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Spacetime Algebra As A Powerful Tool For Electromagnetism, Justin Dressel, Konstantin Y. Bliokh, Franco Nori

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We present a comprehensive introduction to spacetime algebra that emphasizes its practicality and power as a tool for the study of electromagnetism. We carefully develop this natural (Clifford) algebra of the Minkowski spacetime geometry, with a particular focus on its intrinsic (and often overlooked) complex structure. Notably, the scalar imaginary that appears throughout the electromagnetic theory properly corresponds to the unit 4-volume of spacetime itself, and thus has physical meaning. The electric and magnetic fields are combined into a single complex and frame-independent bivector field, which generalizes the Riemann-Silberstein complex vector that has recently resurfaced in studies of the single …

Enhancement Of Science Performance Through Computer -Assisted Instruction Among Selected Secondary School Learners In Kenya, Samuel N. Jesse, Nicholas V. Twoli, John N. Maundu

Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

The performance of learners in Science in Kenyan secondary schools has been consistently low over the years. Many factors contribute to this poor performance and among them is the inappropriate teaching approaches that are teacher-centered rather than learner-centered. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of instructional methods on efficiency of content delivery to the learner and eventually the learner’s improved performance in science. Quasi-experimental design was used, based on the performance in science when the ConventionalInstructional Techniques (CIT) are used and when a combination of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and conventional instructional methods are used. Biology, …

Sustainable Development For People Or Profit?, Eric Rr Weaver

Suburban Sustainability

As Earth’s populations grow, will key planetary systems be pushed over the “tipping point” beyond Earth’s carrying capacity for sustaining human life? There is a strong body of literature developing the concept of Planetary Boundaries to help identify the limits for maintaining the Earth’s environmental stability. It is presumed that exceeding the Planetary Boundaries will result in an environmental tipping point, shifting the earth into a new environmental equilibrium detrimental to life as we know it. Research shows industrial agriculture is a major force pressing the environment to, and beyond, these limits. This review of top tier journals details the …

The Role Of Nuclear Factor Of Activated T-Cells In Chronic Kidney Disease, Alexis Joanna Sloan

Open Access Dissertations

Aberrant elevation in cytoplasmic calcium levels in podocytes cause changes in podocyte morphology and glomerular permeability. The phosphatase calcineurin responds to elevated calcium by dephosphorylating the nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT). We have shown that podocyte-specific activation of NFAT in transgenic mice causes rapid proteinuria. Transgenic mice with the podocyte-specific, doxycyclin (Dox)-inducible expression of constitutively active NFAT (NFATc1nuc) were fed Dox chow, and urine albumin levels were monitored. Mice were sacrificed at different time points for histological studies of the kidney, including H&E, TEM analysis of the podocyte foot process (FP) structure and WT1 labeling to determine podocyte numbers. …

Is It Time To Consider The “Burnout Syndrome” A Distinct Illness?, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

The “burnout syndrome” has been defined as a combination of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment caused by chronic occupational stress. Although there has been increasing medical interest in burnout over the last decades, it is argued in this paper that the syndrome cannot be elevated to the status of diagnostic category, based on (1) an analysis of the genesis of the burnout construct, (2) a review of the latest literature on burnout-depression overlap, (3) a questioning of the three-dimensional structure of the burnout syndrome, and (4) a critical examination of the notion that burnout is singularized by its …

A Tale Of Two Nucleases: Using Talens To Edit The Genome Of C. Elegans, Clare Bartlett, Kriszten Kocmond, Erin Root

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Genetic engineering is an emerging technology that offers the potential to prevent, treat, or cure genetic diseases. The technology can permanently alter the genome, providing an alternative therapy to drugs and surgery. Specifically, gene therapy is a promising treatment option for many incurable genetic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and muscular cell dystrophy. Our project gives rise to a better understanding of TALENs and its uses in the genetic engineering field. TALENs, transcription activator-like effector nucleases, are a genetic engineering technology that can be used for targeted gene modification. They are engineered proteins that can bind to specific sequences of …

2015 June 8 - Graduate Council Minutes, College Of Graduate And Continuing Studies, East Tennessee State University

Graduate Council Agendas and Minutes

No abstract provided.

