Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Developing An Open Database To Support Forensic Investigation Of Disasters In South East Asia: Forinsea V1.0, Andres Payo, Raushan Arnhardt, Angelo Carlo R. Galindo, Pham Van Dong, Ma. Aileen Leah G. Guzman, Yasmin O. Hatta, Andrew Bevan, Jose Claro N. Monje

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

This article describes the development of a bespoke database, FORINSEA1.0, created to address the need for a systematic curation of information needed for the descriptive phase of the FORIN approach and its application to two study areas in the South East Asia region. FORINSEA1.0 allows researchers, for the first time, to explore and make use of subnational, geocoded data on major disasters triggered by natural hazards (flooding, earthquake, landslide and meteorological hazards) since 1945 until 2020 in the hydrological catchment of the Red River in Vietnam and the Marikina Basin in the Philippines. FORINSEA1.0 also contains relevant subnational information on …

Superluminal Propagation On A Moving Braneworld, Brian Greene, Daniel Kabat, Janna Levin, Arjun S. Menon

Publications and Research

We consider a braneworld scenario in the simplest setting, M₄ × S¹, with a four-dimensional (4D) Minkowski metric induced on the brane, and establish the possibility of superluminal propagation. If the brane is at rest, the 4D Lorentz symmetry of the brane is exact, but if the brane is in motion, it is broken globally by the compactification. By measuring bulk fields, an observer on the brane sees a slice through a higher-dimensional field profile, which carries an imprint of the extra dimensions even when the brane is at rest. If the brane is in motion, we …

Outsourcing Climate Change, Rui Dai, Rui Duan, Hao Liang, Lilian Ng

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper examines whether and how firms combat climate change. Our study provides robust evidence that firms outsource part of their carbon emissions to foreign suppliers and shows how internal and external stakeholders significantly shape firms' environmental policies. Furthermore, firms tend to seek a foreign supplier and decrease their emission abatement efforts as pressure to reduce domestic emissions intensifies. These firms are also less incentivized to develop green technologies. Finally, we find that outsourcing emissions has real and economic consequences, with investors demanding a higher carbon premium for their exposures to carbon risks associated with increased outsourced emissions.

Low-Head Dam Removal Increases Functional Diversity Of Stream Fish Assemblages, Adam Christopher Jones

Masters Theses

Despite the growing number of dam removals to date, very few have been studied to understand their impacts on stream fish communities. Despite being the most common type of dam in the U.S., an even smaller proportion of studies focus on the impacts of low-head dam removals, instead, focusing on the impacts of removal of larger dams. In this study, two previously impounded Illinois rivers were monitored to assess the impacts of low-head dam removal on the functional assemblage of stream fishes. This was accomplished by aggregating fishes into habitat and reproductive guilds, relating community changes to habitat, environmental metrics, …

Interfacial Electrochemistry In Metallic Film Fabrication, Eric S. Tuala

Masters Theses

An experimental determination of RC constant at the edge and the center of a disk electrode was done using in situ reflectance spectroscopy on a Au electrode immersed in HClO₄ as electrolyte. The RC constant at the edge of the disk electrode was found much smaller than that at the center. Such differences contribute to the selective removal of the deposited Cu on an Au disk electrode.

Furthermore, the electrochemical corrosion of Cu²⁺ towards Co electrode (called cementation reaction) was investigated using a Co/Pt rotating disk electrode. The Open Circuit Potential of Co electrode in CuSO₄ electrolyte …

Pd-Based Photocatalysts For Heck C-C Cross-Coupling Reactions, Suha Ali Alshehri

Masters Theses

Heck C-C cross-coupling reaction has been widely employed in synthetic organic chemistry because of its high efficiency and simplicity, however the conventional Heck C-C cross-coupling reaction conditions involve the use of an expensive toxicant phosphine-ligated palladium complexes, and high temperature. To address these drawbacks, a highly efficient, homogeneous photocatalyst based on BODIPY for the Heck C-C cross-coupling reactions of aryl iodide and methyl acrylate in DMF solvent under inert conditions has been developed. The 4-Py-BDP-Pd, 3-Py-BDP-Pd and, 2-Py-BOD-Pd catalysts were synthesized and purified using column chromatography. The optical properties of products and intermediates were studied by UV/vis absorption and fluorescence …

Applying Intensity-Based Methods To Disentangle Microwave Spectra Of Complex Mixtures: Analysis Of Weakly Bound Clusters Of 1,1-Difluoroethylene/Co2, Hannah Fino

Masters Theses

Microwave spectroscopy is used to study the solvent-solute interactions between molecules of CO₂ and fluoroethylenes by analyzing the formation of weakly-bound clusters in a gaseous mixture. One of the challenges to analyzing microwave spectra obtained for these weakly-bound species is that spectra for individual clusters are mixed together in an original complex spectrum. This prompts development of automated techniques that could separate complex data into subsets of related data to be more easily analyzed.

