Honors Pathways and Curriculum Structure

Exploring the different pathways and curricular requirements of Honors program and colleges, I found several important recommendations tailored at Western Washington University Honors (which could also be used in conversations about Honors at other institutions) aimed at making Honors accessible to transfer students and increasing both the number and success of transfer students. Based on the research conducted, I find that offering mentoring programs to transfers, establishing agreements with community colleges, and increasing flexibility for honors requirements would help increase the number of transfer students in Honors

Global sea-level budget and ocean-mass budget, with a focus on advanced data products and uncertainty characterisation

Studies of the global sea-level budget (SLB) and the global ocean-mass budget (OMB) are essential to assess the reliability of our knowledge of sea-level change and its contributors. Here we present datasets for times series of the SLB and OMB elements developed in the framework of ESA's Climate Change Initiative. We use these datasets to assess the SLB and the OMB simultaneously, utilising a consistent framework of uncertainty characterisation. The time series, given at monthly sampling and available at https://doi.org/10.5285/17c2ce31784048de93996275ee976fff (Horwath et al., 2021), include global mean sea-level (GMSL) anomalies from satellite altimetry, the global mean steric component from Argo drifter data with incorporation of sea surface temperature data, the ocean-mass component from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite gravimetry, the contribution from global glacier mass changes assessed by a global glacier model, the contribution from Greenland Ice Sheet and Antarctic Ice Sheet mass changes assessed by satellite radar altimetry and by GRACE, and the contribution from land water storage anomalies assessed by the global hydrological model WaterGAP (Water Global Assessment and Prognosis). Over the period January 1993–December 2016 (P1, covered by the satellite altimetry records), the mean rate (linear trend) of GMSL is 3.05 ± 0.24 mm yr−1. The steric component is 1.15 ± 0.12 mm yr−1 (38 % of the GMSL trend), and the mass component is 1.75 ± 0.12 mm yr−1 (57 %). The mass component includes 0.64  ± 0.03 mm yr−1 (21 % of the GMSL trend) from glaciers outside Greenland and Antarctica, 0.60 ± 0.04 mm yr−1 (20 %) from Greenland, 0.19 ± 0.04 mm yr−1 (6 %) from Antarctica, and 0.32 ± 0.10 mm yr−1 (10 %) from changes of land water storage. In the period January 2003–August 2016 (P2, covered by GRACE and the Argo drifter system), GMSL rise is higher than in P1 at 3.64 ± 0.26 mm yr−1. This is due to an increase of the mass contributions, now about 2.40 ± 0.13 mm yr−1 (66 % of the GMSL trend), with the largest increase contributed from Greenland, while the steric contribution remained similar at 1.19 ± 0.17 mm yr−1 (now 33 %). The SLB of linear trends is closed for P1 and P2; that is, the GMSL trend agrees with the sum of the steric and mass components within their combined uncertainties. The OMB, which can be evaluated only for P2, shows that our preferred GRACE-based estimate of the ocean-mass trend agrees with the sum of mass contributions within 1.5 times or 0.8 times the combined 1σ uncertainties, depending on the way of assessing the mass contributions. Combined uncertainties (1σ) of the elements involved in the budgets are between 0.29 and 0.42 mm yr−1, on the order of 10 % of GMSL rise. Interannual variations that overlie the long-term trends are coherently represented by the elements of the SLB and the OMB. Even at the level of monthly anomalies the budgets are closed within uncertainties, while also indicating possible origins of remaining misclosures

FSP1 is a glutathione-independent ferroptosis suppressor

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent form of necrotic cell death marked by oxidative damage to phospholipids1,2. To date, ferroptosis has been believed to be controlled only by the phospholipid hydroperoxide-reducing enzyme glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4)3,4 and radical-trapping antioxidants5,6. However, elucidation of the factors that underlie the sensitivity of a given cell type to ferroptosis7 is critical to understand the pathophysiological role of ferroptosis and how it may be exploited for the treatment of cancer. Although metabolic constraints8 and phospholipid composition9,10 contribute to ferroptosis sensitivity, no cell-autonomous mechanisms have been identified that account for the resistance of cells to ferroptosis. Here we used an expression cloning approach to identify genes in human cancer cells that are able to complement the loss of GPX4. We found that the flavoprotein apoptosis-inducing factor mitochondria-associated 2 (AIFM2) is a previously unrecognized anti-ferroptotic gene. AIFM2, which we renamed ferroptosis suppressor protein 1 (FSP1) and which was initially described as a pro-apoptotic gene11, confers protection against ferroptosis elicited by GPX4 deletion. We further demonstrate that the suppression of ferroptosis by FSP1 is mediated by ubiquinone (also known as coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)): the reduced form, ubiquinol, traps lipid peroxyl radicals that mediate lipid peroxidation, whereas FSP1 catalyses the regeneration of CoQ10 using NAD(P)H. Pharmacological targeting of FSP1 strongly synergizes with GPX4 inhibitors to trigger ferroptosis in a number of cancer entities. In conclusion, the FSP1–CoQ10–NAD(P)H pathway exists as a stand-alone parallel system, which co-operates with GPX4 and glutathione to suppress phospholipid peroxidation and ferroptosis