Designing With Bamboo: Frames And Connections In Underdeveloped Areas, Andrew Spencer, Bryson Kam

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

Designing With Bamboo: Frames and Connections in Underdeveloped Areas focused on the construction and testing of specific components of a proposed structure utilizing bamboo. This structure, proposed by the Ecological Building Network, would primarily be used in Haiti and other developing countries that are prone to seismic activity. The components of this structure will consist of concrete masonry units, bamboo frames, and rebar for the connection. This project focuses specifically on the bamboo frame and it's connection to the concrete masonry wall. Tests were performed on isolated unit specimens to gain a sense of the behavior of this mechanism. Information …

Structural And Dynamic Features Of F-Recruitment Site Driven Substrate Phosphorylation By Erk2, Andrea Piserchio, Venkatesh Ramakrishan, Hsin Wang, Tamer S. Kaoud, Boris Arshava, Kaushik Dutta, Kevin N. Dalby, Ranajeet Ghose

Publications and Research

The F-recruitment site (FRS) of active ERK2 binds F-site (Phe-x-Phe-Pro) sequences found downstream of the Ser/Thr phospho-acceptor on cellular substrates. Here we apply NMR methods to analyze the interaction between active ERK2 (ppERK2), and a 13-residue F-site-bearing peptide substrate derived from its cellular target, the transcription factor Elk-1. Our results provide detailed insight into previously elusive structural and dynamic features of FRS/F-site interactions and FRS-driven substrate phosphorylation. We show that substrate F-site engagement significantly quenches slow dynamics involving the ppERK2 activation-loop and the FRS. We also demonstrate that the F-site phenylalanines make critical contacts with ppERK2, in contrast to the …

Measuring Pedagogical Content Knowledge Using Multiple Points Of Data, Ann D. Morrison, Kathleen Carroll Luttenegger

The Qualitative Report

Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is the intersection of a teacher’s knowledge of content, pedagogy, and of the context of the learning situation, including her students. Many different methods have been used by researchers to study PCK. We propose that PCK cannot be measured through one approach. Rather, it is more accurately measured by triangulating data gathered through observation of instructional events, teacher interviews, and assessments of content knowledge. This is illustrated through a case study of Maria, a paraeducator leading small group reading intervention lessons in a kindergarten classroom over a period of 10 weeks.

Nitric Oxide Releases Cl− From Acidic Organelles In Retinal Amacrine Cells, Vijai Krishnan, Evanna Gleason

Faculty Publications

© 2015 Krishnan and Gleason Determining the factors regulating cytosolic Cl− in neurons is fundamental to our understanding of the function of GABA- and glycinergic synapses. This is because the Cl− distribution across the postsynaptic plasma membrane determines the sign and strength of postsynaptic voltage responses. We have previously demonstrated that nitric oxide (NO) releases Cl− into the cytosol from an internal compartment in both retinal amacrine cells and hippocampal neurons. Furthermore, we have shown that the increase in cytosolic Cl− is dependent upon a decrease in cytosolic pH. Here, our goals were to confirm the compartmental nature of the …

Anatomical Variation Of The Porcine Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve, Marc Christensen, Dr. Jonathan Wisco

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Selective reinnervation of the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle (PCA), accomplished by anastomosis of a transected recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) with the phrenic nerve, is the best treatment for vocal cord paralysis and RLN compromise. However, anatomical variation of the RLN in human patients contributes to the likelihood of post-operative complications such as laryngeal synkinesis. The purpose of this study, Anatomical Variation of the Porcine Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve, is to establish a clear and detailed understanding of RLN branching patterns in pigs, the animal model most similar to humans in regards to laryngeal anatomy, to determine nerve branches that are best …

