bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Current Distribution in Helical Solenoids
Authors: Ryff Peter F
Published: July 2021

A method is presented for calculating the current distribution and power loss in the individual turns of helical solenoids of nonmagnetic materials. Examples are presented pertaining to 5- and 14-turn coils with or without a circular billet located inside the solenoid. In addition, experimental results are included showing the excellent agreement between theory and practice.
Biofilms' Role in Planktonic Cell Proliferation
Authors: Bester Elanna , Wolfaardt Gideon , Aznaveh Nahid B.
Published: July 2021

The detachment of single cells from biofilms is an intrinsic part of this surface-associated mode of bacterial existence. Pseudomonas sp. strain CT07gfp biofilms, cultivated in microfluidic channels under continuous flow conditions, were subjected to a range of liquid shear stresses (9.42 mPa to 320 mPa). The number of detached planktonic cells was quantified from the effluent at 24-h intervals, while average biofilm thickness and biofilm surface area were determined by confocal laser scanning microscopy and image analysis. Biofilm accumulation proceeded at the highest applied shear stress, while similar rates of planktonic cell detachment was maintained for biofilms of the same age subjected to the range of average shear rates. The conventional view of liquid-mediated shear leading to the passive erosion of single cells from the biofilm surface, disregards the active contribution of attached cell metabolism and growth to the observed detachment rates. As a complement to the conventional conceptual biofilm models, the existence of a biofilm surface-associated zone of planktonic cell proliferation is proposed to highlight the need to expand the traditional perception of biofilms as promoting microbial survival, to include the potential of biofilms to contribute to microbial proliferation.
Sustainable approach toward synthesis of green functional carbonaceous 3-D micro/nanostructures from biomass
Authors: Tavangar Amirhossein , Tan Bo , Venkatakrishnan Krishnan
Published: July 2021

This study proposes a novel technique to synthesize functional carbonaceous three-dimensional (3-D) micro/
nanocompounds from agricultural by-products using femtosecond laser irradiation. Biowastes of rice husk and
wheat straw are value-engineered to carbonaceous structures in a single-step process under ambient conditions.
Our results demonstrate that by controlling the laser fluence, structures with a variety of different morphologies
from nanostructures to microstructures can be achieved. Also, the results indicate that altering the laser processing
parameters influences the chemical composition of the synthesized structures. This sustainable approach presents
an important step towards synthesizing 3-D micro/nanofibrous compounds from biowaste materials. These
structures, as-synthesized or as nanocomposite fillers, can have practical uses in electronic, sensing, biological, and
environmental applications.
A Diffusion Model Analysis of Decision Biases Affecting Delayed Recognition of Emotional Stimuli
Authors: Spaniol Julia , Bowen Holly  J. , Patel Ronak , Voss Andreas
Published: July 2021

Previous empirical work suggests that emotion can influence accuracy and cognitive biases underlying recognition memory, depending on the experimental conditions. The current study examines the effects of arousal and valence on delayed recognition memory using the diffusion model, which allows the separation of two decision biases thought to underlie memory: response bias and memory bias. Memory bias has not been given much attention in the literature but can provide insight into the retrieval dynamics of emotion modulated memory. Participants viewed emotional pictorial stimuli; half were given a recognition test 1-day later and the other half 7-days later. Analyses revealed that emotional valence generally evokes liberal responding, whereas high arousal evokes liberal responding only at a short retention interval. The memory bias analyses indicated that participants experienced greater familiarity with high-arousal compared to low-arousal items and this pattern became more pronounced as study-test lag increased; positive items evoke greater familiarity compared to negative and this pattern remained stable across retention interval. The findings provide insight into the separate contributions of valence and arousal to the cognitive mechanisms underlying delayed emotion modulated memory.
Promoting Professionalism and Academic Librarianship: Observations on the Marketing of the M.L.S.
Authors: Cameron Brian D. , Farnum Cecile
Published: July 2021

Despite the requirement for librarians to hold an MLS or equivalent, many librarians have not sought opportunities to publicize their credentials. In the college and university environment, this is surprising given the importance placed on credentials and advanced degrees. A brief survey of academic library websites reveals that few are using the web to publicize librarian credentials, and as a result, are missing opportunities to promote their expertise and advanced qualifications to their community.
Program design features that can improve participation in health education interventions
Authors: Gucciardi Enza , Cameron Jill I. , Di Liao Chen , Palmer Alison , Stewart Donna E.
Published: July 2021

