ABSTRACT:
The effect of mechanical stimulation of vibration on proliferation and differentiation of cells has been studied in vitro. To apply the vibration on the cells, a piezoelectric element was attached on the outside surface of the bottom of the culture plate of six wells. The piezoelectric element was vibrated by sinusoidally alternating voltage at 1.0 MHz generated by a function generator. Five kinds of cells were used in the experiment: C2C12 (mouse myoblast cell), L929 (fibroblast connective tissue of mouse), Hepa1-6 (mouse hepatoma cell), HUVEC (human umbilical vein endothelial cell), and Neuro-2a (mouse neural crest-derived cell line). After the incubation for 24 hours, cells were exposed to the ultrasonic vibration intermittently for three days: for thirty minutes per day. At the end of the experiment, the number of cells was counted by colorimetric method with a microplate photometer. In the case of Neuro-2a, the total length of the neurite was calculated at the microscopic image. The experimental study shows following results. Cells are exfoliated by the strong vibration. Proliferation and differentiation of cells are accelerated with mild vibration. The optimum intensity of vibration depends on the kind of cells.

ABSTRACT:
Micro slits have been designed between micro cylindrical pillars to sort biological cells. Micro cylindrical pillars of 0.02 mm diameter and 0.055 mm height were fabricated on the glass plate using the photolithography technique. Variation was made on the gap between pillars: 0.01 mm, 0.02 mm, 0.03 mm, and 0.04 mm. The micro pillars are set in the flow path between parallel plates, of which dimension of the cross section is 5 mm width and 0.055 mm height. Three kinds of biological cells were used in the test alternatively: C2C12 (mouse myoblast cell line originated with cross-striated muscle of C3H mouse), Hepa1-6 (mouse hepatoma cell line of C57L mouse), or swine red blood cell. The suspension of cells was introduced into the slits by the syringe pump at the flow rate between 0.4 and 500 cm3/hour. The deformation of the cell at the slit can be observed by the microscope. The experimental results show that the designed slit has capability for sorting cells according to the size and deformability of the cell.

ABSTRACT:
This paper offers a novel method and subsequent partnership to engage and teach university students. Prior to 11 September 2001 or 9/11, much of the public safety readiness responsibility was limited to a few government officials. Today, public safety is much more widely managed. For this effort, we developed a strategic partnership between state and local government and Purdue University that provides an improved environment for learning and for public health and safety. By using an exercise deployment Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) in a Point of Distribution (POD) exercise, our efforts with partnering between state and local government and the university provide benefits and opportunities to each. Simultaneously, we tested a full scale POD mass prophylaxis response to an anthrax attack through teaching and training university students who also gain valuable internship-like experience. The ongoing relationship between government and the university’s student talent can benefit all in developing paths for future research and data analysis expected of academia and of improving public safety and responsiveness of government.

ABSTRACT:
This project explores a distinctive approach to teaching teambased care in health science and medical schools, utilizing both classroom style instruction simultaneously with onsite clinical practice. The conceived model focuses on Team-Based Learning (TBL) [1] and is referred to as the TBL with InterProfessional Experiential Learning (TIPEL). The TIPEL model employs seamless integration of core competencies in curriculum and practice as it allows for flexibility to adapt to learners at various stages of learning in the practice of interprofessional team-based care. Physician Assistant students who participated in both a non-TIPEL and TIPEL clinical experience were surveyed using the Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education- Revised Instrument, Version 2 (SPICE-R2) [2]. In addition to the SPICE-R2, an additional 13 open-ended questions were disseminated to solicit information regarding interprofessional core competency development and the effectiveness of TBL as an instructional approach in experiential learning settings. Overall, students were in agreement with the use of TBL as an effective instructional strategy and provided positive feedback when asked about TBL clinical practice experiences compared to those without the use of TBL. Results from this initial study indicate that the TIPEL model is an effective strategy for combining interprofessional education and collaborative clinical practice for experiential learning.

