scholarly journals Quantifying Planarian Behavior as an Introduction to Object Tracking and Signal Processing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole C. Stowell ◽  
Tapan Goel ◽  
Vir Shetty ◽  
Jocelyne Noveral ◽  
Eva-Maria S. Collins
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Animal Behavior ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Center Of Mass ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Biological Phenomena ◽  
Quantitative Image ◽  
Periodic Signals ◽  
Pilot Implementation

ABSTRACT Answers to mechanistic questions about biological phenomena require fluency in a variety of molecular biology techniques and physical concepts. Here, we present an interdisciplinary approach to introducing undergraduate students to an important problem in the areas of animal behavior and neuroscience—the neuronal control of animal behavior. In this lab module, students explore planarian behavior by quantitative image and data analysis with freely available software and low-cost resources. Planarians are ∼1–2-cm-long aquatic free-living flatworms famous for their regeneration abilities. They are inexpensive and easy to maintain, handle, and perturb, and their fairly large size allows for image acquisition with a webcam, which makes this lab module accessible and scalable. Our lab module integrates basic physical concepts such as center of mass, velocity and speed, periodic signals, and time series analysis in the context of a biological system. The module is designed to attract students with diverse disciplinary backgrounds. It challenges the students to form hypotheses about behavior and equips them with a basic but broadly applicable toolkit to achieve this quantitatively. We give a detailed description of the necessary resources and show how to implement the module. We also provide suggestions for advanced exercises and possible extensions. Finally, we provide student feedback from a pilot implementation.

scholarly journals Geospatial Analysis and Environmental Impact Assessment of a Holistic and Interdisciplinary Approach to the Biogas Sector

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (17) ◽  
pp. 5374
Author(s):  
Robert Bedoić ◽  
Goran Smoljanić ◽  
Tomislav Pukšec ◽  
Lidija Čuček ◽  
Davor Ljubas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biogas Production ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Maize Silage ◽  
Alternative Pathways ◽  
Agriculture Industry ◽  
Biogas Plants ◽  
The Impact

Crop-based biogas energy production, in combination with electricity generation under subsidy schemes, is no longer considered a favourable business model for biogas plants. Switching to low-cost or gate fee feedstocks and utilising biogas via alternative pathways could contribute to making existing plants fit for future operations and could open up new space for further expansion of the biogas sector. The aim of this study was to combine a holistic and interdisciplinary approach for both the biogas production side and the utilisation side to evaluate the impact of integrating the biogas sector with waste management systems and energy systems operating with a high share of renewable energy sources. The geospatial availability of residue materials from agriculture, industry and municipalities was assessed using QGIS software for the case of Northern Croatia with the goal of replacing maize silage in the operation of existing biogas plants. Furthermore, the analysis included positioning new biogas plants, which would produce renewable gas. The overall approach was evaluated through life cycle assessment using SimaPro software to quantify the environmental benefits and identify the bottlenecks of the implemented actions. The results showed that the given feedstocks could replace 212 GWh of biogas from maize silage in the relevant region and create an additional 191 GWh of biomethane in new plants. The LCA revealed that the proposed measures would contribute to the decarbonisation of natural gas by creating environmental benefits that are 36 times greater compared to a business-as-usual concept. The presented approach could be of interest to stakeholders in the biogas sector anywhere in the world to encourage further integration of biogas technologies into energy and environmental transitions.

scholarly journals Snowflake Selfies: A Low-Cost, High-Impact Approach toward Student Engagement in Scientific Research (with Their Smartphones)

2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (6) ◽  
pp. E917-E935
Author(s):  
Matthew R. Kumjian ◽  
Kevin A. Bowley ◽  
Paul M. Markowski ◽  
Kelly Lombardo ◽  
Zachary J. Lebo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
State University ◽  
Engaged Scholarship ◽  
Mesoscale Meteorology ◽  
Penn State ◽  
Atmospheric Thermodynamics ◽  
Term Paper ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Intensive Course

Abstract An engaged scholarship project called “Snowflake Selfies” was developed and implemented in an upper-level undergraduate course at The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). During the project, students conducted research on snow using low-cost, low-tech instrumentation that may be readily implemented broadly and scaled as needed, particularly at institutions with limited resources. During intensive observing periods (IOPs), students measured snowfall accumulations, snow-to-liquid ratios, and took microscopic photographs of snow using their smartphones. These observations were placed in meteorological context using radar observations and thermodynamic soundings, helping to reinforce concepts from atmospheric thermodynamics, cloud physics, radar, and mesoscale meteorology courses. Students also prepared a term paper and presentation using their datasets/photographs to hone communication skills. Examples from IOPs are presented. The Snowflake Selfies project was well received by undergraduate students as part of the writing-intensive course at Penn State. Responses to survey questions highlight the project’s effectiveness at engaging students and increasing their enthusiasm for the semester-long project. The natural link to social media broadened engagement to the community level. Given the successes at Penn State, we encourage Snowflake Selfies or similar projects to be adapted or implemented at other institutions.

