Current Project Research Articles

Evaluation of the Effect of Nutrition Education on Osteopathic Medical Students' Personal Nutrition Choices and Incorporation Into Future Medical Practice.

Our current research project evaluates the impact of nutrition education on the medical student's personal nutrition goals and the likelihood of incorporating nutrition needs into patient evaluation and treatment plans in future practice. The growing popularity of lifestyle medicine has further emphasized the importance of nutrition in the treatment of all patients, especially those suffering from chronic diseases. The paucity of formal medical nutrition education in medical school curricula leaves a significant gap in the knowledge base of physicians in practice. In an attempt to close the gap, we increased nutrition education in first-year osteopathic medical students by establishing a nutrition course emphasizing modern competencies and their importance in clinical practice. Methods: The course evaluation utilized a two-group quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test study design. The intervention group consisted of medical students participating in the newly established course, and the control group consisted of second-year medical students who had not taken the course as part of their curriculum. Information was collected about students' knowledge, attitudes, behaviors around nutrition, their plans to pursue a residency with a focus on culinary medicine and incorporate medical nutrition into their medical practice in the future, and their intention to incorporate culinary medicine into future treatment plans. Participation rates within a voluntary culinary medicine interest group were also tracked. Students in the intervention group were 26% more likely to report that proper nutrition for patient care had been addressed in coursework. This suggests that medical students exposed to the medical nutrition course have received more training that is critical in proper patient care than students in the control group. Students in the intervention group were 93% more likely to believe that proper nutrition can be used to prevent disease. Lastly, significantly more students in the intervention group (33% more) intend to explore residency programs with a focus on culinary medicine than those students in the control group. These results demonstrate that nutritional education promotes an awareness of the effectiveness of nutritional counseling in disease prevention and management. Furthermore, it will hopefully prompt future physicians to consider nutritional counseling during their clinical rotations, through residency, and into their independent practice. The presentation of nutrition in the first year of medical school is critical to develop increasing numbers of primary care physicians that promote the importance of nutrition and a healthy lifestyle for patients.

Incorporating Electrochemistry and Battery Technology in an Undergraduate Materials Science Course

Electrochemical devices and systems are ubiquitous in many engineering disciplines, yet basic electrochemistry principles are rarely covered in the typical undergraduate engineering curriculum. This presents a barrier for young engineers aspiring to make contributions to this fast-growing field, as well as primary investigators in electrochemical engineering at undergraduate-only institutions. In the field of mechanical engineering, one of the oldest and arguably the broadest engineering disciplines, energy storage and conversion are covered in depth at the undergraduate level. However, electrochemical energy storage and conversion are only briefly glanced, if at all. As part of curriculum development in a new undergraduate mechanical engineering program, electrochemistry fundamentals, with a focus on applications to battery technology, were deliberately incorporated into a second-year materials science course.Undergraduate materials science courses typically focus on general process-structure-property relationships of different engineering materials, and this course is no different. Instead of covering only traditional materials, significant time is also devoted to battery materials, which are very relevant and poised for exponential growth in this era of electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. The course includes instruction on basic electrochemical principles, a survey of functional materials used in common electrochemical devices and their properties, as well as a short lab project where students are guided through the steps of constructing a simple coin-cell lithium-ion battery, arguably the most dominant of all battery chemistries. Classroom discussion also includes the environmental impacts of sourcing raw battery materials and end-of-life disposal practices, which, given current projections, will lead to a substantial sustainability problem as the battery market grows with electric vehicle uptake. Emerging battery technologies that seek to address the challenges of the current generation of batteries are also introduced. Students are also asked to give a short presentation after researching additional topics in the field that are of interest to them. Overall, the course aims to help modernize the undergraduate mechanical engineering curriculum by incorporating electrochemistry principles and battery technology into a core course.

