PERCEPTIONS OF RURAL SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS AROUND LEADING ONGOING TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES

Technology initiatives in public schools have been an important topic of discussion as educators work on implementing various strategies to enhance student achievement/success. The improvement in technology, both hardware and software, along with wider areas of internet coverage, has allowed educators to think about implementation of technology into schools. Many school districts across the United States have already implemented technology initiatives, such as one-to-one, for students in all grades and levels. The increased pressure on school administrators to improve student achievement/success has resulted in research that comes short of ongoing technology initiatives, especially in the rural schools. This research study will focus on examining the perceptions of rural school superintendents around leading ongoing technology initiatives

The marine geochemistry of iron and iron isotopes

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution September 2004This thesis addressed questions about the Fe cycle by measuring detailed profiles and transects of Fe species in the ocean and also by exploring the use of a new tracer of Fe, Fe isotopic fractionation. In the subtropical and tropical Atlantic Ocean, transects and profiles are presented for dissolved Fe (<0.4 μm), soluble Fe (<0.02 μm), and colloidal Fe (0.02 to 0.4 μm). Surface dissolved Fe distributions reflect atmospheric deposition trends with colloidal Fe following dust deposition more strongly than the soluble fraction of Fe. Observed surface maxima and shallow minima in dissolved Fe were always due to variations in the colloidal Fe fraction. Deep-water dissolved and colloidal Fe concentrations vary with water mass source, age, and transport path. Elevated dissolved Fe concentrations (>1 nmol/kg) were associated with an oxygen minimum zone in the tropical Atlantic at 10°N, 45°W. Fractionation of iron isotopes could be an effective tool to investigate the geochemistr of iron. Trace metal clean plankton tows, river samples, aerosol leachates, and porewater samples were measured for their iron isotopic composition using a GV Instruments IsoProbe Multi-collector ICPMS. The Fe isotopic composition of plankton tow samples vared by over 4% (in 56Fe/54Fe). North Pacific plankton tow samples had isotopically lighter Fe isotopic compositions than samples from the Atlantic. The overall isotopic range observed in the Amazon River system was 1.5%, with variability observed for different types of tributaries. The main channel river dissolved Fe samples and suspended loads were isotopically similar (≈ -0.2 to -0.45% relative to igneous rocks). The isotopically heaviest sample collected was dissolved Fe from an organic rich tributary, the Negro River (+0.16%). In contrast, the suspended load from the Negro River was isotopically light (-1 %). The isotopically lightest sample from the Amazon region was shelf porewater (-1.4%). In river water-seawater mixing experiments, the Fe isotopic signal of dissolved Fe of river water was modified by flocculation of isotopically heavy Fe. The observed range in the Fe isotopic composition of the natural samples including biological and aqueous samples demonstrates that significant and useful fractionation is associated with Fe biogeochemistry in the environment.This research was supported by NSF grants OCE-0002273 and OCE-99871442. The Amazon field trip was partially funded by the Houghton Fund at MIT. I was funded by the National Physical Science Foundation, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the Education Office of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

User's manual for the coupled mode version of the normal modes rotor aeroelastic analysis computer program

This User's Manual was prepared to provide the engineer with the information required to run the coupled mode version of the Normal Modes Rotor Aeroelastic Analysis Computer Program. The manual provides a full set of instructions for running the program, including calculation of blade modes, calculations of variable induced velocity distribution and the calculation of the time history of the response for either a single blade or a complete rotor with an airframe (the latter with constant inflow)

Dissolved iron in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95150/1/gbc1254.pd

Multidisciplinary research efforts in post-earthquake civil infrastructure reconnaissance

To address existing challenges with filtering and classification of post-earthquake structural damage images, the authors are engaged in a multidisciplinary project to develop and train a machine-learning algorithm that identifies relevant photographs and assigns damage tags to those images. The research team is predominantly comprised of undergraduate students and is led by a structural engineering and a computer science faculty. While machine-learning algorithms have been successfully used for image tagging in a variety of fields (health care, manufacturing, etc.), the extension of this approach for earthquake reconnaissance is only just beginning. As such, the creation and development of this tool is a new and dynamic project-based learning experience for both the students and faculty involved. This collaborative project emphasizes student initiative and innovation where they are active in all development stages of the tool ranging from collection and tagging of earthquake damage images, coding and testing the machine-learning algorithm, to writing papers for and presenting at conferences. In addition, the unique nature of this project exposes students to a field and possible career path they may not have encountered in their typical course of study. The authors provide a comprehensive discussion of the results of faculty and student surveys/ interviews and conclude by highlighting some of the greatest benefits of the multidisciplinary project. They also point out lessons learned engaging in a project with a large scope, diverse experts (who have limited knowledge of the partnering disciplines), and a number of undergraduate students who began as novices in their respective research area

Direct excitation of the forbidden clock transition in neutral 174Yb atoms confined to an optical lattice

We report direct single-laser excitation of the strictly forbidden (6s^2)^1S_0 -(6s6p)^3P_0 clock transition in the even 174Yb isotope confined to a 1D optical lattice. A small (~1.2 mT) static magnetic field was used to induce a nonzero electric dipole transition probability between the clock states at 578.42 nm. Narrow resonance linewidths of 20 Hz (FHWM) with high contrast were observed, demonstrating a record neutral-atom resonance quality factor of 2.6x10^13. The previously unknown ac Stark shift-canceling (magic) wavelength was determined to be 759.35+/-0.02 nm. This method for using the metrologically superior even isotope can be easily implemented in current Yb and Sr lattice clocks, and can create new clock possibilities in other alkaline earth-like atoms such as Mg and Ca.Comment: Submitted to Physics Review Letter

Risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis

Background & Aims Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is associated with increased mortality. Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in the Western world. We examined the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes (type 1 and type 2) in patients with PSC and their first-degree relatives. Methods This prospective multicentre cohort study included 678 individuals with PSC diagnosed between 1970 and 2004, and 6347 non-PSC reference individuals matched for age, and sex. Through linkage of the Swedish Multigeneration Register we identified 3139 first-degree relatives to PSC patients and 30,953 first-degree relatives to the matched comparison cohort. We retrieved data on cardiovascular disease and type 1 and type 2 diabetes (T1D and T2D) from the National Patient Register, and then examined the association with PSC or having a family history of PSC using Poisson regression. Results During 125,127 person-years of follow-up, 203 individuals with PSC had a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease. This corresponded to a 3.34-fold increased relative risk (RR) of cardiovascular disease in individuals with PSC (95% CI = 2.86-3.91). The highest risk estimates were seen for diseases of the arteries, veins, and lymphatic vessels while the RR was neutral for ischemic heart disease (0.90) or only slightly elevated for cerebrovascular disease (1.74). Meanwhile, PSC first-degree relatives were at no increased risk of cardiovascular disease (RR = 0.87; 95% CI = 0.80-0.95). Individuals with PSC (RR = 7.95; 95% CI = 4.82-13.12), and to some extent also their first-degree relatives (RR = 1.73; 95% CI = 1.19-2.52) were at increased risk of T1D. Also for T2D were the RR is higher in individuals with PSC (RR = 2.54; 95% CI = 1.56-4.13) than in PSC first-degree relatives (RR = 0.81; 95% CI = 0.65-1.02). Conclusions PSC was associated with T1D, T2D, and non-ischemic cardiovascular disease. In contrast, first-degree relatives to PSC patients were only at a moderately increased risk of T1D, and at no increased risk of either cardiovascular disease or T2D. © 2013 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published

Solid-binding peptides for immobilisation of thermostable enzymes to hydrolyse biomass polysaccharides.

BACKGROUND: Solid-binding peptides (SBPs) bind strongly to a diverse range of solid materials without the need for any chemical reactions. They have been used mainly for the functionalisation of nanomaterials but little is known about their use for the immobilisation of thermostable enzymes and their feasibility in industrial-scale biocatalysis. RESULTS: A silica-binding SBP sequence was fused genetically to three thermostable hemicellulases. The resulting enzymes were active after fusion and exhibited identical pH and temperature optima but differing thermostabilities when compared to their corresponding unmodified enzymes. The silica-binding peptide mediated the efficient immobilisation of each enzyme onto zeolite, demonstrating the construction of single enzyme biocatalytic modules. Cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) of enzyme preparations either with or without zeolite immobilisation displayed greater activity retention during enzyme recycling than those of free enzymes (without silica-binding peptide) or zeolite-bound enzymes without any crosslinking. CLEA preparations comprising all three enzymes simultaneously immobilised onto zeolite enabled the formation of multiple enzyme biocatalytic modules which were shown to degrade several hemicellulosic substrates. CONCLUSIONS: The current work introduced the construction of functional biocatalytic modules for the hydrolysis of simple and complex polysaccharides. This technology exploited a silica-binding SBP to mediate effectively the rapid and simple immobilisation of thermostable enzymes onto readily-available and inexpensive silica-based matrices. A conceptual application of biocatalytic modules consisting of single or multiple enzymes was validated by hydrolysing various hemicellulosic polysaccharides

Sub-dekahertz ultraviolet spectroscopy of 199Hg+

Using a laser that is frequency-locked to a Fabry-Perot etalon of high finesse and stability, we probe the 5d10 6s 2S_1/2 (F=0) - 5d9 6s 2D_5/2 (F=2) Delta-m_F = 0 electric-quadrupole transition of a single laser-cooled 199Hg+ ion stored in a cryogenic radio-frequency ion trap. We observe Fourier-transform limited linewidths as narrow as 6.7 Hz at 282 nm (1.06 X 10^15 Hz), yielding a line Q = 1.6 X 10^14. We perform a preliminary measurement of the 5d9 6s2 2D_5/2 electric-quadrupole shift due to interaction with the static fields of the trap, and discuss the implications for future trapped-ion optical frequency standards.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted for publicatio

SEPARATION OF MITOCHONDRIAL MEMBRANES OF NEUROSPORA CRASSA : II. Submitochondrial Localization of the Isoleucine-Valine Biosynthetic Pathway

Separation of Neurospora mitochondrial outer membranes from the inner membrane/matrix fraction was effected by digitonin treatment and discontinuous density gradient centrifugation. The solubilization of four isoleucine-valine biosynthetic enzymes was studied as a function of digitonin concentration and time of incubation in the detergent. The kinetics of the appearance of valine biosynthetic function in fractions outside of the inner membrane/matrix fraction, coupled with enzyme solubilization patterns similar to that for the matrix marker, mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase, indicate that the four isoleucine-valine pathway enzymes are localized in the mitochondrial matrix