An Integrated Interdisciplinary Faculty-Student Learning Community Focused on Water Issues: A Case Study

In response to a request from a campus student organization, faculty from three fields came together to develop and teach an integrated interdisciplinary course on water issues and social activism. This course, Water as Life, Death, and Power, brought together topics from the fields of anthropology, biology and chemistry to explore water rights, access to clean water, and water treatment methods. Students enrolled in the course developed projects related to a variety of local and global water issues to present real-world solutions at a university-wide student research showcase. This article describes how we organized the learning community, composed of students, faculty, and staff, and outlines the training process of developing a sense of community, content integration, and interdisciplinary teaching techniques. Cathy Willermet is a Professor of Anthropology at Central Michigan University. Eron Drake is the Assistant Director of the Faculty Center for Innovative Teaching at Central Michigan University. Anja Mueller is a Professor of Chemistry at Central Michigan University. Stephen J. Juris is a Professor of Biology at Central Michigan University. Pratik Chhetri is a graduate student and a member of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) at Central Michigan University. Samik Upadhaya is a graduate student and a member of UAEM at Central Michigan University

Water as life, death, and power: Building an integrated interdisciplinary course combining perspectives from anthropology, biology, and chemistry

In response to a request from a campus student organization, faculty from three fields came together to develop and teach an integrated interdisciplinary course on water issues and social activism. This course, “Water as Life, Death, and Power”, brought together topics from the fields of anthropology, biology and chemistry to explore water rights, access to clean water, and water treatment methods. Students enrolled in the course developed interdisciplinary projects related to a variety of local and global water issues to present real-world solutions at a university-wide student research showcase. This article describes the process by which the faculty learning community designed the course as a truly integrated whole, and reflects on the challenges and rewards of teaching a course in this way

Assessing Interdisciplinary Learning and Student Activism in a Water Issues Course

In response to a request from a campus student organization, faculty from three fields came together to develop and teach an integrated interdisciplinary course on water issues and social activism. This course, “Water as Life, Death, and Power”, brought together issues from the fields of anthropology, biology and chemistry to explore water rights, access to clean water, and water treatment methods. Students enrolled in the course developed interdisciplinary projects related to a variety of local and global water issues to present real-world solutions at a university-wide student research showcase. This article reports the assessment outcomes of the course, measuring changes in both interdisciplinary learning and levels of student activism

Temperature Effects on Mechanical Properties of Zinc Dithiophosphate Tribofilms

Nanoindentation tests were performed at several temperatures (24 to 80degC) on one antiwear zinc dialkyl-dithiophosphate (ZDTP) tribofilm using a Nanoindenter XP (R) entirely set into a climatic chamber. Mechanical properties of the tribofilm were determined using a simple model. AFM observations were conducted to estimate the order of magnitude of the film's thickness. The effect of applied pressure on the elastic properties was demonstrated and taken into account in the present analysis. The use of the F/S^2 parameter, independent of contact geometry, revealed a hardness dependency upon temperature. Furthermore, careful AFM observations of the residual pile-up produced by plastic flow around the indents pointed out the evolution of the film deformation process with temperature

Development of valve train rig for assessment of cam/follower tribochemistry.

Component bench tests are a crucial part of a tribology assessment experimental programme for most engines and subsystems. This is because they test the components under conditions simulating the operating characteristics of the system. These have become very important as they shed more light into the friction, wear, lubrication and importantly for this study, the tribochemistry of valve train systems. This work outlines the procedure for the development of a single cam rig (SCR) from a 1.25L FORD Zetec (SE) engine. Friction plots were used to validate the data obtained from the newly developed single cam rig with Mn-phosphate coated and polished follower against a cast iron camshaft. The tribofilm formed using normal and mid Sulphated Ash, Phosphorus and Sulphur (SAPS) 5W-30 oils were evaluated and correlated to the friction and wear properties of the tribopair.Raman and FIB-SEM/EDX investigations of the tribochemical films showed that the normal SAPS oil produced patchy, thick (80-100. nm) and well dispersed tribofilm with better wear prevention capabilities. It was observed that Mid SAPS oil had lower wear prevention due to loosely dispersed and thin tribofilms. Absence of tribofilms at the centre of the insert with this oil also suggests that formation and removal processes are an integral part of the wear mechanisms in highly loaded cam follower systems

