Undergraduate Research: Importance, Benefits, and Challenges

Developing and maintaining undergraduate research programs benefits students, faculty mentors, and the university. Incorporating a research component along with a sound academic foundation enables students to develop independent critical thinking skills along with oral and written communication skills. The research process impacts valuable learning objectives that have lasting influence as undergraduates prepare for professional service. Faculty members at teaching intensive institutions can enhance learning experiences for students while benefiting from a productive research agenda. The university in turn benefits from presentations and publications that serve to increase visibility in the scientific community. Whether projects are derived through student-generated or mentor-generated means, students benefit from completion of exposure to the hypothesis-driven scientific method

Sample Size for Biosimilar Trials: In Defense of Synthesis

Biosimilars are biological products similar to, but not the same as, the innovator products. Both the European Medicines Agency and the Food and Drug Administration have released detailed guidance on the development of biosimilars. This guidance requires the pivotal phase 3 clinical study to have an equivalence design, which means that the study objective is to demonstrate that one treatment is neither "worse than" nor "better than" the other by some clinically unimportant" amount. The most critical and controversial step in designing such a study is the choice of equivalence margin, as this determines the conclusion of the study. In this paper, we outline the methodology for determining an equivalence margin and, through case studies on biosimilar trastuzumab (HERCEPTIN ) and biosimilar bevacizumab (AVASTIN), explain the challenges of applying this in practice and why the synthesis method should be given greater consideration by regulatory authorities and biosimilar developers

Novel Tandem Reaction to Synthesize Substituted Benzaldehydes

Undergraduate Basi

Presence of Observers Increases One Repetition Maximum in College-age Males and Females

Purpose: To determine if the presence of observers affects muscular strength performance in college-age males and females. Methods: Twenty-five women and 24 men participated in the study. Two counter-balanced trials were performed in which participants completed 1-RM tests in bench press and leg press. During one trial, two members of the opposite gender observed the 1-RM tests. During the other trial there were no observers, other than the tester. Results: 1-RM for females increased 3.4±0.8 lbs on bench press (p\u3c.001) and increased 9.2±3.8 lbs on leg press (p=.025) when observers were present. 1-RM for males increased 4.2±1.1 lbs on bench press (p=.001) and increased 18.8±5.2 lbs on leg press (p=.002) with observers present. There was no difference in the percent increase in 1-RM between males and females for either leg press (p=.71) or bench press (p=.08). Conclusion: College-age males and females lifted more weight during a 1-RM test when observers were present

Self-estimation of Body Fat is More Accurate in College-age Males Compared to Females

Objective: To determine the effect of gender on the ability to accurately estimate one’s own body fat percentage. Participants: Fifty-five college-age males and 99 college-age females Methods: Participants estimated their own body fat percent before having their body composition measured using a BOD POD. Participants also completed a modified Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS). Results: Estimated body fat was significantly lower compared to measured body fat percent in females (26.8±5.6% vs. 30.2±7.0%, p\u3c0.001) but not in males (16.8±6.8% vs. 18.1±8.3%, p=0.09). The mean difference between estimated and measured body fat was significantly higher for females compared to males (p\u3c0.001). There was a moderate, significant correlation found between measured body fat percent and SPAS score for males (r=0.331, p=0.014) and females (r=.427, p\u3c0.001). Conclusions: Males estimated their body fat percent more accurately than females. Despite these findings, 62% of males and 76% of females underestimated their body fat

