WEISS-SAT1: A Student Developed Astrobiology Payload for Small Satellite Microgravity Research

The WeissSat-1 is a novel student developed 1U CubeSat designed to support astrobiology payloads for microgravity research. WeissSat-1 is the premier project of the Weiss CubeSat Development Team (WCDT), which was established in August of 2015. The founding WeissSat-1 team consisted of nine students ranging between the ages of 10-12 years old. The mission was: to design, build, test, and fly a CubeSat into space within three years. WeissSat-1, based on the NearSpace Launch Inc’s 1U FastBus structure, was chosen by ELaNa 24 and manifested to fly in the fourth quarter of 2018. WeissSat-1 will carry a lab-on-a-chip system designed to test and validate the survivability of extremophile bacteria in orbit. WeissSat-1 demonstrates the benefit and the importance of engaging and involving students in space-based scientific research throughout the academic pipeline. This work will discuss in detail the technology of the WeissSat-1 mission, and will discuss its impacts on middle school students and their STEM interests. The WCDT contends that if the respective extremophile bacteria on WeissSat-1 are capable of surviving in space, this may have ramifications for the possibility that bacteria may have transferred between planetary bodies over the life of the solar system

The Color, Class, and Context of Family Structure and Its Association with Children's Educational Performance

Over the last several decades, the U.S. has undergone a major shift in its racial/ethnic landscape. Historically, American society has been majority white. However, higher fertility rates, increased immigration, and younger average ages among people of color have led to racial/ethnic minorities’ growth in the relative share of the population, and they are projected to constitute more than half the population by 2050. Accompanying this shift has been a growing recognition of the need for family-related research that reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of American society. Any such investigation would be incomplete, of course, without acknowledging the inextricable link between race and class in America and how it shapes family life. Unfortunately, however, research on family structure and child wellbeing frequently generalizes the experiences of white families to the broader population, without reference to how differences in social location, particularly race/ethnicity and social class may lead to distinct outcomes for youth. To address this limitation, this dissertation investigates racial/ethnic and class differences in family structure and their relationship to children’s educational performance. The first study examines the prevalence and predictors of an understudied but relatively common family structure, especially among minority and/or low-income populations—the extended family. The second study explores an important and unexplained finding: although children raised by both biological parents fare better academically than children raised in any other family structure, living apart from a biological parent is less negatively consequential for racial/ethnic minority children than white children. I test two hypotheses that have been posited to account for racial/ethnic differences in the association between family structure and children’s educational attainment: the socioeconomic stress and extended family embeddedness hypotheses. The third study explores intragroup diversity in family life. Specifically, I examine intraracial differences in family structure and family integration among Black Americans and their association with youths’ grades, grade repetition, and number of suspensions. Results from the first study indicate that contrary to popular and academic perceptions, extended family households are fairly common: 35% of youth experience this family structure during childhood. Black and Hispanic children are approximately 3 and 1.5 times more likely to live in an extended family than white children, respectively, and children whose parents have less education are substantially more likely to live in this arrangement. Additionally, the transition into an extended family is largely a response to social and economic needs. Findings from the second study show that that both socioeconomic stress and extended family embeddedness attenuate the effect of family structure on minority youths’ educational attainment, though the former to a much greater extent. These findings lend support for the socioeconomic stress hypothesis, which posits that the negative effect of familial disruption may be less independently impactful for groups facing many socioeconomic disadvantages to begin with. The third study demonstrates that there is significant within-group variation in family structure and integration among black families and that these factors have a more limited and inconsistent relationship with adolescents’ educational outcomes than implied by previous scholarship. Collectively, these findings advance a more diverse portrait of American families, which has been lacking in extant research. They also show that the consequences of family structure differ by race/ethnicity and social class. Thus, efforts aimed at promoting child wellbeing should consider this diversity in family arrangements and outcomes, and their implications for policy and practice.PHDPublic Policy & SociologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149897/1/crosscj_1.pd

Body marking within New France : a contemporary perspective

This study is an exploration of body markings and the culture surrounding them within New France during the French Regime dating from 1608-1763. The emphasis will be on early modern European writings, which have created the discourse that has been used to construct meanings for such body decorations. The approach comes from a contemporary perspective, giving contemporary interpretations of body markings within New France. Some of the issues to be addressed are: the prevalence of the practice among the First Nations peoples, the nature of the representations as well as interpretations of their meaning, European writers' understandings of the practice from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, and the appropriation of the practice by the early colonists. Conclusions are formulated by elaborating and assessing the terms in which a specific aspect of Amerindian history--body marking--has been written in order to trace the mutual historical implications of European and aboriginal cultures. The study gathers the widely dispersed information that surrounds this topic in order to lay a factual and interpretive groundwork on which subsequent studies may build

Development of a core outcome set for traumatic brachial plexus injuries (COMBINE): a study protocol

Introduction: Traumatic brachial plexus injury (TBPI) involves major trauma to the large nerves of the arm which control the movement and sensation. Fifty percent of injuries result in complete paralysis of the arm with many other individuals having little movement, sensation loss and unremitting pain. The injury often causes severe and permanent disability affecting work and social life, with an estimated cost to the NHS and the economy of £35 million per annum. Advances in microsurgery have resulted in an increase in interventions aimed at reconstructing these injuries. However, data to guide evidence-based decisions is lacking. Different outcomes are used across studies to assess the effectiveness of treatments. This has impeded our ability to synthesise results to determine which treatments work best. Studies frequently report short-term clinical outcomes but rarely report longer-term outcomes, and those focused on quality of life. This project aims to produce a Core Outcome Set (COS) for surgical and conservative management of TBPI. The TBPI COS will contain a minimum set of outcomes to be reported and measured in effectiveness studies and collected through routine clinical care. Methods and analysis: This mixed-methods project will be conducted in two phases. In phase 1 a long-list of patient-reported and clinical outcomes will be identified through a systematic review. Interviews will then explore outcomes important to patients. In phase 2 the outcomes identified across the systematic review and interviews will be included in a three round online Delphi exercise aiming to reach consensus on the COS. The Delphi process will include patient and healthcare participants. A consensus meeting will be held to achieve the final COS. Ethics and dissemination: The use of a COS in TBPI will increase the relevance of research and clinical care to all stakeholders, facilitate evidence synthesis and evidence-based decision making. The study has ethical approval

Brachial plexus injury: living with uncertainty

Purpose: A traumatic brachial plexus injury (BPI) has life-changing consequences for patients and their families. Despite advancements in treatments final outcome is unpredictable depending on factors including time to treatment, injury severity, neural regeneration, and available interventions. The final outcome may not be seen for up to four years. This study aimed to explore the impact of uncertainty on people with a traumatic BPI. Methods: Secondary qualitative analysis was conducted on data from a study exploring outcomes important to patients with a traumatic BPI. Data from semi-structured interviews with adult traumatic BPI patients (n = 13) were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Three major themes were identified in the qualitative data: (i) “I don’t know what happened to me,” focused on uncertainty in diagnosis. (ii) “I went to work one day… and then it all changed” centered around uncertainty in the future. (iii) Coping with uncertainty. Conclusion: The results illustrate that people with a traumatic BPI face uncertainty regarding diagnosis, prognosis, and surrounding their roles in the future. Individuals respond to uncertainty in different ways and this needs to be understood by health care professionals

Administrative Burdens and Economic Insecurity Among Black, Latino, and White Families

This study investigates how administrative burdens influence differential receipt of income transfers after a family member loses a job. Using the panel component of the Current Population Survey from 1990 through 2019, we find that administrative burdens have increased in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Unemployment Insurance programs but declined for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. These administrative burden effects generally contribute to lower income replacement rates for Black and Latino families experiencing job loss relative to White families, though results are sensitive to adjustments for benefit underreporting. Moreover, states with higher shares of White residents have smaller administrative burden effects, on average. Reducing administrative burdens in income transfer programs would likely reduce racial-ethnic inequalities in economic insecurity

Managing medical emergencies in mental health settings using an interprofessional in-situ simulation training programme: a mixed methods evaluation study

BACKGROUND: In the UK, people with severe mental illness die up to 20years earlier than the general population, prompting increased focus on physical health in mental illness. However, training for mental health inpatient staff to meet patients' physical health needs has not received the same attention, with physical health training often being reactive and lacking evidence of effectiveness. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate an interprofessional, in situ, simulation training intervention for managing medical deterioration in mental health settings. Investigating the impact of training on: 1. Participants' knowledge, confidence, and attitudes towards managing medical deterioration; and 2. Incident reporting, as an objective index of incident management. Participants' perceptions of the impact on their practice were qualitatively explored. DESIGN: This evaluation employed a mixed-methods pre-post intervention design. PARTICIPANTS & SETTINGS: Fifty-three healthcare professionals participated including: mental health nurses, psychiatrists, healthcare assistants, and activity co-ordinators from two busy psychiatric triage wards in South London, UK. METHODS: The intervention comprised eight half-day sessions delivered weekly across two wards. Structured surveys assessed participants' knowledge, confidence, and attitudes towards medical deterioration pre and post training. Participants' experience of training was qualitatively captured through post-course surveys and focus groups three months post training. Incident reporting rates for seven-month periods pre and post training were compared. RESULTS: Following training, participants showed significant improvement in knowledge (p<0.001), confidence (p<0.001), and attitudes towards (p<0.02) managing medical deterioration. Incident reporting increased by 33% following training. Participants' reported improved confidence in managing medical deterioration, better understanding of effective communication, improved self-reflection and team working, and an increased sense of responsibility for patients' physical health. CONCLUSIONS: Interprofessional, in situ simulation training for medical deterioration yielded promising outcomes for individuals and teams. Simulation is an under-used training modality in mental health, offering a holistic training approach with the potential to provide educational and clinical benefits while supporting workforce resilience

High level triggers for explosive mafic volcanism: Albano Maar, Italy

Colli Albani is a quiescent caldera complex located within the Roman Magmatic Province (RMP), Italy. The recent Via dei Laghi phreatomagmatic eruptions led to the formation of nested maars. Albano Maar is the largest and has erupted seven times between ca 69-33ka. The highly explosive nature of the Albano Maar eruptions is at odds with the predominant relatively mafic (SiO2=48-52wt.%) foiditic (K2O=9wt.%) composition of the magma. The deposits have been previously interpreted as phreatomagmatic, however they contain large amounts (up to 30%vol) of deep seated xenoliths, skarns and all pre-volcanic subsurface units. All of the xenoliths have been excavated from depths of up to 6km, rather than being limited to the depth at which magma and water interaction is likely to have occurred, suggesting an alternative trigger for eruption. High precision geochemical glass and mineral data of fresh juvenile (magmatic) clasts from the small volume explosive deposits indicate that the magmas have evolved along one of two evolutionary paths towards foidite or phonolite. The foiditic melts record ca. 50% mixing between the most primitive magma and Ca-rich melt, late stage prior to eruption. A major result of our study is finding that the generation of Ca-rich melts via assimilation of limestone, may provide storage for significant amounts of CO2 that can be released during a mixing event with silicate magma. Differences in melt evolution are inferred as having been controlled by variations in storage conditions: residence time and magma volume. © 2013