Digital Commons Network^™

Dueling Denominators And The Demise Of Lucas, Stewart E. Sterk

Articles

In Murr v. Wisconsin, the Supreme Court outlined a process for ascertaining the denominator in takings cases – an issue that arises both with respect to Penn Central takings claims and Lucas takings claims. The underpinnings of Penn Central claims and Lucas claims are not identical; Penn Central’s primary concern is assuring fairness to landowners, while the focus of Lucas is on restricting government efforts to bypass the condemnation process. Although this difference in focus might suggest a difference in appropriate denominator, the Court’s multi-factor balancing approach apparently applies to all takings claims. Although the Court’s approach is consistent with …

The Politics Of Access: Examining Concerted State/Private Enforcement Solutions To Class Action Bans, Myriam E. Gilles

Articles

Procedural and substantive constraints on the ability of ordinary people to access the civil justice system have become all too commonplace. The “justice gap” owes much to cuts in funding for legal aid and court administration, heightened pleading standards, ever-rising costs of discovery, increasingly restrictive views on standing to sue, and the co-opting of small claims court by businesses seeking to collect debts, among other obstacles in the path to the courthouse. But the most consequential impediment, surely, is the enforcement of mandatory arbitration clauses with class action bans, which bar consumers and employees from bringing or being represented in …

Studying The Effect Of Froude Number And Densimetric Froude Number On Local Scours Around Circular Bridge Piers, Md Abdullah Al Faruque

Articles

A very large percentage of bridge failures are attributed to scouring around bridge piers and this directly influences public safety. Experiments are carried out in a 12-m long rectangular open channel flume made of transparent tempered glass. A 300 mm thick bed made up of sand particles is leveled horizontally to create the test bed and a 50 mm hollow plastic cylinder is used as a model bridge pier. Tests are carried out with varying flow depths and velocities. Data points of various scour parameters such as scour depth, width, and length are collected based on different flow conditions and …

Toxicological Assessment Of Nanomaterials: The Role Of In Vitro Raman Microspectroscopic Analysis, Esen Efeoglu, Marcus Maher, Alan Casey, Hugh Byrne

Articles

The acceleration of nanomaterials research has brought about increased demands for rapid analysis of their bioactivity, in a multi-parametric fashion, to minimise the gap between potential applications and knowledge of their toxicological properties. The potential of Raman microspectroscopy for the analysis of biological systems with the aid of multivariate analysis techniques has been demonstrated. In this study, an overview of recent efforts towards establishing a ‘label-free high content nanotoxicological assessment technique’ using Raman microspectroscopy is presented. The current state of the art for cellular toxicity assessment and the potential of Raman microspectroscopy are discussed, and the spectral markers of the …

Cold Atmospheric Plasma Induces Atp-Dependent Endocytosis Of Nanoparticles And Synergistic U373mg Cancer Cell Death, Zhonglei He, Kangze Liu, Eline Manaloto, Alan Casey, George P. Cribaro, Hugh Byrne, Furong Tian, Carlos Barcia, Gillian Conway, Patrick J. Cullen, James Curtin

Articles

Gold nanoparticles (AuNP) have potential as both diagnostic and therapeutic vehicles. However, selective targeting and uptake in cancer cells remains challenging. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) can be combined with AuNP to achieve synergistic anti-cancer cytotoxicity. To explore synergistic mechanisms, we demonstrate both rate of AuNP uptake and total amount accumulated in U373MG Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cells are signifcantly increased when exposed to 75kV CAP generated by dielectric barrier discharge. No signifcant changes in the physical parameters of AuNP were caused by CAP but active transport mechanisms were stimulated in cells. Unlike many other biological efects of CAP, long-lived reactive species …

Angular Lens, Rishabh Sahu, Swati Chaudhary, Kedar Khare, Mishkatul Bhattacharya, Harshawardhan Wanare, Anand K. Jha

Articles

We propose a single phase-only optical element that transforms different orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes into localized spots at separated angular positions on a transverse plane. We refer to this element as an angular lens since it separates out OAM modes in a manner analogous to how a converging lens separates out transverse wave-vector modes at the focal plane. We also simulate the proposed angular lens using a spatial light modulator and experimentally demonstrate its working. Our work can have important implications for OAM-based classical and quantum communication applications.

