Internship: Equity Resources, Inc.

STEP Category: InternshipsThis presentation details my transformational project with STEP under the 'Internship' category. The summer of 2019 I had the opportunity to intern at Equity Resources, Inc., an esteemed Ohio mortgage firm. I worked in the Closing Department on a variety of tasks with my main responsibility completing Verbal Verifications of Employment. I also had the opportunity to manage my own pipeline of work in which I updated and validated important realtor information to ensure future business for the company. Each week I participated in a professional development seminar given by a leading executive in the company on topics to improve professionally, personally, and prepare for future career endeavors. The Ohio State University Second-year Transformational Experience Program (STEP)Academic Major: International Studie

Structural variants of biodegradable polyesterurethane in vivo evoke a cellular and angiogenic response that is dictated by architecture

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2008 Acta Materialia Inc.The aim of this study was to investigate an in vivo tissue response to a biodegradable polyesterurethane, specifically the cellular and angiogenic response evoked by varying implant architectures in a subcutaneous rabbit implant model. A synthetic biodegradable polyesterurethane was synthesized and processed into three different configurations: a non-porous film, a porous mesh and a porous membrane. Glutaraldehyde cross-linked bovine pericardium was used as a control. Sterile polyesterurethane and control samples were implanted subcutaneously in six rabbits (n = 12). The rabbits were killed at 21 and 63 days and the implant sites were sectioned and histologically stained using haemotoxylin and eosin (H&E), Masson’s trichrome, picosirius red and immunostain CD31. The tissue–implant interface thickness was measured from the H&E slides. Stereological techniques were used to quantify the tissue reaction at each time point that included volume fraction of inflammatory cells, fibroblasts, fibrocytes, collagen and the degree of vascularization. Stereological analysis inferred that porous scaffolds with regular topography are better tolerated in vivo compared to non-porous scaffolds, while increasing scaffold porosity promotes angiogenesis and cellular infiltration. The results suggest that this biodegradable polyesterurethane is better tolerated in vivo than the control and that structural variants of biodegradable polyesterurethane in vivo evoke a cellular and angiogenic response that is dictated by architecture.Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology: funded by the National Development Plan. Enterprise Ireland: Research Innovation Partnership

Shuttle TPS thermal performance and analysis methodology

Thermal performance of the thermal protection system was approximately as predicted. The only extensive anomalies were filler bar scorching and over-predictions in the high Delta p gap heating regions of the orbiter. A technique to predict filler bar scorching has been developed that can aid in defining a solution. Improvement in high Delta p gap heating methodology is still under study. Minor anomalies were also examined for improvements in modeling techniques and prediction capabilities. These include improved definition of low Delta p gap heating, an analytical model for inner mode line convection heat transfer, better modeling of structure, and inclusion of sneak heating. The limited number of problems related to penetration items that presented themselves during orbital flight tests were resolved expeditiously, and designs were changed and proved successful within the time frame of that program

Water Content and Thermoplastic Polyurethane Effects on Thrombosis Clotting

One of the main factors that can increase the chance of heart disease is unwanted blood clotting, or thrombosis. In addition, implantable biomaterials and/or medical devices are likely to trigger a series of adverse reactions that can lead to unwanted blood clotting. Herein, we study a thromboresistant polymeric material, specifically thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs), on their physical properties and anticoagulation performance. Their hydrophobic nature and superior mechanical properties make them an ideal candidate for coating materials on implantable medical devices, such as vascular stents. Our results show that hydrophobic TPUs absorbed minimal to negligible water content and provided excellent thromboresistant properties against human plasma.Cockrell School of Engineerin

Uniqueness of the embedding continuous convolution semigroup of a Gaussian probability measure on the affine group and an application in mathematical finance

Let $$\{\mu _{t}^{(i)}\}_{t\ge 0}$$ ( $$i=1,2$$ ) be continuous convolution semigroups (c.c.s.) of probability measures on $$\mathbf{Aff(1)}$$ (the affine group on the real line). Suppose that $$\mu _{1}^{(1)}=\mu _{1}^{(2)}$$ . Assume furthermore that $$\{\mu _{t}^{(1)}\}_{t\ge 0}$$ is a Gaussian c.c.s. (in the sense that its generating distribution is a sum of a primitive distribution and a second-order differential operator). Then $$\mu _{t}^{(1)}=\mu _{t}^{(2)}$$ for all $$t\ge 0$$ . We end up with a possible application in mathematical financ