FFS - THERMOPLASTISCHE BAUWEISEN FÜR SEKUNDÄRSTRUKTUREN

Neuartige Bauweisen für ein Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Fluggerät mit kleinen Stückzahlen erfordern entsprechende Technologien, um die Ziele im Bereich von Kosten, Gewicht und Flexibilität zu er-reichen. Die aktuelle Bauweise für die Hecksektion (Tail Cone) des MALE sieht eine metallische Fachwerk-bauweise im Inneren und eine äußere Beplankung vor. Die Beplankung dieser Fachwerkstruktur wird als Sekundärstruktur geführt. Die Anforderungen für diese Struktur sind kostengünstige Herstellung und Betrieb des Tail Cones, eine ma-ximal flexible Nutzung der Anlagentechnik und die Erfüllung der geforderten Gewichtsziele. Im Rahmen von FFS werden für den Tail Cone verschiedene Bauweisen aus thermoplastischen Composites in einem Business Case aus Kostensicht betrachtet und anschließend miteinander verglichen. Hierbei zeigt sich, dass eine hochintegrale Bauweise aus thermoplastischen Composites ein hohes Potential bzgl. Koste-neinsparungen gegenüber einer herkömmlichen Bauweisen bietet. Im Mittelpunkt steht die In-Situ Tapelege Technologie, welche eine werkzeugarme, kosteneffiziente und hochintegrale Bauweise ermöglicht. Begleitend werden verschiedene Materialuntersuchungen auf Prozess-ebene vorgestellt und dienen unterstützend einer ganzheitlichen Bauweisen-Bewertung vom Material über Prozess bis hin zu einer kosteneffizienten Bauweise für Sekundärstrukturen in geringen Stückzahlen

Thermoplastisches Tapelegen als Fertigungsverfahren für zukünftige Flugzeugstrukturen

Automatisierte Fertigungstechnologie wie das thermoplastische Tapelegen ermöglichen neue Möglichkeiten zur Kostenreduktion bei der Fertigung von Faserverbundstrukturen und neue Methoden zur Qualitätssicherung von Luftfahrtbauteilen. Während des Fertigungsprozesses wird eine Vielzahl von lokalen Daten aufgezeichnet. Verschiedenen Temperaturen mittels Wärmebildkamera, Daten von den Anpressdruck und ggf. Sensoren im Werkzeug. Die Auswertung der Daten erfordert ein breites Wissen über die Vorgänge während des Prozesses. Hierzu werden Untersuchungen zum Einfluss der verschiedenen Temperaturen auf die Kristallinität der Thermoplaste vorgestellt und Rückschlüsse auf die Laminatkennwerte geschlossen. Ein Abgleich der Methodik mit klassischen NDT-Prüfmethoden wie beispielsweise dem Ultraschall oder CT Aufnahmen zeigt die Schwächen und Potentiale der neuen Methodik

Determination of reference intervals for nonesterified fatty acids in the blood serum of healthy dogs

Background Nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs) are an important energy substrate in mammals. Measurement of the NEFA concentration in blood serum is common practice and enables reliable detection of a negative energy balance in several species. This parameter can be used to detect subclinical metabolic diseases or to optimise feeding to prevent severe negative energy balance. Since no reference values for dogs have been published, the aim of this study was to establish such values. Methods Blood serum from 85 healthy dogs was examined with a multiparameter clinical chemistry analyser. Given that NEFA values are not usually normally distributed, reference intervals (RIs) were calculated nonparametrically using bootstrapping (5000 replicates) for the 90% confidence intervals. Results The examined cohort had a median age of 62.16 months (2–180 months) and a median weight of 19.2 kg (3.0–55.0 kg) and comprised 27 (31.8%) males and 58 (68.2%) females, with 32 (37.6%) neutered or spayed. The fasting time was 5.9 h (range 0–23 h). The tested confounders age, sex, neuter status, bodyweight and body condition score did not significantly affect the NEFA concentrations. Conclusions The NEFA RI for dogs in this study was 0.2–1.47 mmol/L. The results may be used to adjust food composition and amount in healthy dogs or to detect metabolic disorders. Further research on NEFA metabolism in dogs maintained in standardised conditions and in specific nutritional situations or with particular diseases is warranted