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Increased milking frequency (IMF) during early lactation increases milk yield not only during the IMF period, but also after the cow is returned to twice daily milking (2X). The increase in yield is locally regulated within the gland; however the mechanism for the increase in yield is unknown. The objective of this study was to demonstrate a difference in milk and component yield, both during the IMF period and throughout the remainder of lactation, and examine potential local mechanisms driving the increase in production. Eight multiparous dairy cows were assigned to unilateral frequent milking [UFM ; 2X left udder half and 4-times-daily milking (4X) right udder half] for the first 21 days of lactation. Both udder halves were milked 2X for the remainder of lactation. Early lactation IMF significantly increased milk, fat, and protein yields in the right udder halves by 2.27 kg/d, 73.5 g/d, and 68 g/d respectively through the first 210 DIM (P < 0.001). At d 21, the right udder halves had a significant increase in activated signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5), as well as a reduction in activated Akt (P ≤ 0.05). There was no difference in STAT3 expression at d 21. There was no significant difference in gene expression of prolactin, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor binding protein 5 (IGFPB5), or chitinase 3-like-1 (CHI3L1) in mammary tissue at d 21 or 60; and no difference in protein expression of STAT5, Akt, or STAT3 in mammary tissue at d 60. / Master of Science

A RIDGE (Region of IncreaseD Gene Expression), as defined by previous studies, is a consecutive set of active genes on a chromosome that span a region around 110 kbp long. This study investigated RIDGE formation by focusing on the well-defined, immunological important MHC locus. Macrophages were assayed for gene expression levels using the Affymetrix MG-U74Av2 chip are were either 1) uninfected, 2) primed with IFN-g, 3) viral activated with mCMV, or 4) both primed and viral activated. Gene expression data from these conditions was studied using data structures and new software developed for the visualisation and handling of structured functional genomic data. Specifically, the data was used to study RIDGE structures and investigate whether physically linked genes were also functionally related, and exhibited co-expression and potentially co-regulation. A greater number of RIDGEs with a greater number of members than expected by chance were found. Observed RIDGEs featured functional associations between RIDGE members (mainly explored via GO, UniProt, and Ingenuity), shared upstream control elements (via PROMO, TRANSFAC, and ClustalW), and similar gene expression profiles. Furthermore RIDGE formation cannot be explained by sequence duplication events alone. When the analysis was extended to the entire mouse genome, it became apparent that known genomic loci (for example the protocadherin loci) were more likely to contain more and longer RIDGEs. RIDGEs outside such loci tended towards single-gene RIDGEs unaffected by the conditions of study. New RIDGEs were also uncovered in the cascading response to IFNg priming and mCMV infection, as found by investigating an extensive time series during the first 12 hours after treatment. Existing RIDGEs were found to be elongated having more members the further the cascade progress.

The work reflected in this thesis includes a detailed study of co-flow jet (CFJ) technologies as they are applied to a typical thin airfoil, NACA 6415, at take-off and landing speeds. Numerical analysis and experimental testing were conducted on baseline and co-flow jet airfoils of the same plan form. The CFJ mechanism employs high pressure air injected along the span at the leading edge while a low pressure source removes the same amount of air along the span at the trailing edge. Hence, the net mass flux of the system is zero energy loss is minimized. The jet produced along the upper surface of the airfoil mixes with and excites the free stream flow resulting in increased lift, augmented stall margin, and decreased drag. At certain angles of attack the decreased drag is negative and thrust is produced. The research was comprised of four phases including computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, design and manufacturing of a transformable baseline and adjustable slot size CFJ airfoil, implementation of a CFJ Wind Tunnel Laboratory, and wind tunnel testing. A computational fluid dynamics code, developed at the University of Miami, was used to study flow fields and to obtain analytical results of aerodynamic properties for the baseline and CFJ airfoils. Modeling of both wing shapes utilized the baseline ordinates of a cambered NACA 6415 airfoil. The free stream steady state flow was set to Mach=0.1 to simulate take-off and landing speeds where the co-flow jet mechanism would demonstrate its largest increase in performance. CFD simulations of both models provided aerodynamic coefficients as well as mass flow and jet effect data specifically useful to the CFJ airfoil. The NACA 6415 model used for wind tunnel testing was designed and produced to provide both baseline and CFJ results with adjustable injection and suction slot sizes. Connections for a side-mounted force balance and an air delivery system for the co-flow jet were included in the airfoil model. The design and manufacturing of a wind tunnel test section extension was necessary to provide support for the additional aerodynamic loads induced by the CFJ airfoil and to house various air connections and test sensors. A CFJ Wind Tunnel Laboratory was designed and constructed during the course of the research and included selection of proper air delivery apparatus for the injection and suction air for the CFJ jet. All testing controls and sensor equipment were acquired and installed to obtain various data needed for experimental analysis. Finally, a data acquisition system was designed to consolidate all testing information for ease of use. Wind tunnel testing of the baseline and CFJ airfoils provided the aerodynamic loads and coefficients needed to demonstrate the performance enhancements of the co-flow jet flow control method. Experimental and numerical results were examined to understand the benefits of the co-flow jet as it compares to a similar baseline airfoil. The CFD simulations and experimental measurements agree fairly well. All results indicate that the CFJ flow control method is very effective for a typical thin airfoil with 15% maximum thickness.

