Digital Commons Network^™

History And Climate Science: A Collaborative Relationship For The Twenty-First Century, Fiona Williamson

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

History as a subject for higher education (and beyond) has often been criticized for failing to be relevant to the demands of the twenty-first century. This paper argues that not only is learning from our past a valuable exercise in any time period, but that historical research can provide modern sciences with the much needed data and contextual analysis crucial to understanding many of the problems facing our world today. Based on research from historic archives in the UK and Malaysia, this paper explains how historians are recovering historic data invaluable to modern climate science, and demonstrates just how this …

Protection From Harassment Act 2014: Offences And Remedies, Man Yip

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

5 January 2015 marked the Opening of the Legal Year 2015. From the speeches made by the Attorney-General, the President of the Law Society, and the Chief Justice, the 50th year of Singapore’s independence is going to be a glorious year of pushing boundaries.

Crowdsourcing Bicycle Volumes: Exploring The Role Of Volunteered Geographic Information And Established Monitoring Methods, Greg P. Griffin, Junfeng Jiao

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

The recent interest in performance measures and new bicycle infrastructure development has triggered rapid advancements in monitoring methods for active transportation, but comprehensive monitoring programs for the bicycle mode are far from ubiquitous. This study evaluates the use of GPS survey data and a new crowdsourced volume dataset that may offer promise to extend the reach of limited counting programs. The authors integrated count data from 5 separate trail locations in Austin, Texas, with a previous survey using the CycleTracks smartphone app, and a new data product derived from a larger-scale use of the Strava fitness app. New crowdsourced methods …

Automated Daily Pattern Filtering Of Measured Building Performance Data, Clayton Miller, Zoltán Nagy, Arno Schlueter

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

The amount of sensor data generated by modern building systems is growing rapidly. Automatically discovering the structure of diurnal patterns in this data supports implementation of building commissioning, fault detection and retrofit analysis techniques. Additionally, these data are crucial to informing design professionals about the efficacy of their assumptions and strategies used in performance prediction simulation models. In this paper, we introduce DayFilter, a day-typing process that uses Symbolic Aggregate approXimation (SAX), motif and discord extraction, and clustering to detect the underlying structure of building performance data. Discords, or infrequent daily patterns, are filtered and tagged for deeper, detailed analysis …

Detection, Identification And Localization Of R/C Electronic Devices Through Their Unintended Emissions, Vivek Thotla

Doctoral Dissertations

"The accurate and reliable detection of unintended emissions from radio receivers has a broad range of commercial and security applications. This thesis presents detection, identification, and localization methods for multiple RC electronic devices in a realistic environment. First, a Hurst parameter based detection method for super-regenerative receivers (SRR) has been used for detection. Hurst parameter based detection method exploits a self-similarity property of the SRR receiver emissions to distinguish it from background noise. Second paper presents a novel detection and localization scheme of multiple RC electronic devices called Edge-Synthetic Aperture Radar (Edge-SAR). It employs cost-effective, mobile antenna-array detectors. Two types …

Sex And The Shari’A: Defining Gender Norms And Sexual Deviancy In Shi’I Islam, Haider Ala Hamoudi

Fordham International Law Journal

This Article demonstrates that modern authoritative jurists working within the Shi’i tradition have developed their rules respecting sex regulation in order to serve three primary commitments. The first commitment is less a normative expectation and more a presumption of reality. It is that there is an intense and near debilitating desire on the part of human beings generally, though mostly men, for a great deal of sex. This desire must be satisfied, but it also must be tightly controlled. This is because of the second commitment, which is that excessive licentiousness is a form of secular distraction from a believer’s …

Big Data -- A 21st Century Science Maginot Line? No-Boundary Thinking: Shifting From The Big Data Paradigm, Xiuzhen Huang, Steven F. Jennings, Barry Bruce, Alison Buchan, Liming Cai, Pengyin Chen, Carole Cramer, Weihua Guan, Uwe Kk Hilgert, Hongmei Jiang, Zenglu Li, Gail Mcclure, Donald F. Mcmullen, Bindu Nanduri, Andy Perkins, Bhanu Rekepalli, Saeed Salem, Jennifer Specker, Karl Walker, Donald C. Wunsch, Donghai Xiong, Shuzhong Zhang, Yu Zhang, Zhongming Zhao, Jason H. Moore

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Whether your interests lie in scientific arenas, the corporate world, or in government, you have certainly heard the praises of big data: Big data will give you new insights, allow you to become more efficient, and/or will solve your problems. While big data has had some outstanding successes, many are now beginning to see that it is not the Silver Bullet that it has been touted to be. Here our main concern is the overall impact of big data; the current manifestation of big data is constructing a Maginot Line in science in the 21st century. Big data is not …

Agency And Partnership Law [2014], Pearlie M. C. Koh, Stephen Noel Henry Bull

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.