The techniques developed in this work are founded on intensity-based analyses, following the work of Dr. Robert Field on Extended Cross Correlation (XCC). The XCC …

A Biological And Chemical Approach To Restoring Water Quality: A Case Study In An Urban Eutrophic Pond, Levi J. Mckercher, Tiffany L. Messer, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Steve D. Comfort

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Efforts to improve water quality of eutrophic ponds often involve implementing changes to watershed management practices to reduce external nutrient loads. While this is required for long-term recovery and prevention, eutrophic conditions are often sustained through the recycling of internal nutrients already present within the waterbody. In particular, internal phosphorus bound to organic material and adsorbed to sediment has the potential to delay lake recovery for decades. Thus, pond and watershed management techniques are needed that not only reduce external nutrient loading but also mitigate the effects of internal nutrients already present. Therefore, our objective was to demonstrate a biological …

A Pivotal New Approach To Groundwater Quality Assessment, M. L. Cherry, T. Gilmore, T. Messer, Y. Li, J. Westrop

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Potential Of Online Education And College Students' Connection To Nature, Michael Weinstein

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

There is limited research examining the efficacy of online delivery for experiential, field-based, interdisciplinary coursework in environmental education geared towards undergraduate students, and how connection to nature can be understood through the theory of emerging adulthood. This research employed a convergent mixed methods approach to explore the experiences of 11 undergraduate students enrolled in an online, introductory ecology course, and how their experience of connection to nature was influenced through the course, technology-mediated nature embedded within the course, and how their identities as emerging adults were impacted by their connection to nature. Quantitative methods employed included pre/post surveys, while qualitative …

The Diffusion Of A Discipline: Examining Social Marketing's Institutionalization Within Environmental Contexts, Liz Foote

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

As a social change discipline, social marketing has demonstrated its effectiveness in addressing many types of wicked problems. However, despite its utility in environmental contexts, it is neither well known nor widespread in its uptake in these settings. This study’s purpose is to reveal opportunities to drive the adoption, implementation, and diffusion (“institutionalization”) of social marketing within the domains of environmental sustainability and natural resource conservation. This research considers the use of social marketing as an innovative practice within a diffusion of innovations framework and uses a systems lens to examine early adopter social marketing professionals and the institutional contexts …

Jacobi's Four Squares Theorem, Arman Yagci

Honors Papers

Jacobi’s Four Squares Theorem is a celebrated result of number theory that provides a formula for the number of ways a positive integer n can be written as a sum of four integral squares. In this paper, we prove this theorem using the theory of modular forms.

Deep Reinforcement Learning For Open Multiagent System, Tianxing Zhu

Honors Papers

In open multiagent systems, multiple agents work together or compete to reach the goal while members of the group change over time. For example, intelligent robots that are collaborating to put out wildfires may run out of suppressants and have to leave the place to recharge; the rest of the robots may need to change their behaviors accordingly to better control the fires. Thus, openness requires agents not only to predict the behaviors of others, but also the presence of other agents. We present a deep reinforcement learning method that adapts the proximal policy optimization algorithm to learn the optimal …

Contractible 4-Manifolds, Alexandra Du

Honors Papers

Compact, contractible 4-manifolds distinct from D^4 were first constructed by Mazur and Poénaru. Sparks defined a collection of compact, contractible 4-manifolds called Jester manifolds. We study Mazur and Jester 4-manifolds. In particular, we show that all Jester manifolds are not homeomorphic to D^4, and that a collection of them are pairwise nonhomeomorphic.

