Impact of climate change using CRAFT: a case study for West Africa

The CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Program’s (CCAFS) Regional Agricultural Forecasting Toolbox (CRAFT) is a framework for multi-scale spatial gridded simulations using an ensemble of crop models. The toolbox facilitates studies on the potential impact of climate change on crop production for a region in addition to other capabilities such as the regional in-season yield forecasting and risk assessment. CRAFT can be used to generate and conduct multiple simulation scenarios, maps, and interactive visualizations using a crop engine that can run the crop simulation models DSSAT, APSIM, and SARRA-H, in concert with the Climate Predictability Tool (CPT) for probabilistic seasonal climate forecasts

Cognitive processes in Design Thinking: Optimization of perception, processing and reasoning

This dissertation documents a research endeavour into the cognitive processes in Design Thinking. The goal was to identify the optimal way to think in the various phases of a Design Thinking project. The research draws on the findings in design, positive psychology, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience to analyse the Design Thinking process and tomap and match thinking modes with the phases of the process. The fundamental literature review covers three topics: The research into Design Thinking provides a comprehensive insight into the method and its scientific fundament. Then, creativity as a social product and the cognitive processes relevant to creativity are documented. Thirdly, emotion and its relation to creativity and the Limbic® Map approach are presented. Finally, automatic emotion recognition with deep learning based artificial intelligence algorithms are introduced. The first stages of empirical research revealed that emotions and other affective states are unworkable for reliable research results. Similarly, it could be shown that “mindset” has no scientifically approved definition, making the concept unsuitable for robust research. Further research identified five pairs of cognitive functions needed in Design Thinking. Three pairs address information processing (Acquisition of Data, Alignment of Perception, and Assessment of Information and Ideas), and two address flow control of cognition (Attention to a specific task and Awareness of the Cognitive Process). The research further investigated methods to activate and guide the cognitive functions in a project. Moreover, the importance of including creative professionals in a Design Thinking process was revealed. Research in neuroscience indicates specific abilities of creative people identifiable in the very brain network connections. The research also discovered new insights into the “Groan Zone”. The findings indicate that a change in the attitude and approach to the “Groan Zone” could considerably change the outcome of a Design Thinking project.Esta dissertação documenta um esforço de pesquisa sobre os processos cognitivos em Design Thinking. Teve como objetivo identificar a forma ideal de pensar, nas várias fases de um projeto de Design Thinking. O design, a neurociência, as psicologias positiva e cognitiva, servem de base para analisar o processo de Design Thinking, mapeando e relacionando modos de pensamento com fases do processo. A revisão da literatura cobre: Uma visão mais abrangente do método do Design Thinking, suas origens e fundamentação científica. A criatividade como um produto social e os seus processos cognitivos mais relevantes. A relação entre emoção e criatividade e a abordagem Limbic® Map. Finalmente, são introduzidos métodos de reconhecimento automático da emoção com algoritmos de inteligência artificial, baseados em deep learning. Uma fase de investigação empírica, revelou que as emoções e os outros estados afetivos não são adequados para esta investigação. Pode demonstrar-se ainda que “mentalidade” não possui uma definição cientificamente consensual, tornando o conceito incredível para a investigação. Investigações semelhantes, identificam cinco pares de funções cognitivas necessárias. Três deles, abordam o processamento de informações (Aquisição de Dados, Alinhamento da Perceção e Avaliação de Informações e Ideias) e dois abordam o controle do fluxo cognitivo (Atenção a uma tarefa específica e Consciência do Processo Cognitivo). Aplicaram-se métodos para ativar e guiar as funções cognitivas, num projeto de Design Thinking. Revelou-se a importância de incluir profissionais criativos no processo, pois uma pesquisa em neurociência indica habilitações específicas de pessoas criativas, nas conexões neuronais do seu cérebro. Novos contributos na “Groan Zone”, indicaram que uma mudança de atitude no momento “Groan Zone”, poderá alterar consideravelmente o resultado de um projeto de Design Thinking

