Soundscape Compositions for Art Classrooms

This thesis explores ways in which the process of listening, recording, and editing everyday soundscapes can be incorporated in the art classroom. For this study, I designed and carried out two series of educational workshops; firstly, with a group of students at an all-girls high school in Montreal; and secondly, with a group of art and music teachers from QAIS (Quebec Association of Independent Schools). The data generated from these workshops has been used to develop adaptable educational interventions for teaching this process for Art Education. The data also indicates that this creative practice has a number of salient features for learning and art education. For one, listening deeply to familiar spaces such as a school or classroom can shift and expand our conscious awareness of these surroundings. Furthermore, using technological devices to listen, record, and edit sound can allow students to experience quotidian environments in a different way. This can deepen students’ engagement with common environments by asking them to notice and creatively explore the sounds that define their daily experiences. This artistic and educational approach is grounded in a theoretical understanding of consciousness as a unity that integrates images, smells, textures, thoughts, feelings and memories to experience the world. Thus, the thesis calls for an approach to Art Education that is open to sensory multiplicity in exploring everyday experiences. Sound is a crucial component of such experiences; and as such, it warrants study in art classrooms

Performance of the Linear Model Scattering of 2D Full Object with Limited Data

Inverse scattering problems stand at the center of many important imaging applications, such as geophysical explorations, radar imaging, and synthetic-aperture radar (SAR). Several methods have been proposed to solve them when the full data are available, usually providing satisfactory reconstructions. However, it is impossible to acquire the full data in many practical circumstances, such as target detection and ground penetrating radar (GPR); consequently, only limited data are available. Thus, this paper focuses on the mathematical analysis and some numerical simulations to estimate the achievable resolution in reconstructing an object from the knowledge of the scattered far-field when only limited data are available, with multi-view excitations at a single frequency. We focus on 2D full rectangular geometry as the investigation domain (ID). We also examine the number of degrees of freedom (NDF) and evaluate the point spread function (PSF). In particular, the NDF of the considered geometry can be estimated analytically. An approximated closed-form evaluation of the PSF is recalled, discussed, and compared with the exact one. Moreover, receiving, transmission, and angle sensing modes are considered to apply the analysis to more realistic scenarios to highlight the difference between the corresponding NDF and the resulting resolution performances. Finally, interesting numerical applications of the resolution analysis for the localization of a collection of point-like scatterers are presented to illustrate how it matches the expectations

NDF and PSF Analysis in Inverse Source and Scattering Problems for Circumference Geometries

This paper aims at discussing the resolution achievable in the reconstruction of both circumference sources from their radiated far-field and circumference scatterers from their scattered far-field observed for the 2D scalar case. The investigation is based on an inverse problem approach, requiring the analysis of the spectral decomposition of the pertinent linear operator by the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD). The attention is focused upon the evaluation of the Number of Degrees of Freedom (NDF), connected to singular values behavior, and of the Point Spread Function (PSF), which accounts for the reconstruction of a point-like unknown and depends on both the NDF and on the singular functions. A closed-form evaluation of the PSF relevant to the inverse source problem is first provided. In addition, an approximated closed-form evaluation is introduced and compared with the exact one. This is important for the subsequent evaluation of the PSF relevant to the inverse scattering problem, which is based on a similar approximation. In this case, the approximation accuracy of the PSF is verified at least in its main lobe region by numerical simulation since it is the most critical one as far as the resolution discussion is concerned. The main result of the analysis is the space invariance of the PSF when the observation is the full angle in the far-zone region, showing that resolution remains unchanged over the entire source/investigation domain in the considered geometries. The paper also poses the problem of identifying the minimum number and the optimal directions of the impinging plane waves in the inverse scattering problem to achieve the full NDF; some numerical results about it are presented. Finally, a numerical application of the PSF concept is performed in inverse scattering, and its relevance in the presence of noisy data is outlined

Effect of Adding Nano Size Silica on Setting Time and Porosity of Mineral Trioxide Aggregate

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of addition of nano-silica (SiO2) to mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) on its setting time and porosity. Methods and Materials: The concentration 8% of nano-silica were prepared and added to the MTA powder. After mixing with water the setting time and porosity were evaluated and compared with pure MTA. Statistical analysis was performed using the t-test. The level of significance was set at 0.001. Results: The mean setting time of MTA+8% nano-silica (9.8±0.78) was significantly lower than MTA (23.3±2.16) (P<0.001). Also the mean porosity by imbibition method in MTA+8% nano-silica (23.49±0.48) was significantly higher than MTA (15.69±2.10) (P<0.001). There was no significant difference in mean porosity by scanning electron microscope (SEM) method in MTA+8% nano-silica (31.26±10.73) and MTA (32.74±5.26) (P>0.001). Conclusion: This in vitro study showed us an addition of 8% of nano-silica to MTA reduced the setting time. Although evaluation by imbibition test showed increasing of porosity in nano-silica MTA compared with pure MTA.Keywords: Mineral Trioxide Aggregate; Nano-silica; Porosity; Setting Tim

Topical Tacrolimus as an adjunct to Conventional Therapy for Stromal Herpetic Keratitis: a Randomized Clinical Trial

