University of North Carolina at Charlotte

About: University of North Carolina at Charlotte is a education organization based out in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 8772 authors who have published 22239 publications receiving 562529 citations. The organization is also known as: UNC Charlotte & UNCC.

Reconfigurable Solar Converter: A Single-Stage Power Conversion PV-Battery System

Abstract: This paper introduces a new converter called reconfigurable solar converter (RSC) for photovoltaic (PV)-battery application, particularly utility-scale PV-battery application. The main concept of the new converter is to use a single-stage three-phase grid-tie solar PV converter to perform dc/ac and dc/dc operations. This converter solution is appealing for PV-battery application, because it minimizes the number of conversion stages, thereby improving efficiency and reducing cost, weight, and volume. In this paper, a combination of analysis and experimental tests is used to demonstrate the attractive performance characteristics of the proposed RSC.

Contextual gaps: privacy issues on Facebook

Abstract: Social networking sites like Facebook are rapidly gaining in popularity At the same time, they seem to present significant privacy issues for their users We analyze two of Facebooks's more recent features, Applications and News Feed, from the perspective enabled by Helen Nissenbaum's treatment of privacy as "contextual integrity" Offline, privacy is mediated by highly granular social contexts Online contexts, including social networking sites, lack much of this granularity These contextual gaps are at the root of many of the sites' privacy issues Applications, which nearly invisibly shares not just a users', but a user's friends' information with third parties, clearly violates standard norms of information flow News Feed is a more complex case, because it involves not just questions of privacy, but also of program interface and of the meaning of "friendship" online In both cases, many of the privacy issues on Facebook are primarily design issues, which could be ameliorated by an interface that made the flows of information more transparent to users

Effect of starvation and the viable-but-nonculturable state on green fluorescent protein (GFP) fluorescence in GFP-tagged Pseudomonas fluorescens A506.

Abstract: The green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene, gfp, of the jellyfish Aequorea victoria is being used as a reporter system for gene expression and as a marker for tracking prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Cells that have been genetically altered with the gfp gene produce a protein that fluoresces when it is excited by UV light. This unique phenotype allows gfp-tagged cells to be specifically monitored by nondestructive means. In this study we determined whether a gfp-tagged strain of Pseudomonas fluorescens continued to fluoresce under conditions under which the cells were starved, viable but nonculturable (VBNC), or dead. Epifluorescent microscopy, flow cytometry, and spectrofluorometry were used to measure fluorescence intensity in starved, VBNC, and dead or dying cells. Results obtained by using flow cytometry indicated that microcosms containing VBNC cells, which were obtained by incubation under stress conditions (starvation at 37.5°C), fluoresced at an intensity that was at least 80% of the intensity of nonstressed cultures. Similarly, microcosms containing starved cells incubated at 5 and 30°C had fluorescence intensities that were 90 to 110% of the intensity of nonstressed cells. VBNC cells remained fluorescent during the entire 6-month incubation period. In addition, cells starved at 5 or 30°C remained fluorescent for at least 11 months. Treatment of the cells with UV light or incubation at 39 or 50°C resulted in a loss of GFP from the cells. There was a strong correlation between cell death and leakage of GFP from the cells, although the extent of leakage varied depending on the treatment. Most dead cells were not GFP fluorescent, but a small proportion of the dead cells retained some GFP at a lower concentration than the concentration in live cells. Our results suggest that gfp-tagged cells remain fluorescent following starvation and entry into the VBNC state but that fluorescence is lost when the cells die, presumably because membrane integrity is lost.

Incidence and Cost of Ankle Sprains in United States Emergency Departments.

Abstract: Background:Ankle sprains represent a common injury in emergency departments, but little is known about common complications, procedures, and charges associated with ankle sprains in emergency departments.Hypothesis:There will be a higher incidence of ankle sprains among younger populations (≤25 years old) and in female patients. Complications and procedures will differ between ankle sprain types. Lateral ankle sprains will have lower health care charges relative to medial and high ankle sprains.Study Design:Descriptive epidemiological study.Level of Evidence:Level 3.Methods:A cross-sectional study of the 2010 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample was conducted. Outcomes such as charges, complications, and procedures were compared using propensity score matching between lateral and medial as well as lateral and high ankle sprains.Results:The sample contained 225,114 ankle sprains. Female patients sustained more lateral ankle sprains (57%). After propensity score adjustment, lateral sprains incurred greate...

The Alignment of Alternate Assessment Content with Academic and Functional Curricula

Abstract: The 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act required states to provide access to the general curriculum and alternate assessments for students with disabilities who were unable to participate in statewide assessments. For this study, we examined the curricular focus of alternate assessments using performance indicators in math, language arts, and functional skills from 31 states. Experts in math education, language arts, and severe disabilities, along with a group of stakeholders (i.e., teachers and administrators), examined the performance indicators relative to their alignment to national standards and curricula. Experts and stakeholders identified states that had alternate assessment performance indicators that were clearly aligned to math or language arts and those that did not. A subgroup also considered the functionality of the indicators. Through a series of discussions, experts and stakeholders identified features of the performance indicators that exemplified alignment ...