cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Computational Media Design: Using Graph Data to Improve Non-Player Character Acting in Games
Creators: name: Brierley, Owen Douglas
Publisher: name: Graduate Studies
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Computer Game Production
subject: Graph Databases
subject: Non-Player Character Acting
subject: Reinforcement Learning
subject: Theater
subject: Bioinformatics
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: Computer Science

description: This thesis uses graph databases to enhance non-player character (NPC) behavior in computer games. The approach is tested in three discrete projects by developing and using the Neo4jConnector, a custom toolkit enabling novel bi-directional communication between real-time simulation data and server-based graph database long-term storage. The first project demonstrates the Neo4jConnector’s use in recording player movement as graph data and facilitating NPC movement playback from this data. The second project explores improving NPCs’ non-deterministic behaviors through q-learning, a reinforcement learning algorithm, and storing the resultant graph data in the server-based database. The third project investigates dynamically loading 3D geometry from a graph database in multi-scale cellular simulations, supporting intricate bioinformatics simulations necessitating non-deterministic agent actions. Emphasizing an artist’s approach to Computational Media Design, the research targets animators, game makers, bioinformatics researchers, and the growing field of games research. Through an elaborative design process, the thesis showcases the value of incorporating graph databases in game production environments, offering new opportunities to create more realistic and adaptive NPC behaviors that boost player engagement and improve the quality of simulations for future research.
MOESM3 of Lessening Organ dysfunction with VITamin C (LOVIT): protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Creators: name: Masse, Marie-Hélène
name: Ménard, Julie
name: Sprague, Sheila
name: Battista, Marie-Claude
name: Cook, Deborah
name: Guyatt, Gordon
name: Heyland, Daren
name: Kanji, Salmaan
name: Pinto, Ruxandra
name: Day, Andrew
name: Cohen, Dian
name: Annane, Djillali
name: McGuinness, Shay
name: Parke, Rachael
name: Carr, Anitra
name: Arabi, Yaseen
name: Vijayaraghavan, Bharath
name: D’Aragon, Frédérick
name: Carbonneau, Élaine
name: Maslove, David
name: Hunt, Miranda
name: Rochwerg, Bram
name: Millen, Tina
name: Chassé, Michaël
name: Lebrasseur, Martine
name: Archambault, Patrick
name: Deblois, Estel
name: Drouin, Christine
name: Lellouche, François
name: Lizotte, Patricia
name: Watpool, Irene
name: Porteous, Rebecca
name: Clarke, France
name: Marinoff, Nicole
name: Belley-Côté, Émilie
name: Bolduc, Brigitte
name: Walker, Scott
name: Iazzetta, John
name: Adhikari, Neill
name: Lamontagne, François
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Information Systems not elsewhere classified

description: Additional file 3. Model informed consent form.
Formação profissional em saúde e o uso de tecnologias educacionais digitais: revisão integrativa
Creators: name: Santos, Isabela
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2023
Subjects: Other education not elsewhere classified
Digital health

description: Introdução: O ensino e a formação superior nos cursos de graduação na área da saúde passaram por grandes desafios e mudanças atrelados à vivência social e cultural, com a melhoria e a implementação da tecnologia. A tecnologia educacional já era algo descrito e praticado nos cursos de formação da área da saúde. Entretanto, o advento da pandemia mundial da COVID-19 iniciada em 2020 impulsionou, ainda que de forma não planejada, a inserção de várias ferramentas de ensino e tecnologia educacional. Diante do novo cenário vivenciado no mundo, na educação e na formação de novos profissionais de saúde identificou-se o seguinte desafio: quais ferramentas estão disponíveis para serem utilizadas no ensino de graduação na área da saúde? Objetivo: Identificar as evidências disponíveis na literatura sobre o uso de tecnologias educacionais em meio digital para o ensino de estudantes de graduação em diferentes áreas da saúde. Método: Revisão integrativa da literatura, com a seguinte questão norteadora: Quais são as evidências disponíveis na literatura sobre as tecnologias educacionais de ensino, em meio digital, para estudantes de graduação de diferentes áreas da saúde? A busca ocorreu nas bases de dados: Academic Search Premier, CINHAL, Cochrane, Pubmed, Scopus e Web Of Science, no mês de março, 2023. Incluídos estudos na temática de educação e ensino entre graduandos da área da saúde, com tecnologia educacional em meio digital; foram excluídos estudos de revisões narrativas/revisões tradicionais da literatura, estudos secundários, estudos metodológicos de validação, carta-resposta, anais de congresso, resumo expandidos, editoriais e artigos não disponíveis na íntegra. Os estudos encontrados foram exportados para o software Endnote para auxiliar a encontrar duplicatas e após para o gerenciador Rayyan. Realizada a busca manual que objetivou identificar estudos que pudessem responder à questão norteadora. A inclusão dos artigos evidenciados fora analisados por dois revisores e um terceiro revisor foi atuou na resolução dos conflitos. Os artigos incluídos foram avaliados quanto ao nível de evidência proposto por Melnyk-Fineout e a avaliação metodológica proposta pelo Joanna Briggs Institute.
Youth and online sexual health services : intersections of the social and the technical
Creators: name: Davis, Wendy Marina
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2012