Error Handling Approaches In Programming Languages, Joey Aldrin Rees-Hill

Honors Papers

Error handling is a part of nearly every computer program, but it is rarely the main focus of a program's developers. Nevertheless, correct error handling is important because it can enable a program to recover from abnormal circumstances and continue to function and serve its purpose. Programming languages offer a variety of tools and approaches for programs to detect and handle errors. I investigated the different approaches to error handling in contemporary programming languages. I found three general paradigms of error handling approaches. One paradigm was Special Return Value, in which certain return values of a function signify that an …

Characterizing Agn Influence On The Calculated Metallicities Of Adjacent Star-Forming Spaxels, Aidan Khelil

Honors Papers

In this thesis, I introduce a method to identify and characterize the effects of active galactic nuclei (AGN) on the spectra of nearby star-forming regions. I analyze spatially-resolved areas of galaxies called “spaxels” within Data Release 15 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) with the goal of locating those which are physically close to AGN. I find those spaxels with calculated metallicities which lie adjacent to AGN-flagged spaxels and characterize their metallicity values relative to the spaxels which are not adjacent to AGN-flagged spaxels, using a total of 11 separate metallicity calibrations. I find that the current methods to …

Examining Soil Microbial Diversity In Transition Zones Between Corn Fields And Restored Prairie In The Upper Midwest, Anna M. Burns

Scripps Senior Theses

Prairies were once the largest ecosystem in North America, but agriculture and settlement has destroyed up to 99% of their pre-colonization extent. Prairie restorations are a strategy to recover the biodiversity and carbon sequestration functions of these grasslands, but typically occur in isolated strips between agricultural fields. My thesis analyzes how effective prairie restorations in the Liberty Prairie (northeastern Illinois) are at recovering the diversity of the prairie soil microbiome, focusing on verrucomicrobia abundance, alpha diversity, and soil physical characteristics.

Footprints On The Prairie: Examining The Interlocking Land Histories Of The Liberty Prairie Reserve, Illinois, Anna M. Burns

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis begins with the local history of the Liberty Prairie, the land where I conducted the ecological field-work that I later discuss in my second thesis on soil microbiome diversity (“Examining Soil Microbial Diversity in Transition Zones Between Corn Fields and Restored Prairie in the Upper Midwest"). I examine the Indigenous histories of the land, and the conflicts between the Bodwéwadmi and Euro-American settlers that resulted in the land being farmed for cattle, corn, and soy for over a hundred and fifty years. I then take a step back and analyze the broader historical contexts of Midwestern Corn Belt …

2021 West Los Angeles Data Summary, Gary Bishop

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

Simple data summary for 2021 West Los Angeles on-road emission measurements.

2022 Oakland Ca Data Summary, Gary Bishop

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

Simple data summary for 2022 on-road vehicle emission measurements from Oakland CA.

Partially Oxidised Boron Nitride As A 2d Nanomaterial For Nanofiltration Applications, Natalia Garcıa Domenech, Aine Coogan, Finn Purcell Milton, María Luisa Casasín Garcia, Adrián Sanz Arjona, Marc Brunet Cabré, Aran Rafferty, Kim Mckelvey, Peter Dunne, Yurii K. Gun'ko

Articles

Access to clean water has become increasingly scarce in recent years due to various factors, such as increasing population density, urbanisation, and inequality, among others.1 The development of new, inexpensive, and reliable methods for the removal of various impurities and toxins from water is therefore vital. In recent years, the emergence of nanofiltration (NF) membranes has become an exciting prospect for water purification. NF can be described as a type of filtration which exhibits separation characteristics in between reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration, and typically has molecular weight cut-offs in the region of 200–1000 Daltons.2,3 Various nanomaterials have been implemented in …

Normative Data On The Foveal Avascular Zone In A Young Healthy Irish Population Using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography, Susan M. O'Shea, Veronica O'Dwyer, Grainne Scanlon

Articles

Purpose: To establish normative data on the size, shape and vascular profile of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) in a young, healthy, Irish population, using the Cirrus 5000 HD-OCT. Certain diseases may alter FAZ appearance. Normative databases provide normal baseline values for comparison, thus improving diagnostic ability.

Methods: One hundred and fifty-four subjects aged 18–35 years old were recruited. Superficial FAZ area, diameter, circularity, ganglion cell layer, central macular thickness (CMT), vascular perfusion and density were measured using the Cirrus 5000. Axial length was measured with the IOL Master and blood pressure was measured using the Omron sphygmomanometer. …

Synthesis Of Fast Curing, Water-Resistant And Photopolymerizable Glass For Recording Of Holographic Structures By One- And Two-Photon Lithography, Tatsiana Mikulchyk, Mohamed Oubaha, Alicja Kaworek, Brendan Duffy, Markus Lunzer, Aleksandr Ovsianikov, Sabad-E Gul, Izabela Naydenova, Dervil Cody

Articles

Advancements in hybrid sol-gel technology have provided a new class of holographic materials as photopolymerizable glasses. Recently, a number of photosensitive glass compositions with high dynamic range and high spatial resolution have been reported and their excellent capability for volume holography has been demonstrated. Nevertheless, challenges remain, particularly in relation to the processing time and environmental stability of these materials, that strongly affect the performance and durability of the fabricated holograms. State-of-the-art photopolymerizable glasses possess long curing times (few days) required to achieve thick films, thus limiting the industrial implementation of this technology and its commercial viability. This article presents …

The Art Of Poetry And Its Place In The History Of The Coordinating Research Councils Real World Emissions Workshop {Poster}, Gary A. Bishop

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

No abstract provided.