Characterization and Control of Carbon Nanotube Doping

Carbon nanotube FETs show great promise for beyond-Si and monolithic 3D electronics, however there are still fundamental questions to explore. In particular, controlled N- and P- doping is a fundamental process module which can be used to engineer semiconductor resistance in un-gated regions such as the contact or extension, as well as optimize band-to-band tunneling leakage [1-4]. To-date both N- and P- doping has been demonstrated for CNT, but the optimal strategies for doping control and carrier density quantification have not been determined. In this work, we present a study of N- and P- doping using solid-state dopants and doping control strategy using a dielectric barrier of tunable thickness. A TCAD evaluation reveals the tradeoffs between carrier density and mobility for increasing dielectric barrier thickness, and reveals the critical role of dielectric constant in optimizing performance of spacer doping [5]. Multiple characterization approaches under evaluation help to correlate doping strength to experimentally measurable quantities with insight into the doping mechanisms. Finally, we will summarize potential approaches for improving doping control and quantification, and progress towards integration of the doping in highly-scaled high-performance carbon nanotube FETs [6].[1] Z. Zhang, et al., “Complementary carbon nanotube metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors with localized solid-state extension doping,” Nature Electronics, 2023.[2] Q. Lin, et al., “Band-to-band Tunneling Leakage Current Characterization and Projection in Carbon Nanotube Transistors,” ACS Nano, 2023.[3] G. Zeevi, et al., “PN Junction and band to band tunneling in carbon nanotube transistors at room temperature,” Nanotechnology, 2021.[4] L. Liyanage, et al., “VLSI-compatible carbon nanotube doping technique with low work-function metal oxides,” Nano Letters, 2014.[5] C. Gilardi et al., “Barrier Booster for Remote Extension Doping and its DTCO for 1D & 2D FETs”, IEDM 2023[6] S.Li, et al., “High-performance and low parasitic capacitance CNT MOSFET: 1.2 mA/μm at VDS of 0.75 V by self-aligned doping in sub-20 nm spacer,” IEDM 2023.

Recent Fundamental Advances in Quality of High-Performance and Highly-Scaled Carbon Nanotube Transistors

Recently a number of breakthroughs have been reported by our team in the component qualities of transistors built on Carbon Nanotube (CNT) channels. However, any emerging channel material which seeks to outperform established semiconductors for transistor logic applications has a substantial hill to climb, given the incredible capabilities of advanced Si-based logic technology platforms. This talk will first aim to frame our progress on Carbon Nanotube CMOS technology in the broader context of the value proposition and desired component qualities needed to realize practical impact in computing applications. Next, we will share advances in the fundamental building blocks for Carbon Nanotube transistors towards these targets including channel, contact, doping, and gate-stack modules. Finally we will describe new record CNT MOSFET performance milestones achieved by integrating best available device components for first time, which gives insight into the remaining performance limiters and future directions.[1] G. Pitner, et al., "Building High Performance Transistors on Carbon Nanotube Channel," VLSI 2023.[2] S. Li, et al., "High-Performance and Low Parasitic Capacitance CNT MOSFET: 1.2 mA/um at Vds of 0.75 V by self-aligned doping in sub-20 nm spacer," IEDM 2023.[3] N. Safron, et al., "Low N-type Contact Resistance to Carbon Nanotubes in Highly Scaled Contacts through Dielectric Doping," IEDM 2023.[4] H.-Y. Chiu, et al., "Self-Aligned Contact Doping for Performance Enhancement of Low-Leakage Self-Alignment Method for High-Density Aligned CNT Array," Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2023.[5] T.A. Chao, et al., "Small Molecule Additives to Suppress Bundling in Dimensional-Liminted Self-Alignment Method for High-Density Aligned CNT Array," Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2023.[6] Q. Lin, et al., " Band-to-Band Tunneling Leakage Current Characterization and Projection in Carbon Nanotube Transistors," ACS Nano 2023.[7] Z. Zhang, et al., "Complementary Carbon Nanotube Metal-Oxide-Semicondcutor Field-Effect Transistors with Localized Solid-State Extension DOping," Nature Electronics, 2023.[8] S.K. Su, et al., " Perspective on Low-Dimensional Channel Materials for Extremely Scaled CMOS," VLSI 2022.[9] Z. Zhang, et al., "Sub-Nanometer Interfacial Oxides on Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite and Carbon Nanotubes Enabled by Lateral Oxide Growth," ACS Applied aterials & Interfaces, 2022.[10] G. Pitner, et al., "Sub-0.5 nm Interfacial Dielectrics Enables Superior Electrostatics: 65 mV/dec top-gated Carbon Nanotube FETs at 15 nm gate length," IEDM 2020.

Conversion Electrodes for Rechargeable Li-Sulfur, Na-Ion and Zn-Air Batteries

Rechargeable batteries are reliable and highly efficient energy storage devices providing high energy density at high voltages with the lead of the Li-ion technology since the early 1990s. Despite these promising advantages, the strongly limited abundance of Li and also that of other elements contained in a Li-ion battery (LIB) leads to the search for low-cost and more abundant alternatives. Especially for stationary storage devices alternative battery technologies are required. Alternative chemistries, such as those based on lithium conversion or alloying, can actually lead to higher energy density compared to the lithium (de)intercalation one.Among them, the lithium-sulfur (Li/S) conversion process appeared as one of the most promising candidates to achieve a lithium battery with enhanced performances compared to the state-of-art. In fact, sulfur electrode can deliver in lithium cell a theoretical capacity and energy density as high as 1675 mAh gS −1 and 2600 Wh kg−1 Unfortunately, soluble polysulfides can migrate and directly react with the lithium anode or shuttle between anode and cathode throughout a continuous process without any charge accumulation. This leads to efficiency decrease, active material loss or even to short circuits and cell failure, whilst insoluble polysulfides can precipitate into the cell and cause resistance increase and capacity fading. The characteristic electrochemical process involving at the cathode side the electro-deposition/dissolution of soluble species focused the attention on the nature of the current collector. Hence, flat and thin metal supports (e.g., bare Al current collector) may lead to poor performances due to high overall impedance of the cell and modest ability in allowing the complex multi-step reaction pathway, whilst thicker porous supports (e.g., gas diffusion layer, GDL) can enhance the cell response, reduce the impedance and actually boost the kinetics of the Li/S process, but suffer from its higher thickness, lowering down the volumetric energy density of the overall cell.In this view, graphene-based materials can actually allow the thinnest configuration of a carbon-coated metal support and hold, at the same time, a suitable Li/S process due to their characteristic morphology, mechanical stability and enhanced electronic conductivity. In regard to this, research activities are going to be presented about an exploited binder-free few layer graphene (FLG) thin carbon-coated Aluminum support for application in a Li/S cell with excellent characteristics in terms of stability, efficiency and delivered capacity.Conversion electrodes play also an important role for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) being a promising alternative, since Na cells show similar properties to the Li analogues in many cases, while they are based on more environmentally friendly and/or more abundant materials. The use of SIBs often results slightly lower energy densities and cell voltages than those of LIBs, but they still provide significantly better values than lead-acid batteries, which are currently dominating the market in terms of annually manufactured capacity. Tin (Sn) and its compounds are well investigated alloy electrodes for SIBs as tin provides a very high theoretical specific capacity of 847 mAh g−1. Sn is an example that shows even better capacity retention when used in SIBs compared to its use in LIBs. Moreover, transition metal compounds containing phosphorus (P) and/or sulfur (S) are promising conversion electrodes as well, since these elements enable high specific volumetric and/or gravimetric capacities in LIBs and SIBs.In addition to LIBs and SIBs, zinc batteries are also attracting research interest due to their environmental friendliness and their applicability with aqueous electrolytes. However, especially zinc-air batteries are well established for use as primary cells, but when considered for use as secondary cells, they suffer from their low rechargeability. Despite great research efforts to solve these problems, no established system has yet been able to achieve reasonable rechargeability in the context of using the commonly considered alkaline electrolytes. However, Sun et al. (2021) found a promising approach using Zn(OTf)2 salt in a small amount of water as an electrolyte. This approach enables the formation of zinc peroxide (ZnO2) instead of formation the irreversible zinc oxide (ZnO) in alkaline electrolytes, which deposits on the gas diffusion layer electrode, blocking the oxygen evolution reaction. ZnO2, on the other hand, has been shown to be highly reversibly malleable. In our current project WaZABi, we are trying another approach using a freeze-cast zinc anode, which enables high porosity, and the application of a hybrid electrolyte under participance of a polymer for rechargeable high performance zinc air batteries.

