Digital Commons Network^™

Our Graduates - Their Success, Institute For Educational Development

Institute for Educational Development Pakistan (IED-PK) Archives

This publication captures narratives shared by our graduates on their experiences at AKU-IED, their thoughts on education in the East African region, and on how the University has helped them in shaping their current careers.

Personalizing Software Development Practice Using Mastery-Based Coaching, Chris Boesch, Sandra Boesch

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The authors previously developed a system to facilitate the self-directed learning and practicing of software languages in Singapore. One of the goals of this self-directed learning was to enable the development of student mentors who would then be able to assist other students during classroom sessions. Building on this work, the authors extended the platform to support personalized coaching with the goals of further enabling and preparing students to mentor their peers. This paper covers the challenges, insights, and features that were developed in order to develop and deploy this mastery-based coaching feature.

Online Portfolio Selection: A Survey, Bin Li, Steven C. H. Hoi

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Online portfolio selection is a fundamental problem in computational finance, which has been extensively studied across several research communities, including finance, statistics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data mining. This article aims to provide a comprehensive survey and a structural understanding of online portfolio selection techniques published in the literature. From an online machine learning perspective, we first formulate online portfolio selection as a sequential decision problem, and then we survey a variety of state-of-the-art approaches, which are grouped into several major categories, including benchmarks, Follow-the-Winner approaches, Follow-the-Loser approaches, Pattern-Matching--based approaches, and Meta-Learning Algorithms. In addition to the problem formulation …

Measuring And Modelling The Thermal Performance Of The Tamar Suspension Bridge Using A Wireless Sensor Network, Nicholas De Battista, James M. W. Brownjohn, Hwee-Pink Tan, Ki Young Koo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

A study on the thermal performance of the Tamar Suspension Bridge deck in Plymouth, UK, is presented in this paper. Ambient air, suspension cable, deck and truss temperatures were acquired using a wired sensor system. Deck extension data were acquired using a two-hop wireless sensor network. Empirical models relating the deck extension to various combinations of temperatures were derived and compared. The most accurate model, which used all the four temperature variables, predicted the deck extension with an accuracy of 99.4%. Time delays ranging from 10 to 66 min were identified between the daily cycles of the air temperature and …

An Exploration Into The Potential Of Irish Films (1896-1962) For Empathic Approaches To The History Classroom, Thomas Mcgraw Lewis

Doctoral

This thesis applies historical empathy as a lens through which Ireland’s filmic heritage can be explored within the teaching of history. In its approach, the research asserts that critical perspective recognition and affective exploration can be achieved through a sustained model of historical narrative inquiry. Undertaking textual analysis of a series of pre-televisual films from the National Film Archive, it argues that there is value in these records for understanding the formulation and assessment of political and social representation in the nascent Republic. While remaining cognizant of the constraints placed on both the educational and archival professions in Ireland, the …

Pda, Ebooks, Print Books Usage And Expenditures: Knowledge Ecosystem Remix, Antje Mays

Dacus Library Faculty Publications

This article presents data-rich findings of a comprehensive follow-up study on the patron-driven/demand-driven ebook acquisitions (DDA) plan chronicled in two prior articles from the DDA ebook plan's October 2011 inception. Into the third fiscal year, print vs. ebook usage preferences have begun to emerge, and the results broken out by discipline are presented.

Concern-Driven Integrated Toxicity Testing Strategies For Nanomaterials - Report Of The Nanosafety Cluster Working Group 10, Hugh Byrne, Agnes G. Oomen, Peter M.J. Bos, Teresa F. Fernandes, Kerstin Hund-Rinke, Diana Boraschi, Karin Aschberger, Stefania Gottardo, Frank Von Der Kammer, Dana Kühnel, Danail Hristozov, Antonio Marcomini, Lucia Migliore

