Interview with Master Teacher Frank Evans

Transcribed interview with Master Teacher Frank Evanshttps://scholars.fhsu.edu/ors/1223/thumbnail.jp

Do You Hear Me Calling?

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/1308/thumbnail.jp

The epidemiology and treatment of anal fissures in a population-based cohort

BACKGROUND: Anal fissure (AF) is regarded as a common problem, but there are no published epidemiologic data, nor information on current treatment. The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence, associated comorbidities, and treatment of AF in a population-based cohort. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of all persons who were enrolled in one large regional managed care system and treated for AF during calendar years 2005–2011. All persons aged 6 years or older who had a clinic, hospitalization, or surgical procedure associated with AF were identified from utilization data. To identify comorbidities associated with AF, each case was matched by age and gender to 3 controls. RESULTS: There were 1,243 AF cases, including 721 (58%) females and 522 (42%) males; 150 (12%) of the cases occurred in children aged 6–17 years. The overall annual incidence was 0.11% (1.1 cases per 1000 person-years), but ranged widely by age [0.05% in patients 6–17 years to 0.18% in patients 25–34 years]. The incidence also varied by sex, and was significantly higher among females 12–24 years, and among males 55–64 years (P < 0.001). Comorbidities associated with AF included chronic constipation (prevalence 14.2% vs 3.6%), hypothyroidism (14.7% vs 10.4%), obesity (13.0% vs 7.7%), and solid tumors without metastasis (5.2% vs 3.7%) (P < 0.001 for all comparisons). A total of 448 were dispensed a topical prescription medication, 31 had botulinum toxin injection, and only 13 had lateral internal sphincterotomy. CONCLUSIONS: AF is a common clinical problem, and the incidence varies substantially by age and sex. Constipation, obesity, and hypothyroidism are associated comorbidities. Most patients are prescribed topical treatments, although it appears that many prescriptions are never filled. Surgical interventions for AF including botulinum toxin and lateral internal sphincterotomy are uncommon

Organic photovoltaics and concentrators

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2008.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Includes bibliographical references (p. 158-169).The separation of light harvesting and charge generation offers several advantages in the design of organic photovoltaics and organic solar concentrators for the ultimate end goal of achieving a lower cost solar electric conversion. In this work, we explore two new device architectures. In antenna organic solar cells, we utilize external energy transfer mediated by surface plasmon polaritons to increase the efficiency of existing organic photovoltaic devices limited in performance by the exciton diffusion bottleneck. This unique architecture is analyzed for its functionality and the efficiencies of each added step is quantified. Although the introduction of additional energy transduction will ultimately introduce more losses, bypassing the exciton diffusion bottleneck offers the potential for increased efficiency through judicious device design. We also seek to enable the use of high efficiency inorganic solar cells in organic solar concentrators which aim to exploit high performance of the PV cells in low cost, nontracking configurations. By utilizing thin films of organic chromophores on high refractive index glass substrates, we are able to apply the recent advances of organic optoelectonics to the fluorescent concentrator platform, including near field energy transfer, solid state solvation, and phosphorescence. By reducing self-absorption losses, we demonstrate optical flux gains an order of magnitude greater than previously published results and thereby reduce the effective cost of inorganic solar cells by at least a factor of ten. Combined with the potential for low cost solution processing, the high flux gains and power efficiencies realized here should enable a new source of inexpensive solar power.by Jonathan King Mapel.Ph.D

It\u27s Like a Video Game: How to Use Twine to Create Scenario Based Learning Online

How can you engage students online by utilizing the online environment? Solution: a choose-your-own adventure style game. As an Assistant Professor of Hospitality Management, I teach a class in Strategic Management where I used a software called Twine to create a choose-your-adventure type scenario where the students make their own decisions for a business scenario and then see the consequences of their decisions.https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/btp_expo/1135/thumbnail.jp

The application of photosynthetic materials and architectures to solar cells

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2006.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Includes bibliographical references (p. 51-60).Photosynthetic approaches to redesigning photovoltaics (PV) offer an attractive route towards achieving high-efficiency, low-cost solar energy transduction. This thesis explores two routes toward this end: the direct integration of photosynthetic structures into solid-state devices and the architectural redesign of organic solar cells to more closely parallel photosynthesis. The highly accent photosynthetic reaction center is the site of exciton dissociation in photosynthesis, analogous to the role of the donor-acceptor interface in organic PV. This thesis describes the successful integration of reaction centers with organic semiconductors into solid-state devices. Although functional, we nd that these devices suer the same limitation as the more traditional organic PV: the ability to absorb enough light. Photosynthetic bacteria and plants compartmentalize the processes leading to light energy conversion. This spatial separation of structures augments the evolutionary design space: the processes of photon absorption and exciton dissociation occur in two separate locations, allowing the independent functional optimization of each.(cont.) Applying a similar approach to PV would similarly remove the need for multifunctional materials, bypassing limiting tradeos and permitting the utilization of new material systems. To this end, I propose a novel architecture and present initial conclusions on theoretical performance eciency. Fabricated devices demonstrate the system is viable and suggests that further improvements in device design will enable highly ecient photovoltaics.by Jonathan King Mapel.S.M

The Influence of the Instructor's Written Comments upon Student Test Performance in the College Classroom

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of determining the influence of instructors' written comments on the test performances of students in selected college subjects. The students were from one university and one junior college. The written comments were designed to be positive in nature and to encourage better future test performances by students. The comments were made in regard to the letter grades received by the students and were placed only on major (as defined by each instructor) objective tests