18th Denman Undergraduate Research Forum (2013)

Permanent URI for this collection

https://kb.osu.edu/handle/1811/54652

Instructions for students

Browse

Now showing 1 - 18 of 18

Evaluation of Off-Flavor Development in Alpine Cheese Using Selected Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS)
(2013-03-28) Berusch, Elana; Taylor, Kaitlyn; Harper, William James; Harper, William James
A manufacturer of Alpine cheese has found that within three weeks of removing their product from vacuum packaging, off-flavors start to develop in the cheese. It was speculated that the development of these off-flavors was caused by lipid oxidation. The objective of this study was twofold: determine if the flavor change is, in fact, caused by lipid oxidation, and if it is not, find the agent causing the flavor profile to change. Both goals were met by using selected ion flow tube-mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) to evaluate two different lots of Alpine cheese, #153 and #160. SIFT-MS is a direct mass spectrometric technique used to quantify volatile compounds in the headspace of a sample in real time. To prepare the samples, both cheeses were divided in half and grated – one part vacuum sealed and the other part exposed to oxygen. Over the course of 56 days, both the samples exposed to oxygen and the vacuum-packed samples were examined for development of off-flavors using SIFT-MS for cheeses #153 and #160. Concentrations of thirty-two compounds in the cheeses, including alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, sulfur compounds, and pyrazines, were analyzed. The results showed that eight compounds, which changed in concentration over the testing period in samples exposed to oxygen, were derived from degradation of amino acids and lipids. This suggests that the off-flavors produced in the Alpine cheeses are due to amino acid degradation as well as lipid oxidation. The compounds that underwent significant concentration changes, however, varied between cheese #153 and #160. In addition, the impact of time and oxygen on cheese #160 appears to be far greater than that on cheese #153. Further studies will be done to narrow down the causes of the changes in the Alpine cheese flavor profile and to determine ways to prevent the development of these off-flavors.
An Investigation into the Link Between Heart Rate Variability and Intrusive Thoughts: Implications for Cancer Survivors
(2013-03-28) Hussain, Mariam A.; Kiecolt-Glaser, Janice K.; Jaremka, Lisa M.; Fagundes, Christopher P.; Kiecolt-Glaser, Janice K.
Cancer survivors often suffer from long-term health problems like cardiac dysfunction, chronic stress, fatigue, and depression. One common underlying factor for these problems is low heart-rate variability (HRV), exhibiting less variation in the time interval between heartbeats, which is also linked to all-cause mortality. Research has found that stress in the form of persistent, negative thoughts is also linked to poor health and thought to have a direct, harmful impact on somatic disease; however, only a handful of studies investigating this theory have been conducted in cancer populations. Our study examined the relationship between HRV and intrusive thoughts among cancer survivors. We hypothesized that female breast cancer survivors who experience higher levels of intrusive thoughts will exhibit lower HRV than those who experience lower levels of intrusive thoughts. Stage 0-IIIA breast cancer survivors (N = 200) were recruited for a larger study exploring the effects of yoga on survivors’ stress, fatigue, and inflammation. Subject’s baseline intrusive thoughts using the Impact of Events Scale (IES) were compared to their baseline HRV levels. Analyses revealed that cancer survivors with higher IES scores (intrusive thoughts) have lower HRV than those with lower IES scores (r=-0.169, p=0.031). Effects remained significant when controlling for age, cancer stage, time of treatment to baseline visit, and body mass index. These results confirm our hypothesis, indicating that women more distressed about their cancer diagnosis exhibited lower HRV than those who were less distressed; establishing an important, novel link between survivors’ vulnerability to certain health problems and the impact that mental, emotional cancer-related distress has on somatic health. Early identification of those experiencing traumatic cancer-related distress upon diagnosis, as indexed by intrusive thoughts, will be important in helping to prolong the long-term health of cancer survivors.