Background: Although there have been reported benefits of health education interventions across various health issues, the key to program effectiveness is participation and retention. Unfortunately, not everyone is willing to participate in health interventions upon invitation. In fact, health education interventions are vulnerable to low participation rates. The objective of this study was to identify design features that may increase participation in health education interventions and evaluation surveys, and to maximize recruitment and retention efforts in a general ambulatory population.Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire was administered to 175 individuals in waiting rooms of two hospitals diagnostic centres in Toronto, Canada. Subjects were asked about their willingness to participate, in principle, and the extent of their participation (frequency and duration) in health education interventions under various settings and in intervention evaluation surveys using various survey methods.Results: The majority of respondents preferred to participate in one 30–60 minutes education intervention session a year, in hospital either with a group or one-on-one with an educator. Also, the majority of respondents preferred to spend 20–30 minutes each time, completing one to two evaluation surveys per year in hospital or by mail.Conclusion: When designing interventions and their evaluation surveys, it is important to consider the preferences for setting, length of participation and survey method of your target population, in order to maximize recruitment and retention efforts. Study respondents preferred short and convenient health education interventions and surveys. Therefore, brevity, convenience and choice appear to be important when designing education interventions and evaluation surveys from the perspective of our target population.
Energy-Efficient Power Allocation Using Probabilistic Interference Model for OFDM-Based Green Cognitive Radio Networks
Authors: Karmokar Ashok , Naeem Muhammad , Anpalagan Alagan , Jaseemuddin Muhammad
Published: July 2021

We study the energy-efficient power allocation techniques for OFDM-based cognitive radio (CR) networks, where a CR transmitter is communicating with CR receivers on a channel borrowed from licensed primary users (PUs). Due to non-orthogonality of the transmitted signals in the adjacent bands, both the PU and the cognitive secondary user (SU) cause mutual-interference. We assume that the statistical channel state information between the cognitive transmitter and the primary receiver is known. The secondary transmitter maintains a specified statistical mutual-interference limits for all the PUs communicating in the adjacent channels. Our goal is to allocate subcarrier power for the SU so that the energy efficiency metric is optimized as well as the mutual-interference on all the active PU bands are below specified bounds. We show that the green power loading problem is a fractional programming problem. We use Charnes-Cooper transformation technique to obtain an equivalent concave optimization problem for what the solution can be readily obtained. We also propose iterative Dinkelbach method using parametric objective function for the fractional program. Numerical results are given to show the effect of different interference parameters, rate and power thresholds, and number of PUs.
Healthcare needs and health service utilization by Syrian refugee women in Toronto
Authors: Guruge Sepali , Sidani Souraya , Illesinghe Vathsala , Younes Rania , Bukhari Huda , Altenberg Jason , Rashid Meb , Fredericks Suzanne
Published: July 2021

Objective: Access to healthcare is an important part of the (re)settlement process for Syrian refugees in Canada. There is growing concern about the healthcare needs of the 54,560 Syrian refugees who were admitted to Canada by May 2018, 80% of whom are women and children. We explored the healthcare needs of newcomer Syrian women, their experiences in accessing and using health services, and the factors and conditions that shape whether and how they access and utilize health services in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
Method: This community-based qualitative descriptive interpretive study was informed by Yang & Hwang (2016) health service utilization framework. Focus group discussions were held with 58 Syrian newcomer women in the GTA. These discussions were conducted in Arabic, audio-recorded with participants’ consent, translated into English and transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results
Participants’ health concerns included chronic, long-term conditions as well as new and emerging issues. Initial health insurance and coverage were enabling factors to access to services, while language and social disconnection were barriers. Other factors, such as beliefs about naturopathic medicine, settlement in suburban areas with limited public transportation, and lack of linguistically, culturally, and gender-appropriate services negatively affected access to and use of healthcare services.
Conclusion: Responding to the healthcare needs of Syrian newcomer women in a timely and comprehensive manner requires coordinated, multi-sector initiatives that can address the financial, social, and structural barriers to their access and use of services.
Comparative Evaluation of a Novel Concept Design Method
Authors: Rogers A. S. Damian , Salustri Filippo A.
Published: July 2021

Based on their previous work in creating a new method of design, termed the “Design by DNA” method, the authors are now experimentally validating the method against other, known methods. The goal of the experiment is to determine if Design by DNA promotes creative designs. Specifically, the authors are seeking to measure and compare creativity resulting from the use of Design by DNA and from other, known design methods. However, few have conducted empirical experiments in the past, and further, the literature on comparatively evaluating creativity of different design methods is relatively sparse. Therefore, the authors are developing a framework for defining and executing meaningful experiments that can accommodate various design methods, including Design by DNA, and also provide meaningful data to comparatively evaluate those methods, with the goal of determining whether Design by DNA impacts creativity in design. The experimental framework is described, and results of a pilot experiment are given. In that framework, creativity was characterized by novelty, usefulness, and cohesion. Due to small sample sizes, confidence in the results is not particularly high. Even so, some results do indicate several points of interest. An analysis of the results suggests that Design by DNA can offer advantages in engineering design, ranking higher in both the ‘usefulness’ and ‘cohesion’ categories of the creativity assessment. Hypotheses are given to explain why the experimental results show the slightly lower score in the ‘novelty’ category. Experiment participants were also evaluated on the NASA Task Loading Index (TLX) to evaluate how taxed they were using the different design methods and results are shown. Here, the Design by DNA method accrues better scores in 5 of the 6 NASA TLX categories, suggesting that it was less strenuous on the participants than the other methods. Statistical analysis of both the creativity scores and the TLX document shows confidence levels of between 65% and 96%, which is acceptable for very low populations. As this was a pilot experiment, the authors foresee future work to improve the results presented here. First, larger sample sizes are needed to improve statistical significance of our conclusions. Secondly, the authors wish to set out a series of experiments whereby each test is run by pitting one specific design method against the Design by DNA method, to better show a 1-on-1 comparison between the methods and highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each.
Insights into the government's role in food system policy making: improving access to healthy, local food alongside other priorities
Authors: Wegener Jessica , Raine Kim D , Hanning Rhona M
Published: July 2021