Type of Encouragement Influences Peak Muscle Force in College-Age Women

Purpose: To investigate if the type of encouragement during a maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) had an influence on peak muscle force in strength-trained versus untrained collegiate women. Methods: Eleven strength-trained (20.4 + 1 yr) and twelve untrained (20.8 + 1 yr) women participated in three, five-second MVICs of seated knee extension. The three trials consisted of verbal only encouragement, verbal + visual encouragement, and verbal + pain avoidance encouragement. In all three trials, the participants received the same verbal encouragement. Trials were counterbalanced to minimize any possible order effects. A repeated measure ANOVA was used to analyze data. Any significant main effects were further analyzed using Tukey post hoc tests. Results: There was no interaction between training status and encouragement type for all subjects F(2,42) = 1.5474, p = 0.22). For all subjects, a main effect for encouragement type was detected (F(2,42) = 6.616, p \u3c0.05) with significant differences found in MVIC between the verbal encouragement and verbal + visual feedback (99.5±29 ft-lbs and 115.6±29 ft-lbs, p\u3c0.01). No significant differences were found between the verbal only and the addition of pain avoidance (99.5±29 ft-lbs and 109.9±26.3 ft-lbs, p=0.069) or the visual and pain avoidance trials (115.6±29 ft-lbs and 109.9±26 ft-lbs, p=0.43). Conclusion: In this study, training status did not significantly influence the response to type of encouragement. Individuals produced the most force during a MVIC with verbal and visual encouragement. The incorporation of verbal encouragement and visual feedback is an important factor in eliciting peak force in college-aged women. This may have important implications in training and rehabilitation models that incorporate resistive loading of the skeletal muscles

Error analysis for the ground-based microwave ozone measurements during STOIC

We present a formal error analysis and characterization of the microwave measurements made during the Stratospheric Ozone Intercomparison Campaign (STOIC). The most important error sources are found to be determination of the tropospheric opacity, the pressure-broadening coefficient of the observed line, and systematic variations in instrument response as a function of frequency ('baseline'). Net precision is 4-6% between 55 and 0.2 mbar, while accuracy is 6-10%. Resolution is 8-10 km below 3 mbar and increases to 17km at 0.2 mbar. We show the 'blind' microwave measurements from STOIC and make limited comparisons to other measurements. We use the averaging kernels of the microwave measurement to eliminate resolution and a priori effects from a comparison to SAGE 2. The STOIC results and comparisons are broadly consistent with the formal analysis

The Assimilation of Hyperspectral Satellite Radiances in Global Numerical Weather Prediction

Hyperspectral infrared radiance data present opportunities for significant improvements in data assimilation and Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP). The increase in spectral resolution available from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) sensor, for example, will make it possible to improve the accuracy of temperature and moisture fields. Improved accuracy of the NWP analyses and forecasts should result. In this thesis we incorporate these hyperspectral data, using new assimilation methods, into the National Centers for Environmental Prediction's (NCEP) operational Global Data Assimilation System/Global Forecast System (GDAS/GFS) and investigate their impact on the weather analysis and forecasts. The spatial and spectral resolution of AIRS data used by NWP centers was initially based on theoretical calculations. Synthetic data were used to determine channel selection and spatial density for real time data assimilation. Several problems were previously not fully addressed. These areas include: cloud contamination, surface related issues, dust, and temperature inversions. In this study, several improvements were made to the methods used for assimilation. Spatial resolution was increased to examine every field of view, instead of one in nine or eighteen fields of view. Improved selection criteria were developed to find the best profile for assimilation from a larger sample. New cloud and inversion tests were used to help identify the best profiles to be assimilated in the analysis. The spectral resolution was also increased from 152 to 251 channels. The channels added were mainly near the surface, in the water vapor absorption band, and in the shortwave region. The GFS was run at or near operational resolution and contained all observations available to the operational system. For each experiment the operational version of the GFS was used during that time. The use of full spatial and enhanced spectral resolution data resulted in the first demonstration of significant impact of the AIRS data in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. Experiments were performed to show the contribution to the improvements in global weather forecasts from the increase in spatial and spectral resolution. Both spatial and spectral resolution increases were shown to make significant contributions to forecast skill. New methods were also developed to check for clouds, inversions and for estimating surface emissivity. Overall, an improved methodology for assimilating hyperspectral AIRS data was achieved