cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Overactive Bladder 5 years After the Mid-Urethral Sling Tensioning (MUST) Trial: Prospective Cohort Study Following a Multi-centre Randomized Controlled Trial in Alberta, Canada
Creators: name: Hughes, Taylor Ann Marie
Publisher: name: Graduate Studies
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: epidemiology
subject: women's health
subject: surgery
subject: Epidemiology

description: Background: Mid-urethral slings (MUS) are the preferred surgical treatment for female stress urinary incontinence. However, a small subset of MUS patients experiences overactive bladder (OAB) requiring further treatment. The Mid-Urethral Sling Tensioning (MUST) Trial was a randomized controlled trial that compared MUS outcomes for intraoperative tensioning techniques: the Babcock clamp and Mayo Scissor. The trial provides an opportunity to gauge OAB after MUS through follow-up of a randomized controlled trial using patient reported outcomes and administrative health data. Objective: To assess the burden of overactive bladder (OAB) 5 years after MUS insertion using medication, surgical intervention and patient-reported OAB outcomes, and to compare OAB outcomes by MUS tensioning technique. Methods: MUST trial participants provided 5-year post-MUS data via patient-reported questionnaires linked to administrative health data. OAB burden was assessed by analyzing changes in pre- and 5-year post-op scores on validated OAB questionnaires, post-op OAB medication use and incidence of bladder onabotulinumtoxinA procedures. Results: Of the 318 MUST trial participants, 260 completed questionnaire data at 5 years; among them, 225 (86.9%) reported baseline OAB symptoms and 211 (81.5%) post-MUS. 127 (48.9%) experienced clinically significant worsening in at least one OAB symptom: 19.0% in daily urination, 22.5% in urgency, 18.1% in urine leakage, 23.9% in nightly urination; conversely, 38.7%, 40.3%, 47.6%, and 23.9% showed a significant improvement in these respective domains. Of total participants, 21.4% used OAB medication with a median start at 151 days post-op for a median duration of 319 days. Seven underwent an onabotulinumtoxinA procedure. In comparison of groups, the Babcock clamp tensioning technique provided less frequent nightly urination (19.5% versus 28.0%) and less leakage (11.3% versus 24.9%) than the Mayo Scissor. Conclusions: After MUS, 72.3% of patients experienced improvement of at least 1 OAB symptom, 79.2% were stable, and 48.9% reported worsening. 20% of patients trialed OAB medications, but by study end 75% had discontinued. This information advises surgeons and their patients of realistic expectations for OAB outcomes after MUS. Surgeons can freely choose tensioning techniques, expecting no significant difference in OAB outcomes.
A New Deal for Refugees: How Land Restoration and Infrastructure Modernization Can Help Solve the Refugee Crisis
Creators: name: Goldman, Jonas Philip
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2017
Subjects: Land use, Rural--Management
Refugees--Economic conditions
Agroforestry
Infrastructure (Economics)
Environmental protection

description: The migrant crisis in Europe is the largest since WWII.  Millions of migrants are without hope or a source of income.  However, this tragedy could present an opportunity for Europe as the EU currently faces two problems, which a large influx of labor could fix. First, decaying outdated European infrastructure and construction and secondly the abandonment of European farmland.  During the 1920’s the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a government program from the great depression, employed large numbers of unemployed men in land management fields.  Just as the CCC addressed the environmental and social problems of its day, a modern government program modeled after the CCC could address the issues currently facing the EU.  This paper lays out a roadmap for just such a program outlining how the EU could employ refugees to address the current environmental issues facing Europe.  The paper also explores potential uses for abandoned farmland, such as re-utilization for agriculture, agroforestry and re-wilding as well as the management, funding and potential issues faced by such a program.
Lexical activation effects on children's sentence production
Creators: name: Charest, Monique Joanne
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2012

description: Sentence production requires the integration of activated words with a syntactic plan; however, there has been little investigation of how the integration process affects children’s productions. Research with adults shows that lexical activation order can influence syntactic planning, placing earlier-activated words in earlier-occurring grammatical roles. It has also been proposed that the relationship between lexical activation and syntactic planning can affect processing ease. When lexical activation order and sentence structure are in conflict, a speaker may need to resolve the conflict prior to speaking, and/or buffer the early-activated word until it is produced late in the sentence. This investigation examined the effects of lexical activation order on sentence structure and processing outcomes for 4- and 7-year-old children, using a semantic priming manipulation. In Study 1, children described transitive scenes and also completed a primed picture-naming task. The results documented that the children produced active transitives as the default sentence pattern, and that the older children alternated to patient-subject sentences more often than the younger children when pressured to do so by a cloze prompt. The results also documented facilitative effects of semantic priming on lexical activation speed. Study 2 integrated the semantic primes with sentence production. In one half of the trials, a patient-related prime preceded the scene description. The analyses examined whether patient-subject sentences occurred more often following patient-related primes, and whether early activation of the patient produced negative consequences to sentence onset speed, grammatical integrity, and/or fluency in (agent-subject) active transitive sentences. The results revealed that the patient-related primes did not increase the rate of patient-subject sentential descriptions. However, when children produced active transitive sentences, they were slower to begin speaking following patient-related primes than control primes. There was no significant effect of the primes on fluency or auxiliary omission rates, no difference in prime effects as a function of age group, and no correlation between prime effects and working memory ability. The results indicate a strong constraint of syntactic preferences on children’s sentence planning, and support the conclusion that conflicts between lexical activation and syntactic planning can negatively affect the speed of children’s sentence planning.
Modeling the biogeography of pelagic diatoms of the Southern Ocean
Creators: name: Pinkernell, Stefan
name: Karsten, Ulf
name: Waite, Anya
Publisher: name: Universität Rostock
Year: 2017
Subjects: subject: 570 Life science