description: Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remain a significant public health concern, especially among youth (ages 15-24), who account for an increasingly disproportionate rate of infection. Novel, web-based interventions are being developed to improve sexual health outcomes among youth (e.g., condom use; participation in testing). To date, much of the literature in this area employs a ‘read-only’ perspective (e.g., examining frequency of use; topics of interest). Some research also has begun to explore ways in which the nexus of the social and the technical aspects of web-based health interventions may affect experiences with online STI/HIV prevention (e.g., how youth identify salient, credible online resources). For many young people, accessing sexual health resources (e.g., STI/HIV testing; counseling) remains a stigmatized activity, and it is unlikely that this will be resolved solely through the web-based provision of these services (e.g., online enactments of gendered stereotypes; traditional ‘sex-as-risk’ discourses). The objectives of this thesis are to provide an in-depth analysis of young people’s (1) perspectives on how the use of reverse discourse in online sexual health resources affects their perceptions of these resources; and (2) descriptions of their experiences with accessing online sexual health resources and their perceptions of the ways in which gender stereotypes feature in those experiences; and will discuss designing (and conducting further research on) online sexual health resources for youth. Results: Youth’s experiences with online sexual health resources are heavily influenced by ‘real world’ youth culture (e.g., values; beliefs; practices). These analyses provide an in-depth examination of the ways in which reverse discourse within online sexual health resource contexts can negatively affect perceptions of these resources, as well as illustrate the ways in which gendered stereotypes regarding sexual health help-seeking practices extend to online practices. Discussion: Intersections of the social and technical aspects of Internet-based sexual health resources need to be addressed in order to generate more equitable opportunities for young people to engage with sexual health resources.
An Optimal Odd Unimodular Lattice in Dimension 72
Creators: name: Harada, Masaaki
name: Miezaki, Tsuyoshi
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Combinatorics (math.CO)
subject: Number Theory (math.NT)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: (Primary) 11H06 (Secondary) 94B05

description: It is shown that if there is an extremal even unimodular lattice in dimension 72, then there is an optimal odd unimodular lattice in that dimension. Hence, the first example of an optimal odd unimodular lattice in dimension 72 is constructed from the extremal even unimodular lattice which has been recently found by G. Nebe.
description: 5 pages
Monte Carlo calculation of the translational relaxation of superthermal H atoms in thermal H2 gas
Creators: name: Panarese, A.
name: Longo, S.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Plasma Physics (physics.plasm-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We propose a simple and reliable method to study the translational relaxation of 'hot' H atoms following their production by chemical mechanisms. The problem is relevant to PDR's, shocks, photospheres, atmospheric entry problems. We show that the thermalization of H atoms can be conveniently studied by a simple method and set the basis for further investigations. The method adopted is Monte Carlo method including the thermal distribution of background molecules. The transport cross section is determined by the inversion of transport data. Plots of the collisions density of H atoms in H$_{2}$ gas are calculated and discussed also in the context of simple theories. The application of the results to astrophysical problems is outlined including numerical results for the reaction H + H$_{2}$O $\rightarrow$ H$_{2}$ + OH.
description: Accepted to Astrophysical Journal
In the shadow of Paardeberg: Anglo-Canadian Identity and the South African War, 1896-1911
Creators: name: Davies, Thomas Edward
Publisher: name: Graduate Studies
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Political
subject: British Empire
subject: History--Canadian
subject: Military Studies