[1] Michaelsen, L. K., Knight, A. B., & Fink, L. D. (2003). Team-Based Learning: A Transformative Use of Small Groups in College Teaching. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

[2] J. A. Zorek, J. C. Eickhoff, L. A. Steinkamp, J. Oryall, S. Kruger, & C. S. Seibert. Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education-Revised Instrument, Version 2 (SPICE-R 2): Instrument validation. University of Wisconsin-Madison Interprofessional Health Summit 2016: Impact of Interprofessional Care on Chronic Conditions, Madison, WI, April 23, 2016.

ABSTRACT:
A quality improvement project was undertaken in order to assist the undergraduate baccalaureate nursing students in knowledge retention for medication administration during their senior semester in nursing school. Two specific changes in curriculum were implemented in order to assist these undergraduate baccalaureate nursing students at a suburban private university in New York. Simulation and the incorporation of competency by rubrics were implemented in the spring semester of junior year, which led to an increased knowledge retention during the fall semester of the senior year. This article discusses the advantages and challenges of using technology, how change occurred in the junior year semester and the effects it had on the senior nursing student’s retention of medication administration knowledge.

ABSTRACT:
Purpose: Studying and analyzing the undergraduate engineering students’ leadership skills to discover their potential leadership strengths and weaknesses. This study will unveil potential ways to enhance the ways we teach engineering leadership. The research has great insights that might assist engineering programs to improve curricula for the purpose of better engineering preparation to meet industry’s demands.

Methodology & Findings: 441 undergraduate engineering students have been surveyed in two undergraduate engineering programs to discover their leadership skills. The results in both programs were revealing that undergraduate engineering students are lacking behind in the visionary leadership skills compared to directing, including and cultivating leadership styles.

Recommendation: A practical framework has been proposed to enhance the lacking leadership skills by utilizing the Matrix of Change (MOC), and the Balanced Scorecard BSC) to capture the best leadership scenarios to design virtual simulation environment as per the lacking leadership skills which is the visionary leadership skills in this case. After that, the virtual simulation will be used to provide an experiential learning by replacing human beings with avatars that can be managed or dramatized by real people to enable the creation of live, practical, measurable, and customizable leadership development programs.

ABSTRACT:
Cloud technology is rapidly spreading in educational institutions, sometimes replacing the in-house infrastructure with cloud services. This development seems driven primarily by the promised economic benefits and wider, efficient and accessible resources for students and teachers. The educational impact of this change, however, remains unclear. While traditional learning technically can be integrated or perhaps replaced by learning in the cloud, we also need to identify and formalize new strategies for the delivery and effective use of these resources and for measuring the educational benefit. In this paper technologies and pedagogical aspects of introduction of the cloud model in teaching and learning, are proposed the results of an investigation into the scientific literature of the last three years that outlines the areas in which research is most active. The papers taken into consideration show a strong interest in the implementation of educational activities on the cloud model, also by developing countries. We found many research proposals but little real research and, therefore, little evidence. This implies that we are far from ready solution to be applied in the teaching processes. What is certain is that a new space has been opened to carry out interesting research, both basic and industrial.

ABSTRACT:
This research studies five characteristics of water quality using techniques of Statistical Quality Control as applied to actual 2014 data collected for a water treatment plant located in United States. An overview of some of the results obtained using Minitab 17 are presented as well as conclusions and future directions of the research.

ABSTRACT:
The two-dimension guillotine cut is actually one of the most interesting problems in modern industries like metallurgic, textile, wooden... in which it’s needed to cut sheets in pieces with an associated dimensions and benefits in the way to maximize the final benefit. The purpose of this work is to present an evolutionary metaheuristic for the two-dimension cut problem using guillotine, also it’s shown how this approach can be applied to solve these types of problems, it’s compared with other exact algorithms and finally it’s defined an evolutionary representation which may be used with different metaheuristics.