Do nuclear DNA and dental nonmetric data produce similar reconstructions of regional population history? An example from modern coastal Kenya

This study investigates whether variants in dental morphology and nuclear DNA provide similar patterns of intergroup affinity among regional populations using biological distance (biodistance) estimates. Many biodistance studies of archaeological populations use skeletal variants in lieu of ancient DNA, based on the widely accepted assumption of a strong correlation between phenetic- and genetic-based affinities. Within studies of dental morphology, this assumption has been well supported by research on a global scale but remains unconfirmed at a more geographically restricted scale. Paired genetic (42 microsatellite loci) and dental (nine crown morphology traits) data were collected from 295 individuals among four contemporary Kenyan populations, two of which are known ethnically as “Swahili” and two as “Taita;” all have welldocumented population histories. The results indicate that biodistances based on genetic data are correlated with those obtained from dental morphology. Specifically, both distance matrices indicate that the closest affinities are between population samples within each ethnic group. Both also identify greater divergence among samples from the different ethnic groups. However, for this particular study the genetic data may provide finer resolution at detecting overall among-population relationships

The effect of soot and diesel contamination on wear and friction of engine oil pump

The effect of oil contamination and oil degradation on friction and wear of engine oil pump are addressed in this paper. It provides a summary of an experimental study on the effects of oil contamination and oil degradation on tribological performance of a Variable Displacement Vane Pump (VDVP); a particular focus is on the vane-rotor contact. Firstly, a lab-based artificial ageing of fully-formulated engine oil (FFO) with the addition of contaminants such as carbon black (CB) and diesel is conducted. Secondly, the impact of these contaminants on the bulk property of the oil during the ageing process is investigated, using rheometry and Attenuated Total Reflectance/Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR/FTIR). Thirdly, the performance of these oils on friction and wear of the vane-rotor contact under boundary lubrication regime is evaluated. The wear mechanism and chemical nature of tribofilms formed in tribological tests are addressed using Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM/EDX) and Raman spectroscopy. It is found that the consumption of the additives by soot (additive adsorption) in the engine oil during the ageing process has a significant effect on wear of the components. This mechanism has a higher impact on producing high wear than abrasion by soot particles

3D Printing: Applications in Evolution and Ecology

In the commercial and medical sectors, 3D printing is delivering on its promise to en‐ able a revolution. However, in the fields of Ecology and Evolution we are only on the brink of embracing the advantages that 3D printing can offer. Here we discuss exam‐ ples where the process has enabled researchers to develop new techniques, work with novel species, and to enhance the impact of outreach activities. Our aim is to showcase the potential that 3D printing offers in terms of improved experimental techniques, greater flexibility, reduced costs and promoting open science, while also discussing its limitations. By taking a general overview of studies using the technique from fields across the broad range of Ecology and Evolution, we show the flexibility of 3D printing technology and aim to inspire the next generation of discoveries

Determination of the Locus of Miniature Dominant, a New Alliele in Drosophila Melanogaster.

1. A study was carried out on the closely linked mutants miniature, dusky and miniature-dominant in Drosophila melanogaster. 2. The viability of miniature-dominant was measured for homozygous and heterozygous females and for hemizygous males. Evidence is presented that the death of such zygotes oceurs before hatching of the eggs. 3. Crossing over experiments showed a probable cross over between miniature and dusky but no crossing over between miniature-dominant and miniature or miniature-dominant and dusky. 4. Allelism was found to be shown between miniature-dominant and dusky, miniature-dominant and miniature, miniature-dominant and miniature259- 4, and miniature and miniature259- 4 5. The phenotypes of miniature dusky/+ + and miniature +/+dusky were found to differ and a position effect apparently occurs. 6. These mutants are compared to those at the lozenge, Star, and bithorax loci and the possibility that miniature and dusky represent repeated loci is considered