Social Capital in Boston: Findings From the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey

Highlights survey findings on the ways in which Bostonians connect and how these social networks benefit the entire community. Ranks community involvement in Boston, including politics, activism in the arts, and tolerance, among forty sites nationwide

The ultimate tactics of self-referential systems

Mathematics is usually regarded as a kind of language. The essential behavior of physical phenomena can be expressed by mathematical laws, providing descriptions and predictions. In the present essay I argue that, although mathematics can be seen, in a first approach, as a language, it goes beyond this concept. I conjecture that mathematics presents two extreme features, denoted here by {\sl irreducibility} and {\sl insaturation}, representing delimiters for self-referentiality. These features are then related to physical laws by realizing that nature is a self-referential system obeying bounds similar to those respected by mathematics. Self-referential systems can only be autonomous entities by a kind of metabolism that provides and sustains such an autonomy. A rational mind, able of consciousness, is a manifestation of the self-referentiality of the Universe. Hence mathematics is here proposed to go beyond language by actually representing the most fundamental existence condition for self-referentiality. This idea is synthesized in the form of a principle, namely, that {\sl mathematics is the ultimate tactics of self-referential systems to mimic themselves}. That is, well beyond an effective language to express the physical world, mathematics uncovers a deep manifestation of the autonomous nature of the Universe, wherein the human brain is but an instance.Comment: 9 pages. This essay received the 4th. Prize in the 2015 FQXi essay contest: "Trick or Truth: the Mysterious Connection Between Physics and Mathematics

The effects of directive parental counseling on parental acceptance and perception of personality changes

The purpose of the present research was twofold. The major issue was to investigate the effects of Directive Parental Counseling (Holland, 1976) on parental acceptance, and perception of personality changes in the child. The second issue was to determine, if there were any differences in age, sex, and parental acceptance scores on deviant behavior reduction, and if training would reduce deviant behavior. Seventy-nine mothers from various socio-economic levels participated in this program. Children ranged in age from 3 - 13, and were not preselected. There were 41parents in the treatment group, and 3g in the control group. In the treatment group, there were 25 younger children (5 and under) and 16 older children (6-13); in the control group there were 20 younger children and 18 older children. There ·were 26 boys and 15 girls in the treatment group, and 26 boys and 12 girls in the control group. Parents completed two tests, a parental acceptance test and a personality inventory, and they recorded one major behavior problem of the identified child. This data was collected at baseline, post-treatment, and three months after treatment. Analysis of the data demonstrated that there were significant positive changes in deviant behavior and parental acceptance between baseline and 3 month follow-up. Significant positive changes in perceived personality of the child was found between baseline and 3 month follow-up, but not between baseline and post treatment. No support was found for differences in age, sex, and parental acceptance scores on deviant behavior reduction, either between baseline and post-treatment or between baseline and 3 month follow-up. Several suggestions for future research in Directive Parental Counseling were also discussed

A NON-REPRESENTATIONAL FOCUS ON WILDERNESS AFFECT

Wilderness is integral to the fabric of American culture. With the National Wilderness Preservation System, America has a measure against which everyday life may be compared. But there remains concern over disconnection between members of society and wilderness. Nonrepresentational theory (non-rep) is a rich and recent style of scientific practice that holds potential. Non-rep places emphasis on habitual practices and everyday life. Those interested in human affection for and connection with wilderness and the outdoors may find non-rep intellectually and practically refreshing. One aspect of this study offers a macrostructural analysis of the levels, layers, and sub-layers on which non-representational theory is founded. The analysis is intended to serve as a map for future outdoor recreation scholars interested in non-representational research. A great strength of non-rep is its capacity to inform research paths into the dynamics of human–nature connections. This study clearly marks one such path. Affect is a popular theoretical construct that has received substantial scholarly attention in nonrepresentational theory and elsewhere through the so-called affective turn. To reveal insight into the concept of affect, another aspect of this study focuses on wilderness affect through a nonrepresentational theoretical lens. Research indicates that societal and cultural forces play an influential role in wilderness relationships. What’s lacking is a focus on how wilderness may affectively influence, build, or sustain human–wilderness relations at the personal rather than societal scale. Through the performance of non-representational research methods, 15 people participated in a study of how wilderness affect occurs in everyday life. For one week following a visit to the Moosehorn Wilderness Area participants kept a diary and camera to take notes and photographs when wilderness feelings or ideas formed. The diary-photograph, diary-interview method was augmented with exemplary and evocative anecdotes. The results of the study show some of the ways the emergence of affect becomes perceptible. It offers an example for how affect-oriented inquiry can be carried out and thereby can inform further outdoor recreation research. Wilderness affect is suggested as a different way of thinking about the potential to appreciate and respond to the differences that emerge from relations with wild nature. The study helps focus further inquiry into human–wilderness relations

