Breakthroughs in Shared Measurement and Social Impact

A surprising new breakthrough is emerging in the social sector: A handful of innovative organizations have developed web-based systems for reporting the performance, measuring the outcomes, and coordinating the efforts of hundreds or even thousands of social enterprises within a field. These nascent efforts carry implications well beyond performance measurement, foreshadowing the possibility of profound changes in the vision and effectiveness of the entire nonprofit sector. This paper, based on six months of interviews and research by FSG Social Impact Advisors, examines twenty efforts to develop shared approaches to performance, outcome, or impact measurement across multiple organizations. The accompanying appendices include a short description of each system and four more in-depth case studies

A preliminary training guide for utilizing high-altitude, color-infrared photography in compiling soil maps

Instruction for acquiring and analytically processing small-scale color-infrared photography to perform a soil resources inventory over forests of the southern U.S. is provided. Planning the project; acquiring aerial photography, materials, equipment and supplemental data; and preparing the photography for analysis are discussed. The procedures for preparing ancillary and primary component overlays are discussed. The use of correlation charts and dichotomous keys for mountain landforms, water regime, and vegetation is explained

Environmental Attitudes and Perceptions: A Comparison of Peru and the United States

This project is a cross-cultural study comparing global and local perspectives by inhabitants of Peru and the United States regarding the natural environment. Using a 5- point Likert-scale survey, we assessed the environmental attitudes Peruvians and U.S. participants have regarding their self in nature, use of nature, local responsibility toward nantre, and global resolutions to environmental issues. Additionally, we assessed how individuals of one country perceive the environmental conciousness of the other country as well as how they believe the other country perceives them. Results showed Peruvians being concurrently ecocentric and anthropocentric regarding environmental perceptions, while U.S. participants were generally more anthropocentric and indi fferent than ecocentric. Information obtained from this study furthers the global understanding of how culture, and to a lesser extent geography, influence individuals\u27 perceptions of the environment

Synthesis of poly(sulfonate ester)s by ADMET polymerization

Many hydrocarbon polymers containing heteroatom defects in the main chain have been investigated as degradable polyethylene-like materials, including aliphatic polyesters. Here, acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization was used for the synthesis of aliphatic poly(sulfonate ester)s. The requisite sulfonate ester containing α,ω-diene monomers with varying numbers of methylene groups were synthesized, and their polymerization in the presence of ruthenium-N-heterocyclic (Ru-NHC) alkylidene catalysts was studied. A clear negative neighboring group effect (NNGE) was observed for shorter dienes, either inhibiting polymerization or resulting in low- molecular-weight oligomers. The effect was absent when undec-10-en-1-yl undec-10- ene-1-sulfonate was employed as the monomer, and its ADMET polymerization afforded polymers with appreciable number-average molecular weights of up to 37,000 g/mol and a dispersity Đ of 1.8. These polymers were hydrogenated to afford the desired polyethylene-like systems. The thermal and morphological properties of both saturated and unsaturated polymers were investigated. The incorporation of sulfonate ester groups in the polymer backbone offers an interesting alternative to other heteroatoms and helps further the understanding of the effects of these defects on the overall polymer properties

Manipulation of ring strain and antiaromaticity in the design and synthesis of unique optoelectronic materials

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemistry, 2012.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections."June 2012." Vita. Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references.Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and fully-conjugated ladder polymers are leading candidates for organics electronics, as their inherent conformational rigidity encourages electron delocalization. Many of these systems consist of fused benzenoid or heterocyclic aromatic rings. Less frequently, however, PAHs are reported with character that alternates between the aromaticity of benzene fragments and the antiaromaticity of a nonbenzenoid moiety. Due to its high degree of unsaturation and ring strain, 3,4-bis(methylene)cyclobutene presents an intriguing building block for a variety of polycyclic macromolecules. The syntheses of several derivatives of 3,4-bis(benzylidene)cyclobutene are reported. Previously unknown 1,2-dibromo-3,4-bis(benzylidene)cyclobutene was obtained through in situ generation of 1,6-diphenyl-3,4-dibromo-1,2,4,5-tetraene followed by electrocyclic ring closure. Ensuing reduction and metal-catalyzed cross-coupling provided additional derivatives. The effects of ring strain on the geometry and electronics of these derivatives were examined. The synthesis of new class of fully unsaturated ladder structures, phenylene-containing oligoacenes (POAs), using 3,4-bis(methylene)cyclobutene as a building block for sequential Diels-Alder reactions is described. The electronic effects of strain and the energetic cost of antiaromaticity can be observed via the optical and electrochemical properties of the reported compounds. The resulting shape-persistant ladder structures contain neighboring chromophores that are partially electronically isolated from one other while still undergoing a reduction in the band gap of the material. Singlet fission, a phenomenon in which two triplet excitons are generated from a single photon of light, has the potential to improve the efficiency of organic solar cells by increasing the theoretical quantum efficiency. Singlet fission is observed for the first time in dithienylsubstituted pentacene and tetracene. Dissociation of the triplets at the donor-acceptor interface in a solar cell constructed with 6,13-di(thien-2-yl)pentacene is demonstrated. The synthesis of a POA containing pentacene is also investigated. The chain-growth mechanism of polymerization allows for greater control of molecular weight and polydispersity than does the step-growth mechanism, however is currently limited to only a few reactions. Due to its unique Diels-Alder reactivity, 3,4-bis(methylene)cyclobutene and related structures are investigated as monomers for chain-growth Diels-Alder polymerization.by Rebecca R. Parkhurst.Ph.D