Benchmarking Polarizable Continuum Models For Macromolecular Analysis
(2013-03-28) Albrecht, Benjamin; Herbert, John
In quantum chemistry, molecular characteristics, such as energy, vibrational frequency, and geometry, are predicted and modeled using computational chemistry software. In computing these characteristics, calculations can become cumbersome for increasing orders of accuracy or system size. Thus affordability of calculation times has become the largest constraint in quantum chemistry. With no all-encompassing optimal computational method for calculating molecular characteristics, methods have to be chosen depending on the molecular property of interest, the environment of the species, and the desired accuracy of the result. Here, the ability of various state of the art implicit solvent models, known as polarizable continuum models (PCMs), are benchmarked in their ability to accurately and efficiently compute solvation energies. With the collected benchmark data, it can be determined what empirical or physically motivated corrections can be implemented to effectively reduce solvation energy errors in PCMs, potentially expanding the accuracy and timescale efficiency in computing solvation energies in macromolecular systems.
Design of a Solar Thermoelectric Generator (STEG)
(2013-03-28) Watzman, Sarah; Heremans, Joseph
In a world where fossil fuels dominate as energy sources, the need for an economically and commercially viable renewable energy source is dire. The processes through which fossil fuels are formed do not occur fast enough to replenish their sources to meet society's demands, and combustion of fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas linked to global warming. Solar energy has proven itself to be a promising alternative, with the field dominated by photovoltaics on the consumer-scale and solar thermal power on the plant-scale. Yet solar thermal systems have an innate advantage in their use of all wavelengths of incident radiation as opposed to just light. In this research, thermoelectrics are being explored as a viable option for small-scale solar thermal applications. Thermoelectrics are based on the Seebeck effect, stating that a voltage is induced when a temperature gradient is applied to the junctions of two differing materials; in the case of a solar thermoelectric generator (STEG), the hot side is the solar absorber and the cold side is the heat sink. This research proposes to design, build, and test a prototype STEG to contribute to the further development of STEGs as reasonable solar thermal energy sources for the consumer market. The design process involved calculating and optimizing the energy balance across the absorber, minimizing heat losses, analyzing heat transfer through the thermoelectric elements, and analyzing the electrical power system. The testing process involved assembling the system, measuring the balance of heat and heat losses, and measuring the electrical power generated by the thermoelectric module connected to varying resistive loads in order to ultimately measure the STEG's efficiency. Literature suggests that STEGs can reach 5.2% efficiency when operating in a vacuum without optical concentration, although this STEG only reached a peak efficiency of approximately 0.03% since an evacuated environment was not used.
Study on the Eccentricity Distribution of the Initial Condition for Uranium-Uranium Collisions
(2013-03-28) Goldschmidt, Andy; Heinz, Ulrich; Qiu, Zhi
A few microseconds after the Big Bang that created our universe, all matter existed in a flowing fireball known as the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). During the last decade, physicists figured out how to create QGP in the laboratory. The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Lab accelerates large atomic nuclei to near light-speed before colliding them with each other. The results are little fireballs that subsequently explode like miniature versions of the Big Bang. We call these Little Bangs. My research aims at a better understanding of the quantum fluctuations in the initial state of the Little Bang and their influences on its later evolution. The typical collision pairs at RHIC have been restricted to geometrically spherical gold or copper nuclei. However, in April of 2012, RHIC physicists began shooting uranium-238 nuclei at each other inside the collider. In my work, I focused on the new range of collision types available because of the football-like geometry of uranium. In central uranium events, where the colliding nuclei fully overlap with each other, collision orientations can range between two extremes. In side-side events, the major axes of the elliptic uranium nuclei point perpendicular to the collision line, while in tip-tip events the major axes are parallel to the beam direction. These orientations affect both the overlap area and the number of collisions between nucleon pairs. Even for completely central collisions, these orientation effects result in a significant variation in initial conditions which among spherical nuclei can only be achieved by varying collision centrality. Moreover, the number of produced secondary hadrons varies in a way that preferentially selects certain orientations at low or high multiplicity in the observed final states. This changes the dependence of the initial fireball eccentricity and nuclear overlap area on the total observed multiplicity from what was observed in gold-gold or copper-copper collisions, where orientation played no role. This specific discrepancy was the subject of my study.
