Swamp dredge: Research into grunge

For this project I have researched grunge music and created a body of work influenced by this genre. During my extended contextual research into the genre, I looked at both the artists and producers. I wrote/co-wrote the songs, played some of the instruments and produced the recordings. These are now available for download on www.soundcloud.com/swampdredg

The nature of relations and the metaphysical dilemma in Wittgenstein's Tractatus logico-philosophicus.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.This thesis is concerned with an analysis ofLudwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus LogicoPhilosophicus that centers around the dilemma in which Wittgenstein finds himself in expressing the belief that the propositions of his work, while they are nonsensical according to their own standards, remain informative. The contention is that whether the text is successful in upholding Wittgenstein's claim relies deeply on the account that it gives of relations, in particular the pictorial relation and the relations that pertain amongst objects in states of affairs. It will be argued that the Tractatus sets itself the requirement that ifits propositions are to be nonsensical yet informative, then they must display the general form of a proposition that can have 'sense.' In turn, if any proposition is to be able to have 'sense,' then the pictorial relation must serve a dual purpose in holding the situation represented in the sense of a proposition distinct from the reality it depicts, while acting as a means of comparison such that the truth or falsity of a proposition can be determined. It will then be argued that if the pictorial relation is to be able to function in this way, then propositions must be able to signify exactly which relations pertain in the situation depicted by its sense. In conclusion a case will be made that the Tractatus is unable to meet the demands that it places on itself, for the work does not give an account by which elementary propositions, to which all propositions are analyzable, can signify the specific relations which pertain in the states of affairs they represent

Vegetation phenology in Greenland and links to cryospheric change

Recent greening of vegetation across the Arctic is associated with warming temperatures, hydrologic change and shorter snow-covered periods. Here we investigated trends for a subset of arctic vegetation on the island of Greenland. Vegetation in Greenland is unique due to its close proximity to the Greenland Ice Sheet and its proportionally large connection to the Greenlandic population through the hunting of grazing animals. The aim of this study was to determine whether or not longer snow-free periods (SFPs) were causing Greenlandic vegetation to dry out and become less productive. If vegetation was drying out, a subsequent aim of the study was to determine how widespread the drying was across Greenland. We utilized a 15-year time-series obtained by the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to analyze the Greenland vegetation by deriving descriptors cor- responding with the SFP, the number of cumulative growing degree-days and the time-integrated Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. While the productivity of most vegetated areas increased in response to longer growing periods, there were localized regions that exhibited signs consistent with the drying hypothesis. In these areas, vegetation productivity decreased in response to longer SFPs and more accumulated growing degree-days.</p

Magnetic structure and critical behavior of GdRhIn5_{5}: resonant x-ray diffraction and renormalization group analysis

The magnetic structure and fluctuations of tetragonal GdRhIn5 were studied by resonant x-ray diffraction at the Gd LII and LIII edges, followed by a renormalization group analysis for this and other related Gd-based compounds, namely Gd2IrIn8 and GdIn3. These compounds are spin-only analogs of the isostructural Ce-based heavy-fermion superconductors. The ground state of GdRhIn5 shows a commensurate antiferromagnetic spin structure with propagation vector tau = (0,1/2, 1/2), corresponding to a parallel spin alignment along the a-direction and antiparallel alignment along b and c. A comparison between this magnetic structure and those of other members of the Rm(Co,Rh,Ir)n In3m+2n family (R =rare earth, n = 0, 1; m = 1, 2) indicates that, in general, tau is determined by a competition between first-(J1) and second-neighbor(J2) antiferromagnetic (AFM) interactions. While a large J1 /J2 ratio favors an antiparallel alignment along the three directions (the so-called G-AFM structure), a smaller ratio favors the magnetic structure of GdRhIn5 (C-AFM). In particular, it is inferred that the heavy-fermion superconductor CeRhIn5 is in a frontier between these two ground states, which may explain its non-collinear spiral magnetic structure. The critical behavior of GdRhIn5 close to the paramagnetic transition at TN = 39 K was also studied in detail. A typical second-order transition with the ordered magnetization critical parameter beta = 0.35 was experimentally found, and theoretically investigated by means of a renormalization group analysis.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figure

