results show stable response to carbon dioxide concentration change in a range of 0-8000ppm CO2 with the 90% response time below 1min. Pellet based device exhibit high stability over cycling. The sensing resolution of the sensor is as large as 35mV per decade. V shows close to theoretical linear behavior over the measured range for the discussed device. Given this, pellet based sensor show potential application value in the detection of CO2 gas for environmental monitoring with low energy requirements

Interface-engineered all-solid-state Li-ion batteries based on garnet-type fast Li+ conductors

All-solid-state Li-ion batteries based on Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) garnet structures require novel electrode assembly strategies to guarantee a proper Li+ transfer at the electrode–electrolyte interfaces. Here, first stable cell performances are reported for Li-garnet, c-Li6.25Al0.25La3Zr2O12, all-solid-state batteries running safely with a full ceramics setup, exemplified with the anode material Li4Ti5O12. Novel strategies to design an enhanced Li+ transfer at the electrode–electrolyte interface using an interface-engineered all-solid-state battery cell based on a porous garnet electrolyte interface structure, in which the electrode material is intimately embedded, are presented. The results presented here show for the first time that all-solid-state Li-ion batteries with LLZO electrolytes can be reversibly charge–discharge cycled also in the low potential ranges (≈1.5 V) for combinations with a ceramic anode material. Through a model experiment, the interface between the electrode and electrolyte constituents is systematically modified revealing that the interface engineering helps to improve delivered capacities and cycling properties of the all-solid-state Li-ion batteries based on garnet-type cubic LLZO structures.Competence Center Energy and Mobility (CCEM); Alstom; ETH Zurich Foundation (SP-ESC-A03-14

Photoconductivity analyzed in the frequency domain - an introductory case study of strontium titanate

Strontium titanate (STO, SrTiO3) has been used for many applications in solid state electrochemistry and is considered a standard and model material. Its characteristics, and those of its derivatives such as STF (SrTi0.65Fe0.35O3-x), have been characterized by many groups on various aspects, such as electronic/ionic conductivity, oxygen exchange kinetics and the impact of doping. Recently, the interaction of light with STO/STF has been of increased interest. A persistent photoconductivity has been observed [1] and enhanced oxygen exchange kinetics have been detected, opening up new fields of application, such as a light-driven fuel cell [2]. The reasons behind these effects remain subject to discussion or even speculation as the relation to the relatively large bandgap and the photoresponse at long wavelengths remains unclear. What makes the analysis of these effects difficult is the interplay of many electrochemical and photoelectrochemical processes that contribute to the photoresponse including the electronic and ionic conductivity, the number and nature of charge carriers, charge traps, phonon related effects, and surface reactions. With electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), one can distinguish diverse processes on the basis of their time constants and how they evolve as a function of operating conditions, such as temperature, atmosphere (leading to stoichiometry changes) and illumination. However, the impact of light can only be characterized implicitly as a change in other processes that also prevail in the dark. Intensity modulated photocurrent/-voltage spectroscopy (IMPS/IMVS) have been shown to reveal valuable information about charge carrier dynamics for photoelectrodes and photovoltaic cells [3]. To the best of our knowledge, these techniques have never been applied to devices or materials that are not photoactive, or in other words, that do not show a photovoltage, such as a symmetrical model cells based on STO or STF. However, with the small signal light perturbation that is the key element of IMPS and IMVS, we can trigger the light effect directly and analyze the system response by its current and voltage signals. In this contribution, we will begin with a brief introduction into IMPS and IMVS and show how these techniques can be applied to model electrodes consisting of STO and STF. The results are compared to EIS under different illumination and we will show how to extract the relevant information about the photoresponse. By evaluating the activation energies of the different electrochemical and photoelectrochemical processes, we can attribute those to physical effects and clarify some of the previously unknown processes that lead to anomalies observed in STO/STF under illumination. The capacity of IMPS and IMVS have been underestimated so far and in this contribution, we will conclude with an outlook for their potential to other fields of application, such as ionic motion in perovskite solar cells that are thought to be responsible for their accelerated degradation under illumination. This work was supported by JSPS Core-to-Core Program, A. Advanced Research Networks: “Solid Oxide Interfaces for Faster Ion Transport”. References [1] M. C. Tarun et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 187403, 2013. [2] G. C. Bunauer, Adv. Funct. Mater. 26, 120, 2016. [3] D. Klotz et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 18, 23438, 2016

Micro-solid oxide fuel cells: status, challenges, and chances

Abstract: Micro-solid oxide fuel cells (micro-SOFC) are predicted to be of high energy density and are potential power sources for portable electronic devices. A micro-SOFC system consists of a fuel cell comprising a positive electrode-electrolyte-negative electrode (i.e. PEN) element, a gas-processing unit, and a thermal system where processing is based on micro-electro-mechanical-systems fabrication techniques. A possible system approach is presented. The critical properties of the thin film materials used in the PEN membrane are discussed, and the unsolved subtasks related to micro-SOFC membrane development are pointed out. Such a micro-SOFC system approach seems feasible and offers a promising alternative to state-of-the-art batteries in portable electronics. Graphical abstract: Graphical Abstract tex