Tripoli Rocket Team

High power rocketry is a hobby that launches unguided rockets to high altitudes. These rockets have the benefits of incorporating every aspect of STEM through the investment of one activity. However, high power rocketry remains inaccessible to many people due to the high costs, complex avionics, and lack of knowledge about the hobby. Our sponsors (Dean Klein, Corey Morasch, and Terry Dobler) have requested that the Boise State University Rocket Team address these problems by designing, constructing, and testing a high power rocket with a focus on reducing costs and incorporating novel techniques into the design. The rocket airframe will be 13 feet tall with an 8 inch diameter. The estimated peak altitude for the first test flight is 10,000 feet, and the rocket will be capable of reaching altitudes over 17,000 feet. The rocket will collect data during flight and transmit it to a ground station. The construction techniques will reduce costs with an estimated project budget of $1,500 for the rocket components, which is a 25 percent reduction of costs over standard construction. This rocket has the potential to advance the hobby of high power rocketry by matching size and performance of comparable rockets at a reduced cost

First-Year Experience Course Impact on Undergraduate International Student Retention and Graduation

As institutions look to improve student retention through first-year experience (FYE) courses, some have implemented courses targeted specifically to the international population. A quantitative comparison of international students who took an FYE course with international students who did not take an FYE course was completed to analyze the differences in retention and graduation rates between the two groups. International freshmen who participated in the FYE course were retained and graduated at significantly higher rates than international freshmen who did not take the course. Aspects of the course that likely led to student retention and graduation are discussed

Risk Factors Associated with Reintubation in Trauma Patients

• Reintubation is associated with increased mortality, complications, hospital stay, and financial burden.• Most studies have focused on reintubation in medically ill ICU populations.• However, surgical ICU patients with traumatic injuries have different pathophysiology, comorbidities, and injury patterns.• We evaluated comorbidities, injury patterns, and events leading up to extubation in trauma patients associated with reintubation.• Elucidating risk factors leading to reintubation may help inform clinical practice in the surgical ICU

T cell repertoire profiling in allografts and native tissues in recipients with COVID–19 after solid organ transplantation: Insight into T cell–mediated allograft protection from viral infection

IntroductionThe effects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on the body, and why the effects are more severe in certain patients, remain incompletely understood. One population of special interest is transplant recipients because of their immunosuppressed state. Understanding the pathophysiology of graft dysfunction in transplant patients with the COVID-19 viral syndrome is important for prognosticating the risk to the graft as well as understanding how best to prevent and, if necessary, treat graft injury in these patients.MethodsWe analyzed multiple types of solid organ transplant recipients (liver, kidney, heart or lung) at our institution who died from SARS-CoV-2 and underwent autopsy (n = 6) or whose grafts were biopsied during active SARS-CoV-2 infection (n = 8). Their serum inflammatory markers were examined together with the histological appearance, viral load, and TCR repertoire of their graft tissue and, for autopsy patients, several native tissues.ResultsHistology and clinical lab results revealed a systemic inflammatory pattern that included elevated inflammatory markers and diffuse tissue damage regardless of graft rejection. Virus was detected throughout all tissues, although most abundant in lungs. The TCR repertoire was broadly similar throughout the tissues of each individual, with greater sharing of dominant clones associated with more rapid disease course. There was no difference in viral load or clonal distribution of overall, COVID-associated, or putative SARS-CoV-2-specific TCRs between allograft and native tissue. We further demonstrated that SARSCoV-2-specific TCR sequences in transplant patients lack a donor HLArestricted pattern, regardless of distribution in allograft or native tissues,suggesting that recognition of viral antigens on infiltrating recipient cells can effectively trigger host T cell anti-viral responses in both the host and graft.DiscussionOur findings suggest a systemic immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in solid organ transplant patients that is not associated with rejection and consistent with a largely destructive effect of recipient HLA-restricted T cell clones that affects donor and native organs similarly

Emergency protocol and violence prevention in a university setting

This study analyzed the emergency protocol and violence prevention methods utilized at an American university. The four research questions were: (1) What are the sources of violence at the university? a. How has the university addressed these sources? (2) What constitutes an emergency in the eyes of the university? (3) How do emergency protocols address the issues that can lead to large scale acts of violence at universities? a. How effective are these protocols at protecting the safety of the campus community? (4) How does a reconceptualization of emergency protocol address violence prevention at a university? A case study methodology was used to study the institution. Critical theory was also used with coding of twelve individual interviews, analysis of the university's Clery Report data, and critical discourse analysis of the institution's Emergency Operations Plan. The analysis of the Clery Report showed that not all types of violence and crime on campus are reported to the public in the Clery Report. Analysis of the interviews revealed four themes: (1) Institutional Conceptions of Violence, (2) Gender and Violence, (3) Institutional Conceptions of Emergency, and (4) Violence Prevention Strategies. The critical discourse analysis of the Emergency Operations Plan revealed that the university's stated priority is to protect life and property, but what it considers to be an emergency is an incident that disrupts normal campus operations. There are incidents of individual, institutional, and structural-cultural violence at the university. Individual violence includes acts of physical violence and verbal/emotional violence. The university creates institutional violence through not reporting all the crime statistics for the institutional through the Clery Report and also through the institutional silos present at the university. Structural-cultural violence is created by the value of the militaristic model of emergency assessment, overvalue of protecting property instead of people, and the insufficient conceptions of violence by some members of the institution

Telehealth as a Method for Increasing Access to Specialized Care for Wyoming Patients

Individuals in Wyoming often have to travel hundreds of miles to receive specialized types of care, such as cardiology, neurology, specialized surgeries, etc. Travel is difficult for patients as it costs money, takes time, and if the person is unable to drive, they cannot access needed care. Telehealth is a booming new industry that is being used to provide various levels of care, and has been shown to be successful in many instances. However, it seems that Wyoming has not embraced this new method of providing care, nor have physicians who provide specialized care. Pilot studies around the country and globe have demonstrated the feasibility and accuracy of telehealth in providing care to patients in a variety of medical specialties. Economic analysis of telehealth networks suggest monetary benefits to patients, physicians, and the hospitals they work for. Patients and physicians who participate in telehealth services report feeling that excellent care was provided, and a vast majority said they would use telehealth again for providing or receiving healthcare. For these reasons, physicians and patients in Wyoming should look to telehealth for medical services that are not offered locally or within the state. This method of care will benefit patients and physicians financially, and increase access to necessary care for Wyoming residents

First-Year Experience Course Impact on Undergraduate International Student Retention and Graduation

As institutions look to improve student retention through first-year experience (FYE) courses, some have implemented courses targeted specifically to the international population. A quantitative comparison of international students who took an FYE course with international students who did not take an FYE course was completed to analyze the differences in retention and graduation rates between the two groups. International freshmen who participated in the FYE course were retained and graduated at significantly higher rates than international freshmen who did not take the course. Aspects of the course that likely led to student retention and graduation are discussed.</jats:p