An Artificial Sweating System for Sweat Sensor Testing Applications

This research proposes a completely automated, computer-controlled fluid mixing and dispensing system, which is suitable for testing sweat sensing devices, as an alternative to requiring human trials during the development phase of a sweat sensor device. An arm mold was designed and implemented with dragon skin and pores to simulate sweating action. The relay controlled mixing tanks allow for the different concentration of fluid solutions at various rates of fluid dispensing through pores. The onboard single board computer controls a dozen electronic relays and it switches and presents an easy to use graphical user interface to allow end users to conduct the experiments with ease and not require further programming. With the recent advances in sweat sensors, this platform offers a unique way of testing sensing devices during development, allowing for researchers to focus on their design parameters one at a time before actual validation through human trials are conducted. The current device can provide sweat rates from 1 µL/min to 500 µL/min. Furthermore, concentrations of 10 mM up to 200 mM of salt concentrations were able to be repeatedly produced. In an ANOVA test with salt concentrations varying from 40–60 mM, a p-value of 0.365 shows that the concentration does not have any effect on the flow rate. Similarly, a p-value of 0.329 and 0.167 for different relative humidity and temperature shows that the system does not present a statistical difference. Lastly, when the interactions among all the factors were considered, a p-value of 0.416 clearly presents that the system performance is insensitive to different factors, thus validating the system reliability

Improving drought and salinity tolerance in barley by application of salicylic acid and potassium nitrate

AbstractGrowth and physiological activities of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Gustoe) grown in soil cultures were evaluated to recognize the ameliorative role of salicylic acid (SA) and KNO3 against the negative effects of salt and water deficit stresses. Barley plants were subjected to three levels of NaCl (50, 100 and 150mM), three levels of water stress (80%, 70% and 50% of the soil water content (SWC) and the combination of 150mM NaCl+50μM SA, 150mM NaCl+10mM KNO3, 50% SWC+50μM SA and 50% SWC+10mM KNO3 for two weeks. Salt and water deficit stresses reduced the shoot growth, leaf photosynthetic pigments, K+ contents and provoked oxidative stress in leaves confirmed by considerable changes in soluble carbohydrate, proline, malondialdehyde (MDA), total phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity and Na+ contents. Leaf soluble protein of salt and water deficit treated plants was unaffected. The Na+/K+ ratio increased with increasing salt and water deficit treated plants. Application of 50μM SA or 10mM KNO3 to150mM NaCl and/or 50% SWC treated plants improved these attributes under salt and water stresses. Soluble carbohydrates in stressed plants may have a significant role in osmotic adjustment. It can be concluded that the addition of SA or KNO3 can ameliorate the oxidative stress in barley stressed plants. This ameliorative effect might be maintained through low MDA contents and decreased Na+/K+ ratio in leaves. This study also provided evidence for the ability of barley cultivation in salt and water deficit soils due to its capacity for osmotic adjustment

Rockport Comprehensive Plan

This document was developed and prepared by Texas Target Communities (TxTC) at Texas A&M University in partnership with the City of Rockport, Texas Sea Grant, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Texas A&M University - School of Law and Texas Tech University.Founded in 1871, the City of Rockport aims to continue growing economically and sustainably. Rockport is a resilient community dedicated to sustainable growth and attracting businesses to the area. Rockport is a charming town that offers a close-knit community feel and is a popular tourist destination for marine recreation, fairs, and exhibitions throughout the year. The Comprehensive Plan 2020-2040 is designed to guide the city of Rockport for its future growth. The guiding principles for this planning process were Rockport's vision statement and its corresponding goals, which were crafted by the task force. The goals focus on factors of growth and development including public participation, development considerations, transportation, community facilities, economic development, parks, and housing and social vulnerability

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

An exploration of the family resilience needs of a rural community in South Africa: a sequential explanatory mixed methodological study design

The aim of the study is to identify and explore family resilience needs in a rural community in the West Coast region of South Africa. An explanatory mixed methodological sequential design was implemented. Firstly, Sixbey’s (2005) Family Resilience Assessment Scale, was employed to conduct the quantitative assessment via a door-to-door sample of convenience identified with the assistance of a local nongovernmental organisation. Of the 656 participants, 39.8% were male and 60.2% were female, with an average age of 37.90 years (standard deviation 13.92). Secondly, four focus groups involving 27 community participants provided qualitative data. Results from the quantitative assessment show that family connectedness and utilising social and economic resources were the lowest scoring, and belief systems the highest scoring, dimensions in family resilience. Based on the quantitative findings and the discussions, three thematic categories emerged: community and family challenges; community belief systems; and current family functioning and organisational patterns. A number of families and groups within the community were able to provide feedback, recommendations and work collaboratively in this study. This contributed to the argument we make for the transformative mixed methods paradigm that is discussed. This study provides further insight into the theory of family resilience.ISI & Scopu

Impacts of the Tropical Pacific/Indian Oceans on the Seasonal Cycle of the West African Monsoon

The current consensus is that drought has developed in the Sahel during the second half of the twentieth century as a result of remote effects of oceanic anomalies amplified by local land–atmosphere interactions. This paper focuses on the impacts of oceanic anomalies upon West African climate and specifically aims to identify those from SST anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Oceans during spring and summer seasons, when they were significant. Idealized sensitivity experiments are performed with four atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs). The prescribed SST patterns used in the AGCMs are based on the leading mode of covariability between SST anomalies over the Pacific/Indian Oceans and summer rainfall over West Africa. The results show that such oceanic anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Ocean lead to a northward shift of an anomalous dry belt from the Gulf of Guinea to the Sahel as the season advances. In the Sahel, the magnitude of rainfall anomalies is comparable to that obtained by other authors using SST anomalies confined to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. The mechanism connecting the Pacific/Indian SST anomalies with West African rainfall has a strong seasonal cycle. In spring (May and June), anomalous subsidence develops over both the Maritime Continent and the equatorial Atlantic in response to the enhanced equatorial heating. Precipitation increases over continental West Africa in association with stronger zonal convergence of moisture. In addition, precipitation decreases over the Gulf of Guinea. During the monsoon peak (July and August), the SST anomalies move westward over the equatorial Pacific and the two regions where subsidence occurred earlier in the seasons merge over West Africa. The monsoon weakens and rainfall decreases over the Sahel, especially in August.Peer reviewe

Search for heavy resonances decaying to two Higgs bosons in final states containing four b quarks

A search is presented for narrow heavy resonances X decaying into pairs of Higgs bosons (H) in proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at root s = 8 TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1). The search considers HH resonances with masses between 1 and 3 TeV, having final states of two b quark pairs. Each Higgs boson is produced with large momentum, and the hadronization products of the pair of b quarks can usually be reconstructed as single large jets. The background from multijet and t (t) over bar events is significantly reduced by applying requirements related to the flavor of the jet, its mass, and its substructure. The signal would be identified as a peak on top of the dijet invariant mass spectrum of the remaining background events. No evidence is observed for such a signal. Upper limits obtained at 95 confidence level for the product of the production cross section and branching fraction sigma(gg -> X) B(X -> HH -> b (b) over barb (b) over bar) range from 10 to 1.5 fb for the mass of X from 1.15 to 2.0 TeV, significantly extending previous searches. For a warped extra dimension theory with amass scale Lambda(R) = 1 TeV, the data exclude radion scalar masses between 1.15 and 1.55 TeV

Measurement of the top quark mass using charged particles in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe