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A product of 3 years' experience in administering the Miami University Portfolio Writing Program, this handbook is designed to assist college faculty in administering a portfolio writing assessment program for incoming students (based on a collection of their best high school writing). The handbook's five chapters are: (1) Introduction: Portfolio Assessment and the Evaluation of Writing; (2) Contents of Portfolios; (3) Implementing a Portfolio Placement Program; (4) Scoring Writing Portfolios; and (5) Portfolio Assessment and the Teaching of Writing. (Nineteen references and a 17-item bibliography are attached. Appendixes include the 1993 description of portfolio contents, the 1993 guidelines for portfolio submission, the 1993 portfolio information form, the 1992 invitation to students, the 1992 scoring guide for portfolios, an "excellent" student portfolio, and a "very good" student portfolio.) (RS)

As an aid for administrators in state and local education agencies, community colleges, and noneducational service agencies, this handbook tells how to gather community information needed for educational planning and decision-making. Information sources, terminology, and definitions are included, as well as guidelines for the use of such data. The first two chapters present an introduction to community information. Six further chapters examine the classification of community data on population, land use, and social structure and discuss available published resources, information gathering from local sources, community survey methods, techniques of data use, and definitions of the data items used. Tables and charts provide examples of community information. In eleven appendices, the authors include a glossary of terms, sample community profile charts, an explanation of the Standard Industrial Classification system, hints on using federal census data, and a guide to the literature. (RW)

Information on college applications, acceptances, financial aid, and attendance is presented based on base-year and first follow-up data for the National Longitudinal Study and the High School and Beyond Study of the Federal Center for Education Statistics. The focus is on changes that occurred between 1972 and 1980 in the two senior cohorts. Many of the analyses include several control variables: race, sex, socioeconomic status, and ability level. Information is included on: changes in the percentages applying to any postsecondary institution as well as the changes in those applying to one, two, or three or more institutions; changes in the types of institution selected; changes in characteristics of institutions selected (quality, in-state versus out-of-state, cost, and size); percentages of students who applied for aid at their first, second, and third choice colleges; the percentages of students in both cohorts who received an aid offer; the percentages who received grants, loans, or work-study aid among those who received an aid offer; changes in attendance rates; attendance rates by number of applications; and changes in attendance at colleges offering aid. Information on the research methodology and statistical analyses is appended. Concluding the document are tables (comprising two-thirds of the document) that detail the content and methodology of the project. (SW)

The 1975 information manual is designed to provide current data on policies, procedures, services, facilities, organization and governance of Miami University and, through the extensive index, quick access to this information. The manual is complementary to the university catalog and directory. Information relating to students is in the Student Handbook. This handbook covers five major areas: organization of the university, faculty responsibilities and relationships, aids to teaching and research, personnel policies, and institutional services for faculty, staff, and students. Appendices are included with data on governance, departmental advisers, library regulations, councils and committees, research opportunities, affirmative action program and grievance procedures, and graduate assistants and teaching fellows. Faculty responsibilities and relationships are detailed regarding registration and enrollment, standards of instruction, advising and counseling, final examinations and grading, course changes, programs for superior students, off-campus trips, and commencement exercises and honorary degrees. (LBH)

Designed to aid users in locating materials in the government documents department at Miami University in Oxford Ohio, this guide contains general information on the documents collection, a floor plan of the documents department, an introduction to U.S. government document finding aids, an introduction to U.S. Congressional and legislative materials, an overview of census information sources, a list of frequently-requested government titles and their Superintendent of Documents classification numbers, an introduction to information sources on U.S. public law, a guide to United Nations publications, and a list of collections relevant to research on government matters at King Library. (JL)

Prepared by classroom teachers, the papers in this collection combine practical knowledge with recent findings from writing research. Among the topics discussed in the 25 papers are (1) student teacher conferences, (2) using poetry to develop writing fluency, (3) writing as a learning process, (4) oral and written discourse, (5) creative dramatics and oral interpretation in the writing process, (6) writing for publication, (7) reluctant writers, (8) handling the paper load, (9) popular culture and the teaching of usage, (10) the development of writing abilities, (11) the structure of the expository paragraph, (12) writing in the content areas, (13) journal keeping, (14) using prewriting to improve student writing, and (15) using field work to teach writing. (FL)