Detecting the heterodyning of gravitational waves

Abstract Gravitational waves modulate the apparent frequencies of other periodic signals. Low-frequency gravitational waves could therefore be detected by observing frequency modulations in signals from higher-frequency sources, e.g. those from binary white dwarfs detected with the LISA gravitational-wave detector. We propose a concrete method to extract these modulations by coherently adding the cross-spectra of a large number of well-resolved quasi-monochromatic signals. We apply this method to the case of LISA, and find this method would enable the detection of background gravitational wave strain amplitudes of, e.g. A ≃ 10 − 10 at a frequency F ≃ 10 − 8 Hz , given current projections for the number and properties of Galactic binary white dwarfs and the sensitivity of the instrument. We also estimate (to within an order of magnitude) that this method could potentially compete with that of current pulsar timing arrays when using signals from binary neutron stars such as those expected to be observed with proposed detectors like DECIGO. Our results show that gravitational-wave detectors could be sensitive at frequencies outside of their designed bandwidth using the same infrastructure, which has the potential to open up unexplored and otherwise inaccessible parts of the gravitational wave spectrum.

Abstract Introduction

Abstract The 6th Kidney Cancer Research Summit (KCRS) took place on July 11th & 12th, 2024 as a hybrid event both in Boston, Massachusetts at the InterContinental Boston, and virtually via Zoom webinar. The conference format consists of oral presentations in an intimate setting that enables dynamic discussion among attendees. The meeting began with a keynote titled “How the Air We Breathe Can Impact Cancer,” showing the biological processes underlying how airborne microparticles drive inflammatory processes that fuel tumorigenesis. Sessions included Exploring Novel Drug Targets for RCC, Novel Imaging and Biomarkers to Guide RCC Patient Management, State of the Science, Trials in Progress, Clinical and Scientific Updates in Kidney Cancer, Immunotherapy Advances and Research, Oral Abstracts, and Rapid Abstracts. The KCRS was inaugurated in 2019 to congregate the community of researchers conducting projects involving kidney cancer with clinicians, industry partners, and patient advocates in order to foster new collaborations and generate constructive feedback. KCRS is funded through sponsors, partnerships, and grassroots supporters organized by KidneyCAN, a nationwide network of kidney cancer patients, caregivers, and family members who are committed to accelerating cures for kidney cancer. Basic through translational and clinical research are included, and the program is centered on projects funded through the Department of Defense’s Kidney Cancer Research Program awards. The goal is to give current and future projects the best chance to succeed and ensure the orientation of goals towards raising the standard of care and improving patient outcomes across all histological subtypes and stages of this disease. This supplement contains a complete list of scheduled abstract presentations that were accepted as of June 17th, 2024. Please be aware that some abstracts may have been withdrawn or rescheduled at the authors’ request.

Reciprocal mentorship and RECE journeys: An intergenerational dialogue

This essay brings together three intergenerational colleagues, two RECE founders, and a mid-career colleague, engaged in reciprocal mentorship, collaborative projects, and research focused on child care, critical policy studies, and global childhoods. We explore our encounters with RECE and how we have engaged with, been influenced by, and found various collaborative spaces through our reconceptualist/RECE experiences. In our dialogue, we discuss how we came to engage with reconceptualist scholarship and consider one of its tenets, reciprocal mentoring. We reflect on how the DAP debates have and still play a role in our scholarship, how naming and countering deficit discourse influence our work in early years policy, and the ways children’s voices, experiences, and participation rights need to be centered. We conclude by discussing current projects and future possibilities in our shared and individual work, exploring the implications for scholar activism and the future of reconceptualist work in early care and education.