Libraries in Medical Education (LIME): A Special Interest Group of NEGEA

Purpose: Health science librarians play key roles in medical education by providing curriculum-integrated information skills instruction; by assisting faculty with research; by purchasing and maintaining collections of information resources; by participating in the development of standards and guidelines for educational outcomes; and by creating and managing libraries conducive to education. A group of medical librarians from northeastern medical schools proposed Libraries in Medical Education (LIME) Special Interest Group (SIG) to benefit all NEGEA (Northeast Group on Educational Affairs) members. The SIG will promote communication and collaboration between librarians and NEGEA members on research and curricular initiatives; enhance librarians knowledge and skills of current trends and issues of interest to the medical education community; recognize librarians as valued components of the medical education team; and increase the professional knowledge and skills of NEGEA members through programming delivered at annual meetings by librarians. Methods: In 2006, medical librarians drafted and submitted a proposal to become an official LIME SIG. Librarians have successfully implemented special interest groups within professional organizations. The Libraries in Medical Education SIG instituted within the Central Group on Education Affairs and the active Libraries/Educational Resources Section of American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) served as models. Results: In 2007, the LIME was officially accepted by NEGEA as a special interest group. Conclusion: An enthusiastic LIME-SIG group looks forward to an exciting future of collaboration. Presented at the Northeast Group for Educational Affairs Annual Educational Retreat held in Stony Brook, NY, on June 8, 2007

Natural disturbance and human land use as determinants of tropical forest dynamics: results from a forest simulator

Forests are often subject to multiple, compounded disturbances, representing both natural and human-induced processes. Predicting forest dynamics requires that we consider how these disturbances interact to affect species demography. Here we present results of an individual-based, spatially explicit forest simulator that we developed to analyze the compounded effects of hurricane disturbance and land use legacies on the dynamics of a subtropical forest. We used data from the 16-ha Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot in Puerto Rico, together with a reconstruction of historical wind damage, to parameterize the simulator. We used the model to ask two questions. (1) What are the implications of variation in hurricane frequency and severity for the long-term dynamics of forest composition, diversity, and structure? Both storm severity and frequency had striking effects on forest dynamics, composition, and structure. The periodicity of disturbance also played an important role, with periods of high hurricane activity fostering the establishment of species that may become rare in the absence of severe storms and quiescent periods allowing these species to reach reproductive size. Species responses to hurricane disturbance could not be predicted from their life history attributes. However, species perceived to be primary forest species exhibited low temporal variation in abundance through the simulations. (2) How do hurricanes and legacies from human land use interact to determine community structure and composition? Our results suggest that, over time, regardless of the storm regime, land use legacies will become less apparent but will lead to a forest community that contains a mixture of secondary and primary forest species formerly dominant in areas of different land use. In the long term, hurricane disturbance generated two communities with slightly greater similarity than those not subject to storms. Thus, the inclusion of hurricane disturbance does not alter the prediction that land use legacies in this tropical forest will diminish over time. Our simulations also highlight the contingent effects of human legacies on subsequent community dynamics, including the response to hurricane disturbance, therefore supporting the notion that compounded disturbances can interact in ways that cannot be predicted by the study of single disturbances. The widespread importance of land use as a large-scale disturbance makes it imperative that it be addressed as a fundamental ecological process

Techno-Economic Analysis of a Secondary Air Stripper Process

We present results of an initial techno-economic assessment on a post-combustion CO2 capture process developed by the Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER) at the University of Kentucky using Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems’ H3-1 aqueous amine solvent. The analysis is based on data collected at a 0.7 MWe pilot unit combined with laboratory data and process simulations. The process adds a secondary air stripper to a conventional solvent process, which increases the cyclic loading of the solvent in two ways. First, air strips additional CO2 from the solvent downstream of the conventional steam-heated thermal stripper. This extra stripping of CO2 reduces the lean loading entering the absorber. Second, the CO2-enriched air is then sent to the boiler for use as secondary air. This recycling of CO2 results in a higher concentration of CO2 in the flue gas sent to the absorber, and hence a higher rich loading of the solvent exiting the absorber. A process model was incorporated into a full-scale supercritical pulverized coal power plant model to determine the plant performance and heat and mass balances. The performance and heat and mass balance data were used to size equipment and develop cost estimates for capital and operating costs. Lifecycle costs were considered through a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) assessment based on the capital cost estimate and modeled performance. The results of the simulations show that the CAER process yields a regeneration energy of 3.12 GJ/t CO2, a $53.05/t CO2 capture cost, and LCOE of$174.59/MWh. This compares to the U.S. Department of Energy\u27s projected costs (Case 10) of regeneration energy of 3.58 GJ/t CO2, a $61.31/t CO2 capture cost, and LCOE of$189.59/MWh. For H3-1, the CAER process results in a regeneration energy of 2.62 GJ/tCO2 with a stripper pressure of 5.2 bar, a capture cost of $46.93/t CO2, and an LCOE of$164.33/MWh