description: Species distribution models (SDM) are a well-established method for biogeographical research on terrestrial organisms. Though already used for decades, experience with marine species is scarce especially for protists. SDMs were evaluated for marine pelagic diatoms in the Southern Ocean at the example of Fragilariopsis kerguelensis. Based on the experience with these models, SDMs for further species are built to study biogeographical patterns. The anthropogenic impact of climate change on these species is assessed by model projections on future scenarios for the end of this century.
Scymnus (Scymnus) unciformis Yu, new species
Creators: name: Yu, Guoyue
name: Montgomery, Michael E.
name: Yao, Defu
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2000
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Coccinellidae
Scymnus
Scymnus unciformis

description: Scymnus (Scymnus) unciformis Yu, new species (Fig. 10) Description. Male. Length 2.80 mm, width 1.80 mm. Form oval with sides nearly parallel at middle, dorsum moderately convex. Head including antennae and mouthparts brown. Pronotum brown, black basal marking extending anteriorly 1/2 pronotal length. Scutellum black. Elytron black; apical 1/6 yellowish brown, margin with black arched. Underside brown with prosternal process dark brown, meso­ and metathoraces, elytral epipleura, medial anterior margin of first abdominal sternite black. Legs yellowish brown, middle and hind coxae darkish brown. Interocular distance slightly less than 1/2 head width. Innerocular margins nearly parallel, slightly divergent posteriorly. Frons nearly flat, finely, densely punctate. Anterior margin of clypeus very weakly incurvate. Antenna 11­segmented, proportions as illustrated (Fig. 10g). Maxillary palpus terminal segment slightly divergent apically, length about 1.3 times width, distal side distinctly oblique. Punctation similar on head and pronotum. Elytral punctation coarser, without rows of gross punctures near suture, pubescence weakly sinuous. Prosternal carinae narrowly separated, slightly convergent anteriorly. Postcoxal line of first abdominal sternite incomplete, slightly arcuate, nearly reaching posterior margin, enclosed area line irregularly, finely punctate, posterior 1/3 smooth. Fifth abdominal sternite hind margin nearly truncate; sixth sternite apex slightly incurvate. Genitalia: Sipho (Fig. 10a) moderately long, S­shaped; siphonal capsule with a long inner process, short outer process; apex of sipho (Fig. 10f) hook­shaped, simple, without distinct appendix except membrane on interior of hook. Tegmen (Fig. 10b, c) moderately slender; median piece of tegmen widest at middle, narrowing slightly basally, gradually converging apically to blunt tip, curved upwardly in ventral aspect. Lateral lobes of tegmen shorter than median piece. Distribution. China (Yunnan). Type Series. Holotype: (Ƌ), Yunnan: Lijiang: Heyuan (26.8 N, 100.2 E), 29­V­1996 (BAAF). Etymology. The specific name refers to the shape of the apex of sipho. Remarks. The new species resembles the previous species Scymnus (Scymnus) najaformis Yu 1997, but differs from the latter by the black elytra with apical 1/6 yellowish brown, slender median piece and lateral lobes in lateral view.
description: Published as part of Yu, Guoyue, Montgomery, Michael E. & Yao, Defu, 2000, Lady Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) From Chinese Hemlocks Infested With The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, Adelges Tsugae Annand (Homoptera: Adelgidae), pp. 154-199 in The Coleopterists Bulletin 54 (2) on pages 171-172, DOI: 10.1649/0010-065X(2000)054[0154:LBCCFC]2.0.CO;2
Quadrupole collectivity beyond N=28: Intermediate-energy Coulomb excitation of 47,48Ar
Creators: name: Winkler, R.
name: Gade, A.
name: Baugher, T.
name: Bazin, D.
name: Brown, B. A.
name: Glasmacher, T.
name: Grinyer, G. F.
name: Meharchand, R.
name: McDaniel, S.
name: Ratkiewicz, A.
name: Weisshaar, D.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Nuclear Experiment (nucl-ex)
subject: Nuclear Theory (nucl-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We report on the first experimental study of quadrupole collectivity in the very neutron-rich nuclei \nuc{47,48}{Ar} using intermediate-energy Coulomb excitation. These nuclei are located along the path from doubly-magic Ca to collective S and Si isotopes, a critical region of shell evolution and structural change. The deduced $B(E2)$ transition strengths are confronted with large-scale shell-model calculations in the $sdpf$ shell using the state-of-the-art SDPF-U and EPQQM effective interactions. The comparison between experiment and theory indicates that a shell-model description of Ar isotopes around N=28 remains a challenge.
description: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters, typos fixed in resubmission on April 10
Reconceptualising Executive Power to Denounce Treaties in the Twenty-First Century
Creators: name: Goldsworthy, Daniel
name: Longo, Michael
Publisher: name: Monash University
Year: 2023
Subjects: Constitutional law