Studies of finite element analysis of composite material structures

Research in the area of finite element analysis is summarized. Topics discussed include finite element analysis of a picture frame shear test, BANSAP (a bandwidth reduction program for SAP IV), FEMESH (a finite element mesh generation program based on isoparametric zones), and finite element analysis of a composite bolted joint specimens

Automatic Interpretation of Ultrasonic Imaging

The objective of this work is to develop an advanced automatic ultrasonic inspection system via adaptive learning network signal processing techniques. This system will provide the type, location, and size of defects in metal more quickly and to smaller defect size than current imaging systems, without the need for operator interpretation of the results. An ultrasonic imaging array constructed for this project has been used to record data from artificial defects in carbon steel test blocks. Software has been written to automatically determine the orientation and size of cracks from these digitized waveforms. Detection of these cracks has been unambiguous down to 1/6 wavelength or 0.25 mm. Sizing for depth is accurate to 12% down to 1/3 wavelength. Further research will extend these results to other defect types and to smaller defects. The significance of this work is that it will demonstrate the feasibility of a totally automatic detection, classification, and sizing system which will work with hardware ordinarily used for imaging. This system will provide a numerical estimate of the defect parameters rather than an image requiring operator interpretation, and it will do so at defect dimensions smaller than the limits set by the resolution of imaging systems

A Novel Application of Conditional Normalizing Flows: Stellar Age Inference with Gyrochronology

Stellar ages are critical building blocks of evolutionary models, but challenging to measure for low mass main sequence stars. An unexplored solution in this regime is the application of probabilistic machine learning methods to gyrochronology, a stellar dating technique that is uniquely well suited for these stars. While accurate analytical gyrochronological models have proven challenging to develop, here we apply conditional normalizing flows to photometric data from open star clusters, and demonstrate that a data-driven approach can constrain gyrochronological ages with a precision comparable to other standard techniques. We evaluate the flow results in the context of a Bayesian framework, and show that our inferred ages recover literature values well. This work demonstrates the potential of a probabilistic data-driven solution to widen the applicability of gyrochronological stellar dating.Comment: Accepted at the ICML 2023 Workshop on Machine Learning for Astrophysics. 10 pages, 3 figures (+1 in appendices

Nanoscale Enhancement of Photosensitized Radionuclide Stimulated Therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) provides efficient tumor killing through the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from the optical excitation of a photosensitizer (PS). Furthermore, this mechanism is highly immune stimulating, providing systemic tumor immunity with a reduction in metastasis. However, these materials had previously been limited by their dependence upon external light sources, allowing treatment of only laser-accessible malignancy. With the recent development of photosensitized radiation stimulated therapy (PRaST) this depth dependence is broken through co-localization of radionuclides and semiconducting photosensitizers. This dissertation focuses on the enhancement of titanium dioxide (TiO2) based PRaST agents through understanding of TiO2 material parameters as well as adsorbent surface coatings to enhance therapeutic outcomes. TiO2 has several known crystal phases and can be generated from atomic clusters to micrometer sizes. To improve its therapeutic potential, we first investigated the effect these parameters had on its primary constraints, namely ROS generation and biodistribution, finding an interplay between 5 nm and 25 nm TiO2 crystal domains. Furthermore, we sought to overcome the central tumor resistance mechanism to PDT, that of oxygen dependence. ROS generation from molecular PS traditionally use NIR, optical excitation of electrons whose energy is then transferred to associated oxygen. Nanoscale TiO2 can use both electron and hole intersystem crossing, which generates ROS from adsorbed oxygen and water. To enhance this pathway, we investigated the ability of chromium VI ions to increase TiO2 hole flux as well as the ability of adsorbed dichromate to act as an oxygen independent metallo-therapeutic. Finally, we develop a polymer stabilized perfluorocarbon nanoemulsion able to be tracked with near-infrared fluorescent imaging and increase the oxygenation of hypoxic tumor tissue for the duration of PRaST. This can help to both boost ROS generation and normalize tumor microenvironments. Combined these developments point to new nano-design strategies to improve upon novel PRaST, optimizing the particles to both improve ROS generation and decrease tumor resistance