description: The Boer War was a significant moment in the development of Canadian identity and had a profound legacy for Anglo-Canadians. Though smaller in scale than the First World War, the South African War was Canada’s first foreign engagement and the largest military action since the War of 1812. This thesis looks to expose how the forces of imperialism and nationalism worked both in competition and conjunction in the wake of the Boer War to develop the Anglo-Canadian identity. It examines three key areas of impact: political, military, and cultural in order to demonstrate the significance of the war on the evolution of Canadian identity. The war was a massive political challenge for Prime Minister Laurier when it broke out in late 1899, with imperialist and nationalist factions having the potential to rupture the country irrevocably, and as such required a deft political solution. Following Canada’s involvement in the war, the dominion was able to be a major part in the renegotiation of Empire through the colonial conferences and by contributing to imperial defence. Defence became a vital space for inter-dominion and inter-imperial cooperation during the decade. Nationalism and imperialism worked collaboratively as the growth of Canada’s defence capabilities in both the Militia and fledgling navy were nationalist achievements for imperial ends. Finally, the experience of the war had profound cultural impacts. It both provided evidence for previously held beliefs and myths about national identity, while the memorialisation of the war was vital in identity construction. The war demonstrated to Anglo-Canadians the truth of the Militia Myth, that they were naturally good soldiers and important victories like Paardeberg were vital to this. However, the losses incurred in the fighting meant that the nationalist achievements of the soldiers were memorialised in imperial rhetoric to give greater symbolic meaning. Through memorialisation and experience in South Africa the British connection was maintained. The thesis tackles the standard nationalist narrative of colony-to-nation by reinserting the Boer War and elaborating on how the forces of imperialism and nationalism operated.
The observation of electron trap liberation in MgF$_{2}$ doped with Yb$^{2+}$ using a two-color excitation experiment
Creators: name: Senanayake, P. S.
name: Wells, J. P. R.
name: Reid, M. F.
name: Berden, G.
name: Meijerink, A.
name: Reeves, R. J.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We utilize the optical transitions of Yb$^{2+}$ excited by an ultraviolet optical parametric amplifier to probe electron trap liberation in MgF$_{2}$ via the observation of a photoluminescence enhancement effect induced by a subsequent infrared pulse from a free-electron laser. The temperature dependence of the enhancement suggests that we liberate very shallow traps having a depth of approximately 17 cm$^{-1}$. The observed `trap spectrum' is consistent with a simple model of a Coulomb trap.
Spectrum of cosmic-ray nucleons and the atmospheric muon charge ratio
Creators: name: Gaisser, Thomas K.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Interpretation of measurements of the muon charge ratio in the TeV range depends on the spectra of protons and neutrons in the primary cosmic radiation and on the inclusive cross sections for production of $π^\pm$ and $K^\pm$ in the atmosphere. Recent measurements of the spectra of cosmic-ray nuclei are used here to estimate separately the energy spectra of protons and neutrons and hence to calculate the charge separated hadronic cascade in the atmosphere. From the corresponding production spectra of $μ^+$ and $μ^-$ the $μ^+/μ^-$ ratio is calculated and compared to recent measurements. The comparison leads to a determination of the relative contribution of kaons and pions. Implications for the spectra of $ν_μ$ and $\barν_μ$ are discussed.
description: 17 pages, 5 figures; revised in response to reviewer comments. Expanded section on comparison with data; two new figures on charge ratio. Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics
Social-Ecological Systems Analysis and Perceptions of Change in Agriculture, Food and Farm Systems in Southern Alberta and Yukon Territory
Creators: name: Wilkinson, Alex
Publisher: name: Graduate Studies
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Social-Ecological Systems Analysis
subject: Responding to Change
subject: Southern Alberta
subject: Yukon Territory
subject: Agriculture
subject: Food System
subject: Farm Systems
subject: Agroecology
subject: Controlled-Environment Agriculture
subject: Economics--Agricultural
subject: Urban and Regional Planning
subject: FOS: Social and economic geography

description: Social-ecological change such as climate change, market volatility or policy reforms are too often discussed at global and national scales; however, it is at local and regional scales that individuals and communities experience and respond to these changes. This is perhaps most evident in agriculture, food and farm systems, where change is a constant for farmers and ranchers. In this dissertation I explore the perceptions and experiences of change from the perspective of farmers, ranchers, local food producers and community residents using socialecological systems analysis, as a first approximation and effort at pattern recognition in Southern Alberta’s farm and ranch community, and in Yukon Territory. The research objective being to understand how individuals respond to change, identifying supports and barriers that exist for responding to change, and how to create more sustainable and resilient agriculture, food and farm systems. In both study areas, online surveys were used to engage farmers and ranchers, and in Yukon Territory, surveys were also distributed to residents as this study was exploring specific perspectives of local food consumption and the role of hydroponics. A soft-systems approach was taken in each study to understand the social-ecological conditions, relationships, and dimensions that effect responding to change, and the visions for the future. Each study area had unique perspectives and experiences that were a product of their social-ecological context, for example, in Southern Alberta when discussing climate, precipitation was prime concern, while in Yukon Territory, it was temperature. Despite these differences driven by place-based context, there were key similarities. In both areas, financial limitations were the prime barrier for one’s ability to respond to changes of any variety. Furthermore, despite the major differences in scale of agricultural operations in both regions, participants in both areas believed that agriculture needs to produce within their own social-ecological conditions, and there is a need for more diverse and resilient local and regional food systems.
Psychologists’ Practices in Supporting LGBTI Clients’ Self-Advocacy Skills
Creators: name: Ibarra-Alexanderson, Luis Gerardo
Publisher: name: Graduate Studies
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: self-advocacy
subject: social justice
subject: counselling practice
subject: social action
subject: LGBTI
subject: Education--Guidance and Counseling

