Cosmotic, Aquatic. Exploring the potential of computational design in the preservation of aquatic ecotones

This paper looks at the possible role of computational design ecologically in the fight against the loss of the aquatic Ecotone. As climate change keeps altering all the natural aspects of our planet, and as our kind continues to sabotage its ecologies, coral reefs come in focus. Aquatically, coral reefs count as a fertile zone for biodiversity. Usually being the Ecotone between land and sea, these barriers host many species and riches. However, due to the excessive abuse caused by human activity be it world-wide pollution or direct human contact, these reefs are constantly bleaching and breaking. In 2016, the Architecture Association gathered a group of international architecture students and professionals in a visiting school in Jordan titled “Hyperbolic Reefs” looking at the possibility of recruiting new computational methods to preserve and possibly regenerate the Ecotone. It was considered that new simulation techniques along with parametric design could contribute into the assessment and prevention of the catastrophic results. The two-week event was divided into chapters and was initiated by a series of lectures and discussions conducted by worldwide leading architects and experts who presented an important material to build upon. Then, the participants underwent a site visit to the coral reef of Al-Aqaba, collecting data, samples and media and recording insights and local testimonies. The third step of the experience was to assimilate the material and data and discuss openly the ways that computation could lead to a better coral life. Several software and tools were assigned to produce a design that would help attenuate the compromise of the coral reef through computation. An archive of data was produced and exhibited to the public. The results of this brief exercise was a number of suggestions and future aspirations triggered solely towards revitalizing the Ecotone. Issues such as the abundance of irresponsible snorkeling and diving, many governments’ indifferent policies towards the coral reefs, global warming, climate change, coral bleaching and aquatic architecture were confronted through parametric projects ranging from purely architectural to abstract human capsules. Computational tools allowed the reproduction of the whole system digitally, the precise tracing of the corals’ patterns, dimensions and colors, simulation software predicted the role of light and heat in certain zones, and parametric programs provided an incomparable flexibility in the designing process, going completely in sync with the fragile and intricate aspect of a coral unit. 3D printing was also an integral factor in the presentation and study of the presented models. This study’s scope was to expand the use of computation in a theoretical way to reach new and creative prospects, and to raise awareness to the situation of the coral reef and the risks facing its degradation

Fearless: Haya Mohanna

Constantly pursuing new avenues on and off campus to engage in different communities, raise awareness about issues in the Gaza Strip, and learn more about leadership, Haya Mohanna ’17 fearlessly pursues knowledge and activism opportunities to learn more about her own leadership style and capability to create change in her home community. [excerpt

Edge Artificial Intelligence for Real-Time Target Monitoring

The key enabling technology for the exponentially growing cellular communications sector is location-based services. The need for location-aware services has increased along with the number of wireless and mobile devices. Estimation problems, and particularly parameter estimation, have drawn a lot of interest because of its relevance and engineers' ongoing need for higher performance. As applications expanded, a lot of interest was generated in the accurate assessment of temporal and spatial properties. In the thesis, two different approaches to subject monitoring are thoroughly addressed. For military applications, medical tracking, industrial workers, and providing location-based services to the mobile user community, which is always growing, this kind of activity is crucial. In-depth consideration is given to the viability of applying the Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Receiver Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) localization algorithms in real-world situations. We presented two prospective systems, discussed them, and presented specific assessments and tests. These systems were put to the test in diverse contexts (e.g., indoor, outdoor, in water...). The findings showed the localization capability, but because of the low-cost antenna we employed, this method is only practical up to a distance of roughly 150 meters. Consequently, depending on the use-case, this method may or may not be advantageous. An estimation algorithm that enhances the performance of the AoA technique was implemented on an edge device. Another approach was also considered. Radar sensors have shown to be durable in inclement weather and bad lighting conditions. Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radars are the most frequently employed among the several sorts of radar technologies for these kinds of applications. Actually, this is because they are low-cost and can simultaneously provide range and Doppler data. In comparison to pulse and Ultra Wide Band (UWB) radar sensors, they also need a lower sample rate and a lower peak to average ratio. The system employs a cutting-edge surveillance method based on widely available FMCW radar technology. The data processing approach is built on an ad hoc-chain of different blocks that transforms data, extract features, and make a classification decision before cancelling clutters and leakage using a frame subtraction technique, applying DL algorithms to Range-Doppler (RD) maps, and adding a peak to cluster assignment step before tracking targets. In conclusion, the FMCW radar and DL technique for the RD maps performed well together for indoor use-cases. The aforementioned tests used an edge device and Infineon Technologies' Position2Go FMCW radar tool-set

