14589 research outputs found
Sort by
Library Spotlight - Dr. Rohini Bannerjee
No full textAn interview with Dr. Rohini Bannerjee, Associate Vice-President, Diversity Excellence, and a professor in the Languages and Cultures department. Interviewed by librarian Shawna Murphy in the fall of 2021, Dr. Bannerjee discusses several topics, primarily related to the publication of her book "From Band Aid to Scalpels: Motherhood Experiences in/of medicine"
Novel task-specific ionic liquids for gold extraction
No full text1 online resource (viii, 74, 53 unnumbered pages) : illustrations (some colour), graphs (some colour)Includes abstract and appendix.Includes bibliographical references (pages 70-74).Cyanidation has been used world-wide for over a century as the primary method for gold extraction from ore. Over the years, accidents have occurred which released toxic cyanide and resulted in devastation of the environment and surrounding communities. For this reason, alternatives to cyanidation have been of great interest but have yet to be implemented due to the high costs of materials and necessary changes to infrastructure, which make these alternatives economically unfeasible. We report herein the use of novel task-specific ionic ligands for the extraction of gold without the use of cyanide. A series of six pyrrolidinium and imidazolium salts are functionalized with a thiourea group and either the anion hexafluorophosphate ([PF6]) or dodecyl sulfate ([DS]). Gold (III) extraction up to 90% has been achieved from an aqueous solution with a methyl imidazolium-tagged [DS] salt. Extraction experiments using gold (I) showed a decrease in extraction efficiency suggesting the oxidation state of the gold is important for complex formation. The selectivity for gold (III) and silver (I) over copper (II), iron (II), and zinc (II) has been demonstrated for all ionic liquids, with an increase in gold (III) extraction efficiency for four of the six ionic liquids when other metals are present.</p
Factors related to criminal behaviour and desistance among justice-involved women
Get PDF1 online resource (130 pages)Includes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 94-109).The rate of incarceration of Canadian women increased by 16.3% between 2009-2010 and 2018-
2019 (Public Safety Canada, 2020). Trauma, mental illness and substance use have been noted to
be integral in understanding women’s pathways to criminal behaviour (Salisbury & Van
Voorhis, 2009), however, Canadian research is needed. In this mixed-methods study, justice involved women affiliated with Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia (n=8) were
interviewed and completed a test battery. Women indicated that negative influences from others,
life circumstances, substance abuse, inadequate services and ‘the system failed me’ were related
to their criminal behaviour. Despite these adversities, many women reported an improvement to
their well-being and that positive influences, self-motivated change, and adequate services and
supports were related to their desistance from crime. Findings from this study may be used by
organizations to make important decisions regarding advocacy and programming for supporting
the desistance of justice-involved women
Exploring the use of patient safety climate surveys for improvement : a descriptive phenomenology
Get PDF1 online resource (104 pages)Includes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 84-97).Over the last 20 years, a large amount of research has been conducted on the development and validation of patient safety climate surveys. Despite the volume of research on the topic, little is known about how patient safety climate surveys are used in practice. The intent of this descriptive phenomenological study was to understand the lived experience of individuals who use patient safety climate survey results for improvement. Understanding how individuals working in health care use patient safety climate survey results may provide insight into the value of patient safety climate surveys and identify gaps in the resources staff require to effectively use survey results. Semi structured interviews were conducted with 7 individuals identified as having experience using patient safety climate survey results for improvement. The findings of this qualitative study suggest leadership commitment and external support are the most influential components required to act on survey results in a meaningful and sustainable way. This study is a starting point to understanding how patient safety climate surveys are used in practice. More research is needed to thoroughly understand this phenomenon
Temporal and spatial characterization of acoustic activity patterns of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis chinensis) in Hong Kong waters
Get PDF1 online resource (69 pages) : illustrations (chiefly colour), maps (chiefly colour)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins face a number of serious anthropogenic pressures in Hong Kong waters. Since the late 1990’s, data has shown both a decline in their abundance and shift in their distribution, therefore obtaining a better understanding of their habitat use through passive
acoustic monitoring is important. Twelve C-PODs deployed throughout their habitat from June 2018-July 2019 were able to provide data on diel, seasonal and geographical patterns in their acoustic activity; and location had the largest effect on the probability of detections. When acoustic and visual data were compared to characterize the ability of the C-PODs to detect dolphins and assess the relative efficacy of each detection method, little overlap was found between methods. Despite these limitations, the C-PODs are able to survey continuously and simultaneously over many areas and represent a valuable tool for long-term monitoring
Service quality, resilience, and social-emotional competence in vulnerable youth : what’s LOVE got to do with it?