Preparation And Physical Properties Of Functional Barium Carbonate Nanostructures By A Facile Composite-Hydroxide-Mediated Route, Tauseef Shahid, Muhammad Arfan, Aurang Zeb, Tayyaba Bibi, Taj Muhammad Khan

Articles

In recent years, nanotechnology has given birth to numerous nanomaterials due to their increased use in various sectors of research and development. To produce these nanomaterials, nanotechnology further has opened several rooms for the potential novel methods. Composite-hydroxide-mediated (CHM) method is one of the recent chemical synthesis routes that have gained considerable importance in research due to their effortlessness and versatile nature, covering a broad range of nanomaterials to prepare.

Interdisciplinary Teaching And Learning Within Molecular Gastronomy Education: Does It Benefit Students?, Roisin Burke, Pauline Danaher

Articles

Since the creation of Molecular Gastronomy (MG) as a scientific discipline in 1988 a variety of higher education modules and programmes in that discipline have developed around the world. At the Technological University Dublin, MG has been taught using an interdisciplinary approach since the academic year 2012/2013. A Culinary Science lecturer and a Culinary Arts lecturer work in synergy and teach an interdisciplinary group of Food Science (FS) and Culinary Arts (CA) students. The students’ work is assessed, in each academic year, using summative methods i.e. written exam and a project assignment. In the academic year 2016/2017 the assignment reports …

Discriminating Gasoline Fuel Contamination In Engine Oil By Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy, Ali Mazin Abdul-Munaim, Mario Mendez Aller, Sascha Preu, Dennis G. Watson

Articles

Gasoline engine oil (SAE 5W20) was contaminated with four levels (0%, 4%, 8% and 12%) of gasoline fuel and submitted to terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). Three sampling methods were used to compare measurement variations. For all sampling methods, refractive index decreased with increased fuel contamination and absorption coefficient increased with increased fuel contamination. Absorption coefficients were significantly different for each fuel contamination level for each sampling method across the entire 0.5–2.5 THz range. The frequency of 0.5 THz produced the best model of absorption coefficient predicting fuel contamination with a rootmean- square error of 0.21% points. THz-TDS demonstrated high potential …

The Coming Demise Of Liberal Constitutionalism?, Aziz Huq, Tom Ginsburg, Mila Versteeg

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No abstract provided.

Studies Of Geometrical Profiling In Fabricated Tapered Optical Fbers Using Whispering Gallery Modes Spectroscopy, Vishnu Kavungal, Gerald Farrell, Qiang Wu, Arun Kumar Mallik, Yuliya Semenova

Articles

This paper experimentally demonstrates a method for geometrical profiling of asymmetries in fabricated thin microfiber tapers with waist diameters ranging from ∼10 to ∼50µm with submicron accuracy. The method is based on the analysis of whispering gallery mode resonances excited in cylindrical fiber resonators as a result of evanescent coupling of light propagating through the fiber taper. The submicron accuracy of the proposed method has been verified by SEM studies. The method can be applied as a quality control tool in fabrication of microfiber based devices and sensors or for fine-tuning of microfiber fabrication set-ups.

Numerical Evaluation Of Microwave Thermal Ablation To Treat Small Adrenocortical Masses, G. Ruvio, J. Eaton-Evans, A. Shahzad, M. O’Halloran

Articles

In this paper microwave thermal ablation is numerically evaluated in the context of a treatment for Conn’s Syndrome. This condition is caused by a benign shallow tumour in the cortex of adrenal gland. The modelling and design of microwave applicator to deliver thermal ablation to the adrenal gland requires accurate tissue characterisation. Measuring the dielectric properties of the constituent tissues in the adrenal gland, i.e. cortex and medulla, enables more accurate numerical modelling for electromagnetic and thermal simulations. This study presents an anatomically and dielectrically realistic numerical model of the adrenal gland, and investigates the feasibility of applying controlled heating …

High‐Frequency Trading And The New Stock Market: Sense And Nonsense, Merritt B. Fox, Lawrence R. Glosten, Gabriel V. Rauterberg