description: Globally, Canada has been a leading country incorporating the social justice framework in psychological theory and practice, which includes supporting sexual minorities. In the past decades, researchers and clinicians have focused on addressing systemic barriers by advocating for their clients. More recently, the concept of self-advocacy has been included in ethical guidelines, encouraging professionals to promote in their practice empowering clients to speak on their own behalf. The present study explored how Canadian psychologists promote client self-advocacy skills development using the enhanced critical incident technique (ECIT), an exploratory qualitative research method. Specifically, this study explored the factors that facilitate and hinder psychologists in supporting clients in developing self-advocacy and what factors they wish had been present as they engaged in this work. The sample consisted of 9 psychologists located in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Data analysis conducted using established ECIT protocols yielded 373 critical incidents (CIs) and Wish List items (WL) that were organized into the following categories: (1) 13 helping CIs; (2) 8 hindering CIs; and (3) 6 WL. Findings suggest that self-advocacy can be developed in one-on-one counselling settings and through the therapeutical process. Additionally, the findings suggest that creating safe spaces within the counselling settings and outside communities influences the ability of LGBTI clients to speak on their own behalf. Implications for researchers, psychologists and other mental health professionals are provided.
Fitting Neutrino Physics with a U(1)_R Lepton Number
Creators: name: Bertuzzo, Enrico
name: Frugiuele, Claudia
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study neutrino physics in the context of a supersymmetric model where a continuous R-symmetry is identified with the total Lepton Number and one sneutrino can thus play the role of the down type Higgs. We show that R-breaking effects communicated to the visible sector by Anomaly Mediation can reproduce neutrino masses and mixing solely via radiative contributions, without requiring any additional degree of freedom. In particular, a relatively large reactor angle (as recently observed by the Daya Bay collaboration) can be accommodated in ample regions of the parameter space. On the contrary, if the R-breaking is communicated to the visible sector by gravitational effects at the Planck scale, additional particles are necessary to accommodate neutrino data.
description: 19 pages, 3 figures; v2: references added, constraints updated, overall conclusions unchanged
Additional file 1 of Licorice extract inhibits growth of non-small cell lung cancer by down-regulating CDK4-Cyclin D1 complex and increasing CD8+ T cell infiltration
Creators: name: Zhu, Jinglin
name: Huang, Ruifei
name: Yang, Ruijie
name: Xiao, Yue
name: Yan, Jiangna
name: Zheng, Chunli
name: Xiao, Wei
name: Huang, Chao
name: Wang, Yonghua
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: Biochemistry
subject: Medicine
subject: Cell Biology
subject: Pharmacology
subject: Biotechnology
subject: Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Immunology
subject: FOS: Clinical medicine
subject: Developmental Biology
subject: Cancer

description: Additional file 1. Table S1 Candidate targets for each active compound. Fig. S1 Additional file 1  Inhibition of Liquiritin on H1975 cells. Fig. S2 Typical HPLC chromatogram of licorice extract where: (1) Liquiritin, 2.28% (2) Liquiritigenin, 0.18% (3) Glycyrrhizin, 2.95% (4) Isoliquiritigenin, 0.035%.  Fig. S3 Regulation of the CDK4-Cyclin D1/PD-L1 axis with GUF in A549 cells. Fig. S4 Correlation between CD8+ T cell infiltration and licorice targets in TCGA LUAD dataset and infiltration of CD8+ T cells caused by GUF in LLC mouse model.
Use of CT and MicroCT to quantify structures in human lungs
Creators: name: McDonough, John Edward
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2012

description: MicroCT is a technology that allows for obtaining images with resolution equivalent to histological sections from volumes of tissue that would be prohibitive to examine by classical sectioning techniques. In this dissertation, three studies are reported that make novel use of microCT to quantify structures within lung tissue. In the first study, microCT was used to quantify the number of alveoli within normal human lungs. The data show that alveolar number can vary throughout the lung with more alveoli per volume of lung present in the apex of the lung compared to the base. In the second study, airway dimensions from normal human lungs and lungs from patients with advanced COPD were measured on microCT images and compared to measurements made on the same airways obtained using lower resolution MDCT images. These measurements confirmed that MDCT overestimates measurements of the airway wall and underestimate measurements of the airway lumen. As well, microCT was able to show a correlation of airway wall thickness to the extent of emphysema within the lung but no correlation was found when measurements from MDCT were used. This suggests that microCT is able to detect more subtle changes in the airway wall dimensions that MDCT could not. In the third study, microCT was used to quantify the numbers and lumen area of terminal bronchioles in normal human lungs and lungs from patients with advanced COPD. We found that terminal bronchiole dimensions and number from normal lungs were similar to the classical data. As well, we found a marked reduction in the number of terminal bronchioles and a narrowing of the lumen of these airways in the lungs of patients with COPD. Remarkably, we found these changes occurred in regions of the lung with minimal emphysematous destruction, suggesting that these changes occur before parenchymal destruction takes place. These three studies show that microCT is an important and underutilized imaging technology to examine the lung and its use will likely be expanded in futures studies to examine the pathological changes that occur in the tissue structure of other lung diseases.
RADIO STUDY OF SUPERNOVA REMNANTS: UNDERSTANDING THE MISSING SUPERNOVA REMNANT PROBLEM
Creators: name: Ranasinghe, Sujith Yasantha
Publisher: name: Graduate Studies
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Radio continuum
subject: Radio lines
subject: Supernova remnants
subject: ISM clouds
subject: Kinematic distance
subject: Astronomy and Astrophysics

