cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Optimal PSPACE-hardness of Approximating Set Cover Reconfiguration
Creators: name: Hirahara, Shuichi
name: Ohsaka, Naoto
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Computational Complexity (cs.CC)
subject: Discrete Mathematics (cs.DM)
subject: Data Structures and Algorithms (cs.DS)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: In the Minmax Set Cover Reconfiguration problem, given a set system $\mathcal{F}$ over a universe and its two covers $\mathcal{C}^\mathsf{start}$ and $\mathcal{C}^\mathsf{goal}$ of size $k$, we wish to transform $\mathcal{C}^\mathsf{start}$ into $\mathcal{C}^\mathsf{goal}$ by repeatedly adding or removing a single set of $\mathcal{F}$ while covering the universe in any intermediate state. Then, the objective is to minimize the maximize size of any intermediate cover during transformation. We prove that Minmax Set Cover Reconfiguration and Minmax Dominating Set Reconfiguration are $\mathsf{PSPACE}$-hard to approximate within a factor of $2-\frac{1}{\operatorname{polyloglog} N}$, where $N$ is the size of the universe and the number of vertices in a graph, respectively, improving upon Ohsaka (SODA 2024) and Karthik C. S. and Manurangsi (2023). This is the first result that exhibits a sharp threshold for the approximation factor of any reconfiguration problem because both problems admit a $2$-factor approximation algorithm as per Ito, Demaine, Harvey, Papadimitriou, Sideri, Uehara, and Uno (Theor. Comput. Sci., 2011). Our proof is based on a reconfiguration analogue of the FGLSS reduction from Probabilistically Checkable Reconfiguration Proofs of Hirahara and Ohsaka (2024). We also prove that for any constant $\varepsilon \in (0,1)$, Minmax Hypergraph Vertex Cover Reconfiguration on $\operatorname{poly}(\varepsilon^{-1})$-uniform hypergraphs is $\mathsf{PSPACE}$-hard to approximate within a factor of $2-\varepsilon$.
description: 28 pages
Megachile solitaria Smith, new comb.
Creators: name: Raw, Anthony
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2002
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Megachilidae
Megachile
Megachile solitaria

description: solitaria Smith, new comb.
Megachile solitaria Smith 1879: 80. Female. Type locality: St. Domingo [West Indies].
Megachile (Archimegachile) solitaria Mitchell 1943b: 671.
description: Published as part of Raw, Anthony, 2002, New combinations and synonymies of leafcutter and mason bees of the Americas (Megachile, Hymenoptera, Megachilidae), pp. 1-43 in Zootaxa 71 (1) on page 6, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.71.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/155887
Et mundus, hoc et homo. Von einer sehr alten, nun wieder virtuellen Weltkarte
Creators: name: Warnke, Martin
Publisher: name: Medien- und Informationszentrum, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
Year: 2007
Subjects: subject: Ebstorf
subject: Weltkarte
subject: Atlas
subject: Kultur
subject: Informatik
classificationCode: 004
subject: 004 Datenverarbeitung; Informatik

description: Beschrieben wird eine bedeutende Karte des hohen Mittelalters, ihre Herkunft, ihr Gehalt, ihre Struktur, einige Aspekte des von ihr verkörperten Weltbildes sowie ihre Dokumentation mit digitalen Medien.
Distance Sampling-based Paraphraser Leveraging ChatGPT for Text Data Manipulation
Creators: name: Oh, Yoori
name: Han, Yoseob
name: Lee, Kyogu
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Information Retrieval (cs.IR)
subject: Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI)
subject: Sound (cs.SD)
subject: Audio and Speech Processing (eess.AS)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: FOS: Electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering

description: There has been growing interest in audio-language retrieval research, where the objective is to establish the correlation between audio and text modalities. However, most audio-text paired datasets often lack rich expression of the text data compared to the audio samples. One of the significant challenges facing audio-text datasets is the presence of similar or identical captions despite different audio samples. Therefore, under many-to-one mapping conditions, audio-text datasets lead to poor performance of retrieval tasks. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to tackle the data imbalance problem in audio-language retrieval task. To overcome the limitation, we introduce a method that employs a distance sampling-based paraphraser leveraging ChatGPT, utilizing distance function to generate a controllable distribution of manipulated text data. For a set of sentences with the same context, the distance is used to calculate a degree of manipulation for any two sentences, and ChatGPT's few-shot prompting is performed using a text cluster with a similar distance defined by the Jaccard similarity. Therefore, ChatGPT, when applied to few-shot prompting with text clusters, can adjust the diversity of the manipulated text based on the distance. The proposed approach is shown to significantly enhance performance in audio-text retrieval, outperforming conventional text augmentation techniques.
description: Accepted at SIGIR 2024 short paper track
Characterization of the Copper Starvation Response in the pMMO-Obligate Methanotrophic Bacterium Methylomicrobium album strain BG8
Creators: Sun, Phillip K
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

