University of Colorado Colorado Springs

About: University of Colorado Colorado Springs is a education organization based out in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 6664 authors who have published 10872 publications receiving 323416 citations. The organization is also known as: UCCS & University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

In situ species diagnostics and kinetic study of plasma activated ethylene dissociation and oxidation in a low temperature flow reactor

Abstract: In situ measurements by mid-IR laser absorption spectroscopy of C 2 H 4 /Ar dissociation and C 2 H 4 /O 2 /Ar oxidation activated by a nanosecond repetitively pulsed plasma have been conducted in a low temperature flow reactor (below 500 K) at a pressure of 60 Torr for both a continuously pulsed plasma discharge mode and a burst mode with 150 pulses. The measurements of the in situ diagnostics are validated and complemented by gas chromatography in the continuous discharge mode. A recently developed kinetic mechanism (HP-Mech-Plasma) for plasma activated C 2 H 4 oxidation is assembled. The experiments of plasma activated dissociation show that the formation of acetylene by direct electron impact dissociation and dissociation by excited and ionized argon collision reactions is the major fuel consumption pathway. Plasma activated C 2 H 4 oxidation experiments show that there exist three fuel consumption pathways, (1) a plasma activated low temperature fuel oxidation pathway via O 2 addition reactions; (2) a direct fragmentation pathway via collisional dissociation by electrons, ions, and electronically excited molecules; and (3) a direct oxidation pathway by plasma generated radicals. It is found that the plasma activated low temperature oxidation pathway is dominant and leads to a large amount of formaldehyde formation with less acetylene and negligible large hydrocarbon molecules as compared to the dissociation experiment. The results also indicate that the latter two fuel consumption pathways are strongly dependent on O 2 and Ar concentrations due to their effect on the production of atomic oxygen and excited Ar. Although the current model improves the overall prediction over USC-Mech II for plasma activated dissociation and oxidation, both models fail to predict quantitatively the H 2 O and CH 4 formation. The present data provide good targets for future model development in plasma-assisted combustion.

Evaluation of cognitively accessible software to increase independent access to cellphone technology for people with intellectual disability.

Abstract: Background There are over two billion telephones in use worldwide. Yet, for millions of Americans with intellectual disabilities (ID), access to the benefits of cellphone technology is limited because of deficits in literacy, numerical comprehension, the proliferation of features and shrinking size of cellphone hardware and user interfaces. Developments in smart phone technology and PDA-based cellphones provide an opportunity to make the social and safety benefits of cellphones more independently accessible to this population. Method This project involved employment of universal design and other specialised software development methods to create a multimedia cellphone interface prototype which was compared with a typical mainstream cellphone in a usability evaluation for individuals with ID. Participants completed a structured set of incoming/outgoing phone tasks using both the experimental and control conditions. Usability measurements included the amount of assistance needed and errors made in completing the cellphone use sequence. Results A total of 22 individuals with ID participated in the research by engaging in a series of incoming and outgoing cellphone calls using both the multimedia cellphone prototype system and a mainstream Nokia 6360 cellphone. Test subjects required significantly less help (P = 0.001) and made significantly fewer errors (P < 0.001) when completing eight calls using the specialised multimedia phone system as compared with the mainstream phone. Conclusions The statistical evidence of both usability results provide promising evidence of the feasibility of implementing universal design and other specialised software development methodologies for increasing independent access to the benefits of cellphone technologies for students and adults with ID. Issues related to designing cognitively accessible interfaces, study limitations and future directions are discussed.

Effects of β-cyclodextrin introduction to zirconia supported-cobalt oxide catalysts: From molecule-ion associations to complete oxidation of formaldehyde

Abstract: The present paper deals with the impact of the addition of β-cyclodextrin on the genesis of cobalt active phases in zirconia-supported catalysts and on their performances in the complete oxidation of formaldehyde. With this aim, a series of cobalt catalysts supported on zirconia (5 wt.%) is prepared by wet impregnation using mixtures of Co(NO3)2 and β-cyclodextrin as precursors. After the impregnation step, the materials are dried and calcined under air at 400 °C. Different ratios of β-cyclodextrin to cobalt have been employed to obtain insight in the role of β-cyclodextrin, i.e. from 0.01 to 1. The ability of β-cyclodextrin to interact with the cobalt salt is investigated in solution by UV–vis spectroscopy, ion conductivity in water and dynamic light scattering measurements. After the impregnation step, the cobalt supported materials are characterized at different stages of the preparation (before and after calcination) by means of conventional techniques including UV–vis spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, N2 adsorption/desorption, X-ray diffraction and temperature-programmed reduction analysis. Characterization results suggest that the carbohydrate ligand bound to the cobalt species retards the decomposition of the cobalt complexes into Co3O4. Finally, these cobalt oxide catalysts prepared from β-cyclodextrin are able to catalyze the oxidation of formaldehyde more efficiently than the control sample. The results are explained in terms of cobalt oxide dispersion and cobalt-support interactions. Indeed, the cobalt oxide particles generated by the thermal decomposition of β-cyclodextrin-Co(II) adducts are on the one hand smaller than those formed with cobalt nitrate alone and on the other hand reducible at lower temperatures, two key factors in the catalytic oxidation reactions.

Matrix Metalloproteinase Genes Are Associated with Breast Cancer Risk and Survival: The Breast Cancer Health Disparities Study

Abstract: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) contribute to cancer through their involvement in cancer invasion and metastasis. We evaluated genetic variation in MMP1 (9 SNPs), MMP2 (8 SNPs), MMP3 (4 SNPs), and MMP9 (3 SNPs) and breast cancer risk among Hispanic (2111 cases, 2597 controls) and non-Hispanic white (NHW) (1481 cases, 1586 controls) women in the Breast Cancer Health Disparities Study. Ancestral informative markers (n = 104) were assessed to determine Native American (NA) ancestry. MMP1 [4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)] and MMP2 (2 SNPs) were associated with breast cancer overall. MMP1 rs996999 had strongest associations among women with the most NA ancestry (OR 1.61,95% CI 1.09,2.40) as did MMP3 rs650108 (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.05,1.75) and MMP9 rs3787268 (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.09,2.13). The adaptive rank truncated product (ARTP) showed a significant pathway partp value of 0.04, with a stronger association among women with the most NA ancestry (partp = 0.02). Significant pathway genes using the ARTP were MMP1 for all women (partp = 0.02) and MMP9 for women with the most NA ancestry (partp = 0.024); MMP2 was borderline significant overall (partp = 0.06) and MMP1 and MMP3 were borderline significant for women with the most NA ancestry (partp = 0.07 and 0.06 respectively). MMP1 and MMP2 were associated with ER+/PR+ and ER+/PR-tumors; MMP3 and MMP9 were associated with ER−/PR− tumors. The pathway was highly significant with survival (partp = 0.0041) with MMP2 having the strongest gene association (partp = 0.0007). Our findings suggest that genetic variation in MMP genes influence breast cancer development and survival in this genetically admixed population.