description: This article explores the conceptual basis of treaty denunciation in Australia, and whether this power is the executive’s unfettered prerogative. In light of uncertain jurisprudence on the conceptual origins of the categories of non-statutory executive power in Australia, the authors countenance the possibility of reconceptualising treaty ratification and denunciation as inhering in multiple aspects of non-statutory executive power under s 61 of the Commonwealth Constitution; that is, in both the prerogative power and the nationhood power. The paper then considers practical consequences that may follow this conclusion, such as constitutional limitations to treaty withdrawal under certain circumstances.
Entanglement in atomic systems interacting with single-photon pulses in free space
Creators: name: Santos, J. P.
name: Semião, F. L.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: New technologies providing tight focusing lens and mirrors with large numerical apertures and electro-optic modulation of single photons are now available for the investigation of photon-atom interactions without a cavity. From the theoretical side, new models must be developed which take into account the intrinsic open system aspect of the problem as well as details about atomic relative positions and temporal (spectral) features of the pulses. In this paper, we investigate the generation of nonclassical correlations between two atoms in free space interacting with a quantized pulse containing just one single photon. For this purpose, we develop a general theoretical approach which allows us to find the equations of motion for single- and two-body atomic operators from which we obtained the system density operator. We show that one single photon is capable of promoting substantial entanglement between two initially ground state atoms, and we analyze the dependence of these correlations on atomic relative positions (vacuum effects) and spectral features of the single photon pulse.
description: Slightly changed title and expanded text
Papers in New Guinea Linguistics No. 18
Creators: name: Conrad, R. (Ed.)
name: Dye, W. (Ed.)
name: Thomson, N. (Ed.)
name: Bruce Jr., L. (Ed.)
Publisher: name: Pacific Linguistics
Year: 1975

description: A-40
description: Contents iii{Robert Conrad and Wayne Dye} 1SOME LANGUAGE RELATIONSHIPS IN THE UPPER SEPIK REGION OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 0. INTRODUCTION 1 1. PROCEDURES 1 2. INTERPRETATION 4 3. UPPER SEPIK LANGUAGES 7 3.1 Arai Language Family 7 3.2 Amto-Musan Family 11 3.3 Upper Sepik Stock 12 3.4 Ok Family 12 3.5 West Irian Border 13 3.6 Leonard Schultze and Frieda Rivers 13 4. WIDER RELATIONSHIPS 14 5. CONCLUSIONS 15Notes 16Tables: 1 - Probable Cognate Percentages, Upper Sepik 19 2 - Word Lists 20 3 - Cognate Percentages, May River Region 30 4 - Arai Family Sound Correspondences 30 5 - Ok Family Cognate Percentages 31 6 - Middle Sepik Cognate Percentages 31 7 - Middle Sepik Phylum Sound Correspondences 32 Figures: A - Typical cognate percentages in a chain of three languages 6 B - Arai Family Language Names and Population 8 C - Summary of Arai Phonology 10 Bibliography 33Maps: Map 1 - Languages of the Upper Sepik 2 Map 2 - Arai Family Languages 3{N.P. Thomson} 37THE DIALECTS OF MAGI. 1. INTRODUCTION 37 1.1 Aim 37 1.2 Background 37Map: 1 (Part 1) - The Magi Language Area (Eastern End) 38Map: 1 (Part 2) - The Magi Language Area (Western End) 39Map: 2 - Probable and Documented Language Movements in the Magi Area 40 1.3 Materials and Method 41 2. RESULTS 43 2.1 The General Linguistic Picture 44 2.2 The Dialects of Magi 48 3. HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION 56Notes 58 4. APPENDICES 60 4.1 Comparative Basic Vocabulary Lists Across Magi Dialects 60 4.2 An Analysis of Route of Entry of Basic Vocabulary into Magi Dialects 76Bibliography 89Tables: I - Villages and Languages from which Wordlists Obtained 42 II - Approximate Basic Vocabulary Cognate Percentages for Magi Dialects, and Associated Austronesian and Mailuan Languages 45 III - An Analysis of Magi Vocabulary 52 IV - Magi Villages and Dialects 55Diagrams: I - Schematic Representation of the Relationship Between Languages of the South Coast of South-East Papua 46 II - Schematic Representation of the Relationships Between Magi Dialects 49{Leslie P. Bruce, Jr.} 91ALAMBLAK ALVEOPALATALS - DEAD PORTMANTEAUS. 0. INTRODUCTION 91 1. ALVEOLAR /t/ AND ALVEOPALATAL /s/ 92 2. /d/ AND /j/ 94 3. /n/ AND /ñ/ 96 4. CONCLUSION 97Notes 99Bibliography 102
Reconceptualising Executive Power to Denounce Treaties in the Twenty-First Century
Creators: name: Goldsworthy, Daniel
name: Longo, Michael
Publisher: name: Monash University
Year: 2022
Subjects: Constitutional law

