A Study of Planar and Nonplanar Membrane Wing Planforms for the Design of a Flapping-Wing Micro Air Vehicle

Flapping wings may have potential for success in the realm of micro air vehicles (MAVs). The goal of this thesis was to investigate a variety of flapping wing planforms, including nonplanar effects, to create an optimum planform for an MAV design. Test stand and model prototype experiments were conducted to measure the lift and propulsive thrust generated by flapping wing planforms with a variety of nonplanar tips. The polynomial planform with 20º tip anhedral was selected for the flapping-wing MAV designed herein because of its enhanced performance, reaching over 15 g of lift. A propulsive thrust analysis was performed on the selected wing, indicating sufficient levels of thrust production. Instantaneous lift and strobe photography analyses were performed to investigate the underlying physical effects of nonplanar tips, particularly their ability to reduce negative upstroke lift

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Environmental cosmopolitanization ‘with Chinese Characteristics’: a possible legacy from recent environment policy developments and experimental collaborative projects?: time span 2000-2010.

The aim of this study was to discover whether or not engagement in cosmopolitanization processes between China and international environmental organizations, especially the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), might have helped remedy the dilemmas posed by China’s environmental predicament in the decade 2000-2010. I chose Ulrich Beck’s concept of cosmopolitanization processes in risk societies to examine the ‘spacial and temporal dimensions’ (Goldstein, 1989:537) of the Chinese environmental arena in this decade. China’s environmental crises were multifarious and often catastrophic in their effects on local populations. The central government needed funding, environmental expertise and technology. Exchanges with organizations like UNEP were frequently adversarial. There were historical, economic and political reasons for this state of affairs. National and international issues influenced the authoritarian central government to decide that national concerns would take precedence in international environmental agreements. However, despite these and other international exchange difficulties, the Chinese government accepted the United Nation’s program of Sustainable Development and attempted to implement it because the program might benefit the environment but still permit maintenance of economic growth. Implementation of environmental projects was always fraught with formidable impediments but policy developments did begin to include cosmopolitanization possibilities in a series of experimental environmental projects which, despite often negative evaluations, did introduce collaborative ventures involving international assistance. Citizen participation in local environmental projects was a central concern in this study, but despite policy exhortations to promote their involvement, actual participation was limited to groups of officials and particular environmental organizations. It was obvious that had public participation existed in practice the collaborative projects would have encouraged stronger cosmopolitan exchanges. Nonetheless, by about 2012 there was some evidence of an opening up that improved engagement with international environmental regimes and this change, while not transformational, could encourage more useful cosmopolitan relationships during the 21st conference in Paris in 2015.Thesis (M.Phil.) -- University of Adelaide, School of History and Politics, 201

Results at 5 Years After Gene Therapy for RPE65-Deficient Retinal Dystrophy

Previously, results at 2 years after subretinal injection of a recombinant adeno-associated virus vector expressing RPE65 (rAAV2-CB-hRPE65) in eight adults and four children with retinal degeneration caused by RPE65 mutations were reported. Now, results at 5 years after treatment in 11 of these subjects are reported. Subjects received a subretinal injection of rAAV2-CB-hRPE65 in the poorer-seeing eye, at either of two dose levels, and were followed for 5 years after treatment. The primary safety outcomes were ocular and non-ocular adverse events. Efficacy outcomes included changes in best corrected visual acuity, static perimetry hill of vision measurements for the central 30 degrees (V30), and total (VTOT) visual field and kinetic perimetry visual field area. The only adverse events reported during years 3, 4, and 5 were minor intercurrent illnesses. Pediatric subjects had improvement in visual acuity and static perimetry in the treated eye, sometimes with a smaller improvement in the untreated eye, during the first 2 years of the study that persisted during years 3-5, with no consistent changes in kinetic perimetry during the study. Most adult subjects had no consistent changes in visual acuity or static perimetry during the study. Three adult subjects with markedly abnormal baseline kinetic visual field area had improvement in the treated eye during the first 1-2 years after treatment, but the absolute magnitude of the improvement was small and was not sustained at subsequent visits. There were no clinically significant adverse events. Visual acuity and static perimetry testing results suggest that treating patients at a younger age is associated with better visual function outcomes during 5 years after treatment

