Renewable Energy Access and Resilience in Urban Developing Areas: Distributed Solar Networks and Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading in Puerto Rico

This senior essay under the Environmental Studies major at Yale University explores the environmental and social benefits of applying innovative technology to the energy sector. Three types of energy networks are analyzed, focusing on the use of distributed energy and peer to peer energy trading on a blockchain platform. The benefits of distributed renewable energy networks can most strongly be applied to locations in need of more reliable, resilient, and cost-effective electricity. Puerto Rico is a case study. Methods include analysis of U.S. Energy Information Administration and Census Bureau data as well as personal interviews with Puerto Rican energy developers. A financial model was created to tailor a power-purchase-agreement format to residential solar in order to develop an alternative funding method to the current grid price of electricity of 22.77 cents per kWh in Puerto Rico. The hurricanes of 2017 damaged the entire island, and every problem was exacerbated by the prolonged and total lack of power. Building a network of distributed solar energy through residential and school rooftops in Puerto Rico is argued in this thesis to be the best post-hurricane action to take in order to improve energy reliability, affordability, access, and resilience to future disasters and risks

Capes and Catechesis: The Use of Comic Books to Catechize Catholic Youths

Since the 1930s, comic books starring superheroes have been popular among youth in America. This original archival research seeks to analyze how comic books have been used in the past to catechize, or teach the Catholic faith, American Catholic youth. Using George Pfaum\u27s comic series Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact (1946-1972) as an example of a Catholic comic book, this study examines and analyzes the themes and stories of the comics and how they were designed as a teaching tool. This study will also identify ways comic books can be used today as a catechetical tool

Label-free detection of tuberculosis DNA with capacitive field-effect biosensors

The detection of pathogens from sample material from infected patients is the basis on which a considerable medical diagnosis can be made. Pathogens can be clearly identified based on their genomic material (DNA). A large number of different DNA detection methods with individual advantages and disadvantages have been established. If such methods should be used for certain applications, e.g. for point-of-care measurements, there are a number of requirements which should be considered: A measurement must be performed very fast, inexpensive, simple and reliable. It has been shown that label-free detection principles in particular the field-effect based detection-methods, meet the given requirements. In this thesis, the development of a new measuring method for the detection of DNA (with sequences from Mycobacterium tuberculosis) using a field-effect sensor, is described. The electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS) structure was selected as the basis for the sensor chip because it has the simplest structure of all field-effect sensors and is inexpensive to manufacture. EIS sensors are capacitive structures that can be read out using an impedance analyzer. The measured value is directly related to the surface potential of the sensor. If the DNA, which is negatively charged in solution, is brought close to the sensor surface, this causes a change in the surface potential via a change in the charge situation on the chip surface. This change in potential can be read out with the help of the EIS sensors: The detection method is based on the detection of a hybridization event on the sensor surface. The surface is modified with a probe single-strand DNA (ssDNA) which has a known sequence that is complementary to the ssDNA that is intended to be detected. As soon as the target ssDNA reaches the surface, a hybridization can occur, whereby a signal shift can be measured. The signal shift is caused by the additional negative charge of the hybridized target DNA molecules. In the case of non-complementary target DNA (ncDNA), there is no hybridization and the signal remains constant. The immobilization of the catcher ssDNA was carried out with by a surface modification using positively-charged polyelectrolyte (poly (allylamine hydrochloride), PAH). Compared to other immobilization strategies that are described in the literature, the capture ssDNA binds adsorptively to the sensor surface, which simplifies the preparation and can be carried out quickly and cheaply. The main topics of this thesis cover the selection of the sensor layout (EIS sensor with SiO2 as surface oxide), the selection and optimization of the surface modification (using PAH), the verification of the forming of double-stranded DNA and the evaluation of the measurement data acquisition by means of capacitive measurements. Due to the adsorptive binding, the DNA strands likely lie flat on the sensor surface. This means that the negative charge of the DNA is located closely to the surface, which means that a high measurement signal can be recorded. The developed protocol was also used with light-addressable potentiometric sensors (LAPS). LAPS are structurally very similar to EIS sensors and have the advantage that they can detect changes in the surface potential in a spatially resolved manner. This makes it possible, for example, to arrange an array so that several DNA experiments can be carried out simultaneously on one chip. However, the measurement setup is more complex because of the necessity of a light source. The measurement of the DNA hybridization on the sensor surface was realized by using the developed method: PAH/ssDNA-modified EIS chips were brought into contact with cDNA solutions. Measurable surface potential changes could show that the hybridization was successful. In direct comparison with experiments where ncDNA was applied to the modified sensor, signal differences of about 11 times higher were measured for cDNA than for ncDNA. The developed method also allows a very simple reuse of the chip by just a repeating of the modification steps on an already used chip. This reusability of the sensors was investigated by performing up to five repetitive surface modification and DNA attachment experiments sequentially with just one chip. A steady decrease in the sensor signal could be observed after each additional layer (PAH or DNA); however, this observation is related to the Debye screening effect. Finally, the developed biosensor was used to detect PCR-amplified cDNA. A detection of the target cDNA was successful and significant, although the additional (interfering) substances in the solution, that were necessary for the PCR process (enzymes, etc.), disturbed the measurement signal. Measurements in which a concentration series of cDNA were used to determine the lower detection limit (0.3 nM) and the sensitivity (7.2 mV / decade). Extracted and amplified target DNA from Mycobacterium tuberculosis-spiked human saliva-samples was also examined using the method. A clear differentiation between positive and negative material could be recognized with the help of the PAH / ssDNA-modified EIS sensor chips. All developed process steps were validated using fluorescence measurements as a reference method. With the PAH-modified capacitive field-effect biosensor, that was developed in this thesis, a quick, simple and inexpensive measurement platform for the DNA hybridization reaction is given. The detection of amplified genomic DNA from real Mycobacterium tuberculosis-spiked saliva samples underlines the potential of this procedure as a sensor approach for pathogen detection for medical applications