description: This article explores the conceptual basis of treaty denunciation in Australia, and whether this power is the executive’s unfettered prerogative. In light of uncertain jurisprudence on the conceptual origins of the categories of non-statutory executive power in Australia, the authors countenance the possibility of reconceptualising treaty ratification and denunciation as inhering in multiple aspects of non-statutory executive power under s 61 of the Commonwealth Constitution; that is, in both the prerogative power and the nationhood power. The paper then considers practical consequences that may follow this conclusion, such as constitutional limitations to treaty withdrawal under certain circumstances.
Testing the Global Community’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Against Professional Standards and International Law
Creators: name: Lempert, David
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2017
Subjects: International law
Sustainable development
Social sciences and management

description: This article examines the global community’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda for 2016 to 2030 by applying several previously published professional and legal indicators, peer-reviewed in a variety of fields, for measuring compliance with international law and professional standards in the social and management sciences for sustainable development, poverty reduction, and development to see how the SDGs do. Overall, the SDGs show little change in substantive, ideological or implementation approach from the previous Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). They are largely a reassertion of 19th and early 20th century European colonial approaches to weaker nations and cultures in violation of many of the principles established under international law for global peace, security and rights following the end of World War II. The implications of this approach, despite the claims, are that the SDGs are likely to further threaten international law objectives for protecting cultural diversity, sovereignty, sustainability and survival in a way that undermines not just international law but also global security.
Discourses of the Alberta Oil Sands: What Key Stakeholders Really Think About Sustainability
Creators: name: Sutton, Matt
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2017
Subjects: Sustainable development--Environmental aspects
Oil sands industry--Environmental aspects
Oil sands industry--Government policy
Corporations--Investor relations

description: In an attempt to determine the key challenges and opportunities of creating a dialogue about sustainability in regards to the Alberta oil sands, 13 professionals from four key stakeholder groups (industry, government, media and NGO) were asked the same set of seven questions about their conceptualization of sustainability. Key findings included the following: (1) Vague language pervaded many of the discussions including references to ‘responsible development,’ ‘corporate social responsibility,’ or ‘triple bottom line.’ (2) The sample illustrated a continuum of positions regarding both the notion of sustainability writ large and within the context of the oil sands specifically. (3) The largest concentration of discussion about sustainability surrounded practices and values, with goals and indicators figuring much less prominently. This paper provides useful insight to both the areas where stakeholders are still struggling to agree upon and those places where there is in fact some overlap. Areas for future research include exploration into one more key stakeholder: the indigenous voice.
Lepton Masses and Flavor Violation in Randall Sundrum Model
Creators: name: Iyer, Abhishek M.
name: Vempati, Sudhir K.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Lepton masses and mixing angles via localization of 5D fields in the bulk are revisited in the context of Randall-Sundrum models. The Higgs is assumed to be localized on the IR brane. Three cases for neutrino masses are considered: (a) The higher dimensional LH.LH operator (b) Dirac masses (c) Type I see-saw with bulk Majorana mass terms. Neutrino masses and mixing as well as charged lepton masses are fit in the first two cases using $χ^2$ minimisation for the bulk mass parameters, while varying the $\mathcal{O}(1)$ Yukawa couplings between 0.1 and 4. Lepton flavour violation is studied for all the three cases. It is shown that large negative bulk mass parameters are required for the right handed fields to fit the data in the LH LH case. This case is characterized by a very large Kaluza-Klein (KK) spectrum and relatively weak flavour violating constraints at leading order. The zero modes for the charged singlets are composite in this case and their corresponding effective 4-D Yukawa couplings to the KK modes could be large. For the Dirac case, good fits can be obtained for the bulk mass parameters, $c_i$, lying between 0 and 1. However, most of the `best fit regions' are ruled out from flavour violating constraints. In the bulk Majorana terms case, we have solved the profile equations numerically. We give example points for inverted hierarchy and normal hierarchy of neutrino masses. Lepton flavor violating rates are large for these points. We then discuss various minimal flavor violation (MFV) schemes for Dirac and bulk Majorana cases. In the Dirac case with MFV hypothesis, it is possible to simultaneously fit leptonic masses and mixing angles and alleviate lepton flavor violating constraints for Kaluza-Klein modes with masses of around 3 TeV. Similar examples are also provided in the Majorana case.
description: 43 pages, 20 figures, Revtex; version 2:a few clarified comments, added references, Published in PRD version
title: Energy Cascade in a Nonlinear Mechanistic Model of Turbulence
Creators: name: Bak, B. D.
name: T. Kalm´Ar-Nagy
Publisher: name: Otto von Guericke University Library, Magdeburg, Germany
Year: 2019

