Valve for waste collection and storage

A method and valve apparatus for collection of fecal matter designed to operate efficiently in a zero gravity environment is presented. The system comprises a waste collection area within a body having a seat opening. Low pressure within the waste collection area directs fecal matter away from the user's buttocks and prevents the escape of undersirable gases. The user actuates a piston covered with an absorbent pad that sweeps through the waste collection area to collect the fecal matter, scrub the waste collection area, press the waste against an end of the waste collection area and retracts, leaving the used pad. Multiple pads are provided on the piston to accommodate multiple uses of the system. Also a valve allows air to be drawn through the body, so the valve will not be plugged with fecal matter. A sheet feeder feeds fresh sheets of absorbent pads to a face of the piston with each actuation

Method for waste collection and storage

A method for collection of fecal matter designed to operate efficiently in a zero gravity environment was invented. The system consists of a waste collection area within a body having a seat opening. Low pressure within the waste collection area directs fecal matter away from the user's buttocks and prevents the escape of waste gases. The user actuates a piston covered with an absorbent pad that sweeps through the waste collection area to collect fecal matter, scrub the waste collector area, press the waste against an end of the waste collection area and retracts, leaving the used pad. Multiple pads are provided on the piston to accommodate multiple usages. Also a valve allows air to be drawn through the body, which keeps the valve from becomming plugged with the feces. A sheet feeder feeds fresh sheets of absorbent pads to a face of the piston with each actuation

DichroMatch: a website for similarity searching of circular dichroism spectra

Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy is a widely used method for examining the structure, folding and conformational changes of proteins. A new online CD analysis server (DichroMatch) has been developed for identifying proteins with similar spectral characteristics by detecting possible structurally and functionally related proteins and homologues. DichroMatch includes six different methods for determining the spectral nearest neighbours to a query protein spectrum and provides metrics of how similar these spectra are and, if corresponding crystal structures are available for the closest matched proteins, information on their secondary structures and fold classifications. By default, DichroMatch uses all the entries in the Protein Circular Dichroism Data Bank (PCDDB) for its comparison set, providing the broadest range of publicly available protein spectra to match with the unknown protein. Alternatively, users can download or create their own specialized data sets, thereby enabling comparisons between the structures of related proteins such as wild-type versus mutants or homologues or a series of spectra of the same protein under different conditions. The DichroMatch server is freely available at http://dichromatch.cryst.bbk.ac.uk

A constraint on a varying proton--electron mass ratio 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang

A molecular hydrogen absorber at a lookback time of 12.4 billion years, corresponding to 10$\%$ of the age of the universe today, is analyzed to put a constraint on a varying proton--electron mass ratio, $\mu$. A high resolution spectrum of the J1443$+$2724 quasar, which was observed with the Very Large Telescope, is used to create an accurate model of 89 Lyman and Werner band transitions whose relative frequencies are sensitive to $\mu$, yielding a limit on the relative deviation from the current laboratory value of $\Delta\mu/\mu=(-9.5\pm5.4_{\textrm{stat}} \pm 5.3_{\textrm{sys}})\times 10^{-6}$.Comment: Accepted for publication in PRL. Includes supplemental materia

Feeling the Burn: A Phenomenological Study on Burnout among Adjunct Professors at Higher Education Institutions

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of burnout among adjunct professors at higher education institutions. The central research question guiding this study was what are the lived experiences of burnout among adjunct professors at higher education institutions? This study found that adjunct professors burned-out due to their higher education institutions’ unreasonable work expectations, tight deadlines, and lack of resources. Using the guiding theory of job demands and resources (JD-R) developed by Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, and Schaufeli, the phenomenon’s essence was discovered as it highlighted how excessive work demands and a lack of resources lead to burnout experiences. The snowballing method was used to recruit 11 adjunct professors who provided rich and thick accounts of their lived experiences using three types of data collection: an open-ended survey, a reflective journal, and a semi-structured interview. The data were analyzed using Moustakas’ modified version of van Kaam’s phenomenological analysis approach, which discovered four main themes, six sub-themes, and contextual data, then coded using Delve’s coding guidelines for qualitative researchers. Data were triangulated to synthesize the descriptions to detail the essence of the adjunct professors’ lived experiences of burnout. Burnout among adjunct professors affects students and institutions. The implications of this study revealed the potential need to optimize job demands, job resources, and personal resources for adjunct professors. Because adjunct professors make up a significant portion of the higher education sector, it is vital to understand their specific concerns. Adjunct professors are essential to higher education institutions and should be honored for their contributions