Black, Gold, and Green: Food Waste Management at Bryant University

The basis of this project is to examine the food waste management system at Bryant University, and to make feasible, sustainable, and cost-effective solutions for improving the system. An effective, sustainable food waste management system is an important achievement for the university in particular as Rhode Island’s landfill is quickly reaching its capacity. The study focuses on analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of the university’s current solution of sending the waste to a local pig farmer versus alternative options such as composting the waste. Research methods include surveying local food recycling and composting experts and key stakeholders, a numeric ranking system to analyze different options for Bryant, as well as benchmarking with comparable colleges and universities that have launched successful food waste management solutions

New Neilson Library Life Cycle Assessment Report

Life cycle assessment results for achieving credits for LEED v4 MRc1 Building Life-cycle Impact reduction credit and its Option 4: Whole building impact assessment

Mathematical modeling of drug resistance and cancer stem cells dynamics

In this dissertation we consider the dynamics of drug resistance in cancer and the related issue of the dynamics of cancer stem cells. Our focus is only on resistance which is caused by random genetic point mutations. A very simple system of ordinary differential equations allows us to obtain results that are comparable to those found in the literature with one important difference. We show that the amount of resistance that is generated before the beginning of the treatment, and which is present at some given time afterward, always depends on the turnover rate, no matter how many drugs are used. Previous work in the literature indicated no dependence on the turnover rate in the single drug case while a strong dependence in the multi-drug case. We develop a new methodology in order to derive an estimate of the probability of developing resistance to drugs by the time a tumor is diagnosed and the expected number of drug-resistant cells found at detection if resistance is present at detection. Our modeling methodology may be seen as more general than previous approaches, in the sense that at least for the wild-type population we make assumptions only on their averaged behavior (no Markov property for example). Importantly, the heterogeneity of the cancer population is taken into account. Moreover, in the case of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), which is a cancer of the white blood cells, we are able to infer the preferred mode of division of the hematopoietic cancer stem cells, predicting a large shift from asymmetric division to symmetric renewal. We extend our results by relaxing the assumption on the average growth of the tumor, thus going beyond the standard exponential case, and showing that our results may be a good approximation also for much more general forms of tumor growth models. Finally, after reviewing the basic modeling assumptions and main results found in the mathematical modeling literature on chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), we formulate a new hypothesis on the effects that the drug Imatinib has on leukemic stem cells. Based on this hypothesis, we obtain new insights on the dynamics of the development of drug resistance in CML

Optimizing scanning mirror system performance using solid state piezoelectric actuators

The purpose of this thesis is to design a scanning mirror system using piezoelectric actuators. A dual-cantilevered bimorph electromechanical coupling is presented, which maximizes the amount of angular deflection possible with an applied field. Two types of feedback methods are employed: rate sensing, which provides resonance damping, and position sensing for increased bandwidth and decreased hysteresis. A prototype system, including the actuator and feedback mechanisms, is developed. Its performance compares favorably with its model and is capable of plus and minus five degrees of angular deflection with a bandwidth of 300 Hertz

A Reading Lesson Observation Framework for Elementary Teachers, Principals, and Literacy Supervisors

Henk et al present a framework which will provide reference points for assessment and help refine instructional practices in reading

The effect of corporate venture capital investments on the investor´s innovativeness: the moderating role of geographic proximty and investment stage

Drawing upon the knowledge-based view theory, knowledge can be considered the most important strategic resourcefor companiesand the foundation forinnovation and growth. However, especially incumbentsstruggle to create new innovationsinternally and thus,increasingly searchfor toolsto source external knowledge for the firm. Corporate venture capital(CVC)investments areone way to access newknowledge, capabilities and technologies to driveinnovationwithin companies. Using a panel dataset of 66 individual corporate investorswith more than 400 observations, this paper explores the impact of CVC deals onthe investor’s innovativenessand investigates circumstances influencing therelationship. This researchfinds a positive relationship between corporate venture capital deals and the investor’s innovativeness, measured by patent applications. Furthermore, this studyfinds empirical evidencethat therelationshipbetween CVC dealsand the corporate investor’s innovativenessis stronger when investors invest in startups in anearlydevelopment stage,as their knowledge is more disruptive and valuablefor the incumbent. Last, this paper does not find a significant moderating effectof geographic proximity on the relationship between corporate venture capital and innovation. The spatial distance of an investment does not seem to be a crucial determinant forthe success of corporate venture capital deals, supporting the arguments of authors proclaiming a“death of geography”

Why tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance is common in advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors

Background: Most patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) develop drug resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) within two years of starting therapy, whereas most chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients in chronic phase still exhibit disease control after a decade on therapy. This article aims to explain this divergence in long term outcomes. Methods and results: By combining clinical and experimental observations with mathematical formulas we estimate that, in advanced GIST, the genetic changes responsible for resistance are generally already present at disease detection. Conclusion: This result has relevant clinical implications by providing support for the exploration of combination therapies

Proprietà non termiche di ammassi di galassie ad alto redshift

Nella prima parte di questo elaborato viene presentata una visione generale degli ammassi di galassie, analizzando principalmente le emissioni ottiche, in banda X e in banda radio. Nella seconda parte viene proposta un’analisi di recenti osservazioni su emissioni radio estese, in particolare da aloni radio, ricercando una possibile correlazione tra le loro proprietà e il redshift dell’ammasso di galassie