description: Technische Mechanik; 39; 1; 64-71; ISSN 2199-9244
The darkness that shaped the void: dark energy and cosmic voids
Creators: name: Bos, E. G. Patrick
name: van de Weygaert, Rien
name: Dolag, Klaus
name: Pettorino, Valeria
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Aims: We assess the sensitivity of void shapes to the nature of dark energy that was pointed out in recent studies. We investigate whether or not void shapes are useable as an observational probe in galaxy redshift surveys. We focus on the evolution of the mean void ellipticity and its underlying physical cause. Methods: We analyse the morphological properties of voids in five sets of cosmological N-body simulations, each with a different nature of dark energy. Comparing voids in the dark matter distribution to those in the halo population, we address the question of whether galaxy redshift surveys yield sufficiently accurate void morphologies. Voids are identified using the parameter free Watershed Void Finder. The effect of redshift distortions is investigated as well. Results: We confirm the statistically significant sensitivity of voids in the dark matter distribution. We identify the level of clustering as measured by σ_8(z) as the main cause of differences in mean void shape . We find that in the halo and/or galaxy distribution it is practically unfeasible to distinguish at a statistically significant level between the various cosmologies due to the sparsity and spatial bias of the sample.
description: 22 pages, 23 figures, 3 tables; v2: added references and short comparison of void size results; accepted for publication by MNRAS
Literacy, expectations, and satisfaction of psychiatric pharmacogenetic testing in youth receiving pharmacological treatment for a mental health condition
Creators: name: Oomen, Anita Janine
Publisher: name: Graduate Studies
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: pharmacogenetics
subject: pharmacogenomics
subject: patient perspectives
subject: satisfaction
subject: expectations
subject: health literacy
subject: Genetics
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Mental Health
subject: Pharmacology

description: Background: Pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing uses a person’s DNA to inform prescribing. Despite established clinical benefits, patient literacy, expectations, and satisfaction with PGx testing is unclear, particularly in youth. This study assessed literacy, expectations, and satisfaction of PGx testing among youth receiving pharmacotherapy for a mental health condition and explored associations between these factors. I hypothesized higher PGx literacy would be associated with lower expectations of PGx testing benefits. I also hypothesized that expectations of testing would be associated with satisfaction, according to the Expectation-Disconfirmation Theory (EDT). Methods: A nested, pre-post, quasi-experimental research design was employed. Using EDT and collaborating with patient partners, measures of patient expectations and satisfaction with PGx testing were developed and psychometrically evaluated among 41 participants aged 12-24 seeking PGx testing before initiating or changing a psychiatric medication. Following psychometric evaluation, 175 youth (n=175) aged 11-24 were administered the expectations and a PGx literacy survey prior to PGx testing. Descriptive data was also collected. Hypothesis testing was performed using ordinal logistic regression models adjusted for key covariates. Thirty-four youth (n=34) were also administered the satisfaction survey 2 months after receipt of PGx test results. Results: The expectations and satisfaction surveys were tested for reliability (Cronbach’s alpha =0.703 and 0.846, respectively), content validity (content validation ratio>0.50 for all items), and construct validity (satisfaction items rho>0.60; expectation items rho=0.02-0.67). Hypothesis testing found PGx literacy was not associated with PGx testing expectations related to finding the right medication or dose, but higher literacy was associated with lower expectations of feeling better faster (p=0.025) and reduced medication side-effects (p=0.045). High levels of satisfaction with PGx testing were reported (97.06% satisfied). Consequently, there was insufficient variance to assess an association between expectations and satisfaction. Conclusion: Higher PGx literacy is associated with lower expectations that PGx testing will help people feel better and that PGx testing will reduce new or existing side-effects. Initiatives to boost PGx literacy may assist in the management of youth expectations toward PGx testing. Satisfaction with PGx testing was found to be high. Further research is needed to assess what factors contribute to youth expectations and satisfaction with PGx testing.
Environmental Management System for Nigeria’s Higher Education: Two-Year Pilot Analysis
Creators: name: Iyalomhe, Felix O.
name: Cirella, Giuseppe T.
name: Russo, Alessio
name: Jensen, Anne
name: Idogho, Philipa
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2017
Subjects: Education, Higher
Environmental management
Sustainable development
Universities and colleges--Curricula