India's Vision of a Healthy and Developed Nation from the Perspective of the Healthtech Industry

Purpose: India's aspiration to become a developed and healthy nation by 2047 is intrinsically tied to advancements in the healthcare technology (healthtech) industry. This article evaluates the role of health technology in transforming healthcare delivery, improving health outcomes, and driving economic growth. It also examines the current state of the healthtech industry in India, identifying key challenges, opportunities, and strategic initiatives required for achieving this vision. Methods: The study involved a comprehensive review of recent reports and literature on the healthtech sector in India. Data was analyzed from various sources including market reports, government initiatives, and industry publications to assess the current landscape, growth projections, and sector-specific developments. Results: In 2024, the Indian healthtech market was valued at $6.5 billion, with projections indicating significant growth to approximately $78.4 billion by 2033, reflecting a CAGR of 28.67%. Key sectors such as digital health, medical devices, biotech, and pharmaceuticals are evolving rapidly. However, challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, regulatory hurdles, and a shortage of skilled professionals persist. Opportunities include expanding digital health infrastructure and fostering public-private partnerships. Conclusions: The healthtech industry is crucial for realizing India’s vision of improved health and development. Addressing existing challenges and leveraging opportunities through strategic initiatives and collaborations will be essential. The convergence of technology and healthcare has the potential to revolutionize healthcare delivery, enhance patient outcomes, and support national development goals.

Impact of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy on Anxiety Levels Among African American Adolescents.

Anxiety and depression among adolescents in the United States has steadily increased. In addition, significant disparities in access to mental health care exist for African Americans. The purpose of the current project was to support the mental health of African American adolescents involved in faith-based youth groups through implementation of dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). The community partner was an African American church in Southwest Georgia. Mindfulness training modules are offered in monthly sessions. Pre- and post-intervention surveys and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) were analyzed, comparing mean GAD-7 scores before and after participation. Nurse-led quality improvement initiatives support adolescent mental health and provide sustainable resources for mental health in rural areas. Results of the quality improvement project reveal improvement in self-reported anxiety symptoms among participants after the 4-month DBT intervention. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 62(8), 7-10.].

Selection of agile project management approaches based on project complexity

AbstractManaging software development projects is a complex endeavor due to the constant emergence of unforeseen events that deviate from initial expectations. A competent project leader is not just someone who follows the planned course but also adept at handling and minimizing inconveniences, ultimately striving to achieve results that align as closely as possible with the desired outcome. However, individuals involved in technological development often cling to familiar tools that have previously yielded positive outcomes, even when those tools may not be the best fit for the current project context. The Agile Manifesto has significantly transformed project management, infusing the discipline with a fresh perspective. Nevertheless, there remain several challenges to overcome. In this article, we aim to provide a guide that addresses these difficulties and minimizes their impact. We explore the selection of key factors that adequately describe a project's complexity, which can subsequently be used in conjunction with the Cynefin framework to categorize management strategies, techniques, and tools based on their applicability to specific complexities. Additionally, we offer insights on adapting project management approaches throughout the project life cycle in response to changes in reality, utilizing the dynamics outlined by the Cynefin framework. Finally, we present suitable strategies, techniques, and tools for agile project management based on the complexity context assigned by the Cynefin framework.

Determination of Recreatıon Areas in Acarlar Longoz

The protection of nature and the environment, the preservation of the diversity of ecosystems without jeopardizing their integrity, and their sustainable development are important for sustainability. The Acarlar Floodplain is an extraordinary tourism and recreation area in terms of its ecological and landscape features. In the Acarlar Floodplain, which has recently become an important tourist destination, it is important to determine the attractions for daily recreation without neglecting the conservation value. The aim of this study is to identify suitable areas for hiking and birdwatching in the region using the weighted overlay method. The results show that most of the region is restricted areas for targeted activities, especially birdwatching, due to the different conservation status of Acar Longoz. The 1st degree suitable areas for hiking activities cover 226 ha and 4169 ha fall under the 2nd degree suitable category. The 1st degree suitable areas for birdwatching cover 16 ha, while the 2nd degree suitable areas cover 487 ha. The results provide essential inputs and an exemplary scientific methodology for the development of the current ecotourism project and wetland management plans.

