Apiary Wagon Frame

The objective of this thesis to demonstrate how our senior capstone project team took a product from a concept to a mass production manufacturing operation, using the knowledge and experience gained through our four years in the Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence (CME). Our product, the Apiary Wagon Frame, is an opportunity to reduce the barrier to entry into the hobbyist beekeeping community. In the design process for the Apiary Wagon Frame, we tested several prototypes and different fabrication methods, ending with a product capable of holding twenty hive frames. After building our final prototype, the group created a plan to scale our manufacturing process to the level of mass production. This theoretical scaling of the manufacturing process will result in an effective process for manufacturing our product at a sufficient rate to meet expected demand while maintaining profitability, with a focus on continuous improvement, and eliminating waste

Literature Genre Effects on Memory and Influence

The current study examines the effect of text genre on students\u27 learning and level of persuasion. Findings from the current study have relevant implications for pedagogical practices in critical reading and learning.https://encompass.eku.edu/pedagogicon_postergallery/1003/thumbnail.jp

Literature Genre Effects on Memory and Influence

Superstructures are text structure relations commonly found in specific types of text such as narrative texts. Superstructures are important from a pedagogical standpoint because learners’ comprehension can be improved when they are taught about superstructures (Baumann & Bergeron, 1993; Calfee & Patrick, 1995; Dymock, 2005). The current study examined three types of texts with distinct superstructures—narrative, expository, and procedural. Undergraduate student participants (n=200) were randomly assigned to read a text that was written in the form of a narrative, expository, or procedural superstructure text. After reading, participants were asked to recall information from the text and rated their compliance level to the instructions provided in the text. Our results indicated a significant recall difference between narrative and expository superstructure texts. Future directions and implications are described in the discussion section

Teaching Students Effective Learning Strategies

Much research has focused on the effect of learning strategies such as completing practice testing and highlighting. Previous research has found that practice tests and distributed practice are the most effective while elaborate interrogative, self-explanation, and interleaved practice are moderately effective (Dunlosky et al., 2013). Other common strategies, such as summarization, are found to be ineffective. Many college students use these ineffective learning strategies, and it is therefore important to teach students to use good learning strategies. The current study compared a video-based teaching method on effective learning strategies versus a text-based method. Undergraduate students (n=109) were taught effective learning strategies via video or text instructions. Our results indicated that a text-based instruction method was more effective in conveying learning strategy information. Students’ enhanced understanding of learning strategies, however, did not translate into behavior—students still elected to utilize less-effective learning strategies likely because they required less effort. Implications for pedagogical practices are described in the discussion section

The First Spectrum of the Coldest Brown Dwarf

The recently discovered brown dwarf WISE 0855 presents our first opportunity to directly study an object outside the Solar System that is nearly as cold as our own gas giant planets. However the traditional methodology for characterizing brown dwarfs---near infrared spectroscopy---is not currently feasible as WISE 0855 is too cold and faint. To characterize this frozen extrasolar world we obtained a 4.5-5.2 $\mu$m spectrum, the same bandpass long used to study Jupiter's deep thermal emission. Our spectrum reveals the presence of atmospheric water vapor and clouds, with an absorption profile that is strikingly similar to Jupiter. The spectrum is high enough quality to allow the investigation of dynamical and chemical processes that have long been studied in Jupiter's atmosphere, but now on an extrasolar world.Comment: submitted to ApJ

Design of Online Lecture Videos by Non-Native English Speaking (NNES) Instructors to Promote Critical Learning

The current study seeks to investigate the effects of instructor presence in online lecture videos, focusing on non-native-English-speaking (NNES) instructors. NNES instructors should consider higher video presence during teaching to promote students\u27 learning outcomes.https://encompass.eku.edu/pedagogicon_postergallery/1005/thumbnail.jp

Boosting with intranasal dendrimeric Aβ1–15 but not Aβ1–15 peptide leads to an effective immune response following a single injection of Aβ1–40/42 in APP-tg mice

BACKGROUND: Immunotherapy for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is emerging as a potential treatment. However, a clinical trial (AN1792) was halted after adverse effects occurred in a small subset of subjects, which may have been caused by a T cell-mediated immunological response. In general, aging limits the humoral immune response, therefore, immunogens and vaccination regimes are required that induce a strong antibody response with less potential for an adverse immune response. METHOD: In the current study, we immunized both wildtype and J20 APP-tg mice with a priming injection of Aβ1–40/42, followed by multiple intranasal boosts with the novel immunogen dAβ1–15 (16 copies of Aβ1–15 on a lysine tree), Aβ1–15 peptide or Aβ1–40/42 full length peptide. RESULTS: J20 APP-tg mice primed with Aβ1–40/42 subcutaneously and subsequently boosted intranasally with Aβ1–15 peptide did not generate a cellular or humoral immune response. In contrast, J20 APP-tg mice boosted intranasally with dAβ1–15 or full length Aβ1–40/42 produced high levels of anti-Aβ antibodies. Splenocyte proliferation was minimal in mice immunized with dAβ1–15. Wildtype littermates of the J20 APP-tg mice produced higher amounts of anti-Aβ antibodies compared to APP-tg mice but also had low T cell proliferation. The anti-Aβ antibodies were mainly composed of IgG2b and directed to an epitope within the Aβ1–7 region, regardless of the immunogen. Examination of the brain showed a significant reduction in Aβ plaque burden in the J20 APP-tg mice producing antibodies compared to controls. Biochemically, Aβ40 or Aβ42 were also reduced in brain homogenates and elevated in plasma but the changes did not reach significance. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that priming with full length Aβ40/42 followed by boosting with dAβ1–15 but not Aβ1–15 peptide led to a robust humoral immune response with a minimal T cell response in J20 APP-tg mice. In addition, Aβ plaque burden was reduced in mice producing anti-Aβ antibodies. Interestingly, wildtype mice produced higher levels of anti-Aβ antibodies, indicating that immune tolerance may be present in J20 APP-tg mice. Together, these data suggest that dAβ1–15 but not Aβ1–15 peptide may be useful as a boosting immunogen in an AD vaccination regime

Analysis of Fan Motivation Factors in a Summer Collegiate Baseball Leaague

The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the factors motivating season ticket holders and multi-game pack purchasers to attend summer collegiate baseball games. The Sport Fan Motivation Scale (Wann, Schrader, & Wilson, 1999) was slightly modified in this study to determine fan attendance motives at summer collegiate baseball games. The participants of this study (n = 70) were season ticket holders and multi-game pack purchasers of the St. Cloud Rox baseball organization, a summer collegiate baseball team in the Northwood’s League. Results revealed that sport marketers may want to focus a majority of their attention to entertainment, considering the top three sport motivation factors were entertainment related. In addition, T-tests revealed statistical significance between gender and age in sport fan motives. Implications discussed in this paper may aid sport marketers and other stakeholders in planning and implementing marketing strategies within similar venues to increase attendance and season ticket sales