Lorentz Violation and Short-Baseline Neutrino Experiments

A general discussion is given of signals for broken Lorentz symmetry in short-baseline neutrino experiments. Among the effects that Lorentz violation can introduce are a dependence on energy differing from that of the usual massive-neutrino solution and a dependence on the direction of neutrino propagation. Using the results of the LSND experiment, explicit analysis of the effects of broken Lorentz symmetry yields a nonzero value (3+/-1) x 10^{-19} GeV for a combination of coefficients for Lorentz violation. This lies in the range expected for effects originating from the Planck scale in an underlying unified theory.Comment: 4 pages REVTe

Numerical model estimation of biomethane production using an anaerobic CSTR: model formulation, parameter estimation and uncertainty/sensitivity analysis

Global climate change is becoming of increasing concern. Transportation makes up a large part of carbon gasses, which affects climate change and air quality. As transportation is a big part of carbon emissions, everybody can contribute to reducing emissions through transportation. One way for people to contribute is to start choosing greener transportation. Nuding is a tool that can be used to get people to choose greener transportation. It's function is to help guide people's behavior. For this project, the nudging goal is to nudge people towards healthier and greener transportation options than already in use. An example of a nudge is to provide reminders of bus departure times for a trip to an event. In order to nudge people gathering information relevant for traveling is necessary. In this thesis, relevant information for green transportation nudges is researched. Other studies on green transportation nudges are applied to discover relevant information topics and sources. Microservices architecture is proposed as the architecture for designing nudges, where the system is divided into smaller interconnected services that work together. Demonstrators of information collection microservices are designed and implemented. The demonstrators handle data for different information topics relevant to green transportation nudges. There are demonstrators for collecting weather data, routing data, public transportation data, rental bikes and scooters data, calendar data, and location data. The thesis also discusses how the data collected can be used to form transportation nudges

Slow dynamics in cylindrically confined colloidal suspensions

We study bidisperse colloidal suspensions confined within glass microcapillary tubes to model the glass transition in confined cylindrical geometries. We use high speed three-dimensional confocal microscopy to observe particle motions for a wide range of volume fractions and tube radii. Holding volume fraction constant, we find that particles move slower in thinner tubes. The tube walls induce a gradient in particle mobility: particles move substantially slower near the walls. This suggests that the confinement-induced glassiness may be due to an interfacial effect.Comment: Submitted to AIP conference proceedings for "Slow Dynamics in Complex Systems" (Sendai, Japan, Dec. 2012

Static Water Level Data from Well Drilling Logs in Proximity to a Proposed Quarry Site, Clark County, Ohio

The static water level of a well is the distance from ground level down to the water within the well during a stabilized period of no downhole activity. A local mining company has purchased approximately four hundred acres of land in Mad River Township, just north of Yellow Springs, Ohio. The primary purpose of this project was to determine the accuracy of the groundwater data used by the mining company\u27s consultant when they produced a regional groundwater map. Water well driller\u27s logs that indicated static groundwater levels were the source of much of the information used in creating the regional groundwater map in the consultant\u27s report. The state of Ohio also has a series of groundwater maps that were derived from some of the same driller\u27s logs. In this current study that lasted approximately half a year, static groundwater level measurements were taken at ten different wells in the area where the planned Phase II quarrying activity is to take place. Eleven different measurement events occurred over the half-year period. The measurements were made with an electric water level meter. The data was processed with Surfer software in order to determine the gradient and direction-of-flow of groundwater in the study area. A polynomial regression was run on the data to give the groundwater-surface a planar attitude for the area of study. The gradient was calculated to be 0.073% ft/ft with a west-northwest direction of flow. Previous data collected in 2018 from some of the same wells were examined in Surfer and it showed a gradient of 1.370% with a west-northwest flow direction. The process of comparing the new Surfer-derived maps which reflect accurate measurements, to the state of Ohio\u27s and the consultant\u27s groundwater maps is being done, but preliminarily it can be stated that there are definite inaccuracies with the state\u27s and the consultant’s maps. Site-specific comparisons of the consultant\u27s static water levels with the levels determined from this current study are being made

What Positive Psychologists and Mormons Can Learn From Each Other

Positive psychologists work to identify cultural practices from across the world that contribute to the good life (Peterson, 2006). Research frequently finds that religious engagement is positively correlated to well-being. The mechanisms by which religion influences well-being, however, are not fully understood and may vary widely by faith. This paper focuses on members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Latter-day Saints or Mormons ) who report particularly high well-being—some of the highest well-being of any religious group in America (Newport, Witters, & Agrawal, 2012a). Through the lens of positive psychology, I explore how Latter-day Saint (LDS) practices and teachings may foster well-being. By analyzing similarities between well-being theories and LDS doctrine and behavior, I identify five possible mechanisms through which Mormonism might increase well-being, including fostering prosocial behavior, a focus on family, purpose and meaning, autonomy and agency, and physical health. I also identify areas in which Latter-day Saints struggle and how they might use well-being research to improve their level of flourishing. This investigation suggests that studying Latter-day Saints can (1) provide insight about the benefits and possible harm of certain well-being interventions in real-life application and (2) offer new practical well-being interventions that could be empirically tested. In sum, I propose that the study of Latter-day Saints could increase our understanding of how religion influences well-being and how well-being is cultivated