Government actors have an important role to play in creating healthy public policies and supportive environments to facilitate access to safe, affordable, nutritious food. The purpose of this research was to examine Waterloo Region (Ontario, Canada) as a case study for “what works” with respect to facilitating access to healthy, local food through regional food system policy making. Policy and planning approaches were explored through multi-sectoral perspectives of: (a) the development and adoption of food policies as part of the comprehensive planning process; (b) barriers to food system planning; and (c) the role and motivation of the Region’s public health and planning departments in food system policy making. Forty-seven in-depth interviews with decision makers, experts in public health and planning, and local food system stakeholders provided rich insight into strategic government actions, as well as the local and historical context within which food system policies were developed. Grounded theory methods were used to identify key overarching themes including: “strategic positioning”, “partnerships” and “knowledge transfer” and related sub-themes (“aligned agendas”, “issue framing”, “visioning” and “legitimacy”). A conceptual framework to illustrate the process and features of food system policy making is presented and can be used as a starting point to engage multi-sectoral stakeholders in plans and actions to facilitate access to healthy food.

Keywords: food policy; community food security; public health; government; land use planning; food access
Using technology to enhance and encourage dance-based exercise
Authors: Blackler Alethea , Desai Shital , Swann Levi , Chamorro-Koc Marianella , Moyle Gene , Stephens Mikaela
Published: July 2021

This study investigated the role of Self-Service Technologies (SSTs) in dance-based exercise in order to begin exploring the motivations behind the use (or not) of SSTs by ordinary men and women in this context. The research approach employed interviews to gain insights into participants’ use of SSTs and their exercise practices, in order to start establishing ways in which dance can be re/incorporated into people’s lives through the design of appropriate SSTs. Findings from this study highlight the significant opportunity to further explore how the properties of music and dance can be integrated into the design of new SSTs. Literature suggests dance could be a beneficial exercise format for many people and self-service technology abounds for exercise but is often not used consistently. Our interviews asked participants about dance-based exercise and SSTs for exercise and showed that there is an opportunity to design SSTs to help people access dance-based exercise. SSTs should help people learn dance, build confidence, and dance alone or with others. SSTs could facilitate movement and increase engagement with physical activity whilst addressing issues around logistics, confidence and dance knowledge and experience.

Keywords: Public health, Computer science
Bicycling crashes on streetcar (tram) or train tracks: mixed methods to identify prevention measures
Authors: Teschke Kay , Dennis Jessica , Reynolds Conor C. O. , Winters Meghan , Harris M. Anne
Published: July 2021

Background
Streetcar or train tracks in urban areas are difficult for bicyclists to negotiate and are a cause of crashes and injuries. This study used mixed methods to identify measures to prevent such crashes, by examining track-related crashes that resulted in injuries to cyclists, and obtaining information from the local transit agency and bike shops.

Methods
We compared personal, trip, and route infrastructure characteristics of 87 crashes directly involving streetcar or train tracks to 189 crashes in other circumstances in Toronto, Canada. We complemented this with engineering information about the rail systems, interviews of personnel at seven bike shops about advice they provide to customers, and width measurements of tires on commonly sold bikes.

Results
In our study, 32 % of injured cyclists had crashes that directly involved tracks. The vast majority resulted from the bike tire being caught in the rail flangeway (gap in the road surface alongside rails), often when cyclists made unplanned maneuvers to avoid a collision. Track crashes were more common on major city streets with parked cars and no bike infrastructure, with left turns at intersections, with hybrid, racing and city bikes, among less experienced and less frequent bicyclists, and among women. Commonly sold bikes typically had tire widths narrower than the smallest track flangeways. There were no track crashes in route sections where streetcars and trains had dedicated rights of way.