Articles

The stock market has been transformed during the last 25 years. Human suppliers of liquidity like the NASDAQ dealers and NYSE specialists have been replaced by algorithmic market making; stocks that once traded on a single venue now trade across twelve exchanges and a multitude of alternative trading systems. New venues like dark pools, and new participants like high‐frequency traders, have emerged to take on prominent roles. This new market has had more than its share of controversy and regulatory scrutiny, particularly in the wake of Michael Lewis’s bestseller Flash Boys. In this article, the authors analyze five of the …

Cleaner Fuels For Ships Provide Public Health Benefits With Climate Tradeoffs, Mikhail Sofiev, James J. Winebrake, Lasse Johansson, Edward W. Carr, Marje Prank, Joana Soares, Julius Vira, Jukka-Pekka Jalkanen, James J. Corbett

Articles

We evaluate public health and climate impacts of low-sulphur fuels in global shipping. Using high-resolution emissions inventories, integrated atmospheric models, and health risk functions, we assess ship-related PM 2.5 pollution impacts in 2020 with and without the use of low-sulphur fuels. Cleaner marine fuels will reduce ship-related premature mortality and morbidity by 34 and 54%, respectively, representing a ~ 2.6% global reduction in PM 2.5 cardiovascular and lung cancer deaths and a ~3.6% global reduction in childhood asthma. Despite these reductions, low-sulphur marine fuels will still account for ~250k deaths and ~6.4 M childhood asthma cases annually, and more stringent …

A Fully Integrated Rssi And An Ultra-Low Power Sar Adc For 5.8 Ghz Dsrc Etc Transceiver, Meijuan Zhang, Ruifeng Liu, Yuanzhi Zhang, Wenshen Wang, Huimin Liu, Chao Lu

Articles

This study presents a monolithic received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and an ultra-low power SAR ADC for 5.8 GHz DSRC transceiver in China electronic toll collection systems. In order to meet the stringent requirement of wide input range for the transceiver, two RSSIs collaborate with auxiliary ADC circuits to provide the digitalized received signal strength to the digital baseband of a transceiver. The RSSI design achieves fast transient response and low power consumption with a small die area by using internal active low-pass filters instead of external passive ones. The proposed design has been fabricated using a 0.13 μm 2P6M …

Towards A Digital Earth: Using Archetypes To Enable Knowledge Interoperability Within Geo-Observational Sensor Systems Design, Paul Stacey, Damon Berry

Articles

Earth System Science (ESS) observational data are often inadequately semantically enriched by geo-observational information systems in order to capture the true meaning of the associated data sets. Data models underpinning these information systems are often too rigid in their data representation to allow for the ever-changing and evolving nature of ESS domain concepts. This impoverished approach to observational data representation reduces the ability of multi-disciplinary practitioners to share information in a computable way.

Object oriented techniques typically employed to model data in a complex domain (with evolving domain concepts) can unnecessarily exclude domain specialists from the design process, invariably leading …

Secrecy And Randomness: Encoding Cloud Data Locally Using A One-Time Pad, Paul Tobin, Lee Edward Tobin, Mick Mckeever, Jonathan Blackledge

Articles

There is no secrecy without randomness, and we address poor cloud security using an analogue chaotic onetime pad encryption system to achieve perfect secrecy. Local encoding returns control to the client and makes stored cloud data unreadable to an adversary. Most cloud service providers encode client data using public encryption algorithms, but ultimately businesses and organisations are responsible for encoding data locally before uploading to the Cloud. As recommended by the Cloud Security Alliance, companies employing authentication and local encryption will reduce or eliminate, EU fines for late data breach discoveries when the EU implements the new general data protection …

Economic Analysis In Labor Regulation, Hiba Hafiz

Articles

No abstract provided.

Institutional Loyalties In Constitutional Law, Aziz Huq, David Fontana

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No abstract provided.