UZH's Chem MusEum e-Learning Concept

The Chem MusEum of the University of Zurich is the latest project of the Chemical Institutes for living history in terms of an interactive online exhibition

Impulse

FEATURES [Page] 2 Growth Analysis An increase in the number of international students and the number of female students are two elements in the college’s strong enrollment growth. [Page] 6 From Southeast Asia to South Dakota Mechanical engineering freshman Jin Hang Ng has followed the footsteps his father left 35 years ago when he came to SDSU from Malaysia. [Page] 8 People make the difference Kevy and Vanessa Konynenbelt visited SDSU mostly to please their mother’s boss. It proved to be just the start of their good experiences here. [Page] 10 Engineer turned firefighter When the two-story, 107-year-old Copper Lounge collapsed in downtown Sioux Falls Dec. 2, 2016, Capt. Mike Murphy was glad he had an engineering degree. [Page] 12 Back on campus Tyler Hill, a 2011 construction management graduate, serves as superintendent for the $8 million Alumni Center, which is to be completed in June. 14 Precision ag After planting the first-in-the-nation precision ag major in the fall, faculty in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering are expecting an abundant harvest. [Page] 16 Rich Reid The college’s associate dean was inducted as a fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineering, an honor awarded to only 3.5 percent of its membership. [Page] 18 An entrepreneur After three years as a city engineer on the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, Robbie Veurink has started two businesses of his own. [Page] 20 An enterprising engineering student Merrick Erickson has a suggestion for parents wanting to send their skateboarder off to college with a skateboard, and he’s selling SDSU longboards through the University Bookstore. COLLEGE NEWS [Page] 22 STEM Partnership A new program is uniting regional businesses in the sponsorship of the college’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics outreach activities. [Page] 24 Impact of scholarships Administrators and students testify to the need for more scholarships. [Page] 26 Vital stats A quick look at enrollment and graduates, broken down by departments. [Page] 28 Phonathon 2017 PhoneJacks were busy this winter soliciting donations for scholarships and other needs within the college’s departments. [Page] 29 A new way to look at bridges Junwon Seo, an assistant professor, is testing the feasibility of using drones for bridge inspections. [Page] 30 New faces A baker’s dozen joins the college. [Page] 34 Faculty awards Four collect honors at Celebration of Faculty Excellence. [Page] 35 Distinguished engineer The college will recognize Niaz Latif as its 138th distinguished engineer at its banquet April 25.[Page] 36 In memoriam Professor Emeritus Alfred Andrawis, who taught for more than a quarter-century in the electrical engineering department, is remembered.https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/coe_impulse/1058/thumbnail.jp

The CXCL12/CXCR4 chemokine ligand/receptor axis in cardiovascular disease

The chemokine receptor CXCR4 and its ligand CXCL12 play an important homeostatic function by mediating the homing of progenitor cells in the bone marrow and regulating their mobilization into peripheral tissues upon injury or stress. Although the CXCL12/CXCR4 interaction has long been regarded as a monogamous relation, the identification of the pro-inflammatory chemokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) as an important second ligand for CXCR4, and of CXCR7 as an alternative receptor for CXCL12, has undermined this interpretation and has considerably complicated the understanding of CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling and associated biological functions. This review aims to provide insight into the current concept of the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis in myocardial infarction (MI) and its underlying pathologies such as atherosclerosis and injury-induced vascular restenosis. It will discuss main findings from in vitro studies, animal experiments and large-scale genome-wide association studies. The importance of the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis in progenitor cell homing and mobilization will be addressed, as will be the function of CXCR4 in different cell types involved in atherosclerosis. Finally, a potential translation of current knowledge on CXCR4 into future therapeutical application will be discussed

Three novel ABCC5 splice variants in human retina and their role as regulators of ABCC5 gene expression