All-Optical Modulator Based On A Microfibre Coil Resonator Functionalized With Mxene, Pengfei Wang, Shi Li, Fengzi Ling, Gerald Farrell, Elfed Lewis, Yu Yin

Articles

A novel all-optical modulator based on a microfibre coil resonator (MCR) functionalized using MXene is reported. The MCR was manufactured by winding a tapered fibre on a polycarbonate (PC) resin cylinder with low refractive index to support the microfibre, which also forms a fluidic channel coil. The MXene dispersion was injected into the channel to allow the deposition of an MXene layer using a photodeposition process. The transmission spectra were tuned using a tunable laser with a centre wavelength of 1550 nm and the light-matter interaction resulting from the photo-thermal effect and MXene absorption provide the all-optical modulation in this …

Corner’S Theorem On Modules With Anti-Isomorphic Endomorphism Algebras, Brendan Goldsmith, Noel White

Articles

We present a version of an unpublished result of A.L.S. Corner on p-adic modules with anti-isomorphic endomorphism algebras. The result gives a complete description of necessary conditions for two such modules to have anti-isomorphic endomorphism algebras and a sufficient condition is also given. A main difference in the current version is that extensive use is made of our ability to describe certain homomorphism groups.

Viscoelastic And Electromagnetic Materials With Nonlinear Memory, Claudio Giorgi, John Murrough Golden

Articles

A method is presented for generating free energies relating to nonlinear constitutive equations with memory from known free energies associated with hereditary linear theories. Some applications to viscoelastic solids and hereditary electrical conductors are presented. These new free energies are then used to obtain estimates for nonlinear integro-differential evolution problems describing the behavior of nonlinear plasmas with memory.

The Locus Algorithm: A Novel Technique For Identifying Optimised Pointings For Differential Photometry, Oisin Creaner, Kevin Nolan Mr, E. Hickey, N. Smith

Articles

Studies of the photometric variability of astronomical sources from ground-based telescopes must overcome atmospheric extinction effects. Differential photometry by reference to an ensemble of reference stars which closely match the target in terms of magnitude and colour can mitigate these effects. This Paper describes the design, implementation, and operation of a novel algorithm – The Locus Algorithm – which enables optimised differential photometry. The Algorithm is intended to identify, for a given target and observational parameters, the Field of View (FoV) which includes the target and the maximum number of reference stars similar to the target. A collection of objects …

Quantitative Raman Analysis Of Carotenoid Protein Complexes In Aqueous Solution, Joy Udensi, Ekaterina Loskutova, James Loughman, Hugh Byrne

Datasets

Carotenoids are naturally abundant fat-soluble pigmented compounds, with dietary, antioxidant and vision protection advantages. The dietary carotenoids, Beta Carotene, Lutein and Zeaxanthin, complexed with in bovine serum albumin (BSA) in aqueous solution, were explored using Raman spectroscopy to differentiate and quantify their spectral signatures. UV visible absorption spectroscopy was employed to confirm the linearity of responses over the concentration range employed (0.05-1mg/ml) and, of the 4 source wavelengths, 785nm, 660nm, 532nm, 473nm, 532nm was chosen to provide the optimal response. After preprocessing to remove water and BSA contributions, and correct for self-absorption, a partial least squares model with R^{2 …}

Detecting Road Intersections Automatically From Satellite Images Using A Deep Learning Approach, Fatmaelzahraa Eltaher Ph.D, Luis Miralles-Pechuán, Jane Courtney, Susan Mckeever

Datasets

Automatic detection of road intersections is an important task in various domains such as navigation, route planning, traffic prediction, and road network extraction. Road intersections range from simple three-way T-junctions (degree 3) to complex large-scale junctions with many branches. The location of intersections and their complexity is an important consideration in route planning, such as the requirement to avoid complex intersections on pedestrian journeys. This is relevant to vulnerable road users such as People with Blindness or Visually Impairment (PBVI) or children. Route planning applications, however, do not give information about the location or complexity of intersections as this information …