ABSTRACT:
This paper proposes an active and reactive power control strategy based on predictive control approaches applied to gridconnected renewable energy systems. To accomplish this a multi-modular matrix converter topologies are used in combination with a simple but efficient grid synchronization strategy. The theoretical performance analysis is performed considering a six-phase wind energy generator system interconnected with the grid. Results based on a MATLAB/Simulink simulation environment are discussed and the most relevant characteristics of the proposed control technique are highlighted considering the total harmonic distortion and the mean squared error as a parameters of performance.

ABSTRACT:
English proficiency has become essential for Japanese people in today’s globalized society. However, since the structure of the Japanese language is very different from that of English, it has proven difficult for Japanese people to create natural and fluent English sentences without specialized training. We developed a support system for English composition using a new method which addresses this issue. The main characteristic of the system is the use of a dictionary of similar sentence patterns. This dictionary was developed by defining a new distance measurement between sentences that emphasize expressions at the end of a sentence in a Japanese text due to the head finality of Japanese. Our experiment revealed that in terms of fluency of translation, higher scores were obtained with this system, in comparison with the singular use of a word dictionary. Also, in terms of both adequacy and fluency, the average values with this system exceeded those with traditional support systems for English composition considered in this study.

ABSTRACT:
The decision takers of the public transportation system, as part of urban critical infrastructures, need to increase the system resilience. For doing so, we identified analysis tools for biological networks as an adequate basis for visual analytics in that domain. In the paper at hand we therefore translate such methods for transportation systems and show the benefits by applying them on the Munich subway network. Here, visual analytics is used to identify vulnerable stations from different perspectives. The applied technique is presented step by step. Furthermore, the key challenges in applying this technique on transportation systems are identified. Finally, we propose the implementation of the presented features in a management cockpit to integrate the visual analytics mantra for an adequate decision support on transportation systems.

ABSTRACT:
The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors influencing behaviors of information sharing in complex organizations. Evaluation of the previous studies on provision of information turnover process and the role of organizational culture in competitive intelligence of business environment in Latvia indicated the trends that employees of Latvian enterprises lack incentive to share information.

Tasks of the study were to research the basis of the review of scientific sources and study aspects influencing habits of information sharing in complex organizations. For this particular study, the focus group is selected as the most appropriate data collection method for high-quality research.

To find out individuals' opinions and attitudes two focus group discussions were carried out. Members from various industries and with different employment period were included in discussion groups. In aggregate, opinions of the employees from 41 different companies were summarized regarding the aspects affecting the process of information sharing in organizations.

Results of researches show that that influence the sharing of information are closely related to the values: interpersonal trust, organizational trust, and organizational identification, support, fairness etc. Results of discussions showed that it is important for a manager to be aware of the factors affecting the performance of the organization. To identify the need for changes, a manager should follow events in the environment and analyze the extent, to which they affect the performance of the organization.

Complexity science suggests that maturity to changes emerges when the system is far from balance, but the tension makes to accept changes.

ABSTRACT:
Information and computing infrastructures (ICT) involve levels of complexity that are highly dynamic in nature. This is due in no small measure to the proliferation of technologies, such as: cloud computing and distributed systems architectures, data mining and multidimensional analysis, and large scale enterprise systems, to name a few. Effective computing and network systems administration is integral to the stability and scalability of these complex software, hardware and communication systems. Systems administration involves the design, analysis, and continuous improvement of the performance or operation of information and computing systems. Additionally, social and administrative responsibilities have become nearly as integral for the systems administrator as are the technical demands that have been imposed for decades. The areas of operations research (OR) and system dynamics (SD) modeling offer system administrators a rich array of analytical and optimization tools that have been developed from diverse disciplines, which include: industrial, scientific, engineering, economic and financial, to name a few. This paper proposes a research framework by which OR and SD modeling techniques may prove useful to computing and network systems administration, which include: linear programming, network analysis, integer programming, nonlinear optimization, Markov processes, queueing modeling, simulation, decision analysis, heuristic techniques, and system dynamics modeling.