Marketing In Ethnically Diverse Markets, Candice B. Ward-Ferris

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

As illustrated by the 2010 U.S. Census data, the demographics of the United States have changed. If companies concentrate their marketing solely on the majority demographic, they could lose an opportunity to capitalize on the spending power of other non-majority consumers or create brand identification with other cultural or ethnic groups. As companies appeal to various demographics, they also have an obligation to avoid harm and produce a benefit – what William David Ross refers to as one’s prima facie duty (Ross, 2002). Appealing to various co-cultures or ethnic groups has been a focus for both advertisers and researchers for …

Cpsf30 At The Interface Of Alternative Polyadenylation And Cellular Signaling In Plants, Manohar Chakrabarti, Arthur G. Hunt

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Post-transcriptional processing, involving cleavage of precursor messenger RNA (pre mRNA), and further incorporation of poly(A) tail to the 3' end is a key step in the expression of genetic information. Alternative polyadenylation (APA) serves as an important check point for the regulation of gene expression. Recent studies have shown widespread prevalence of APA in diverse systems. A considerable amount of research has been done in characterizing different subunits of so-called Cleavage and Polyadenylation Specificity Factor (CPSF). In plants, CPSF30, an ortholog of the 30 kD subunit of mammalian CPSF is a key polyadenylation factor. CPSF30 in the model plant Arabidopsis …

Calcium Channel Blockers, Progression To Dementia, And Effects On Amyloid Beta Peptide Production, Mark A. Lovell, Erin Abner, Richard Kryscio, Liou Xu, Shuling X. Fister, Bert C. Lynn

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Previous epidemiologic studies suggest that antihypertensive drugs may be protective against cognitive decline. To determine if subjects enrolled in the University of Kentucky longitudinal aging study who used antihypertensive drugs showed diminished progression to dementia, we used a 3-parameter logistic regression model to compare the rate of progression to dementia for subjects who used any of the five common categories of antihypertensive drugs to those with similar demographic characteristics but who did not use antihypertensives. Regression modeling showed that subjects who used calcium channel blockers (CCBs) but not the other classes of antihypertensives showed a significant decrease in the rate …

Contrasting Environmental Drivers Of Adult And Juvenile Growth In A Marine Fish: Implications For The Effects Of Climate Change, Joyce Jia Lin Ong, Adam Nicholas Rountrey, Jessica Jane Meeuwig, Stephen J. Newman, Jens Zinke, Mark Gregory Meekan

Fisheries Research Articles

Many marine fishes have life history strategies that involve ontogenetic changes in the use of coastal habitats. Such ontogenetic shifts may place these species at particular risk from climate change, because the successive environments they inhabit can differ in the type, frequency and severity of changes related to global warming. We used a dendrochronology approach to examine the physical and biological drivers of growth of adult and juvenile mangrove jack (Lutjanus argentimaculatus) from tropical north-western Australia. Juveniles of this species inhabit estuarine environments and adults reside on coastal reefs. The Niño-4 index, a measure of the status of …

Concomitant Retrograde Coronary Venous Infusion Of Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor Enhances Engraftment And Differentiation Of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells For Cardiac Repair After Myocardial Infarction., Xiao Wang, Lei Zhen, Huangtai Miao, Qiwei Sun, Ya Yang, Bin Que, Edmundo Patricio Lopes Lao, Xingxin Wu, Hongmei Ren, Shutian Shi, Wayne Bond Lau, Xin-Liang Ma, Changsheng Ma, Shaoping Nie

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

AIM: Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) increases the migration and viability of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in vitro. Retrograde coronary venous infusion can provide both increased regional bFGF concentrations and homogeneous cell dissemination. We determined whether retrograde delivery of bFGF enhances the potency of transplanted MSCs for cardiac repair in a canine infarct model.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Under hypoxic conditions, cellular migration was significantly increased in MSCs co-cultured with bFGF compared to vascular endothelial growth factor or insulin-like growth factor, and bFGF promoted MSCs differentiation into a cardiomyocyte phenotype. A canine infarct model was employed by coronary ligation. …

Spectroscopic Characterization Of A Radio-Frequency Argon Plasma Jet Discharge In Ambient Air, Patrick J. Cullen, Vladimir Milosavljevic