Studies on copper as a critical nutrient in methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) have mostly focused on the well-characterized “copper switch” in species with dual methane monooxygenase (MMO) variants (Takeguchi & Okura, 2000, Knapp et al., 2007, Kenney et al., 2016).  Copper availability dictates which of the two analogous MMO enzymes is used: copper sufficiency favors expression of the copper-associated particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) whereas copper depletion favors the iron-associated soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) to catalyze the oxidation of methane into methanol (Miyaji et al., 2019, Chang et al., 2021).  However, only some MOB, mostly Alphaproteobacteria (alpha-MOB), encode sMMO (Takeguchi & Okura, 2000, Fru et al., 2011), while the majority of Gammaproteobacteria MOB (gamma-MOB) are pMMO-obligate and lack a “copper switch”; thus, their response to copper starvation has not been as well studied.  Under copper deficiency, some MOB produce methanobactin (Mbn), a chalkophore used for scavenging copper from the environment  (Fru et al., 2011, Bandow et al., 2012).  While Mbn and their respective biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) have been well described in alpha-MOB (Semrau et al., 2020), only recently have Mbn been minimally characterized in gamma-MOB (Choi et al., 2010, Kang-Yun et al., 2022). How pMMO-obligate gamma-MOB respond to copper starvation stress represents a gap in our state of knowledge.  This study examines the copper starvation response in the gamma-MOB, pMMO-obligate, Methylomicrobium album strain BG8, which was shown to produce a chalkophore under copper limitation (Kang-Yun et al., 2022).  M. album BG8 grown under copper deficiency exhibited stunted growth and a smaller cell size; and transcriptomic analysis revealed the shutting down of metabolic activity with selective upregulation of copper acquisition genes.  Bioinformatics analysis via a suite of BGC detection and phylogenetic programs reveal a downregulated BGC encoding for siderophore biosynthesis, as well as two intensively upregulated cyanobacterial-related BGCs potentially encoding for a putative Mbn, and a putative ‘toxin’ hereby named methanopeptide (Mpt).  Taken together, these results reveal novel natural products involved in alleviating copper starvation stress, underscore the redundant nature of copper acquisition systems in the pMMO-obligate M. album BG8, and establish an evolutionary connection in a stress response system between MOB and cyanobacteria.
Magnesium Doping for the Stabilization of a Spinel lithium Manganese Oxide for Lithium Recovery from Flowback and Produced Water
Creators: Wu, Fangshuai
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

Flowback and produced water (FPW), a potentially hazardous byproduct of oil and gas production, is a complex mixture of dissolved salts and organic compounds. FPW often contains modest concentrations of lithium, from tens to hundreds of parts-per-million. For this reason, and in response to the rising global demand for lithium driven by the recent surge in the battery industry, FPW is being regarded as a potential source for lithium production. Among the various direct lithium extraction (DLE) approaches, spinel lithium manganese oxide (LMO) ion-sieves stand out as one of the most promising materials for lithium recovery from FPW due to their high lithium selectivity as well as high uptake. However, LMO (Li1.6Mn1.6O4) experiences mass loss due to the reductive dissolution of manganese, which is a result of high concentrations of free electrons in FPW. Consequently, mass loss leads to structural degradation of the ion sieve, affecting its regeneration. To solve the problem of ion-sieve mass loss, we doped pristine LMO with different concentrations of magnesium by a solid-state method to synthesize magnesium-doped lithium manganese oxides, Li1.6MgxMn1.6-xO4 or LMMO-x (where x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4). The lithium uptake in FPW decreases from 25.7 mg∙g-1 for acid-treated LMO to 11.3 mg∙g-1 for LMMO-0.4. Subsequent studies reveal that the kinetics of lithium adsorption of these ion-sieves follow a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and LMMOs exhibit relatively slower lithium uptake rates. However, LMMOs retain 95% of their initial lithium uptake after the 5th cycle of use, whereas LMO only maintains 90%, indicating that LMMOs are more stable and exhibit better reusability as a result of the magnesium doping.  More importantly, during the acid desorption step to recover lithium, the average manganese loss decreases significantly from 3.19% for LMO to 0.73% for LMMO-0.4 because substitution of manganese by magnesium reduces the content of structural trivalent manganese. The mean oxidation states (ZMn) of manganese determined by a standard oxalic acid method in conjunction with X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectra support the conjecture that doping magnesium into LMO leads to an increase of ZMn, resulting in improved structural stability. Combined transmission electron microscopy – electron energy loss spectroscopy (TEM-EELS) shows that homogeneous doping of magnesium in LMO makes it less susceptible to manganese reduction when exposed to FPW. Furthermore, extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra reveal that pristine LMO undergoes an irreversible structural contraction during regeneration, while such an effect is not observed in LMMOs. Our results show that LMMOs are promising candidates for scale-up to an economic DLE technology.
Megachile torrida Smith, new comb.
Creators: name: Raw, Anthony
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2002
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Megachilidae
Megachile
Megachile torrida

description: torrida Smith, new comb.
Megachile torridus Smith 1853: 156. Female and male. Type locality: The Gambia.
Megachile (Megachile) torrida Friese 1909: 355.
Chalicodoma (Carinella) torrida Pasteels 1965: 454 ­455.
description: Published as part of Raw, Anthony, 2002, New combinations and synonymies of leafcutter and mason bees of the Americas (Megachile, Hymenoptera, Megachilidae), pp. 1-43 in Zootaxa 71 (1) on page 7, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.71.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/155887
Anchor Search: A Unified Framework for Unbounded Bidirectional Search
Creators: Mohammad Lavasani, Sepehr
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

