Williston State College

Excessive sedentary time (ST) is linked to dementia risk, poorer attentional control and episodic memory. These cognitive decrements have been associated with decreased functional connectivity (FC) in the frontoparietal network (FPN) and default mode networks (DMN) with ageing. Physical activity (PA) interventions can enhance FC in these networks, but these interventions are not designed to decrease ST among older adults. Prolonged sitting (ie, sitting continuously for ≥20 min) can acutely reduce frontoparietal brain function and attentional control, while a single PA bout lasting at least 20 min can enhance them. It has been theorised that stimulation of the cerebral norepinephrine release through peripheral increase in catecholamines may explain this effect. In contrast, the effects of shorter (<10 min) PA bouts used to interrupt prolonged sitting on neurocognitive functions remain poorly understood. This pilot randomised crossover feasibility trial capitalises on PA intensity as the major limiting factor in peripheral catecholamine increase and tests the effects of interrupting prolonged sitting every 30 min with 6 min high-intensity interval training (HIIT) compared with low-intensity interval training (LIIT) bouts. The study will address three aims: (1) to assess feasibility, acceptability, fidelity and safety of HIIT breaks to improve neurocognitive function in middle-aged and older adults; (2) to quantify the differences between conditions in the change in the amplitude and latency of the P3b component of event-related potentials (a marker for frontoparietal function) and (3) to explore the differences between conditions in attentional control, episodic memory and FC of the FPN and DMN in middle-aged and older adults. 54 healthy adults, aged 40-75 years, will be recruited from the local community and randomly assigned to a condition sequence (HIIT, LIIT vs LIIT and HIIT). Each HIIT bout comprises a 1 min warm-up, 2 min at 90% of the maximum heart rate (HRmax), 1 min passive rest and 2 min at 90% HRmax. During 2 min intervals in LIIT, participants exercise at 57%-60% of HRmax. The primary outcomes include the feasibility (recruitment and retention rates, percentage of valid electroencephalogram data), acceptability of time commitment, HIIT bouts and neurocognitive assessments, fidelity (the intensity of HIIT breaks, percentage of time spent sitting) and the amplitude and the latency of the P3b component of event-related brain potentials measured during the modified Eriksen flanker task at pretests, after the first and the third PA bout and at post-test. General linear mixed-effects models will be used to test the effects of the intervention on the P3b component. The Institutional Review Board at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign provided the ethical approval for the study. Findings will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and at scientific conferences. NCT06243016.

Most hydrogen is used locally where it is produced or generated, and it is, generally speaking, technically difficult and expensive to not only store but also transport hydrogen safely other than by pipeline. At the present time, hydrogen storage, especially at large scale or using “bulk” storage approaches, needs further development and investment before they are ready for broad deployment. Storage of materials, particularly gases and liquids, requires the use of tanks and reaction vessels for a wide variation of temperature and pressure conditions. This chapter presents a few principles employed in industrial settings, particularly in chemical process industries. Methods for storage currently available or under study are: high-pressure gas tanks; cryogenic liquid tanks; underground storage salt caverns; adsorption in metal hydrides; and bonding with liquid organic hydrogen carries. The most common method to store hydrogen in gaseous form is in steel tanks.

Educational technologies are now an integral part of the educational milieu. All educators are expected to be able to use technologies and design courses using these technologies. One framework that can guide the course design process using various technologies is the Learning Ecology Matrix (LEM). The LEM, focusing on learner autonomy and instructor guidance, aids in tailoring courses to be learner-centered or teacher-centered. This article reviews the LEM and explores how the LEM can be used in practice to design courses.

Introduction: Participation in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) reduces morbidity, and mortality, while improving quality of life following major cardiovascular events. Patients with lower-socioeconomic status (SES), such as those enrolled in Medicaid, are much less likely to attend and complete CR, despite being at increased risk for recurrent cardiovascular events. Methods: A secondary analysis was performed on a randomized controlled trial in which 130 individuals enrolled in Medicaid, with a CR-qualifying cardiac event, were randomized 1:1 to receive financial incentives for completing CR sessions or to usual care. Participants were assessed on clinical and cognitive outcomes soon after discharge as well as at 4 months, and 1 year following entry. The current analyses focused on how outcomes changed over the three timepoints. Outcomes included changes in psychological measurements (depressive/anxious symptoms, quality of life), body composition (waist circumference, body mass index), and fitness (peak VO2/METS). Mixed model repeated measures analyses of variance were used to test for main effects while controlling for sex, smoking status, age, and qualifying diagnosis. Results: Lower-SES patients entering CR had remarkably low levels of fitness and high rates of psychological issues. Fitness improved between intake and 4-months, and gains were maintained through one year (p&lt;0.001) (Table 1) however gains were less in females and those who completed fewer sessions of CR. Body composition measurements significantly worsened between 4-months and 1-year (p&lt;0.03). Psychological measures did not improve in the year following the event. Conclusion: While fitness improved in lower-SES patients, especially among those who completed more sessions of CR, psychological symptoms were elevated and did not improve. Future research should seek to understand how we can better serve this population, especially in the area of psych symptoms.