Articles

Bringing together topic-related European Union-(EU)-funded projects, the so-called “NanoSafety Cluster” aims at identifying key areas for further research on risk assessment procedures for nanomaterials (NM). The outcome of NanoSafety Cluster Working Group 10, this commentary presents a vision for concern-driven integrated approaches for the (eco-)toxicological testing and assessment (IATA) of NM. Such approaches should start out by determining concerns, i.e. specific information needs for a given NM based on realistic exposure scenarios. Recognized concerns can be addressed in a set of tiers using standardized protocols for NM preparation and testing. Tier 1 includes determining physico-chemical properties, non-testing (e.g. structure …

Effect Of Substrate Choice And Tissue Type On Tissue Preparation For Spectral Histopathology By Raman Microspectroscopy, Hugh Byrne, Leanne M. Fullwood, Dave Griffiths, Katherine Ashton, Timothy Dawson, Robert W. Lea, Charles Davis, Franck Bonnier, Matthew J. Baker

Articles

Raman spectroscopy is a non-destructive, non-invasive, rapid and economical technique which has the potential to be an excellent method for the diagnosis of cancer and understanding disease progression through retrospective studies of archived tissue samples. Historically, biobanks are generally comprised of formalin fixed paraffin preserved tissue and as a result these specimens are often used in spectroscopic research. Tissue in this state has to be dewaxed prior to Raman analysis to reduce paraffin contributions in the spectra. However, although the procedures are derived from histopathological clinical practice, the efficacy of the dewaxing procedures that are currently employed is questionable. Ineffective …

Vibrational Spectroscopy: Disease Diagnostics And Beyond, Hugh Byrne, Kamila Ostrowska, Haq Nawaz, Jennifer Dorney, Aidan Meade, Franck Bonnier, Fiona Lyng

Books/Book Chapters

Summary

This chapter outlines some developments in the applications of vibrational spectroscopy for disease diagnostics and demonstrates how the applications of the spectroscopic techniques can be extended to the analysis and evaluation of disease aetiology and the mechanisms of interaction and the cellular and subcellular responses to, for example chemotherapeutic agents and nanoparticles. The primary emphasis is on Raman spectroscopy, although some examples are based on infrared absorption spectroscopy. The studies presented are chosen to illustrate how a range of multivariate analytical techniques can be employed to maximize the potential benefits of the complex spectral information obtained from tissue or …

Omnidirectional Microstrip Patch Antenna With Reconfigurable Pattern And Polarisation, Max Ammann, Xiulong Bao, Adam Narbudowicz

Articles

An omnidirectional microstrip patch antenna, capable of reconfiguring both polarisation and radiation pattern is proposed. It operates with two orthogonal ±45° slanted linear polarisations and can produce two dipole-like radiation patterns, providing 360° coverage in either the horizontal or elevation plane. With appropriate steering, this enables a single antenna to provide full spherical coverage for any polarisation. The reconfiguration is realised by phase shifting, thus does not require switching elements, such as MEMS or pin diodes embedded into antenna. The basic principles of operation are discussed and validated by numerical and measured data.

Evaluation Of A Substitution Method For Idiom Transformation In Statistical Machine Translation, Giancarlo Salton, Robert J. Ross, John D. Kelleher

Conference papers

We evaluate a substitution based technique for improving Statistical Machine Translation performance on idiomatic multiword expressions. The method operates by performing substitution on the original idiom with its literal meaning before translation, with a second substitution step replacing literal meanings with idioms following translation. We detail our approach, outline our implementation and provide an evaluation of the method for the language pair English/Brazilian-Portuguese. Our results show improvements in translation accuracy on sentences containing either morphosyntactically constrained or unconstrained idioms. We discuss the consequences of our results and outline potential extensions to this process.