Introduction: Nursing clinicians are primarily responsible for the monitoring and treatment of increased body temperature. The body temperature of patients during their acute care hospital stay is measured at regular repeated intervals. In the event a patient is assessed with an elevated temperature, a multitude of decisions are required. The action of instigating temperature reducing strategies is based upon the assumption that elevated temperature is harmful and that the strategy employed will have some beneficial effect. Background and Significance: The potential harmful effects of increased body temperature (fever, hyperthermia) following neurological insult are well recognised. Although few studies have investigated this phenomenon in the diagnostic population of non-traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage, it has been demonstrated that increased body temperature occurs in 41 to 72% of patients with poor clinical outcome. However, in the Australian context the frequency, or other characteristics of increased body temperature, as well as the association between increased body temperature with poor clinical outcome has not been established. Design: This study used a correlational study design to: describe the frequency, duration and timing of increased body temperature; determine the association between increased body temperature and clinical outcome; and describe the clinical interventions used to manage increased body temperature in patients with non-traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage. A retrospective clinical chart audit was conducted on 43 patients who met the inclusion criteria. Findings: The major findings of this study were: increased body temperature occurred frequently; persisted for a long time; and onset did not occur until 20 hours after primary insult; increased body temperature was associated with death or dependent outcome; and no intervention was recorded in many instances. Conclusion: This study has quantified in a non-traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage patient population the characteristics of increased body temperature, established an association between increased body temperature with death or dependent outcome and described the current management of elevated temperatures in the Australian context to improve nursing practice, education and research.

In order for town centres to manage increased competition in retailing, co-operation between stakeholders in a strategic alliance has become more important. A typical set of stakeholders in a strategic alliance for strengthening retailingare retailers, local authorities and property owners. The roles of retailer’sand local authorities’ are well researched. However, the role of property owners is not. The aim of this paper seeks to unfold the role of property owners in a strategic alliance. This is a case study of a medium-sized town in which semi-structured interviews with different stakeholders were conducted. In the chosen town there is a TCM alliance co-operation at work. The above mentioned stakeholders are possible members in an alliance. The case studied shows a fragmented property owner market with no dominant property owner, as it is in many medium-sized towns. Our study shows that many stakeholders look at the role of property owners as crucial for town centre development. However, property owners do not see that they can significantly contribute to or benefit from the development.The main reasons for this opinion are that they consider themselves as not having enough resources or the capability to influence the town development.

ITC/USA 2013 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Ninth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 21-24, 2013 / Bally's Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV / Cobham Electronic Systems, Inc. has developed a digital potentiometer circuit to allow for digital compensation of frequency and temperature variations in the VCO/PLL frequency control loop of a telemetry transmitter. The ability to reprogram the RF center frequency of a telemetry transmitter is a useful feature and is required on many telemetry programs. When setting the frequency modulation deviation (FM Modulation Index) of a telemetry transmitter, the exact setting will change with RF center frequency due to the variation of the transfer function of the VCO (Kvco). Typically, a resistor divider is used to set the frequency modulation deviation level by setting the output data signal amplitude. However, since Kvco varies with respect to RF center frequency, a method of adjusting frequency modulation deviation for each frequency setting is required. The shunt resistor in the resistor divider is replaced with a digital potentiometer to provide the necessary adjustment, using the on-board microprocessor to store a look-up table of settings versus frequency. A key feature of the digital potentiometer circuit is a method to increase the frequency bandwidth of the potentiometer. Digital potentiometers typically have frequency bandwidths measured in kiloHertz to MegaHertz, which limits their use in setting the frequency modulation deviation of high data rate telemetry transmitters. The circuit consists of a 256 position digital potentiometer and several resistors that are used to adjust the slope of the resistance vs. digital code curve and to translate the curve up and down along the Y-Axis. Adding external resistors to the digital potentiometer helps to increase the frequency bandwidth of the digital potentiometer. The selection of the maximum resistance range of the digital potentiometer is also important, as the potentiometer bandwidth is greater when a small portion of the total resistance is used. This paper will explore various methods of increasing the effective bandwidth of a digital potentiometer, with the goal of making them suitable for use in dynamically setting the frequency modulation deviation via digital control.