Articles

This study includes a detailed experimental investigation of the spatial and temporal spectroscopic emission of an argon plasma jet discharge. The study is carried out in ambient air and quenching by inflowing air species is considered. The optical emission spectroscopy of neutral atomic spectral lines and molecular bands, over a range of plasma process parameters, is investigated. Wavelength-resolved argon optical emission profiles are used to monitor the electron energy distribution function and the density of argon metastable atoms. The experimental data indicates that the argon flow rate, in a confined open-air plasma discharge, limits the impact of molecular oxygen in …

New Directions For Improving Crop Resistance To Insects By Breeding For Egg Induced Defence, Amanuel Tamiru, Zeyaur R. Khan, Toby J.A. Bruce

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Plant defence responses to insect oviposition, including tritrophic interactions with natural enemies of herbivores, have rarely been targeted in crop breeding programmes. Emission of herbivore induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) that attract natural enemies early on at the egg-laying stage of herbivore attack could provide timely biological control of pests and deter subsequent oviposition. This is needed in an agroecological context where the third trophic level often does not keep pace with the growth rate of pests. Our very recent data, using maize as an example, show that herbivore egg induced volatile emission is very rare in commercial hybrids but common …

Investigations Of Larval Pacific Lamprey Entosphenus Tridentatus Osmotic Stress Tolerance And Occurrence In A Tidally-Influenced Estuarine Stream, Gregory Shell Silver

Dissertations and Theses

Pacific lamprey is a culturally valuable species to indigenous people, and has significant ecological importance in freshwater and marine ecosystems. Over the past several decades, constrictions in range and reductions in Pacific lamprey abundance have been observed in Western North America, and may be indicators of range-wide declines. In the face of declining populations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has partnered with tribal, state, federal, and local entities to implement a regional Pacific lamprey conservation agreement aimed at reducing threats to Pacific lamprey and improving their habitats and population status. Research needs identified in the conservation agreement include assessing …

Towards A Post-Anthropocene Perspective On The Welfare City: Public Landscapes As Green Heritage, Ellen Braae, Signe Sophie Bøggild

Nordes Conference Series

The welfare city with its humanistic, anthropocentric and progressive design ideals of the good life and egalitarianism usually signifies the post-war welfare state’s tabula rasa suburbs with evergreen public landscapes as common ground for public happiness. Inspired by the recent discourse of the anthropocene, we examine the welfare city’s materialisation in a wider perspective, as a relational assemblage of culturally significant landscapes, organised and administered by various institutions, legislations and vocabularies, to structure and stage a national vision of the good life. We coin this as ‘the green heritage’; an umbrella term bridging the gap between perspectives of the anthropocentric, …

Cognitive Redirective Mapping: Designing Futures That Challenge Anthropocentrism, Esbentristan Schultz, Bec Barnett

Nordes Conference Series

Humanity is facing, at both global and local levels, unprecedented challenges as the future, a byproduct of modernity, hurtles towards us. These future challenges are complex and world changing and include, but are not limited to, climate change, population growth, increasing poverty, the continuation of colonialism, war and the effects of technology. As designers we need to make use of the power that design holds not just to recognise, consider and design for these futures that we are facing but equally, to design for the ontological redirection of destructive future scenarios. To address these destructive futures and harness the transformative …

The Performance Of Nonhuman Behaviour, Claudia Dutson, Delfina Fantinivan Ditmar, Dan Lockton

Nordes Conference Series

This workshop is situated at the convergence of technology, behaviour and people’s understanding of the nonhuman entities with which they interact, questioning the ideas of ‘intelligence’ and ‘smartness’. As the Internet of Things, ‘smart cities’, Quantified Self, and similar concepts intersect with design for behaviour change and sustainable behaviour, becoming pressing research themes across product, service, interaction and architectural design, we ask how the relationships between humans and nonhumans are characterised and articulated.