Landlord’S Liability For Tenant’S Nuisance: Uksc Clarifies The Law In Lawrence V Fen Tigers (No. 2), Kee Yang Low

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Where an occupier of premises creates or causes a nuisance and affects his neighbour’s enjoyment of land, the neighbour may sue him under the tort of nuisance. Where the occupier is a tenant, the neighbour may also have recourse to the landlord. This area of law, however, has not been the subject of rigorous judicial analysis and appears to be still lacking in clarity, precision and sophistication. The position prior to the UKSC decision in Lawrence and another v Fen Tigers Ltd and others (No. 2),1 (“Lawrence”) as discerned by the authors of Markesinis & Deakin’s Tort Law2 is that, …

Genome-Wide Scans Detect Adaptation To Aridity In A Widespread Forest Tree Species, Dorothy A. Steane, Brad M. Potts, Elizabeth Mcclean, Suzanne M. Prober, William D. Stock, René E. Vaillancourt, Margaret Byrne

Research Datasets

Patterns of adaptive variation within plant species are best studied through common garden experiments, but these are costly and time-consuming, especially for trees that have long generation times. We explored whether genome-wide scanning technology combined with outlier marker detection could be used to detect adaptation to climate and provide an alternative to common garden experiments. As a case study, we sampled nine provenances of the widespread forest tree species, Eucalyptus tricarpa, across an aridity gradient in southeastern Australia. Using a Bayesian analysis we identified a suite of 94 putatively adaptive (outlying) sequence-tagged markers across the genome. Population-level allele frequencies of …

High-Performance Extreme Learning Machines: A Complete Toolbox For Big Data Applications, Anton Akusok, Kaj Mikael Bjork, Yoan Miche, Amaury Lendasse

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This Paper Presents a Complete Approach to a Successful Utilization of a High-Performance Extreme Learning Machines (Elms) Toolbox for Big Data. It Summarizes Recent Advantages in Algorithmic Performance; Gives a Fresh View on the Elm Solution in Relation to the Traditional Linear Algebraic Performance; and Reaps the Latest Software and Hardware Performance Achievements. the Results Are Applicable to a Wide Range of Machine Learning Problems and Thus Provide a Solid Ground for Tackling Numerous Big Data Challenges. the Included Toolbox is Targeted at Enabling the Full Potential of Elms to the Widest Range of Users.

Particle Swarm Optimization Based Selective Ensemble Of Online Sequential Extreme Learning Machine, Yang Liu, Bo He, Diya Dong, Yue Shen, Tianhong Yan, Rui Nian, Amaury Lendasse

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A Novel Particle Swarm Optimization based Selective Ensemble (PSOSEN) of Online Sequential Extreme Learning Machine (OS-ELM) is Proposed. It is based on the Original OS-ELM with an Adaptive Selective Ensemble Framework. Two Novel Insights Are Proposed in This Paper. First, a Novel Selective Ensemble Algorithm Referred to as Particle Swarm Optimization Selective Ensemble is Proposed, noting that PSOSEN is a General Selective Ensemble Method Which is Applicable to Any Learning Algorithms, Including Batch Learning and Online Learning. Second, an Adaptive Selective Ensemble Framework for Online Learning is Designed to Balance the Accuracy and Speed of the Algorithm. Experiments for Both …

Strategies To Enhance Learning In A Large Engineering Economics Course: Including Students’ Perceived Values In The Instructional Redesign Process, Kellie S. Grasman, D. Cernusca

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Purposeful implementation of technology in instructional design presents opportunities to increase institutional efficiency while simultaneously improving instructional quality. This paper presents findings from the implementation of a hybrid/buffet approach in an undergraduate Engineering Economics large course. A Design-Based Research (DBR) approach informed the instructional redesign and measured its effectiveness through multiple iterations, or macro-cycles, of implementation. Overall, pedagogical structure and specific technology solutions applied to each course component are described, as well as preliminary measures of effectiveness and student perception from a pilot offering of the hybrid/buffet course. Encouraged by positive preliminary results, a second implementation informed further study of …

Sensing Performance Study Of Sic, A Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Material Platform For Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensor, Wei Du, Feng Zhao

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The sensing properties of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based waveguide sensor on a wide bandgap semiconductor, silicon carbide (SiC), were studied. Compared to other waveguide sensors, the large bandgap energy of SiC material allows the sensor to operate in the visible and near infrared wavelength range, while the SPR effect by a thin gold film is expected to improve the sensitivity. The confinement factor of the sensor at various wavelengths of the incident light and refractive index of the analyte were investigated using an effective index method. Since the change of analyte type and concentration is reflected by the …