USING NONLINEAR FIXED AND MIXED MODELS WITH SWITCHING FUNCTIONS TO ALLOW FOR HORMESIS IN GROWTH OF ESCHERICHIA COLI

Individual Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains can be characterized by measuring growth rate. Strains better adapted to the environment are expected to grow faster. Classic bacterial growth curves display an increase in optical density over time. In this paper, we use the logistic function to model growth in optical density of E. coli over time. We examine 16 curves for 8 E. coli strains originally isolated from cattle and found many curves have a paradoxical dip at the beginning that is indicative of hormesis (an initial contrarian response showing, stimulation or suppression of growth). We examine several switching functions that allow for the effect of hormesis and compare the ability of nonlinear fixed and mixed models to detect the presence of hormesis

Electromagnetic Scanning of Beef Quarters to Predict Carcass and Primal Lean Content

To study the use of electromagnetic scanning in prediction of lean content in beef carcasses and cuts, 100 beef cattle (60 steers and 40 heifers), representing a broad range in external fat thickness (. 1 to 2.9 cm) and live weight (414 to 742 kg), were selected. Chilled right sides were divided into streamlined (foreshank, brisket, and ventral plate removed) forequarters (FQ) and full hindquarters (HQ) and scanned. Primal rounds, loins, ribs, and chucks were fabricated from the right side, scanned, and physically separated into lean, fat, and bone. Prediction equations for dissected lean content and percentage of lean included the peak of the electromagnetic scan response curve (obtained from scanning the HQ or FQ), length, temperature and weight of the scanned cut, and fat thickness at the 12th rib. Using the coefficient of determination, root mean square error, and Mallows\u27 Cp statistic, the best model for each dependent variable (weight and percentage of lean) that included up to five independent variables was selected. Prediction equations for the HQ or FQ of steers accounted for 84 to 93% of the variation in lean weight of beef sides and quarters and 71 to 93% of primals. Sixty-one to 75% of the variation in percentage of lean in sides and quarters and 48 to 65% of primals was also explained. Similar results were obtained for heifer carcasses. Predicting percentage of lean in any scanned cut, rather than weight of lean, accounted for less of the variation. Weight and fat thickness contributed significantly when predicting percentage of lean. These data indicate that electromagnetic scanning is capable of objectively measuring lean content in beef quarters and primals

Historical Environmental Racism, Structural Inequalities, and Dik’os Ntsaaígíí-19 (COVID-19) on Navajo Nation

The Navajo Nation has been disproportionately affected by Dik’os Ntsaaígíí-19 (COVID-19), with the highest per capita COVID-19 rate in the United States. While some media attention has focused on the importance of structural inequalities in understanding the heightened experiences of COVID-19 for Navajo people, we draw from Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous research paradigm to bring the need to consider the lasting legacy of historical environmental racism on Indigenous land to the current public health discourse. Specifically, we explore the potential lasting health implications of the historical environmental racism on Navajo people at the ecological level by describing the associations between abandoned uranium mines, structural inequalities (as measured by lack of grocery stores and hospitals) and COVID-19 confirmed cases on the Navajo Nation by compiling unique dataset from the Navajo Department of Health, 2014-2018 American Community Survey 5-years estimates, and the Uranium Mines and Mills Location Database from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We found that population and housing characteristics do not fully explain the different COVID-19 cases among 11 counties on Diné Bikéyah, and suggest that there is a need for the holistic approach is guided by Hózhó wisdom of Navajo people that emphasize the importance of interconnectedness and whole-system in understanding the impacts of Dik’os Ntsaaígíí-19

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TIME SERIES AND MULTIPLE REGRESSION FOR MODELING DEPENDENCE OF CATTLE BODY TEMPERATURE ON ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES DURING HEAT STRESS

During the summer, a challenging thermal environment is known to cause a significant reduction in food intake, growth, milk production, reproduction and even death in cattle. In this study, we attempt to characterize the relationship of cattle body temperature with several environmental variables, such as air temperature, soil surface temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, wind speed, incoming and outgoing short and long wave radiation. For these variables, the measurements taken over time are correlated. This places severe restrictions on the applicability of many conventional statistical methods that depend on the assumption of independent and identically distributed errors. In addition to these assumptions, there is serious collinearity among several weather variables and the variables are not stationary. Commonly used multiple regression models can be misleading when predictor variables are stochastic and issues of collinearity and non-stationary are ignored. In this paper, time series analysis is used as a tool to investigate the adequacy of classical regression models. Various aspects of dynamics of cattle body temperature and its relationship to environmental variables are discussed using the frequency and time domain analysis. Finally, we present a detailed approach for fitting cattle body temperature using a transfer function model with multiple environmental variables as inputs

USING A NONLINEAR CROSSED RANDOM EFFECTS MODEL WITH THREE-WAY TREATMENT STRUCTURE FOR DESCRIBING CIRCADIAN PATTERNS OF SERUM PROLACTIN CONCENTRATIONS IN HEAT STRESSED HOLSTEINS

A modified Gaussian model with three-level crossed and nested random effects is used to describe circadian patterns of serum prolactin concentrations in a crossover experiment. Testing of three-way treatment effects and carryover effects are incorporated with the model building process as is the within-group correlation. We found that the interaction between environment and parity had significant effect (p\u3c0.05) on both initial serum prolactin concentration and range of the prolactin concentration. There was no significant effect of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) on either the initial value or concentration of serum prolactin. The inclusion of carryover effects in the model significantly improves the fit of the multilevel nonlinear mixed effects model. We present in detail a general approach to nonlinear crossed random effects model building and three-way treatment effects testing