Constructing a method for assessing the effectiveness of using protective barriers near highways to decrease the level of air pollution

Highways are an intensive source of environmental pollution. Atmospheric air is exposed to the fastest anthropogenic influence. Therefore, a particularly important task is to minimize the level of air pollution near the highway. An effective method for solving this problem is the use of protective barriers of various shapes installed near highways. At the stage of designing these protective structures, an important task arises to assess their effectiveness. Estimation of the effectiveness of protective barriers by the method of the physical experiment takes considerable time to set up and conduct an experiment, as well as analyze the results of physical modeling. This method is not always convenient during design work. An alternative method is the method of mathematical modeling. For the designer, it is very important to have mathematical models that make it possible to quickly obtain a predictive result and take into consideration a set of important factors on which the effectiveness of the protective barrier depends. A method has been devised that makes it possible to assess the effectiveness of using protective barriers to reduce the level of air pollution near the highway. It was found that an increase in barrier height by 80 % leads to a 22 % decrease in the concentration of impurities behind the barrier. It was established that applying a barrier with a height of 1.5 m leads to a 26 % decrease in the concentration of impurities in buildings adjacent to the highway. A method has been devised to assess the effectiveness of using absorbent "TX Active" surfaces on the protective barrier located near the highway. This study's result revealed that the application of a barrier with one "TX Active" surface leads to a decrease in the concentration of NO behind the barrier by an average of 43 %. When using a barrier with two "TX Active" surfaces, a decrease in the NO concentration behind the barrier is 85 % on average

Nylon Oxygen Barrier Tubing Reduces Biofouling in Beer Draught Lines

Beer draught lines are frequently contaminated with biofilm-forming microorganisms, which forces retailers to spend considerable time and money cleaning and replacing lines. In light of this financial burden, draught tubing composition was examined for its role in the prevention of biofouling in beer lines. Three types of draught tubing - vinyl, polyethylene, and nylon barrier - were inoculated with a combination of biofilm-forming microorganisms (Hafnia paralvei, Raoultella planticola, Pediococcus damnosus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and used to simulate a bar environment for sixteen weeks. Following simulation, the degree of biofouling in each draught line was determined by spectrophotometry and microscopy. Absorption values and fluorescence images showed that nylon barrier tubing was superior to the other lines at resisting biofilm maturation.These results suggest that tubing composition plays a significant role in the prevention of biofilm formation in beer draught lines and supports the adoption of nylon barrier tubing as an effective strategy against biofouling in a variety of applications.

Collecting quantitative experimental data from a non-WEIRD population: challenges and practical recommendations from a field experiment in rural Sierra Leone

Objective Standardized pretest–posttest experimental designs with quantitative surveys are frequently applied to evaluate the effectiveness of health programs. However, this method is strongly informed by research on samples from Western, Educated, Industralized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) societies and may not produce meaningful results in a distinct cultural, educational and socioeconomic context. Results This paper reports several methodological challenges encountered along the research process of collecting quantitative survey data (i.e., during recruitment, obtaining informed consent, matching pretest–posttest data and data collection) for a mixed-methods field experiment on domestic handwashing in Sierra Leone. Ethical dilemmas of certain research practices are pointed out and potential solutions or alternatives are recommended for each challenge. Analysis of these challenges highlights the importance of reflecting on the aptness of research methodologies for non-WEIRD samples. While this is not to say that quantitative surveys are not suitable in a non-WEIRD context, their employment require considerable time for extensive pilot testing, involving local interviewers and participants in designing research projects and the modification of data collection strategies.

Design Authorship: an intrinsic driver of designer-entrepreneurs

This paper describes the entrepreneurial journey of product designers and the driver that makes them take an idea into the market. Following a Constructivist Grounded Theory approach, a multiple-phase data generation method explored the entrepreneurial journey of eleven designer-entrepreneurs (D-entrepreneurs). The paper describes the driver named design authorship (D-authorship) and why it is essential in the entrepreneurial journey of designers. The study identified two types of D-authorship: a) the inside-out, where D-entrepreneurs spent considerable time obtaining perfection in the product without any user feedback involved, and b) the outside-in, where D-entrepreneurs build their product as a result of a systematic user-centric approach.

Engaging Stakeholders in Extension Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is the deliberative, disciplined effort to produce decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does, and why. [State] Cooperative Extension invested considerable time and effort in conducting a statewide process to engage internal and external stakeholders and nonusers. The strategic planning steering committee balanced negotiations in defining the process, determining who should be involved, and how to develop goals. The semi-structured interviews with the steering committee members, generated three themes: effectiveness of the team enhanced results; context and process can inhibit stakeholder participation, the steering committee needs a commitment to diverse voices.