De-Computation: Programming The World Through Design, Kevin Walker, John Fass

Nordes Conference Series

We describe a developing methodology called ‘de- computation’ which combines design making and computational thinking in a two-way exchange aimed at understanding and reacting against increasing computational control of humans’ natural, artificial and social systems, by using the tools and methods of computation in the design process. The steps of de-computation are detailed, its relation to similar approaches is explained, examples are given, and we explain its relevance for design research, theory construction and practical design work.

Environmental Aesthetics: Notes For Design Ecology, Connie Svabo, Kathrine Ekelund

Nordes Conference Series

The philosophical subfield environmental aesthetics can contribute to the design of sustainable futures. Environmental aesthetics provides a conceptual framework for understanding the relationship between nature and culture. Current positions in environmental aesthetics are lined out and used as backdrop for contributing an ecological approach to design. Three green aesthetic design strategies are sketched: Coated Green, Green Core and Green Stream.

Remix Utopia: Eleven Propositions On Design And Social Fantasy, Michael Haldrup, Hobye Mads, Kristin Samson, Nicolas Padfield

Nordes Conference Series

“Dystopian fiction’s popularity is a warning sign for the future” worries renowned author and cultural critic Naomi Klein (2014a). For Klein, human made climate change does not call for adaptation or mitigation; it is a civilizational wake-up call. Confronting the apocalypse is not about “changing light bulbs” - it is about change, about transforming the “social system” causing human extinction, about revolting against capitalism (2014b). Dystopian scenarios do not leave much scope for this. In the face of climatic catastrophe, sci-fi authors tend to affirm the inevitable, leaving room only for either apathy or individualist survivalism, stockpiling food and fuel. …

How Much For A Tree? How Planning Goes Wild And The Values Of Trees., Gunilla Bandolin, Monika Gora

Nordes Conference Series

This exhibition item contains a book, “How much for a tree” and a 4 channel video installation. The book investigates a planning process in Malmö, that turns out as a disaster. A hundred year old park is destroyed. The investigation of the process is done in the form of a drama, where all the people involved get to tell their version. The question that is posed is: What are the values that are destroyed by this planning disaster? The video installation tries to give an answer to the question from the authors’ point of view. What are the values of …

The Andro-Chair: Designing The Unthinkable-Men’S Right To Women’S Experiences In Gynaecology, Cristine Sundbom, Karin Ehrnberger, Anne-Christine Herz, Emma Börjesson

Nordes Conference Series

In this paper we explore how design may be used as a critical and creative tool to discuss how design is gendered in the contemporary gynaecology examination in Sweden. The aim of our paper is to uncover the veiled gender norms in this problem area and discuss the consequences for women. Our methods include a Gender Swapping Approach, centred around the chair currently used in most female gynaecological examinations. We used the results of our conducted interviews together with related previous research, which reveals that a majority of women have negative and sometimes even traumatic experiences of the gynaecology chair. …

Engaged Sustainable Design: Creating Moral Agency, Louise St. Pierre

Nordes Conference Series

This paper integrates my journeys into the wilderness of northern British Columbia and the Alberta Prairies with my reflections on the relationship of sustainable design theories with an ethical practice of sustainable design. Drawing on deep ecology, Buddhism, and animism, I contend that the drive within research to connect natural systems theories to design practice is inherently instrumental and eludes the truths of the natural world. Within the domain of sustainable design, this instrumentalism reinforces an anthropocentric worldview that, as humans, we are separate from and more important than the unboundaried ecology of animals, plants, minerals and elementals (earth, water, …

Inorganisms: An Emergent Approach To Sustainability, David Kadish, Aleksandra Dulic

Nordes Conference Series

Inorganisms is a workshop that engages participants in a process of creation through reflective practice as a way of building and understanding complexity. It models a design process aimed at addressing large-scale global issues that asks designers to create solutions on a local scale, while forming interconnections to neighbouring places and designers. The workshop takes a pragmatic approach to learning through design and experience in order to come to a better understanding of complex, emergent systems. Participants are asked to design and create an inorganic organism from provided building blocks. Each inorganism communicates with other inorganisms, ultimately creating an emergent …