Phase diagram of the excitonic insulator

Motivated by recent experiments, which give strong evidence for an excitonic insulating phase in $\rm TmSe_{0.45}Te_{0.55}$, we developed a scheme to quantitatively construct, for generic two-band models, the phase diagram of an excitonic insulator. As a first application of our approach, we calculated the phase diagram for an effective mass two-band model with long-range Coulomb interaction. The shielded potential approximation is used to derive a generalized gap equation controlling for positive (negative) energy gaps the transition from a semi-conducting (semi-metallic) phase to an insulating phase. Numerical results,obtained within the quasi-static approximation, show a steeple-like phase diagram in contrast to long-standing expectations.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, SCES'05, accepted for publication in Physica

Importance of biological control for tropical Africa

Obwohl die Begleituntersuchungen zur biologischen Schädlingsbekämpfung zu den am besten dokumentierten ökologischen Studien zählen, wird die Entscheidung, ob ein exotischer Nützling eingesetzt werden darf, oft auch durch diffuse Ängste vor Fremdorganismen bestimmt. Dabei basiert unsere Landwirtschaft zu einem großen Anteil auf solchen Exoten; andere verhalten sich meist unauffällig und fügen sich bleibend in die Ökosysteme und nur wenige führen zu Schäden. Den letzteren wird am besten mit der Einfuhr von angepassten Prädatoren aus dem Ursprungsgebiet, d.h. der klassischen biologischen Schädlingsbekämpfung, entgegengewirkt. An dieser Stelle werden vier solche Projekte aus dem tropischen Afrika vorgestellt, welche alle von der Einfuhr von Parasitoiden und Prädatoren bis zum ausgewiesenen ökonomischen Nutzen dokumentiert worden sind: Maniokschmierlaus, Mangoschmierlaus, Grüne Maniokmilbe und Wasserhyazinthe. Es werden allgemein interessante Schlüsse aus diesen Projekten gezogen, der sehr hohe Nutzen dieser Projekte wird aufgezeigt, und die verschiedenen Formen von Einflüssen auf andere Organismen werden diskutiert.Though studies in biological control belong to the best documented research in ecology the actual decision to release a beneficial organism is often influenced by diffuse fears of anything foreign. Yet, agriculture is largely based on exotics; others remain inconspicuous and integrate themselves without problems into the existing ecosystems; and only few actually cause damage. It is against this latter group that the introduction of adapted predators from the region of origin, so-called classical biological control, offers most promise. Here we present four projects from tropical Africa, which were documented throughout all stages from the introduction of predators and parasitoids to the calculations of economic benefits: cassava mealybug, mango mealybug, cassava green mite, and waterhyacinth. Apart from specific conclusions, the high returns of these projects and the various impacts on non-target organisms are discussed

Uniqueness of Embedding into a Gaussian Semigroup and a Poisson Semigroup with Determinate Jump Law ona Simply Connected Nilpotent Lie Group

Let {μ t (i) } t≥0 (i=1,2) be continuous convolution semigroups (c.c.s.) on a simply connected nilpotent Lie group G. Suppose that μ 1 (1) =μ 1 (2) . Assume furthermore that one of the following two conditions holds: (i) The c.c.s. {μ t (1) } t≥0 is a Gaussian semigroup (in the sense that its generating distribution just consists of a primitive distribution and a second-order differential operator) (ii) The c.c.s. {μ t (i) } t≥0 (i=1,2) are both Poisson semigroups, and the jump measure of {μ t (1) } t≥0 is determinate (i.e., it possesses all absolute moments, and there is no other nonnegative bounded measure with the same moments). Then μ t (1) =μ t (2) for all t≥0. As a complement, we show how our approach can be directly used to give anindependent proof of Pap's result on the uniqueness of the embedding Gaussian semigroup on simply connected nilpotent Lie groups. In this sense, our proof for the uniqueness of the embedding semigroup among all c.c.s. of a Gaussian measure can be formulated self-containe