Scholarships as a Retention Tool

This study employed propensity score matching and regression analysis to determine whether or not a retention scholarship pilot program at a mid-size public research university was effective at increasing first year retention

Nanosecond channel-switching exact optical frequency synthesizer using an optical injection phase-locked loop (OIPLL)

Experimental results are reported on an optical frequency synthesizer for use in dynamic dense wavelength-division-multiplexing networks, based on a tuneable laser in an optical injection phase-locked loop for rapid wavelength locking. The source combines high stability (50 dB), narrow linewidth (10 MHz), and fast wavelength switching (<10 ns)

A novel ingress node design for video streaming over optical burst switching networks

This paper introduces a novel ingress node design which takes advantage of video data partitioning in order to deliver enhanced video streaming quality when using H.264/AVC codec over optical burst switching networks. Ns2 simulations show that the proposed scheme delivers improved video traffic quality without affecting other traffic, such as best effort traffic. Although the extra network load is comparatively small, the average gain in video PSNR was 5 dB over existing burst cloning schemes, with a maximum end-to-end delay of 17 ms, and jitter of less than 0.35 ms

Chief Student Affairs Officers in 4-Year Public Institutions of Higher Education: An Exploratory Investigation Into Their Conflict Management Styles and Praxis

This study investigated the conflict management styles of chief student affairs officers in 4-year public institutions of higher education in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The data for the study were collected using Hall's Conflict Management Survey. The sample for the study consisted of 25 chief student affairs officers. The purpose of the study was to identify the conflict management style preferences of chief student affairs officers. The other variables studied to ascertain if they had an impact on the style preferences were age, gender, number of years of experience as a chief student affairs officer, ethnicity, and the size (enrollment) of their employing institution. The study found statistically significant associations (p<.05) between ethnicity and conflict management style, specifically the synergistic and win-lose styles, and between the synergistic style and age. The association between ethnicity and conflict management style could be attributed to the fact that the Caucasian group of chief student affairs officers comprised 66.7 % of the synergistic styles and 100 % of the win-lose styles. The association between the synergistic style and age could be due to the fact that the majority of the chief student affairs officers had a synergistic style, and of that group, 66.7 % were in the 50-59 age range. No statistically significant associations were found for correlations between conflict management style and gender; conflict management styles and number of years of experience as a chief student affairs officer; or conflict management styles and size (enrollment) of their employing institutions. The lack of significance shows that there are no associations between the conflict management styles of chief student affairs officers stratified according to gender, number of years of experience, and size (enrollment) of their employing institutions

Effects of laser frequency chirp on modal noise in short-range radio over multimode fiber links

none5An important effect of the frequency chirp of the optical transmitter in radio over multimode fiber links is put into evidence experimentally and modeled theoretically for the first time, to our knowledge. This effect can have an important impact in short-range connections, where, although intermodal dispersion does not generally cause unacceptable limitations to the transmittable bandwidth, the presence of modal noise must be accurately kept under control, since it determines undesired real-time fluctuations of the link.Scopus Index: 2-s2.0-77649170191; ISI index: :000275389700013noneD. Visani; G. Tartarini; M. N. Petersen; P. Faccin; L. TarlazziD. Visani; G. Tartarini; M. N. Petersen; P. Faccin; L. Tarlazz

The mechanical properties of Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB) at high strain rates

Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB) has been largely used as an interlayer material for laminated glass to mitigate the hazard from shattered glass fragments, due to its excellent ductility and adhesive property with glass pane. With increasing threats from terrorist bombing and debris impact, the application of PVB laminated safety glass has been extended from quasi-static loading to impact and blast loading regimes, which has led to the requirement for a better understanding of PVB material properties at high strain rates. In this study, the mechanical properties of PVB are investigated experimentally over a wide range of strain rates. Firstly, quasi-static tensile tests is performed using conventional hydraulic machine at strain rates of 0.008–0.317 s−1. Then high-speed tensile test is carried out using a high-speed servo-hydraulic testing machine at strain rates from 8.7 s−1 to 1360 s−1. It is found that under quasi-static tensile loading, PVB behaves as a hyperelastic material and material property is influenced by loading rate. Under dynamic loading the response of PVB is characterized by a time-dependent nonlinear elastic behavior. The ductility of PVB reduces as strain rate increases. The testing results are consistent with available testing data on PVB material at various strain rates. Analysis is made on the testing data to form strain-rate dependent stress–strain curves of PVB under tension

The Institutional Learning Objectives (ILOs) and Undergraduate Assessment

This poster presents undergraduate assessment results for critical thinking, information literacy, quantitative reasoning, and written communication based on a 2015-2016 qualitative review, led by the Assessment Office, of WASC-defined core competencies using the VALUE Rubrics and the expertise of instructional faculty from across campus. These results are presented as baseline data as well as the jumping off point for faculty and administrators regarding discussions about how to ensure all students graduate with the knowledge and skills we intend them to have. Suggestions for utilizing the findings toward improvement as well as next steps are discussed

NMR studies of an immunomodulatory benzodiazepine binding to its molecular target on the mitochondrial F 1 F 0 -ATPase

Bz-423 is an inhibitor of the mitochondrial F 1 F 0 -ATPase, with therapeutic properties in murine models of immune diseases. Here, we study the binding of a water-soluble Bz-423 analog (5-(3-(aminomethyl)phenyl)-7-chloro- 1-methyl-3-(naphthalen-2-ylmethyl)-1 H -benzo][ e ][1,4]diazepin-2(3 H )-one); (1) to its target subunit on the enzyme, the oligomycin sensitivity conferring protein (OSCP), by NMR spectroscopy using chemical shift perturbation and cross-relaxation experiments. Titration experiments with constructs representing residues 1–120 or 1–145 of the OSCP reveals that (a) 1 binds to a region of the protein, at the minimum, comprising residues M51, L56, K65, V66, K75, K77, and N92, and (b) binding of 1 induces conformational changes in the OSCP. Control experiments employing a variant of 1 in which a key binding element on the small molecule was deleted; it had no perturbational effect on the spectra of the OSCP, which indicates that the observed changes with 1 represent specific binding interactions. Collectively, these data suggest that 1 might inhibit the enzyme through an allosteric mechanism where binding results in conformational changes that perturb the OSCP-F 1 interface resulting in disrupted communication between the peripheral stalk and the F 1 -domain of the enzyme. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 29: 85–92, 2010. This article was originally published online as an accepted preprint. The “Published Online” date corresponds to the preprint version. You can request a copy of the preprint by emailing the Biopolymers editorial office at [email protected] Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64305/1/21306_ftp.pd

The effects of oral smokeless tobacco administration on endurance performance

Smokeless tobacco is widely used by athletes to enhance performance. Nicotine is a central nervous system stimulant and acts on cardiocirculatory and metabolic systems, involving tissue blood flow and circulatory vasoreactivity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the oral smokeless tobacco (Swedish snus (SS)) on the perception of fatigue and time to exhaustion (TTE) during moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. Comparing SS with SP tests, significant differences (p < 0.05) were found in the values of cerebral (~3%) and muscular tissues oxygenation (~4%) in the first 30 min of exercise. The RPE values were not significantly different between the 2 conditions (SS vs. SP). No significant difference was found in TTE (SS: 54.25 ± 21.84 min; SP: 50.01 ± 17.03 min). This study showed that muscular and cerebral oxygenation increased significantly with snus administration during an endurance exercise until exhaustion, but this did not affect fatigue perception and TTE. The results showed that snus could not be considered an ergogenic substance in non-tobacco users.This work was supported by research funds allocated to the following departments at the University of Verona: Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, and Diagnostic and Public Health