Automated Runout Measurement Tool

A new measurement process and tool is to be developed to improve the existing method for measuring runout on the commutators of brushed DC product. After an armature is manufactured, the commutator is inspected by placing the completed rotor assembly in one of several non-standard measurement fixtures. An indicator is then positioned on the commutator. A trained operator proceeds to rotate the armature while taking runout and bar-to-bar measurement at various positions along the length of the commutator. This existing process is slow, costly, and unreliable. For these reasons, there is substantial economic pressure to develop a superior method for measurement. The new method will need to be consistent, operate quickly, and produce readings that are more reliable. Upon completion and implementation, the new process and associated tooling will significantly reduce the production delays and costs associated with the existing method

Neuroplasticity following pallidal stimulation for dystonia.

Dystonia is a disabling condition characterised by involuntary muscle spasms and abnormal postures. Its pathophysiology is incompletely understood but most lines of evidence point to an underlying defect of basal ganglia function leading to abnormal corticomotor output. Various abnormalities have been shown, including abnormal neuronal activity in basal ganglia output nuclei, defective neural inhibition at the spinal, brainstem, cortical level and sensorimotor misprocessing. More recently, increased neural plasticity has been found in dystonia patients in response to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) protocols which induce motor cortex plasticity. Excessive plasticity might contribute to dystonia by promoting or reinforcing abnormal patterns of connectivity. The most significant advance in the treatment of generalised dystonia has been the development of globus pallidus internus (GPi) deep brain stimulation (DBS). Interestingly its beneficial effects are progressive over weeks to months rather than immediate. A plasticity effect has been implicated but physiological evidence has been lacking. Furthermore it is unknown what impact GPi DBS has on the underlying pathophysiology such as defective inhibition or excessive plasticity. The aim of the present work was to examine the impact of GPi DBS on underlying pathophysiological features such as disinhibition and abnormal motor cortical plasticity. In this thesis, studies in a consecutive series of dystonia patients, mainly those with primary generalised dystonia, who underwent bilateral GPi DBS, are presented. Patients were studied in a prospective, longitudinal manner with both clinical assessment of dystonia using a validated rating scale and electrophysiological studies including blink reflex excitability and forearm H-reflex reciprocal inhibition. In addition, once stable improvement had been achieved, the impact of GPi DBS on motor cortex plasticity was studied using TMS paired associative stimulation (PAS). The clinical study of these patients confirmed the therapeutic efficacy of GPi DBS and provided direct evidence of the superiority of the posteroventral globus pallidus as the optimal target. The longitudinal studies of blink and H-reflex, showed progressive normalisation of brainstem and spinal excitability, which correlated with the time-course of clinical improvement. These data provide the first evidence of reversal of underlying dystonia pathophysiology by GPi DBS and are compatible with progressive long-term neural reorganisation (plasticity) playing a role in the mechanism of action of GPi DBS. Furthermore, the result of TMS PAS experiments demonstrated that GPi DBS reduces the short-term plasticity of the motor cortex, the magnitude of this effect also correlated with therapeutic effect. This result is compatible with the concept that excessive plasticity promotes dystonia and reversal of these abnormalities may be another mechanism by which GPi DBS acts. In conclusion, work presented in this thesis provides the first electrophysiological correlates of clinical improvement in dystonia after GPi DBS, which collectively supports the notion that both long and short-term plasticity within the central nervous system are involved in the mechanism of GPi DBS action

Critical Inquiry in Developmental Mathematics

Critical mathematics literacy is a necessary but often overlooked portion of developmental mathematics. This exploratory study focuses on the experiences of students in a developmental algebra course at a community college in New England. The theoretical framework combined critical pedagogy, teacher research, and critical discourse analysis resulting in a qualitative analysis. The analysis found that students who completed a social-justice oriented developmental algebra course increased their perception of their ability to understand math. The analysis also indicated that developing a sense of solidarity within the classroom was beneficial to students. Other issues for future study that surfaced during the analysis are the problems of deeply engrained learner dependence on the instructor and students’ reliance on short term memorization rather than understanding

Comparing the Anti-Inflammatory Properties of STATTIC to Indirubin-E804 in RAW264.7 Macrophages