Fearless Friday: Haya Mohanna

In this week’s edition of Fearless Friday, SURGE is honoring Haya Mohanna for all of the work she has done in our community. She has received Fearless Friday recognition during her first year at Gettysburg College, and upon graduating this coming May 2017, we’d like to honor her again! [excerpt

Cognitive styles as a function of locus of control

This research began as an examination of the problem solving strategies of individuals who believe they can control reinforcements they recelve (internals) and those who believe that outside forces control reinforcements (externals) under different conditions of skill and chance. This developed into a study of the cognitive functioning of internals and externals in concept formation tasks. Internal and external persons were identified using the internal-external locus of control scale developed by J.B. Rotter and his colleagues. Three studies were conducted uSlng different tasks and groups of Subjects. The subjects of the first study were required to find a principle relating one of two response words to a list of five stimulus words. There were fifty trials using different sets of words. Three groups of subjects were used, each made up of internals and externals. The group under the skill condition was instructed that their performance depended primarily on their own skill; the group under the chance 1 condition (quasi chance) was instructed that their performance on the task would probably be no better than chance due to the extreme difficulty of the task; and the group under chance 2 (pure chance) were told that their performance on the task was totally controlled by chance as the arrangement of the words was purely arbitrary. It was expected that internals would perform better than externals under the skill condition while externals would perform better than internals under chance 2. Subjects' perception of, and reactions to, the task were measured by a post-task questionnaire. The results did not uphold the predictions. Externals, relative to internals, utilised, produced and changed significantly more solution hypotheses while working on the task. The two groups did not differ in the number of correct answers and both of them were unsuccessful in deciphering the principle. In terms of subjects' reactions to the task, it was found that the internals reacted differently to the skill and chance 2 conditions, while externals were stable across these conditions. Moreover, subjects construed the chance 1 condition as resembling a skill condition. The different ways ln which internals and externals handled their solution hypotheses was further investigated in the second study. Two groups, one of internals and one of externals, were asked to scan a list of characteristics describing an object, and then to scan another list containing objects, one of which was best described by the characteristics. The two lists were presented separately to the subjects in order to discover whether subjects needed to switchback between the two lists while attempting to identify the correct object. The subjects' reaction times in studying the characteristics (preparation time) and in naming the appropriate objects (solution time) were recorded. The subjects' perception of and reactions to the task were measured by a post-task questionnaire. The results strongly supported the predictions: the internals preparation and solution times were significantly faster than those of the externals who also used more switchbacks than internals. Moreover, both groups performed equally well on the task (in terms of naming the appropriate objects). Analysis of the subjects' perception of the task indicated that internals perceived the task to be more skill controlled than externals. The third study was conducted to clarify some methodological problems associated with the first study and to further investigate the problem solving behaviour of internals and externals. Subjects were presented with a series of sets one per trial for twenty four trials, each of which consisted of two letters and two numbers. Certain sets were constructed using a common principle and subjects were required to identify the principle. Subjects perception of, and reactions to the experiment were measured by a post task questionnaire. The results showed that more externals were successful at finding the principle than internals. Externals used less trials per solution hypothesis and guessed on more trials than internals. Both groups had similar numbers of correct answers. More internals than externals, however, employed complex solution hypotheses. It was also found that the internals confidence in finding the principle before commencing the task was higher than that of the externals. Taken in conjunction the three studies indicate that finding the solution per se to the tasks did not differentiate internals from externals as readily as their different approaches to the tasks. The internals were more cautious and systematic in handling their solution hypotheses and processed information more efficiently and thoroughly. The externals, on the other hand, adopted a "butterfly" approach to testing their solution hypotheses, readily switching between them and returning to previously rejected hypotheses. They were less able than internals to process simultaneously two aspects of the task. It was concluded that the different problem solving behaviours of internals and externals resemble distinctive cognitive styles. Whether these cognitive styles are effective in terms of identifying the solution to a problem seems to depend largely on three main factors: the skill element of the task, the type of task, and the level of task difficulty