Intra-Communal Violence in Southwest Russia and the Government's Reaction to Extremism
(2013-03-28) Marzalik, Peter; Mughan, Anthony; Lewis, Jeffrey
On July 19, 2012, head mufti Ildus Faizov was nearly assassinated and his deputy Valiulla Yakupov was murdered by a radical Islamic sect in the city of Kazan in Tatarstan, Russia. This unprecedented terrorist attack was motivated by the extremists’ outrage for their leaders’ moderate prescriptions on Islamic fundamentalism. Such deadly intra-communal violence triggered a strong military response from the Russian government. In line with Putin-era security policies, the Federal Security Service (FSB) continues to actively pursue extremists in the conflicts of the North Caucasus. However, initial inquiries suggest the dissatisfaction of ethnic minorities with federal mandates extends beyond this war-torn area. Through news source analysis, this study examines the growing trend of nationalist fervor and Islamic radicalization in the republics of Tatarstan and neighboring Bashkortostan. The field research is currently on going, and conclusions will be presented in preliminary form. The results of this project will provide important knowledge pertaining to political violence in a region not heavily studied in current academic circles.
Development of Surgical Navigation Device for Arthroscopic Cartilage Repair
(2013-03-28) Vignos, Michael; Siston, Robert
Damage to articular cartilage, in the form of a cartilage defect, is very painful and is a precursor for osteoarthritis. Due its avascular nature, this tissue is unable to repair itself causing surgery to be the main option for treatment. Current surgical algorithms use defect area as the primary attribute to determine which procedure to use for each patient. Unfortunately, current techniques of calculating defect area are very poor, with errors ranging from -78.81% to 236.61% for surgeon area estimation, the current gold standard. Brockmeier (2009) previously developed a cartilage navigation system to improve surgeon accuracy in calculating defect area. However, when this system was used in cadaver knees it failed due to slipping of the surgical probe leading a larger area calculation and tracing of the defect multiple times leading to a cumulative area calculation. The first objective of this project is to improve this current system. This will be done by modifying the system’s MATLAB code to prevent the previously encountered errors and to create new features for the device. The second objective is to validate the system’s ability to calculate defect area using shapes cut into plastic and cut into Sawbones knees. For this validation two tests will be performed, one in which subjects use the system as ideally intended and one in which subjects are free to make errors in tracing. This second approach will simulate a more realistic use of the device during surgery. For both techniques a maximum of 5% error will be used as the threshold for success. By developing this system it will provide surgeons with the ability to quickly and accurately calculate the area of a cartilage defect. This will help them choose the proper procedure for each defect leading to better surgical outcomes for patients.
Cognitive Vulnerability and International Student Stress: A Test of the Diathesis-Stress Model of Depression in International Students in Spain
(2013-03-28) Kretz, Shelby; Strunk, Daniel
International students face unique life stressors that put them at an increased risk for exhibiting depressive symptoms while they are in college. Due to a changing economy, Spain has seen a large recent increase in international students. Along with stress, cognitive style (i.e., the way a person thinks about the world) has been established as a risk factor for the development of depressive symptoms. In line with diathesis stress models of depression, the purpose of this study was to examine international student stress, cognitive style, and the interaction of these risk factors as predictors of depressive symptoms in international students in Spain. Four brief questionnaires were administered to 163 international students in Spain. Both cognitive style and stress were significant predictors of concurrent depressive symptoms, but the interaction of these predictors was not statistically significant. Directions for future research identifying risks for depressive symptoms in the growing population of international students in Spain are discussed.