Background The ABCC5 gene encodes an organic anion pump of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter family, subclass C. The exact physiological function of ABCC5 however is not known. Here, we have isolated three novel ABCC5 splice variants and characterized their role in the regulation of ABCC5 gene expression. Results Two additional exons within intron 5 of the ABCC5 gene were identified; one of the exons exhibits alternative donor splice sites. Differential usage of these exons generates three short ABCC5 transcripts named ABCC5_SV1, ABCC5_SV2 and ABCC5_SV3. The variants share the first five exons with the ABCC5 gene but differ in their 3' sequences. ABCC5 and its novel isoforms are abundantly expressed in the human retina. Splice variant ABCC5_SV1 and ABCC5_SV2 contain premature stop codons. While inhibition of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay selectively stabilized ABCC5_SV1 but not ABCC5_SV2, the amount of full length ABCC5 mRNA was simultaneously reduced. A negative regulatory effect on full length ABCC5 expression was also observed when the ABCC5 isoforms were silenced with siRNA duplexes. Finally, we show that the evolutionarily conserved ABCC5_SV2 transcript is translated into a protein abundantly present in endothelial cells of inner retinal blood vessels and along RPE membranes. Conclusion Our data suggest that alternative splicing of the ABCC5 gene has functional consequences by modulating ABCC5 gene expression. In addition, at least one ABCC5 splice variant is protein-coding and produces a truncated ABCC5 protein isoform with thus far unknown functional properties in the retina

The Retinome – Defining a reference transcriptome of the adult mammalian retina/retinal pigment epithelium

BACKGROUND: The mammalian retina is a valuable model system to study neuronal biology in health and disease. To obtain insight into intrinsic processes of the retina, great efforts are directed towards the identification and characterization of transcripts with functional relevance to this tissue. RESULTS: With the goal to assemble a first genome-wide reference transcriptome of the adult mammalian retina, referred to as the retinome, we have extracted 13,037 non-redundant annotated genes from nearly 500,000 published datasets on redundant retina/retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) transcripts. The data were generated from 27 independent studies employing a wide range of molecular and biocomputational approaches. Comparison to known retina-/RPE-specific pathways and established retinal gene networks suggest that the reference retinome may represent up to 90% of the retinal transcripts. We show that the distribution of retinal genes along the chromosomes is not random but exhibits a higher order organization closely following the previously observed clustering of genes with increased expression. CONCLUSION: The genome wide retinome map offers a rational basis for selecting suggestive candidate genes for hereditary as well as complex retinal diseases facilitating elaborate studies into normal and pathological pathways. To make this unique resource freely available we have built a database providing a query interface to the reference retinome [1]

Impulse (College of Engineering Publication)

[Page] 2 Welcoming Dean Bruce Berdanier[Page] 5 Engineers without Borders Remains a Passion[Page] 6 New Office Looks in Crothers[Page] 8 Ground Broken for Precision Ag Center[Page] 9 Alum Honors Arden Sigl with Office Donation[Page] 10 3D Printing for Space Station[Page] 12 Center for Power Systems Studies Turns 50[Page] 14 Daktronics - A Partner for 50 Years[Page] 17 Quarter- scale Tractor Team Takes Title[Page] 18 Partnership with Wastewater Treatment Plant[Page] 22 Horner Succeeds at HR Green[Page] 23 Hard Work Pays Off for Vejvoda[Page] 24 Engineering\u27s Student-Athletes[Page] 26 Student Spends Summer at Mayo[Page] 28 Welcome New Faculty[Page] 30 Farewell Dan Kemp[Page] 32 Turning an Idea Into a Business[Page] 34 Vogel Heeds Storry\u27s Advice[Page] 36 Alumni News[Page] 38 Dean\u27s Club[Page] 39 Faculty News[Page] 40 Sustaining an Impacthttps://openprairie.sdstate.edu/coe_impulse/1064/thumbnail.jp