In recent years, significant strides in optimal bidirectional heuristic search (Bi-HS) have deepened our theoretical understanding and boosted performance. Yet, algorithms for Bi-HS in unbounded suboptimal scenarios remains largely unexplored. Despite leveraging front-to-end (F2E) and front-to-front (F2F) bidirectional search for optimal algorithms, adapting them for unbounded suboptimal search remains an open challenge. We introduce a novel framework for suboptimal Bi-HS, called anchor search, and use it to derive new algorithms. Additionally, we propose using pattern databases (PDBs) as differential heuristics (DHs) to construct F2F heuristics—a necessity for F2F searches. Our experiments evaluate six anchor search algorithms across diverse domains, with a subset of them outperforming existing methods.
Silicon Nanocrystals: High-Temperature Reactions of Silicon and Silicon Oxides
Creators: O'Connor, Kevin
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

Hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) is a versatile material with a lengthy history in the synthesis of silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs). Although SiNCs are an exciting material for many optical, electronic, and biological applications, the focal point of this thesis challenges many of the preconceived notions regarding SiNC synthesis from HSQ disproportionation. The reliability of HSQ as a precursor material for silicon nanoparticles is examined and our understanding of its behavior under previously unexplored reaction conditions is expanded. Chapter 1 introduces materials at the nanoscale with a particular focus on silicon nanocrystals. Promising applications featuring SiNCs are highlighted and the major synthesis routes to SiNCs are discussed. The introduction closes with a section on the history of HSQ and its use as a precursor material for SiNC preparation. Chapter 2 pushes the boundaries of silicon nanoparticle (SiNP) synthesis by subjecting HSQ to previously unexplored high-temperature environments. In the course of investigating the HSQ disproportionation reaction under various temperatures and dwell times, a perplexing set of observations for a specific range of reaction conditions was discovered, resulting in the complete absence of elemental silicon. Although it has previously been assumed that the resulting Si–SiO2 interface is unreactive, sufficiently high temperatures can promote the reduction of SiO2 by Si to produce SiO gas. Under appropriate conditions, this somewhat unexpected reaction can complicate solid state nanomaterial syntheses by etching away the desired products. In both mixed Si/SiO2 powders and HSQ, the crystallization of silica into cristobalite facilitated the transport of silicon atoms through silicon monoxide formation. Elevating the reaction temperature to 1700°C effectively mitigated this undesired reaction in HSQ by softening the surrounding silica and inhibiting matrix crystallization. Chapter 3 presents the synthesis of SiNCs in ambient air from hydrogen silsesquioxane. SiNCs were produced in lower yield in air than in inert atmosphere; SiNCs prepared in argon showed no significant improvement in photoluminescence than those prepared in forming gas (5% H2 in Ar). The reducing atmosphere did impact particle size at 1700°C, indicating an onset of increased Si particle growth in the presence of hydrogen at high temperatures. Many insights gained from this research have implications for other group 14 nanocrystal syntheses employing solid-state disproportionation reactions. The demonstration of photoluminescent SiNCs grown in non-inert environments offers a promising synthesis route for other air-sensitive nanomaterials. Experimental work is summarized and future projects are presented in the final chapter.
Functionalized Thermo-responsive Polymer Core-shell Materials for use in Controlled Dye Release, Thin-film Composite Membranes, and Water Desalination
Creators: Tuai, Madeline J.
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

This thesis focuses on the varied applications of core-shell structured stimuli- responsive polymer materials and their applications in water treatment. The relevant background and introduction to stimuli-responsive polymers, core-shell particles and morphologies, and membrane separations systems is detailed in Chapter 1.

Chapter 2 explores the effect of shell thickness on the uptake and release of dye loaded into pNIPAm-based microgels. The modified core is designed for the uptake of oppositely charged dye species where the release of the dye can be triggered by changes in pH. The release profiles from the loaded microgels free in solutions as well as immobilized on a gold surface at temperatures below and above the LCST was observed.

Chapter 3 utilized a similar morphology core-shell nanogel where a poly(N-3- aminopropyl)methacrylamide polymer shell was added to a pNIPAm core that could be covalent crosslinked to the selective polyamide layer used in thin-film composite (TFC) membranes. The feed temperature of the pressure-driven nanofiltration membranes was heated above the LCST of the nanogels to observe the changes in flux and salt rejection when the nanogels were incorporated within the polyamide structure. Further, the nanogels were localized on the surface of the polyamide to observe the impact they had on improving the antifouling properties of the TFC membrane.