Get PDF1 online resource (163 pages) : illustrationsIncludes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 133-149).The present mixed-methods research was conducted in partnership with Leave Out Violence Nova Scotia (LOVE NS) to investigate service quality, resilience, and social emotional competence among vulnerable youth in community-based programs. In Study 1, semi-structured interviews were used to examine youths’ perceptions of adversity in their lives, along with service quality, social-emotional competence, and resilience related to their involvement with LOVE NS. Despite individual risk exposure, youth demonstrated resilience and social-emotional competence through LOVE NS. Positive service experiences were also reported. In Study 2, a focus group was conducted to involve youth in developing a quantitative questionnaire. Questionnaire data was used to explore whether service quality at LOVE NS was linked to social-emotional competence through resilience, while considering individual risks. Beyond externalizing, service quality at LOVE NS was positively linked to social-emotional competence through increased resilience. Findings suggest that community-based programs may improve social-emotional competence in vulnerable youth by facilitating resilience
An X-ray timing analysis of narrow-line and broad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies with Suzaku
Get PDF1 online resource (vii, 47 pages) : illustrations (chiefly colour)Includes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 44-47).The Suzaku X-ray satellite has been decommissioned since 2015, leaving us with a known catalogue of observed active galactic nuclei (AGN). This work provides a timing analysis of all broad-line and narrow-line Seyfert 1 AGN observed by the XIS instrument aboard Suzaku, sensitive over ∼ 0.5 – 10 keV. Extreme variability is a ubiquitous trait among AGN, varying in brightness on characteristic timescales of hours up to weeks. The changing brightness is associated with physical components of the AGN, leading to well established relations between variability and physical parameters, such as the black hole mass (MBH). We analyze the 0.5 – 10 keV structure functions for the sample, yielding a mean power law index of 1.00 ± 0.09, and a mean break of 0.22 ± 0.04 days. Furthermore, we calculate the excess variance on 60 ks, 100ks, and 150 ks durations and reproduce the MBH vs. σ2rms relation at each timescale. We also identify strong correlations between the soft excess and σ2rms,0.5-2keV at each timescale, as well as weaker correlations between τchar and β
Carbon storage in tidal marsh sediments in the Bay of Fundy : the role of vegetation and depth
Get PDF1 online resource (39 pages) : illustrations, mapIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 37-39).Tidal marshes have the ability to sequester and store atmospheric CO2 and thus contribute a valuable ecosystem service. Globally, tidal marshes have declined due to environmental damage and habitat conversion—however, restoration has become a promising mode of revitalization of these ecosystems. Little is known about carbon storage differences between restored and natural marshes or the factors that influence carbon storage in these systems. This study compares belowground carbon stocks in three tidal marshes (new restoration, old restoration, natural reference). Carbon content was sampled using a Russian peat corer at three locations in Spartina alterniflora vegetation at each marsh. Two sediment cores were taken at each sampling location, one from an area with live plants and one from bare mud, and each core subdivided into three depths: surface (<3cm), rhizosphere (3cm-30cm) and below-rhizosphere (<30cm). Statistical analysis showed that depth had no significant effect. Given this, it appears that the depth at which carbon is buried does not impact long-term carbon storage within tidal marshes. The older restoration and natural sites contained a similar amount of buried carbon as the new restoration site. There was no significant difference in carbon storage between vegetated versus unvegetated areas across all marshes. Further studies should explore the role of sedimentation and its influence on carbon storage within these systems. In addition, the impact of climate change should also be monitored within tidal marshes to ensure correct methods for conservation and restoration are being employed
The synthesis, characterization and modification of gold nanoparticles for use in SERS-based COVID-19 antibody testing
Get PDF1 online resource (xi, 94 pages) : illustrations (chiefly colour)Includes abstract and appendix.Includes bibliographical references (pages 65-74).The current COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a need for rapid, point-of-care (POC) antibody testing. Antibody testing would allow for a determination of which members of the population have already been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and also which members have built up sufficient immunity after vaccination. Current POC diagnostic platforms which screen for antibodies in bodily fluids are typically either lateral flow or vertical flow based, and make use of labelled colloidal gold, which exhibits a red colour, as the visual interpretation for the test. In this thesis work, we are seeking to use the colloidal gold in these platforms as the enhancing element in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) which would make such tests not only qualitative but also quantitative. For SARS-CoV-2 infections, this means that antibody levels could be monitored over time, which would be very useful. In this work, colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNP) were synthesized, characterized and modified for use in such rapid test platforms. The AuNPs of varying diameters were characterized using UV-Vis and scanning electron microscopy. The SERS performance of the AuNPs was ascertained using a probe molecule as a tag. The AuNPs were modified with a capture agent and the SERS tag components, and were explored for use in a flow assay prototype. These results indicate that modified AuNPs in conjunction with SERS may be useful for quantitative readouts for COVID-19 antibody testing platforms
The forgotten missionary, Thomas Wood
Get PDF1 online resource (v, 63 pages) : illustrations (chiefly colour)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 60-63).This thesis examines the eighteenth-century Missionary Thomas Wood, the first Anglican
clergymen to translate religious texts in the Mi’kmaq language. The central argument of this Theses is that Wood influenced and shaped the material landscape after moving from Halifax to Annapolis in 1764. Along with this, it argues that Wood has widely been forgotten and misrepresented due to shifts in public memory through the centuries, beginning with how members of the Anglican Church interacted after his death with religious buildings he built. This part of the thesis was inspired by John Reid’s article, The Three Lives of Edward Cornwallis, where he demonstrates that over the centuries, each generation of people developed a new perception of the colonial leader. Along with this this thesis examines the value people gained from interacting with the material culture that Wood had a part in creating. Over the years Wood has become an apparition in an ever-changing world, this paper aims to shed light on his integral role in shaping material culture and constructing built heritage in the Annapolis Valley