Inhibition of Reactive Gliosis Prevents Neovascular Growth in the Mouse Model of Oxygen-Induced Retinopathy

Retinal neovascularization (NV) is a major cause of blindness in ischemic retinopathies. Previous investigations have indicated that ischemia upregulates GFAP and PDGF-B expression. GFAP overexpression is a hallmark of reactive gliosis (RG), which is the major pathophysiological feature of retinal damage. In addition, PDGF-B has been implicated in proliferative retinopathies. It was the aim of this study to gain insights on the possible pharmacological interventions to modulate PDGF-B and GFAP expression, and its influence on RG and NV. We used an array of assays to evaluate the effects of YC-1, a small molecule inhibitor of HIF-1 and a novel NO-independent activator of soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC), on RG and NV, in vivo and in vitro. When compared to the DMSO-treated retinas, dual-intravitreal injections of YC-1, in vivo: (1) suppressed the development and elongation of neovascular sprouts in the retinas of the oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) mouse model; and (2) reduced ischemia-induced overexpression of GFAP and PDGF-B at the message (by 64.14±0.5% and 70.27±0.04%) and the protein levels (by 65.52±0.02% and 57.59±0.01%), respectively. In addition, at 100 µM, YC-1 treatment downregulated the hypoxia-induced overexpression of GFAP and PDGF-B at the message level in rMC-1 cells (by 71.42±0.02% and 75±0.03%), and R28 cells (by 58.62±0.02% and 50.00±0.02%), respectively; whereas, the protein levels of GFAP and PDGF-B were reduced (by 78.57±0.02% and 77.55±0.01%) in rMC-1cells, and (by 81.44±0.02% and 79.16±0.01%) in R28 cells, respectively. We demonstrate that YC-1 reversed RG during ischemic retinopathy via impairing the expression of GFAP and PDGF-B in glial cells. This is the first investigation that delves into the reversal of RG during ischemic retinal vasculopathies. In addition, the study reveals that YC-1 may exert promising therapeutic effects in the treatment of retinal and neuronal pathologies

Prevalence of nutritional rickets among symptomatic children and associated risk factors in Specialised Sam Paediatric Centre Yemen

Background: Nutritional rickets (NR) is more prevalent in economically deprived, developing countries.Objectives: To determine the prevalence of NR and associated risk factors among symptomatic children.Design: A record-based descriptive study.Setting: Specialised Sam Pediatric Center (SSPC) Sana’a city Yemen during three years from 2011 to 2013.Subjects: Out of the 645 patients seen with symptoms and/or signs of rickets, 615 (95.35%) were included in the study and diagnosed as NR. The diagnosis was based on clinical finding and radiological and laboratory investigations.Results: The prevalence of NR among symptomatic children aged 0-3 yearswas615 (95.35%). Males were 330 (53.7%), females were 285 (46.3%) with age ranging from 0 to three years. The prevalence of NR in the 6-12 months age group was 39.2% and 37.7% in the 1-1.5 year's age group. Exclusive breastfeeding rate at, four months was 78.0% and 54.96% at six months. The breastfeeding extended until the end of their first one year in215 in¬fants (34.96%) and in 148 (24.06%) extended until around two years of age. All infants and mothers had no significant history of sun exposure and calcium and vitamin D supplementation.Conclusion: The prevalence of symptomatic NR was high and more prevalent in the age groups of 6-12 months and 1-1.5 years than in the other age groups. Limited or non-sun exposure, insufficient calcium and vitamin D supplementation in children and mothers and exclusive breastfeeding infants with vitamin D insufficient mothers were the leading risk factors of NR

\u27Global’ is not just ‘out there’ but also ‘right here’: expectations and experiences in internationalised and globalised higher education

This paper reports on a study that took a cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional approach to investigate postgraduate student expectations and experiences in internationalised and globalised higher education. The researchers drew on Giddens’ theory of structuration1. They explored the way samples of specialist medicine trainees in the UK and pre-service teacher education students in Australia identify and make meaning of their circumstances in an era that is increasingly characterised by greater internationalisation of the student body and more globalised curricula. In this paper, we discuss some of the tensions students reported encountering, and propose several ways in which such tensions might be counteracted