The final project detailed in Chapter 4 utilizes a spherical pNIPAm hydrogel coated in the polyamide skin layer to create a self-driven water filtration system. The clean water absorbed by the hydrogel can be recovered by heating the hydrogels. The salt rejection was evaluated by ICP-AES and confirmed excellent rejection performances for the optimized polyamide layer against a variety of salt species.
Chelostomoides (Chelostomoides) Robertson
Creators: name: Raw, Anthony
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2002
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Megachilidae
Chelostomoides

description: Subgenus Chelostomoides Robertson
Chelostomoides Robertson 1901: 231. Type species: Megachile rugifrons Smith 1854 (= M. rufimanus Robertson 1891). Subsequent designation (Mitchell 1937: 412).
Oligotropus Robertson 1903: 168. Type species: Megachile campanulae Robertson 1903. Synonymy of Mitchell 1937: 381.
Gnathodon Robertson 1903: 168. Type species: Megachile georgicus Cresson 1878. (Not Oken 1816, not Sowerby 1832, not Streubel 1842, not Jardine 1845).
Sarogaster Robertson 1918: 92. Proposed to replace Gnathodon Robertson. Synonymy of Mitchell 1937: 381.
Chalicodoma (Chelostomoidella) Snelling 1990:36. Types species: Megachile spinotulata Mitchell 1934.
Megachile (Chelostomoides) Mitchell 1934: 298, 306. Michener et al 1994: 149, Michener 2000: 553.
Chalicodoma (Chelostomoides) Michener 1962: 20.
description: Published as part of Raw, Anthony, 2002, New combinations and synonymies of leafcutter and mason bees of the Americas (Megachile, Hymenoptera, Megachilidae), pp. 1-43 in Zootaxa 71 (1) on page 7, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.71.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/155887
Exploring Effects of Participation in Group Social Skills Interventions on the Self-Esteem of Autistic Youth
Creators: Klassen, Sheri
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

Autistic youth commonly participate in Group Social Skills Interventions (GSSIs) as social-communication difficulties are a core component of their diagnosis. In these groups, autistic youth spend many weeks gaining knowledge about neurotypical social expectations. However, the evidence for GSSIs to improve social competence is modest and inconsistent, and there is questionable meaningful impact on their daily lives outside the treatment setting. Autistic adults, as well as some researchers, suggest that behavioral interventions that are based on normative expectations, including GSSIs, are part of the normalization agenda, and may have long-term negative effects on mental health. How participation in a GSSI affects well-being, including self-esteem, is largely unexplored. Taking lessons learned from the autistic community who have raised concerns about potential harmful effects of early versions of behavioral interventions and who call to celebrate autistic differences, this study explores the impact of participating in a GSSI on the self-esteem of autistic youth. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten autistic youth to explore how participating in a GSSI within the last year influenced their self-esteem. Drawing on critical disability theory and through an inductive approach guided by Interpretive Description and Thematic Analysis, three major themes were identified: (1) Explicit and Implicit Teachings, (2) Balancing Authenticity and Camouflaging: Impact of PEERS on Self-Esteem, and (3) Navigating the Self. A call for clinicians and researchers to consider a more nuanced, sensitive approach to managing social differences in autistic youth is discussed.
Data Quality Assurance in Autonomous Driving Systems
Creators: Tavakoli Afshari, Seyed Matin
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

In recent years, autonomous driving systems (ADSs) using deep learning-based modules have significantly attracted the attention of researchers from different communities, such

as computer vision. These intelligent systems require a precise and accurate training process before their deployment to real-life situations. The performance and reliability of ADSs are

dependent on two important factors, namely, training dataset

and model components, each of which must be carefully taken

into consideration. Since in most of the realistic cases, the models of ADSs are released in a black-box form, and access to their components (e.g., loss functions and hyper-parameters) is not granted, therefore, ensuring the quality of the samples in the ADSs training datasets is of paramount importance. In view of these explanations, in this work, we focus on developing an efficient scheme for cleaning the training datasets of ADSs that employ deep image object detectors, by identifying the samples in the dataset with erroneous bounding boxes. In this regard, we leverage the visual signals associated with the bounding boxes, in addition to their spatial coordinates, for predicting the erroneous status of the bounding boxes in an accurate manner. Moreover, we incorporate confident learning in the proposed scheme in order to prune the predictions of the erroneous statuses of the bounding boxes, and, further contribute to developing secure and reliable ADSs. The results of the extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of various ideas employed in the design of the proposed erroneous bounding box detection scheme for the ADSs datasets. Further, it is shown that the proposed scheme could significantly outperform the other state-of-the-art data selection methods in cleaning the training datasets of ADSs.
Optimized Drug Design using Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms with SELFIES
Creators: name: Hömberg, Tomoya
name: Mostaghim, Sanaz
name: Hiwa, Satoru
name: Hiroyasu, Tomoyuki
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Neural and Evolutionary Computing (cs.NE)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Computer aided drug design is a promising approach to reduce the tremendous costs, i.e. time and resources, for developing new medicinal drugs. It finds application in aiding the traversal of the vast chemical space of potentially useful compounds. In this paper, we deploy multi-objective evolutionary algorithms, namely NSGA-II, NSGA-III, and MOEA/D, for this purpose. At the same time, we used the SELFIES string representation method. In addition to the QED and SA score, we optimize compounds using the GuacaMol benchmark multi-objective task sets. Our results indicate that all three algorithms show converging behavior and successfully optimize the defined criteria whilst differing mainly in the number of potential solutions found. We observe that novel and promising candidates for synthesis are discovered among obtained compounds in the Pareto-sets.
Improving Bengali and Hindi Large Language Models
Creators: Shahriar, Arif
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