Spatial Moment Analysis Of Reactive And Radioactive Solute In River System With Layered Porous Bed, Shadab Anwar

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Mass exchange between river stream and riverbed is critical towards remediation of contaminated river system. Spatial moment analysis of reactive and radioactive solute in river channel with underlying porous bed is applied to understand the qualitative description of solute plume in riverbed and river stream. Semi-analytical solutions for zeroth-, first- and second-order spatial moment of reactive and radioactive solute are derived in Laplace domain. The spatial moments of concentration are numerically inverted. Parabolic velocity in river channel and exponentially decaying velocity in porous bed are linked using a slip velocity at the interface. The model is verified against the semi-analytical …

Modelling The Subsurface Geomorphology Or An Active Landslide Using Lidar, Norbert H. Maerz

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of Rock Fall And Pore Water Pressure Using Lidar In Highway 63 Rock Cuts, Norbert H. Maerz

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

High-Resolution Magnetic Susceptibility Measurements For Investigating Magnetic Mineral Formation During Microbial Mediated Iron Reduction, Estella A. Atekwana, Farag M. Mewafy, Gamal Z. Abdel Aal, D. Dale Werkema, Andre Revil, Lee D. Slater

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Disimilatory iron-reducing bacteria play an important role in the reduction of Fe(hydr)oxides and the production of secondary solid-iron mineral phases that can have magnetic properties. Magnetic susceptibility can therefore play an important role in identifying zones where microbial-mediated iron reduction is occurring. We investigated the magnetic susceptibility variations in a hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifer where methanogenesis and iron reduction are the main biogeochemical processes. Our objectives are to (1) determine the variability of magnetic susceptibility, (2) determine the hydrobiogeochemical controls on the magnetic susceptibility variability, and (3) evaluate the use of magnetic susceptibility as a viable technique for identifying zones where the …

Hidden Markov Model With Information Criteria Clustering And Extreme Learning Machine Regression For Wind Forecasting, Dao Lam, Shuhui Li, Donald C. Wunsch

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper proposes a procedural pipeline for wind forecasting based on clustering and regression. First, the data are clustered into groups sharing similar dynamic properties. Then, data in the same cluster are used to train the neural network that predicts wind speed. For clustering, a hidden Markov model (HMM) and the modified Bayesian information criteria (BIC) are incorporated in a new method of clustering time series data. to forecast wind, a new method for wind time series data forecasting is developed based on the extreme learning machine (ELM). the clustering results improve the accuracy of the proposed method of wind …

Sensor Authentication In Collaborating Sensor Networks, Jake Bielefeldt, Sriram Chellappan

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, we address a new security problem in the realm of collaborating sensor networks. By collaborating sensor networks, we refer to the networks of sensor networks collaborating on a mission, with each sensor network is independently owned and operated by separate entities. Such networks are practical where a number of independent entities can deploy their own sensor networks in multi-national, commercial, and environmental scenarios, and some of these networks will integrate complementary functionalities for a mission. In the scenario, we address an authentication problem wherein the goal is for the Operator Oi of Sensor Network Si to correctly …

Wireless Ad Hoc Networks Connectivity Assessment And Relay Node Deployment, Maggie Xiaoyan Cheng, Yi Ling, Brian M. Sadler

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

We consider the network connectivity problem in a wireless ad hoc network. Network connectivity is measured by the conductance of the network, also called the Cheeger constant of the graph. A partition algorithm based on this measure is developed that divides the network at the bottleneck area. After the network is bisected, a relay node may be deployed between the two parts to increase the conductance of the network. The relay node deployment problem is formulated as an integer linear program to maximize the number of connections between the nodes on the two sides of the cut, and then a …

Concurrent Transmission Scheduling For Wpans With Adaptive Data Rate, Maggie X. Cheng, Quanmin Ye, Lin Cai

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

We consider the maximum throughput scheduling problem in a millimeter-wave wireless personal area network in which users can use adaptive modulation and coding schemes to change their data rates. The scheduling problem is to map transmissions to time slots so that the total throughput is maximized. Due to the ultra-wide bandwidth of the mm Wave band, bad scheduling tends to waste significant channel resource. It is worth the effort to consider a more sophisticated scheduling scheme than the simple serial TDMA scheme. The challenge is that the achieved data rate of one flow is limited by the interference from other …

Sensor Cloud: A Cloud Of Virtual Sensors, Sanjay Madria, Vimal Kumar, Rashmi Dalvi

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Newer models for interacting with wireless sensors such as Internet of Things and Sensor Cloud aim to overcome restricted resources and efficiency. The Missouri S&T (science and technology) sensor cloud enables different networks, spread in a huge geographical area, to connect together and be employed simultaneously by multiple users on demand. Virtual sensors, which are at the core of this sensor cloud architecture, assist in creating a multiuser environment on top of resource-constrained physical wireless sensors and can help in supporting multiple applications. © 1984-2012 IEEE.