Paleolithic Diet is Associated With Unfavorable Changes to Blood Lipids in Healthy Subjects
(2013-03-28) Trexler, Eric; Devor, Steven
Background: The Paleolithic (Paleo) diet is one modeled after the perceived food consumption of early human ancestors of the Paleolithic Era, consisting of mainly meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, eggs, and nuts. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a Paleo diet on blood lipids, including high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), non-HDL cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and the ratio between TC and HDL (TC/HDL) in a healthy population. Methods: Subjects of both genders (23 males, 20 females) with no history of diabetes, heart disease, dyslipidemia, or other metabolic disease were asked to eat an ad libitum Paleo diet for 10 weeks. Throughout the intervention, subjects participated in a CrossFit-based, high-intensity circuit training exercise program. Prior to the intervention, body weight, body fat percentage (BF%), maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), TC, TG, HDL, and LDL were measured. These measurements were repeated following 10 weeks of a Paleo diet. Results: As a whole, there was a significant increase in non-HDL (107.1 ± 6.0 mg/dL to 120.2 ± 6.5 mg/dL; P < 0.01), LDL (93.1 ± 5.4 mg/dL to 105.6 ± 6.1 mg/dL; P < 0.01), TC/HDL (3.0 ± 0.2 to 3.3 ± 0.2; P < 0.05), and TC (168.8 ± 5.4 mg/dL to 178.9 ± 6.6 mg/dL; P < 0.05) in healthy subjects following a Paleo diet. When stratified into groups based on initial blood lipid levels, deleterious changes were found in those with optimal HDL (82.1 ± 3.2 mg/dL to 68.6 ± 4.8 mg/dL; P < 0.05), non-HDL (86.6 ± 3.9 mg/dL to 101.4 ± 4.8 mg/dL; P < 0.01), TC (157.2 ± 0.7 to 168.2 ± 0.9 mg/dL; P < 0.05), TC/HDL (2.5 ± 0.1 to 2.7 ± 0.1; P < 0.05), and LDL (69.1 ± 3.1 mg/dL to 83.5 ± 4.1 mg/dL; P < 0.01), whereas those within sub-optimal stratifications showed no significant changes. Subjects also decreased body weight (177.6 ± 5.8 lbs to 170.6 ± 5.3 lbs; P < 0.001) and BF% (24.3 ± 1.2% to 20.7 ± 1.2%; P < 0.05), while increasing VO2max (3.18 ± 0.14 L/min to 3.46 ± 0.15 L/min; P < 0.001). Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that an ad libitum Paleo diet intervention is associated with deleterious changes to blood lipids in healthy subjects, despite concurrent improvements in body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness. Future research should focus on determining recommendations that embrace the positive aspects of the Paleo diet, while minimizing any deleterious impact on blood lipids in a healthy population.
Patient Handoffs: Study of Residents, Nurse Practitioners, and Registered Nurses
(2013-03-28) Butz, Alexandra; Patterson, Emily
 Communication breakdowns during resident physician sign-outs in hospitals are a known contributor to patient harm. In one survey study, 59% of resident physicians reported harm to at least one of their patients due to a problematic patient handoff during their last rotation. In response to these issues, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) instituted Common Program Requirements to ensure that resident physicians are competent in communicating during handoffs, defined as the process of transferring primary authority and responsibility for providing clinical care to a patient from one departing provider to one oncoming provider. To date, there is no known research comparing how resident physicians conduct handoffs as compared to other care providers. Therefore, an observational study was conducted of patient handoffs by resident physicians, nurse practitioners, and registered nurses in two medical intensive care units of one large academic teaching hospital. It was hypothesized that resident physician handoffs would be shorter, more variable, and employ more error detection strategies than registered nurses, but that there would be no differences with nurse practitioners, which have comparable responsibilities as resident physicians. Primary data were transcriptions from digital audio-tapes and handwritten codes collected during real-time observations in digital notebooks. Three observers conducted 23 nurse practitioner patient handoffs, 23 nurse patient handoffs, and 52 resident patient handoffs over an eight month period. Primary measures were the duration of the verbal handoff, information category codes, and error detection strategy codes. The codes were developed from a priori codes from previous research in the field and adapted to our setting and measured based on conversation segment which was segmented by when the topic, the error detection strategy, or the speaker changed.The findings revealed that the hypotheses were supported regarding the comparison between resident physicians and registered nurses. Additional unexpected findings were that resident physicians differed from nurse practitioner handoffs in that they were shorter, more variable, and used more error detection strategies. Therefore, the nurse practitioners occupied a middle position on all of the measures between resident physicians and nurses, likely due to differences in the patient load, culture, procedures, and phone rather than in-person communications. These findings suggest that patient handoffs training could potentially improve efficiency, decrease variability, and increase the effectiveness of error detection by incorporating best practices from multiple disciplines.