The nuclear waste currently generated in the United States is stored in spent fuel pools and dry casks throughout the country awaiting a permanent disposal solution. One efficient solution would be to remove the actinides from the waste and transmute these isotopes in a fast spectrum reactor. Currently this technology is unavailable on a commercial scale and a considerable amount of research and development is still required. An alternate solution is to reprocess and recycle the used fuel in thermal reactors, creating new fuel while reducing the amount of waste and its impact to the environment. This thesis examines the possibility of multi-recycling the transuranics (Pu, Np, Am, and Cm) in a standard pressurized water reactor (PWR). Two types of recycling strategies will be examined: one where Pu, Np, and Am are recycled (TRU-Cm) and a second where the previous isotopes as well as Cm are recycled (TRU+Cm). To offset the hardened neutron spectrum that results from the inclusion of the transuranics, a smaller fuel pin is employed to provide additional moderation. Computer simulations are used to model the in-reactor physics and long-term isotopic decay. Each fuel type is assessed based on the required U-235 enrichment, void coefficient, transuranic production/destruction, and radiotoxicity reduction as compared to a UOX and MOX assembly. It is found that the most beneficial recycling strategy is the one where all of the transuranics are recycled. The inclusion of Cm reduces the required U-235 enrichment, compared to the other multi-recycled fuel and, after a significant number of recycles, can result in the required enrichment to decrease. This fuel type also maintains a negative void coefficient for each recycle. The void coefficient of the fuel type without Cm becomes positive after the third cycle. The transmutation destruction of the two multi-recycled assemblies is less than that of a MOX assembly, but the transmutation efficiency of the multi-recycled assemblies exceeds the MOX assemblies. The radiotoxicity of both multi-recycled assemblies is significantly lower than the UOX and MOX with the TRU+Cm fuel being the lowest. When Curium is recycled only 28,000 years are required for the radiotoxicity of the waste to reach that of natural Uranium and when Cm is not recycled, the amount of time increases to 57,000 years.

Since the financial crisis in -08 there has been a need in regulating banks and their behavior. After a while, the Basel committee took action and started to work on the third version of the Basel framework, forcing banks to maintain higher equity and to be prepared for fast drops in liquidity on the market. The banking industry quickly responded that this could create costs over the global economic market. The argument came from the idea that debt is generally cheaper to hold compared to equity. They also expected the lending growth to decrease since the economy declined, which in turn would lead to a lower net interest margin and loss of profit. There has been theory that supports their claim, but it is still lack of empirical evidence. Therefore, a need for statistical proof of what will happen to banks when regulation is increased. Based on the background, the study is aiming to answer the research question:   “What effects has the increased requirements (capital ratios, restructuring of capital) ofthe ongoing implementation ofBasel III had on US Banks’ cost of capital, lending growth and net interest margin?”   Through several regression models tested, a quantitative study was performed which found that the increased requirements of capital and capital restructuring does not affect US banks’ lending growth. Although, the capital restrains did affect banks’ cost of capital negatively as it decreased and their net interest margin as it also decreased. The cost of capital analysis showed that there must be two counteracting forces that affects the variable, where the largest one decides which way it goes. The first one is that it should increase due to more expensive financing, and the other that banks become less risky for investors to invest in. This leading to the banks’ profitability not being as threatened as one might believe.   Contributions that the study brought are showing regulators that it is a necessity to be careful when implementing new regulation, as banks might lose some of their profit from the action which could be damaging for them. It also made sure that one must not discount for the effect of reduced systematic risk, and the gain that comes from it. In the end, developing of new regulation comes down to one thing; to make our economic society safer.

Tennessee education leaders must improve their student retention strategies to increase financial stability and enhance the state's ability to support businesses and jobs through a well-educated workforce. The focus of this qualitative multiple case study was on 6 Tennessee community colleges where leaders had demonstrated successful strategies for retaining students resulting in increased revenues and financial stability. The advocacy/ participatory worldview provided a conceptual framework for identifying and comparing themes regarding Tennessee higher education leaders' retention strategies. Data collection included interviews and review of organizational retention reports on strategies as well as college, state, and federal findings on retention. Federal government websites contained information about Tennessee community colleges having the highest retention rates. Methodological triangulation provided the opportunity to identify similarities in retention strategies used by the community college leaders. Using the concept of classical data analysis, responses were categorized according to the program, activity, or initiative college administrators used to increase retention. Based on mind mapping of the clusters of information, findings revealed 3 primary themes: effects of retention on college revenues; challenges in retaining at-risk students; and strategies for retaining students, including new student orientation, counseling and advising, tutoring, and freshman seminars. The potential for social change includes the opportunity to increasing the college-educated workforce to provide more opportunities for local business leaders and find viable applicants to fill open positions and enhance the economic sustainability of local communities.