Contact Process On Generalized Fibonacci Chains: Infinite-Modulation Criticality And Double-Log Periodic Oscillations, Hatem Barghathi, David Nozadze, Thomas Vojta

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We study the nonequilibrium phase transition of the contact process with aperiodic transition rates using a real-space renormalization group as well as Monte Carlo simulations. The transition rates are modulated according to the generalized Fibonacci sequences defined by the inflation rules A → AB^k and B → A. For k=1 and 2, the aperiodic fluctuations are irrelevant, and the nonequilibrium transition is in the clean directed percolation universality class. For k ≥ 3, the aperiodic fluctuations are relevant. We develop a complete theory of the resulting unconventional "infinite-modulation" critical point, which is characterized by activated dynamical scaling. Moreover, observables …

Dynamical (E,2e) Studies Of Tetrahydropyran And 1,4-Dioxane, J. D. Builth-Williams, G. Da Silva, L. Chiari, D. B. Jones, Hari Chaluvadi, Don H. Madison, M. J. Brunger

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We present experimental and theoretical results for the electron-impact ionization of the highest occupied molecular orbitals of tetrahydropyran and 1,4-dioxane. Using an (e,2e) technique in asymmetric coplanar kinematics, angular distributions of the slow ejected electron, with an energy of 20 eV, are measured when incident electrons at 250 eV ionize the target and scatter through an angle of either -10° or -15°. The data are compared with calculations performed at the molecular 3-body distorted wave level. Fair agreement between the theoretical model and the experimental measurements was observed. The similar structures for these targets provide key insights for assessing the …

Kapitza Resistance Of Si/Sio₂ Interface, Bowen Deng, Aleksandr V. Chernatynskiy, Marat Khafizov, David H. Hurley, Simon R. Phillpot

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

A phonon wave packet dynamics method is used to characterize the Kapitza resistance of a Si/SiO₂ interface in a Si/SiO₂/Si heterostructure. By varying the thickness of SiO₂ layer sandwiched between two Si layers, we determine the Kapitza resistance for the Si/SiO ₂ interface from both wave packet dynamics and a direct, non-equilibrium molecular dynamics approach. The good agreement between the two methods indicates that they have each captured the anharmonic phonon scatterings at the interface. Moreover, detailed analysis provides insights as to how individual phonon mode scatters at the interface and their contribution to the Kapitza …

Phonon Thermal Transport Through Tilt Grain Boundaries In Strontium Titanate, Zexi Zheng, Xiang Chen, Bowen Deng, Aleksandr V. Chernatynskiy, Shengfeng Yang, Jinjun Xiong, Youping Chen

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this work, we perform nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to study phonon scattering at two tilt grain boundaries (GBs) in SrTiO₃. Mode-wise energy transmission coefficients are obtained based on phonon wave-packet dynamics simulations. The Kapitza conductance is then quantified using a lattice dynamics approach. The obtained results of the Kapitza conductance of both GBs compare well with those obtained by the direct method, except for the temperature dependence. Contrary to common belief, the results of this work show that the optical modes in SrTiO₃ contribute significantly to phonon thermal transport, accounting for over 50% of the Kapitza …

Strong-Randomness Infinite-Coupling Phase In A Random Quantum Spin Chain, Fawaz Hrahsheh, José A. Hoyos, Rajesh Narayanan, Thomas Vojta