Campaign Finance in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada
(2013-03-28) Shoub, Kelsey; Beck, Paul
To survive, parties and politicians need a variety of resources to carry out their various functions of administration, voter persuasion, and getting out the vote. A key resource is money. Due to its ability to be transformed into other resources and its growing importance, political finance—specifically campaign finance—has generated a spirited debate within and among democracies. The existent body of literature on campaign finance describes differences between systems, the influence money has on elections and/or governance, and its impact on corruption levels within countries. I propose to add to the existent body of literature on campaign finance by addressing a different question: how does a country’s political structure, both formal and informal, contribute to the formation of its campaign finance regime? This study will focus on campaign finance in a portion of the Anglo-Saxon sphere, specifically in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. All three democracies regulate campaign finance but have taken different approaches. I begin with a general comparison of the different campaign finance regimes of each country. Several possible explanations for the differences in the regimes are explored next, broadly divided into influences of the regulatory framework and influences of boundary setting. Influences of the regulatory framework include the type and number of offices being elected and the driving force behind a campaign. Influences of boundary setting are the length of the election season, the size of the electoral district, and the ratio of public and private funds being used. Finally, I examine the implications that these current regimes have on systemic corruption and changes in the democratic deficit within each of the countries. This project suggests that the campaign finance regime operating within a country is a function of the limits in place, primarily determined by that country’s political structure.
Developing Methodology to Prepare a Nanoparticle Coated Crystal for Infrared Analyses
(2013-03-28) Ayres, Craig; Noerpel, Matt; Lenhart, John
The widespread use of nanomaterials demonstrates a tremendous benefit to society; however, as nanomaterials are inevitably introduced to the environment, it is unknown how their compositions and coating agents alter in different settings and over a prolonged period of time. Coating agents are applied either during or post synthesis to prevent aggregation. Tracking changes to the molecules that coat the surface of nanomaterials is imperative to understanding the inherent risk when nanomaterials are released to the environment. The purpose of my research is to develop a method to prepare a nanoparticle coated crystal for infrared (IR) analyses in order to specifically identify changes to molecules that coat the surface. The two nanomaterials analyzed in this study were hematite and nanosilver. Citrate was the primary coating agent used on both materials. The particles were coated to IR crystals and the coating layers were evaluated under static and dynamic conditions. Variables included coating agent (water, citrate, phthalic acid) and pH. Previously collected data from batch adsorption experiments of citrate and phthalic acid on hematite were used to validate the static system method for hematite. The static experiments successfully detected the adsorption of citrate on the surface of both hematite and nanosilver. The largest issue involved resolving the spectra; specifically, removing the IR absorption of water. This presence of water proved to be an even greater obstacle in the flow-through cell; however, the most successful method involved subtracting water spectra from each component before resolving. No spectra were obtained from silver perhaps due to the silver not adhering to the flow-through cell surface. Significant progress has been made and once the influence of water is removed, these processes should have a vast potential for further research to determine specific changes to nanoparticle surfaces, particularly with the flow-through cell for greater control over variability.
