BAJA SAE: Building an Engineer

of the necessary experience needed to perform the job with a high level of competence. Simulating this real-world experience in a classroom or lab becomes difficult when it has to be squeezed into a class like senior design. While for some, a good grade might be incentive enough to put forth the effort to properly gain these experiences, other things will likely become a larger priority. The SAE student design series introduces students to a competitive atmosphere that promotes extreme learning growth in a short period of time. Each portion of the competition has a specific aim that, when combined together, train a student into an engineer who is far more experienced and educated than one born from a traditional classroom. The opportunities that come from this competition, presented both to learn and grow more familiar with the real world environment of engineering are invaluable. It submerges students into an environment that encourages and promotes growth in every dimension.Cockrell School of Engineerin

The Adoption of Conservation Practices and Program Participation among Socially Disadvantaged Agricultural Producers: A Meta-Analysis

As climate change has become undeniable in recent years, it has become increasingly important for the agriculture industry to address conservation. Within the agriculture industry, small farmers are usually the ones who take on this burden on a daily basis. However, some socially disadvantaged agricultural producers face unique challenges compared to the average farmer, which may impede their ability to adopt the necessary conservation practices or participate in conservation programs. This review sought to provide a definitive economic analysis on the possible effect of race on conservation adoption and program participation, as there is not much research on this topic. This analysis shows that race alone does not significantly impact on conservation adoption and program participation amongst socially disadvantaged agricultural producers. However, the sample size provided in this analysis is small and does not represent the current reality of socially disadvantaged agricultural producers living in the United States today. Whenever race was observed in the literature, the meta-analysis concluded that race did not significantly influence conservation adoption and program participation. Due to the small sample size and lack of abundant research, this result may not reflect socially disadvantaged agricultural producers living today, who have historically been underrepresented by the agriculture industry at large

Pedagogical Application of Verb Error Correction in an L2 Composition

Using error analysis can be an effective tool by ESL teachers for discovering individual student’s difficulties with the English language. Controversies exist, however, over which of these errors should be used for focused instruction. In this study, a detailed inspection of grammatical errors was done with a sample essay written by an anonymous college-level ESL student. The results of the analysis found that out of the eight parts of speech, verbs were the most prevalent errors within this essay. In particular, four grammatical verb errors were noted. The first error included subject-verb agreement when an auxiliary verb was used. The second error showed confusion between tense verbs that are bound by time frames compared to infinitive forms - which are not bound by these frames. Third, there were misunderstandings between the correct usage of gerunds and the infinitive forms of non-finite model verbs. Finally, the student showed a lack of use of model verbs to correctly express mood in an opinion essay. It was therefore determined that this student, as well as other ESL students, could benefit from specific instruction on English verb peculiarities through the use of mini-lessons within a student’s own work

Vibrationally-assisted collective quantum optical effects

This thesis considers a variety of systems which are designed to take advantage of collective optical effects in the presence of a vibrational environment; a necessary condition for such systems to exist on a quantum platform outside of superconducting qubits. The first research chapter considers the effect of superabsorption, the time-reversed process of Dicke superradiance. A series of conditions for a guide-slide superabsorber are proposed, which allow a system to sacrifice some optical coupling for the benefit of still operating when coupled to a phonon bath. We suggest a system geometry which meets these properties, and then use this as a case study to show such a system does indeed display the hallmarks of superabsorbing behaviour. This remains when disorder is introduced to the system, as well as with a strongly-coupled vibrational environment in the polaron frame, amongst several other model extensions. The second research chapter looks at optical ratcheting, a process whereby an artificial light-harvester with an extraction bottleneck can improve performance by relaxing to a state which is dark with respect to optical relaxation, while still being able to absorb more photons. We examine how the performance scales with system size before looking at how the phenomena performs in the polaron frame. While strong vibrational coupling can be the undoing of collective optical effects, we find that it is still possible to observe ratcheting in the strong-coupling regime. We use the model as a platform to investigate more accurate means of incorporating extraction via a trap, by treating it as an additional dipole in the system. This change means one needs to consider both the optical and geometric properties of the trap to achieve optimal performance. The third research chapter stems from collaborative work with quantum biologists. We study the recently resolved structure of a photosynthetic complex, iron stress-induced protein A (IsiA), to establish if the structure allows the complex to utilise vibrational relaxation into a collectively dark delocalised state to reduce the likelihood of loss. By distorting different components, we establish which parts of the structure this effect is susceptible to changes in, providing insight into the function of the complex. Finally, the fourth research chapter investigates the feasibility of using a molecular aggregate of two identical absorbers as a gain medium in a laser. With adequate control of the geometry, we show that the combination of collective optical coupling and rapid vibrational relaxation make population inversion possible. By coupling a disordered collection of such systems to a resonant cavity, we demonstrate that a stable laser field can be generated. The results of this work support an approach derived by our collaborators, allowing larger, more complex aggregates to be used instead, which require less fine control over the molecular geometry to achieve lasing behaviour.Scottish Condensed Matter Centre for Doctoral Training (EPSRC grant no. EP/L015110/1