description: There is a discrepancy between the observed and predicted numbers of Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs), likely due to observational biases that hinder the detection of old, faint, large remnants, as well as very young, small remnants, caused by poor sensitivity and spatial resolution. The goal of this thesis is to address this issue and explore missing SNRs. As a first step, distances to 29 SNRs and one SNR candidate were estimated using HI absorption and 13CO emission spectra from various surveys, leading to improved distance estimates compared to previous values. Using the THOR survey, two compact young SNRs, G18.760-0.072 and G31.299-0:0493, were identified at distances of 4.7 ± 0.2 kpc and 5.0 ± 0.3 kpc respectively. Additionally, a table of 227 extragalactic sources is presented. The detection of these SNRs is consistent with the THOR sensitivity limit and the distribution of integrated flux densities of SNRs. To determine the radial distribution and estimate the total number of SNRs in the Galaxy, distances to 215 SNRs were compiled using a consistent rotation curve. Two methods were employed: applying correction factors for selection effects and comparing functional forms against the data. I calculated that the total count of SNRs in the Galaxy ranges roughly between 2400 and 5600. Statistical analyses were performed on a sample of 390 SNRs, investigating their diameters, ages, spectral indices, Galactic heights, and spherical symmetries. The accuracy of distance estimation using the Σ-D relation was also examined. The average diameter of Galactic SNRs was determined to be 30.5 pc, with a standard error of 1.7 pc and a standard deviation of 25.4 pc. The geometric mean diameter was found to be 21.9 pc, with a geometric standard deviation factor of 2.4. This suggests that, on average, the sizes of Galactic SNRs are smaller when compared to those observed in other galaxies. Age estimates were obtained for 97 SNRs, revealing a supernova birth rate slightly lower than currently accepted values but within 2σ of those values. The mean spectral index of shell-type SNRs was determined to be -0:51 ± 0:01. No significant correlations were observed between spectral indices and other SNR parameters. The distribution of SNRs with respect to Galactic height was best described by an exponential distribution with a scale height of 48 ± 4 pc. While there is evidence of a large number of unidentified SNRs, their detection remains challenging due to their concentration near the Galactic plane, foreground objects, and the bright Galactic synchrotron background. The current lack of large-scale spiral structure in the SNR distribution may change with the addition of several hundred more SNRs, offering new insights into their distribution.
Revisiting mGMSB in light of a 125 GeV Higgs
Creators: name: Ajaib, M. Adeel
name: Gogoladze, Ilia
name: Nasir, Fariha
name: Shafi, Qaisar
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We explore the implications of a 124-126 GeV CP-even Higgs boson on the fundamental parameter space and sparticle spectroscopy of the minimal gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking (mGMSB) scenario. The above mass for the Higgs boson yields stringent lower bounds on the sparticle masses in this class of models. The lightest neutralino and stau masses lie close to 1.5 TeV and 800 GeV respectively, while the majority of the sparticle masses are in the several to multi-TeV range. We show that with a single pair of 5+\bar{5} SU(5) messenger multiplets, the lower limit on the gravitino mass is \sim 360 eV. This is reduced to about 60 eV if five pairs of 5+\bar{5} messenger fields are introduced. Non-standard cosmology and non-standard gravitino production mechanisms are required in order to satisfy cosmological observations.
description: 16 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; some references added
Emergent spacetime and empirical (in)coherence
Creators: name: Huggett, Nick
name: Wuthrich, Christian
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph)
subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Numerous approaches to a quantum theory of gravity posit fundamental ontologies that exclude spacetime, either partially or wholly. This situation raises deep questions about how such theories could relate to the empirical realm, since arguably only entities localized in spacetime can ever be observed. Are such entities even possible in a theory without fundamental spacetime? How might they be derived, formally speaking? Moreover, since by assumption the fundamental entities can't be smaller than the derived (since relative size is a spatiotemporal notion) and so can't 'compose' them in any ordinary sense, would a formal derivation actually show the physical reality of localized entities? We address these questions via a survey of a range of theories of quantum gravity, and generally sketch how they may be answered positively.
description: 18 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics
Magnetotransport in novel Dirac systems
Creators: name: Klier, Janina
Publisher: name: Karlsruhe
Year: 2019
Subjects: magnetotransport
Weyl semimetals
disorder
single molecule magnets
Fano resonances