A Preliminary Comparison of Subsistence Practices at Two Fort Ancient Villages
(2013-03-28) French, Melissa; Cook, Robert
A key issue in Anthropology is the interplay between the environment and culture as they affect human behavior. An effective way to judge the relative extent of these influences is to examine the subsistence strategies employed at two sites that are part of the same culture but which are located in different ecological zones. This project focuses on two Fort Ancient villages known as Taylor and Guard. The Fort Ancient Culture is a pre-Columbian (ca. A.D. 1000-1650) way of life that included established homes, developed agriculture, stored food, and intertribal trade with sites located throughout the Ohio Valley. These two villages are similar in many regards: they are both early Fort Ancient sites, they are similar in size and settlement layout, and they were both agricultural villages that focused on maize cultivation. However, the main difference between them is the environmental zones in which they are located. In this project, the faunal remains from these two sites were examined to determine if they were pursuing similar subsistence strategies when it comes to eating animals. First, the Number of Identified Specimens was calculated by sorting the bones into the major classes of animals and then counting the number of bones in each class. Then, each bone was identified to the specific element, genus and species in order to calculate the Minimum Number of Individuals present. The data from the two sites were then compared to see if they were eating similar amounts of the same kinds of animals. It was hypothesized that, because these sites are located in ecologically distinct zones, their subsistence strategies were accordingly distinct. However, the data shows that their diets were very similar. Possible explanations for these results will be offered, including environmental constraints and cultural influences that could have led each site to pursue their strategy.
Real-Time Hardware Implementation of Telephone Speech Enhancement Algorithm
(2013-03-28) Forrest, Obnamia; Krishnamurthy, Ashok
Hearing impairment detrimentally affects communication over the telephone. Since phone lines reduce bandwidth and dynamic range, the poor quality speech signal can cause hard of hearing (HoH) listeners to experience extreme frustration and inefficient communication. One possible solution has been developed at the Ohio State University to help combat this problem. The Telephone Speech Enhancement Algorithm (TSEA) has been created to improve telephone signals so that speech is more intelligible for HoH listeners. Tests for TSEA have been run on human subjects and proven the algorithm effective. However, a hardware implementation of TSEA has yet to be designed. In this thesis, the BeagleBoard-xM development board is used to run TSEA. The software for TSEA is modified so that it can be implemented on the BeagleBoard-xM and tested in a real-time environment. This hardware model runs TSEA but introduces noise into the system due to its analog nature. The model accepts analog audio signals, processes them using TSEA, and outputs the processed signal for transmission. A device such as this has the potential to improve communication in scenarios such as telemedicine clinics where a failure to communicate properly with their HoH customers could have potentially devastating consequences. Ideally if a commercial model was developed, TSEA could be implemented everywhere to help improve communications for the HoH community. This project is the next step in making it a reality.
Energy and Feasibility Analysis of Gasoline Engine Start/Stop Technology
(2013-03-28) DeBruin, Luke; Canova, Marcello
The national mandate set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency to increase fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5% each year for all new model mid-size cars, medium-duty cars, and light-duty trucks is pushing automobile makers to convert their fleets to hybrid-electric and micro-hybrid vehicles. Implementing automated start/stop technology in a passenger vehicle is a cost effective way to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions without affecting consumer acceptance. In urban areas, where much of the vehicle driving time is spent idling at stop lights or in traffic, the engine can be shut down when the vehicle is stopped to save fuel. Then, the engine is quickly and quietly restarted as the driver demands torque for acceleration. This operating strategy is often utilized in full hybrid-electric vehicles that have powerful electric systems, but is becoming more popular in micro-hybrid vehicles that use traditional starter/battery configurations. It is challenging to maintain drivability and achieve efficient startups using a micro-hybrid configuration. This research investigates the feasibility of using a micro-hybrid configuration to achieve efficient start transients for start/stop technology. The energy consumption of the starter/battery is being analyzed by creating a model of the engine start/stop dynamics. The model is calibrated and validated through experimental testing on a vehicle that has been provided. The model is used to simulate start transients for different component packages. Preliminary simulation results suggest that traditional starter/battery combinations may be appropriate and a fuel savings of over 5% may be expected in regulatory urban driving cycles. The model and selected component package will be used for development and control of a start/stop system in a test vehicle.