Investigation Of Temperature Response Of Photopolymer Material Used For Holographic Sensor, Muhammad Irfan Dr, Tatsiana Mikulchyk Dr, Suzanne Martin Dr, Izabela Naydenova Prof

Articles

Recently, functionalised photopolymer has emerged as a versatile recording material in the field of optical holography due to its novel characteristics and potential use in the development of holographic based sensors, and optical elements. This work describes the temperature response of a newly developed photopolymer, containing of a monomer Nisopropylacrylamide (NIPA) which under photopolymerisation forms a temperature sensitive polymer - Poly(Nisopropylacrylamide) (PNIPA). The photonic sensor was developed by holographic recording of volume phase transmission gratings in a self-processing NIPA-based polymer with a 532 nm laser beam. A 633 nm probe beam was used to monitor real time diffraction efficiency (DE) …

''It’S A Win-Win Situation” – Intergenerational Learning In Preschool And Elder Care Settings: An Irish Perspective, Carmel Gallagher, Anne Fitzpatrick

Articles

This paper explores the level and sustainability of intergenerational practice in early years and elder care settings in Ireland. The paper is based on a small-scale research study involving interviews with sta in ve organizations and builds on ndings from previous research conducted for the TOY project (http://www.toyproject.net). The paper examines the pedagogies involved as well as the community context of intergenerational practice in early years and elder care settings. The ndings highlight that sustainable intergenerational practice is facilitated by strong pedagogies that support active and relational learning across the life course and by being embedded in robust community networks.

An Yb3+-Ho3+ Codoped Glass Microsphere Laser In The 2.0Μm Wavelength Regions, Angzhen Li, Jibo Yu, Meng Zhang, Xiaosong Lu, Jiquan Zhang, Elfed Lewis, Gerald Farrell, Pengfei Wang

Articles

In this letter, an Yb 3+ -Ho 3+ codoped sol-gel silica microsphere lasing at around 2.0 μm is reported. The gain microsphere is fabricated by overlaying the 1.0 mol% Yb 3+ -0.2 mol% Ho 3+ codoped sol-gel solution on the surface of a pure silica microsphere and is then heated using a CO 2 laser. Using a traditional fiber taper-microsphere coupling method, we observe the single- and multi-mode microsphere laser outputs around 2.0 μm using a 980 nm laser diode as a pump source, with a low threshold pumping power of 14.7 mW. The ability to fabricate sol-gel codoped silica …

A High-Temperature Humidity Sensor Based On A Singlemode-Side Polished Multimode-Singlemode Fiber Structure, Xianfan Wang, Ke Tian, Libo Yuan, Elfed Lewis, Gerald Farrell, Pengfei Wang

Articles

A relative humidity (RH) sensor based on a simple singlemode-side polished multimode-singlemode (SSPMS) fiber hybrid structure is investigated, which is capable of working over a relatively high-temperature range, at which many RH sensors based on moisture sensitive material coatings cannot operate. The beam propagation method is used to analyze the light transmission characteristics within the side polished multimode fiber (SPMMF) structure. Experimental results show that the SPMMF surface roughness has a significant influence on the sensor's humidity sensing performance, as a result of the adsorption and desorption of water molecules along the side polished surface. A higher surface roughness results …

Developing Meaningful Higher Education Evaluation Systems: Putting China In Context, Ellen Hazelkorn, Lu Liu

Articles

This paper firstly reviews how issues of accountability and transparency have become some of the key drivers of government policy over recent years. It finds that the drive for greater higher education accountability and transparency has encouraged the growth of an international evaluation industry. It secondly discusses issues related to different types of policy and evaluation instruments across Europe, as well as the importance of rankings. It finds that traditional approaches have relied on collegiality, expert judgment, and peer review, and there is a growing focus on indicator-led systems in the belief that indicators are value-free and statistically robust so …

Efficacy Of Limonene Nano Coatings On Post-Harvest Shelf Life Of Strawberries, Rajiv Dhital, Nathalie Becerra-Mora, Dennis G. Watson, Punit Kohli, Ruplal Choudhary

Articles

Strawberries are highly demanded fruits because of their color, nutritional values and appearance. The aim of this study was to develop and characterize alginate and limonene liposomes as edible coating materials and to determine their efficacy in shelf life extension and maintaining quality parameters of ‘Chandler’ strawberries. Alginate solution (1.5% w/v) and Limonene liposomes prepared from 80% lecithin and 20% PDA were used as edible coating materials. Fungal decay percentage, total yeast and mold counts, headspace atmosphere analysis, total soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, total anthocyanin content and total phenolics were analyzed to assess fruit quality during 14 days at …