Neural Networks for Structural Optimisation of Mechanical Metamaterials

Mechanical metamaterials are man‐made designer materials with unusual properties, which are derived from the micro‐structure rather than the base material. Thus, metamaterials are suitable for tailoring and structural optimisation to enhance certain properties. A widely known example for this class of materials are auxetics with a negative Poisson's ratio. In this work an auxetic unit cell is modified with an additional half strut.During the deformation this half strut will get into contact with the unit cell and provide additional stability. This leads to a higher plateau stress and consequently to a higher energy absorption capacity. To achieve the maximum energy absorption capacity, a structural optimisation is carried out. But an optimisation exclusively based on finite element simulations is computationally costly and takes a lot of time. Therefore, in this contribution neural networks are used as a tool to speed up the optimisation. Neural networks are one of many machine learning methods and are able to approximate any arbitrary function on a highly abstract level. So the stress‐strain behaviour and its dependency from the geometry parameters of a type of microstructure can be learned by the neural network with only a few finite element simulations of varying geometry parameters. The modified auxetic structure is optimised with respect to the mass specific energy absorption capacity. As a result a qualitative trend for the optimal geometry parameters is obtained. However, the Poisson's ratio for this optimisation is close to zero

Strach oswojony, strach zapomniany? Próba uchwycenia śladów dawnych śląskich wierzeń we współczesnej leksyce (na przykładzie nazwy niby‑osoby bebok)

Based in the field of ethnolinguistics, the present article is devoted to the issue of vocabulary used in ancient Silesian folk beliefs. For the purpose of the article, the name of a quasi-human character – bebok – has been selected from folk texts and analyzed; observations have been carried out regarding grammar, semantic and pragmatic aspects of the lexeme. In the study, two methods have been employed, namely: the lingual representation of the world (“Językowy obraz świata”; JOS) and the theory of holistic evaluation. The collected material has allowed for creating a cognitive definition of the lexeme. The results have been juxtaposed with the most common and most interesting revisions of the quasiperson’s name, as present in a different context of the Internet. This juxtaposition made it possible to highlight changes in the structure and functioning of the lexeme, as well as to indicate differences between the ancient and modern systems of judging reality, contained in language

Certification (and) Marks – Understanding Usage and Practices Among Standards Organizations

In addition to creating technical standards that describe how different products or services interoperate, many standards development organizations (SDOs) also perform testing services that are designed to ensure that products that ostensibly comply with a standard actually work together. SDOs frequently call this process “certification,” and authorize implementers that pass the testing process to use a logo or similar mark. Certification marks are a type of trademark that would seem to be tailor-made for this process. Our empirical analysis shows that SDOs use certification marks only relatively rarely, however. This dissonance is striking, providing insight into both the remarkably sophisticated practices of many SDOs in connection with compliance and interoperability testing and into potential weaknesses of the certification mark legal regime. The empirical data presented in the paper is intended to serve as a foundational platform for further work analysing the law and policy of certification marks and the practices of SDOs in connection with interoperability testing and certification

"?/od nowej strony?/" : o intertekstualnym i intersemiotycznym wymiarze "Sońki" Ignacego Karpowicza

The present article is a textual‑perspective interpretation of the novel Sońka by Ignacy Karpowicz, a multiple finalist in the Nike Literary Award competition. The aforementioned literary work evokes three, seemingly mutually exclusive, text types – literary genres and their aspects, but also various kinds of artistic expression, including drama, dramatic performance or imaging techniques referring to a different medium (film). This renders the final work which transcends the limitations imposed on literature, astonishing with its multidimensionality and polyphony of forms, and requires a holistic analysis that takes into account a wide spectrum of means of expression together with their contexts. The aforementioned artistic strategy has been employed in the most recent work of the writer – Sońka (2015). The aim of the article is therefore to indicate the textual elements which have allowed Karpowicz to achieve the effect of text hybridity, combining distinct artistic worlds in a single work. The observations refer to textology instrumentation, including the research perspective that emphasizes the problem of intertextuality

„Pierońsko pieroński pieronie!” Słów kilka o „boskim” pochodzeniu i „ludzkim” użyciu leksemu „pieron”

The article is devoted to the problem of expressive vocabulary of the Upper Silesian dialect. T he lexeme pieron along with its lexical family was subject to an analysis by means of the instruments of the theory of the linguistic image of the world and the complementary theory of holistic evaluation. T he research that was conducted was associated with both levels of the symbolical unit: the phonetic and the semantic level; the research oscillated around the problems associated with etymology, structure, semantic variants, as well as the functioning in a strictly defined communicative situation. O bservations were also made upon the lexical family of the lexeme pieron, demonstrating the variety of the lexical and semantic field as well as the derivational potential of the word that is discussed. The material that was analysed was derived from the dictionaries of the Upper Silesian dialect; the literature was supplemented by ethnolinguistic and folkloric research works. T he results of the observations enabled us to notice a considerable discrepancy between the properties which result from the etymology of the lexeme and the connotations with the sphere of sacrum and its realisations in colloquial statements which refer to profanum (inter alia by means of the assumption of the function of vulgarisms). T hese results enabled us to realise the main postulate of the JOS theory which pursues statements about reality which are contained in language – the use of the lexemes which were originally associated with the sphere of religious beliefs, therefore ones that are inaccessible to people, in strictly colloquial contexts, is testimony to the attempts made by the speakers of a language at a peculiar understanding and mastering the world