Final report: compilation of Alabama crayfish museum holdings and construction of a geo-referenced database

INHS Technical Report Prepared for Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Divisio

The Psychometric Validation of the International Baccalaureate Self-Study Questionnaire

The International Baccalaureate Self-Study Questionnaire: Diploma Programme is a self-study instrument that must be completed by IB Diploma Programme schools every five years as part of the IB program evaluation cycle. The purpose of this study was to psychometrically validate the self-study instrument. Content validity was examined through a modified Delphi technique using a panel of five experts. Construct validity was examined using a stratified random sample of 223 completed self-study questionnaires through a confirmatory factor analysis and internal consistency reliability check of the seven Likert scales contained in the instrument. Results validate portions of the instrument, but also indicate various validity and reliability issues that need to be addressed to strengthen the instrument. Recommendations for further research include a comparative analysis of IB schools completing the self-study questionnaire for the first time to IB schools completing the self-study questionnaire for the second or third time

a case study

Globally distributed teams of volunteers and communication by electronic means are at the core of Open Source Software development. To help projects in managing their information, we defined a light-weight, role-based process improvement and observed its use in a longitudinal case study. Results gathered by mailing-list analysis give insights into the different types of information managed and their relative importance: While technical content such as how-tos and to-dos is most frequent, the amount of information regarding decision making is surprisingly low

Ixekizumab and ustekinumab in psoriasis: post-hoc comparison of onset and duration of treatment response.

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Synthesis and Utility of Organoboron Reagents for Enantioselective Synthesis

Thesis advisor: James P. MorkenDescribed herein are three distinct projects centered on the formation and use of carbon-boron bonds. In the first, the enantioselective platinum-catalyzed 1,4-diboration of trans-1,3-dienes is advanced in both selectivity and scope through the development of a novel class of electron rich chiral monodentate phosphines. Under the action of the new ligands, highly selective diboration is maintained at reduced loadings of catalyst. Secondly, enantioenriched 1,2-bis(pinacol boronates) are engaged in regioselective Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling with aryl and vinyl electrophiles. A tandem diboration cross-coupling sequence is successfully implemented to afford homobenzylic and homoallylic pinacol boronates directly from terminal olefins, which subsequently undergo oxidation, amination or homologation of the remaining carbon-boron bond to arrive at a range of enantioenriched products. Lastly, aryl electrophiles containing tethered allylboronate units undergo efficient intramolecular coupling in the presence of a chiral palladium catalyst to give enantioenriched carbocyclic products.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Chemistry

Cryogenic Propellant Management Device: Conceptual Design Study

Concepts of Propellant Management Devices (PMDs) were designed for lunar descent stage reaction control system (RCS) and lunar ascent stage (main and RCS propulsion) missions using liquid oxygen (LO2) and liquid methane (LCH4). Study ground rules set a maximum of 19 days from launch to lunar touchdown, and an additional 210 days on the lunar surface before liftoff. Two PMDs were conceptually designed for each of the descent stage RCS propellant tanks, and two designs for each of the ascent stage main propellant tanks. One of the two PMD types is a traditional partial four-screen channel device. The other type is a novel, expanding volume device which uses a stretched, flexing screen. It was found that several unique design features simplified the PMD designs. These features are (1) high propellant tank operating pressures, (2) aluminum tanks for propellant storage, and (3) stringent insulation requirements. Consequently, it was possible to treat LO2 and LCH4 as if they were equivalent to Earth-storable propellants because they would remain substantially subcooled during the lunar mission. In fact, prelaunch procedures are simplified with cryogens, because any trapped vapor will condense once the propellant tanks are pressurized in space

Improvement in the decadal prediction skill of the North Atlantic extratropical winter circulation through increased model resolution

In this study the latest version of the MiKlip decadal hindcast system is analyzed, and the effect of an increased horizontal and vertical resolution on the prediction skill of the extratropical winter circulation is assessed. Four different metrics – the storm track, blocking, cyclone and windstorm frequencies – are analyzed in the North Atlantic and European region. The model bias and the deterministic decadal hindcast skill are evaluated in ensembles of five members in a lower-resolution version (LR, atm: T63L47, ocean: 1.5∘ L40) and a higher-resolution version (HR, atm: T127L95, ocean: 0.4∘ L40) of the MiKlip system based on the Max Planck Institute Earth System model (MPI-ESM). The skill is assessed for the lead winters 2–5 in terms of the anomaly correlation of the quantities' winter averages using initializations between 1978 and 2012. The deterministic predictions are considered skillful if the anomaly correlation is positive and statistically significant. While the LR version shows common shortcomings of lower-resolution climate models, e.g., a storm track that is too zonal and southward displaced as well as a negative bias of blocking frequencies over the eastern North Atlantic and Europe, the HR version counteracts these biases. Cyclones, i.e., their frequencies and characteristics like strength and lifetime, are particularly better represented in HR. As a result, a chain of significantly improved decadal prediction skill between all four metrics is found with the increase in the spatial resolution. While the skill of the storm track is significantly improved primarily over the main source region of synoptic activity – the North Atlantic Current – the other extratropical quantities experience a significant improvement primarily downstream thereof, i.e., in regions where the synoptic systems typically intensify. Thus, the skill of the cyclone frequencies is significantly improved over the central North Atlantic and northern Europe, the skill of the blocking frequencies is significantly improved over the Mediterranean, Scandinavia and eastern Europe, and the skill of the windstorms is significantly improved over Newfoundland and central Europe. Not only is the skill improved with the increase in resolution, but the HR system itself also exhibits significant skill over large areas of the North Atlantic and European sector for all four circulation metrics. These results are particularly promising regarding the high socioeconomic impact of European winter windstorms and blocking situations

Conservation Assessment and Habitat Notes for Three Rare Alabama Crayfishes: Cambarus cracens, Cambarus scotti, and Cambarus unestami

Over seventy percent of the world\u27s freshwater crayfish species are found within the United States, and much of this diversity is concentrated in the southeastern United States. Yet many of these species remain understudied. Of particular interest is the conservation status of these understudied taxa. We conducted fieldwork in 2011 across northeastern Alabama and northwestern Georgia to review the occurrence, habitat, and in sonic cases, local population densities of three crayfish species (Cambarus scotti, C. unestami, and C. cracens) to determine current distributions in relation to historical surveys. All three species occur in flowing small to medium-sized streams with firm substrates of gravel, cobble, and bedrock. Two species (C. scotti and C. unestami) have stable populations, occurring at 79% and 90% of sites surveyed, respectively. In contrast, surveys for the third crayfish species (C. cracens) indicated a need for conservation action, with this species occurring at a single site

Solving the Hierarchy Problem with a Light Singlet and Supersymmetric Mass Terms

A generalization of the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Model (NMSSM) is studied in which an explicit \mu-term as well as a small supersymmetric mass term for the singlet superfield are incorporated. We study the possibility of raising the Standard Model-like Higgs mass at tree level through its mixing with a light, mostly-singlet, CP-even scalar. We are able to generate Higgs boson masses up to 145 GeV with top squarks below 1.1 TeV and without the need to fine tune parameters in the scalar potential. This model yields light singlet-like scalars and pseudoscalars passing all collider constraints.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure