Winter Maintenance of Akron Roadways

The city of Akron experiences several hundred crashes each winter season due to winter road and weather conditions. The winter maintenance practices of the city follow a guide by the Salt Institute that uses a combination of plowing and salting to clear the roads. This paper provides an understanding of winter maintenance from its beginnings to present day and will discuss how certain practices came to be. Looking at three other cities across the United States with similar characteristics in size or snowfall amount show many similarities with a few new concepts that Akron can consider (e.g., better communication via app with citizens and private contractors) and see if they are applicable to their situation. How citizens can be better equipped to handle the changing road conditions and the rules/practices behind studded tire use in Ohio will be addressed. Research being done on different chemicals placed on the roads as well as different types and mixes of road material will provide ideas and concepts for the city to consider and possibly incorporate into the future practices of the city of Akron

Rocket Motor Nozzle

For this honors research and senior design project, the authors will research, analyze, and manufacture a rocket motor nozzle for the Akronauts rocket design team. This research and design project will improve how the rocket design team will decide and manufacture nozzles going forward. The impact of this improvement allows the rocket design team to take steps toward being self-sustaining by manufacturing student designed parts as opposed to commercially bought parts. This will not only be successful in increasing student impact on future designs, but also provides a technical challenge for the authors and will present as an impressive feat compared to our competitors at future design competitions. The application of fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, general engineering principles, and also machining techniques will be used. These are not only to analyze the performance of nozzle designs, but to be able to manufacture, test, and launch these as a part of a rocket this year

A Simulation Analysis of Constrained Rate and Line Assembly Processes

Simulation presents a way to analyze the performance of a system with zone capacity constraints, operator constraints, and precedence constraints in an assembly line using takt analysis. A small-scale model of an aircraft assembly line is built in Simio and precedence constraints are modified in independent simulations. The primary performance metric is traveled work, for which a definition is given. A method of calculating traveled work is presented, as well as an interpretation that states the effect on throughput. These results show that, ceteris paribus, traveled work increases flowtime, which decreases throughput. Modifications to the system are suggested that can reduce traveled work

Sex-biased Parasitism And The Reproductive Costs Of Parasites In A Social African Ground Squirrel

Vertebrate males frequently carry higher numbers of parasites than females. This bias in parasite loads could be a consequence of sexual selection. Grouping species are also assumed to be afflicted with larger numbers of parasites than solitary animals and associated costs of this parasitism could vary with group size or structure. I examined sex-biased parasitism and the influence of group size on parasite loads in Cape ground squirrels (Xerus inauris), a highly social species that occurs in the arid regions of southern Africa. Males carried three times as many ectoparasites as females, but females harbored nearly three times more endoparasites than males. Amount of time spent (per hour) autogrooming was similar between males and females, but amount time spent allogrooming by adult female was over eleven times that of adult males. Longer allogrooming of group members could be decreasing the numbers of ectoparasites of group members and ultimately the group. Males infrequently give or receive allogrooming and travel in very large home ranges, potentially increasing their exposure to ectoparasites. However, movement throughout a large home range may result in males foraging in areas with lower densities of fecal pellets, which could explain the lower endoparasite loads observed in males. When I considered the age class of group members, female age classes were similarly parasitized but male age classes were not. Sub-adult males carried similar ectoparasite loads to adult males and similar endoparasite loads to adult females. This result is of particular interest because sub-adult males are becoming scrotal but typically remain in the group until adulthood. Sexual selection does appear to influence parasite loads in this species, and parasite removal or avoidance potentially mitigates individual parasite loads and their associated costs. Parasites can be detrimental to the health, longevity, and reproduction of their hosts, but these costs are rarely quantified. I removed ectoparasites and endoparasites from Cape ground squirrels for three months and evaluated changes in female body mass, reproduction, burrow use, and grooming in response to parasite removal. Female body mass did not increase with parasite removal, but reproductive success (per capita offspring raised to emergence) increased nearly four-fold, while allogrooming by treated females decreased. Since breeding is highest in the late winter dry season when fewer resources are available, the impact of parasites may be highest during this season. Lactation and gestation are the most physiological stressful processes that females undergo, and the dramatic increase in reproductive success in treated females suggests that these females are able to allocate more resources to reproduction than females afflicted with parasites. These results suggest that studies investigating reproduction and fecundity must consider the vulnerability of the host to parasite infection and the potential impact on reproductive success

Role of Physical Therapists in the Management of Individuals at Risk for or Diagnosed With Venous Thromboembolism: Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), in conjunction with the Cardiovascular & Pulmonary and Acute Care sections of APTA, have developed this clinical practice guideline to assist physical therapists in their decision-making process when treating patients at risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) or diagnosed with a lower extremity deep vein thrombosis (LE DVT). No matter the practice setting, physical therapists work with patients who are at risk for or have a history of VTE. This document will guide physical therapist practice in the prevention of, screening for, and treatment of patients at risk for or diagnosed with LE DVT. Through a systematic review of published studies and a structured appraisal process, key action statements were written to guide the physical therapist. The evidence supporting each action was rated, and the strength of statement was determined. Clinical practice algorithms, based on the key action statements, were developed that can assist with clinical decision making. Physical therapists, along with other members of the health care team, should work to implement these key action statements to decrease the incidence of VTE, improve the diagnosis and acute management of LE DVT, and reduce the long-term complications of LE DVT

Teacher's Changing Perspective on Student Concerns during Instructional Consultation

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship and degree of specificity between teachers' reported concerns at three points in the Problem Identification process of Instructional Consultation. Although previous research has documented the types of teacher referral concerns commonly seen in special education and other consultation models, the research regarding this issue in Instructional Consultation Teams is limited. This research is drawn from a sample of 67 case manager/teacher dyads during the 2001-2002 school year. Descriptive statistics on the types of referral concerns at all three points are provided. The relationships between referral concerns and demographic characteristics of the student (gender, grade level, and ethnicity) are discussed. Finally, patterns in the specificity of concern descriptions are analyzed. Implications for future research and training in Instructional Consultation are considered

The Influence of Racial Background and Masculine Norm Endorsement on Men’s Response to Depressive Feelings: Understanding Help-Seeking Decisions

In the United States, men are less likely than women to seek help for depression (SAMHSA, 2018). Black and Hispanic men are even less likely than White men to seek treatment from a mental health provider (Sen, 2004; Vessey & Howard, 1993), and racial discrimination men of color may face is also associated with symptoms of depression (Chin et al., 2020). It has been suggested that male norms and masculinity promote men not to show vulnerability, and that labels such as “mental illness” both contradict male norms and make men feel vulnerable (Johnson et al., 2012; McDermott et al., 2018; Rice et al., 2018; Sierra Hernandez et al., 2014). Many researchers focusing on men’s mental health have started studying masculinity. Previous research has found that the masculine norm of self-reliance to be negatively associated with both formal and informal helpseeking (McDermott et al., 2018). The objective of the current study is to examine the relationship between conformity with masculine norms, race, and help-seeking preferences. Self-reliance was not found to be a significant predictor for help-seeking endorsement or attitudes in the current sample. Additionally, racial differences were not detected in norm endorsement for masculine norms that were associated with formal and informal help-seeking. The findings of this study will provide more insight on the ways in which masculine norms and demographic variables influence help-seeking behavior

A Simulation Analysis of Constrained Rate and Line Assembly Processes

Simulation presents a way to analyze the performance of a system with zone capacity constraints, operator constraints, and precedence constraints in an assembly line using takt analysis. A small-scale model of an aircraft assembly line is built in Simio and precedence constraints are modified in independent simulations. The primary performance metric is traveled work, for which a definition is given. A method of calculating traveled work is presented, as well as an interpretation that states the effect on throughput. These results show that, ceteris paribus, traveled work increases flowtime, which decreases throughput. Modifications to the system are suggested that can reduce traveled work