Conclusions
Given our results, prevention efforts might be directed at individual knowledge, bicycle tires, or route design, but their potential for success is likely to differ. Although it may be possible to reach a broader audience with continued advice about how to avoid track crashes, the persistence and frequency of these crashes and their unpredictable circumstances indicates that other solutions are needed. Using tires wider than streetcar or train flangeways could prevent some crashes, though there are other considerations that lead many cyclists to have narrower tires. To prevent the majority of track-involved injuries, route design measures including dedicated rail rights of way, cycle tracks (physically separated bike lanes), and protected intersections would be the best strategy.
Wearable Hardware Design for the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)
Authors: Qureshi Fayez , Krishnan Sridhar
Published: July 2021

As the life expectancy of individuals increases with recent advancements in medicine and quality of living, it is important to monitor the health of patients and healthy individuals on a daily basis. This is not possible with the current health care system in North America, and thus there is a need for wireless devices that can be used from home. These devices are called biomedical wearables, and they have become popular in the last decade. There are several reasons for that, but the main ones are: expensive health care, longer wait times, and an increase in public awareness about improving quality of life. With this, it is vital for anyone working on wearables to have an overall understanding of how they function, how they were designed, their significance, and what factors were considered when the hardware was designed. Therefore, this study attempts to investigate the hardware components that are required to design wearable devices that are used in the emerging context of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). This means that they can be used, to an extent, for disease monitoring through biosignal capture. In particular, this review study covers the basic components that are required for the front-end of any biomedical wearable, and the limitations that these wearable devices have. Furthermore, there is a discussion of the opportunities that they create, and the direction that the wearable industry is heading in.
Application of Scaling-Law and CFD Modeling to Hydrodynamics of Circulating Biomass Fluidized Bed Gasifier
Authors: Biglari Mazda , Liu Hui , Elkamel Ali , Lohi Ali
Published: July 2021

Two modeling approaches, the scaling-law and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) approaches, are presented in this paper. To save on experimental cost of the pilot plant, the scaling-law approach as a low-computational-cost method was adopted and a small scale column operating under ambient temperature and pressure was built. A series of laboratory tests and computer simulations were carried out to evaluate the hydrodynamic characteristics of a pilot fluidized-bed biomass gasifier. In the small scale column solids were fluidized. The pressure and other hydrodynamic properties were monitored for the validation of the scaling-law application. In addition to the scaling-law modeling method, the CFD approach was presented to simulate the gas-particle system in the small column. 2D CFD models were developed to simulate the hydrodynamic regime. The simulation results were validated with the experimental data from the small column. It was proved that the CFD model was able to accurately predict the hydrodynamics of the small column. The outcomes of this research present both the scaling law with the lower computational cost and the CFD modeling as a more robust method to suit various needs for the design of fluidized-bed gasifiers.
Integrated complex care coordination for children with medical complexity: A mixed-methods evaluation of tertiary care-community collaboration
Authors: Cohen Eyal , Lacombe-Duncan Ashley , Spalding Karen , MacInnis Jennifer , Nicholas David , Narayanan Unni G , Gordon Michelle , Margolis Ivor , Friedman Jeremy N
Published: July 2021

Background
Primary care medical homes may improve health outcomes for children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN), by improving care coordination. However, community-based primary care practices may be challenged to deliver comprehensive care coordination to complex subsets of CSHCN such as children with medical complexity (CMC). Linking a tertiary care center with the community may achieve cost effective and high quality care for CMC. The objective of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of community-based complex care clinics integrated with a tertiary care center.

Methods
A before- and after-intervention study design with mixed (quantitative/qualitative) methods was utilized. Clinics at two community hospitals distant from tertiary care were staffed by local community pediatricians with the tertiary care center nurse practitioner and linked with primary care providers. Eighty-one children with underlying chronic conditions, fragility, requirement for high intensity care and/or technology assistance, and involvement of multiple providers participated. Main outcome measures included health care utilization and expenditures, parent reports of parent- and child-quality of life [QOL (SF-36®, CPCHILD©, PedsQL™)], and family-centered care (MPOC-20®). Comparisons were made in equal (up to 1 year) pre- and post-periods supplemented by qualitative perspectives of families and pediatricians.

Results
Total health care system costs decreased from median (IQR) $244 (981) per patient per month (PPPM) pre-enrolment to $131 (355) PPPM post-enrolment (p=.007), driven primarily by fewer inpatient days in the tertiary care center (p=.006). Parents reported decreased out of pocket expenses (p<.0001). Parental QOL did not significantly change over the course of the study. Child QOL improved between baseline and 6 months in two PedsQL™ domains [Social (p=.01); Emotional (p=.003)], and between baseline and 1 year in two CPCHILD© domains [Health Standardization Section (p=.04); Comfort and Emotions (p=.03)], while total CPCHILD© score decreased between baseline and 1 year (p=.003). Parents and providers reported the ability to receive care close to home as a key benefit.