Prepared by classroom teachers, the papers in this collection synthesize their own teaching experiences with recent writing research revelations. Among the topics covered in the 37 papers are (1) computers in the English classroom, (2) values clarification and the teaching of autobiographical writing, (3) using journals, (4) grammar instruction, (5) sensory techniques in writing assignments, (6) writing across the curriculum, (7) hemispheric specialization and teaching writing, (8) peer editing, (9) short story writing, (10) art and writing for the junior high school student, (11) using the newspaper to teach writing, (12) prewriting activities for elementary school students, (13) the use of film to motivate writing, (14) teaching audience through children's books, (15) creating a writing laboratory, (16) teaching paragraph structure, (17) fantasy, (18) community-centered writing, (19) sentence combining and peer evaluation, and (20) extending literature through writing in the elementary school classroom. (FL)

We describe the Phase II HapMap, which characterizes over 3.1 million human single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped in 270 individuals from four geographically diverse populations and includes 25-35% of common SNP variation in the populations surveyed. The map is estimated to capture untyped common variation with an average maximum r(2) of between 0.9 and 0.96 depending on population. We demonstrate that the current generation of commercial genome-wide genotyping products captures common Phase II SNPs with an average maximum r(2) of up to 0.8 in African and up to 0.95 in non-African populations, and that potential gains in power in association studies can be obtained through imputation. These data also reveal novel aspects of the structure of linkage disequilibrium. We show that 10-30% of pairs of individuals within a population share at least one region of extended genetic identity arising from recent ancestry and that up to 1% of all common variants are untaggable, primarily because they lie within recombination hotspots. We show that recombination rates vary systematically around genes and between genes of different function. Finally, we demonstrate increased differentiation at non-synonymous, compared to synonymous, SNPs, resulting from systematic differences in the strength or efficacy of natural selection between populations.

Miami University acquired a Thermal Gravimetric Analyzer (TGA500), a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC2000), and a refrigeration unit for cooling the DSC sample to -90 deg C, all from TA Instruments, Inc. for a sum of $81,136. In addition, Miami purchased supplies and consumables to maintain and support this new equipment for a total of $3078.93. Our total expenditures for the TGA and DSC at Miami were $84,214.93. This newly purchased equipment has supported multiple faculty in the Chemical, Paper, and Biomedical Engineering Department and in the Geology Department.

Biochemical and functional analyses of the A. baumannii AB5075 wild type parental strain and isogenic insertion derivatives showed that inactivation of genes coding for biosynthesis and transport of the high-affinity siderophore acinetobactin drastically affects the capacity of this strain to grow under iron-limiting laboratory conditions as well as to infect and kill G. mellonella larvae and BALB/c mice in experimental infection assays. These results validate AB5075 as a proper model strain to study virulence under in vitro and in vivo conditions and demonstrate the central role the acinetobactin-mediated iron acquisition system plays in its virulence. Equally relevant is the finding that all A. baumannii wound isolates tested were sensitive to Ga-PPIX independent of the composition of the media. These observations support our goal of using this non-ferric metalloporphyrin derivative as an anti-microbial agent in a wound infection model. Such an approach is feasible because Ga-PPIX does not display detectable cell and animal toxicity within the concentration range we plan to test based on data obtained with other pathogens. Although these observations are encouraging regarding the potential use of Ga-PPIX as an alternative to treat infections caused by MDR A. baumannii strains, the efficacy of this non-ferric metalloporphyrin derivative against other wound pathogens is not conclusive and requires some additional studies. Similar conclusions were obtained using gallium nitrate, the activity of which depends on the composition of the media. The successful implementation of a tissue culture model, which examines critical host-pathogen interactions, has the potential for providing novel and critical information on the pathobiology of bacteria that cause severe human infections., The original document contains color images.

The research team completed remaining work on the base effort including post-processing of the Plenoptic PIV data and compilation of the non-linear propagation work. Following the peer review, the original work plan for the extension period was determined to be too broad in scope. Therefore, a new extension work plan with reduced scope was proposed.

This project was focused on shape-persistent macrocycles featuring cross-conjugated subunits, for long term applications in organic photovoltaics and single-molecule devices. The proposed compounds allow the study of charge-transfer within single molecules mediated by pairs of conjugated bridges, a two dimensional pi-system design that had been unexplored. A synthetic method was developed allowing several series of these compounds to be prepared. As expected, charge-transfer through cross-conjugated meta-phenylene bridges was found to be slow compared to linearly conjugated 2,5-thiophene-based reference compounds. Unexpectedly, however, the pairing of bridges was found to greatly reduce electronic coupling regardless of their specific nature. As modulation of the electronic coupling can be exploited in the creation of single-molecule devices (e.g., transistors), this macrocyclic design strategy may be of use in future applications. The design of columnar materials based on these motifs was also explored. While liquid crystal phases (the original target) were not observed, solution-phase columnar self-assembly of oblong macrocycles was studied and strategies for the determination of the stacking geometry using computational chemistry were developed., The original document contains color images.