description: Hypothetical research into how the introduction and utilization of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) could be instituted into Nigeria’s higher education scheme, as a means to improve environmental awareness and sustainable development practices on university campuses, is explored. Qualitative methodologies are utilized based on reviewed literature, semi-structured interviews, personal experiences and structured questionnaires. Reported two-year findings illustrate that effective potential EMS for Nigeria’s higher education, demands policy-oriented government directives and commitments in terms of strict regulatory legislation and coordination of related management support. While EMS implementation blockage is due to a lack of government initiative and managerial commitment accompaniment throughout Nigeria’s overall education sector. This blockage includes inadequate salary structures, lack of funding, insufficient academic curriculum and disconnect between universities and society at large. The research posits a preliminary platform towards creating EMS practices and processes, and its significant role in the definition of sustainable campuses and research via educative activities. It highlights the need for re-evaluation of Nigeria’s higher education scheme and its academic curriculum to create room for improved environmental awareness and performance.
On twisted conjugacy classes of type D in sporadic simple groups
Creators: name: Fantino, F.
name: Vendramin, L.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Quantum Algebra (math.QA)
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: We classify twisted conjugacy classes of type D associated to the sporadic simple groups. This is an important step in the program of the classification of finite-dimensional pointed Hopf algebras with non-abelian coradical. As a by-product we prove that every complex finite-dimensional pointed Hopf algebra over the group of automorphisms of M12, J2, Suz, He, HN, T is the group algebra. In the appendix we improve the study of conjugacy classes of type D in sporadic simple groups.
description: 15 pages, 6 tables. Twisted conjugacy classes of type D in sporadic simple groups are now completely classified. Several improvements related to conjugacy classes in sporadic simple groups are included in the appendix
Charge fluctuations in single-electron tunneling oscillations
Creators: name: Negri, Carlotta
name: Pistolesi, Fabio
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: It has been predicted that in the presence of a sufficiently high-dissipative environment transport in a small tunnel junction can become extremely regular, giving rise to the phenomenon of single-electron tunneling oscillations. Recent progress in detection of high-frequency current fluctuations and the interest in single-electron sources motivate further investigations on the expected accuracy of the charge oscillations as a function of the impedance of the environment. In this paper we study theoretically the charge-fluctuation spectrum at finite frequency for the system at hand, and investigate its evolution as a function of the external impedance. The evolution and the disappearance of the single-electron oscillations peak is described by analytical and numerical methods.
description: 11 pages, 12 figures
Climate Change Litigation in Private Nuisance: Can It Address Harms Sustained by Traditional Owners in the Torres Strait?
Creators: name: Emmanouil, Nia
name: Popa, Tina
name: Kallies, Anne
Publisher: name: Monash University
Year: 2023
Subjects: Climate change law
Environmental law
Tort law

description: Torres Strait Islanders are highly vulnerable to climate change hazards and in turn, climate-related harms. Through a detailed analysis of Australian and foreign case law and commentary, this article examines whether tort law, specifically, private nuisance, may offer Traditional Owners in the Torres Strait an avenue for holding accountable major carbon polluters for their contribution to these climate-related harms. Barriers to success are analysed and further discussed in relation to policy questions. Ultimately, the article finds that significant barriers to success currently exist, making a climate-related harm claim in private nuisance unlikely to succeed, for now. However, advances in international and Australian jurisprudence are creating the potential for actions to be successful in the future.
Land Grab and Institutional Legacy of Colonialism: The Case of Sudan
Creators: name: Zambakari, Christopher
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2017
Subjects: subject: Land use
subject: Sustainable development--Government policy
subject: Postcolonialism
subject: Land use--Management
subject: Political science
subject: FOS: Political science
subject: Land use--Political aspects

description: Over last decade Africa has experienced an unprecedented amounts of land being concessioned, leased or sold to business, corporations or foreign sovereign capital. The land question (who can acquire or have access to land) and the political question (who belongs in the political community) are connected to the citizenship question. These questions are among the most politicized in Africa.  This article answers the following questions: Who benefits from the ‘land grabs’? And what can a critical analysis of the ‘land grabs’ tell us about the contemporary politics of development? The first section of this article discusses and provides the intellectual background that informs today’s land rush. The second section discusses the competing actors involved in the land grab, winners and victims. I argue that the majority of victims of land dispossession in the African context are peasants, pastoralists, nomadic, and trans-boundary communities, whose land management system is based on customary land tenure.
Highly Dexterous Robotic Insertion Tube for Enhanced Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures
Creators: name: Topham, Matthew Jory
Publisher: name: Schulich School of Engineering
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: surgery
subject: minimally invasive surgery
subject: surgical robotics
subject: endoscopy
subject: laparoscopy
subject: novel technology
subject: Medicine and Surgery
subject: Engineering--Biomedical