Conclusions
Complex care can be provided in community-based settings with less direct tertiary care involvement through an integrated clinic. Improvements in health care utilization and family-centeredness of care can be achieved despite minimal changes in parental perceptions of child health.
A study of DiffServ based QoS issues in next generation mobile networks
Authors: Babu Thimma V. J. Ganesh , Anpalagan Alagan , Hayes Jeremiah F.
Published: July 2021

To provide data rates of the order of hundreds of Mbps and multimedia services, standardization efforts for next generation (4G) systems are focusing on target technologies and seamless connectivity through various types of networks, including wireline networks and WLANs. Different types of multiple access techniques, such as the ones based on multicarrier CDMA and OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) have been proposed. There is a need for functional integration of the multiple networks, and, with the evolution of IPv6 and QoS support for IP networks, an IP based interconnectivity is best suited. A QoS aware adaptive radio resource management technique based on multi-code multicarrier CDMA is discussed. We develop a novel radio access method and develop algorithms for allocating and controlling radio network resources so that system performance can be maximized and guaranteed QoS for multimedia services can be provided within the DiffServ environment.
Geovisualization of Mercury Contamination in Lake St. Clair Sediments
Authors: Forsythe K. Wayne , Marvin Chris H. , Valancius Christine J. , Watt James P. , Aversa Joseph , Swales Stephen J. , Jakubek Daniel , Shaker Richard Ross
Published: July 2021

The Laurentian Great Lakes of North America contain approximately 20% of the earth’s fresh water. Smaller lakes, rivers and channels connect the lakes to the St. Lawrence Seaway, creating an interconnected freshwater and marine ecosystem. The largest delta system in the Great Lakes is located in the northeastern portion of Lake St. Clair. This article focuses on the geovisualization of total mercury pollution from sediment samples that were collected in 1970, 1974 and 2001. To assess contamination patterns, dot maps were created and compared with surfaces that were generated using the kriging spatial interpolation technique. Bathymetry data were utilized in geovisualization procedures to develop three-dimensional representations of the contaminant surfaces. Lake St. Clair generally has higher levels of contamination in deeper parts of the lake, in the dredged shipping route through the lake and in proximity to the main outflow channels through the St. Clair delta. Mercury pollution levels were well above the Probable Effect Level in large portions of the lake in both 1970 and 1974. Lower contaminant concentrations were observed in the 2001 data. Lake-wide spatial distributions are discernable using the kriging technique; however, they are much more apparent when they are geovisualized using bathymetry data.
Colony size measurement of the yeast gene deletion strains for functional genomics
Authors: Memarian Negar , Jessulat Matthew , Alirezaie Javad , Mir-Rashed Nadereh , Xu Jianhua , Zareie Mehri , Smith Myron , Golshani Ashkan
Published: July 2021

Background: Numerous functional genomics approaches have been developed to study the model organism yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with the aim of systematically understanding the biology of the cell. Some of these techniques are based on yeast growth differences under different conditions, such as those generated by gene mutations, chemicals or both. Manual inspection of the yeast colonies that are grown under different conditions is often used as a method to detect such growth differences.
Results: Here, we developed a computerized image analysis system called Growth Detector (GD), to automatically acquire quantitative and comparative information for yeast colony growth. GD offers great convenience and accuracy over the currently used manual growth measurement method. It distinguishes true yeast colonies in a digital image and provides an accurate coordinate oriented map of the colony areas. Some post-processing calculations are also conducted. Using GD, we successfully detected a genetic linkage between the molecular activity of the plant-derived antifungal compound berberine and gene expression components, among other cellular processes. A novel association for the yeast mek1 gene with DNA damage repair was also identified by GD and confirmed by a plasmid repair assay. The results demonstrate the usefulness of GD for yeast functional genomics research.

Conclusion: GD offers significant improvement over the manual inspection method to detect relative yeast colony size differences. The speed and accuracy associated with GD makes it an ideal choice for large-scale functional genomics investigations.
Self-monitoring of blood glucose in Black Caribbean and South Asian Canadians with non-insulin treated Type 2 diabetes mellitus: a qualitative study of patients’ perspectives
Authors: Gucciardi Enza , Fortugno Mariella , Senchuk Andrea , Beanlands Heather , McCay Elizabeth , Peel Elizabeth E
Published: July 2021

Background: To examine the views and current practice of SMBG among Black Caribbean and South Asian
individuals with non-insulin treated Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods: Twelve participants completed semi-structured interviews that were guided by the Health Belief Model
and analyzed using thematic network analysis.

Results: The frequency of monitoring among participants varied from several times a day to once per week. Most
participants expressed similar experiences regarding their views and practices of SMBG. Minor differences across
gender and culture were observed. All participants understood the benefits, but not all viewed SMBG as beneficial
to their personal diabetes management. SMBG can facilitate a better understanding and maintenance of self-care
behaviours. However, it can trigger both positive and negative emotional responses, such as a sense of
disappointment when high readings are not anticipated, resulting in emotional distress. Health care professionals
play a key role in the way SMBG is perceived and used by patients.

