The Architecture of Collapse

The world is changing around us. There is no more denying it. We are running out of resources. We are polluting our air and water. Sea levels are rising, and with it, natural disasters. Hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires, drought. We are killing each other. Economies are collapsing and countries are dissolving. The world is changing. Stories of apocalypse have been prevalent in our society for decades, but they may not be a thing of science fiction anymore. When the world does change, what are architects going to do about it? An architecture must be designed to enable the survival of people when existing infrastructure fails

The Transformative Learning Experience of City Year Participants

Every year, over 3,000 City Year corps members volunteer in 325 schools, working with over 200,000 students in 29 cities across the United States. In several quantitative studies individuals reported positive, life-changing experiences as result of their service. However, none of these studies examined what these life changing experiences were, or how or why these experiences occurred. Using a phenomenological approach, this study examined the essence of the experience when young adults participated in this specific, life-changing program. Semi structured interviews explored how the City Year experience resulted in transformation. The principal research question for this study was: What is the impact of a transformative learning experience resulting from participation in City Year? The following subquestions were also investigated: What role did the urban environment play in that transformation and how can this phenomenon be used to inform City Year’s training program? My findings revealed six themes relating to how participants described their transformative learning experience. The six themes are: City Year culture and training, relationships with students, relationships with cohort members, the nature of the program, the difficulty of the program, and time changed their views of the experience. Participants benefited from City Year’s culture and training program, both of which encouraged v transformation. The difficulty of the year, and the relationships participants formed with students and other cohort members that were very important to the transformative learning process. Some participants struggled with the short-term nature and the racial implications of the program. Finally, how participants viewed the program has changed over time. This study also looked at the effect that the urban environment had to the transformative learning experience. Recommendations for further research include: exploring other experiences that are not transformative; looking at the influence that race, background, and class, have on transformation; the effect that City Year has on youth in the schools; the degree to which people are transformed and the relationship between that transformation and the way they experienced elements of the transformative learning framework

Young-of-the-Year Cod (Boreogadus) in Lancaster Sound and Western Baffin Bay

Over 85% of all ichthyoplankton found in the study area in 1976 and 1978 were young-of-year (Y-O-Y) Boreogadus. Most of the remainder were seasnails (Cyclopteridae). Densities of Y-O-Y cod were related to season, depth, and (to a lesser degree) year and location. From June to at least mid-August, Y-O-Y cod were normally most abundant at 10-20 m depth and rare or absent at the immediate surface. Densities decreased below ~20 m and no Y-O-Y cod were caught at depths >250 m. After mid-August densities decreased at all depths sampled. More Y-O-Y cod may have been present in the study area in 1976 than in 1978, and Y-O-Y were significantly longer at a given date in 1976 than in 1978.Key words: arctic cod, Boreogadus, ichtyoplankton, larval fish, juvenile fish, growth, depth distribution, Lancaster Sound, Baffin Ba

Ultrasonic Bonding for the CUORE Collaboration

This paper will give the reader a brief introduction to the Standard Model, Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay, and the CUORE experiment under construction at Gran Sasso National Lab in Assergi, Italy. The remainder of the paper will describe the bonding process used to connect the heater pads and NTDs to the copper housings of the tower structure. Extensive details of the troubleshooting and calibration period are presented as a way for the reader to better understand the concepts involved during the bonding stage of the assembly process

Touch-and-go chemistry: development of materials for and demonstration of a contact-initiated polymerization

My graduate research has focused on demonstrating the concept of a contact-initiated, or touch-and-go, reaction. One of the foundational concepts of organic chemistry is that an intermolecular reaction can only occur once two or more reactive molecules come into proximity in the correct orientation. Enzymatic reactions display improved reaction rates because catalytic groups are prearranged in proximity to the substrate. It follows that one can control a reaction rate by controlling the spatial proximity of two reactive groups. To demonstrate this concept, I developed a series of particle sizes that could be functionalized with reactive groups. These particles varied in size from 50 nm to 360 µm in diameter. Particles were then functionalized with N,N-dimethylaniline (DMA) and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) groups which co-initiate free radical polymerizations. The mechanism by which they co-initiate requires contact between the DMA and BPO molecules. When DMA and BPO were conjugated to complementary particles, a free radical polymerization was observed following contact between the particles. However, when the particles were physically separated, no reaction was observed. These experiments demonstrated touch-and-go chemistry, a reaction that could be controlled by controlling contact between two macroscopic objects