Sensible use of observational clinical data

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Marc Overhage ◽  
Lauren M Overhage
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Medical Research ◽  
Observational Data ◽  
Clinical Data ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Health Care Operations

Observational data sets offer many potential advantages for medical research including their low cost, large size and generalisability. Because they are collected for clinical care and health care operations purposes, observational data sets have some limitations that must be considered in order to perform useful analyses. Sensible use of observational data sets can yield valuable insights, particularly when clinical trials are impractical.

Enhancing Student Understanding of Packet-Forwarding Theories and Concepts with Low-Cost Laboratory Activities

2011 ◽  
pp. 101-118
Author(s):  
Anthony P. Kadi
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Packet Forwarding ◽  
Critical Component ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Simple Task ◽  
Learning Framework ◽  
Clear Idea

Teaching packet-forwarding theories and concepts in a practical way to undergraduate students requires both a teaching and learning framework and a laboratory infrastructure. Creating a teaching and learning framework in which students can develop a deeper knowledge and understanding of abstract concepts is not a simple task. In addition to teaching materials, the teacher requires a clear idea about learning theories and issues: (1) what is learning; (2) what is knowledge; and (3) how do students go about learning. This chapter describes a low-cost laboratory infrastructure for teaching and learning packet-forwarding theories and concepts. The framework is learner-centred and is focused on learning experiences in both classroom and laboratory. The laboratory-based activities form a critical component of the overall framework.

Deer antlers: traditional Chinese medicine use and recent pharmaceuticals

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (10) ◽  
pp. 1233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunyi Li
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Functional Food ◽  
Clinical Use ◽  
Living Tissue ◽  
Medicine Use ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Biological Phenomena ◽  
Traditional Remedy ◽  
Dead Tissue

Deer velvet antlers (VA) have been used as a type of traditional Chinese medicine for over 2000 years, mainly for treating yang-deficiency syndromes. However, VA still largely remain a traditional remedy with scant science, although getting more attention as time goes. In recent years, our group has been trying to develop some efficacious drugs/functional food based on unique biological phenomena of VA, such as, for example, dead tissue (hard antler base) being attached to living tissue (pedicle) for over half a year without causing inflammation, a large-size wound (up to 10 cm in diameter) being left on top of a pedicle stump after previous antler casting healing within a week only with a negligible scar, and severely osteoporotic skeleton caused by intensive antler calcification fully reversing after the completion of antler calcification. Successful translation of these unique phenomena to clinical use would greatly benefit human health.

Strategic merge: a gain or a gamble – the case of Telco China

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Wing Sun Li
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Joint Venture ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Competitive Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Academic Level

Learning outcomes By reviewing the case study, readers are expected to understand the constraints of competitive strategies in a shifting environmental landscape; the difficulties of foreign companies to sustain in an emerging market with government interventions; the subtlety of joint venture (JV) formation by partners with very divergent background, priority and agenda; evaluation of behavioural orientations of partnership and JV operational arrangements as determinants of a successful JV strategy. Case overview/synopsis High-tech companies can enjoy super profits from their products when only a few competitors can compete with them technologically. However, these companies also nurture a high-cost operational culture that sets a constraint for their further growth when superiority of the technology can no longer be maintained. High-tech companies may reposition their businesses with a strategic shift from differentiation strategy to cost focus strategy. The attendant shift as well as synchronization problem in an organization may require a larger effort to revamp. This case describes a global telecom infrastructure company with successful business performance in China in her early establishment with a pre-emptive technological edge. Mitigation of technological superiority and the rise of local competitors have forced the Company to opt for a cooperative strategy with a local player in the establishment of a low-cost joint venture. Does the new joint venture facilitate the strategic shift or just create an illusion of cooperation? Complexity academic level Undergraduate students and post graduate students taking strategic management course. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.

A New Flexible Track Automatic Drilling System

2013 ◽  
Vol 433-435 ◽  
pp. 2178-2183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Bo Bi ◽  
Yi Hang Jiang ◽  
Yong Chao Li ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Mian Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Efficiency ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
System Structure ◽  
Aircraft Assembly ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Flexible Track ◽  
Transformation Algorithm ◽  
Drilling System ◽  
High Computational Efficiency

The Flexible track automatic drilling equipment is widely used in aircraft assembly because of the low cost, high efficiency and high quality of holes. This paper constructs a new flexible track drilling system for large-size aircraft assembly. The system structure is introduced, and the transformation algorithm between product/device coordinate system and axes position parameters is proposed. The experimental results show that the transformation algorithm has the merits of high computational efficiency and high stability, and can meet the requirement of precision drilling.

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