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We study the ground-state phase diagram of the Ashkin-Teller random quantum spin chain by means of a generalization of the strong-disorder renormalization group. In addition to the conventional paramagnetic and ferromagnetic (Baxter) phases, we find a partially ordered phase characterized by strong randomness and infinite coupling between the colors. This unusual phase acts, at the same time, as a Griffiths phase for two distinct quantum phase transitions, both of which are of infinite-randomness type. We also investigate the quantum multicritical point that separates the two-phase and three-phase regions, and we discuss generalizations of our results to higher dimensions and other …

Detector Response Function Of An Energy-Resolved Cdte Single Photon Counting Detector, Xin Liu, Hyoung Koo Lee

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

BACKGROUND: While spectral CT using single photon counting detector has shown a number of advantages in diagnostic imaging, knowledge of the detector response function of an energy-resolved detector is needed to correct the signal bias and reconstruct the image more accurately.

Adaptive Resonance Theory And Diffusion Maps For Clustering Applications In Pattern Analysis, Donald C. Wunsch, David J. Morris, Rui Xu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Adaptive Resonance is primarily a theory that learning is regulated by resonance phenomena in neural circuits. Diffusion maps are a class of kernel methods on edge-weighted graphs. While either of these approaches have demonstrated success in image analysis, their combination is particularly effective. These techniques are reviewed and some example applications are given.

Specific Intracellular Uptake Of Herceptin-Conjugated Cdse/Zns Quantum Dots Into Breast Cancer Cells, Seung-Jin Han, Pierson Rathinaraj, Soo-Young Park, Young-Kyoo Kim, Joon Hyung Lee, Inn-Kyu Kang, Jong-Sik Moon, Jeffrey G. Winiarz

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Herceptin, a typical monoclonal antibody, was immobilized on the surface of CdSe/ZnS core-shell quantum dots (QDs) to enhance their specific interactions with breast cancer cells (SK-BR3). the mean size of the core-shell quantum dots (28 nm), as determined by dynamic light scattering, increased to 86 nm after herceptin immobilization. the in vitro cell culture experiment showed that the keratin forming cancer cells (KB) proliferated well in the presence of herceptin-conjugated QDs (QD-Her, 5 nmol/mL), whereas most of the breast cancer cells (SK-BR3) had died. to clarify the mechanism of cell death, the interaction of SK-BR3 cells with QD-Her was examined …

Synthesis, Optical Properties And Photovoltaic Applications Of Hybrid Rod-Coil Diblock Copolymers With Coordinatively Attached Cdse Nanocrystals, Shaohua Li, Yong Li, Clarissa A. Wisner, Lu Jin, Nicholas Leventis, Zhonghua Peng

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The performance of hybrid solar cells based on conjugated polymers and nanostructured inorganic semiconductors is often limited by the poor interfacial interaction and the lack of controlled phase separation. Improvements are being made by building intimate contact between the two components through coordinative linkages. in this contribution, three rod-coil diblock copolymers (DCPs) of the modified poly(3-hexylthiophene)-polystyrene (P3HT-PS) type with different phosphorus-containing functional groups for binding to inorganic nanoparticles are reported. Their corresponding P3HT-PS-CdSe hybrid DCPs (HDCPs) were prepared by ligand-exchange with chemically prepared CdSe nanocrystals. the three DCPs have different size disparity between the rod and coil blocks, where the …

Antioxidant Potential Of Sutherlandia Frutescens And Its Protective Effects Against Oxidative Stress In Various Cell Cultures, Shakila Tobwala, Weili Fan, Connor J. Hines, William Robert Folk, Nuran Ercal

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Sutherlandia frutescens (L.) R.Br. (SF) is a South African plant that is widely used to treat stress, infections, cancer, and chronic diseases, many of which involve oxidative stress. The aim of the study was to quantitatively assess the antioxidant potential of SF extracts in cell-free system as well as in cell lines. Dried SF vegetative parts were extracted using six different solvents, and the extracts were assessed for total phenolic and flavonoid contents, total reducing power, iron chelating capacity, and free radical scavenging power, including, scavenging of hydroxyl radicals, superoxide anions, nitric oxide, and hydrogen peroxide. We further investigated the …