Complex Behavior from a Simple Rule: Demonstration with Lego Mindstorms NXT Kit
(2013-03-28) Yang, Ruochen; Smith, Graeme; Baker, Christopher
The project covers the successful implementation of two robots, built using Lego Mindstorms, that demonstrate how complex animal behaviors can be replicated using a simple algorithm to replicate a two neuron nervous system. The process of cognition and decision making inside the mammalian brain occurs subtly but near instantaneously and in a way that makes it hard to replicate synthetically. However, the understanding of its behavior is valuable in multiple disciplines and it may be applied to future technologies. In order to explore some behavior that relates to sensing and cognition, the Lego Mindstorms NXT robot kit has been used. It is a sophisticated kit that includes a programmable embedded computer, known as ‘the Brick’. This brick controls the mechanical system made up from a set of modular Lego sensors and motors as well as Lego parts. The base set of equipment and the customized add-ons provide an open-ended platform that makes it possible to test a number of complex theories. The main objective of the proposed project is to demonstrate how a complex behavior can be simulated just based on some simple rule that represents the operation of neurons. After investigating the capability and limitation of critical sensor used for the robot and the motor specifications, the female cricket’s behavior of locating her mate in dark with sound signals only, has been mechanically mimicked on Lego using two sound sensors and two motors. Subsequently the echo location process of a bat using echoic flow theory has been studied for collision avoidance. Preliminary results have had successful and constant performance showing the potential of using Echoic Flow for steering control on vehicles. This approach offers scientific researchers with an alternative to test and experiment their hypothesis before applying it to large scale or real-life test subjects, especially in cognitive sensing or intelligent control.
Words Interlacing Works: An Investigation of Collaborative Interdisciplinary Endeavors
(2013-03-28) Switlick, Rachel; Durham-Wall, Meghan; Cox, Carolyn
Over the course of my undergraduate experience at The Ohio State University, I have become increasingly interested in investigating the depth of human expression and relation found within art forms. My dual studies in English and Dance as well as my extracurricular activities have exposed me to many contrasting viewpoints and approaches to artistic endeavors. It is my belief that the wide range of ways we express ourselves in various cultures and disciplines are more interrelated than may be apparent at first glance. However, it has been my experience that often the segregating terminologies (i.e. professional jargon) that align with specific forms prevent open dialogue across disciplines. To deconstruct these language barriers, I spent a great deal time during my third year of undergraduate studies and summer travels to develop and refine a broad set of shared terminology applicable when looking at the integral compositional elements embedded in every art form. This involved researching literature on various artistic disciplines, conversing with artists, and logging personal artistic experiences here and abroad. This year, I brought together artists from various disciples to create a series of collaborative projects. My goal was to determine the practicality of my terminology in such settings. I discovered that my four overarching categories — Purpose, Method, Theme, and Structure — were well understood by all collaborators. That affirmation aside, I was astounded by the usefulness of the conversation that the introduction to the terminology made necessary. Through providing structure to the beginning discussions about the work we would make together, contributing artists were able to know their role, propose ideas, and ask questions without trepidation. I hope that my research into collaborative processes and supporting vocabulary will help to alleviate the strained miscommunication that can inhibit interdisciplinary artistic connection. This research will fuel my own future endeavors and hopefully help to establish a new approach to collaborative process.
Effect of Early Weight-Bearing Training on Blood-Spinal Cord Barrier Function in Mice
(2013-03-28) Black, Nicholas; Basso, D. Michele; Liu, Jun
Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in a breakdown of the blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) that permits a robust inflammatory response. Mechanisms responsible for inflammation promote further damage to the neural tissue. Neurotoxicity results from inflammatory cells moving into the spinal cord through the damaged and permeable blood vessels. Activities such as treadmill training attempt to utilize spinal plasticity to promote recovery, but recent animal studies have shown increased BSCB permeability with early swim training [1]. Exercise-regulated gelatinase matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is a regulator of vascular permeability utilized to degrade tight-junctions of the blood vessel wall, allowing extravasation into surrounding tissues. MMP-9 is a potent early regulator of pathology after SCI. Whether locomotor training stabilizes or exacerbates BSCB integrity is unknown.

Browse

Recent Submissions