Conclusion: While the majority of participants value SMBG as a self-management tool, barriers exist that impede its
practice, particularly its cost. How individuals cope with these barriers is integral to understanding why some
patients adopt SMBG more than others.
TiO2 Nanofibrous Interface Development For Raman Detection of Environmental Pollutants
Authors: Maznichenko D. , Selvaganapathy P. R. , Venkatakrishnan Krishnan , Tan Bo
Published: July 2021

Sensor development has been reliant on planar Au and Ag nanoparticle research. The current findings explored a unique 3-D network of crystalline TiO2 nanoparticles linked as nanofibers. In addition to the favorability of using TiO2 for chemical and bio-molecular sensing, the nanofiber network provides molecular diffusion control and an increased confocal volume signal. Controlled femtosecond laser synthesis is also demonstrated that directly impacts surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy detection of two common environmentally harmful chemicals: bisphenol A and diclofenac sodium salt. These findings assert that 3-D nanofibrous network porosity optimization is crucial for Raman monitoring of drinking water.
Infrared thermography as an access pathway for individuals with severe motor impairments
Authors: Memarian Negar , Venetsanopoulos Anastasios , Chau Tom
Published: July 2021

Background:

People
with severe motor impairments often require an
alternative access pathway, such as a binary
switch, to communicate and to interact with their
environment. A wide range of access pathways
have been developed from
simple mechanical switches to
sophisticated physiological
ones. In this
manuscript we report the
inaugural investigation of
infrared thermography
as a non-invasive
and non-contact access pathway
by which individuals
with disabilities can interact and perhaps eventually communicate.

Methods:

Our
method exploits the local temperature changes associated
with mouth opening/closing to enable a highly sensitive and specific binary switch. Ten participants (two with severe disabilities) provided examples of mouth opening and closing. Thermographic videos of each participant were recorded with an infrared thermal camera and processed using a computerized algorithm. The
algorithm detected a mouth open-close pattern using a combination of adaptive thermal intensity
filtering, motion tracking and morphological analysis.

Results:

High detection
sensitivity and low error
rate were achieved for the
majority of the participants (mean
sensitivity of all participants: 88.5% ± 11.3; mean
specificity of all participants:99.4% ± 0.7). The
algorithm performance was robust against participant motion and changes in the background scene.

Conclusion:

Our
findings suggest that further research on the infrared thermographic access pathway is warranted. Flexible camera location, convenience of use and robustness to ambient lighting levels, changes in background scene and extraneous body movements make this a potential new access modality that can be used night or day in unconstrained environments.
Energy-Efficient Cognitive Radio Sensor Networks: Parametric and Convex Transformations
Authors: Naeem Muhammad , Illanko Kandasamy , Karmokar Ashok , Anpalagan Alagan , Jaseemuddin Muhammad
Published: July 2021

Designing energy-efficient cognitive radio sensor networks is important to intelligently use battery energy and to maximize the sensor network life. In this paper, the problem of determining the power allocation that maximizes the energy-efficiency of cognitive radio-based wireless sensor networks is formed as a constrained optimization problem, where the objective function is the ratio of network throughput and the network power. The proposed constrained optimization problem belongs to a class of nonlinear fractional programming problems. Charnes-Cooper Transformation is used to transform the nonlinear fractional problem into an equivalent concave optimization problem. The structure of the power allocation policy for the transformed concave problem is found to be of a water-filling type. The problem is also transformed into a parametric form for which a ε-optimal iterative solution exists. The convergence of the iterative algorithms is proven, and numerical solutions are presented. The iterative solutions are compared with the optimal solution obtained from the transformed concave problem, and the effects of different system parameters (interference threshold level, the number of primary users and secondary sensor nodes) on the performance of the proposed algorithms are investigated.
CoFlame: A refined and validated numerical algorithm for modeling sooting laminar coflow diffusion flames
Authors: Eaves Nick A. , Zhanga Qingan , Liu Fengshan , Guo Hongsheng Guo , Dworkin Seth , Thomson Murray J.
Published: July 2021

Mitigation of soot emissions from combustion devices is a global concern. For example, recent EURO 6 regulations for vehicles have placed stringent limits on soot emissions. In order to allow design engineers to achieve the goal of reduced soot emissions, they must have the tools to so. Due to the complex nature of soot formation, which includes growth and oxidation, detailed numerical models are required to gain fundamental insights into the mechanisms of soot formation. A detailed description of the CoFlame FORTRAN code which models sooting laminar coflow diffusion flames is given. The code solves axial and radial velocity, temperature, species conservation, and soot aggregate and primary particle number density equations. The sectional particle dynamics model includes nucleation, PAH condensation and HACA surface growth, surface oxidation, coagulation, fragmentation, particle diffusion, and thermophoresis. The code utilizes a distributed memory parallelization scheme with strip-domain decomposition. The public release of the CoFlame code, which has been refined in terms of coding structure, to the research community accompanies this paper. CoFlame is validated against experimental data for reattachment length in an axi-symmetric pipe with a sudden expansion, and ethylene–air and methane–air diffusion flames for multiple soot morphological parameters and gas-phase species. Finally, the parallel performance and computational costs of the code is investigated.
An interval-size illusion: The influence of timbre on the perceived size of melodic intervals
Authors: Russo Frank , Thompson William F
Published: July 2021