Green synthesis and characterization of copper oxide nanoparticles using Luffa acutangula peel extract and its antibacterial activity

In this current research project, the peel extract of Luffa acutangula was employed to synthesize copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) for the very first time. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering (DLS) were used to examine the synthesized nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction analysis determined that the nanoparticles have a monoclinic structure, with an average crystallite size of 26 nm. The Scanning Electron Microscopy revealed that the particles had a clustered, rectangular structure. The zeta potential of the particles was measured to be −34 mV using DLS, indicating good stability. Copper oxide-mediated by Luffa acutangula has demonstrated excellent bactericidal properties against both types of bacteria, Gram-negative and Gram-positive. The diameter of the growth inhibition area for Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli was measured as 15 mm, 15 mm, 16 mm, and 25 mm, respectively, in response to a concentration of 150 μg/μL.

Improving Coordination to Strengthen Operationalization of Malaria Surveillance and Routine Data Quality: Landscape Analysis of Current Surveillance-Related Initiatives.

Improving the visibility and global coordination of malaria surveillance and data quality improvement initiatives is required to optimize sharing of best practices, tools, and approaches and to promote efficient, effective, and equitable distribution of resources. With these aims in mind, Rollback Malaria's Surveillance, Monitoring and Evaluation Working Group established the Surveillance Practice and Data Quality Committee in May 2021. As a priority initiative, the committee conducted a landscape analysis of implementing partners' (IPs') malaria surveillance-related projects. A questionnaire that included questions on current project objectives, activities, geographic scope, and lessons learned was distributed among committee members and other IPs. Three years since its inception, information has been submitted regarding 49 projects by 25 IPs and funded by 17 donors. To present and share the landscaping results, an interactive dashboard was published to the Rollback Malaria's Global Malaria Dashboard website (endmalaria.org) in March 2021. It is the first time that multiple stakeholders have shared such information regarding surveillance projects.

COVID-19 Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors Among Black Men with Chronic Health Conditions: A Latent Profile Analysis

ABSTRACT Research indicates that Black communities experienced disproportionately higher numbers of confirmed cases and fatalities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with Black men experiencing marked reductions in life expectancy. Inequities were further magnified by known COVID-19 such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease. The current project aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to COVID-19 among Black men with chronic conditions. Specifically, we sought to determine whether COVID-19-related perspectives and behaviors impacted cross-sectional health outcomes. A national sample of Black men (N = 312) who self-reported at least one chronic disease responded to survey questions about their knowledge, attitude, and preventative behaviors (KAP) related to COVID-19. Analyses suggest that unique latent profiles based on COVID-19-related KAP differentially impacted participants’ self-reported health and well-being for those low on KAP items. The discussion includes considerations on viral hygiene interventions, misinformation, stigma, and perceptions of discrimination.

The role of storage in the emerging Power-to-X Economy: The case of Hawaiʻi

Highly renewable energy systems for island regions provide opportunities to investigate fully self-sufficient energy-industry systems. New perspectives into the nature of 100% renewable energy systems suggest that a Power-to-X Economy may emerge, as renewable electricity will become the fundamental energy carrier. In systems with high renewable shares, the availability of low-cost storage options is essential to balance high shares of variable renewable electricity, especially of solar PV and wind power. While direct electrification is the most cost-effective and efficient solution, indirect electrification through power-to-X processes is required for those demands that cannot be directly electrified. Using the LUT Energy System Transition Model, energy-industry system transition pathways to 100% renewable energy and the role of storage technologies were investigated for the case of Hawaiʻi comparing cost-optimal routes reaching net-zero emissions by 2040 and 2050 to current government projections. Additionally, e-fuel import scenarios are investigated and compared to self-supply scenarios. By installing 39 GW of solar PV, responsible for 96% of total electricity generation of 32 TWh, the levelised cost of electricity in Hawaiʻi can be reduced to 27.5 €/MWh. Total electricity storage capacities, including stationary batteries, pumped hydro energy storage, and vehicle-to-grid batteries, reach 46 GWhcap in 2050, with total throughput at 7.7% of total electricity demand. Due to the low projected costs of these storage options, they only cost 38% of the LCOE in 2050. These results highlight the importance of storage for the Power-to-X economies of island regions such as Hawaiʻi to achieve high levels of energy independence.