Deep Brain Stimulation for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Real World Experience Post-FDA-Humanitarian Use Device Approval

While case series have established the efficacy of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), it has been our experience that few OCD patients present without comorbidities that affect outcomes associated with DBS treatment. Here we present our experience with DBS therapy for OCD in patients who all have comorbid disease, together with the results of our programming strategies. For this case series, we assessed five patients who underwent ventral capsule/ventral striatum (VC/VS) DBS for OCD between 2015 and 2019 at the University of Colorado Hospital. Every patient in this cohort exhibited comorbidities, including substance use disorders, eating disorder, tic disorder, and autism spectrum disorder. We conducted an IRB-approved, retrospective study of programming modifications and treatment response over the course of DBS therapy. In addition to patients\u27 subjective reports of improvement, we observed significant improvement in the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (44%), the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (53%), the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (27%), and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating scales (34.9%) following DBS. With respect to co-morbid disease, there was a significant improvement in a patient with tic disorder\u27s Total Tic Severity Score (TTSS) ( = 0.005). DBS remains an efficacious tool for the treatment of OCD, even in patients with significant comorbidities in whom DBS has not previously been investigated. Efficacious treatment results not only from the accurate placement of the electrodes by the surgeon but also from programming by the psychiatrist

NPAL04 OBS data analysis part 1 : kinematics of deep seafloor arrivals

These notes provide supporting information for a JASA (Journal of the Acoustical Society of America) LttE (Letter to the Editor) manuscript, "Deep seafloor arrivals: A new class of arrivals in long-range ocean acoustic propagation" (Stephen et al., submitted). It addresses five issues raised by the co-authors: 1) incorrect processing for the time-compressed traces at T2300 and T3200 that appeared in an early version of the LttE (T2300, T3200 … refer to transmissions at 2300, 3200km etc from the DVLA (Deep Vertical Line Array)), 2) processing issues, including the trade-offs between coherent and incoherent stacking and corrections for the effects of moving sources and receivers and tidal currents (Doppler), 4) the distinction between "deep shadow zone arrivals", which occur below the turning points in Parabolic Equation (PE) models, and "deep seafloor arrivals", which appear dominantly on the Ocean Bottom Seismometer (OBS) but are either very weak or absent on the deepest element in the DVLA and do not coincide with turning points in the PE model (some of these OBS late arrivals occur after the finale region), 4) the role of surface-reflected bottomreflected (SRBR) paths in explaining the late arriving energy, and 5) generally reconciling the OBS analysis with work by other North Pacific Acoustic Laboratory (NPAL) investigators and Dushaw et al (1999).Funding was provided by the Office of Naval Research through Contract No. N00014-06-1-0222

Applying an ecosystem services framework on nature and mental health to recreational blue space visits across 18 countries

The effects of ‘nature’ on mental health and subjective well-being have yet to be consistently integrated into ecosystem service models and frameworks. To address this gap, we used data on subjective mental well-being from an 18-country survey to test a conceptual model integrating mental health with ecosystem services, initially proposed by Bratman et al. We analysed a range of individual and contextual factors in the context of 14,998 recreational visits to blue spaces, outdoor environments which prominently feature water. Consistent with the conceptual model, subjective mental well-being outcomes were dependent upon on a complex interplay of environmental type and quality, visit characteristics, and individual factors. These results have implications for public health and environmental management, as they may help identify the bluespace locations, environmental features, and key activities, that are most likely to impact well-being, but also potentially affect recreational demand on fragile aquatic ecosystems