BioCentury Research Farm Update

Since its dedication on September 22, 2009, the BioCentury Research Farm (BCRF) has promoted and supported advanced research in the areas of biomass production, harvest, transport, storage, preparation, processing, and analysis. In 2010, the BCRF’s first full year of operation, many improvements were made and projects conducted. Projects focused on single pass and other advanced harvesting methods, biomass densification, logistics and effects of yearlong biomass storage, biomass preparation techniques, suppling material for external entity research, and pilot-scale production of value-added products. Several fermentations were completed in 2010. Multiple production runs of bio-oil and biochar also were successfully completed in 2010

BioCentury Research Farm Update

The BioCentury Research Farm (BCRF) had a diversity of users in 2014. Iowa State University (ISU) faculty and staff from the Departments of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE); Agronomy; Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology; Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering; and Food Science and Human Nutrition, as well as the Bioeconomy Institute (BEI), Center for Crops Utilization Research (CCUR), College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Extension and Outreach conducted research, teaching, and/or outreach at BCRF. Private industry users of BCRF included AGCO, Avello Bioenergy, Deere & Company, Direvo Industrial Biotechnology, DuPont Cellulosic Ethanol, Frontline Bioenergy, Phillips 66, and Virent, Inc. By the end of 2014, BCRF had over 95 full- and part-time users with projects in all available space. The BCRF also supported numerous class projects and employed the ISU Student Employee of the Year

Representative Biodiversity: The Ecosystem of Cartoon Network

As a capitalist organism the television program, as explained by Todd Gitlin, uses its slant to sell itself to advertisers with similar leanings on contemporary social issues to maintain its flow of revenue. However, this concept of slant does not account for the broader network, which, like the singular program, cultivates a catalog of programming into a singular slanted message becoming an ecosystem of shows relying on each other to maintain viewership. The successful televised ecosystem will then be home to programs who enjoy long runs and display an easily recognized shared slant. As an example of the televised ecosystem, this thesis explores seven animated programs from Cartoon Network including The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack,Regular Show, Adventure Time, The Amazing World of Gumball, Steven Universe,We Bare Bears, and Craig of the Creek.Recognizing the programs ranging in release from 2008 to 2018, Cartoon Network’s ecosystem is highlighted for its evolving display of progressive representations of race and gender and presenting them to a child audience

Use of offshore wind farms to increase seismic resilience of Nuclear Power Plants

One of the challenges faced by the engineering profession is to meet the energy requirement of an increasingly prosperous world. Nuclear power was considered as a reliable option until the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) disaster which eroded the public confidence. This short paper shows that offshore wind turbines (due to its shape and form, i.e. heavy rotating mass resting at the top of a tall tower) have long natural vibration periods (>3.0 s) and are less susceptible to earthquake dynamics. The performance of near-shore wind turbines structures during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake is reviewed. It has been observed that they performed well. As NPPs are often sited close to the sea, it is proposed that a small wind farm capable of supplying emergency backup power along with a NPP can be a better safety system (robust and resilient system) in avoiding cascading failures and catastrophic consequences

Comparison of Nurse Staffing Based on Changes in Unit-level Workload Associated with Patient Churn

Aim This analysis compares the staffing implications of three measures of nurse staffing requirements: midnight census, turnover adjustment based on length of stay, and volume of admissions, discharges and transfers. Background Midnight census is commonly used to determine registered nurse staffing. Unit-level workload increases with patient churn, the movement of patients in and out of the nursing unit. Failure to account for patient churn in staffing allocation impacts nurse workload and may result in adverse patient outcomes. Method(s) Secondary data analysis of unit-level data from 32 hospitals, where nursing units are grouped into three unit-type categories: intensive care, intermediate care, and medical surgical. Result Midnight census alone did not account adequately for registered nurse workload intensity associated with patient churn. On average, units were staffed with a mixture of registered nurses and other nursing staff not always to budgeted levels. Adjusting for patient churn increases nurse staffing across all units and shifts. Conclusion Use of the discharges and transfers adjustment to midnight census may be useful in adjusting RN staffing on a shift basis to account for patient churn. Implications for nursing management Nurse managers should understand the implications to nurse workload of various methods of calculating registered nurse staff requirements

Schmorl's Nodes in Archaeological Skeletal Remains from Southern Patagonia

Los nódulos de Schmorl (NS) son herniaciones del núcleo pulposo de los discos intervertebrales dentro de los cuerpos vertebrales adyacentes. Las causas de su desarrollo son parcialmente comprendidas, asociadas a factores morfológicos, degenerativos, traumáticos y metabólicos, mientras el rol de su interpretación como indicador de actividad física es aún cuestionado. En este trabajo se estudia la prevalencia de NS en 22 esqueletos arqueológicos de Patagonia Austral, discutiendo sus posibles causas y relación con los estilos de vida propuestos para las poblaciones humanas de esa región. Se registró una prevalencia de 27,3% para el total de los esqueletos analizados. Además, se encontró una mayor prevalencia de NS en la región de Santa Cruz/Magallanes en relación a los esqueletos de Tierra del Fuego. Aunque no puede descartarse una tendencia biológica al desarrollo de estas lesiones, los resultados sugieren un mayor grado de estrés mecánico sobre la columna vertebral en los individuos de la región continental de Patagonia Austral.Schmorl's Nodes are herniations of the intervertebral disc nucleous pulposus into the adjacent vertebra. Their causes are partially understood and associated to morphological, degenerative, traumatic and metabolic factors, whereas their role as an indicator of physical activity is currently under debate. In this paper the prevalence of NS in 22 archaeological skeletons from Southern Patagonia is studied, discussing their possible causes and their relationship with the lifestyles of the human populations of this region. A prevalence of 27.3% was recorded. The skeletons from the Santa Cruz/Magallanes region showed higher prevalence of NS than skeletons from northern and southern Tierra del Fuego. Although biological susceptibility for this difference could not be discarded, the results suggest that high mechanical stress on the vertebras is responsible for the developed NS in continental Southern Patagonia.Fil: Suby, Jorge Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Investigaciones Arqueológicas y Paleontológicas del Cuaternario Pampeano. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Investigaciones Arqueológicas y Paleontológicas del Cuaternario Pampeano; Argentin