Control of steroid receptor dynamics and function by genomic actions of the cochaperones p23 and Bag-1L

Molecular chaperones encompass a group of unrelated proteins that facilitate the correct assembly and disassembly of other macromolecular structures, which they themselves do not remain a part of. They associate with a large and diverse set of coregulators termed cochaperones that regulate their function and specificity. Amongst others, chaperones and cochaperones regulate the activity of several signaling molecules including steroid receptors, which upon ligand binding interact with discrete nucleotide sequences within the nucleus to control the expression of diverse physiological and developmental genes. Molecular chaperones and cochaperones are typically known to provide the correct conformation for ligand binding by the steroid receptors. While this contribution is widely accepted, recent studies have reported that they further modulate steroid receptor action outside ligand binding. They are thought to contribute to receptor turnover, transport of the receptor to different subcellular localizations, recycling of the receptor on chromatin and even stabilization of the DNA-binding properties of the receptor. In addition to these combined effects with molecular chaperones, cochaperones are reported to have additional functions that are independent of molecular chaperones. Some of these functions also impact on steroid receptor action. Two well-studied examples are the cochaperones p23 and Bag-1L, which have been identified as modulators of steroid receptor activity in nuclei. Understanding details of their regulatory action will provide new therapeutic opportunities of controlling steroid receptor action independent of the widespread effects of molecular chaperones

Comparing One-Mile Run Time and Perceived Exertion of College-Aged Females in an Outdoor Environment versus an Indoor Environment

ABSTRACT PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of an indoor environment versus an outdoor environment on a one-mile time performance. METHODS: Sixteen female runners were requested to run two, one-mile timed trials in an indoor environment and outdoor environment. Before both trials, runners completed a barriers to exercise survey to investigate common, uncommon, and neutral perceived barriers to exercise. After the first timed one-mile run trial, runners were instructed to abstain from any exercise until their second day of data collection. Resting heart rate and blood pressure was recorded before and after each timed mile run. RPE (rate of perceived exertion) was also collected after each trial. To assess the factor of limitations, temperature was recorded of each environment. RESULTS: A paired sample t-test revealed that participants completed the one mile run faster when they performed the run inside (8.2±3.0 minutes) compared to outside (8.4±3.0 minutes). Although the participants ran faster indoors, 47% (n=7) of them preferred running in an outdoor environment. The RPE of the participants also increased when they ran outdoors by 1 point (RPE inside: 13±2; RPE outside: 14±1). The post run heart rate of the participants was significantly higher (approximately 10bpm) after the outdoor run opposed to the indoor run. CONCLUSION: Participants performed faster on a one-mile timed trial in an indoor condition, even though nearly half of them preferred running outdoors. These findings indicate that an indoor environment can result in a faster performance time in young college-aged females

Improving conservation and translocation success of an endangered orchid, Caladenia xanthochila (Orchidaceae), through understanding pollination

Critical for conserving endangered orchids is identifying their pollinators and their distribution. Caladenia xanthochila is an endangered orchid that has floral traits characteristic of pollination by food foraging insects. We identified the pollinator(s), mechanisms of attraction and the presence of pollinators at natural, existing and potential translocation sites. Furthermore, we quantified pollination success at translocation sites and investigated the effect of rainfall on pollination success over 19 years at a natural site. We clarify if sharing of pollinators occurs with closely related species by comparing the CO1 barcoding region of the pollinators' DNA. Caladenia xanthochila was pollinated by a single species of thynnine wasp, Phymatothynnus aff. nitidus. Caladenia xanthochila produced 27.0 µg ± 7.1 sucrose on the labellum, while pollinators vigorously copulated with glandular clubs on the sepal tips, suggestive of a mixed pollination system. Pollination success of C. xanthochila was 7.6 ± 1.5% SE at the natural site and 16.1 ± 3.6% SE across the translocation sites. Furthermore, hand pollinations demonstrated that pollination was pollen limited. Pollination success was significantly related to average rainfall during the growth phase of the orchid (P < 0.001). Potential translocation sites for C. xanthochila were limited, with four of six surveyed lacking the pollinator. We found evidence for cryptic species of Phymatothynnus, with C. xanthochila pollinators being unique amongst the orchids studied. We recommend hand pollinations at translocated and remnant wild populations to boost initial recruitment. The evidence for cryptic species of pollinators further highlights the need for accurate identification of pollinators