Purpose: This study investigates the effects of 0.05% topical tacrolimus as an adjunct therapy for patients with non-necrotizing herpetic stromal keratitis (HSK). Methods: Patients with non-necrotizing HSK, referred to the Cornea Clinic at Hospital in Rasht, Iran, between September 2016 and February 2018, were randomly assigned to two groups. The case group (N = 25) and the control group (N = 25) received conventional treatment with systemic acyclovir and topical prednisolone. The case group (N = 25) additionally received 0.05% tacrolimus eye drops four times a day for one month. Complete ocular examinations, including best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) assessment, intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement, slit lamp biomicroscopy, and photo slit lamp imaging, were performed before treatment, and 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after the intervention. Results: The mean age of the patients was 46.2 ± 12.9 years, and 70% of the patients were male. There was no difference between the groups in terms of age, sex, and baseline ocular measurements (P > 0.05). The case group had a lower mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (LogMAR) for BCVA, lower grading scores, and steeper decreasing trends for corneal haziness, edema, neovascularization, and epitheliopathy compared to the control group after the second week (P < 0.05), while IOP remained unchanged between groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The addition of 0.05% topical tacrolimus enhances visual acuity and reduces corneal inflammation, neovascularization, and scarring; thus, it can used as an appropriate adjunct treatment for patients with HSK

Optimized Two-Level Control of Islanded Microgrids to Reduce Fluctuations

The main problem in the operation of micro-grids is controlling the voltage and frequency. The inertia of the whole grid is low, so the operation of the system is interrupted by sudden changes in load or incidence in the absence of a proper control system. In order to solve this issue, various control structures have been proposed. In this paper, an optimal distributed control strategy for coordinating multiple distributed generation instances is presented in an islanded microgrid. A secondary frequency control method is implemented in order to eliminate voltage deviation and reduce the small signal error. In this layer, an optimized PID controller is used. PID controller optimization is carried out via the Honey Badger Algorithm, and results are obtained using the MATLAB software. According to the results, inadequate adjustment of a secondary loop leads to poor and unacceptable outcomes, and the necessary power quality is not achieved. However, by using the proposed method, a proper performance of the microgrid in the face of disturbances is achieved

Causal Effect Identification in Uncertain Causal Networks

Causal identification is at the core of the causal inference literature, where complete algorithms have been proposed to identify causal queries of interest. The validity of these algorithms hinges on the restrictive assumption of having access to a correctly specified causal structure. In this work, we study the setting where a probabilistic model of the causal structure is available. Specifically, the edges in a causal graph exist with uncertainties which may, for example, represent degree of belief from domain experts. Alternatively, the uncertainty about an edge may reflect the confidence of a particular statistical test. The question that naturally arises in this setting is: Given such a probabilistic graph and a specific causal effect of interest, what is the subgraph which has the highest plausibility and for which the causal effect is identifiable? We show that answering this question reduces to solving an NP-complete combinatorial optimization problem which we call the edge ID problem. We propose efficient algorithms to approximate this problem and evaluate them against both real-world networks and randomly generated graphs.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figures, NeurIPS 2023 conference, causal identification, causal discovery, probabilistic model

Electricity retail market and accountability-based strategic bidding model with short-term energy storage considering the uncertainty of consumer demand response

Electricity retailers participate in electricity markets as intermediaries between wholesale and retail markets. They acquire energy on the wholesale side by participating in next-day markets and the pool of power. On the retail side, they make contracts with consumers in order to meet their energy demand at a fixed price for a set period of time –generally a year. To maximize profit in planning, a retailer must choose the best strategy, which should be able to reduce the cost of purchasing energy in the wholesale market while simultaneously determining the best selling price for consumers. Customers may choose a different retailer if the selling price is too high, and the retailer may take a loss if the price is too low. One of the issues that complicate retailers’ decision is the uncertain demand response parameters that affect profit. This paper contributes with a strategic bidding model for planning with short-term energy storage while considering the uncertainty of consumer demand response and load response programs simultaneously. GAMS and MATLAB are implemented in this research to analyze the data and review the results, which indicate that an increase in profit is expected to be greater than when the retailer uses only a load response program or a short-term energy storage system. As uncertainty grows, so does local price sensitivity, and, as a result, so does the predicted rate of profit. Profits from participatory reservation, energy, and regulation markets increase in the robust model, while profits from the common participatory market decrease, i.e., according to this study, which looked at both probabilistic and robust models of retail market participation. When a robust model is used, the overall profit is higher than that obtained from a probabilistic model. © 2022 The Author

Optimization of culture media for extracellular expression of streptokinase in Escherichia coli using response surface methodology in combination with Plackett-Burman Design

Purpose: To investigate the enhancement of streptokinase extracellular expression in Escherichia coli by adjusting culture media.Methods: Screening of 10 chemical factors (EDTA, peptone, glycine, triton X-100, glycerol, K2HPO4, KH2PO4, Ca2+ (calcium chloride), yeast and NaCl) in order to increase the secretion of extracellular protein was carried out by response surface methodology (RSM). The method was also employed to optimize the concentrations of critical factors that had been determined in the screening step.Results: The results indicate that glycine, triton X-100 and Ca2+ were the most effective chemical factors in terms of increase in extracellular expression of streptokinase with optimum levels of 0.878, 0.479 and 0.222 %, respectively. Expression of streptokinase under optimum concentrations of critical permeabilizing factors led to a 7-fold increase in the quantity of secreted recombinant protein (5824 U/mL) compared to the initial level (802 U/mL).Conclusion: The results show that medium optimization using RSM is effective in improving extracellular streptokinase expression. The optimization medium is considered fundamental and useful for efficient production of streptokinase on a large scale.Keywords: Streptokinase, Response surface methodology, Membrane permeabilization, Extracellular secretio