description: In this thesis, the properties of magnetotransport of novel Dirac systems are outlined on the example of Weyl semimetals and carbon nanotubes with side-attached single-molecule magnets. In Weyl semimetals, we discussed the effects of impurities on transport showing that in both in absence and in presence of a finite magnetic field impurities can strongly affect the transport properties. Moreover, we showed that the experimentally observed huge transversal magnetoresistance in Weyl semimetals can be explained by a model of shifted Weyl nodes in energy with respect to each other in presence of Coulomb impurities. Related to the carbon nanotube system, we provided a theoretical model to describe the gate-controlled spin-valve effect and giant magnetoresistance. The important ingredients of the model are Coulomb interaction and spin dependent resonant scattering on Fano resonances between barriers.
Model-free thermodynamics of fluid vesicles
Creators: name: Diamant, Haim
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
subject: Biological Physics (physics.bio-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Motivated by a long-standing debate concerning the nature and interrelations of surface-tension variables in fluid membranes, we reformulate the thermodynamics of a membrane vesicle as a generic two-dimensional finite system enclosing a three-dimensional volume. The formulation is shown to require two tension variables, conjugate to the intensive constraints of area per molecule and volume-to-area ratio. We obtain the relation between these two variables in various scenarios, as well as their correspondence to other definitions of tension variables for membranes. Several controversies related to membrane tension are thereby resolved on a model-free thermodynamic level. The thermodynamic formulation may be useful also for treating large-scale properties of vesicles that are insensitive to the membrane's detailed statistical mechanics and interactions.
description: 9 pages
The Role of Valence in Children’s and Adults’ Cross-Modal Integration of Emotional Prosody and Emotional Faces
Creators: name: Amyot, Emma
Publisher: name: Graduate Studies
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: emotion
subject: valence
subject: prosody
subject: facial expression
subject: children
subject: adults
subject: Linguistics
subject: FOS: Languages and literature
subject: Psychology--Developmental
subject: Psychology--Cognitive

description: The purpose of the current study was twofold: first, to examine adults’ cross-modal matching of emotional prosody with emotional faces, when the emotions represented are both across (e.g., happy vs. sad), and within the same dimension of valence (e.g., sad vs. angry); second to examine 5-year-olds’ cross-modal matching of between-valence emotions. First, I validated the valence and emotion categories of our emotional prosody stimuli with adults (Expt. 1). Next, I presented adults with the validated prosodic stimuli and asked them to choose the face with the matching emotion in both between- (Expt. 2) and within-valence designs (Expt. 3). Adults correctly matched the emotional prosody with the emotional faces in both experiments. In Expt. 4, 5-year-olds successfully matched emotional prosody with happy, surprised, sad, and angry faces. Across all experiments, participants were more accurate on negative than positive trials, suggesting greater sensitivity to negatively-valenced emotions than positively-valenced emotions (i.e., a “negativity bias”). Collectively, these experiments demonstrate that adults will match emotional prosody to emotional faces, even when asked to make within-valence decisions; and that 5-year-olds will match a broader set of emotional prosody and faces types than previously shown in the literature. Taken together, these results offer insight into adults’ and preschoolers’ coordination of emotional cues across modalities and highlight greater sensitivity to negatively-valenced emotions.
Constraints on Neutrino Velocities Revisited
Creators: name: Huo, Yunjie
name: Li, Tianjun
name: Liao, Yi
name: Nanopoulos, Dimitri V.
name: Qi, Yonghui
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: With a minimally modified dispersion relation for neutrinos, we reconsider the constraints on superluminal neutrino velocities from bremsstrahlung effects in the laboratory frame. Employing both the direct calculation approach and the virtual Z-boson approach, we obtain the generic decay width and energy loss rate of a superluminal neutrino with general energy. The Cohen-Glashow's analytical results for neutrinos with a relatively low energy are confirmed in both approaches. We employ the survival probability instead of the terminal energy to assess whether a neutrino with a given energy is observable or not in the OPERA experiment. Moreover, using our general results we perform systematical analyses on the constraints arising from the Super-Kamiokande and IceCube experiments.
description: RevTex4, 14 pages, 5 figures, minor corrections, version to appear in Phys. Rev. D
Understanding Men's Responses to Sexual Violence: An Exploration of the Role of Empathy & Moral Disengagement
Creators: name: McConnell, Ceilidh
Publisher: name: Graduate Studies
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: violence prevention
subject: prevention
subject: gender-based violence
subject: prevention programming
subject: sexual violence
subject: masculinity
subject: patriarchal masculinity
subject: moral disengagement
subject: bystander
subject: bystander intervention
subject: bystander intervention programming
subject: post-secondary institutions
subject: empathy
subject: socio-emotional development
subject: Psychology
subject: FOS: Psychology
subject: Psychology--Developmental
subject: Psychology--Experimental
subject: Psychology--Social