description: Current surgical robotic and endoscopic systems permit minimally invasive access to numerous anatomical sites and have demonstrated many benefits by improving diagnostic capabilities, patient outcomes, and treatment efficiency. These advances are not without limitations, as current systems are designed for access to a narrow range of anatomical sites through the requirement of specific sites of entry (natural conduits or straight-line access) and minimal dexterity. Here, I propose to greatly broaden the capabilities of surgical robotic systems through the creation of a highly dexterous and discretely configurable robotic insertion tube for enhanced minimally invasive surgical procedures. A priority of this system, which I term Serpento, is usability in small settings, including remote and rural communities. As such, this system is designed to be cost-effective and suited for mass production. The ability to assume a vast number of discrete and defined configurations allows Serpento to provide access to currently inaccessible tissue and travel independently of natural conduits (i.e. the colon). At its core, the robotic insertion tube underlying Serpento is comprised of a sequence of several hundred ring components, that are each individually addressable teeter-totter mechanisms. The unique structure, formed by the assembly of these components, improves the maneuverability of the system, which allows it to precisely follow complex access paths. Furthermore, a central channel may contain tubes for suction, for example, or to allow for the advancement of tools as seen in current endoscopes. Serpento has become a tangible possibility through computer-aided design (CAD), 3D printing, and assistance by Dr. Matthias Amrein and Dr. Salvatore Federico. Ultimately, the innovative work behind Serpento has demonstrated promising results, laying the foundation for its advancement from a conceptual design to a feasible technology.
Ferromagnetic order of nuclear spins coupled to conduction electrons: a combined effect of the electron-electron and spin-orbit interactions
Creators: name: Zak, Robert Andrzej
name: Maslov, Dmitrii L.
name: Loss, Daniel
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We analyze the ordered state of nuclear spins embedded in an interacting two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) with Rashba spin-orbit interaction (SOI). Stability of the ferromagnetic nuclear-spin phase is governed by nonanalytic dependences of the electron spin susceptibility $χ^{ij}$ on the momentum ($\tilde{\mathbf{q}}$) and on the SOI coupling constant ($α$). The uniform ($\tq=0$) spin susceptibility is anisotropic (with the out-of-plane component, $χ^{zz}$, being larger than the in-plane one, $χ^{xx}$, by a term proportional to $U^2(2k_F)|α|$, where $U(q)$ is the electron-electron interaction). For $\tq \leq 2m^*|α|$, corrections to the leading, $U^2(2k_F)|α|$, term scale linearly with $\tq$ for $χ^{xx}$ and are absent for $χ^{zz}$. This anisotropy has important consequences for the ferromagnetic nuclear-spin phase: $(i)$ the ordered state--if achieved--is of an Ising type and $(ii)$ the spin-wave dispersion is gapped at $\tq=0$. To second order in $U(q)$, the dispersion a decreasing function of $\tq$, and anisotropy is not sufficient to stabilize long-range order. However, renormalization in the Cooper channel for $\tq\ll2m^*|α|$ is capable of reversing the sign of the $\tq$-dependence of $χ^{xx}$ and thus stabilizing the ordered state. We also show that a combination of the electron-electron and SO interactions leads to a new effect: long-wavelength Friedel oscillations in the spin (but not charge) electron density induced by local magnetic moments. The period of these oscillations is given by the SO length $π/m^*|α|$.
description: 22 pages, 15 figures
Evaluation of WASH Implementation in Nama Sub-County
Creators: name: Fernandes, Caroline
name: Flores, Claudia
name: Montalbano, Gabrielle
name: Sekhon, Harveen
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2017
Subjects: Water-supply
Sanitation, Household
Public health
t-test (Statistics)
School attendance
Rural poor--Education
Rural poor--Health and hygiene
Economic development

description: Villages that had underwent GlobeMed and MCHI water access, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions tended to exhibit better sanitation and hygiene practices compared to control villages. Survey participants were directly recruited from households in eight rural villages that had previously received community-based WASH interventions in Nama sub-county, Uganda. All participants were adults (above eighteen) of varying ages and genders. The other participants were directly recruited from two rural villages who had not received any WASH intervention within Nama sub-county and served as our control groups. Participants were surveyed on various topics including water source quality and distance, prevalence of sickness, latrine management, and sanitation and hygiene practices. The effectiveness of WASH programs in GlobeMed and MCHI sponsored villages compared to control villages was measured using t-tests and Pearson Correlation Coefficients (R). Improved safe water and hygiene practices are fundamental to improving quality of life. Improved WASH related practices not only correlate with health, they ameliorate other frequently encountered inequities—like low school attendance—as education is a major factor in economic growth and alleviating poverty. Addressing WASH related problems can be challenging as they affect people from diverse communities and demographics. However, the most promising solutions arise when collaboration emerges between NGOs, governments, communities, and individuals.
Climate Change Litigation in Private Nuisance: Can It Address Harms Sustained by Traditional Owners in the Torres Strait?
Creators: name: Emmanouil, Nia
name: Popa, Tina
name: Kallies, Anne
Publisher: name: Monash University
Year: 2022
Subjects: Climate change law
Environmental law
Tort law