Bengali and Hind are two widely spoken yet low-resource languages. The state-of-the-art in modeling such languages uses BERT and the Wordpiece tokenizer. We observed that the Wordpiece tokenizer often breaks words into meaningless tokens, failing to separate roots from affixes. Moreover, Wordpiece does not take into account fine-grained character-level information. We hypothesize that modeling fine-grained character-level information or interactions between roots and affixes helps with modeling highly inflected and morphologically complex languages such as Bengali and Hindi. We used BERT with two different tokenizers - Bengali and Hindi Unigram tokenizer and a character-level tokenizer and observed better performance. Then, we pre-trained two language models accordingly and evaluated them for masked token detection, both in correct and erroneous settings, across many NLU tasks. We provide experimental evidence that Unigram and character-level tokenizers lead to better pre-trained models for Bengali and Hindi, outperforming the previous state-of-the-art and BERT with Wordpiece vocabulary. We conduct the first study investigating the efficacy of different tokenization methods in modeling Bengali and Hindi.
Applying a community-based monitoring framework to enteric bacteria monitoring and microbial source tracking
Creators: Froelich, Kelsey L
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

Using microbial source tracking (MST) to find possible causes of fecal contamination in freshwater systems via quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is a robust field with ever increasing application. Rural lakes have been less studied using this technique but there is high potential for impact in these communities where fecal contamination has rarely been investigated. Using a community-based monitoring approach, we supported five lake associations in the northern region of the lower peninsula of Michigan as they sought to understand fecal contamination levels in both a freshwater stream system and five freshwater lakes. Working together to formulate questions, we aimed to gain understanding about the dynamics between septic systems, stormwater runoff and enteric bacteria levels, including using MST for human fecal contamination. We found a high prevalence of human fecal contamination in three study lakes with a high density of septic systems and one stream system, which was partially due to rain events. We also found a positive trend between high usage of septic systems and appearance of enteric bacteria in corresponding well water samples. This information adds to previous knowledge about the correlation between human MST markers and density and abundance of septic systems and could help make wastewater management decisions for these areas and the state of Michigan in the future.
Combining quantum processors with real-time classical communication
Creators: name: Vazquez, Almudena Carrera
name: Tornow, Caroline
name: Riste, Diego
name: Woerner, Stefan
name: Takita, Maika
name: Egger, Daniel J.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Quantum computers process information with the laws of quantum mechanics. Current quantum hardware is noisy, can only store information for a short time, and is limited to a few quantum bits, i.e., qubits, typically arranged in a planar connectivity. However, many applications of quantum computing require more connectivity than the planar lattice offered by the hardware on more qubits than is available on a single quantum processing unit (QPU). Here we overcome these limitations with error mitigated dynamic circuits and circuit-cutting to create quantum states requiring a periodic connectivity employing up to 142 qubits spanning multiple QPUs connected in real-time with a classical link. In a dynamic circuit, quantum gates can be classically controlled by the outcomes of mid-circuit measurements within run-time, i.e., within a fraction of the coherence time of the qubits. Our real-time classical link allows us to apply a quantum gate on one QPU conditioned on the outcome of a measurement on another QPU which enables a modular scaling of quantum hardware. Furthermore, the error mitigated control-flow enhances qubit connectivity and the instruction set of the hardware thus increasing the versatility of our quantum computers. Dynamic circuits and quantum modularity are thus key to scale quantum computers and make them useful.
Development and Assessment of N-halamine-based Self-Decontaminating Fabric Finishes
Creators: Labonno, Anita A
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

