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Density functional theory theory simulations of silicon,S α-quartz, and moganite
No full textUsing density functional theory (DFT) via the Quantum ESPRESSO software, simulations of FCC silicon, α-quartz, and moganite with the purpose of calculating ground state and optical properties were performed. For silicon and α-quartz, the electronic band structure, phonon dispersion curve, and dielectric function were calculated, and the results agreed with other DFT calculations and experimental data. For moganite, the electronic band structure was calculated, and the phonon dispersion curve calculation was attempted. The electronic band structure calculation for moganite was in agreement with other DFT calculations of the material and no experimental data was found in the literature. The phonon dispersion curve calculation turned out to be too computationally expensive for the desktop computer that ran it. Overall, our DFT calculations agreed well with those of other researchers and some limitations of the types of materials that can be simulated by DFT using a desktop computer were determined
Manipulation of anopheles mosquitoes and human odors by Plasmodium parasites
No full textPhenotypes are the characteristics of organisms. Parasites may manipulate host phenotype in many symbioses; the best known examples are of manipulation of host behavior and to a lesser extent, host appearance. Understanding manipulation is important for disease management. Plasmodium spp. parasites cause malaria, which is spread when transmissible stages inside a vertebrate are ingested by a mosquito taking a blood meal. Inside the mosquito, Plasmodium develops for several days before being injected into a vertebrate host during a blood meal. I reviewed the literature around the idea that malaria-infected mosquitoes have increased attraction to human hosts when the parasite is transmissible, and decreased attraction when non-transmissible. Chemical emissions released from the breath and skin of humans during infection were quantified to identify attractants. Results indicate possible malaria manipulation of emission levels to increase mosquito attraction. Though preliminary evidence is mounting that infection causes increased mosquito attraction to human hosts, differences in malaria species studied, mosquito species studied, stage of infection tested, age of human participants in trials, and experimental procedures make interpretation of findings complicated
A mixed-method approach to exploring relationships between secondary whoop data variables and the perceived effectiveness of the whoop band within varsity women's basketball player
No full textWearable technology, specifically within varsity athletics, has the potential to empower athletes to make informed and educated decisions about their training. The current literature provides little attention to varsity athletes and their perceived usefulness of these devices. The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between data variables collected by a specific type of wearable technology, the WHOOP band. This study also explored the perceived effectiveness of the WHOOP band for varsity women's basketball players through a questionnaire and an interview process. The data analysis portion of the study utilized data from 24 (mean SD; age 20.6 1.6) past and present women's varsity basketball players of the same program. The questionnaire was completed by 19 participants, with 5 participants taking part in the interview section. A strong correlation was found between HR max and the time HR was in zone 5 during exercise (r = 0.82). Additionally, moderate relationships were observed between average HRV and average recovery (r = 0.54) and average workout strain and HR max (r = 0.57). The emerging themes from the mixed-
methods part of the study centered around privacy concerns, consideration of life aspects outside of sport, and important things to consider when applying and understanding the data produced by wearable technology. These findings will allow future users to consider important factors when implementing wearable technology in a university sport environment. Moreover, it can also inform future users of the effectiveness of wearable technology from the athlete's point of view, an area that has very little research available
Review: investigations into the natural role and clinical potential of antimicrobial peptides magainin and pleurocidin
No full textThe emergence of multi-drug resistant pathogens and malignancies such as cancer has presented an obstacle to treatment. These emerging issues warrant the development of novel therapies against human malignancies. Another concern is the decrease in amphibian populations worldwide and damage to the aquaculture industry caused by amphibian and fish pathogens, respectively. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising candidates as novel treatments for conditions in both humans, fish, and frogs. AMPs are very small proteins that are widespread throughout organisms and play a role in innate immunity. The natural role and clinical potential of AMPs magainin and pleurocidin were reviewed. Magainin is an AMP isolated from the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). There is a significant body of research on this peptide as the AMP was one of the first to be isolated from organisms. This analysis found particular potential for magainin as a novel therapy against amphibian fungal pathogens, human cancers, and Gram-negative species of bacteria. Pleurocidin is an AMP isolated from the winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus). This peptide is slightly larger than magainin and shows potential as a novel treatment against human cancers as well as bacterial Vibrio fish pathogens. Drawbacks to the use of these peptides as therapies include instability in vivo. Future investigations on these peptides should include studies on optimization strategies for the peptides to ensure low toxicity to normal cells while retaining high toxicity to target microbes. In addition to amphibian and fish AMPs, some human AMPs show potential as novel cancer therapies. This thesis includes an appendix on the human AMP hepcidin, which is synthesized in the liver. Hepcidin likely plays a role in innate anticancer immunity and actively kills human myeloma cells. With data from Dr. Coombs and colleagues, a draft of the published paper was written. The reviews on magainin, pleurocidin, and the hepcidin paper all demonstrate the significant potential for these AMPs as novel therapies and warrant further investigation.Key words: antimicrobial peptide, magainin, pleurocidin, African clawed frog, winter flounder, cancer.</p
The missing link: a case study of transport inequality in Canada and the Confederation Bridge toll's on islanders
No full textThe Confederation Bridge is the only fixed connection between the province of Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) and the rest of Canada. The bridge, which was built to fulfill a constitutional promise of a fixed connection between P.E.I.and mainland Canada, is privately owned by Strait Crossing Bridge Limited (SCBL). The bridge charges a one-way toll of $48.50, which is paid only when leaving the Island. This toll acts as a fiscal boundary that many low-income Island residents cannot afford to overcome, leaving a large percentage of the population without a reliable route to the mainland. In this thesis, I examine how the toll on the Confederation Bridge impacts Islanders' lives and influences P.E.I.residents' abilities to access necessary services and essential resources on the mainland. By applying John Rawls' Theory of Justice, in association with a Capabilities Approach, as adapted by Randal et al.in relation to transportation policy, I demonstrate that the toll on the Confederation
Bridge contributes to a form of transportation poverty and social inequality. Through Randal et al.'s adaptation of this theoretical framework, and their use of Social Conversion Factors, I examine the role of public-private partnerships, how they influence infrastructure inequality, and how they reinforce the economic, social, and physical exclusion of low-income citizens. These forms of transportation inequality limit the agency of Islanders and influences the overall wellbeing of Island residents. I draw from a series of interviews I undertook with local politicians and stakeholders in 2020, a qualitative data analysis, and a review of relevant literature to reveal how the toll on the Confederation Bridge hinders Islanders from travelling to and from mainland Canada and accessing
the same opportunities and services mainland Canadians. Through an analysis of the economic and social impacts, I establish the clear connection between the bridge toll and the disconnectedness that many Islanders express towards the rest of Canada
Synthesis of novel naphthopyrans via a hetero Diels-Alder reaction
No full textA new synthetic methodology was developed to obtain novel naphthopyrans decorated with functional groups amenable for further chemical manipulation. Starting for commercially
available 2-naphthols, paraformaldehyde, cyclic secondary amines and diethyl ethoxymethylenemalonate, the synthesis was achieved in two steps. First, 2-naphthols,
paraformaldehyde, cyclic secondary amines were converted to Mannich bases. Subsequently, the Mannich bases were reacted with diethyl ethoxymethylenemalonate in a microwave reactor to yield diethyl 3-(alkylamino)-1H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyran-2,2(3H)-dicarboxylates as products. The mechanism of this reaction involved a cascade of a) deamination of 2-naphthol Mannich bases to
ortho-quinone methides, b) the reaction of liberated amine with diethyl ethoxymethylenemalonate to yield diethyl 2-(alkylaminomethylene)malonate, and finally c) the hetero Diels-Alder reaction of the ortho-quinone methides with in situ generated diethyl 2-(alkylaminomethylene)malonate to form the final naphtho[2,1-b]pyran products
Assessing a localized food system response to the COVID-19 pandemic for resilience and food security
No full textThe purpose of this research was to examine the challenges faced, and responses made by localized food producers and distributors in the Annapolis Valley region of Nova Scotia during the COVID-19 pandemic to support food security and promote resiliency against future disruptions and global crisis phenomena. The research question for this study was: How, if at all, does the local food system enhance resilience in the face of global crisis phenomena like the COVID-19 pandemic? Ten semi-structured interviews were completed that included four food producers, three food
distributors and three policy-focused actors. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed according to the phenomenological lens of Hans-Georg Gadamer (1975). The results of this research indicated that small-scale, local food system actors were able to successfully adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain resilience and food security. However, local food system actors faced challenges with constantly adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic-related public health regulations, that included additional time required for the distribution of the food product and additional employees. While there were available provincial and government supports and structures, suchas advocacy and communication, and monetary funds and loans; there were important pieces of