Analysis of potable water quality in the Belisario Quevedo sector, Cuatro Esquinas neighborhood, during the period of may to september 2023

The current research project had the purpose of determining the quality of drinking water in the sector of the neighborhood Cuatro Esquinas de Belisario Quevedo. The research has a non-experimental design, and its modality was quantitative, descriptive research modality, the inquiry was of bibliographic field and descriptive type. The population consisted of 10 individuals from the neighborhood to be investigated, 2 heads of household of 5 families in the neighborhood were chosen, being the main affected. The survey technique was applied

No clear benefit of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation for non-native speech sound learning

IntroductionLearning to understand and speak a new language can be challenging and discouraging for adults. One potential tool for improving learning is transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), which modulates perception, memory, and attention systems. It has recently been reported that taVNS can improve English speakers' ability to perceive unfamiliar Mandarin tones. The current project explored the potential benefits of taVNS for language learning beyond tone perception.MethodsWe studied adults' ability to perceive and produce unfamiliar speech sounds as well as any potential change in language learning motivation from pre- to post-training. Forty-five native English speakers were divided into three groups and were trained to perceive German sounds: one group received stimulation during easier-to-learn sounds (vowels), one group received stimulation during harder-to-learn sounds (fricatives), and a control group received no stimulation.Results and discussionWe did not find evidence that taVNS improved perception or production of the German sounds, but there was evidence that it did improve some aspects of motivation. Specifically, the group that received taVNS during easier sounds showed a significant decrease in feelings of tension/pressure about language learning, while the other groups did not. Overall, the present study does not find that taVNS holds benefits for the acquisition of new speech sounds; however, the field is nascent, and so the potential applications of taVNS for language learning remain to be clarified.

How gender differences in informal networking result in unequal access to interorganizational R&D projects

Women are underrepresented in interorganizational research & development (R&D) projects. This affects the innovativeness of such projects, the representation of female perspectives in the design of innovations and the career opportunities of women. Such projects often emerge from preceding interorganizational R&D projects and are particularly successful when they do so. We argue that instrumental networking in ongoing projects is constitutive for the formation of such follow-up collaborations and, further, that stereotypical gender roles hinder women’s participation in instrumental interactions with their current project partners. Hence, we assume that unequal opportunities to participate in follow-up projects can be attributed to women’s lesser involvement in instrumental networks. Empirically, we test our argument using data on 2746 directed and weighted personal relationships across 24 interorganizational R&D projects. We show that instrumental interactions are crucial for who initiates follow-up projects with which current partner. Furthermore, we can show that the low participation of women in these activities can be better explained by gender roles than by gender homophily. In doing so, we reveal an important cause of women's under-representation in R&D.

Applying the Cognitive Walkthrough for Implementation Strategies Methodology to Inform the Redesign of a Selection-Quality Implementation Toolkit for Use in Schools.

Implementation strategies are key to enhancing translation of new innovations but there is a need to systematically design and tailor strategies to match the targeted implementation context and address determinants. There are increasing methods to inform the redesign and tailoring of implementation strategies to maximize their usability, feasibility, and appropriateness in new settings such as the Cognitive Walkthrough for Implementation Strategies (CWIS) approach. The aim of the current project is to apply the CWIS approach to inform the redesign of a multifaceted selection-quality implementation toolkit entitled ACT SMARTS for use in middle and high schools. We systematically applied CWIS as the second part of a community-partnered iterative redesign of ACT SMARTS for schools to evaluate the usability and inform further toolkit redesign areas. We conducted three CWIS user testing sessions with key end users of school district administrators, school principals, and educators. Our CWIS application revealed that end users found ACT SMARTS acceptable and relevant but anticipate usability issues engaging in the ACT SMARTS process. Results informed the identification of eleven usability issues and corresponding redesign solutions to enhance the usability of ACT SMARTS for use in middle and high schools. Results indicated the utility of CWIS in assessing implementation strategy usability in service of informing strategy tailoring and redesign to improve alignment with user and setting needs. Recommendations regarding the use of this participatory approach are discussed.