Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Characteristics Of Power Quality Disturbance Levels In Australia, Sean Elphick, Vic Smith, Vic Gosbell, Robert Barr

Robert Barr

The Australian Long Term Power Quality Survey (LTNPQS) now covers 2,000 sites with a range of different characteristics including strength (related to fault level), line construction and dominant load type. This paper details the latest outcomes of the LTNPQS project in terms of both disturbance levels and reporting methods. A comparison of the differences between voltage, unbalance and harmonic THD levels at strong (close to transformer) and weak (towards the end of LV feeders) sites has been performed and significant differences have been found. A multivariable linear regression study has been undertaken in order to investigate the correlation between site …

A Case Study: Data Management In Biomedical Engineering, Glenn Gaudette, Donna Kafel

Glenn R. Gaudette

In a biomedical engineering lab at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, co-author Dr. Glenn R. Gaudette and his research team are investigating the effects of stem cell therapy on the regeneration of function in damaged cardiac tissue in laboratory rats. Each instance of stem cell experimentation on a rat yields hundreds of data sets that must be carefully captured, documented and securely stored so that the data will be easily accessed and retrieved for papers, reports, further research, and validation of findings, while meeting NIH guidelines for data sharing. After a brief introduction to the bioengineering field and stem cell research, this …

Science Panel Discussion Presentation: "Data Management In Biomedical Engineering: Needs And Implementation", Glenn Gaudette

Glenn R. Gaudette

Glenn Gaudette, PhD, is an Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He discussed data management in his research laboratory, which is focused on regenerating mechanical and electrophysiological function in hearts with cardiovascular disease.

Exploring Bridge-Engine Control Room Collaborative Team Communication, Aditi Kataria, Eric Holder, Gesa Praetorius, Michael Baldauf, Jens-Uwe Schröder-Hinrichs

Gesa Praetorius

The EC funded CyClaDes research project is designed to promote the increased impact of the human element in shipping across the design and operational lifecycle of ships. It addresses the design and operation of ships and ship systems. One of the CyClaDes’ tasks is to create a crew‐centered design case‐study examination of the information that is shared between the Bridge and Engine Control Room (ECR) that helps the crew coordinate to ensure understanding and complete interconnected tasks. This information can be provided in various ways, including communication devices or obtained from a common database, display, or even the ship environment …

Decision Science For Housing And Community Development: Localized And Evidence‐Based Responses To Distressed Housing And Blighted Communities: Wiley Interview, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Jeffrey Keisler, Senay Solak, David A. Turcotte, Armagan Bayram, Rachel B. Drew

Michael P. Johnson

This is an interview with staff at John Wiley & Sons regarding my book "Decision Science for Housing and Community Development: Localized and Evidence‐Based Responses to Distressed Housing and Blighted Communities" that was published by Wiley in 2015. It describes the motivation for the book, essential knowledge my co-authors and I would like each reader to take away from the book, and our assessment of the book's contribution to research and practice.

Decision Science For Housing And Community Development: Localized And Evidence‐Based Responses To Distressed Housing And Blighted Communities, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Jeffrey Keisler, Senay Solak, David Turcotte, Armagan Bayram, Rachel B. Drew

Michael P. Johnson

Index Theory For Locally Compact Noncommutative Geometries, Alan Carey, V Gayral, Adam Rennie, F Sukochev

Associate Professor Adam Rennie

Spectral triples for nonunital algebras model locally compact spaces in noncommutative geometry. In the present text, we prove the local index formula for spectral triples over nonunital algebras, without the assumption of local units in our algebra.

A Residue Formula For The Fundamental Hochschild 3-Cocycle For Suq(2), Ulrich Krahmer, Adam Rennie, Roger Senior

Associate Professor Adam Rennie

An analogue of a spectral triple over SUq(2) is constructed for which the usual assumption of bounded commutators with the Dirac operator fails. An analytic expression analogous to that for the Hochschild class of the Chern character for spectral triples yields a non-trivial twisted Hochschild 3-cocycle. The problems arising from the unbounded commutators are overcome by defining a residue functional using projections to cut down the Hilbert space.

Dense Domains, Symmetric Operators And Spectral Triples, Iain Forsyth, B Mesland, Adam Rennie

Associate Professor Adam Rennie

This article is about erroneous attempts to weaken the standard definition of unbounded Kasparov module (or spectral triple). This issue has been addressed previously, but here we present concrete counterexamples to claims in the literature that Fredholm modules can be obtained from these weaker variations of spectral triple. Our counterexamples are constructed using self-adjoint extensions of symmetric operators.

