An investigation of the slipstreams and wakes of trains and the associated effects on trackside people and objects

A mathematical model is developed which predicts if a person or a pushchair is destabilised by a train's slipstream. The model simulates the mean slipstream velocity time history using the theories of potential flow, boundary layer growth and wake decay. The turbulence-induced fluctuations are reproduced with an autoregressive model. A randomised person is generated and subjected to the simulated slipstream, and their response is modelled by a simple solid object and a mass-spring-damper system. If the slipstream forces cause the person to be displaced by a critical distance the person is destabilised. A randomised pushchair is also generated and positioned so as to be capable of being destabilised by either toppling over or moving along the ground on its wheels. A toppling pushchair is modelled as a simple solid object in a similar manner to that of a person, and a pushchair will move along the ground on its wheels if the slipstream force is greater than the frictional force. Greater numbers of destabilised people and pushchairs are associated with the slipstream of a freightliner than that of a passenger train, increasing train speed and decreasing distance from the train side

Conceptualizing women’s empowerment in agrifood systems governance: A new framework

This paper develops a new framework to measure and track women’s empowerment in governance of countries’ agrifood systems. All too often, women’s needs, priorities, and voices are missing from the policy process, even when women may be disproportionately affected by shocks or have distinct policy preferences. The Women’s Empowerment in Agrifood Systems Governance (WEAGov) is an assessment framework to help countries and stakeholders measure the extent of inclusion and leadership of women in agrifood systems governance and to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement. WEAGov looks across three stages of the policy cycle: policy design, policy implementation, and policy evaluation. At each stage of the policy cycle, WEAGov asks three questions central to women’s empowerment in governance: Are women considered? Are women included? And are women influencing? This paper describes the process of conceptualizing and developing the WEAGov assessment framework by drawing together evidence, experience, and lessons from the literature and from over 30 stakeholder consultations across several countries and sectors to develop a practical and theoretically grounded framework

Complete atrial-specific knockout of sodium-calcium exchange eliminates sinoatrial node pacemaker activity.

The origin of sinoatrial node (SAN) pacemaker activity in the heart is controversial. The leading candidates are diastolic depolarization by "funny" current (If) through HCN4 channels (the "Membrane Clock" hypothesis), depolarization by cardiac Na-Ca exchange (NCX1) in response to intracellular Ca cycling (the "Calcium Clock" hypothesis), and a combination of the two ("Coupled Clock"). To address this controversy, we used Cre/loxP technology to generate atrial-specific NCX1 KO mice. NCX1 protein was undetectable in KO atrial tissue, including the SAN. Surface ECG and intracardiac electrograms showed no atrial depolarization and a slow junctional escape rhythm in KO that responded appropriately to β-adrenergic and muscarinic stimulation. Although KO atria were quiescent they could be stimulated by external pacing suggesting that electrical coupling between cells remained intact. Despite normal electrophysiological properties of If in isolated patch clamped KO SAN cells, pacemaker activity was absent. Recurring Ca sparks were present in all KO SAN cells, suggesting that Ca cycling persists but is uncoupled from the sarcolemma. We conclude that NCX1 is required for normal pacemaker activity in murine SAN

Assessing Awareness and Competence of Best Practices in Synchronous Online Instruction During the COVID-19 Pandemic for Clemson Cooperative Extension Professionals

Traditional delivery of Extension programming changed overnight in March 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak forced switching traditional methods to virtual delivery. Extension professionals across South Carolina quickly adapted to online delivery. Concerns over instructor preparedness to use online tools, including functions to assure accessibility, did arise. Findings from this non-experimental, descriptive research study suggested Extension professionals used online tools (primarily Zoom). The majority were not comfortable using many of the features that would enhance instruction, including polling, file transfer, and live-streaming media platforms. Additionally, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint skills to assure accessibility for clientele were lacking

In search of animal normativity : a framework for studying social norms in non-human animals

Funding: K. A. and E. W. were supported by the Templeton World Charity Foundation through the Diverse Intelligence initiative. K. A. was supported by SSHRC 435-2022-0749. S. F. B. was supported by NSF 2127375, NSF SES 1919305, and TWCF0471. T. G. was supported by Swiss National Science Foundation PCEFP1_186832. C. H. was supported by European Union's 8th Framework Programme, Horizon 2020 802719. L. M. H. was supported by NIH U42 OD013117-15A. C. K. was supported by TWCF-20647 and the CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars program. L. V. L. was supported by the Max Planck Society. J. T. was supported by NIH R21 MH129902 and NIH R01 AG071173.Social norms – rules governing which behaviours are deemed appropriate or inappropriate within a given community – are typically taken to be uniquely human. Recently, this position has been challenged by a number of philosophers, cognitive scientists, and ethologists, who have suggested that social norms may also be found in certain non-human animal communities. Such claims have elicited considerable scepticism from norm cognition researchers, who doubt that any non-human animals possess the psychological capacities necessary for normative cognition. However, there is little agreement among these researchers about what these psychological prerequisites are. This makes empirical study of animal social norms difficult, since it is not clear what we are looking for and thus what should count as behavioural evidence for the presence (or absence) of social norms in animals. To break this impasse, we offer an approach that moves beyond contested psychological criteria for social norms. This approach is inspired by the animal culture research program, which has made a similar shift away from heavily psychological definitions of ‘culture’ to become organised around a cluster of more empirically tractable concepts of culture. Here, we propose an analogous set of constructs built around the core notion of a normative regularity, which we define as a socially maintained pattern of behavioural conformity within a community. We suggest methods for studying potential normative regularities in wild and captive primates. We also discuss the broader scientific and philosophical implications of this research program with respect to questions of human uniqueness, animal welfare and conservation.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Concert recording 2019-04-16

[Track 1]. Rotation #2 / Eric Sammut -- [Track 2]. Pines of Rome mvt 1 / Ottorino Respighi -- [Track 3]. Chart #2 / Fernando Valencia -- [Track 4]. Chopstakovich / Jesse Sieff -- [Track 5]. Drei Skizzen mvt. III / Matthias Schmitt -- [Track 6]. Sonata no. 1 for G in violoncello. Prelude [Track 7]. Sarabande [Track 8]. Courante / J.S. Bach -- [Track 9]. #1 from Douze Etudes / Jacques Delecluse -- [Track 10]. The offering / Michael Burritt -- [Track 11]. Prelude and blues / Ney Rosauro -- [Track 12]. Danny boy / traditional arranged by Brian Mueller -- [Track 13]. Ransom / Mark Ford -- [Track 14]. Sonata for timpani mvt III / John Beck -- [Track 15]. Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum / Claude Debussy arranged by Paul Bissell -- [Track 16]. Etude #1 / Vic Firth -- [Track 17]. Highlights from Northern lights / Eric Ewazen -- [Track 18]. Jesus loves me / Chad Floyd -- [Track 19]. Faded lines / Andrea Venet - [Track 20]. Triplets / George Hamilton Green arranged by Bob Becker -- [Track 21]. Girlfriends medley / Bob Becker -- [Track 22]. Selections from Oru Secu. Guaguancó [Track 23]. Guarapachangueo / Traditional trans. Valencia

Mixed Chamber Ensembles

KSU School of Music presents Mixed Chamber Ensembles.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1313/thumbnail.jp

Retirement age and disability status as pathways to later-life cognitive impairment: Evidence from the Norwegian HUNT Study linked with Norwegian population registers

Background Research shows that retirement age is associated with later-life cognition but has not sufficiently distinguished between retirement pathways. We examined how retirement age was associated with later-life dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) for people who retired via the disability pathway (received a disability pension prior to old-age pension eligibility) and those who retired via the standard pathway. Methods The study sample comprised 7210 participants from the Norwegian Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT4 70+, 2017–2019) who had worked for at least one year in 1967–2019, worked until age 55+, and retired before HUNT4. Dementia and MCI were clinically assessed in HUNT4 70+ when participants were aged 69–85 years. Historical data on participants' retirement age and pathway were retrieved from population registers. We used multinomial regression to assess the dementia/MCI risk for women and men retiring via the disability pathway, or early (<67 years), on-time (age 67, old-age pension eligibility) or late (age 68+) via the standard pathway. Results In our study sample, 9.5% had dementia, 35.3% had MCI, and 28.1% retired via the disability pathway. The disability retirement group had an elevated risk of dementia compared to the on-time standard retirement group (relative risk ratio [RRR]: 1.64, 95% CI 1.14–2.37 for women, 1.70, 95% CI 1.17–2.48 for men). MCI risk was lower among men who retired late versus on-time (RRR, 0.76, 95% CI 0.61–0.95). Conclusion Disability retirees should be monitored more closely, and preventive policies should be considered to minimize the dementia risk observed among this group of retirees.publishedVersio

Mixed Chamber Ensembles

Kennesaw State University School of Music presents Mixed Chamber Ensembles, 6:00 p.m. performance.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1429/thumbnail.jp