You Don\u27t Know What You Don\u27t Know: A Collection of Challenge and Acceptance from Women Owned Small Businesses in Johnson City, Tennessee

With over 11.6 million establishments, women owned small businesses hold a crucial part in supporting the US economy’s wellbeing. However, owning a small business comes with numerous challenges that not all can overcome. This study investigates the challenges of ten women-owned small businesses in Johnson City, Tennessee. The interview results display that women struggle with similar challenges as men; however, they have more difficulty balancing gender roles and societal expectations with owning a small business. This research concludes that men and women do not have equal opportunities when it comes to owning a small business and women are at a disadvantage in specific areas

The Effects of Carbon Equivalent, Return Ratios, Mold Preparation, Riser Feed and Casting Temperature on the Microstructural and Mechanical Properties of 100-70-03 Pearlitic Ductile Iron

The most common and costly detriments to ductile iron foundries are casting defects, particularly in new and complex components. The ability to understand the factors and processes that create microstructures and the associated properties would allow accurate virtual predictions of casting outcomes. An experimental study of standard foundry variables, carbon equivalent, return ratio, mold preparation, riser feed, and casting temperature on a target of 100-70-03 pearlitic, hypereutectic ductile iron provided the groundwork for an ICME database. Density decreased when the fraction of graphite nodules was greater due to the low density of graphite. A greater percentage of return scrap and higher CE level correlated to increased graphite nodule formation and count as well as increased hardness and density. Riser sleeve compression and mold hardness influenced the amount of material fed into a casting upon solidification. However, mold hardness in the range of 85 to 95 B-scale has little effect on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the casting

Hand2 function within non-cardiomyocytes regulates cardiac morphogenesis and performance

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)The heart is a complex organ that is composed of numerous cell types, which must integrate their programs for proper specification, differentiation, and cardiac morphogenesis. During cardiac development the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Hand2 is dynamically expressed within the endocardium and extra-cardiac lineages such as the epicardium, cardiac neural crest cells (cNCCs), and NCC derived components of the autonomic nervous system. To investigate Hand2 function within these populations we utilized multiple murine Hand2 Conditional Knockout (H2CKO) genetic models. These studies establish for the first time a functional requirement for Hand2 within the endocardium, as several distinct phenotypes including hypotrabeculation, tricuspid atresia, aberrant septation, and precocious coronary development are observed in endocardial H2CKOs. Molecular analyses reveal that endocardial Hand2 functions within the Notch signaling pathway to regulate expression of Nrg1, which encodes a crucial secreted growth factor. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Notch signaling regulates coronary angiogenesis via Hand2 mediated modulation of Vegf signaling. Hand2 is strongly expressed within midgestation NCC and endocardium derived cardiac cushion mesenchyme. To ascertain the function of Hand2 within these cells we employed the Periostin Cre (Postn-Cre), which marks cushion mesenchyme, a small subset of the epicardium, and components of the autonomic nervous system, to conditionally ablate Hand2. We find that Postn-Cre H2CKOs die shortly after birth despite a lack of cardiac structural defects. Gene expression analyses demonstrate that Postn-Cre ablates Hand2 from the adrenal medulla, causing downregulation of Dopamine Beta Hydroxylase (Dbh), a gene encoding a crucial catecholaminergic biosynthetic enzyme. Electrocardiograms demonstrate that 3-day postnatal Postn-Cre H2CKO pups exhibit significantly slower heart rates than control littermates. In conjunction with the aforementioned gene expression analyses, these results indicate that loss of Hand2 function within the adrenal medulla results in a catecholamine deficiency and subsequent heart failure

GAMES THAT CAN SAVE LIVES Designing the next generation NYCAMH safety game

Abstract not present in the ThesisNo sponsors mentionedSUNY Polytechnic Institut

Mussel farming in a Scottish sea loch

Keywords: Fsh507; Aquaculture; Mussel farming; Hytilus edulis; Mytilicoa intestinalis; Mytilus edulis; Mytilus intestinali

Hierarchical and stage-specific regulation of murine cardiomyocyte maturation by serum response factor

After birth, cardiomyocytes (CM) acquire numerous adaptations in order to efficiently pump blood throughout an animal’s lifespan. How this maturation process is regulated and coordinated is poorly understood. Here, we perform a CRISPR/Cas9 screen in mice and identify serum response factor (SRF) as a key regulator of CM maturation. Mosaic SRF depletion in neonatal CMs disrupts many aspects of their maturation, including sarcomere expansion, mitochondrial biogenesis, transverse-tubule formation, and cellular hypertrophy. Maintenance of maturity in adult CMs is less dependent on SRF. This stage-specific activity is associated with developmentally regulated SRF chromatin occupancy and transcriptional regulation. SRF directly activates genes that regulate sarcomere assembly and mitochondrial dynamics. Perturbation of sarcomere assembly but not mitochondrial dynamics recapitulates SRF knockout phenotypes. SRF overexpression also perturbs CM maturation. Together, these data indicate that carefully balanced SRF activity is essential to promote CM maturation through a hierarchy of cellular processes orchestrated by sarcomere assembly