Personal protective clothing can help protect the wearer from biological hazards; however, contaminated PPE can lead to widespread transmission of pathogens among people. In this perspective, having a self-decontaminating PPE that can deactivate pathogens upon contact would be an ideal solution to limit cross-contamination. In this study, a biocidal finish for front liners’ protective clothing - military personnel and healthcare workers – was prepared using N-halamine as the antimicrobial agent. The primary objectives were to optimize the halogenation condition of the N-halamine finish, increase the UV stability of the N-halamine active compound, and assess its impact on fabric performance. Chlorine was selected as the most effective halogen for the active compound due to its ease of application, availability, and antimicrobial efficacy. Since the nitrogen-halogen bonds in N-halamine compounds are sensitive to UV radiation, UV absorber nanoparticles were added to the finish to improve the durability of the biocidal functionality. The addition of these nanoparticles ended up not preventing UV degradation but allowed achieving a higher initial chlorine loading. In addition, two methods of application of the finish on the fabrics were explored: the traditional wet route and a new dry route. The wet route involves dissolving the N-halamine polymer in a solvent and applying the solution to the fabric as a finish. For the dry route approach developed, the nanoparticle/N-halamine composite was made into a powder that was sprinkled on the fabric and melted using a hot press. The wet application method displayed remarkable antibacterial efficiency, with bacterial elimination rates exceeding 99.999% for E. coli and 99.68% for S. aureus. The dry route application method was less time-consuming but resulted in lower active compound loading. These findings offer a foundation for the development of antimicrobial PPE, aiming to improve the safety of frontline personnel.
title: Биологиялық физика
Creators: name: ELS IPR BOOKS
Publisher: name: EDP Hub (Идипи Хаб), Ай Пи Ар Медиа
Year: 2025

description: Бұл практикумда білім алушылардың білімін жетілдіруде тірі организмдерде болатын биофизикалық құбылыстардың табиғатын қазіргі заманның физикасы арқылы түсіндіру, биофизика саласындағы теориялық білімді болашақ мамандық бойынша арнаулы пәндерді меңгеру мен қызмет барысында практикалық есептерді шешуге қолдана білуге, биофизиканың негізгі түсініктерінің маңызын классикалық және қазіргі заманның физикасының негізгі заңдылықтары арқылы оларды тығыз байланыста қарастыра отырып жеткізу, нәтижелерді математикалық өңдеуді меңгеру туралы айтылған. «Биологиялық физика» пәнін оқитын «Ветеринария», «Ауыл шаруашылығы мен мал шаруашылығы» білім беру саласындағы жоғары білім беру студенттеріне ұсынылды.
title: Биологиялық физика
Creators: name: ELS IPR BOOKS
Publisher: name: EDP Hub (Идипи Хаб), Профобразование
Year: 2025

description: Бұл практикумда білім алушылардың білімін жетілдіруде тірі организмдерде болатын биофизикалық құбылыстардың табиғатын қазіргі заманның физикасы арқылы түсіндіру, биофизика саласындағы теориялық білімді болашақ мамандық бойынша арнаулы пәндерді меңгеру мен қызмет барысында практикалық есептерді шешуге қолдана білуге, биофизиканың негізгі түсініктерінің маңызын классикалық және қазіргі заманның физикасының негізгі заңдылықтары арқылы оларды тығыз байланыста қарастыра отырып жеткізу, нәтижелерді математикалық өңдеуді меңгеру туралы айтылған. «Биологиялық физика» пәнін оқитын «Ветеринария», «Ауыл шаруашылығы мен мал шаруашылығы» білім беру саласының ТжКБ студенттеріне ұсынылды.
Machine Learning and Text Mining: A New Approach to Determine the Weather Effects on Construction Incidents
Creators: Atsegbua, Joshua
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

In the construction industry, safety standards are not only a priority but a necessity due to the dynamic nature of the field. Workplace safety is a complex issue influenced by a variety of factors that are constantly evolving. Each incident has the potential to impact the industry's intricate structure, causing project delays, and more importantly, direct impact on human lives. The adverse effects of workplace incidents reverberate not only within the construction companies themselves but also on a national and global scale. To enhance safety in the construction industry, this thesis explores two crucial aspects - the influence of weather conditions and the interplay of worker demographics. These factors are integral in fortifying this vital sector and contributing to a safer and more resilient industry

In the first study, there was a comprehensive examination of the influence of weather conditions on the frequency of incidents. By utilizing advanced machine learning methods, predictive models, including Random forest, Decision trees and K-Nearest Neighbors were constructed with high accuracy. Particularly, the Random Forest model demonstrated superior performance with an accuracy of 97%. In addition to model creation, an executable application was developed to enable stakeholders to conduct real-time risk assessment. This innovation has the potential to facilitate proactive incident management in situations where weather conditions are constantly evolving.

In the second study, a detailed analysis of the interaction between worker demographics and incident rates was examined. By employing root cause analysis, significant factors contributing to incidents, such as insufficient training, inadequate hazard identification, and ambiguous operating procedures, were identified. Additionally, the utilization of time series analysis further enhanced the understanding of incident rates by uncovering dynamic fluctuations among different age groups, occupational categories and experience levels. This comprehension of the influence of demographic variables on workplace safety establishes a solid foundation for the development of effective strategies to mitigate risks in areas with high incident rates

Bringing these two studies together, we recognize the pivotal role that comprehensive safety management plays in addressing workplace incidents. While the first study emphasizes the significance of predictive models in managing incident risks related to weather conditions, the second underscores the intricate relationship between worker demographics and safety. Together, they forge a comprehensive approach to proactive safety management in high-incident zones, ultimately aiming to make such environments safer and more resilient.