systemic support missing. These missing pieces included increased education and government promotion for consumers around the importance of the local food system, as well as increased acknowledgement of the local food system from provincial and federal governments. To address these changes, the results of this research support key recommendations related to policies, structures, and supports that would benefit the resilience and food security outcomes of the local food system in the face of future disruptions and global crisis phenomena. These recommendations include an early-warning system of monitoring, infrastructure to provide an increased number of accessible distribution networks, a stronger integration between local food system actors and the government, and awareness and education for consumers around role of local food within the food system
General game playing with deep reinforcement learning
No full textReinforcement learning provides problem formulations from the world of robotics and to arguably life itself. It also provides a set of solutions to such problems which may be explored in a computationally realistic manner with the help of neural networks, and thus we have deep reinforcement learning. As amazing as fields like robotics are to behold, the field of video games offers a more practical way of investigating the various deep reinforcement techniques. This thesis brings the concepts of deep reinforcement learning to Atari and NES games while keeping the approach as general as possible
Examination of mercury and arsenic concentrations in spruce tree cores and soil samples from historical gold mine tailings sites in Nova Scotia
No full textTree cores and surface soil samples were collected from four historical gold mine tailings sites near the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) for mercury (Hg) and arsenic (As) analyses. Five spruce trees (either Picea glauca or Picea mariana) were cored from each site, and the year of growth estimated from tree ring counts. We found that average surface soil (silt+ clay fraction) total Hg and As concentrations from all mine tailings sites exceeded Canadian Health guidelines for acceptable soil Hg (500 μg/kg) and As (12 mg/kg) concentrations in residential areas. We found most tree core samples were below the method detection limit (MDL) for Hg in samples from the Montague, Oldham and Muddy Pond tailings sites (MDL ranging 1.3-4.2μg/kg). with the notable exception of the Old Stamp Mill site in Montague Mining District. Mercury in tree ring segments for the Old Stamp Mill site ranged from 0.9to 43.1 μg/kg, with a MDL of 2.0 μg/kg. However, regression analysis for this site did not show a consistent trend between Hg concentration and time between cores. Additionally, using non-parametric Spearman's correlations, no significant correlation (n=26, p-
value=0.08) was found between Hg concentrations in tree bark and Hg in surface soils. Unfortunately, we were not able to measure As in tree cores at the time of this writing due to COVID-19 related delays. The results of this study show that historical gold mine tailings sites in Nova Scotia have soils that are highly contaminated with both Hg and As, and more research is needed to confirm if spruce trees are reliable indicators of mercury bioaccumulation at those sites.This reinforces the need for future studies on the bioaccumulation and effects of both contaminants in living organisms around legacy gold mine tailing site
Emotion and adult attachment using the adult attachment picture system: an examination of facial displays of emotion and depressive symptoms
No full textAttachment theory examines how bonds to caregivers in childhood may impact long-term functioning in many areas of life. This study investigated two such areas in relation to attachment: depression, and facial displays of the seven basic emotions of joy, sadness, anger, disgust, surprise, contempt, and fear. To do so, 60 university students were instructed to fill out a depression measure, and then tell attachment stories using the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP; George & West, 2001) while their facial behaviour was being recorded and coded for facial movements using iMotions automated software. Facial displays were defined by the percentage time and frequency rate of each emotion expressed. We hypothesized that participants would differ in their facial expressions when exposed to attachment-neutral compared to attachment-relevant stimuli, and results indicated that participants demonstrated more joy in response to attachment-neutral than attachment-relevant photos, likely due to the more threatening nature of the attachment-relevant photos. Furthermore, we hypothesized that facial expressions due to attachment stimuli would differ based on their attachment category. This hypothesis was supported, as expressions of contempt were found to be more common in Unresolved as compared to Secure individuals in response to attachment stimuli. Lastly, we examined whether depression scores would differ between groups, as well as how depression scores may be correlated to certain expressions of emotion. We found that while depression scores did not differ across attachment groups, they were significantly positively correlated with expressions of fear. This study offers valuable information as it is the first of its kind to use facial behavioural analysis during administration of the AAP