Exploring Patterns in November Snowfall Using GIS Mapping and Analysis

A Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis was generated to examine patterns in November snowfall climatology for 47 observing stations surrounding Lake Michigan. Snowfall data compiled for each year from 1950 to 2012 was mapped using an interpolation method called kriging, which is a spatial analyst tool. Some of the data mapped includes average snowfall for the Lake Michigan region, number of days with measurable snowfall, number of days with snow on the ground, and correlation between snowfall and temperature. Overall, these maps show maximums in north-central and southwestern Michigan decreasing to the south, as expected. The first three loadings of principal component analysis were also mapped using the same data. Principle Component 1 (PC1) explains most of the data variance and shows that northern and southwestern Michigan do not correlate with areas on the western side of the lake, illustrating that the amount of snow that northern Michigan receives doesn\u27t correspond to the amount of snow that Chicago receives and vice versa. Once this primary pattern is captured, the second principal component shows an inverse relationship between the main NW and SW lake-effect regions in Michigan and the third principal component reflects the influence of snowfall from synoptic systems NW of Lake Michigan

Transistor-Like Behavior of a Bose-Einstein Condensate in a Triple Well Potential

In the last several years considerable efforts have been devoted to developing Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC)-based devices for applications such as fundamental research, precision measurements and integrated atom optics. Such devices capable of complex functionality can be designed from simpler building blocks as is done in microelectronics. One of the most important components of microelectronics is a transistor. We demonstrate that Bose-Einstein condensate in a three well potential structure where the tunneling of atoms between two wells is controlled by the population in the third, shows behavior similar to that of an electronic field effect transistor. Namely, it exhibits switching and both absolute and differential gain. The role of quantum fluctuations is analyzed, estimates of switching time and parameters for the potential are presented.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure

The Dixmier-Douady Classes of Certain Groupoid C∗C^*-Algebras with Continuous Trace

Given a locally compact abelian group $G$, we give an explicit formula for the Dixmier--Douady invariant of the $C^*$-algebra of the groupoid extension associated to a \v{C}ech $2$-cocycle in the sheaf of germs of continuous $G$-valued functions. We then exploit the blow-up construction for groupoids to extend this to some more general central extensions of \'etale equivalence relations

Access to Secure Ballot Drop-off Locations in Texas

Safe access to voting during the Covid-19 pandemic was a concern across the US. In Texas, a push for mail-in voting during the November 2020 presidential election was significantly scaled back when the governor restricted each county to one secure ballot drop-off location. We evaluate the effect of this change, finding that it increased travel times to drop-off locations for drivers and public transit users by 18 and 32 minutes, respectively, in the most affected county. When evaluated across the state, the policy had a disproportionate effect on eligible Asian, Black, and Latinx voters

Increasing the coherence time of Bose-Einstein-condensate interferometers with optical control of dynamics

Atom interferometers using Bose-Einstein condensate that is confined in a waveguide and manipulated by optical pulses have been limited by their short coherence times. We present a theoretical model that offers a physically simple explanation for the loss of contrast and propose the method for increasing the fringe contrast by recombining the atoms at a different time. A simple, quantitatively accurate, analytical expression for the optimized recombination time is presented and used to place limits on the physical parameters for which the contrast may be recovered.Comment: 34 Pages, 8 Figure

Deep Words, Shallow Words: An Initial Analysis of Water Discourse in Four Decades of United Nations Declarations

By analyzing the texts of UN Declarations and Statements resulting from high-level meetings on water and the environment, the authors are able to highlight important trends in water and sanitation discourse. While some shifts were deliberate, based on changing priorities and knowledge in international development, others may simply be attributed to resolution drafters failing to pay close enough attention to the effects of their word choice. As documents can be influential in shaping future initiatives, it is important to remember that words matter and to take heed of the recommendations presented here for cogently discussing the need for real development in water and sanitation

Health in Mind: Improving Education Through Wellness

Educators know that healthy students are better prepared to learn and succeed in school. It's also known that people who are better educated and obtain a college education have lower rates of health conditions and longer life expectancy. Yet current health and education policy misses several simple but vital opportunities to boost academic success through health promotion and school wellness. The nation's current generation of students could become the first to live shorter and less healthy lives than their parents. At the same time, our nation faces a growing achievement gap: Students who attend school in communities with lower socioeconomic status have lower academic outcomes than students in higher socioeconomic status communities. Overwhelmingly, the underserved communities predominantly comprise ethnic minority residents, which propagates a racial chasm. Research is increasingly confirming a link between the achievement gap and health disparities. For this reason, Healthy Schools Campaign and Trust for America's Health developed "Health in Mind: Improving Education Through Wellness". This effort focuses on policy recommendations for immediate, practical changes at the federal level to help close the achievement gap and create a healthy future for all children