Astonishingly Excellent Success Or Sad! Loser! Failure: Why President Trump’S Legal Narratives “Win” With Some Audiences And “Lose” With Others, Cathren Page

Articles

While President Trump is often called a liar and various commentators have analyzed his rhetorical approach, little has been said about storytelling's role in his wins and losses. Trump’s narratives about legal issues enjoy wild success with his supporters, amuse some critics, and terrify others. Thus far into his presidency, his legal narratives have often failed with courts. With nearly sixty-three million American voters backing Trump, scholars and students of persuasion cannot ignore his successes. However, with over sixty-five million Americans voting against him and various court’s ruling against him, scholars and students of persuasion also cannot ignore his failures. …

Thermal Modeling And Experimental Evaluation Of Five Different Photovoltaic Modules Integrated On Prototype Test Cells With And Without Water Flow, Vivek Tomar, G.N. Tiwari, T.S. Bhatti, Brian Norton

Articles

An analytical model of temperature dependent electrical and thermal efficiency of mono-crystalline (m-Si), polycrystalline (p-Si), amorphous silicon thin film (a-Si), cadmium telluride thin film (CdTe) and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) photovoltaic modules integrated on five prototypes identical insulted test cells is developed with and without surface water flow. This model helps in ascertaining the influence of temperature on their performance of building integrated photovoltaic-thermal (BiPVT) system. The theoretically calculated results are experimentally validated in outdoor ambient environment. The electrical & thermal efficiencies are calculated for both high and low mass flow rate of water, ṁw. Daily average electrical efficiency …

Muddy Waters: Refining The Way Forward For The “Sustainability Science” Of Socio-Hydrogeology, Paul Hynds, Shane Regan, Luisa Andrade, Simon Mooney, Kevin O'Malley, Stephanie Dipelino, Jean O'Dwyer

Articles

The trouble with groundwater is that despite its critical importance to global water supplies, it frequently attracts insufficient management attention relative to more visible surface water sources, irrespective of regional climate, socioeconomic profile, and regulatory environment. To this end, the recently defined sub-discipline of "socio-hydrogeology", an extension of socio-hydrology, seeks to translate and exchange knowledge with and between non-expert end-users, in addition to involving non-expert opinion and experience in hydrogeological investigations, thus emphasising a "bottom-up" methodology. It is widely acknowledged that issues pertaining to groundwater quality, groundwater quantity, climate change, and a poor general awareness and understanding of groundwater occurrence …

Versatile Soliton Emission From A Ws2 Mode-Locked Fiber Laser, Bo Guo, Shi Li, Ya-Xian Fan, Pengfei Wang

Articles

Recently, few-layer tungsten disulfide (WS2), as a shining 2D material, has been discovered to possess both the saturable absorption ability and large nonlinear refractive index. Here, we demonstrate versatile soliton pulses in a passively mode-locked fiber laser with a WS2-deposited microfiber. The few-layer WS2 is prepared by the liquid-phase exfoliation method and transferred onto a microfiber by the optical deposition method. Study found, the WS2-deposited microfiber can operate simultaneously as a mode-locker and a high-nonlinear device. In experiment, by further inserting the WS2 device into the fiber laser, besides the dual-wavelength soliton, noise-like soliton pulse, conventional soliton and its harmonic …

Fabrication And Characterization Of A Magnetized Metal-Encapsulated Fbg Sensor For Structural Health Monitoring, Sagar Jinachandran, Huijun Li, Jiangtao Xi, B. Gangadhara Prusty, Yuliya Semenova, Gerald Farrell, Ginu Rajan

Articles

A novel means of metal packaging of a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor using stainless steel and tin, together with high temperature resistant samarium cobalt (SmCo) magnet is proposed in this paper. The inclusion of high temperaturecapable SmCo magnets enable the metal packaging of the FBG sensor with magnetic capabilities. This packaged sensor can be placed in direct contact with the substrate structures such as iron pipelines and other ferromagnetic components without any adhesives, making them easily detachable and reusable. This is a significant improvement compared with other commercial fiber optic sensors which are, surface attached using epoxies or welded …