Removal Of Trace Organic Contaminants By An Mbr Comprising A Mixed Culture Of Bacteria And White-Rot Fungi, Luong Nguyen, Faisal Hai, Shufan Yang, Jinguo Kang, Frederic Leusch, Felicity Roddick, William Price, Long Nghiem

Faisal I Hai

The degradation of 30 trace organic contaminants (TrOC) by a white-rot fungus-augmented membrane bioreactor (MBR) was investigated. The results show that white-rot fungal enzyme (laccase), coupled with a redox mediator (1-hydroxy benzotriazole, HBT), could degrade TrOC that are resistant to bacterial degradation (e.g. diclofenac, triclosan, naproxen and atrazine) but achieved low removal of compounds (e.g. ibuprofen, gemfibrozil and amitriptyline) that are well removed by conventional activated sludge treatment. Overall, the fungus-augmented MBR showed better TrOC removal compared to a system containing conventional activated sludge. The major role of biodegradation in removal by the MBR was noted. Continuous mediator dosing to …

Removal Of Pathogens By Membrane Bioreactors: A Review Of The Mechanisms, Influencing Factors And Reduction In Chemical Disinfectant Dosing, Faisal Hai, Thomas Riley, Samia Shawkat, Saleh Faraj Magram, Kazuo Yamamoto

Faisal I Hai

The continued depletion of fresh drinking water resources throughout the world has increased the need for a variety of water treatment and recycling strategies. Conventional wastewater treatment processes rely on extensive chemical post-disinfection to comply with the stringent microbiological safety for water reuse. When well designed and operated, membrane bioreactors (MBRs) can consistently achieve efficient removals of suspended solids, protozoa and coliform bacteria. Under optimal conditions, MBR systems can also significantly remove various viruses and phages. This paper provides an in-depth overview of the mechanisms and influencing factors of pathogen removal by MBR and highlights practical issues, such as reduced …

A Novel Membrane Distillation-Thermophilic Bioreactor System: Biological Stability And Trace Organic Compound Removal, Kaushalya Wijekoon, Faisal Hai, Jinguo Kang, William Price, Wenshan Guo, Hao Ngo, Tzahi Cath, Long Nghiem

Faisal I Hai

The removal of trace organic compounds (TrOCs) by a novel membrane distillation-thermophilic bioreactor (MDBR) system was examined. Salinity build-up and the thermophilic conditions to some extent adversely impacted the performance of the bioreactor, particularly the removal of total nitrogen and recalcitrant TrOCs. While most TrOCs were well removed by the thermophilic bioreactor, compounds containing electron withdrawing functional groups in their molecular structure were recalcitrant to biological treatment and their removal efficiency by the thermophilic bioreactor was low (0-53%). However, the overall performance of the novel MDBR system with respect to the removal of total organic carbon, total nitrogen, and TrOCs …

Modelling Vessel Traffic Service To Understand Resilience In Everyday Operations, Gesa Praetorius, Erik Hollnagel, Joakim Dahlman

Gesa Praetorius

Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) is a service to promote traffic fluency and safety in the entrance to ports. This article׳s purpose has been to explore everyday operations of the VTS system to gain insights in how it contributes to safe and efficient traffic movements. Interviews, focus groups and an observation have been conducted to collect data about everyday operations, as well as to grasp how the VTS system adapts to changing operational conditions. The results show that work within the VTS domain is highly complex and that the two systems modelled realise their services vastly differently, which in turn affects …

Case Study Evaluation Of Saturation And Corridor Enforcement Patrols, Alexander Maistros, William Schneider, Rick Beverly, Brandon Stakleff

William H. Schneider

Alcohol-related crashes in the United States have consistently accounted for roughly 30% of traffic-related fatalities in the past two decades. The combined efforts of researchers, educators, and law enforcement are needed to reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes and fatalities. Saturation patrols and corridor patrols are two tools that law enforcement agencies may use in their continued efforts. In the current economic climate, local law enforcement agencies and coalitions must operate as efficiently as possible. As a case study, this study focused on the patrol efforts of a task force dedicated to reducing operating a vehicle under the influence (OVI) …

Modelling Variations In Hospital Service Delivery Based On Real Time Locating Information, Nagesh Shukla, John Keast, Darek Ceglarek