The power of peer networking for improving STEM faculty job applications: a successful pilot program

In order to successfully obtain a faculty position, postdoctoral fellows or postdocs, must submit an application which requires considerable time and effort to produce. These job applications are often reviewed by mentors and colleagues, but rarely are postdocs offered the opportunity to solicit feedback multiple times from reviewers with the same breadth of expertise often found on an academic search committee. To address this gap, this manuscript describes an international peer reviewing program for small groups of postdocs with a broad range of expertise to reciprocally and iteratively provide feedback to each other on their application materials. Over 145 postdocs have participated, often multiple times, over three years. A survey of participants in this program revealed that nearly all participants would recommend participation in such a program to other faculty applicants. Furthermore, this program was more likely to attract participants who struggled to find mentoring and support elsewhere, either because they changed fields or because of their identity as a woman or member of an underrepresented population in STEM. Participation in programs like this one could provide early career academics like postdocs with a diverse and supportive community of peer mentors during the difficult search for a faculty position. Such psychosocial support and encouragement has been shown to prevent attrition of individuals from these populations and programs like this one target the largest leak in the pipeline, that of postdoc to faculty. Implementation of similar peer-reviewing programs by universities or professional scientific societies could provide a valuable mechanism of support and increased chances of success for early-career academics in their search for independence.

Cytoskeletal Tensegrity in Microgravity

In order for Man to venture further into Space he will have to adapt to its conditions, including microgravity. Life as we know it has evolved on Earth with a substantial gravitational field. If they spend considerable time away from Earth, astronauts experience physiological, mental, and anatomical changes. It is not clear if these are pathological or adaptations. However, it is true that they experience difficulties on their return to stronger gravity. The cytoskeleton is a key site for the detection of gravitational force within the body, due to its tensegrity architecture. In order to understand what happens to living beings in space, we will need to unravel the role cytoskeletal tensegrity architecture plays in the building and function of cells, organs, the body, and mind.

A Comparison of IHEs and Non-IHEs as Anchor Institutions and Lead Agents of Promise Neighborhoods Projects

Place-based initiatives, such as the federal Promise Neighborhoods grant, attempt to coordinate interventions, supports, and services with a myriad of organizations to targeted communities. Although Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), inclusive of academic medical institutions, are among the most overall researched anchor institution, Non-Institutions of Higher Education (NIHEs) have led more Promise Neighborhood grants since the inception of the program in 2010. Therefore, this study compared the revitalization efforts proposed by IHEs ( n = 5) and NIHE ( n = 5) in their applications for Promise Neighborhoods grants awarded between 2016 and 2018. Although similarities existed within and across the applications from NIHEs and IHEs, namely focused on improving academics and health/wellness, the specific interventions, supports, and services proposed by each lead institution largely reflected the individual needs of the targeted communities. The findings from this study illustrate how IHEs and NIHEs are similarly positioned to effectuate change within their communities. Implementing place-based initiatives requires anchor institutions to allocate considerable time and resources in order to adapt to the current needs of the community in real time. Therefore, future lead agents of Promise Neighborhoods should seek to promote an environment that fosters on-going collaboration and mutual trust across and within multiple stakeholders, while also exploring sustainability efforts to extend gains made beyond the duration of the grant.

Viral detection and identification in 20 min by rapid single-particle fluorescence in-situ hybridization of viral RNA

The increasing risk from viral outbreaks such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates the need for rapid, affordable and sensitive methods for virus detection, identification and quantification; however, existing methods for detecting virus particles in biological samples usually depend on multistep protocols that take considerable time to yield a result. Here, we introduce a rapid fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) protocol capable of detecting influenza virus, avian infectious bronchitis virus and SARS-CoV-2 specifically and quantitatively in approximately 20 min, in virus cultures, combined nasal and throat swabs with added virus and likely patient samples without previous purification. This fast and facile workflow can be adapted both as a lab technique and a future diagnostic tool in enveloped viruses with an accessible genome.

Can You See It?

Today's smartphones and wearable devices come equipped with an array of inertial sensors, along with IMU-based Human Activity Recognition models to monitor everyday activities. However, such models rely on large amounts of annotated training data, which require considerable time and effort for collection. One has to recruit human subjects, define clear protocols for the subjects to follow, and manually annotate the collected data, along with the administrative work that goes into organizing such a recording.