Investigation Of Thermoelectric Properties Of P-Type Gan Thin Films, Bahadir Kucukgok, Babar Hussain, Chuanle Zhou, Ian T. Ferguson, Na Lu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

GaN and its alloys are promising candidates for high temperature thermoelectric (TE) materials due to their high Seebeck coefficient and high thermal and mechanical stability. Moreover, these materials can overcome the toxicity concern of current Te-based TE materials, such as BI₂Te₃ and PbTe. These materials have recently shown a higher Seebeck coefficient than that of SiGe in high temperature region because their large bandgap characteristic eliminates the bipolar conduction. In this study, we report the room temperature thermoelectric properties of p-type Mg doped GaN, grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on sapphire substrate with various carrier …

Linear Precoding For The Mimo Multiple Access Channel With Finite Alphabet Inputs And Statistical Csi, Yongpeng Wu, Chao Kai Wen, Chengshan Xiao, Xiqi Gao, Robert Schober

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, we investigate the design of linear precoders for the multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) multiple access channel (MAC). We assume that statistical channel state information (CSI) is available at the transmitters and consider the problem under the practical finite alphabet input assumption. First, we derive an asymptotic (in the large system limit) expression for the weighted sum rate (WSR) of the MIMO MAC with finite alphabet inputs and Weichselberger's MIMO channel model. Subsequently, we obtain the optimal structures of the linear precoders of the users maximizing the asymptotic WSR and an iterative algorithm for determining the precoders. We show that …

Cell Infiltration Into A 3d Electrospun Fiber And Hydrogel Hybrid Scaffold Implanted In The Brain, Christopher J. Rivet, Kun Zhou, Ryan J. Gilbert, David I. Finkelstein, John S. Forsythe

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Tissue engineering scaffolds are often designed without appropriate consideration for the translational potential of the material. Solid scaffolds implanted into central nervous system (CNS) tissue to promote regeneration may require tissue resection to accommodate implantation. Or alternatively, the solid scaffold may be cut or shaped to better fit an irregular injury geometry, but some features of the augmented scaffold may fail to integrate with surrounding tissue reducing regeneration potential. To create a biomaterial able to completely fill the irregular geometry of CNS injury and yet still provide sufficient cell migratory cues, an injectable, hybrid scaffold was created to present the …

Mitochondria- Targeted Antioxidant Skq1 Reverses Glaucomatous Lesions In Rabbits, Elena N. Iomdina, Inna P. Khoroshilova-Maslova, Olga V. Robustova, Olga A. Averina, Nadezhda A. Kovaleva, Gjumrakch Aliev, V. Prakash Reddy, Andrey A. Zamyatnin, Maxim V. Skulachev, Ivan I. Senin, Vladimir P. Skulachev

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Glaucoma is the main cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. This disease is characterized by apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells (RGC) and visual field loss that seems to be related to elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Several lines of evidences have implicated the crucial role of mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of glaucoma. Increased mitochondrial oxidative stress in RGC may underlie or contribute to susceptibility of RGC to apoptosis. In our work we (i) designed a rabbit model of chronic, moderately elevated IOP for studying glaucoma and (ii) demonstrated efficacy of mitochondria- Targeted antioxidant SkQ1 as a tool to reverse several traits …

Palladium-Catalyzed Annulation Of 9-Halophenanthrenes With Alkynes: Synthesis, Structural Analysis, And Properties Of Acephenanthrylene-Based Derivatives, En Chih Liu, Min-Kuan Chen, Jen-Yi Li, Yao-Ting Wu

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The palladium-catalyzed annulation of 9-bromoand 9-chlorophenanthrenes with alkynes gave 4,5-disubstituted acephenanthrylenes in yields of 58–95% (9 examples). Asymmetric alkynes, such as 1-phenyl-1-propyne, 1-phenyl- 1-hexyne, and 1-cyclopropyl-2-phenylethyne, regioselectively form (cyclo)alkyl-substituted products, following the regular rule that governs the carbopalladation of alkynes. This synthetic protocol can also be utilized in annulations with several p-extended bromoarenes, such as 7-5] helicene, 5- 4] helicene, 9-bromoanthracene, 3-bromoperylene, and 3-bromofluoranthene, to give the corresponding annulated products in moderate to good yields (51–86 %; 6 examples). Similarly, bromocorannulene produced highly curved 1,2-disubstituted cyclopentacorannulenes. Reactions of 6,12-dibromochrysene and 4,7-4] helicene with di(4-tolyl) ethyne provided the twofold annulated products …

In Planta Variation Of Volatile Biosynthesis: An Alternative Biosynthetic Route To The Formation Of The Pathogen-Induced Volatile Homoterpene Dmnt Via Triterpene Degradation In Arabidopsis Roots, Reza Sohrabi, Jung Hyun Huh, Somayesadat Badieyan, Liva Harinantenaina Rakotondraibe, Daniel J. Kliebenstein, Pablo Sobrado, Dorothea Tholl