description: Torres Strait Islanders are highly vulnerable to climate change hazards and in turn, climate-related harms. Through a detailed analysis of Australian and foreign case law and commentary, this article examines whether tort law, specifically, private nuisance, may offer Traditional Owners in the Torres Strait an avenue for holding accountable major carbon polluters for their contribution to these climate-related harms. Barriers to success are analysed and further discussed in relation to policy questions. Ultimately, the article finds that significant barriers to success currently exist, making a climate-related harm claim in private nuisance unlikely to succeed, for now. However, advances in international and Australian jurisprudence are creating the potential for actions to be successful in the future.
Phonon anomalies and dynamic stripes
Creators: name: Reznik, D.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
subject: Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Stripe order where electrons self-organize into alternating periodic charge-rich and magnetically-ordered charge-poor parallel lines was proposed as a way of optimizing the kinetic energy of holes in a doped Mott insulator. Static stripes detected as extra peaks in diffraction patterns, appear in a number of oxide perovskites as well as some other systems. The more controversial dynamic stripes, which are not detectable by diffraction, may be universally present in copper oxide superconductors. Thus it is important to learn how to detect dynamic stripes as well as to understand their influence on electronic properties. This review article focuses on lattice vibrations (phonons) that might show signatures of the charge component of dynamic stripes. The first part of the article describes recent progress in learning about how the phonon signatures of different types of electronic charge fluctuations including stripes can be distinguished from purely structural instabilities and from each other. Then I will focus on the evidence for dynamic stripes in the phonon spectra of copper oxide superconductors.
description: Review article to be published in a special issues of Physica C on stripes. 35 pages, 30 figures, new version including corrections and additions throughout the text
Cavity-induced switching between localized and extended states in a non-interacting Bose-Einstein condensate
Creators: name: Zhou, Lu
name: Pu, Han
name: Zhang, Keye
name: Zhao, Xing-Dong
name: Zhang, Weiping
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study an ultracold atom-cavity coupling system, which had been implemented in experiment to display weak light nonlinearity [S. Gupta \textit{et al}., Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{99}, 213601 (2007)]. The model is described by a non-interacting Bose-Einstein condensate contained in a Fabry-Pérot optical resonator, in which two incommensurate standing-wave modes are excited and thus form a quasiperiodic optical lattice potential for the atoms. Special emphasis are paid to the variation of atomic wavefunction induced by the cavity light field. We show that bistability between the atomic localized and extended states can be generated under appropriate conditions.
The effects of muscle aging on hyoid motion during swallowing : a study using a 3D biomechanical model
Creators: name: Tsou, Ling
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2012

description: The ability to swallow is crucial in maintaining adequate nutrition. However, there is a high prevalence of dysphagia among the elderly and a high associated mortality rate. To study the various causes of the associated physiological changes, one must first understand the biomechanics of normal swallowing. However, functional studies of the anatomically complex head and neck region can prove to be difficult due to both technical and ethical reasons. To overcome the limitations of clinical studies, this thesis proposes the use of a 3D computer model for performing dynamic simulations. A state-of-the-art model of the hyolaryngeal complex was created for simulating swallowing-related motor tasks with a special focus on hyoid excursion since reduced hyoid motion is a major indicator of oropharyngeal dysphagia. The model was constructed using anatomical data for a male cadaver from the Visible Human Project and an open-source dynamic simulation platform, ArtiSynth. Hyoid motion data obtained from videofluoroscopy of subjects performing normal swallowing was applied to the model for inversely simulating the potential muscle activities of the extrinsic laryngeal muscles during hyoid excursion. Within a specific range, the model demonstrated the ability to reproduce realistic hyoid motion for swallowing. Selective usage of suprahyoid muscles was also examined and was found to be possible in achieving adequate hyoid excursion for successful swallows. Finally, this study investigated the relationship between muscle weakening and hyoid range of motion using the hyolaryngeal model. Loss of muscle strength is characteristic of the aging process. Simulation of the maximum hyoid displacement under various muscle conditions confirmed a nonlinear reduction in the hyoid motion range under a linear decline in muscle strength. With an assumed rate of muscle weakening, the proportion of hyoid range reduction was estimated for a person at various ages. The results suggest that severe muscle weakening might be required to reduce hyoid excursion sufficiently to impair swallowing to a significant degree.
Energy Sustainability and Pope Francis’ Encyclical on Care for our Common Home: National Policies and Corporations as Change Agents
Creators: name: Arogyaswamy, Bernard
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2017
Subjects: Economic development
Encyclicals, Papal
Renewable energy sources
Environmental policy
Climatic changes
Corporations

description: It has been widely accepted by policy makers, corporate executives, and citizens alike that economic growth is the measure of a nation’s prosperity and well-being. The almost single-minded focus on growth, however, is achieved at high ecological and social cost, which has become a source of great concern. One of the driving forces behind unbridled growth has been the unquenchable thirst for energy worldwide. This paper investigates the challenges posed by the growth-energy nexus. While renewables are making giant strides, they account for a mere fraction of the world’s energy demand. The Papal Encyclical Laudato Si’ offers a detailed analysis of the harm humanity has inflicted on its common home, and the arguments developed in this paper are evaluated through the prism of the Encyclical. The underlying mindset preventing more sustainable ways of generating and using energy is explored, and the need to articulate human spirituality while accepting scientific consensus is emphasized. The recent international accord addressing climate change, already facing the threat of withdrawal by the United States after the recent election, can only work if the “technocratic” paradigm is radically modified. The paper provides evidence that national and local policies mirror public attitudes to tackle deteriorating environmental and social conditions. It concludes that corporations, mentioned in passing in the Encyclical, are beginning to play a central role in finding sustainable solutions, regardless of whether the international consensus holds.