Issues Relevant to C-H Activation at Platinum(II): Comparative Studies between Cationic, Zwitterionic, and Neutral Platinum(II) Compounds in Benzene Solution

Cationic late metal systems are being highly scrutinized due to their propensity to mediate so-called electrophilic C-H activation reactions. This contribution compares the reactivity of highly reactive cationic platinum(II) systems with structurally related but neutral species. Our experimental design exploits isostructural neutral and cationic complexes supported by bis(phosphine) ligands amenable to mechanistic examination in benzene solution. The data presented herein collectively suggests that neutral platinum complexes can be equally if not more reactive towards benzene than their cationic counter-parts. Moreover, a number of unexpected mechanistic distinctions between the two systems arise that help to explain their respective reactivity

Spitzer Observations of Black Hole Low-mass X-ray Binaries: Assessing the Non-stellar Infrared Component

We have combined ground-based optical and near-infrared data with Spitzer Space Telescope mid-infrared data for five black hole (BH) soft X-ray transients (SXTs) in order to determine the levels of near- and mid-infrared emission from sources other than the secondary star. Mid-infrared emission from an accretion disk, circumbinary dust, and/or a jet could act as sources of near-infrared contamination, thereby diluting ellipsoidal variations of the secondary star and affecting determined BH mass estimates. Based on optical to mid-infrared spectral energy distribution modeling of the five SXTs along with the prototype, V616 Mon, we detected mid-infrared excesses in half of the systems, and suggest that the excesses detected from these systems arise from non-thermal synchrotron jets rather than circumbinary dust disks

GLOBALIZATION AND ITS EFFECTS ON HOMELAND SECURITY

This thesis examines how the economic and social effects of globalization have impacted U.S. homeland security. Economic globalization, which is a shift from a regional or national economy toward global economy, has helped to create increasing economic inequality, impacting homeland security. This thesis examines literature on globalization, economic inequality, and homeland security, and reviews these ideas in light of two events in the United States: the Flint, Michigan, water crisis and the January 6, 2021, riots in Washington, DC. It finds that globalization has led to a decline in measures of well-being of the U.S. population and a loss of faith among some segments of that population that believe the U.S. economic and political systems no longer serve their interests. It finds that these declines are consistent with homeland security risks, provides recommendations on how to address the impacts of globalization in the future, and suggests areas of further study. These recommendations include ensuring that homeland security considerations are integrated into economic policy debates; adjusting economic policies to improve the distribution of income to Americans near the bottom of the income scale; reconfiguring how the cost of corporate failure is allocated, particularly with respect to critical infrastructure; and significantly revamping the U.S. Tax Code so that corporate actions that are antithetical to homeland security interests are disincentivized or penalized.Civilian, Yonkers Fire DepartmentApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Growing Communities through Education: an analysis of future locations for community gardens in Tacoma, WA

Introduction:Community gardens have become an integral part of most major U.S. cities. From Washington DC to Seattle, community gardens have played a role in providing quality produce in both urban and suburban areas within a supermarket-driven climate. An important utility of community gardens is not only the supply of quality food to a community, but also to educate children on the importance of a healthy and diverse diet of fruits and vegetables for them and their families (Lautenschlager & Smith 2007; McCullum, et al.2005; Robinson-O’Brien, Story, and Helm 2009). School programs are effective in educating children on healthy eating habits and exposing them to healthy and diverse types of foods (Robinson-O’Brien, Story, and Helm 2009). I therefore analyzed the available land parcels within a 10-minute walk from Tacoma Schools to provide ideas for future community garden locations that could best serve students and their communities. I conducted an analysis of available parcels for future community gardens by using the ArcGIS software to create an index of desirability for eligible parcels. The variables used were grade of slope, concentration of arsenic in the soil, proximity to Tacoma schools, and location of a city park. When analyzing community gardens in Tacoma, Seattle, San Francisco, and Washington DC, the number of community gardens in Tacoma fell far short of the numbers in these other cities. Yet when normalized with population, Tacomahttps://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/gis_projects/1015/thumbnail.jp

An Overview of the Current State of the Test-First vs. Test-Last Debate

When it comes to software development, perhaps one of the most important and time consuming processes is that of software testing. In fact, early studies on software testing estimated that it could consume fifty percent or more of development costs for a product. Because of this, the ability to optimize testing to reduce testing costs can be very valuable. In this paper we compare two popular methods, test-last testing, often used in waterfall software development processes, and test-first testing, often used in Agile test driven software development methods, by reviewing recent studies on the subject. In this review we discuss the possible benefits of test-first and test-last testing and possible problems with the current data comparing these two testing methods. After that, we explore other methods in test-first testing besides test driven development, such as behavior driven development, in an attempt to and a better test-first testing model. In the end we discuss our results and potential future studies to help clarify current data

NERICA, \u3cem\u3eKimaa\u3c/em\u3e, and the Sustainability of Rice Farming in Magbainba Ndohahun Chiefdom, Sierre Leone: An Anthropological Perspective

With the looming threat of a world food shortage, it has become increasingly important for developing African countries to strengthen their indigenous farming practices. This thesis examines the system of rice farming within Sierra Leone’s rural Magbainba Ndohahun Chiefdom, which the author visited in 2008 as part of a University of Washington interdisciplinary program on rice farming methods. Practices related to fallowing, fertilization, hired labor, and land tenure (kimaa) are discussed and placed within the context of long-term sustainability

Roadway System Assessment Using Bluetooth-Based Automatic Vehicle Identification Travel Time Data

This monograph is an exposition of several practice-ready methodologies for automatic vehicle identification (AVI) data collection systems. This includes considerations in the physical setup of the collection system as well as the interpretation of the data. An extended discussion is provided, with examples, demonstrating data techniques for converting the raw data into more concise metrics and views. Examples of statistical before-after tests are also provided. A series of case studies were presented that focus on various real-world applications, including the impact of winter weather on freeway operations, the economic benefit of traffic signal retiming, and the estimation of origin-destination matrices from travel time data. The technology used in this report is Bluetooth MAC address matching, but the concepts are extendible to other AVI data sources

Stellar or Non-Stellar Light? Determining Near-Infrared Contamination in Low Mass X-ray Binaries

Low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) systems are comprised of a low-mass, K or M dwarflike star orbiting a compact object. Stellar black hole masses and their distributions are important inputs for binary evolution and supernova models. Currently, the main limiting factor in determining accurate black hole masses in LMXBs is the uncertainty of the orbital inclination angle due to an unknown amount of contaminating light in the near infrared. If present, this light dilutes the ellipsoidal variations of the low-mass secondary star, and thus gives the appearance of a lower orbital inclination system. It has been generally thought that the near infrared ellipsoidal light curves of these systems were relatively uncontaminated and represented primarily the light from the low-mass secondary star; however, recent disk and jet models have thrust this thinking into question. We combine our data from the Spitzer Space Telescope with our ground-based optical and near infrared data for several LMXBs to characterize and derive the amount of light contaminating the near-infrared ellipsoidal variations of the low-mass secondary star