Nagesh Shukla

Variations in service delivery have been identified as a major challenge to the success of process improvement studies in service departments of hospital such as radiology. Largely, these variations are due to inherent system level factors, i.e., system variations such as unavailability of resources (nurse, bed, doctors, and equipment). These system variations are largely unnecessary/unwarranted and mostly lead to longer waiting times, delays, and lowered productivity of the service units. There is limited research on identifying system variations and modelling them for service improvements within hospital. Therefore, this paper proposes a modelling methodology to model system variations in radiology based …

Understanding State Rulemaking Processes: Developing Fracking Rules In Colorado, New York, And Ohio, Sara Rinfret, Jeffrey Cook, Michelle Pautz

Michelle Pautz

Rulemaking is an integral component of environmental policy at both the federal and state level; however, rulemaking at the state level is understudied. With this research, we begin to fill that gap by focusing on rulemaking regarding the issue of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in three states: Colorado, New York, and Ohio. This policy issue is well suited to begin exploring state-level rulemaking processes because the federal government has left fracking regulation to the states. Through semistructured interviews with a range of actors in the rulemaking process across these states, we establish a foundation from which future research in this area …

A Comparison Between Single And Dual Monitor Productivity And The Effects Of Window Management Styles On Performance, Alex Stegman, Chen Ling, Randa Shehab

Dr. Chen Ling

Several research studies have been published on user opinion and productivity of using dual monitor systems. These studies found that users typically enjoy using multiple monitors, but none found a strong increase in performance and productivity. Other researchers have focused on improving multiple monitor usability, but often without any statistical framework. This study compared single and dual monitor productivity measures: task time, cursor movement, and number of window switches. Additionally, window management styles (WMS) were studied in order to help designers understand user behavior better. WMS were broken into two categories, toggler and resizer, and then compared to the WMS …

Simultaneous Robotic Manipulation And Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Feasibility In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Nicole Salowitz, Bridget Dolan, Rheanna Remmel, Amy Van Hecke, Kristine Mosier, Lucia Simo, Robert Scheidt

Robert Scheidt

An unanswered question concerning the neural basis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is how sensorimotor deficits in individuals with ASD are related to abnormalities of brain function. We previously described a robotic joystick and video game system that allows us to record functional magnetic resonance images (FMRI) while adult humans make goal-directed wrist motions. We anticipated several challenges in extending this approach to studying goal-directed behaviors in children with ASD and in typically developing (TYP) children. In particular we were concerned that children with autism may express increased levels of anxiety as compared to typically developing children due to the …

Books And Our Human Stories, Paul Benson

Paul H. Benson

An essay on the impact of the works in the Imprints and Impressions: Milestones in Human Progress, an exhibition of rare books from the collection of Stuart Rose. Exhibition was held Sept. 29-Nov. 9, 2014, at the University of Dayton.

Klein Tunneling And Cone Transport In Aa-Stacked Bilayer Graphene, Matthew Sanderson, Yee Sin Ang, C Zhang

Yee Sin Ang

We investigate the quantum tunneling of electrons in an AA-stacked bilayer graphene (BLG) n-p junction and n-p-n junction. We show that Klein tunneling of an electron can occur in this system. The quasiparticles are not only chiral but are additionally described by a "cone index." Due to the orthogonality of states with different cone indexes, electron transport across a potential barrier must strictly conserve the cone index, and this leads to the protected cone transport which is unique in AA-stacked BLG. Together with the negative refraction of electrons, electrons residing in different cones can be spatially separated according to their …

Review Of Four Novel Dosimeters Developed For Use In Radiotherapy, P Metcalfe, A Quinn, K Loo, M Lerch, M Petasecca, J Wong, N Hardcastle, M Carolan, J Mcnamara, D Cutajar, I Fuduli, A Espinoza, C Porumb, Anatoly Rosenfeld

Anthony A Espinoza Mr

Centre for Medical Radiation Physics (CMRP) is a research strength at the University of Wollongong, the main research theme of this centre is to develop prototype novel radiation dosimeters. Multiple detector systems have been developed by Prof Rosenfelds’ group for various radiation detector applications. This paper focuses on four current detector systems being developed and studied at CMRP. Two silicon array detectors include the magic plate and dose magnifying glass (DMG), the primary focus of these two detectors is high spatial and temporal resolution dosimetry in intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) beams. The third detector discussed is the MOSkin which …