In four experiments, we investigated the influence of timbre on perceived interval size. In Experiment 1, musically untrained participants heard two successive tones and rated the pitch distance between them. Tones were separated by six or seven semitones and varied in timbre. Pitch changes were accompanied by a congruent timbre change (e.g., ascending interval involving a shift from a dull to a bright timbre), an incongruent timbre change (e.g., ascending interval involving a shift from a bright to a dull timbre), or no timbre change. Ratings of interval size were strongly influenced by timbre. The six-semitone interval with a congruent timbre change was perceived to be larger than the seven-semitone interval with an incongruent timbre change (interval illusion). Experiment 2 revealed similar effects for musically trained participants. In Experiment 3, participants compared the size of two intervals presented one after the other. Effects of timbre were again observed, including evidence of an interval illusion. Experiment 4 confirmed that timbre manipulations did not distort the perceived pitch of tones. Changes in timbre can expand or contract the perceived size of intervals without distorting individual pitches. We discuss processes underlying interval size perception and their relation to pitch perception mechanisms.
Floating and sinking of self-assembled spheres on liquid-liquid interfaces: rafts versus stacks
Authors: Jones Steven G. , Abbasi Niki , Ahuja Abhinav , Truong Vivian , Tsai Scott
Published: July 2021

The floating and sinking of objects on fluid-fluid interfaces occurs in nature, and has many important implications in technology. Here, we study the stability of floating self-assembled spheres on an oil-water interface, and how the sphere deposition geometry affects the size limits of the assemblies before they collapse and sink through the interface. Specifically, we compare the critical size of particle rafts to particle stacks. We show that, on liquid-liquid interfaces, monolayer rafts and stacked sphere exhibit different scaling of the critical number of spheres to the Bond number - the dimensionless ratio of buoyancy to interfacial tension effects. Our results indicate that particle stacks will sink with a lower threshold number of particles than particle rafts. This finding may have important implications to engineering applications where interfacial assemblies are not monolayers.
Learning in the wild: coding for learning and practice on Reddit
Authors: Haythornthwaite Caroline , Kumar Priya , Gruzd Anatoliy , Gilbert Sarah , Esteve Del Valle Marc , Paulin Drew
Published: July 2021

Learning on and through social media is becoming a cornerstone of lifelong learning, creating places not only for accessing information, but also for finding other self-motivated learners. Such is the case for Reddit, the online news sharing site that is also a forum for asking and answering questions. We studied learning practices found in ‘Ask’ subreddits AskScience, Ask_Politics, AskAcademia, and AskHistorians to develop a coding schema for informal
learning. This paper describes the process of evaluating and defining a workable coding schema, one that started with attention to learning processes associated with discourse, exploratory talk, and conversational dialogue, and
ended with including norms and practices on Reddit and the support of communities of inquiry. Our ‘learning in the wild’ coding schema contributes a content analysis schema for learning through social media, and an understanding of how knowledge, ideas, and resources are shared in open, online learning forums.

Keywords: informal learning, social media, coding, content analysis, Reddit
Practical Application of an Indigenous Research Framework and Two Qualitative Indigenous Research Methods: Sharing Circles and Anishnaabe Symbol-Based Reflection
Authors: Lavallée Lynn F
Published: July 2021

Increasingly research involving Indigenous people is being undertaken by Indigenous researchers, who bring forward worldviews that shape the approach of the research, the theoretical and conceptual frameworks, and the epistemology, methodology, and ethics. Many times such research bridges Western practices and Indigenous knowledges; however, bringing together these two worldviews can also present challenges. In this paper the author explores the challenges and lessons learned in the practical application of an Indigenous research framework and qualitative inquiry. Two qualitative Indigenous research methods, sharing circles and Anishnaabe symbol-based reflection, will be discussed.
Information Wars and Online Activism During the 2013/2014 Crisis in Ukraine: Examining the Social Structures of Pro- and Anti-Maidan Groups
Authors: Gruzd Anatoliy , Tsyganova Ksenia
Published: July 2021