This revised structure encapsulates both studies within a unified thesis, maintaining the distinctiveness of each while emphasizing the collective pursuit of enhanced workplace safety.
Search for periodic resonances at √s = 13 TeV with ATLAS detector
Creators: Lau, Ho Chun
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

Integrating gravity into the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics presents a chal- lenge in formulating a unified theory of all interactions. Quantum gravity inherits a principle from quantum field theories. Here, gravity is interpreted as a field. This conceptualization leads to the quantization of the gravitional field, which necessitates the hypothesis of a tensor spin-2 particle, known as the graviton (G), as the gravi- tational force carrier. Previous models such as the Arkani-Dimopoulos-Dvali (ADD) large extra dimensions model and the Randall-Sundrum (RS) wrapped extra dimen- sion model attempted to unify gravity with other forces and predict the existence of gravitons. However, the absence of experimental evidence to support the predictions of these models has halted their success. The clockwork/linear dilaton (CW/LD) model which is a variation of two models offers an alternative approach. It predicts a series of massive gravitons that may be produced at Large Hadron Collider colli- sion energies, and appear in the detectors through 2-body graviton decays, such as G → e+e− and G → γγ. The graviton resonance pattern is different from predictions of the ADD and RS models.

This thesis presents an analysis of the e+e− and γγ invariant mass spectrums acquired by the ATLAS experiment during 2015 to 2018 with an integrated luminosity of 140 fb−1 at √s = 13 TeV. A Fourier transform tailored to the CW/LD model’s periodic signal hypothesis, is used to search for graviton resonances. An invariant mass range of [250, 4182] GeV for e+e−, and [150, 2360] GeV for γγ has been searched. The investigation reveals no significant deviations from SM expectations. The most pronounced signal appears with a period of 1 TeV(0.6 TeV) in the e+e−(γγ) invariant

mass spectrum with a global significance of 0.14(0.20) standard deviations. In the absence of a significant excess, we constrain the parameter space of the CW/LD model by setting exclusion limits.
Conformal Risk Control for Ordinal Classification
Creators: name: Xu, Yunpeng
name: Guo, Wenge
name: Wei, Zhi
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Machine Learning (cs.LG)
subject: Methodology (stat.ME)
subject: Machine Learning (stat.ML)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: As a natural extension to the standard conformal prediction method, several conformal risk control methods have been recently developed and applied to various learning problems. In this work, we seek to control the conformal risk in expectation for ordinal classification tasks, which have broad applications to many real problems. For this purpose, we firstly formulated the ordinal classification task in the conformal risk control framework, and provided theoretic risk bounds of the risk control method. Then we proposed two types of loss functions specially designed for ordinal classification tasks, and developed corresponding algorithms to determine the prediction set for each case to control their risks at a desired level. We demonstrated the effectiveness of our proposed methods, and analyzed the difference between the two types of risks on three different datasets, including a simulated dataset, the UTKFace dataset and the diabetic retinopathy detection dataset.
description: 17 pages, 8 figures, 2 table; 1 supplementary page
Towards Practical Offline Reinforcement Learning: Sample Efficient Policy Selection and Evaluation
Creators: Liu, Vincent
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

Offline reinforcement learning (RL) involves learning policies from datasets, rather than online interaction. The dissertation first investigates a critical component in offline RL: offline policy selection (OPS). Given that most offline RL algorithms require careful hyperparameter tuning, we need to select the best policy amongst a set of candidate policies before deployment. In the first part of the dissertation, we provide clarity on when OPS is sample efficient by building a clear connection to off-policy policy evaluation (OPE) and Bellman error estimation. This dissertation then presents algorithms to leverage offline data. We begin by examining environments that include exogenous variables with limited agent impact and endogenous variables under full agent control. We show that policy evaluation and selection become straightforward under such conditions. Additionally, we present an algorithm based on Fitted-Q Iteration with data augmentation and show its ability to find nearly optimal policies with polynomial sample complexity. We then study OPE in non-stationary environments and introduce the regression-assisted doubly robust estimator, which effectively incorporates the past data without introducing a large bias and improves on existing OPE estimators with the use of auxiliary information and a regression approach. We evaluate our algorithms across a variety of problems, some built using real-world datasets, including optimal order execution, inventory management, hybrid car control and recommendation systems.
title: Leadership Style and Performance in Telework: Examining the Influence of Trust
Creators: name: Vandever, Rebecca D.
Publisher: name: Old Dominion University
Year: 2003

description: The present study examines the relationship between leadership and performance for teleworkers. Secondary data analysis was used to examine the effects of the Full Range Leadership Theory on the task and contextual performance of 127 teleworkers. Moderated regression analyses show that affect-based trust only moderates the relationship between laissez-faire leadership and task performance. Mediation analyses show that affect-based trust partially mediates the relationship between all three types of leadership and two types of performance. This study shows that affect-based trust is an important element of the relationship between leaders and teleworkers. Future research should further examine the influence of trust on leadership and other relationships that occur in remote work arrangements.
Chalicodoma axyx Snelling, new comb.
Creators: name: Raw, Anthony
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2002
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Megachilidae
Chalicodoma
Chalicodoma axyx

description: axyx (Snelling), new comb.
Chalicodoma (Chelostomoides) axyx Snelling 1990: 32 ­33. Female. Type locality: Hacienda Comelco, 24 km NW Cañas, Costa Rica.
description: Published as part of Raw, Anthony, 2002, New combinations and synonymies of leafcutter and mason bees of the Americas (Megachile, Hymenoptera, Megachilidae), pp. 1-43 in Zootaxa 71 (1) on page 7, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.71.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/155887
Single-Reactor Nitritation for High Strength Landfill Leachate Treatment
Creators: Guan, Roy Chunsheng
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