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Plant-derived volatile compounds such as terpenes exhibit substantial structural variation and serve multiple ecological functions. Despite their structural diversity, volatile terpenes are generally produced from a small number of core 5- to 20-carbon intermediates. Here, we present unexpected plasticity in volatile terpene biosynthesis by showing that irregular homo/norterpenes can arise from different biosynthetic routes in a tissue specific manner. While Arabidopsis thaliana and other angiosperms are known to produce the homoterpene (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene (DMNT) or its C16-analog (E,E)-4,8,12-trimethyl-1,3,7,11-tridecatetraene by the breakdown of sesquiterpene and diterpene tertiary alcohols in aboveground tissues, we demonstrate that Arabidopsis roots biosynthesize DMNT by the degradation of …

The London Exercise And Pregnant Smokers (Leap) Trial: A Randomised Controlled Trial Of Physical Activity For Smoking Cessation In Pregnancy With An Economic Evaluation, Michael Ussher, S Lewis, Paul Aveyard, Isaac Manyonda, Robert West, B Lewis, Bess Marcus, Muhammad Riaz, Adrian H. Taylor, Pelham Barton, Amanda Daley, Holly Essex, Dale Esliger, Tim Coleman

Peninsula Medical School

BackgroundSmoking during pregnancy is the main preventable cause of poor birth outcomes. Improved methods are needed to help women to stop smoking during pregnancy. Pregnancy provides a compelling rationale for physical activity (PA) interventions as cessation medication is contraindicated or ineffective, and an effective PA intervention could be highly cost-effective.ObjectiveTo examine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a PA intervention plus standard behavioural support for smoking cessation relative to behavioural support alone for achieving smoking cessation at the end of pregnancy.DesignMulticentre, two-group, pragmatic randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation with follow-up at the end of pregnancy and 6 months postnatally. Randomisation …

Pcsk9, Apolipoprotein E And Lipoviral Particles In Chronic Hepatitis C Genotype 3: Evidence For Genotype-Specific Regulation Of Lipoprotein Metabolism, Simon H. Bridge, David A. Sheridan, Daniel J. Felmlee, Mary M.E. Crossey, Fiona I. Fenwick, Clare V. Lanyon, Geneviève Dubuc, Nabil G. Seidah, Jean Davignon, Howard C. Thomas, Simon D. Taylor-Robinson, Geoffrey L. Toms, R. Dermot G. Neely, Margaret F. Bassendine

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.

(En)Gendering Suffering: Denial Of Abortion As A Form Of Cruel, Inhuman, Or Degrading Treatment, Alyson Zureick

Fordham International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Justice Among The Ashes: How Government Compensation Facilities Can Bring Justice To Disaster Victims, Lindy Rouillard-Labbé

Fordham International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Deconstructing The Wto Conformity Obligation: A Theory Of Compliance As A Process, Julien Chaisse

Fordham International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Narrative: Law And The Representation Of Mexican Criminality, Deborah Weissman

Fordham International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Beyond Self-Judgment: Exceptions Clauses In Us Bits, Catherine

Fordham International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Into The Effects Of Different Types Of Exercise On The Maintenance Of Approach Motivation Levels, J. A.S. Lowenstein, K. Wright, A. Taylor, N. J. Moberly

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.

Toward Mobile Robots Reasoning Like Humans, Jean Oh, Arne Suppe, Felix Duvallet, Abdeslam Boularias, Luis Navarro-Serment, Martial Hebert, Anthony Stentz, Jerry Vinokurov, Oscar Romero, Christian Lebiere, Robert Dean

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Robots are increasingly becoming key players in human-robot teams. To become effective teammates, robots must possess profound understanding of an environment, be able to reason about the desired commands and goals within a specific context, and be able to communicate with human teammates in a clear and natural way. To address these challenges, we have developed an intelligence architecture that combines cognitive components to carry out high-level cognitive tasks, semantic perception to label regions in the world, and a natural language component to reason about the command and its relationship to the objects in the world. This paper describes recent …

Dissolution Of Borate Glasses And Precipitation Of Phosphate Compounds, Jaime Lynn George

Doctoral Dissertations

"Borate glasses have been developed for biomedical applications such as scaffolds for soft tissue and bone repair. The dissolution processes of borate glasses in phosphate-containing aqueous solutions were studied by µ-Raman spectroscopy which provided information about the types and concentrations of borate species released into the solution as a function of time and characterized the formation of calcium phosphate reaction products on the glass surface. Boric acid molecules (H₃BO₃) and borate anions (B(OH)₄^-) can be detected in solution and their relative concentrations depend on the solution pH.

Static and dynamic single-pass flow-through experiments …