Natural products containing derivatives of the basic indole backbone have gained significant interest in the use against cancer cells, inflammation, and a multitude of disorders in the human body. The indole backbone is present in several endogenous hormones such as serotonin and melatonin. Additionally, the indole-containing amino acid tryptophan is the starting structure for many endogenous metabolites controlling natural physiological homeostasis such as circadian rhythms, healthy gut microbiota, and gut health. Natural indirubin is a deep red bis-indole isomer of indigo blue, both of which are biologically active ingredients used to treat neoplasia, chronic inflammation, and enhance xenobiotics\u27 detoxification. Naturally derived indirubins and other indole-containing compounds have been shown to have anti-proliferative effects, mainly attributed to the inhibition of the cell cycle-related kinases, such as cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) and glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3 ) with varying degrees of potency. Many indirubins are also aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) agonists, with AHR-associated activities covering a wide range of potencies, depending on molecular structure. The AHR is a ligand-activated transcription factor that promotes drug-metabolizing enzymes leading to the degradation of these indirubins in an AHR-dependent manner. Our lab previously described the anti-inflammatory properties of indirubin-3\u27-(2,3 dihydroxypropyl)-oximether (E804), a novel indirubin derivative with potent STAT3 inhibitory properties, in murine RAW264.7 macrophages stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This study compared the effects of a novel STAT3 inhibitor, 6-nitrobenzo[b]thiophene 1,1-dioxide (STATTIC), which is structurally designed as an indole backbone to E804, on LPS-stimulated macrophage functions. I also determined if the effects of both STATTIC and E804 on these macrophage functions are modified by the AHR antagonist, 6,2’,4’-trimethoxyflavone (TMF). Initial studies using AHR reporter transactivation assays show that E804, but not STATTIC or TMF, is an AHR agonist, which further corroborates early studies showing that E804 induces the drug-metabolizing monooxygenases (CYP1A1 and CYP1B1). Additionally, I demonstrate that STATTIC is more potent than E804 in suppressing LPS-induced IL-6 secretion, iNOS protein expression, and nitric oxide production. Macrophage intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) naturally generated during LPS-stimulation was suppressed by low levels of STATTIC but not by higher levels. In contrast, similar concentrations of E804 suppress ROS production. STATTIC completely inhibited phagocytosis, and less so by E804. When examined alone, TMF has anti-inflammatory properties as well, and when combined with E804 and STATTIC, further enhanced these compounds’ effects. Collectively, these results indicate that E804 and STATTIC are potent modulators of pro-inflammatory profiles in LPS-treated macrophages. Additionally, these results suggest that AHR antagonism by TMF may antagonize the degradation of E804 and prolong its anti-inflammatory properties. Since STATTIC did not bind the AHR, any treatments using this novel small molecule may not require co-treatment such as TMF

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT VIDEO TRAINING FOR RETAIL ASSOCIATES

Retail associates are encountering customer conflict at an ever-increasing rate. Mistreatment by customers includes insults, name-calling, threats, and violence. Job satisfaction for associates is on the decline as a result. This Capstone project proposes retail associates are not trained in managing customer conflict. Forty-six retail associates completed a 22-question survey and watched five embedded video microlessons (lessons between one and three minutes). The video showed retail associates how to recognize, assess, and manage customer conflict through self-awareness and mindful engagement. Through grounded theory and qualitative research methods, this study confirms that retail associates’ job satisfaction can improve with conflict management training as well as using video as a sufficient means of training. These findings provide an actionable alternative to the “tips and tricks” of dealing with customers that will improve the well-being of associates at work and beyond

Unequal but Just? Experimental Evidence on (Gendered) Distributive Justice Principles in Parental Financial Gifts

Research has documented gender inequalities in parental financial gifts, but it is unclear under which conditions these inequalities are socially accepted. We combine distributive justice theory with sociological and economic perspectives on intergenerational transfers to examine perceptions of fair allocations of parental gifts. By manipulating children’s characteristics in a multifactorial vignette experiment, we conducted in Germany in 2020 (N¼4284 observations of 714 respondents), we test the prevalence and gendered application of four justice principles (equality, need, entitlement and equity). While the equality principle was widespread, unequal gifts were legitimized both by children’s financial needs (unemployment) and exchange services (helping in parents’ household). These results indicate that the family is perceived as an agency for economic redistribution, potentially affecting society’s socio-economic structure. Moreover, exchange services weighed more for sons while needs weighed more for daughters, suggesting that gendered fairness perceptions are one possible mechanism explaining gender inequalities in financial gifts.1. Introduction 2. Theory and empirical background 3. Methods 4. Results 5. Discussion 6. Conclusion Acknowledgements References Supplementary dat

Single-shot implementation of dispersion-scan for the characterization of ultrashort laser pulses

We demonstrate a novel, single-shot ultrafast diagnostic, based on the dispersion-scan (d-scan) technique. In this implementation, rather than scanning wedges to vary the dispersion as in standard d-scan, the pulse to be measured experiences a spatially varying amount of dispersion in a Littrow prism. The resulting beam is then imaged into a second-harmonic generation crystal and an imaging spectrometer is used to measure the two-dimensional trace, which is analyzed using the d-scan retrieval algorithm. We compare the single-shot implementation with the standard d-scan for the measurement of sub-3.5-fs pulses from a hollow core fiber pulse compressor. We show that the retrieval algorithm used to extract amplitude and phase of the pulse provides comparable results, proving the validity of the new single-shot implementation down to near single-cycle durations.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure