Cyclic Testing of Reinforced Earthbag Walls

Earthen construction is the most popular building method around the world. One particular building method, using earthbags, has shown promise in performing well against seismic activity. This project undertook the goal of developing a preliminary seismic response modification factor, R, to be used in the design of homes in seismically active areas. Two 4’ wide x 6’ tall x 1’ deep walls were cyclically loaded using a Three-Degree-of-Freedom (TDOF) Test Frame provided by Santa Clara University to determine the in-plane shear capacity of each wall. Testing revealed an average yield force of 419 lbs, an average ultimate force 1058 lbs, and an average R value of 6. Wall design and construction was focused on three aspects of the project that were modeled to replicate common building practices while still being modular enough to test multiple samples. These aspects were the base, bond beam, and wall. Wall bases were designed to withstand up to 3500 lb-ft bending moment during forklift transport, the bond beam was designed to transfer up to 9,000 lbs of shear force into the wall, and, the wall was designed using common building practices used in earthbag construction. Upon completion of the Consortium of Universities for the Research of Earthquake Engineering (CUREE) testing protocol, it was observed that the walls failed in buckling due to compression resulting from the force couple created by the loading arrangement. Despite failure, the walls continued standing even after the pin connection was removed from the tops of wall. This unexpected resiliency and behavior of the walls during testing led the team to believe that earthbag walls are much more ductile a material that was initially anticipated. A deeper understanding is needed to better understand how earthbag buildings behave against seismic forces. This project is encouraging for future research and the development of a more standardized building method

Delay Discounting in Lewis and Fischer 344 Rats: Implications for the Use of an Adjusting-amount Procedure to Detect Between-strain Differences

Strain-related behavioral differences may facilitate investigation of the genetic and neurochemical determinants of delay discounting. Previous researchers report that Lewis rats make more impulsive choices than Fischer 344 rats, although the size of this difference appears to vary depending on the procedure used. Additionally, researchers using a rapid-determination adjusting-amount procedure (in which reinforcer delay is manipulated between sessions regardless of within-session trend or variability) report no difference in delay discounting between strains. The present study was designed to compare degree of delay discounting between strains using a steady-state version of the adjusting-amount procedure in which delay was manipulated between conditions following satisfaction of experimenter-defined stability criteria. Using such a procedure, Lewis rats exhibited modestly steeper delay discounting for food reinforcers than Fischer 344 rats. However, under the rapid-determination procedure, no difference was observed; further, among Lewis rats, discounting was not correlated between assessments. These results suggest the rapid-determination procedure may be insensitive to modest differences otherwise detected using steady-state methods. Differences in discounting are discussed in the context of neurochemical and neuroendocrine differences between strains

Growth, pork quality, and excretion characteristics of pigs fed Bt corn or non-transgenic corn

Two experiments (exp. 1 and exp. 2, respectively) were conducted to compare performance, pork quality, and excretion characteristics of pigs fed diets containing Bt 11 (Bt) or control corn (C: non-transgenic inbred lines for exp. 1, and a non-transgenic isoline for exp. 2). Experiment 1 involved barrows and gilts (total n = 64; initial BW = 64 kg and 60 kg), while in exp. 2, 120 barrows were used (initial BW = 17 kg). Pigs were allocated to pens, blocked by sex and BW. Isocaloric, isolysinic diets contained an indigestible marker in exp. 1. Feed disappearance and weight gain data, and excreta samples were collected weekly in exp. 1. Feed disappearance and weight gain data were collected weekly in exp. 2. No difference in ADG was observed, however, feed efficiency was greater for pigs fed the C diet. No corn effects were observed for hot carcass weight, loin eye area, or backfat depth. Hunter color ‘b’ values and values for chroma were significantly greater for pigs fed C diets (P = 0.02, \u3c 0.01, respectively) in exp. 1. In contrast, Hunter color ‘b’ values were significantly lower for pigs fed C diets (P = 0.05) in exp. 2. No corn effects were observed for proximate analyses of meat samples, N or P content of fecal and urine samples, nor N digestibility. Pigs fed C diets had greater apparent P digestibility (57.8% vs. 40.2%; P \u3c 0.0001)

Effect of a One-Time Cognitive Functional Therapy Intervention in Patients with Moderate to High Risk of Chronic Low Back Pain: Case Series Study

Can an early confrontation of patients’ fear and beliefs about low back pain lead to better outcomes? Hypothesis: A one-time treatment geared toward confronting fear and negative pain beliefs will result in reduced pain interference and fatigue, and increased physical function and self-efficacy, as well as guide patients from fear avoidance behavior to active life participation

Obstacles and facilitators to communicating with children about their parents’ mental illness: A qualitative study in a sub-district of Mpumalanga, South Africa

Background Given that common mental disorders are one of the leading causes of disease burden worldwide, it is likely that many children are growing up with a parent or other adult within their family who has anxiety or depression. Parents with a mental illness may not consider it appropriate to discuss their illness with their child, and consequently an absence of communication may lead to stigmatization, shame, misunderstanding their parents’ symptoms, and even blaming themselves. There is a scarcity of research exploring the experiences and perceptions of healthcare professionals about communication with children of parents with mental illness in low-resource and African contexts. Methods A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals (n = 15) was conducted within the Bushbuckridge sub-district of Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Data were analysed using Thematic Analysis. Results Four themes were identified relating to the obstacles around communication with children. These included: (1) finding an appropriate language to describe mental illness, as well as the prevailing cultural explanations of mental illness (2) the stigma associated with mental illness (3) the perceived role of children in society and (4) mental health services and staff skills. Two themes that addressed facilitators of communication about parental mental illness were identified: (1) the potential to increase mental health awareness amongst the broader community through social media, the internet, and general psychoeducation (2) healthcare professionals’ concerns for the wellbeing and future mental health of patients’ children, as well as their hopes for increased mental health awareness amongst future generations. Conclusions This study provides insight into healthcare professionals’ attitudes and perceptions about talking to patients and families within their community about mental illness. The results provide recommendations about possible ways to promote sharing information about a parent’s mental illness with children at an individual and community level. Future research should focus on the collaborative creation of culturally sensitive psychoeducational resources and evidence-based guidelines. This must be supported by systemic and organisational change in order for professionals to successfully facilitate conversations with patients who are parents, and their children

ALICE: Study of Financial Hardship-Michigan

Through a series of new, standardized measurements, the United Way ALICE Reports present a broad picture of financial insecurity at the county and town level, and the reasons for why. What we found was startling -- the size of the workforce in each state that is struggling financially is much higher than traditional federal poverty guidelines suggest. The United Way ALICE Project is a grassroots movement stimulating a fresh, nonpartisan national dialogue about how to reverse the trend and improve conditions for this growing population of families living paycheck to paycheck