description: Sexual violence (SV) in the post-secondary setting in Canada is an ongoing concern with the potential for long-lasting negative mental health outcomes. Therefore, institutions across the country have implemented prevention strategies, many of which include the use of bystander intervention programming. The goal of bystander intervention programming is to provide participants with the skills and education necessary to engage in behaviours that stop and/or prevent SV in the post-secondary setting. But, bystander intervention programming has shown limited success in eliciting intervening behaviour among men specifically. Therefore, there is need to explore novel factors that could be impacting bystander intervention among men in this context to inform improvements to future programming. The present study explored how empathy and moral disengagement might be associated with bystander behaviour, bystander intentions, and bystander self-efficacy among a sample of 205 undergraduate men at a Western Canadian university. The results of this study indicate that empathetic concern component of empathy was positively related to bystander behaviour, bystander intentions, and bystander self-efficacy while moral disengagement was negatively related to bystander intentions and bystander self-efficacy. Further, the empathetic concern component of empathy acted as a protective factor on the negative association between high moral disengagement and bystander intervention behaviours in this sample. These results suggest that future research on bystander intervention program modifications should prioritize understanding how to promote empathetic concern among undergraduate men witnessing SV in the post-secondary setting.
Isolable, Flexible, Chelating Dicarbene Ligands in Low Valent Organonickel Chemistry
Creators: name: Puerta Lombardi, Braulio Michele
Publisher: name: Graduate Studies
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: carbenes
subject: transition metals
subject: nickel
subject: ligand design
subject: Chemistry--Inorganic

description: Bidentate ligands have made an indelible contribution to chemistry, with phosphines such as 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane (dppe) and 1,1’-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene (dppf) standing out as chelating ligands of choice. Since conception, N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have been compared to phosphines with regards to ligand properties. However, the chemistry of bidentate NHCs has languished in comparison, primarily due to water sensitivity and the prevalence of multiple undesirable coordination modes beside chelation. The current thesis presents a foray into bidentate carbene chemistry from a ligand-design perspective. A modular, high yielding, and convenient method to access bidentate NHC ligands is initially provided. Subsequently, the chelating ability of the ligand motif is exemplified with the stabilization of rare low-valent complexes of nickel. The second half of the thesis describes the effect of electronic tuning at the carbenes upon synthesis of the first bis[cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbene] and a rare bis(mesoionic carbene) to vary the degree of mesomeric metal-ligand interactions. Such interactions proved key in the successful isolation of highly reactive late-transition-metal chelate complexes. The findings described herein are expected to pave the way towards isolation of more reactive chelate complexes of other low-valent transition metals and main group elements. It is hoped that current additions to the underdeveloped repertoire of isolable biscarbene compounds will bring more attention to this ligand class in small-molecule activation and catalysis.
Analysis of Laser ARPES from Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ in superconductive state: angle resolved self-energy and fluctuation spectrum
Creators: name: Yun, Jae Hyun
name: Bok, Jin Mo
name: Choi, Han-Yong
name: Zhang, Wentao
name: Zhou, X. J.
name: Varma, Chandra M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We analyze the ultra high resolution laser angle resolved photo-emission spectroscopy (ARPES) intensity from the slightly underdoped Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ in the superconductive (SC) state. The momentum distribution curves (MDC) were fitted at each energy $\w$ employing the SC Green's function along several cuts perpendicular to the Fermi surface with the tilt angle $θ$ with respect to the nodal cut. The clear observation of particle-hole mixing was utilized such that the complex self-energy as a function of $ω$ is directly obtained from the fitting. The obtained angle resolved self-energy is then used to deduce the Eliashberg function $α^2 F^{(+)}(þ,\w)$ in the diagonal channel by inverting the d-wave Eliashberg equation using the maximum entropy method. Besides a broad featureless spectrum up to the cutoff energy $ω_c$, the deduced $α^2 F$ exhibits two peaks around 0.05 eV and 0.015 eV. The former and the broad feature are already present in the normal state, while the latter emerges only below $T_c$. Both peaks become enhanced as $T$ is lowered or the angle $þ$ moves away from the nodal direction. The implication of these findings are discussed.
description: 7 pages, 5 figures, summited to PRB
Effects of Nanoparticles on Friction Reduction in Fluid Flow
Creators: name: Mohitian, Kimia
Publisher: name: Schulich School of Engineering
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Friction Reduction
subject: Nanoparticles
subject: Engineering--Chemical