Vertical Distribution of Zooplankton in Eastern Lancaster Sound and Western Baffin Bay, July-October 1978

Zooplankton samples (n=150) collected from 23 July to 10 October 1978 at 19 oceanographic stations were analyzed for species composition, abundance, biomass and vertical distribution. Sampling was by closing nets hauled vertically at five depth intervals between 0 and 1900 m. At least 116 species were present in the macro-zooplankton of the study area. Species not previously reported from the area included the copepods Spinocalanus horridus, Chiridiella reducta, Derjuginia tolli, Neoscolecithrix farrani?, Pachyptilus pacificus, Haloptilus longicirrus?, Mormonilla polaris, and Monstrilla longicirrus?. In addition, small numbers of the previously undescribed adult male stages of the copepods Aetideopsis multiserrata and A. rostrata were found. Three copepod species that appear to be new to science were also collected. The high numbers of species, new records for the area, and previously undescribed species or stages collected reflect the relatively intensive sampling, particularly in deep water. In general, the zooplankton was numerically dominated by copepods, particularly the calanoids Calanus glacialis, C. hyperboreus, Pseudocalanus minutus, Metridia longa and Microcalanus spp. and the cyclopoid Oithona similis. Most of these species (exceptions: Metridia langa and Microcalanus spp.) were most abundant in the upper 50 m: total zooplankton numbers were also greatest there. However, one or more stages of each of these copepod species, except P. minutus, were present in depths as great as 1900 m. Factor analysis identified 10 zooplankton assemblages. Of these, two were virtually restricted to the upper 50 m, two were mainly in the upper 50 m but were also found throughout the water column, five were primarily deep water groups (one almost entirely restricted to deep water), and one was primarily an intermediate depth group.Key words: zooplankton, vertical distribution, Baffin Bay, Lancaster Sound, species composition, abundance, biomassMots clés: zooplancton, distribution verticale, Baie de Baffin, Détroit de Lancaster, composition, abondance, biomass

Drawing and Twisting of Graphene Fibers

The aim of this project was to develop a more automated process for drawing and twisting of graphene fibers than was currently in place. This was implemented by having two chemical baths with variable speed rollers at either end, and intermediate roller to spool fiber between stages, and a twisting cylinder with integral spool to twist the fiber as it is collected. The goal was to have this first iteration deliver a working prototype, however due to manufacturing delays and timing constraints, that will be missed. A second follow-on project would be able to continue the work presented here and fulfil the stated aims of the project. The bulk of the structure is fabricated from PVC pieces waterjet cut from a large sheet. This allowed for quick manufacture of most pieces in the design. From there, some secondary machining was done to add mounting and fastening locations. PVC pieces were attached to one another primarily through the use of #8-32 screws with washers and a brass threaded insert. Due to PVC being a soft material, tapping threads into it directly was avoided. The baths were sealed mostly with an automotive gasket compound to permanently seal one half, while one wall was sealed with a silicon gasket laser cut from a sheet. This makes the bath wall removable for maintenance. Two baths were made to allow multiple stages of drawing or one coagulation stage immediately followed by a drawing stage. From the drawing, the fiber advances to the auxiliary roller. The range of speeds required to get desired properties at all stages did not permit the fiber to go from coagulation to drawing to twisting in one process, therefore following the drawing bath, it is wound on to the auxiliary roller. After the drawing process is finished, the fiber can be pulled from the auxiliary roller into the twisting mechanism, running at a lower speed so as to give the requisite number of turns per length of fiber to yield the optimal fiber twist angle. The twisting mechanism is a PVC cylinder supported on horizontal rods and driven by a motor mounted beneath the cylinder and connected via a plastic belt. The cylinder, motor, and support rods are encased in a box with one face open to allow the fiber into the cylinder. Inside the cylinder is a spinning rod mounted across the diameter that collects the fiber as it is twisted. The aim of the project called for a quick-release mechanism so that the rod can be removed quickly for storage of the fiber or other testing steps. All of the motion is powered by small 5V DC motors that go through a 20:1 worm gear reduction. This increases the torque while decreasing the speed from roughly 10,000 RPM to more useful ranges. The motors are powered through a NPN power transistor with the logic being controlled by an Arduino Nano that takes in an analog voltage and converts it to a PWM waveform to control the motor duty cycle. In total, the project came in under budget, using 84.01% of the $1500 allocated for the project. A third of this cost came from the need to expedite the waterjet cutting by going to a third-party outside of the campus community. Had on campus resources been successfully utilized, the total cost would have been closer to the$925.38 estimate first presented