A pilot study on our non-traditional, varied writing accountability group for historically excluded and underrepresented persons in STEMM

Underrepresented faculty have higher burnout rates and lower grant attainment rates when compared with their non-minority counterparts. Many in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) disciplines, including underrepresented individuals, often have difficulty dedicating time to the writing process, with trainees often being relegated to laboratory tasks in their training years, resulting in a lack of practice in academic writing. Notably, past studies have shown that grant attainment rates of underrepresented individuals are lower than their majority counterparts. Here, we sought to consider a mechanism targeted to underrepresented individuals, although applicable to everyone, to help overcome traditional barriers to writing in STEMM. The authors have hosted a writing accountability group (WAG) that uniquely provides a format focused on physical activity and different forms of writing to strengthen both career development and award/funding attainment. Our objectives were to evaluate this unique format, thus creating a resource for individuals and institutions to learn about WAGs and expand upon the framework to formulate their own WAG. To do this, we performed a small pilot study (n = 21) to investigate attitudes towards the WAG. We present the results of a survey conducted among underrepresented WAG participants, which spanned different career stages and was highly diverse demographically. Our results show that following attendance of our WAG, individuals did not note a significant change in scales pertaining to John Henryism (high-effort coping), resilience, sense of belonging, or grit. However, significant increases were noted in the self-perceived ability to handle stress, confidence in applying for awards, appreciation for mentoring, and satisfaction of WAGs. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that our unique WAG format can have some positive results as a career and writing development opportunity and may be able to support underrepresented individuals in attaining funding at higher education institutions

Non-invasive bladder function measures in healthy, asymptomatic female children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundLower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are common in children and adolescents. Non-invasive tests evaluating bladder function are generally preferred over invasive tests, yet few studies have explored the range of normative values for these tests in healthy, asymptomatic children.ObjectiveTo define normative reference ranges for non-invasive tests of bladder function in healthy, asymptomatic girls and adolescents.Study designA comprehensive search strategy was performed in seven electronic databases through October 2019. English-language studies reporting data on voiding frequency, voided and postvoid residual volumes (PVR) and uroflowmetry results in healthy, asymptomatic girls (mean age ≥ 5 years) were included. Two independent reviewers performed study review, data extraction, and quality assessment. Overall mean estimates and 95% confidence intervals for each bladder function parameter were calculated using random effects models, and 95% normative reference values were estimated.ResultsTen studies met eligibility criteria for the meta-analysis (n = 2143 girls, age range: 3-18). Mean estimates of maximum voided volume and PVR were 233.4 ml (95% CI 204.3-262.6; n = 1 study) and 8.6 ml (95% CI 4.8-12.4; n = 2 studies) respectively. Pooled mean estimates for uroflowmetry parameters were: 21.5 ml/s (95% CI 20.5-2.5) for maximum flow rate (n = 6 studies), 12.5 ml/s (95% CI 11.2-13.8) for mean flow rate (n = 6 studies), 6.8 s (95% CI 4.4-9.3) for time to maximum flow (n = 3 studies), 15.7 s (95% CI 13.0-18.5) for flow time (n = 3 studies), and 198.7 ml (95% CI 154.2-234.2) for voided volume (n = 9 studies). No studies reported estimates of voiding frequency. Between-study heterogeneity was high (89.0-99.6%).ConclusionsAlthough we were able to calculate pooled mean estimates for several parameters, the small number of included studies and the wide age ranges of participants preclude generalization of reference values to all healthy girls. Further research is needed to determine normative reference values within specific age groups