Purpose: Current smoking is a powerful predictor of future morbidity and mortality and those who smoke are more likely to have higher risk clinical profiles and less likely to engage in secondary prevention. Little is known about how those who smoke benefit from secondary prevention following a cardiac event, such as cardiac rehabilitation (CR). The purpose of this study was to compare improvements in fitness among those who smoke vs those who do not during CR. Methods: Data were gathered on 2208 individuals entering the University of Vermont CR program from 1/1996-12/2021. Self-reported smoking status was collected at CR entry (current vs. formerly vs. never smoking). Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF)(peak oxygen capacity [VO2peak]) was assessed via exercise tolerance test at entry to and exit from CR. Change in Peak VO2 was compared by smoking status univariately and in a multivariate model controlling for other potential contributing variables like age, sex, entry VO2, number and severity of exercise-limiting comorbidities, BMI, and number of CR sessions attended. Results: On average patients improved by 3.26 in their CRF during the course of CR. In univariate analyses improvement by smoking status was 2.29, 3.06, and 3.55 (current, former, never smoker respectively). The final multivariate model included smoking status, CRF at intake, comorbidities, age, BMI, and interactions between smoking status and age, and BMI and age. Least square means from this model were improvements of 1.95, 3.10, and 3.53 (current, former, never smoker respectively). Conclusion: These data suggest that those who are currently smoking improve less in fitness during CR than those who formerly or never smoked and that controlling for covariates highlights that the biggest difference in the effect of smoking is truly between the current smokers and the former/never smokers. Further research should be conducted to see if successful smoking cessation can improve fitness related gains during CR.

Abstract The development of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking has led to an increase in oil and natural gas extraction. Development of infrastructure to extract and transport these resources is expected to increase over the next few decades, resulting in extensive land disturbance. Although reclamation aims to sufficiently return disturbed lands to their pre‐disturbance use in an ecological sense, reclaimed rights‐of‐ways (ROW) commonly produce reduced crop yields. The objective of this study was to use meta‐analysis to determine soil disturbance trends across studies found in the peer‐reviewed literature. Papers that reported soil property data on disturbed ROWs and adjacent undisturbed sites were retrieved by searching the Web of Science database. Papers were separated by climate regions, resulting in analyses being conducted for studies in semiarid and humid climate regions. Results indicate that soil bulk density, soil organic matter, and pH are significantly increased on reclaimed ROWs. Soil metrics not incorporated in meta‐analysis due to insufficient observations or the possible presence of publication biases like a desire to publish significant results and poor study design (cation exchange capacity, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, total nitrogen, electrical conductivity, sodium, sodium adsorption ratio, and texture) are assessed and discussed. Best management practices gleaned from studies incorporated into meta‐analysis are discussed to provide strategies to limit soil property disturbances.

&lt;p&gt;Tourism is simply an activity of travelling for pleasure and relaxation. Good transport system, especially the road network, proves to be helpful in strengthening the tourism infrastructure. In Miraj Sub-district of Sangli, there are diverse examples of tourist places like religious, historical, geographical etc. This paper focuses on studying the places of tourism interest in Miraj &amp; exploring tourism potential of diverse places to develop more and the impact of the road network on it. This study is based on both Primary and Secondary data such as Field visits and observations, District official website, Gazetteer Sangli, remote sensing data of road networks like OSM and some GIS technics. The study finds that facility of good road connectivity / accessibility has impact on potential &amp; development and it is not satisfactory for some tourist places in Miraj. Places like Juna Panhala fort have potential to develop more, if increased road network connectivity is provided to them.&lt;/p&gt;

Spring barley production and quality in the United States is severely impacted by Fusarium head blight (FHB), primarily caused by Fusarium graminearum. Management of FHB is best accomplished using an integrated approach including resistant varieties and fungicides. Field experiments were established from 2014 to 2019 to quantify the effects of host resistance, fungicide, and fungicide timing on management of FHB and deoxynivalenol (DON) and yield protection in spring barley. Three separate research objectives were investigated using multiyear and multilocation experiments. These included investigating the efficacy of prothioconazole + tebuconazole applied at either Feekes growth stage (FGS) 10.5 (full head) or 3 to 7 days after FGS 10.5; the efficacy of sequential fungicide applications occurring at both FGS 10.5 and 3 to 7 days after FGS 10.5 using prothioconazole + tebuconazole, metconazole, prothioconazole, or tebuconazole; and the efficacy and timing of pydiflumetofen + propiconazole. Pooled analysis results suggest that metconazole, prothioconazole + tebuconazole, and pydiflumetofen + propiconazole are all effective fungicides for reducing DON, reducing FHB, and protecting yield. The use of sequential fungicide applications with one occurring at FGS 10.5 and another at 3 to 7 days after FGS 10.5 provided greater suppression than a single application at FGS 10.5. The greatest DON reduction from pydiflumetofen + propiconazole occurred when applied at full head or 3 to 7 days after full head. Across all research objectives, the most effective single fungicide application timing to reduce FHB, reduce DON, and protect yield in barley is 3 to 7 days after FGS 10.5.

Many IC thermal simulations use only a small volume due to machine/EDA tool constraints. This work presents a thermal TCAD simulation methodology on a large-scale 7nm circuit using available thermal TCAD tools. The circuit model is based on a 3 x 3 array of inverter circuits and incorporates 18 metal levels in the back-end. A constant power is applied to each channel of the devices in the inverters as the heat source. The steady-state temperature is calculated for the system, with the goal of ensuring the temperature in the metallurgy does not exceed electromigration limits. Furthermore, the overall volume modelled is enlarged to evaluate the TCAD tools abilities to scale to larger and more complex models. The model, the methodology used and the results with specific attention to the scalability of the tools evaluated is discussed. The applicability of this methodology is demonstrated by showing the self-heating of measured structures is predicted with reasonable accuracy.