Plasma Oscillations and Operational Modes in Hall Effect Thrusters.

Mode transitions have been commonly observed in Hall effect thruster (HET) operation where a small change in a thruster operating parameter such as discharge voltage, magnetic field or mass flow rate causes the thruster discharge current mean value and oscillation amplitude to increase significantly. In this study, mode transitions in HETs are induced by varying the magnetic field intensity while holding all other operating parameters constant and measurements are acquired with high-speed probes and ultra-fast imaging. Two primary oscillatory modes were identified and extensively characterized called global oscillation mode and local oscillation mode. In the global mode, the entire discharge channel oscillates in unison and azimuthal perturbations (spokes) are either absent or negligible. Downstream azimuthally spaced probes show no signal delay between each other and are very well correlated to the discharge current signal. In the local mode, signals from the azimuthally spaced probes exhibit a clear delay indicating the passage of spokes. These spokes are localized oscillations in discharge current density propagating in the ExB direction that are typically 10-20% of the mean value. In contrast, the oscillations in the global mode can be 100% of the mean discharge current density value. The spoke velocity is determined from high-speed image analysis using three methods yielding values between 1500 and 2200 m/s across a range of magnetic field settings. The transition between global and local modes occurs at higher relative magnetic field strengths for higher mass flow rates or higher discharge voltages. It is proposed that mode transitions represent de-stabilization of the ionization front similar to excitation of the well-studied Hall thruster breathing mode, which is supported by time-resolved simulations of the discharge channel plasma. The thrust is approximately constant in both modes, but the thrust-to-power and anode efficiency decrease in global mode due to increasing discharge current. New system characterization techniques are suggested that include discharge current, discharge voltage and magnetic field maps at different flow rates to identify modes of operation within a three variable parameter space.PhDAerospace EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107178/1/msekerak_1.pd

Systemic Dissemination of Pneumocystis Carinii in a Patient with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Pneumocystis carinii is usually considered a respiratory tract pathogen; however, there are reported cases of limited and generalized dissemination of the organism from the lungs of immunocompromised patients. We present the autopsy findings of a 29-year-old male with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and recurrent Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia who developed abnormal liver function tests. The patient had received aerosolized pentamidine because of toxic reactions to other modes of therapy. The postmortem examination revealed Pneumocystis in the lungs, liver, spleen, kidney, myocardium, thymus, pancreas, thyroid gland, bilateral parathyroid and adrenal glands, gastrointestinal mucosa, perihilar and mesenteric lymph nodes, and bone marrow. A high index of suspicion, especially in patients treated with aerosolized pentamidine, may lead to an increased recognition of disseminated pneumocystosis. Dissemination of the infection may be due to failure of the aerosolized drug to achieve adequate blood levels. As AIDS patients survive longer because of the developing therapeutic arsenal, disseminated pneumocystosis may be encountered with increasing frequency in these immunocompromised patients

Effect of Permanent Magnet Rotor Design on PMSM Properties

The paper is focused on the permanentmagnet location and shape investigation in PMSM. At first,the real PMSM has been modeled by means of FEM whichhas been verified by experiments. Next step was a creatingof two new models with different position of PM: one withsurface mounted PM and other one with inset PM. The PMvolume and quality have been in all models kept constant .The main goal of this paper is to investigate the influence ofthe PM design on PMSM properties such as torque ripple,maximum torque, EMF, stator current and winding losses.The investigation has shown, that PM surface design canimprove PMSM properties