description: The interaction between a flowing fluid and the solid surfaces over which it flows is fundamental to determining the resistance to flow offered by the solid. This interaction is commonly described as friction or drag in fluid mechanics and is the basis for the no-slip boundary condition in fluid dynamics. The slip behaviour of the fluid near the solid boundary, commonly quantified as the "slip length," is often used to quantify friction reduction. Nanoparticles (NPs) have been proposed to influence the fluid flow in reservoirs through several mechanisms, including modifying the slip behaviour of a fluid. This thesis investigates whether coating the surface of channels in glass micromodels with silica NPs affects the slip length of oil flow and water flow. Silica NPs with different shapes, surface coating and charges were tested to understand how the nature of these nanomaterials can affect friction. In-line coating, immersion, and spin coating were evaluated to determine how effectively each method coated the surface of the channel with NPs. Particle deposition was evaluated by water droplet contact angle measurement, scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging, and elemental analysis. A uniform, crack-free, and stable distribution of NPs on the surface was observed using spin coating. Hydrophilic silica NP coating affected water differently from oil, causing a reduction in friction while oil flooding but an increase in friction for water. On the other hand, partially hydrophobic silica NPs reduced the friction for both water and oil flooding. The fundamental understanding of how NPs can be used as friction reducers for oil production will open new opportunities for designing low-energy and more sustainable oil production methods.
A Homesick world: An Exploration of the Concept of Home and the Quest for Belonging in an Unfamiliar Land
Creators: name: Samavaki, Seyede Mitra
Publisher: name: Arts
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Immigration
subject: Sense of belonging
subject: Liminality
subject: Photography
subject: Homecoming
subject: Memory
subject: Home
subject: Immigrant
subject: Fine Arts
subject: Education--Art
subject: Biography

description: This research-creation is a photographic exploration of the concept of home and belonging for immigrants. Drawing on my personal experience as a photographer and an immigrant, I have shed light on my sense of homesickness and the loss of my sense of belonging in order to signify immigrants’ struggle in finding a place they can call home. This research paper is centered on the theories of “liminality,” the uncertain state of being in-between, of being neither here nor there, to discuss the transitional phase of separation from one’s homeland and integration into the new land. This liminality is a widespread experience in our modern era as mobility, immigration and separation from one’s home and the sense of being home is on the rise. I argue that photography is a therapeutic tool to overcome the lost sense of belonging as it helps me as an immigrant to contemplate on my transitional phase of life and gives me the opportunity to create bonds and connections with a lost home.
Spin-Nematic Squeezed Vacuum in a Quantum Gas
Creators: name: Hamley, C. D.
name: Gerving, C. S.
name: Hoang, T. M.
name: Bookjans, E. M.
name: Chapman, M. S.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas)
subject: Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph)
subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Using squeezed states it is possible to surpass the standard quantum limit of measurement uncertainty by reducing the measurement uncertainty of one property at the expense of another complementary property. Squeezed states were first demonstrated in optical fields and later with ensembles of pseudo spin-1/2 atoms using non-linear atom-light interactions. Recently, collisional interactions in ultracold atomic gases have been used to generate a large degree of quadrature spin squeezing in two-component Bose condensates. For pseudo spin-1/2 systems, the complementary properties are the different components of the total spin vector , which fully characterize the state on an SU(2) Bloch sphere. Here, we measure squeezing in a spin-1 Bose condensate, an SU(3) system, which requires measurement of the rank-2 nematic or quadrupole tensor as well to fully characterize the state. Following a quench through a nematic to ferromagnetic quantum phase transition, squeezing is observed in the variance of the quadratures up to -8.3(-0.7 +0.6) dB (-10.3(-0.9 +0.7) dB corrected for detection noise) below the standard quantum limit. This spin-nematic squeezing is observed for negligible occupation of the squeezed modes and is analogous to optical two-mode vacuum squeezing. This work has potential applications to continuous variable quantum information and quantum-enhanced magnetometry.
Interaction of free-floating planets with a star-planet pair
Creators: name: Varvoglis, Harry
name: Sgardeli, Vasiliki
name: Tsiganis, Kleomenis
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The recent discovery of free-floating planets and their theoretical interpretation as celestial bodies, either condensed independently or ejected from parent stars in tight clusters, introduced an intriguing possibility. Namely, that some exoplanets are not condensed from the protoplanetary disk of their parent star. In this novel scenario a free-floating planet interacts with an already existing planetary system, created in a tight cluster, and is captured as a new planet. In the present work we study this interaction process by integrating trajectories of planet-sized bodies, which encounter a binary system consisting of a Jupiter-sized planet revolving around a Sun-like star. To simplify the problem we assume coplanar orbits for the bound and the free-floating planet and an initially parabolic orbit for the free-floating planet. By calculating the uncertainty exponent, a quantity that measures the dependence of the final state of the system on small changes of the initial conditions, we show that the interaction process is a fractal classical scattering. The uncertainty exponent is in the range (0.2-0.3) and is a decreasing function of time. In this way we see that the statistical approach we follow to tackle the problem is justified. The possible final outcomes of this interaction are only four, namely flyby, planet exchange, capture or disruption. We give the probability of each outcome as a function of the incoming planet's mass. We find that the probability of exchange or capture (in prograde as well as retrograde orbits and for very long times) is non-negligible, a fact that might explain the possible future observations of planetary systems with orbits that are either retrograde or tight and highly eccentric.
description: 19 pages, 12 figures