This article examines how online groups are formed and sustained during crisis periods, especially when political polarization in society is at its highest level. We focus on the use of Vkontakte (VK), a popular social networking site in Ukraine, to understand how it was used by Pro- and Anti-Maidan groups during the 2013/2014 crisis in Ukraine. In particular, we ask whether and to what extent the ideology (or other factors) of a particular group shapes its network structure. We find some support that online social networks are likely to represent local and potentially preexisting social networks, likely due to the dominance of reciprocal (and often close) relationships on VK and opportunities for group members to meet face-to-face during offline protests. We also identify a number of group-level indicators, such as degree centralization, modularity index and average engagement level, that could help to classify groups based on their network properties. Community researchers can start applying these group-level indicators to online communities outside VK; they can also learn from this article how to identify networks of spam and marketing accounts.
Adaptive spatial filter based on similarity indices to preserve the neural information on EEG signals during on-line processing
Authors: Delisle-Rodriguez Denis , Villa-Parra Ana Cecilia , Bastos-Filho Teodiano , López-Delis Alberto , Frizera-Neto Anselmo , Krishnan Sridhar , Rocon Eduardo
Published: July 2021

This work presents a new on-line adaptive filter, which is based on a similarity analysis between standard electrode locations, in order to reduce artifacts and common interferences throughout electroencephalography (EEG) signals, but preserving the useful information. Standard deviation and Concordance Correlation Coefficient (CCC) between target electrodes and its correspondent neighbor electrodes are analyzed on sliding windows to select those neighbors that are highly correlated. Afterwards, a model based on CCC is applied to provide higher values of weight to those correlated electrodes with lower similarity to the target electrode. The approach was applied to brain computer-interfaces (BCIs) based on Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) to recognize 40 targets of steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP), providing an accuracy (ACC) of 86.44 ± 2.81%. In addition, also using this approach, features of low frequency were selected in the pre-processing stage of another BCI to recognize gait planning. In this case, the recognition was significantly (p<0.01) improved for most of the subjects (ACC≥74.79%)
, when compared with other BCIs based on Common Spatial Pattern, Filter Bank-Common Spatial Pattern, and Riemannian Geometry.

Keywords: artifact reduction; brain-computer interface; EEG; EOG; Laplacian; spatial filter; feature selection; gait planning; SSVEP
Priority-Based Machine-To-Machine Overlay Network over LTE for a Smart City
Authors: Khan Nargis , Mišić Jelena , Mišić Vojislav B.
Published: July 2021

Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and its improvement, Long-Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A), are attractive choices for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication due to their ubiquitous coverage and high bandwidth. However, the focus of LTE design was high performance connection-based communications between human-operated devices (also known as human-to-human, or H2H traffic), which was initially established over the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH). On the other hand, M2M traffic is mostly based on contention-based transmission of short messages and does not need connection establishment. As a result, M2M traffic transmitted over LTE PRACH has to use the inefficient four-way handshake and compete for resources with H2H traffic. When a large number of M2M devices attempts to access the PRACH, an outage condition may occur; furthermore, traffic prioritization is regulated only through age-based power ramping, which drives the network even faster towards the outage condition. In this article, we describe an overlay network that allows a massive number of M2M devices to coexist with H2H traffic and access the network without going through the full LTE handshake. The overlay network is patterned after IEEE 802.15.6 to support multiple priority classes of M2M traffic. We analyse the performance of the joint M2M and H2H system and investigate the trade-offs needed to keep satisfactory performance and reliability for M2M traffic in the presence of H2H traffic of known intensity. Our results confirm the validity of this approach for applications in crowd sensing, monitoring and others utilized in smart city development.
Photocatalytic degradation of commercial acetaminophen: evaluation, modeling, and scaling-up of photoreactors
Authors: Castilla-Caballero Déyler , Machuca-Martínez Fiderman , Bustillo Lecompte Ciro , Colina-Márquez José
Published: July 2021

In this work, the performance of a pilot-scale solar CPC reactor was evaluated for the degradation of commercial acetaminophen, using TiO2 P25 as a catalyst. The statistical Taguchi’s method was used to estimate the combination of initial pH and catalyst load while tackling the variability of the solar radiation intensity under tropical weather conditions through the estimation of the signal-to-noise ratios (S/N) of the controllable variables. Moreover, a kinetic law that included the explicit dependence on the local volumetric rate of photon absorption (LVRPA) was used. The radiant field was estimated by joining the Six Flux Model (SFM) with a solar emission model based on clarity index (KC), whereas the mass balance was coupled to the hydrodynamic equations, corresponding to the turbulent regime. For scaling-up purposes, the ratio of the total area-to-total-pollutant volume (AT/VT) was varied for observing the effect of this parameter on the overall plant performance. The Taguchi’s experimental design results showed that the best combination of initial pH and catalyst load was 9 and 0.6 g L−1, respectively. Also, full-scale plants would require far fewer ratios of AT/VT than for pilot or intermediate-scale ones. This information may be beneficial for reducing assembling costs of photocatalytic reactors scaling-up.