Work done during the first year of the award resulted in the identification and characterization of a set of 29 A. baumannii strains isolated from wounded military personnel with regard to their capacity to grow under iron-limiting conditions, produce iron chelators siderophores and form biofilms on abiotic surfaces found in medical settings. This analysis indicates that all isolates form biofilms on abiotic surfaces and different strains produce and/or use different siderophores when cultured under iron chelation. However, all tested strains produce dihydroxybenzoic acid derivatives, the synthesis of which could be used as a therapeutic target. Accordingly, salicylic acid derivatives seem to inhibit bacterial growth under iron chelation. Equally encouraging is the observation that gallium-containing derivatives, particularly Gaprotoporphyrin IX, inhibit bacterial growth independently of the iron and nutrient content of the medium. These are encouraging observations that will be tested in animal models proposed in this project and promote future basic studies since the mechanisms by which Ga-PPIX inhibit A. baumannii growth are unknown. Work done during this first year together with preliminary data collected by collaborators also resulted in the selection of the AB5075 isolate as a model strain for more extensive studies. This clinical isolate proved to be virulent when tested using ex vivo and in vivo experimental infection models and amenable to genetic manipulations, including high throughput insertion mutagenesis and genetic complementation with shuttle cloning vectors under construction., The original document contains color images.

Immersive VEs (IVEs) have had difficulty simulating large-scale environments because they typically have a limited tracking area. This research study techniques has established that IVEs which incorporate a wearable rendering unit can simulate virtual worlds of unlimited size. The work has overcome the physical space constraints of wearable IVEs by developing and implementing Redirected Walking (RDW). RDW works by imperceptibly rotating the virtual scene around the user's viewpoint so that the user's real body is continually directed away from the boundaries of the tracking space. Experiments have been completed which examine the effects of RDW on user performance while involved in both constrained and unconstrained navigation tasks and which compare the performance of generalized Redirected Walking algorithms. Preliminary work has been completed on Fully Optimized RDW for Constrained Environments(FORCE). Results indicate that the FORCE algorithm performs better than generalized algorithms and can take advantage of all available space in concave tracking areas. Preliminary work has also show that RDW can be used enable multiple users to simultaneously share a tracking area.

A foot motion filtering algorithm is presented for estimating foot kinematics relative to an earth-fixed reference frame during normal walking motion. Algorithm input data are obtained from a foot-mounted inertial/magnetic measurement unit. The sensor unit contains a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis angular rate sensor, and a three-axis magnetometer. The algorithm outputs are the foot kinematic parameters, which include foot orientation, position, velocity, acceleration, and gait phase. The foot motion filtering algorithm incorporates novel methods for orientation estimation, gait detection, and position estimation. Accurate foot orientation estimates are obtained during both static and dynamic motion using an adaptive-gain complementary filter. Reliable gait detection is accomplished using a simple finite state machine that transitions between states based on angular rate measurements. Accurate position estimates are obtained by integrating acceleration data, which has been corrected for drift using zero velocity updates. Algorithm performance is examined using both simulations and real-world experiments. The simulations include a simple but effective model of the human gait cycle. The simulation and experimental results indicate that a position estimation error of less than 1% of the total distance traveled is achievable using commonly available commercial sensor modules., Published in IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INSTRUMENTATION AND MEASUREMENT, v61 n7 p2059- 2072, Jul 2012.

This task is to develop and implement advanced finite element analysis methods for predicting the response of damaged composite aircraft structures with and without z-pins.

The objective of the project is to develop techniques to allow precise tracking of GPS signals in the presence of multipath interference. Our work has focused specifically on a difficult class of multipath whose time delay relative to that of the direct line of sight signals (DLOS) is very short. This form of multipath is difficult to detect and mitigate using traditional correlator-based methods. Our approach overcomes the limitations of the existing methods by exploiting the spatial diversities between the DLOS and multipath sources. This approach requires the use of a receiver array and batch-based software receiver processing. The spatial diversity between the multipath and DLOS GPS signals makes it possible to estimate the angle of arrival (AOA) for each signal. Knowledge of the source AOAs makes it possible to reconstruct the pseudo-inverse for the array manifold and to recover DLOS and multipath signals. During the three year funding time period, we successfully developed and implemented algorithms for detection, estimation, and mitigation of the short delay time multipath signals. In this report, we will give an overview of the technique, the detection, estimation, and mitigation algorithms, and performance evaluations of the method., The original document contains color images.