Nitrogen is an important component for our ecosystems, which accounts for 80% of chemical elements in the atmosphere. Ammonia nitrogen is one of the most concerned constituents for the environment. The municipal wastewater contributes the greatest amount of nitrogen into surface water and groundwater in Canada. The landfill leachate could consist of 40-50% of the total amount of nitrogen but with only 1% of the flow in the influent in WWTPs. To meet the more stringent discharge standards for nitrogen in water, highly reliable, stable and cost saving nitrogen removal technologies should be evaluated. The conventional nitrogen removal process nitrification-denitrification has been widely implemented in mainstream treatment. Comparingly, nitritation-denitritation can achieve cost reductions as 25% on aeration and 40% on external carbon demand respectively.

The ammonia-rich landfill leachate with efficient alkalinity is satisfying for the single reactor nitritation process. In this study, an aerobic granular sludge (AGS) reactor was operated in sequencing batch mode at 21℃. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the feasibility and stability of single reactor nitritation for treating ammonia rich landfill leachate, also analyze the distributions of microbial community and predominant microbes that conduct the nitritation process. After shortening hydraulic retention time (HRT) to 7 hours, the nitritation reactor accomplished the stable ammonia nitrogen removal rate at 99% for more than 100 days. The dominant nitrifying genera was identified as Nitrosomonas. The relative abundance showed an increasing trend after long-term operation.
Tears at the Heart of Things: Moral Distress Among Principals of Canadian-Accredited Schools in China
Creators: Smith, Lee
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

Moral distress arises when a person is aware of a moral problem, acknowledges a moral responsibility to act, yet is constrained from following a course of action congruent with their own moral judgement (Nathaniel, 2006; Jameton, 1984). Being hindered from doing what one believes to be morally right has psychological, affective, and relational implications. In this doctoral study, I interviewed 15 principals of Canadian-accredited schools in China to understand how they navigated morally distressing situations and balanced disparate cultural and political values and expectations when leading their schools.

I employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as a research methodology because it has the central focus of “understanding people’s lived experiences and the meanings they attach to their experiences” (Smith et al., 2009, p. 2). I derived 14 Personal Experiential Themes, which were the constituent pieces of the principals’ own unique sense-making through the complexities of administering a Canadian school in a context with a sometimes vastly different ideological climate. I sorted these Personal Experiential Themes into four Group Experiential Themes, which I named finding one’s place, finding one’s footing, finding one’s route through, and finding one’s perspective.

I then created a four-part framework in which to situate the principals as they contended with morally distressing situations within their professional identities. I named this moral fidelity, as the principals’ processes of making meaning of their experiences was indicative of and faithful to the central belief which, in any given moment, anchored their own moral positionality. In their own meaning-making and to assuage the moral distress they experienced, the principals oriented themselves towards an obligation they felt to their adopted home (to context), to the tenets which underlie the Canadian curriculum they administered (to curriculum), to the employment contract they had signed (to contract), or to their own personal and professional growth (to self). Then, I proposed moral fluidity as the mechanism of movement between those four parts, in which I recognized that the principals shifted the locus of their moral reasoning to constantly align their sense of duty with their own moral judgement, to move between the obligations they oriented towards, to do what they needed to do in the place where they were doing it to make sense of morally distressing situations. The principals’ moral fluidity allowed them the intellectual and affective nimbleness they themselves required to find a measure of consonance within their own professional identities.
Array Synthesis in Terms of Characteristic Modes and Generalized Scattering Matrices
Creators: name: Mörlein, Leonardo
name: Manteuffel, Dirk
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Signal Processing (eess.SP)
subject: FOS: Electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering

description: The synthesis of antenna arrays in presence of mutual coupling using generalized scattering matrices in terms of characteristic modes is proposed. For the synthesis, the array is built of synthetic elements that are described by their modal scattering and radiation behavior. In particular, the question of how to describe the degrees of freedom of such elements is addressed. The eigenvalues of the characteristic modes of the element geometry and the modal radiation behavior of the antenna are thereby selected as degrees of freedom for the model of the synthetic elements. Using this model and a modal coupling matrix, an approach to optimize the modal configuration of the elements within an array is proposed. Finally, a close to reality example shows how the proposed theory can be used to enhance the cross-polarization rejection of a circularly polarized patch antenna array with a fixed beam.